In the dim hall, the torches on the four walls burned slowly, making a faint sound. The windows and doors were closed tightly, and only a little breeze blew from the vents, shaking the red and yellow flames. The flames swayed silently, turning everyone's expressions pale.
The reflection flickers in and out, just like the changing heart of a noble person.
Shulot knelt down and bowed quietly, recalling the shocking glimpse just now.
After not seeing each other for a while, Avitt seems to have changed a lot. His face is as cold and hard as a stone carving, his eyes are as deep as a deep pool, and his aura is majestic and cannot be offended. At this time, the king is sitting high on the throne, alienated from emotions, with a certain kind of god.
The aura is like the eagle flying up to the nine heavens, it can't be more real and ugly.
On the cold throne, Avitt stared at the kneeling young man. His eyes changed slightly, and then he lowered his eyes silently, covering up the ups and downs of emotions. The king's thoughts were racing and he remained silent. Time passed like this, and mountains of gazes focused on the young man.
On the body, there were only the faint breathing of everyone in the empty hall,
After a long time, Avitt's thoughts finally returned from the nine heavens. He smiled slightly and spoke calmly.
"Xulot, my student, sit next to me."
The young man then raised his head and looked at his friend's familiar yet unfamiliar smile. His heart was ups and downs and he stood stunned for a few seconds. Then he lowered his head and came to the throne and sat down quietly.
Looking at Shulot's performance, Avitt's eyes softened slightly. He stretched out his hand out of habit, and then paused in the air. After a few breaths, he continued to put his palm on the young man's hair, feeling the softness of his palm.
The touch becomes messy according to one's own thoughts.
The young man sat quietly. His friend's familiar and friendly movements calmed his mood. He thought about his next words.
Everyone sitting here had sharp eyes and clear minds. Seeing this scene, Gilliam's expression did not change, and Stanley looked envious. The two equally strong middle-aged nobles looked at each other, then each lowered his head and drank from his hands.
Spicy cocoa.
"Xulot, you should have met these two ministers: Iskali from the royal family, and Tepopolo from Tlatelolco."
Avitt's smile flashed away. He retracted his hand again, introduced it majestically, and took hold of the cold staff again.
Hearing this, Shulot looked at the two strong nobles and recalled in his mind that his grandfather had already introduced the details to him.
Iskali is in his forties. He has cold eyes, high cheekbones, sunken temples, and a cold and tough face. In the Nahua language, the meaning of this noble name is the eighteenth month, "
"Moon of the End" can only be used by nobles of the royal family. After hearing the king's introduction, he simply nodded to Xiuluo, and the young man returned the favor with a smile.
Iskali was a great nobleman from the royal family of Tenotichitlan and held jurisdiction over some of the royal warriors. He had always remained neutral during the civil war between the brothers of the two previous kings. When Avit succeeded to the throne, he
As an elder of the royal family, he assisted and became a member of the five-member political group. Behind him were many traditional nobles of the royal family, most of whom were the powerful Vizili Vittel family.
With his grandfather's detailed introduction, Hulot sorted out the royal family's pedigree. Of course, in the Mexica society that advocates martial arts, the age of the royal family is not actually important. Even the illegitimate son of a concubine can inherit as long as he is brave in battle.
distinguished status.
The boy and Avitt share a common royal ancestor, Akama Picchitli.
The royal descendants of Acama Picchitli were divided into two branches. The eldest son, Vizili Vittel, and the second son, Isko Atl, both became the monarchs of Tenotictlan. Moctezuma I was Vizili Vittel.
Their descendants have since firmly grasped the leadership of the alliance.
Xiulote's grandfather, Xiulote, was a descendant of Iscoatel and was relatively young. When Montezuma I was in power, he was enfeoffed to the holy city of Teotihuacan and embarked on the path of a priest. According to
According to the commandments, Shuter cannot leave any legal descendants, so the young man's father is just an illegitimate son.
Avit is the endogamous heir of two royal branches, representing the combination and balance of royal power. His father is Tesosomoc from the Iskoatel line, and his mother is Montezuma.
The eldest daughter of Atotosteli II. Although his parents are close in age, they are uncle and niece.
Therefore, from Avitt's paternal line, he and the boy are close uncle-nephews, and from Avitt's maternal line, they are distantly related brothers. In fact, for the huge royal family, there is not much seniority.
With so many meanings, blood ties cannot withstand the test of power.
In Shlott's heart, Avitt is both a teacher and a good friend, and will also be a close family member. There are layers of ties between the two, and they also share the same ambition. The young man hopes to maintain pure feelings and try his best to leave a
Sincerity, even in the future of flying high.
Thinking of this, the young man sighed inwardly. Then, he saluted Tepopolo, who also formally returned the salute with a kind smile.
Tepopolo is a glorious nobleman from Tlatelolco. Tlatelolco is the northern city of the capital city on the lake and one of the first two cities founded by the Mexicans. Tlatelolco 1
Due to his long-term intermarriage with the capital's royal family, he is extremely close to the royal family in terms of blood and is a powerful representative of the capital's great aristocracy.
Tepopolo owns a large number of fiefdoms, thousands of noble private troops and dependent warriors, and maintains many allies of the great nobles. In the royal civil war last year, he cautiously remained neutral and surrendered as soon as possible.
The victorious King Avite therefore became one of the ministers of the alliance.
Tepopolo is also in his forties. In the Nahua language, his name means "Destroyer, Killer and Butcher". Contrary to his name, he has high eyebrows, a sunken forehead, sharp eyes and a stern face.
Smile, look smart and kind.
After the two of them bowed to each other, Tepopolo smiled gently.
"His Royal Highness the 'God-Enlightened One' is famous and well-known in the alliance. Many nobles and I have admired him for a long time! When we saw him today, he really has an outstanding appearance and an extraordinary temperament. He is truly His Highness bestowed upon the Mexica people by God!"
Hearing these two warm compliments, Iskali raised his eyebrows and looked at him coldly again. Gillim looked at Hulot without moving his expression, Stanley looked dissatisfied, and the king lowered his eyes again.
Shulot was slightly startled. Although the other person had a sincere smile on his face, his intuition told him that these compliments were inappropriate. The young man smiled and nodded, saying nothing. Then, he took two steps and gently picked up the things on the ground.
Under the gaze of everyone, the simple pottery pot returned to his seat with the pottery pot.
Avitt opened his eyes again and looked at the boy calmly.
"Xulot, what's going on with the religious reform ordered by the elders? The Twelve Priests have been making a lot of moves recently, and you haven't come to join the five-person political council."
Under the king, there is a five-member political council, which leads the military and political affairs of the alliance. The five people are the intelligence officer Gillim, the heir Hulot, the military commander Stanley, the royal noble Iskali, and the glorious noble Tepopolo.
Among them, the most trusted position of "Snake Girl" is currently held concurrently by Gillim, and the military command is firmly in the hands of King Avit.
Shulot bowed respectfully in return.
"Dear King, the religious reform is on the right track. The framework of the basic classics has been completed, and the doctrine is gradually being improved. The formulation of new laws has also come to an end. The Commercial Law and the Civilian Law will be announced soon, and the Noble Law will be implemented after trial implementation.
Negotiations will continue. The church has made a series of job-level adjustments, and literacy education will also be gradually promoted."
Hearing that the Nobility Law was about to be tried out, Avitt nodded slightly. The giant bear Stanley didn't care much, he just looked at the boy with concern. Iskali and Tepopolo looked at each other again, and there was no change in their expressions.
. Gilliam sat solemnly in the corner, catching everyone's attention.
"When the basic classics come out, give me a copy to read."
Avitt gave the instructions seriously. Then, he looked at the clay pot in Shulot's hand.
"Xulot, you came here today. Do you have anything to report?"
Shulot nodded seriously. He opened the clay pot in his hand, revealing the crystal clear saltpeter inside.
"Is this...salt?" Stanley asked curiously.
The young man nodded first, then shook his head.
"This is salt that can burn, earth saltpetre. I extracted it from the salt soil in the salt farm."
"Burning salt?" Stanley opened his eyes wide with a look of disbelief.
Shulot nodded solemnly.
"Yes, this salt is very important. Please let me demonstrate it to everyone."
Avitt's eyes fell on the young man's face. He pondered for a moment and nodded slowly.
Gillim then stood up and took the clay pot from the young man's hand. Then he poured out a handful of crystal saltpetre, and with the young man's nervous wave, he took back most of it. Then, at the young man's suggestion, Gillim put on leather armor.
and helmet, and use a torch to light the earth and saltpeter.
In an instant, it shone like a meteor. In the dim hall, the earth and saltpeter burned violently, blooming with bright light, and purple-green smoke suddenly floated up, like the sigh of the land of death, exuding a strange mystery.
On the throne, Avitt couldn't help but lean forward. He was extremely surprised and observed carefully with interest.
Iskali and Tepopolo tilted their heads back at the same time, with uneasiness and fear on their faces. The priest's robe on Shulot's body caught their eyes for the first time, making their hearts change with suspicion, and they fell silent.
Gilliam held his breath, took two steps back, and then gently smelled the pungent smell in the wind. Stanley opened his mouth in shock, and purple-green smoke immediately entered his mouth, and he coughed repeatedly.
Amidst the coughing of the giant bear, Shulot came to the window, pulled aside the curtain of the god, and opened the closed wooden window. In an instant, bright sunlight illuminated the dim hall, and the deep darkness was finally swept away.
And in the sky, the breeze blowing from the garden brings comfortable fragrance and lively voices, taking away the heaviness and depression in the hall.
The young man faced the sunshine with satisfaction and took a deep breath. He turned around and faced the people with different expressions with a smile, confident and sincere.
