"...When and where will the beating last before it stops?"
Hearing the question in the king's tone, Black Wolf Toltec looked startled and pondered for a long time.
If he had followed His Highness's request and captured the ancient city of Feathered Serpent and captured the kingdom's seaport on the coast of the East China Sea, he would have accomplished his goal. But according to his original intention, he naturally wants to continue to attack the Totonac tribes until they can no longer attack them!
Although this expedition all the way east started unexpectedly, it progressed very smoothly and the results achieved were astonishing. The morale, weapons and equipment, organizational training, and familiarity of the Kingdom's legions in large-scale wars all have to be higher than those of Totonac's ministries that have been in peace for many years. The tribes of Totonac were unprepared and were attacked by the Lake Legion, which was also a vassal state affiliated with the Suzerain Alliance. They were immediately stunned. The response of the coastal states was very slow. Their military forces were not mobilized and united at all, and they were defeated one by one. One third of them surrendered.
Under such circumstances, from an external strategic perspective, as the supreme commander of the legion, he must take advantage of the fact that the coastal tribes were stunned and continue to advance eastward quickly! It's like a pack of wolves chasing a herd of deer. They don't give each other any chance to breathe and recuperate, so they can catch the most prey.
Similarly, from an internal strategic perspective, when the Black Wolf Legion marches eastward, its core force is only 8,000 Guajili Legions, plus several thousand meters of Stike troops. At this moment, the army was rolling and expanding. Counting the 3,000 newly surrendered water warriors, there were more than 8,000 surrendered troops from Totonak's tribes alone!
According to the territory currently controlled by the Black Wolf Legion, it is impossible to feed so many surrendered soldiers who have seen blood. The surrendered soldiers only feared the force of the kingdom. Before the land and serfs were entrusted, there was no loyalty at all. At this moment, under the pressure of the kingdom's warriors, they were promised plunder in return. They were controllable warriors who could inspire bloody bravery, with blood on their hands, to attack other coastal tribes with whom they were not close.
If the brutal war of conquest continues, the number of surrendered soldiers will gradually be depleted, and the legion will be able to capture enough land, population, and wealth to settle the surrendered warriors. And if the war ceases here, the plundering cannot continue, and external enemies gather again, I am afraid that the legion itself will self-destruct before long!
"If Yao Lin hadn't said that he would surrender the Nishui City Department, the army would completely attack and destroy this place, kill one or two thousand people in the battle, and completely plunder Qinbo Ali, it would have almost satisfied the appetite of the warriors. But now, there are many more. Thousands of troops have surrendered, and the spoils of war are very limited, so the war must continue!..."
"The number of wolves is increasing, their ferocity is getting stronger, and their desire for prey is getting greater and greater! If there is not enough flesh and blood to feed them, they will come back to bite the wolf king..."
Thinking of this, Black Wolf Toltec frowned and felt a little troublesome. He silently clenched the bronze sword at his waist, thinking about the specific battle situation in front of him. At present, the army is like a sea, and the waves are rushing towards the east, with no room for retreat. And from a tactical point of view, at least we have to attack Jinwan City, sweep away the Jinwan tribes, and plunder a lot, so that we can barely feed our warriors and soldiers!
"Dear King's envoy, judging from the current situation, the Totonac rebels are gathering quickly with Jinwan City in the southeast as the center!.... We must at least arrive at Jinwan City and completely sweep out Jamapa The Jamapa River, that is, the west of the Adobe River, can break the bones of the Totonak people, cut off things, and make them completely lose their western tribes!"
"What? Attack Golden Bay City and sweep the Jamapa River?"
Hearing this, the king's messenger Yao Lin pursed his lips and swallowed hard. The Jamapa River, 20 miles east of Golden Bay City, can be regarded as the dividing line between the east and west Totonac lands. If we completely sweep west of the Jamapa River, it will be equivalent to taking all the land of West Totonak! And the coastal tribes vassalized by the conqueror Montezuma I were limited to the land of West Totonac...
In other words, this is to completely overthrow the vassal system that the alliance has established for thirty years on the coast of Totonac! This is overthrowing the old stable order and starting over again. It is a war to destroy the country like the Tlaxcala Crusade!
"O Lord God! How can I explain to the vassals of the world by acting like this? How can I report back to the king of the royal capital and explain to the great nobles of the alliance?"
Thinking of this, Yao Lin's face changed several times, and his eyes showed anxiety. Although he is the king's envoy and comes from a noble family branch of the royal family, in terms of his stance, he is the most traditional alliance noble. He is inclined to the conservative old order and is naturally opposed to this complete order change!
Yao Lin's clan brother, the third-level priest Yao Ke, as a branch of the God of War lineage, is in charge of the prison in the royal capital and is in charge of the most conservative royal power. In the past thirty years, his grandfather, his father, and he have all served as royal envoys of the alliance in the land of Totonac, having long-term contact with Nishui City and responsible for the collection and transfer of local tribute. This kind of familiar relationship with the vassal tribes for generations was the reason why King Avit sent him east to mediate the coastal conflict. It was also the basis of trust for him to persuade the local noble chiefs to surrender to the alliance.
Since succeeding to the throne, King Avit has been ambitious, carried out religious reforms, conquered the west and east, strengthened centralization of power, and aspired to unify! But in fact, in the entire alliance, there are only a few nobles who can really focus on the world, keep up with the king, and move forward. Even among the royal family and nobles, like Yao Lin, the conservative forces who maintain the traditional order and follow the conventions of the alliance still account for the majority!
There has never been a precedent for complete unification in the world, and there has never been a centralized system. As part of the royal family, they bowed their heads and supported the king in his conquests. But from the perspective of inner concepts and their own interests, they do not necessarily agree with this drastic change and expansion.
"The westward expedition to Tarasco is the will of the elders, and it is also to eliminate hidden dangers in the eastward expedition. The eastward expedition to Tlaxcala is to completely defeat the alliance's old enemy and eliminate the threat that is close to Chichi. Now the east and west of the Mexica Valley The threats have been eliminated! Regardless of the Mixtec, Zapotec, or the current Totonac people, they are willing to submit and pay tribute, and dare not take the initiative to offend the alliance. And the current king's wanton centralization of power is contrary to Tradition, the noisy nobles of various states are noisy, and the alliance is not stable..."
"Blessed by the Lord God! The alliance's hegemony has been established in the world, and there are no worries from the outside world. In this case, why do we need to send out armies to continue the conquest in all directions? Maintaining the traditional and stable order, why worry about not being able to pass it on for hundreds of years?...Twenty The water city is more than 700 miles away from the royal capital. Even with the martial arts of the ancestor Montezuma I, he did not make it a direct subordinate. He just established a vassal here and collected tribute! Just like now, even if the Lake Legion is defeated How can the land of Totonac be under direct rule if it is so far away? In the end, it is not about enfeoffing new nobles and establishing vassals, but it will be the same again decades later..."
Numerous thoughts emerged from Yao Lin's mind, and then disappeared in reality. After a while, he took a deep breath and asked seriously.
"Witness the Lord God! Dear Commander of the Black Wolf Army, on behalf of the king, I want to ask you: Are you sure that after attacking Golden Bay City and sweeping the Jamapa River, the conquest of the Lake Army will end here? After that, Qinbo Ali's vassal tribute must be maintained as it is and guaranteed to be paid on time!... I need a clear guarantee to give an explanation to the supreme king!"
"The Lord God witnesses! I, the Black Wolf Legion's conquest... will arrive..."
Black Wolf Toltec looked solemn and opened his mouth to answer, but his voice was a little difficult. He knew that the answer at this moment, if it fell into the ears of King Avit, would be a solemn political commitment. And such a promise is actually a restraint on the hands and feet of the Lake Legion. Once the bondage is put on, if you want to untie it, you have to consider the majesty of the king and pay a sufficient price...
"Ahem! Praise the Lord God! The Guakili Legion is loyal to His Majesty the Divine Enlightenment and fights for the Supreme King! The Legion conquers the rebels of Totonac. The ultimate goal is naturally to be set by His Majesty the Wisdom in the camp of Tree Snake City. Come and decide!”
At this critical moment, Artillery Battalion Commander Tupa gritted his teeth, stepped forward decisively, and interrupted. He took a deep look at Commander Black Wolf and shook his head inconspicuously.
Black Wolf was startled for a moment, then suddenly woke up. The expression on his face changed rapidly, settling on one of reflective shame. He has an arrogant personality, has been the head coach of the Black Wolves for too long, and has always told the truth. In his subconscious mind, he already believed that the Black Wolf Legion was his own legion, and he wanted to make a promise for His Highness.
Tupa had a respectful smile on his young face. He lowered his head humbly and asked the king's messenger in a deep voice.
"Coach's witness! Dear envoy Yao Lin, when you come east, can you meet His Highness? What instructions did His Highness give?"
"Uh... I did meet His Highness Shulot when I came here."
Hearing this, Yao Lin pursed his lips and frowned deeply. Seeing that the leader of the Black Wolf Army was about to fall into the trap, he gave himself a clear answer, but a new trouble appeared halfway.
Regarding His Highness's instructions, I cannot respond with false words. Yao Lin was silent for a while, but still answered truthfully.
"His Royal Highness Shulot entertained me warmly for several days before telling me. 'The general is out and military orders are not respected. He has to make specific judgments based on changing circumstances. Just like going out to hunt, no one can guarantee in advance. What kind of prey will be caught?'... And he believes that the commander of the Black Wolf Army and the conquest of the Totonak land will be decided by the Black Wolf General!"
Hearing His Highness' words of trust, Hei Lang lowered his eyes and felt moved in his heart. He closed his eyes and sorted out his somewhat messy thoughts, thinking about Yao Lin's words before and after, looking for the most critical pulse. After a few breaths, he suddenly opened his eyes and stared into the eyes of the messenger Yao Lin with sharp wolf-like eyes.
"Messenger Yao Lin, I have a question that I want to ask you sincerely. Since you represent the supreme king and come to deal with the affairs of the land of Totonak, you are asking me these questions. The instructions given by the king are also What exactly is it?"
Upon hearing this question, the expression of the king's envoy, the royal noble Yao Lin, suddenly changed.
