The red sun hung over the mountains in the west and rippled on Lake Texcoco. The dusk turned into rosy colors and shone at the end of the sky. As dusk fell, curls of smoke rose again from all over the capital, accompanied by a continuous stream of smoke.
The evening prayers of praise are like the Kingdom of the Lord God on earth.
The main hall is majestic, and the high priest sits high on the throne, calm and calm, handling daily academic affairs.
In the meantime, the envoy of King Avit came once. The king's envoy met Prince Tlacopan, confirmed the capture of Tlacopan, and left quickly. Now, the royal warriors in the capital have already been mobilized to go to Tlacopan.
Pan Chengbang assisted in suppressing the rebellion.
Shulot sat cross-legged, flipping through the documents at hand, thinking about the direction of further changes.
"The alliance's Gyeonggi Province compiles all households and brings them into direct jurisdiction. Taxes and tributes are around 40% of the annual revenue, which is quite heavy. In the three city-states in the west, south and north, the local nobles can receive 2.5-30% of the annual revenue as tribute.
tribute, while the royal family and the priesthood received the remaining 1-1.5%. The tribute received by the local and central authorities is roughly around 7:3. As for the more distant feudal city-states, the ratio of local and central tribute will further
Tilt towards the local nobles."
Seeing this, Shulot was silent. The kingdom in the lake is located in the west of the world, the farthest away, and receives preferential treatment from the alliance. In order to calm people's hearts, the kingdom's annual tax and tribute collection is slightly more than 30%, and it is turned over every year.
The alliance's tribute is less than 0.50% of the annual revenue.
Of course, whether it is an alliance or a kingdom, farmers in villages and towns must accept the command of village chiefs and priests, and perform various corvee services. For example, building canals, making stone tools, cutting down trees, mining stones, and transporting grain... As part of the rule of the country,
At the end of the day, it is impossible for farmers to live in peace and quiet.
"The capital city in the lake is rich and prosperous and is located in the world. The main city is full of nobles with rich costumes and feather crowns, possessing the most wealth in the world. The northern city has an extremely prosperous trading market, trading the most commodities in the world... gems, jade
, obsidian, gold and silver jewelry, copper pottery, feathers and costumes, spices and herbs, cotton cloth and cocoa, wood and stone, salt and grain, as well as all kinds of slaves, are all traded in this huge city."
Xiulote recalled the bustling market of Tlatelolco, with a slight smile on his face. Then, with a solemn expression, he looked at the book of business taxes received by the priesthood.
"Reformation of religious law, strict investigation of merchant smuggling; centralization of power and restructuring, cutting off the private trade of nobles... Now, the daily amount of business tax in the capital is astonishing. Even if the loss of the tax collector is not included, it is enough to support two teams of eight thousand
Human Legion!”
Shulot secretly marveled. Without the profitless gem trade and the hugely profitable copper trade, the commercial tax of the entire Lake Kingdom would probably not be comparable to that of the alliance capital. Then, he raised his eyebrows and said
After recording the simple figures of the business tax, there is also a line of small text comments.
"Something suspicious here...normal here..."
"This is the assessment after the audit by the senior priests in the priesthood who are good at calculations."
The high priest smiled slightly.
"The commercial taxes on various types of transactions are calculated every 3-4 months. The elders of the high priest group have a rough idea of how much tax collectors in various markets in the capital have embezzled."
Xiuluo nodded. He looked at the registered list of tax collectors and was quickly attracted by some markings. Under the name of the gem trade, there was a tax collector Mace. Every assessment was questionable, but there was never any further processing.
.In the name of the copper trade, there is only one doubt about another tax collector, Ramaque, and behind it is the sacrifice mark of a skull.
"This is..."
"Huh? Oh..."
The high priest took a look and explained calmly.
"Metz is responsible for the gem trade, and he always accepts bribes from merchants. But the amount should not be large, and there has never been any problems. And Lamagui secretly sold a batch of military supplies to the regulated copper trade.
The Mixtecs were sacrificed after being found out... As long as it does not delay the important matter, the high priests do not care about the corruption of the preaching priests. But if they violate the bottom line of the alliance, they will only end up being sacrificed!
"
"Um!"
Shulot lowered his eyes calmly and nodded in agreement.
When the water is clear, there will be no fish. We cannot ask too much from the feudal bureaucracy. In the kingdom's taxation, a loss of 20-30% is common, which is usually divided by the system at all levels. A loss of 40-50%
They will be scolded harshly and should not appear too much. Only if there is more than 50% loss, or if military and national affairs are delayed, they will be held accountable and directly sacrificed to the Lord God!
After reading the alliance documents, Shulot sighed inconspicuously. He stood up and looked at the dark sky. A line of torches appeared from the west of the capital, swaying closer and closer, and hurried towards the temple area.
"The team from the west came directly to the priest's hall."
Shulot watched carefully for a moment, saw the shining cloth-covered copper nails on the bodies of the first few people, and made a positive judgment.
"High Priest, the arrest operation has come to fruition!"
The high priest nodded slightly. He called several priests and moved the books and documents in the main hall back to the confidential side hall. Then, the high priest wore a feather crown, held the staff, and sat upright. Shuluo
The special waiter stood aside and waited quietly.
"God bless you!"
Elder Yazar was covered in blood and wore bronze armor. He strode to the door of the hall and bowed his head in salute. The war stick in his hand hung low, and bright red drops fell, splashing on the stone steps outside the hall, leaving a long trail.
of imprints.
"Dear High Priest, the arrest of Tlacopan State went well!"
Hearing this, Shulot looked sideways. The God of War Elder Yazar was over forty years old, wearing thirty kilograms of armor and holding a several kilograms of war stick. His steps were still vigorous and his movements were steady and powerful. The war priests of the Lord God have always suffered
Professional training, always ready for war. They are all armored warriors who can wear strong and strong swords, and they are by no means weak priests.
"The Lord God bless you! Very good, Elder Yazar, thank you for your hard work!"
The high priest nodded with satisfaction and waved the staff. Several temple warriors stepped forward and helped the elders of the God of War remove the bronze armor and obsidian war sticks. In the priest's hall of the main god, only sacrificial obsidian is usually allowed.
dagger.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! Elder Yazar didn't mind, put on the priest's robe, walked into the hall, and laughed heartily.
"Haha, the high priest's decision was very decisive! More than a dozen of Tlacopan's great nobles, as well as several minor priests, were all wiped out in one sweep! The temple guards suddenly arrived and arrested them quickly, and almost no decent ones were encountered.
Resistance. The great nobles were unprepared and had no time to mobilize the family warriors, so they were captured directly!"
Then, Elder Yazar looked solemn and nodded slightly to Shulot.
"Witness the Lord God! Prince Tlacopan's information is very accurate. These nobles and priests did conspire to assassinate, and the time was set at the wedding ceremony of the chief priest of the Xiulote Sect. Depending on the situation, it didn't take long for them to get together to plot. There were many
The preparations are not complete... As for the specific details of the conspiracy, whether other nobles will be involved, further questioning is needed!"
"The supreme god protects the holy alliance! All blasphemy is revealed in the eyes of God, and there is no escape!"
The high priest spoke in a deep voice. He gave instructions calmly.
"Yazar, hand over the captured noble leaders to the judges of the High Priests. No secret can be hidden under the priest's potion. In addition, send a high-ranking priest to the king's palace to report the latest
The situation. King Avit should send an advisor to participate in the trial of the nobles."
"I obey you, High Priest!"
Elder Yazar nodded respectfully. Then, he hesitated slightly.
"Over there with the elders..."
"Well...the elder is communicating with the gods, don't disturb him easily."
The high priest thought for a moment and then gave instructions in a deep voice.
"When everything is cleared up, I will report back to the elders in person."
"Do your will!"
Thinking of the elder's physical condition, Elder Yazar showed approval. Then, he asked in a deep voice, without concealing his murderous intention.
"High Priest, please leave it to me to handle the subordinate priests who dare to participate in the rebellion!"
"Can."
The high priest glanced at Elder Yazar lightly and nodded calmly.
"When sacrificing priests, do not allow outsiders to participate, which will affect the prestige of the priesthood."
"do not worry!"
Elder Yazar nodded in understanding.
"The majesty of the Lord God must not be compromised in any way!"
"Very good! The glory of the Lord God will surely shine on the earth!"
“Praise the Lord God!”
In the evening darkness, many high-ranking priests prayed loudly together and offered the most sacred praise to the statue of the main god illuminated by fire.
After the evening prayers, the high-ranking priests dispersed. Under the escort of dozens of temple guards, Shulot and the high priest walked down from the high pyramid temple to the nearby high priest's residence.
The night was dark, the firelight dispersed the shadows, and everyone headed home. The high priest looked calm and walked steadily. Although he had been busy for a day, he did not show any fatigue. The supreme power is the best energy potion. It is respected by others and controls everything. It is located in
With over a million people, it is natural to be excited and high-spirited.
Shulot followed his grandfather's footsteps and quietly surveyed the capital city at night. The lights in the civilian area in the distance were dim, while the nearby aristocratic area was bright. The singing of the dinner rang out in the manors on both sides of the main road.
Accompanied by bursts of bamboo flutes, the prosperity and glory of the alliance are sung. The Mexica nobles of this era are full of simple vigor and self-confidence.
The two of them were silent all the way to the high priest's house. The high priest removed the heavy feather stone crown, took off the complicated and gorgeous sacrificial clothes, sat relaxedly cross-legged in the side hall, and took a few long breaths. At this moment, he finally took off his clothes.
He lost the divinity that carried him for a day and became a kind and kind grandfather again, a skinny and vicissitudes of life old man.
Several years later, Shulot looked at his grandfather's white hair and thin body, and felt a sadness in his heart. He called out in a low voice.
"grandfather..."
"Xulot, cough cough... cough cough!"
High Priest Shuter smiled gently and coughed twice. He endured it for a day, but now he couldn't bear it anymore and coughed violently. After a while, he took the honey water hurriedly handed over by his grandson.
After two sips, I felt a little better.
"Ahem...my child, everything I do is for you...I know that you have many questions. There is no one around now, so I just want to talk to you."
Shulot stretched out his hands and grasped his grandfather's thin palm with force. The touch was rough and slightly cold. He looked into his grandfather's eyes sincerely.
"Grandfather, on the way east, I heard complaints from many nobles of the city-states, calling you 'the bloody sunset, the sacrificer of the gods'. I also heard that you issued a decree that exterminated the clan and exiled many nobles and priests...
I didn’t quite believe it at the time.”
After saying this, worry appeared in Shulot's eyes. He gritted his teeth and asked in a deep voice from the bottom of his heart.
"Grandfather! After arriving in the capital, I witnessed with my own eyes how you commanded the whole city from your throne, leading tens of thousands of believers. Your majesty was so majestic that it even surpassed King Avit!... You suppressed the group of priests and elders and issued the decree.
You issued a decree and gave me the right to interpret the scriptures; you mercilessly suppressed many nobles in Tlacopan, and even held the priest families of the western city-state accountable; you also obtained confidential books and allowed me to browse the religion of the high priests.
Classics, and the household registration tribute of the alliance... You once advised me not to rush for a while, but to manage slowly and cultivate the general trend. But now, why are you so sharp and desperate? Why, why are you so anxious?!
"
"Why am I in such a hurry?"
Hearing so many questions, the high priest had already expected it, and his eyes showed relief. Then, a gentle smile appeared on his face, he looked at his grown-up grandson with pity, and said calmly.
"Xulot, my child. Because, my time is running out~"
"ah!!"
Hearing this, Shulot's heart was shaken, and his face turned pale in an instant. He held his grandfather's hand tightly, looked at the kind smile, and said with fear and difficulty.
"No!...Grandpa...you...you won't..."
"My child, everyone has that day."
The high priest calmly took out his hand and gently touched Shulot's cheek.
"The ancestors of the royal family went to the Kingdom of God, the great Montezuma went to the Kingdom of God, and the immortal elders are about to go to the Kingdom of God... Not to mention an ordinary mortal like me? I have already heard the call of the Lord God,
That day is not far away."
"grandfather!"
Shulot lowered his head and couldn't help but his eyes gradually became moist. He lost his mother very early and grew up with heavy memories. In this world, his grandfather who paid attention to him, trained him, and took care of him since childhood was the closest thing to him.
His relatives, even more than his father... At this moment, the young king was in a state of confusion, feeling a fear he had never experienced before, and not knowing how to face it. He gritted his teeth and shouted softly.
"Grandfather, the great Montezuma lived to be seventy-two years old, the immortal elder has lived to be ninety years old, and you are only sixty-two years old... There must be some way to maintain health in the royal family's inheritance... I
Go to the king’s palace tomorrow and ask King Avit for it!”
"Ha ha!"
Hearing this, High Priest Shuter smiled softly, patted his grandson on the shoulder, and shook his head.
"My child, our line in the Holy City is originally a branch of the royal family. Everything is destined by fate, and what secret method is there? The elder's time is running out, and he is about to go to the Kingdom of God. And I don't have much time either.
La...you have to walk the road ahead on your own~"
This chapter has been completed!