In the low tent, a bright brazier was lit. The orange fire light warmed a can of clear fruit wine and illuminated a wide wooden map. Simple jungles and city-states are spread out on wooden maps passed down by tribes, coupled with ancient graphics and characters, using myths and legends to mark the vast seaside land.
"From the conquered Holy City of the Quetzalcoatl to the unconquered Holy City of the Hidden Serpent, it is a seaside land a thousand miles from east to west. Over the past few hundred years, there have been countless powerful tribal chiefs, eager to completely unify the trust. The various Tonak tribes have established an unprecedentedly powerful alliance to fight against the threat from the plateau..."
"However, in recorded history, no Totonac chief has ever realized their ambitions. For the countless tribes scattered throughout the jungle, along the coast and inland, only the priests of two holy places have truly established a Widespread impact…”
The snake mother priest Miawa looked solemn and sat opposite Shulot. At this moment, her eyes were shining with wisdom, her voice was calm and confident, and there was a hint of undetectable excitement.
"Among all the tribes, there are only three groups that truly hold power: the most noble descendants of gods, the priests who communicate with the gods, and the warriors who control the force! The first two come from hereditary inheritance and are born with the power to rule. Only the last samurai will accept the brave ordinary tribesmen..."
"Similarly, governing tribes and mastering the power of rule requires the inheritance of culture. The reason why gods and priests are noble lies not only in blood and divinity, but also in the knowledge they inherit. In addition to the two, they also have inherited , are the tribal sages in small tribes, or the narrators around the campfire. Their tribes are too small to support truly noble gods and priests... and in the eyes of these people, the so-called rule means farming in the fields. . And the entire tribe, tens of thousands of tribesmen, is..."
Having said this, Miava paused. She smiled and looked at the contemplative king sitting across from her.
Shulot raised his brows, thought for a moment, and asked in a deep voice.
"In the eyes of Totonak priests, tribes are crops? Tribesmen are corn?"
"No! Your Highness, you guessed wrong! Corn is the fruit of the harvest, a gift from the Sun God and Quetzalcoatl. And how can ordinary tribesmen become corn?..."
Miawa smiled and shook his head, then spoke quietly.
"Tribes are fertile land, while tribesmen are just vast soil. We plant crops on the soil, and stable rule means letting the seeds grow, extending a strong root system, and holding all the soil in the roots... "
"soil…"
Upon hearing such a metaphor, Shulot's eyes flashed and he asked calmly.
"Is this what the priests of Totonak think?"
"Yes, Your Highness."
Miava nodded affirmatively. Then, she seemed to have thought of something and added another sentence.
"This is not only the view of the seaside priests, but also the view of the gods and warriors, and even the view of the mud people themselves. And extending from the seaside, the older Zapotec people in the south and the more stubborn people in the east The Mayans are the same, and even go a step further... In the two thousand years of Mayan mythology, the world is ruled by the kapok sacred tree. And where the sacred kapok is shrouded, the noble and the low are not only born, but also like the rise and fall of the sun and the moon. , no one can change..."
Hearing this, Xiuluo nodded, his thoughts drifting away. The political ecology of the lowland tribes is indeed completely different from that of the plateau tribes.
Fighting continues on the Mexican Plateau, and they are constantly being impacted by the canine descendants from the north heading south. Powerful dynasties were established one after another, and then collapsed and dissipated within hundreds of years. The various ministries continued to merge, and the noble and the humble were constantly overturned. In contrast, from Totonac to the Maya, the scattered and isolated rainforest tribes can be passed down for thousands of years, but they are more class-solidified and traditional. And the stubborn traditions and concepts of nobility and inferiority formed by these long-term scattered inheritance are also the biggest enemies of the kingdom's centralized rule!
In fact, the Alliance never really ruled these far-flung city-states. He needs to explore carefully to find a way to establish his rule. Once there is mature experience, the new governance system can be applied to the entire southern part of the world, and then extended to the Mayan land!
"Go on! I want to hear something new."
"Yes, Your Highness... Conquest is the fire that burns away the corn that once existed on the earth, while domination is farming... Farmers who farm are priests, descendants of gods and sages who possess knowledge, and the farm tools in the hands of farmers are He is a warrior of the tribe..."
"The fire in Mexica came from the plateau, burning the crops in the fields and killing most of the divine farmers. The remaining low-level priests and sages of small tribes fled and scattered, hiding in the woods, far away Looking at the burned fields. The farm tools in the hands of the farmers were scattered all over the ground. In the hands of the new owners, they are not suitable for use, but are a bit irritating..."
"Therefore, Your Highness, if you want to manage this field, you must accept some farmers from the past, master the old farm tools, and then plant new seeds... And the most difficult part is the support of people's hearts! From the old It is not an easy task to choose among the farmers and farm tools that are usable and reliable, or to make them usable and reliable..."
"Miawa, have you ever thought about it? Maybe the soil can become a farmer and take care of himself..."
"Uh... Your Highness, are you kidding? I have never seen it before... at least, it has never appeared in the seaside land and in the inheritance map of thousands of years..."
“…”
Shulot didn't speak, raised his brows and lowered his eyes. Miawa blinked and spoke softly. Her voice is slightly hoarse and has mature charm.
"Your Highness, you should admit that in the ancient seaside land, the rule of the kingdom is like a seed that has been sown for a few days and has just sprouted... It is still far from taking root and growing tall branches. Very far away...not to mention, like you hope, it will grow into a sacred tree that has never been seen before, reaching the sky and the earth!..."
Hearing this, Shulot was silent for a moment and nodded.
"Miawa, you have seen it very clearly... The kingdom's rule here is maintained entirely by force. And now, there are more than half a million Totonak tribesmen who have surrendered, and 50,000 tribes who have experienced war have surrendered troops... The kingdom Our 20,000 legions are gradually becoming insufficient..."
For the Kingdom in the Lake, the larger the area and the more tribes it conquered, the fewer troops it could send out to fight. In fact, Black Wolf Toltec only led 10,000 legions and crossed the Adobe River to march eastward. Not only was he short of food, but he also lacked mobile troops. And Xiulote led the 4,000 Guards Corps to sit in Golden Bay City, but was tightly restrained by the 100,000 newly surrendered Totonak tribe, and was unable to leave at all. After all, the hearts of the various tribes, including the lowest level tribesmen, are indeed not here in the alliance. As long as a spark is not extinguished in time, a fire may ignite!
"Your Highness, establishing rule is like farming. It requires both field management and time to nurture. You have planted the seeds. As long as your royal flag stays here or the powerful Mexica Legion stays here, the seeds will It has the most reliable care!… As long as you give it enough time, it will surely grow taller and become a towering sacred tree!…”
"Miawa, you know well... I am the heir to the alliance and the king of the kingdom in the lake. I do not have time to stay here for a long time and be the king of the seaside land. My Guards Corps cannot stay here for too long either. !”
Shulot shook his head and stared at the smart woman in front of him. The woman blinked and asked softly.
"Your Highness, how long can you stay here? Where is your legion?"
"This is the most secret military information in the kingdom. Do you really want to know?"
Shulot narrowed his eyes, like a jaguar before hunting. Miava puffed out her chest and her eyes were firm, like a deer ready for sacrifice.
"Of course! Only if you tell me all your plans can I plan for you...dedicate everything..."
"…very good!"
Shulot looked at the other party deeply and said in a deep voice.
"I will stay here... at most a year, or a year and a half... and if the king calls me to participate in a new southern expedition, I will return at any time..."
"Ah! One and a half years...enough!"
Hearing this, Miawa's eyebrows brightened and she smiled charmingly. She stretched out her arms, hugged the strong king, and moaned.
】
"Your Highness... If you want to plant a great sacred tree on the seaside, you need a divine Totonak seed... a golden kapok seed to inherit the divinity of all tribes and carry the mythical great…"
"Only such a golden seed can make the entire seaside land cheer for joy, make the unwilling farmers bow their heads, make the surrendered Totonak warriors return to their hearts... and make hundreds of thousands of humble tribesmen return home. We, following hundreds of thousands of years of inertia, following the legendary prophecies, crawl at your feet!..."
"Your powerful Highness! I am willing to serve you loyally and breed such sacred seeds for you... I will also be careful and be your most loyal farmer, taking care of and growing up the sacred seeds for you!... Please believe me! Yu! The priests of the snake line, the sages of the tribe, and the ordinary servants of the gods who control knowledge and people's hearts will also work for the prophesied 'her', for the hope of the unification of the Totonak people, and for the sake of being accepted by the new king. opportunity...to surrender loyally to you and convert to the supreme Lord God! And 'she' is the support of people's hearts!..."
"Huh? Holy Seed? 'She'?"
Shulot frowned, thought for a moment, and suddenly opened his eyes.
"Miawa! You mean... you want to... hmm?!"
"Yes! Your wise highness... Only the respected bloodline of the sun and the giant snake are born with the qualifications to rule the seaside land!... In the common hopes and legends of all seaside tribes, the real Totonak people The king will be born on the seashore where the sun and the giant snake meet, and he will unite all the Totonak tribes into one!"
Speaking of this, Miawa chanted loudly and even chanted. She was trembling with uncontrollable excitement. Her face was flushed, and she leaned into Shulot's ear, almost impatiently, and called out in a low voice.
"Your Highness! Please allow me to give birth to a divine child for you! A divine son whose blood flows from both the plateau and the lowland, a divine son who has never existed... a king of the Totonak people in prophecies and legends! "
