The drizzle of late spring is erratic, and the long green grass grows thickly. The patrolling warriors wore straw sandals and walked among the green grass. Even the military camp outside Tree Snake City suddenly felt a bit more springy.
"The situation in the royal capital...the centralized king...and my wife and son. After the two cities are captured, I will eventually return to the capital once!..."
Shulot looked up at the sky, holding a white book from home in his hand. The handwriting in the family letter is beautiful, slightly skewed, and there are simple meticulous paintings in the middle. As soon as this letter arrived, it caused ripples in his cold heart. He raised a gentle smile, held the letter, and walked out of the tent. Afterwards, the king climbed up to the several-meter-high watchtower and looked at the western wilderness and green mountains in the distance. Beyond that mountain range, hundreds of miles away, is the long-lost capital city in the lake.
"Spring is here. The barren farmland and valleys are covered with green grass. If there are cattle and sheep, they can graze!"
Shulot looked at it for a moment and sighed softly. The area around the City of Four Snakes was once the most prosperous hinterland of the Tlaxcala people, with numerous villages and endless smoke. Looking around now, there are only continuous military camps, patrolling samurai militiamen, and vast emptiness all over the mountains and plains.
The army besieged the city for nearly a year and a half, and wiped out all the four kingdoms in the north and south. At this time, the last two mountain fortresses of the Tlaxcalans were like dead trees that had lost all their branches and leaves, standing woodenly on dangerous heights, just waiting for the final felling by the Mexica Legion.
A moment later, the captain of the guard, Ekart, came in a hurry. The king stuffed the letter into his arms and his expression returned to calm.
"Master, God bless you! The messenger brought news that the ten siege mortars cast by the Military Industry Department have been boarded by the southern fleet and are on the transport ship!"
"Very good! God bless you!"
Hearing such exciting news, Shulot also smiled. The transport upstream along the Tulsas River took more than a month. Around the end of June, the siege mortars will be transported outside Tree Snake City.
"Before the peak of the rainy season arrives in August, it's time to take down White Snake Hill City!"
Shulot turned around and looked northeast. White Snake Hill City stands on a hill tens of meters high, all alone, surrounded by a circle of ditches and forts, filled with the smell of death. Only in the evening, there would be faint smoke rising from the Qiucheng, representing the descendants of the White Snake and the warriors, still reluctantly holding on.
"White Snake Hill City is a ripe fruit. As long as you attack it a few times and pick it lightly, it will suddenly fall. As long as you wait until the mortar arrives, it's time to launch the final blow!..."
Xiuluote pondered in his heart and looked towards the mountains due north, which was the location of Yunshe Mountain City. He thought for a while and looked at the captain of the guard, Ekart.
"Ekart, is there any progress in the siege of Yunshe Mountain City?"
"Master, in the past month, more than a thousand women, children, old and weak people were driven out of Yunshe City. There were also hundreds of militiamen who tried to go down the mountain at night and escape into the forest..."
A smile appeared on Ekart's calm face.
"Most of these women, children and militiamen of the Tlaxcala people were captured by the warriors who blocked the mountain! According to the results of the scouts' torture, although the food inventory in Cloud Snake City is kept secret, there should not be much left. Before leaving the mountain city , these ordinary civilians can only eat one meal of pumpkin soup a day. Moreover, there is a lack of salt in the mountains. First they are as thin as skin and bones, and then they become swollen. Once they fall, they don’t even have the strength to get up..."
"Not necessarily. The treatment of ordinary civilians proves nothing. Only the warriors who are short of food are the real food shortages."
Hearing this, Shulot lowered his eyes slightly and shook his head. He thought for a while before giving the order calmly.
"Let the scouts and priests carefully identify and screen out the hidden Yun Snake nobles! As for the ordinary civilians, don't do too much killing. They will be raised for a few days and then sent to the southern camp of Shuigu City for farming. They told Yun Snake With the situation in the city, the Tlaxcala tribe in the field camp should completely stop worrying!"
"Yes, the master is kind!"
"How many people are left in Yunshe Mountain City?"
"The civilians who escaped could not explain clearly. They only said that after some civilians were driven out of the city, the remaining ones were young and strong. According to the rough estimate of the scouts, judging from the smoke and the size of the defenders, there were about four to five thousand people."
"Huh? At the beginning of the siege, it is said that more than 10,000 people were gathered in Yunshe City. Now, they have actively abandoned the old and the weak, and only less than half are left?"
Shulot frowned. In the current situation, the defenders in Yun She City were not too many, but too few. If there are only about 4,000 people in the city, and they rely on the fields and springs in the two mountains, I am afraid that the time that the Cloud Snake Goddess can hold on will be much longer than the alliance expects.
"Now is the time for spring plowing. Are the fields being plowed in Yunshe City?"
"...It has been cultivated. The prisoner said that wherever pumpkins can be grown, they are all planted. There is also a small corn field planted on the mountain behind Yunshe."
"We can release women and children instead of using them as food, and there is enough food for cultivation... The food stored in Yunshe City can last until at least next year. Well, the key to the siege is still in the back mountain!"
Xiulote thought for a while and asked in a deep voice.
"Ekart, are the tribal warriors able to climb up the mountains behind the Cloud Snake and destroy the Tlaxcala people's mountains and fields?"
"Master, the mountain behind Yunshe is hundreds of meters high, and there are only some trails where a few people can walk side by side. It's easy to go down the mountain, but if you attack upwards... as long as dozens of people guard the heights and throw stones down, No matter how brave the warrior is, he still has to fall down the mountain!"
Eckart lowered his head slightly and replied frankly. He tried sending out scouts to attack at night, but he only lost a dozen warriors. In his opinion, this is a real natural danger that cannot be conquered by manpower.
"Yeah. I understand."
Shulot pursed his lips, his expression unchanged. Facing such terrain, he was helpless for a while. He thought for a moment and then spoke sternly.
"Ask the prisoners carefully! How many divine nobles are there in Cloud Snake City, and how many warriors are there in each one? Who are the guards on the back mountain?"
"Dear head of the family! In the Cloud Snake City, in addition to the most respected Cloud Snake descendant, there are about six or seven tribes of nobles who have fled in, including the Oak Snake descendant from Oak City. The guards in the back mountain are named after the Cloud Snake God. The descendants are mainly descendants, leading hundreds of cloud snake warriors to guard... By the way, there is also a black snake god descendant, who also controls dozens of warriors!"
"Cloud Snake Goddess, Oak Snake Goddess, Black Snake Goddess...Huh? Black Snake? Is it the Black Snake Turcotte who escaped from the battle in Water Valley City?"
Shulot was a little surprised and looked at the captain of the guard, Ekart.
"How can this guy Black Snake escape?"
Hearing this, Eckart looked embarrassed. He had previously protected the high priest, had not participated in the siege of Water Valley City, and did not know who Turcotte was. At this moment, he could only lower his head and salute respectfully.
"...Master, I'm going to interrogate the prisoners myself!"
"Um."
Shulot nodded calmly, stared into the distance, and said no more. The pattering spring rain fell sporadically, soaking the green earth. It was a good rain that nourished the new seedlings.
I don’t know how long it took, but in the sporadic rain curtain in the east, several messengers covered in mud gradually came running. The leader of the messenger has red hair and wears a bone amulet. He is obviously a senior canine hunter.
Shulot's eyes narrowed as he watched the red-haired hunter, led by his personal guards, go straight into the camp and under the watchtower. Then, the red-haired hunter glanced at the king's figure and knelt down in the mud. His face was full of joy, he kowtowed twice and shouted respectfully.
"The Great Chief of Death who is bigger than the sky! The Lord God protects the tribe! Ten days ago, the Black Wolf Chief led an army to capture the ancient city of Quetzalcoatl who dared to resist!"
