Outside Shuigu City, the coach's tent was filled with solemnity and silence. The gentle breeze blew by, seeming to bring a few distant shouts of farmers, along with a faint smell of burning wasteland. This is the smell of spring plowing and the hope of autumn harvest.
Shulot sat cross-legged on the carpet and looked at Miwa, the bodyguard who was covered in sweat a few steps away. He smiled and asked in a deep voice.
"Miwa, you just said that Black Wolf had something to bring me?"
"Yes! Death Chief."
Miwa, the red-haired bodyguard, stood in the center of the tent. He looked at the Death Chief above him and nodded solemnly.
"I didn't stop all the way. I ran to your tent just to bring a message to Chief Black Wolf!"
Hearing this, Shulot was very interested and asked with a smile.
"Oh? What are you talking about?"
Miwa raised his head and looked at the western sky. He imitated the posture of the black wolf, clenched a fist on his chest with one hand, and dropped his other hand on the side of his leg, and suddenly laughed loudly.
"...Haha! I, the black wolf Toltec, captured the mountain city in just one day!"
"...cough, cough!"
Seeing this vivid scene, Shulot was suddenly startled and "coughed" twice before he almost stopped laughing. Then, he raised the corners of his mouth, shook his head, and asked again.
"How many casualties did the legion have when we conquered the mountain city? How many were killed and how many were captured?"
"Well..."
Miwa was stunned for a moment, not knowing what to say. As soon as the army captured the mountain city, he jumped off the city and ran for two days and 140 miles before arriving at the camp outside Shuigu City. When he left, the battle was not over yet. As for the specific number of casualties and captures, who knows?
"Uh!... Chief Death, our casualties are not big. Probably more than a thousand surrendered troops and 200 legion soldiers?"
Miwa thought for a while and gave an estimate based on the tribe's war experience.
"...I shot a leader to death, and the defenders at the top of the city were in chaos. Then the black wolf leader led us and captured the city. Later, he asked me to come back to deliver the message...I left By that time, the enemy tribe had completely collapsed, and the casualties of the warriors would not increase much... As for the number of captured people, they would be in the tens of thousands, many, many more!"
"okay!"
Xiuluo nodded, his expression unchanged. At most three or four days, more accurate information will naturally come from Hei Lang. He pondered for a while, looked at the red-haired warrior in front of him, and asked carefully.
"Miwa, do you think the Tlaxcalans are easy to fight?"
"Great Chief, if you were in the wild, it would be easy to fight!"
Miwa scratched his head and replied naively.
"We have armor, bows, and bronze beasts and wooden beasts. When we encounter them in the wild, if the warriors fire a few rounds of arrows and then charge, the enemy militia will probably collapse. Their morale is very low and they cannot stand the fight in the wild. Yes... But attacking such a high stone city will cause heavy casualties. On the city wall, there are tribal armor-clad warriors leading the way, and there are leaders and priests to encourage them, and the militiamen can hold on for a long time. . There were so many of them that they could also shoot arrows and throw stones, causing casualties to the warriors..."
"...When we attacked Shuigu City before, many warriors from the tribe died. The warriors from both sides were entangled together, just like burning firewood, and they burned away!..."
"Well, you are right."
Shulot nodded calmly. The two armies fought and finally attacked the city. The casualties during the siege were too tragic. He thought for a moment, looked at Miwa's honest face, and asked in a deep voice.
"With so many soldiers casualties, are there any voices of dissatisfaction among the legions? How is the morale of the soldiers?"
"Uh... dissatisfaction? Morale?"
Miwa raised his head, looked at the Death Chief carefully, and hesitated.
"That...what...there is no dissatisfaction...just some hatred. As long as the legion captures Stone City, kills the leaders, robs a lot of property, and...be happy again, the soldiers will be happy again I can charge and kill!"
"Um..."
Shulot nodded slowly and said nothing. He had a rough idea in his mind that the legion's morale could still be maintained.
In this era, after attacking a fortified city and suffering huge casualties, the soldiers must vent their anger. The more fierce the enemy's resistance, the more severe the retaliation that will follow. As for religious belief, it only allows the soldiers to withstand higher casualties, but does not make them merciful.
"Okay, Miwa, go down! Eat some meat and drink some wine. After today, you can give me an order to Black Wolf and ask him to transport all the prisoners over as soon as possible and evacuate the mountain city! "
"Okay! It's up to you, Chief!"
Miwa nodded solemnly and left the tent happily.
Shulot glanced at the back of the red-haired warrior and smiled to himself.
"Well, with a simple mind, accustomed to fighting, and familiar with archery... the canine descendants of the wasteland are really a good source of soldiers! We need to send more people and recruit some tribes from the wasteland to replenish the legion's battle losses!"
The young king stood up and looked in the direction of the city on the mountaintop in the east. Then, he turned to the north and looked at the mountains and valleys at the end of the sky, thinking in his heart.
Four days later, the second batch of messengers came from the mountain city. Black Wolf set off troops to plunder for two days, and then gathered the legion. In this battle, just as Miwa said, the legion suffered casualties of 1,500 surrendered soldiers and 300 regular soldiers, killed more than 3,000 warriors and militiamen guarding the city, and captured more than 4,000 strong men.
Ten days later, the second batch of messengers came to announce the good news and brought the first batch of captives back. After Black Wolf recuperated for a day, he dispersed the legion and divided it into two hundred-man squads familiar to the canine descendants.
Dozens of squads looted within a hundred miles, capturing Tlaxcala prisoners! In just five or six days, more than 15,000 young men and women were captured. All the prisoners together amount to more than 20,000 people, and they are returning in a steady stream!
Xiulote was based in Shuigu City, receiving prisoners of war from various legions while transporting them to the southern waterway. The three city-state legions were dispersed and captured prisoners throughout the two southern states, and now more than 10,000 people have been captured. The Yuyan Legion even broke into the suburbs of the holy city of Cholula several times, where they captured valuable young adults.
By mid-May, the total number of Tlaxcala prisoners captured by the Southern Route Army had exceeded 80,000! The number of people transferred to the hinterland of the kingdom has reached 20,000!
Below Shuigu City, large areas of corn have been sown, and new fields are still being cultivated. The Tlaxcala prisoners were uneasy and continued to sow beans under the supervision of Mexica warriors.
Cholula's envoys came one after another, but the king remained as stable as a rock and refused to receive them. Until late May, several scouts hurriedly came from the east, bringing urgent information.
"The plundering Guakili team encountered Mixtec scouts fifty miles south of the mountain city, and they fought with each other! And eighty miles south of the mountain city, in the Mixtec flower village , suddenly increased the number of troops by thousands!"
Hearing the news, Shulot was shocked. He immediately unfolded the map and looked to the south of the hilltop city.
To the south are rolling mountains and roads connecting them. Eighty miles south of the mountain is a Mixtec military stronghold, Xochitlán. Among them, "xochitl" means "flower" and "tlan" means many. Together, it means "a place with many flowers", Huacongzhai. This military stronghold is located just south of the mountain city, once again threatening the South Route Army!
"The Mixtecs..."
Shulot frowned, the murderous intention in his heart constantly building up. Following Huacong Village to the southwest, in a straight line, there are Xiaoliu Village, Nimarsh Village...Thousands of troops have been added to the three Mixtec military villages, threatening the flank and rear of the South Route Army, and constantly restraining the army. The strength of the troops is really like a light on the back!
The young king closed his eyes and thought silently for a long time. After a while, he calmly spoke to the warrior commander.
"Bertard, go and invite Cholula's envoy, the priest and elder vizier!"
Having said this, a confident smile appeared on the king's face. He looked towards the north again and smiled faintly.
"It's time to have a serious talk with Cholula's envoy!"
"According to your will, Your Highness!"
Bertard saluted respectfully. However, before going out, he rarely said one more thing.
"Your Highness."
"Um?"
"The priests and elders of Cholula are all cunning old foxes...you must not trust them."
"Cunning old fox..."
Shulot pursed his lips and pondered for a long time before nodding solemnly.
"good!"
