The Sierra Madre Oriental Mountains stretch from north to south, dividing the Tlaxcala plateau from the Totonac lowlands. In the southeast of the junction of the mountains, there is a towering peak reaching into the sky, which is the third highest mountain in North America, Citlaltépetl. In the Nahua language, "citlal" means "star" and "tepētl" means mountain. Therefore, this sacred mountain with an altitude of 5,600 meters is also called "Star Mountain" by the local mountain tribes.
"Star Mountain" is towering and the mountains are stretching. The long adobe river originates at the foot of Xingshan Mountain and winds all the way east, passing through Tuhe City and Hatori City. After traveling for more than 700 miles, it reaches Hewan Village, which is only 20 miles away from the entrance to the sea.
By the time the river reaches this point, it has gathered streams from seven hundred miles away, becoming fierce, mighty and wide. When the heaviest rainy season arrives, the water level of the entire river will rise by six to seven meters, becoming the most natural dividing line between the east and west Totonac lands.
"Praise the Lord God! What a great river!"
Tupa wore leather armor, carried a long bow on his back, and led a dozen personal guards, standing on a hill only one mile away from Hewan Village. He didn't pay attention to the noisy fighting and shouting in front of Hewan Village, but looked at the vast river flowing down from the upper reaches of the south and spoke with a smile.
"If we can access all the rivers up and down, we will have a convenient water canal from the land of Tlaxcala to the east! At that time, the army will go south from the plateau and it will only take more than ten days to reach the Jin Dynasty on the East China Sea. Bay City.”
Tupa thought for a moment and turned around. He looked at a tribal leader standing behind him with his head bowed and asked with a smile.
"Well, Quecama, am I right?"
Quecama trembled when he heard the sudden question. As one of the leaders of the Tuhe tribes who surrendered, he had seen the sacrifices of other noble chiefs with his own eyes and knew the horror of the general before him. Now, although he was lucky to survive, he was always uneasy in his heart.
"Ah! Chief Tupa, you are right!"
"Oh? Am I really right? Aren't there any dangers along the way from the river to the east?"
"Ah, yes!. The big river originates from the foot of Xingshan Mountain. The waterway in that section is extremely steep, fast and dangerous, with more than ten waterfalls, large and small. It is very dangerous to go boating. However, when we reach Tuhe City, the river becomes flat. Then go downstream for hundreds of miles. , the connections between the northern and southern ministries are all connected by rivers, which is very convenient."
"very good!"
Tupa listened patiently and nodded. He took a deep look at Quecama and smiled meaningfully.
"Quikama, maybe it won't be long before you can return to Tuhe City. I hope your choice will not be wrong."
The long river flows endlessly, making two big bends here, heading to Haikou in the north. Tupa looked at the river downstream for a while before leading everyone to the siege battlefield in front of Hewan Village. Hewan Village was built along the river, between two river bends, so it was difficult to deploy troops. However, the terrain of the camp is not high. It has a low wooden wall and a wooden fence around it. At this moment, there were many people in Hewan Village, shouting loudly. A large group of tribal hunters are holding hunting bows and throwing spears, gathering on the wooden wall to defend.
In front of Hewan Village, the Huzhong Army Corps had already spread out their lines and assumed an siege posture. Hundreds of red-haired elites armed with large bows, under the cover of the new shield-making vehicle, approached within a hundred steps and fired arrows into the stronghold at a leisurely pace.
The larger number of Totonac soldiers formed a loose formation and rushed towards the camp under the command of war drums. Most of them were bare-chested and held stone axes and spears. A few pioneer warriors held copper axes and worked hard to chop and destroy fences and wooden walls. On the wooden wall, large swaths of bows, arrows and spears shot from time to time, shooting the surrender soldiers to the ground, but no one dared to retreat for a while.
Tupa looked at it for a moment, flexing his fingers slightly and calculating in his mind. Under the cover of superior bows and arrows, the casualty ratios of both the offensive and defensive sides were roughly similar. Without the "divine power" of the bronze cannon, the morale of the defenders was also very strong, and there was no sign of wavering.
"What a pity! If we had enough gunpowder to attack these small villages, it would be easy."
Tupa pursed his lips and watched as the thousand vanguard troops who were the first to rush into the battle surrendered. One or two hundred people had already been killed, and there were signs of collapse. He shook his head, took out the conch he carried with him, and decisively blew the conch horn for withdrawal.
"Didi! Didi!"
As the conch horn sounded, the soldiers who rushed into the formation immediately breathed a sigh of relief, turned around and ran to the rear desperately. The tribal hunters on the wooden wall leaned out one after another, desperately shooting arrows at the retreating enemies. However, a wave of more powerful arrows struck almost at the same time, knocking down all the unarmored hunters at the top of the city.
"Swish swish!"
The red-haired canines fired two more rounds before turning around and retreating. The Totonak militiamen lowered their heads, pushing their shield carts, and followed closely behind the canine warriors. This wave of probing siege ends here, and I don’t know if there will be another battle in the afternoon.
"Chief Tupa! The pioneers have broken through the outer wooden fence and are about to climb the wooden wall. Why are we blowing the conch horn for withdrawal at this critical moment?!"
Totonac's general, Wood Lizard, hurriedly came to the side of his general Tupa. He bowed and asked, his face a little anxious and hiding some incomprehensible anger.
"This wave of vanguards rushed forward to disrupt the archers guarding the city. When they are almost dead, retreat, I will lead a thousand old battalions who are good at fighting, climb the wooden wall and fight to the death! Maybe, this riverside The village can be captured!"
Tupa smiled, looked at the wood lizard anxiously asking for a fight, and nodded slightly. The opponent, a surrendered general from Totonac, was even more anxious to sacrifice his life than himself, a commander from Mexico, and he did not take the casualties of the surrendered soldiers seriously.
"Haha that's fun!"
"What?"
"Oh, I mean don't be anxious. We can take our time in attacking the city for the time being."
"Don't be in a hurry, take your time?"
Wood Lizard was startled and looked up at Tupa's smiling face. He gritted his teeth and said solemnly.
"Witness the Lord God! Chief Tupa, yesterday morning, Hewan Village sent an envoy to ask for help, rowing a boat to Jinwan City downstream. Counting the time, Jinwan City's reinforcements will be dispatched at any time! If It will be difficult to capture Hewan Village when the enemy's reinforcements arrive!"
"Haha! Don't worry, the reinforcements from Jinwan City will arrive soon!"
Tupa laughed loudly, stretched out his hand, patted the wood lizard on the shoulder, and revealed the mystery.
"The Black Wolf leader has already led two thousand elites to ambush in the north. It's okay if the reinforcements from Jinwan City don't come. If they come, they will be eaten!"
"Chief Black Wolf is personally setting up an ambush in the north? This is to lure reinforcements out."
Only then did Wood Lizard suddenly realize. He stood stunned for a moment, not knowing what to say. Tupa smiled and whispered something more.
"Wood Lizard, the leader of Black Wolf is personally responsible for setting up an ambush. The generals basically don't know about it, and they didn't hide it from you on purpose. And when the reinforcements from Jinwan City are dispatched, I will go north with 1,500 elite troops. Go and support the leader. As for the camp in Hewan Village, I will leave it to you to manage!"
The long river is turbulent and flowing continuously, and canoes are shuttled back and forth on the river. Outside Hewan Village, the camp of the Lake Legion was silent for half a day, until a red-haired scout, running like flying, came from the north in a hurry, bringing crucial latest information.
"Thousands of reinforcements from Jinwan City finally moved south half a day ago!"
When the news came, the camp was in uproar. Three quarters of an hour later, the camp gate opened wide. Under the leadership of the commander-in-chief Tupa, 1,500 elite warriors all put on armor, carried bronze spears and axes, and headed north with a clang.
(End of chapter)
