"Yes, the Lord God has witnessed it!"
Shulot looked around the three of them and nodded affirmatively. The main force of the army directly under him is limited and needs to besiege the enemy's stronghold and launch constant attacks. The surrender camp needed to be heavily guarded, and the warriors could not spread out everywhere to catch the Tlaxcalans scattered in the mountains. What's more, the main army needs to remain pure to maintain discipline and combat effectiveness. Such security warfare is best left to the various city-state legions.
"...A mature man will be exchanged for a qahtli. A woman of working age will be exchanged for a qahtli. As for half-grown children and old people who can still farm, they will be exchanged for half a qahtli. Profit. As long as you bring the captives to the logistics camp, you will take the money with one hand and hand over the prisoners with the other. There is no limit to the number of exchanges!"
"What! Even children and old people are accepted?! The kingdom in the lake is so rich!"
This time, even Yuyan Mihoti was surprised. The so-called "old people" in the village at this time were naturally not like the Ming Dynasty at the same time, who regarded "sixty as old and exempted from service." In the Central American world, the life span of civilians is extremely limited. "Old people" in the village refer to people over 30 years old who are qualified to drink. Therefore, Chihuaco lived into his early forties and was already a true "old militiaman."
"Well, take them all! Children can farm in the fields until they are twelve years old. Old people can't go into battle, but they can still farm for several years."
Shulot smiled slightly and made a generous promise again.
"Of course, the Lake Legion came thousands of miles away. They didn't carry much Quahtli cotton with them, but they brought a lot of gems that could be exchanged. According to the price in the alliance's big market, one Lake gem is worth six or seven kilograms of gold sand, and ten Two quahetli horses can be exchanged for twelve adults... If you exchange gems, I can also give you some discounts, one piece can only be exchanged for ten people!"
"A gem in the lake, in exchange for ten young captives?..."
Hearing this, Huashuo Chikua narrowed his eyes, thought for a while, and shook his head.
"Your Highness, your price is not fair! If there are so many gems in the lake, if they flow into the market, the price of gems will definitely drop..."
"Oh? Not fair?"
Shulot smiled when he heard this, looked at Hochikua's fat face, and asked in a deep voice.
"With so many slaves flowing into the market, won't the price drop?"
"...Well!"
Huashu Huochukua's expression was stagnant, and he didn't know how to answer for a while. He thought about it for a while, then just relied on his keen intuition and hesitated.
"This, this is different! Slaves can work, even the common people in the village will need them. But only nobles and priests will like gems..."
"oh?"
Hearing this, Shulot was very interested. He looked at Hochikua as if he were seeing a rare talent.
"Then, Huashu, let me ask you. Do the common people have the ability to buy slaves? Isn't the wealth of the alliance in the hands of the nobles and priests? ... How is there any unfairness in this? ?”
"Ah! This..."
Hanashu Hochikua was suddenly speechless. After a while, he reluctantly answered.
"No, Your Highness, this is still different. Slaves can work and produce food and cloth, so the more the better... But gems cannot produce small gems! Its value lies in its rarity..."
"Haha! Yes, Hochikua, you are very good!"
Shulot laughed loudly. He looked at the flowers and trees carefully for a while, then smiled and spoke.
"Then, let's calculate how many slaves it would be fair to exchange a gem in the lake for?"
"Um...well..."
Huashu Hochiku stretched out his stubby fingers and calculated for a while before answering hesitantly.
"In exchange for...eight men?"
"Okay! That's up to you. Witness the Lord God! A gem from the lake is sold for eight kuahtli horses and is exchanged for eight strong men and women!"
Shulot nodded generously. He looked at the other two people and asked in a deep voice.
"Yu Yan, Pan Mang, do you all agree?"
"Yes! Your Highness, thank you for your generosity!"
Pan Mang smiled and nodded repeatedly.
"I have six thousand captive women and children in my hands, and I can trade with the kingdom now! As long as the transaction goes well, I will immediately send people back to the country and recruit thousands of militiamen!"
"Very good! You take the prisoners directly to the logistics camp. These affairs are in charge of the kingdom's quartermaster, the hereditary nobleman Bergere."
"Thank you, Your Highness!"
A few years passed, and the kingdom expanded rapidly, and the cronies who had followed him in the early years also rose to high positions. Even the quartermaster Bergire, who was a civilian warrior, has become a hereditary noble of the kingdom, crossing a threshold that would take several generations to break through!
"Your Highness, the Yuyan Legion now has four thousand women and children that can be exchanged. And next, we can capture more...but we don't need so many gems."
Yuyan Mihoti's expression flashed and he looked at His Highness calmly.
"These gems are just decorations for the nobles. Even if they have the divinity mentioned by the priests, they are just sustenance after death. We Mexica warriors have always been based on fighting! What we really need is a sharp and durable bronze blade. With indestructible bronze armor!"
"Your Highness! The Lake Kingdom produces bronze equipment. The Yuyan Legion is willing to exchange 60% of the prisoners for weapons and armor!"
"Exactly, Commander Yu Yan is right! Our Huashu Legion has five thousand women and children in exchange. Half of the prisoners must be exchanged for bronze equipment!"
Huashu Huoqiku's expression changed and he immediately followed suit.
"Uh...this..."
Pan Python Moyahualuo looked at the two of them and gritted his teeth.
"Your Highness, the Pan Python Legion will exchange 40% of the captives for bronze weapons!"
"Um?"
After hearing what the three of them said, Shulot raised his brows and remained silent. After all, the Mexican states advocate military merit, have a strong martial style, respect force, and are more pragmatic in doing things. In the eyes of the leaders of various states, the importance of changing equipment and improving the combat power of warriors must still be put first, far higher than pleasure. The exchange of bronze equipment for prisoners to enhance the combat power of various states would also be beneficial to the Eastern Expedition. It's just the exchange price...
"Commanders, you are all the glorious nobles of the city-state, the most noble group of people. Naturally, you know that the alliance's bronze production is in short supply..."
Shulot looked solemn and replied sincerely.
"Most of the bronze produced in the Kingdom of the Lake must first be paid to the king. And most of the remaining production is used to cast thunder's divine weapons. In the process of making divine weapons, the loss is very large, and it takes ten times to succeed. Once... In the end, only a small part of the wealth can be used to make weapons and armor..."
"..."
The three city-state leaders looked at each other a few times, with disbelief on their faces. The Kingdom in the Lake has formed three or four battalions of bronze-armored warriors, equipped with thousands of bronze axes. Are you still telling them that they are short of bronze?
"Ahem, Your Highness."
Huashu Huochiku's fat face twitched and he replied with a smile.
"We are all members of the Southern Route Army. Our legion is also a warrior under your command! Improving the combat power of the legion is precisely to follow your command and better fight for the Lord God! ... As for The exchange price can be discussed carefully..."
"Witness the Lord God! Your Highness, Captain Yu Yan is willing to fight for you. Please also look after the various countries and trade some bronze equipment!"
"That's right! The Pan Python Legion also begs you..."
"Well...all the captains have begged me..."
Shulot looked bitter. After thinking for a while, he sighed and agreed reluctantly.
"In this case, the kingdom trades with all the states! I always do things fairly. A bronze spear contains four or five taels of bronze. According to the market price, it is equal to half a catty of gold sand, about one kwahtli... Then, just A bronze spear in exchange for a strong prisoner!"
In fact, the kingdom's bronze output is increasing rapidly, and it can not only be used to cast bronze armor, bronze cannons, and even some bronze agricultural tools. This can be seen from the steady flow of tin materials being shipped into the kingdom. It's just that these bronzes rarely flow into the alliance's market, so the exchange price of bronze and gold remains at about one to one.
"Ah! Thank you for your generosity, Your Highness!"
Hearing this, Pan Python Moyahualuo nodded repeatedly and was the first to agree. Yuyan Mihoti also nodded solemnly and bowed his head in salute.
"..."
Huashu Hochiku pursed his lips and nodded helplessly. He originally wanted to theorize that there is actually a difference between half a pound of gold sand and a horse of quahetli, and he can gain more benefits for everyone.
"Hey! These guys who can't do arithmetic..."
"Your Highness, how can I exchange the bronze cloth face armor?"
Yuyan Mihoti's eyes were bright and he couldn't wait to ask. He envied the bronze armor of the kingdom's legion, no longer just for a day or two. Anyone who is a samurai can see the importance of bronze armor!
"Hmm...Bronze Cloth Armor..."
Shulot thought for a while and then answered with a smile.
"The cloth-covered medium armor commonly used in the kingdom uses 16 kilograms of bronze and 9 kilograms of cotton, totaling 25 kilograms. The raw materials alone are worth 40-50 kwahtli. And the armor is not easy to make. It requires at least senior craftsmen to work hard. On the 30th... we have to calculate, a pair of cloth-covered armor, exchange for a hundred young and strong prisoners!"
"A pair of cloth-covered armor, exchanged for a hundred strong prisoners?"
Hearing the price, Huashuo Chiku's pupils shrank. In this way, the five thousand prisoners in his hands can only be exchanged for fifty pairs of bronze cloth-covered armor?
"Your Highness, this price..."
"Yeah. That's the price, there's no way to negotiate it!"
Shulot smiled faintly, calmly and without doubt.
"Actually, the kingdom only has 500 pairs of wealthy medium-sized armors to exchange for 50,000 young and strong prisoners. Once the exchange is completed, they are gone!"
Just kidding, bronze armor is a monopoly product of the kingdom, and even the craftsmen camp in the royal capital has just begun to imitate it. If the other party was not in the Alliance Army and was in the Southern Route Army, obeying his command... Shulot would not even consider trading bronze armor with them.
"Okay! Your Highness, it's settled! I'll send someone to bring the prisoners in exchange for bronze soldiers and bronze armor!"
Yuyan Mihoti lowered his head, clenched his fists on his chest, and bowed deeply.
"Praise the Lord God! May the alliance go smoothly in its eastern expedition, and may the Lord God bless us!"
Huashu Hochiku opened his mouth and sighed. Then, he and Moyahualuo bowed their heads and saluted respectfully.
"May the Eastern March go smoothly, and may the Lord God bless you!"
"Very good! The Eastern Campaign will be successful. The Lord God bless the Mexica people!"
Shulot looked solemn. He straightened his spine, clenched his fists on his chest, and bowed his head in return.
"This is the end of the military discussion! Let's work together to defeat the Tlaxcalans!"
"Praise the King, praise His Highness!"
The three legion commanders responded in unison. Then, they hurriedly turned around and left the tent, heading to their respective military camps.
Shulot watched the backs of the three of them gradually disappearing outside the tent. A smile slowly appeared on the corner of his mouth. Then, the king stretched out his hand and unfolded a huge map of the world from the table. He leaned over and looked, following the dense markings, his fingers drew a long line, which was thousands of miles of mountains and rivers!
