Clouds covered the sky and the earth, and wind and rain obscured the wilderness. The fleet headed eastward, sailing against the current.
Shulot was sitting cross-legged on the bow of the boat, holding a long obsidian dagger in his arms, which made him feel relaxed. He looked at the mighty river, the ups and downs of the mountains, the green mountains and forests, and the birds returning low. The raindrops were pattering.
The water vapor fell and wet his long hair. The water vapor blurred his vision and made the world become distant.
He was once a passerby who spanned thousands of years, walking alone and silently, wandering in the wild past. Like the lost wild geese, hovering in the unfamiliar sky. He just watched the passage of time, looked down at the majestic mountains and rivers, and felt a free and distant alienation in his heart. That
It is the loneliness of a time traveler.
I don’t know when, maybe because I was tired from flying, the wild geese finally landed gently on the bow of the boat. The young man was no longer free and helpless, but had emotions and concerns in his heart. He had a father and a teacher.
With friends, followers, and a future wife. With a real home, you have a real self.
My hometown is gone, and where the wild geese fall is my hometown. Only when a boy has a loved one can he have a world to protect. With a world to protect, there is an enemy to kill. No matter how brave this enemy is,
A warrior, a noble king, and a fair-skinned colonist.
A year of life and death, a year of battles and fighting. The once soft and kind young traveler transformed into a resolute young warrior. The strength of the warrior comes from his contempt for death, but also from his love for life and serving the people he cares about.
.
While drifting on the bow of the ship, Shulot hugged the long dagger tightly in his arms. He was extremely convinced: "I have integrated into this world."
He continued to look around at the mighty fleet. Thousands of boats were galloping towards the end of the plateau, like a pack of hunting wolves. The warriors were silently gestating murderous intentions, and the archers were wiping their life-stealing weapons. Avit and Aka
Pu is still discussing in a low voice, waiting for the hunt to arrive!
The target of this hunt is a king who can threaten the lives of everyone and can also protect his own power. How should power be used? Shulot already has a clear answer.
Six days have passed since the fleet traveled eastward. During these six days of continuous marching, starting at dawn and resting at dusk, the militiamen and warriors took turns rowing. The army finally entered Tepanica Pampang, the western border of the Mexica Union.
Here, the plateau extends all the way up, and beyond that are the continuous mountains. This is the most difficult position for boating against the current. After passing the high point of the river, you can go down to the fertile and prosperous Mexica Valley.
The army disembarked here and headed northeast to the Xilotepec camp. The boat division then returned to the west to pick up the 10,000 militiamen who remained in the territory of the Otomi people.
Avit sent out scouts who were good at running and ran all the way to the distant villages, looking for the intelligence messenger who had been waiting for a long time. Fourteen thousand warriors lined up in a marching formation, lightly armed and carrying only five days of food, and headed northeast.
They hurried away. Three thousand militiamen followed behind with more food and grass on their backs.
Shulot also walked quickly. After a long period of exercise and a sufficient supply of nutrients, his endurance was comparable to that of an ordinary adult warrior. During the march, he still had enough energy to look at the surrounding farmland. Along the way, the north was
It is the barren wilderness of the Otomi people, and in the south is the sparse fields of the Tarasco people. When you reach the territory of the Mexica city-state, you can see large stretches of connected corn fields.
August is coming to an end, and the corns have already grown tall, as tall as a person. They have received enough rain, and there are slender corn cobs growing between the broad branches and leaves. This is the harvest season. Shulot stopped to look at the fields.
The soil fertility was limited, and the density of corn plants was not high. The corn at this time was smaller than that of later generations, and the grains were not full enough, but the harvest was still abundant, and it was much higher than the wheat commonly grown in Eurasia.
The soybeans are also fully grown, and the pods poke their heads out from between the yellowing branches and leaves. They look curiously at the harvest fields. They are about to mature. And underneath, are the remaining pumpkin leaves. The pumpkins have been growing last month.
During the harvest, they are much smaller than later generations. However, the small pumpkins support farmers through the most difficult season before harvest.
Seeing the stopped boy, Avitt came from behind. He wiped the rain off his face, wiped the mud off his straw sandals, and asked with a smile: "Xulot, what are you looking at?"
The young man smiled slightly, pointed to the harvested fields and said, "The autumn harvest is around the corner. I'm looking at this year's harvest. It's such a good year! This is the foundation of the Mexica Alliance, the great cause of dominating the world."
In the era of classical empires, agriculture was everything, especially in Mesoamerica, which could not import food.
After listening, Avitt also opened a pod, put the black beans into his mouth and tasted it.
"Yes, the black beans are full and the ears of corn are full. It is indeed a good year. Although the war has been going on for more than a year, none of the city-states have excessively recruited militiamen to delay the spring plowing. When this year's autumn harvest is completed and the war stops, the food consumed by this war will also
It can be replenished. After another autumn harvest, we can send out troops again."
Xiulote nodded. This war has consumed too much food for the Mexica people. Even with the abundance of the Texcoco Lake District and the looting of the city of Xilotepec, the city-state's inventory has been consumed for as much as five years.
.The transportation of grain away from rivers is simply a bottomless pit of loss.
"For our next expedition, we must choose an offensive route supported by rivers. I have a perfect target in my mind. Its land has both north and south waterways." The young man looked at his friend seriously.
Avitt nodded in agreement: "It's as I thought. They have no allies to call, so they are the best opponents. It's time for me to settle with my old friends."
After that, the two looked at each other and smiled, regaining their original tacit understanding.
The eagles with spread wings pounce on the grass rats in the mountains and forests, but their eyes are already looking to the future.
After walking for half a day, the scouts finally got on the line with the intelligence personnel. The latest news is that the reinforcements sent by the three cities of the capital to the Xilotepec camp include 8,000 warriors and 16,000 militiamen. Now they are only one day away from the army, and
Chilotepec has two days.
This is almost the largest mobilization of the four direct states. In the huge capital area, there are only two thousand warriors left to guard the capital city in the lake, and another thousand warriors are stationed in Texcoco and Tlacopan.
At this time, night was approaching, and the army set up camp to rest. The warriors recovered their strength and waited for tomorrow's attack. Shulot and Avitt gathered together, and the two carefully calculated the important military forces nearby.
The 50,000 direct warriors of the royal family were scattered everywhere at this time.
Twelve thousand are in Atotonilco in the northeast to guard against the Tlaxcalans, who will be unable to return for a while. There are also three city-state legions there with 24,000 people, half of whom are city-state warriors. Although this force is huge,
But it's far away and won't have much impact on the overall situation.
Four thousand people were directly under the city of Herotepec. After the Otomi attack, it was unknown how many of their casualties there were. There was also a city-state legion stationed together. The riverside camps and food here were very critical.
Ten thousand people are directly in the hands of Avit, and are now completely under control. They are followed by four thousand city-state warriors and three thousand militiamen. The army only has five days of food and grass.
There are still 10,000 people directly in the hands of Tisok, who have been evacuated from the city of Otopan. They are accompanied by 20,000 city-state warriors and 5,000 militiamen. They are currently suffering from supply line interruptions, rainy season marches in the mountains and forests, and Otomi guerrillas.
I was trudging back on the dirt road in the mountains and forests, not knowing the specific situation.
The four thousand Teotihuacan warriors led by Shusok will follow the king closely, and the armies of other city-states are likely to retreat on their own.
Between Otopan and Herotepec, in the mountains and forests for more than two weeks, there are four camps where more than 30,000 militiamen are stationed to transport food. The camps there will have a certain amount of food, and the king who is short of food will definitely
Lead the army to the camp to replenish food and fodder.
Three thousand direct samurai have died in the war against the Otomi people, and there are still three thousand left to guard the three capital cities. Although tens of thousands of militiamen can be mobilized in the three capital cities at any time, they are also far away and have little impact on the overall situation.
The last 8,000 direct warriors are on their way to support the Herotepec camp, with 16,000 militiamen. Among them are already 2,000 family warriors from Avit. This army is the key to changing the situation, and it is close at hand.
At your fingertips.
After the discussion, everyone understood. The commander punched the freehand wooden map, which was the direction of the northeast.
"Start early tomorrow morning and speed up the march. We must seize this unit before sunset in the afternoon!"
