"Boss Pap, the Mexica messenger has rested."
The sun had set, and a dark sky enveloped the seaside. A bonfire was lit in the large wooden house in the village, and two fresh sea fish and two hard old corns were cooked. In this era, eating sea fish and river fish that lack calories never means wealth. And when the leader of an army can only eat fish to satisfy his hunger, it often means that there is not much food in the army.
"Messenger of the Mexica? Ha! This guy Linlang, as the tribal chief of East Totonac, once shouted that he would fight to the death with the Mexica for the glory of the gods! ... But now, he After surrendering, I put on a Mexican uniform, spoke of the blessings of the Lord God, and felt proud to serve the Mexicans..."
Priest Pap stretched out his hand, fished out an old corn from the clay pot, and ate it slowly, with a little disdain on his face. But after a moment, he thought about his situation, his expression calmed down, and he couldn't help but sigh.
"The storm is coming, the tide is coming... In the face of such mighty divine power, how can a mortal control his own destiny!..."
Hearing this, the leader Chu Chute also sighed. He held a wooden bowl, fished out a sea fish, and left the more filling corn to Priest Papu. In the past two years, he took the people of Snake Lake Village and fled eastward with Priest Papu, even to the easternmost part of this seaside place. However, the Mexica army followed closely behind him, as if the tide was about to drown him, and it was in front of him again.
"God bless you! Boss, this Timber Wolf is your old friend... There are so many warriors from Hidden Snake City in the Navy, don't you need his help?..."
"Ha! Old friend? I don't dare to be his old friend! You know, his hands are stained with the blood of old friends!..."
Priest Pap pouted and shook his head. When he talked about what Timberwolves had done, his face was both disgusted and wary, like he was talking about an unscrupulous and ruthless mad dog.
"Golden Bay City fell, Timber Wolf was captured, and took refuge with the Mexica people. This is actually nothing. When the situation is forced, you must bow to the strong. Everyone has done this... But he took action himself, took a blood oath to convert, and sacrificed the suburbs. Many divine nobles in Wolf City have completely betrayed the tribe they came from! And he informed the chief of Cone House City, Yorjin, of planning a rebellion, separated his heart from his body, and sacrificed him on the altar of Jinwan City... This is He has close friends who are in-laws! Once these two things are done, he completely turns into a Mexican wolfdog!..."
"Further on, he participated in the sacrifice of his old friend Teotra, the chief of Carved Stone City, and then led his army to attack Carved Stone City first, and then died working for the Mexica people! ... Now he is serving as an envoy of the kingdom. , risking his life, came over to persuade me to surrender... Ha! I really want him to help lead his samurai battalion into the water village... At that time, will my head also become his credit? That's really saying It’s uncertain!…”
Having said this, Priest Pappu laughed at himself and touched his big head. Then, he narrowed his eyes and looked to the west, and his voice gradually became lower.
"What's more, in the seaside area, those chiefs who have taken refuge with the Mexicans and controlled various warrior camps...that is, Wushan City Wood Lizard, Feathered Serpent City Red Ear, Tuhe City Cuicama, and Rabbit Hill City Tochi Na, and Coyote City Mayaquin...the surrendered troops of Totonac, I'm afraid they won't be happy to have another one of me come to share their limited military power with them, and compete for the position of the samurai battalion commander of the Coastal Legion. Bar!…"
"Ah? Coastal Legion? Samurai Battalion Commander?..."
Hearing this, the leader Chu Chute looked surprised. He actually didn't know much about the Mexica people, and he couldn't understand the struggle between the surrender troops. He thought for a while and asked doubtfully.
"Boss Pap! Aren't we watermen? We don't want to compete with these people for territory on land... We have all made up our minds to fight for the Maya land on the coast... Why should they worry about us?"
"Yes. Chuchut, you are right! Our best way out is to join the Kingdom's Donghai Navy and go to the Maya Coast in the east to find a foothold! But, they may not believe it even if they say it. And the tribal warriors in the navy probably don’t want to stray too far from home…”
Priest Pappu touched his chin, with a rare expression of hesitation.
"The best and most suitable site is, of course, the prosperous Honghu Town more than two hundred miles to the east, and the vast mouth of the Red Lake River. But whether it can be done, whether it will be our turn, I am not sure at all... And further east A hundred or two hundred miles away, the town of Wankou at the mouth of the big river (Grijalva River) is also good... If you go further east, the only thing you can find is the Prawn Lake, which is rich in prawns..."
Priest Pappu stood there and thought for a long time. He had carefully studied the situation on the eastern coast for a long time and asked many Mayan merchants and sailors, and he basically had a clear understanding of it. In fact, if the Mexica people did not show up under the Temple of Death and were unwilling to accept his surrender in person...then his last choice would be to lead the navy eastward to find refuge with the Mayan city-states along the coast!
"Hey! The key is to look at His Highness Mexica!... We have to bring the entire navy and all the shipwrights over to increase the weight of the surrender..."
Priest Pappu murmured and walked back and forth. Then, he suddenly stopped, looked at the wooden house with only two people, and asked in a low voice.
"Chuchute, with our reliable backbone, how many naval forces can we control in total?"
"Well...Boss, it depends on where we go..."
The leader Chu Chute looked around carefully and replied in a low voice.
"The entire navy has a total of more than two thousand people! In our hands right now, there are five to six hundred warriors and sailors from several tribes that moved eastward. There are also about five or six hundred warriors and militias from city-states and villages in various places. Hundreds of people. And the Hidden Snake Saint who is really the main force... the Hidden Snake City warriors, there are about one thousand two to three hundred people, and they are all good warriors who are used to fighting on the water!"
"God bless you! We settled the navy here and cut off the connection between the holy city and the water village in the name of the Mexica harassment for more than a month... and the reason why these warrior leaders acquiesced to our actions was actually not Didn’t he betray the tribe he came from and completely abandon Hidden Snake City..."
"On the one hand, they are unwilling to accept the orders of Hidden Snake City and give up their surviving positions in the fleet to transport the families and belongings of the divine nobles and help these cowards escape... On the other hand, it is also the rumor we released before, Said that you have contacted the Mayan city-state and are ready to find a good way out for everyone..."
"So, if we go east to the Mayan land in the east, there will be no objections in the fleet... And if we go west and join the Mexica people... I am afraid that the warriors of Hidden Snake City will not You won’t obey orders obediently!…”
Upon hearing this, Priest Papu frowned and confirmed again carefully.
"Huh? Chuchute, you have been dealing with these warrior leaders... Are you sure that they are really unwilling to take refuge with the Mexica people? Even in such a difficult situation..."
"Uh...Boss, you also know, not to mention whether the blood feud between the two sides that has been fighting for so long will be avenged by the Mexica people...the reputation of the Mexica people alone, the priests in Hidden Snake City are unremitting Under the propaganda, in the minds of the samurai and tribesmen in this area, it is simply..."
"What is it?..."
The leader Chu Chute pursed his lips and put down the remaining half of the sea fish in his hand. Then, he swallowed, stared at the dead fish head, and answered carefully.
"They are simply the incarnation of underground volcano demons, a legion of demons that can devour the souls of tribes!... They killed divine priests and noble warriors, as ruthlessly and coldly as pulling weeds. And they ate us just like we did. Like a fish!... If not forced, who would be willing to surrender to them, from body to belief, and accept that kind of strict control?... Do you really want to abandon the gods and ancestors, and don't want the soul after death?... "
"Ah, that's it! These warriors who have been immersed in the minds of the hidden snake priests do not understand the real Mexica people. For everything about the Mexica people, they only have the knowledge that comes from the heart, is instilled and baptized, Blind fear and hatred...and only after being forced to convert to the Lord God and breaking the clay pot of their thoughts, can they open their eyes and gain...'new life'..."
Priest Pappu narrowed his eyes and clenched and separated his hands. He pondered for a while before gritting his teeth.
"Gods bless you! Lord God bless you! Opportunities come from fighting! Even if there is only one branch, we have to fight for the whole tree!..."
"In this situation, we only need to bring the entire fleet over and hand it over to His Highness Mexica... Everything else is not up to us nor the warriors on the boat!... Of course, the most important thing is the ten Two large ships, dozens of Mayan and Totonac shipwrights who can build large ships..."
"Twelve big ships? Boss, we only have seven big ships, where did we get twelve..."
"Ha! Most of the five ships under construction have been completed, but they don't have the upper deck and sails... But if the upper deck doesn't exist, it won't be there. As long as the oars on both sides are there and can be rowed out! Anyway, we are going to surrender, and It’s not a fight, bring me anyone who can move!…”
Priest Pappu clapped his hands, his eyes becoming sharp and decisive.
"Six hundred warriors and sailors, together with five or six hundred other tribes, took control of twelve large ships! ... As for the main force of more than a thousand warriors from Hidden Snake City, they were all arranged on small boats. As for the explanation..."
"Well...Chu Chute, I have an idea! Let's do this..."
"Ah! Boss?!"
"What, isn't it possible?"
"Uh! This...this is indeed a good idea! It's just about your reputation in the future..."
"Haha! What reputation do I have?... Let's survive first!..."
Before the night came, Priest Papp laughed. He finished the last bite of old corn, looked at the vast moonlight on the seaside, and sighed quietly.
"Hey! Having a bad reputation may not be a bad thing... I don't know, I have to be like the Timberwolves and surrender to the Mexicans wholeheartedly without leaving any way out!..."
(End of chapter)
