Continuous stratus clouds rolled up, and pattering raindrops fell. Moist and warm air currents rose from the distant Caribbean Sea, came all the way to the west, and reached the Mexican plateau at an altitude of 2,000 meters. The eastern sea breeze met the dry and cold mountain breeze.
, begins the long rainy season on the plateau, turning into showers falling from the sky, and the stars fall on the king's tent.
At this time, the rainy season has just arrived, only more than January, and it has not yet reached the peak rainfall season. The king's tent was coated with a layer of rubber and was not wet by the rain. A gust of wind blew down from the ceiling of the tent, shaking the two men.
The feather crest brings the heat and humidity of early summer.
Avitt looked at the rainy sky, with tears still in the corners of his eyes, but he had already emerged from the sadness. The heart of a king is unbreakable and will not be easily shaken. At this moment, he has the ambition to conquer the world in his chest, and a burning fighting spirit in his heart.
, his eyes were filled with murderous intent as cold as ice!
After a while, the king frowned, looked at the rainwater flowing between the tents, and whispered in a deep voice.
"Gillim, the heavy rains in July are coming. The days to attack the city are numbered!..."
Hearing this, Gillim looked solemn and felt awe-inspiring. He was familiar with the climate of the Tlaxcala Basin and naturally knew the king's unfulfilled intentions.
The Tlaxcala Basin is adjacent to the Texcoco Lake area and has a very similar climate. They are both located near the annual 1000 mm precipitation line, and the precipitation is similar to that between the Huaihe River and the Yangtze River in China. The rainy season here is concentrated throughout the year.
Most of the precipitation starts from the spring plowing in May and lasts until the autumn harvest in October, which is a complete period of rain and heat.
Throughout the hot and humid rainy season, if there are no dry stone granaries, the stored grain will easily deteriorate, and transportation losses will also increase. The maintenance of large army grain roads will gradually become costly and consume huge amounts of money. And in July and August
During the peak season, continuous rain will fall from the sky, making the ground muddy and the walls slippery. Sieges and fighting will become extremely difficult, and bows, arrows and artillery will not be used...
In other words, there are only more than twenty days left for the North Army to attack the three Snake Cities. Then, during the two months of the rainy season, when the rainy season is at its peak, any large-scale military operations on the North and South routes of the Alliance will be suspended.
Next. It is best for each legion to be stationed in the city or in a strong camp, with special barns to store food. Only in mid-September, when the rain gradually harvests and the number of sunny days increases, can the siege be organized again.
"Your Majesty! The people of Tlaxcala defended the three cities and resisted to the end. They occupied the city walls and the favorable location, and the food supplies for the defense of the city were sufficient. It was difficult to plot in a hurry..."
Gillim saluted solemnly and warned in a deep voice. He planned the battle on the northern route day and night, and had a deep understanding of the situation in the three snake cities. At this time, the chief intelligence officer was sitting at attention, and said that he had already made a complete plan.
"The four states of Tlaxcala have a total population of 400,000, about more than 100,000 people. The state of Tlaxcala, where the Four Snakes City is located, is the most important and is the core of the entire four-state alliance. Facing the attack of the northern army, the rest
From the three countries, one or two thousand tribal warriors came to support us."
"The alliance went south from Hot Spring City and conquered Feathered Serpent City. They captured warriors and militiamen, totaling more than 10,000 soldiers. Then four legions were dispatched to clean up for a month, capturing 20,000 soldiers and killing 30,000 soldiers, totaling more than 50,000 soldiers.
Ding. Counting the Tlaxcala tribe that fled all over the country, there are at most 30,000 Dings left in the remaining three snake cities!"
Hearing this, Avitt nodded slowly. Both of them were experienced in the military and were familiar with the system of tribal alliances. Although these figures are estimates, they are generally not very different from reality.
"Your Majesty, among the three cities, Yunshe Mountain City is the most dangerous and has the smallest area. Such a fortress mountain city cannot contain too many people. The mountain road for attack is narrow and does not require too many people to defend. The scouts have repeatedly spied on it.
Got some information..."
Gillim pondered for a moment, reached out from his arms, took out a roll of papyrus, and carefully unfolded it in front of the king. It was a simplified map of Yunshe Mountain City.
"Yunshe Mountain City plus several surrounding mountain camps have about five to six thousand people, half of whom are warriors and half of whom are militiamen. Counting the old and weak family members of the nobles and warriors, the number should be over ten thousand. And the mountain city
To the south is the main mountain road, and to the north are several bird and animal trails that lead into the vast mountains. There are also several springs in the mountain city, as well as some barren thin fields where pumpkins can be grown to satisfy the hunger... As for the food stored in the mountain city,
It should be at least a year. And if they abandon the old and the weak, they can last longer..."
Hearing this, Avitt frowned, his face sinking like water. He had seen with his own eyes that the terrain of Yunshe Mountain City was truly dangerous and high-altitude, and could not be conquered by manpower.
"Gillim, you just said that the bird and animal trails on the north side..."
"Your Majesty, the people of Tlaxcala have been in business for a long time and have been careful for a long time. These trails can only be walked by one or two people at a time. It is easy to go down but difficult to climb up."
Gillim shook his head and said sincerely.
"Yunshe Mountain City can only be besieged, not stormed... This mountain city is even more dangerous than Otopan Mountain City!"
"Otopan Mountain City...Brother Tisok..."
Avitt looked solemn and horrified. Tisok stormed the mountain city of Otopan and lost the warriors. He then laid siege to the city for a long time. The morale of the army was shaken and they refused to retreat. In the end, the futile siege and long siege left tens of thousands of warriors.
Complaints abounded, and each legion was rebellious, giving him a chance to make a desperate move!
"The lynx in front has fallen into a trap, and the tiger behind must be careful to avoid...Besieging a mountain city requires plenty of patience and time, but it does not require so many legions..."
Gilliam waited for a moment, until the king looked at him after thinking, and then he continued to speak.
"Among the three cities, White Snake Qiu City is half on the mountain and half on the wilderness. It is located on a hill. The fields to the south of Qiu City are all farmland, and in the mountains to the north, there are several dangerous camps. The area of White Snake Qiu City is slightly smaller.
It is large, and including the garrison in the camp, it is estimated that there are 8,000 to 10,000 men, equally divided between warriors and militiamen. Counting the old, weak, women and children, there are estimated to be 15,000 people in Qiu City, and the food storage should be one year."
"Hmm... In White Snake Qiu City, bows and arrows and catapults are not easy to use. But the condor cannon with the longest range can hit the top of the city!..."
Avitt thought for a moment and asked in a deep voice.
"Gillim, how is the imitation of the condor cannon from the Lake Kingdom? If there are dozens of condor cannons, it will not be difficult to defeat White Snake Hill City!"
"The Royal Family, it is difficult to imitate the Condor Cannon..."
Gillim pursed his lips and bowed to the ground in apology.
"The craftsman camp in the capital has been trial-producing for nearly a year, with more than a hundred clay molds, and only four or five cannons have been used... Maybe we can recruit another batch of condor cannons from the Kingdom in the Lake..."
"It's been nearly a year, and only four or five doors have been surveyed?"
Hearing this, Avitt looked slightly angry and shouted in a deep voice.
"Forging cannons is a major event for the alliance! If a supervisor fails to do the job well and is corrupt and delays the work, he will be sacrificed to the Lord God!"
Then, the king's eyes moved and he asked coldly.
"There are so few cannons cast. Do the cannon-casting craftsmen who came from the kingdom to give guidance intentionally hide their secrets?"
"...There is no hidden secret. Even in the Kingdom of the Lake, it is difficult to make cannons. Often one of the ten can be used, which can be regarded as a blessing from the Lord God."
Gillim bowed to the ground and saluted, his mind was spinning, and he did not tell any lies on this matter. Facing the king who was loyal to him wholeheartedly, he would never lie or conceal anything, and that was why he was able to gain the king's trust.
"Well... we must strictly supervise and let the craftsmen camp and cast as soon as possible!"
Avitt lowered his eyes and nodded. He thought about it and gave his instructions carefully.
"The Kingdom in the Lake is a long way away, thousands of miles away from here. The Condor Cannon is very heavy and difficult to transport. I'm afraid we won't be able to catch up... so I asked the craftsman camp in the capital to send the newly cast Condor Cannon as soon as possible.
It would be good to have one more gate when attacking a city!"
"Do your will!"
Gillim responded respectfully. Then, he looked to the southwest and talked about the last towering tree snake city.
"Among the three cities, Tree Snake City is the most prosperous and vast. It is the strongest and has the highest status among the four Snake Cities. In a certain way, it can also be regarded as the capital of the Tlaxcala people..."
"Shushe City faces a river to the north, and the other three sides are fields, making it easier to attack the city. The garrison in the city is estimated to be 15,000 men, plus thousands of family members, about 20,000 people. As for storing food, the nobles of Shushe City
A lot of money has been invested in growing grain and carrying out spring plowing, but we are unable to leave the city for autumn harvest... It is estimated that it will only last for more than eight months, at most until next spring."
"Until next spring?"
Avitt raised the corners of his mouth, shook his head and laughed. Then, he touched his chin and listened to Gillim's plan while thinking carefully.
"The royal family, if you want to conquer the three cities that support each other, don't be in a hurry! You should first attack the difficult and then the easy. First attack the Tree Snake City, then defeat the White Snake City, and finally besiege the Cloud Snake City."
Gillim took out the map, stretched out his hand to point at the three snake cities one after another, and explained his sound strategy.
"The army of the North Route established a strong camp outside the three cities, completely blocked the surrounding passages, blocked the mountain paths and apertures, and deployed each legion in turn. When the rainy season gradually subsides in September and the South Route legion moves north, they can begin to attack the city.
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"Drive the surrendering troops and militia to consume the defenders' stones, wood, ash bottles, bows, arrows and spears. Use trebuchets, condor cannons and crossbows to consume the opponent's elite warriors and lower the morale of the defenders. Then,
The warriors of the city-state are thrown into the fight until the people of Tlaxcala are short of supplies, their elites are lost, their morale is low, and they are completely exhausted. Then they can send the armored guards of the kingdom to the top of the city and conquer it with one attack!..."
Avitt narrowed his eyes with cold eyes, listening to the chief intelligence officer's narration, and looking at the map of the Tlaxcala Basin. Various complex thoughts gathered in his mind, including not only bloody fights, but also non-bloody ones.
Machiavellian tactics, and politics that turned a blind eye to the bloodshed. After a while, the cold king shook his head and answered in a deep voice.
"No, Gillim, I can't wait that long! Within twenty days, I will take down the Tree Snake City and capture the capital of the Tlaxcalans!"
This chapter has been completed!