The sun was shining brightly, illuminating the simple tent. The warriors were fighting in silence and guarding the king's residence. The messenger came from a long distance and fell to the ground to report back. The king held the magic staff and stood up.
"Are there thousands more Stek warriors in Xiaoliu Village?"
Shulot unfolded the map and searched in the basin south of Water Valley City. The first thing that caught his eye was the small city of Tlaxcala, eighty miles south, and the city of Itzocan, which was captured by the army. Itzocan, also known as Daolu City.
In the Nahua language, itz is the abbreviation of itztli, which means "flint and knife", while ocan is the transformation of ohtli, which means "path, road". The two together are the "path of flint" and the city of knife.
.As the name suggests, the terrain here is also surrounded by mountains and basins, with undulating hills and rocks.
Seventy miles further southwest along the basin from Daolucheng is the Mountain Pass Fortress Group. This fortress group is also part of the Grand Army Food Road. The Army Food Road runs along the mountains, from Gaoshan City to the southeast.
The mountain pass fortress group then turns northeast along the basin, passes through Daolu City, and then to the foot of Shuigu City.
The total length of the grain road is nearly three hundred miles, and it has to supply 50,000 troops and tens of thousands of prisoners. The militia teams carrying grain, with their heads down and their backs on their backs, work without stopping, maintaining the lifeline of the army.
"Shankou Fortress Group, Daolu City..."
Shulot looked at the rear of the army, the two most critical logistics nodes. Then, he moved his fingers and groped for the basin where Daolu City was located.
There is an obvious mountain passage in the southeast corner of the basin. It winds towards the southeast mountains. After walking a hundred miles on the mountain road, you will arrive at Huejotzingo, the military camp where the Mixtec troops increased their troops.
Village.
"Xiaoliuzhai... Xiaoliu tree..."
Shulot stared at the Mixtec stronghold hidden deep in the mountains and frowned slightly. Then, he looked at the warrior captain.
"Bertard, what's the terrain here?"
"Your Highness, there are large areas of small willow trees growing in Xiaoliu Village. The places where the willow trees grow are mostly muddy and wet swamps. Similar to Mire Marsh Village, the terrain here is also muddy and dangerous. It is difficult to deploy an army, and it is quite easy to defend and difficult to attack.
"
"Haha! Thousands more troops were added to the Quagmire Village, threatening the mountain pass fortress group sixty miles to the north. Thousands more troops were added to Xiaoliu Village, threatening Daolu City a hundred miles north. The Mixtec army was stationed at these two locations.
, are you trying to threaten the army’s food supply?”
Having said this, Shulot showed an angry look on his face and shouted sharply.
"Send legion envoys to two strongholds to rebuke the leaders of the Mixtecs! Ask them if they want to become enemies of the Mexica Alliance and rebel against their suzerains!"
"Yes! Your Highness."
Bertard nodded, immediately wrote two royal orders, summoned two personal envoys, and sent them to the Mixtec tribes in the south. Then, he pondered for a while and said calmly.
"Your Highness, the South Route Army is stationed at the foot of Shuigu City and can rescue the back road at any time. It only takes two or three days to get to Daolu City from here, and it only takes five or six days to get to Yamaguchi Fortress. The Mixtecs are increasing their troops in key areas on the front line.
You may not have the determination and courage to fight the Alliance directly! I’m afraid, more importantly, you have to contain the Alliance’s forces to allow the Tlaxcala people to hold on longer!”
"Um."
Shulot held the scepter in his hand and nodded. He thought about it and gave a few more instructions.
"Increase rear defense. There are 6,000 royal regiments stationed in the Yamaguchi Fortress Group and Daulu City respectively. The Yamaguchi Fortress Group is closer to the rear, and four thousand militiamen will be added to garrison it. As for Daulu City, two thousand militiamen will be added, and we will be more careful.
Southeast Pass.”
As a result, the Yamaguchi Fortress Group has 3,000 samurai and 4,000 militiamen, a total of 7,000 people. Toro Castle has 3,000 samurai and 2,000 militia, a total of 5,000 people. The defenders occupy a favorable location, even if they are thousands of meters away.
If the warriors attack suddenly, they can also defend until the main force arrives.
"Finally, send out elite scouts to find out carefully! How many additional troops did the Mixtecs have? How many warriors and how many militiamen there are!"
"Do your will!"
After arranging the defense, Shulot's expression calmed down a bit. He carefully looked at the situation in the south, murderous intent rising in his heart.
"Bertard, the Mixtecs are hiding in the southeastern mountains and are threatening our food routes at any time."
"Your Highness, the army's food route is relatively stable at present. The defenders everywhere occupy dangerous terrain. It is impossible for the Mixtecs to cut off the food route without dispatching a large army."
"Well, the South Route Army is here. If the Mixtecs dare to move north in a big way, they will be defeated in one fell swoop!"
Shulot was full of confidence in the fighting strength of the main army. But soon, he changed his words and his expression became serious.
"But if the Mixtec army keeps its secrets and neither goes north nor retreats, it will be difficult. They are hidden in the mountains with difficult terrain, making it difficult to conquer. If the army continues to go north, it will take another 120 miles.
Besieging the Tlaxcala people’s four dangerous snake cities... At that time, how can we ensure the safety of our retreat? Are we going to have to keep dividing our troops and garrison them, and be led by the Mixtecs?”
Hearing this, Bertard also frowned.
Although the Mixtecs have not yet raised the flag of rebellion and declared war on the alliance, they are expected to be lenient and must be treated as enemies. There are more than 800,000 people in the five Mixtec countries, and an estimated 20,000 to 30,000 warriors. This place is about 30 meters away
The western ancestral homeland of the Mixtecs, Shanhe City, is only more than 300 miles away. There will be no problem with the opponent's food supply, which is enough to support tens of thousands of troops. And behind the Mixtecs, there is Zapot
Conquer three kingdoms, with a population of 500,000 and about 20,000 warriors.
Of course, the Mixtec and Zapotec tribes are city-state alliances with many internal factions, belonging to different honorable nobles. They do not have a powerful king or big leader. It is impossible for them to assemble warriors until they are at a critical moment of life and death.
Fighting with all their strength.
"Well, the threat of the Mixtecs is always there, and the specific scale cannot be determined yet... It always makes people feel like they have a ray of light on their backs, and they feel uncomfortable!"
"Your Highness, what do you mean?"
"I have an idea, but I haven't made up my mind yet."
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! Shulot pondered for a while and solemnly gave the order.
"Heilang's more than 10,000 people will continue to march 130 miles eastward in the past two days to remove the mountain city on the flanks. The Huashu Army will follow him to suppress the tribes in that area and capture prisoners. The most warriors
, the Yuyan Legion with the stronger combat power will continue to go sixty miles north, go around to the north of Cholula City, block the roads, and plunder the surrounding villages and towns. The Pan Python Legion with the lowest combat power will still stay in the Shuigu City area.
Thoroughly clean up the entire basin."
"As for the Imperial Guards, they will be stationed in Water Valley City to suppress the north and south. I will personally sit here and arrange the spring plowing of Tlaxcala prisoners while working on solving the problems of the Holy City...attacking the various tribes of Tlaxcala
, there is no need to rush. The South Route Army has made a breakthrough, and the North Route Army has more warriors and stronger combat power..."
Shulot paused for a moment and looked towards the mountains to the north. He seemed to be traveling hundreds of miles away and saw the "Evil Commander" of the powerful alliance and the noble royal flag of the Mexica people.
"I think it won't be long before the Northern Route Army will receive good news!"
Bertard nodded and looked north together. At this moment, he was also looking forward to the breakthrough of the Northern Route Army and the climax of the Eastern Expedition.
A few days later, the Mixtec leader replied to the envoy, saying that "the loyal Mixtec tribes have no rebellious intentions, but are just taking precautions to prevent the remnants of the Tlaxcalans from fleeing into the hinterland." However, according to the intelligence of the scouts, they gathered in the south.
The number of Mixtec warriors is still increasing.
In late April, Black Wolf led an army of 10,000 people to march eastward and set out to conquer the mountain city. Eight thousand men of the Yuyan Army went north, looted and blocked the roads. The holy city of Cholula was frightened and once again sent an envoy to Shuigu City to request an audience.
His Highness, Shulot, refused and still refused to receive him.
At the end of April, envoys from the capital in the lake finally detoured from the west. They brought the latest information about the Northern Route Army!
