Bab 11: Chapter 11 The Army
The early summer sun was already quite intense, and the moist wind blowing past Lake Haltocan seemed to carry the scent of the approaching rainy season.
Xiulote followed his father, who in turn followed his grandfather. The High Priest stood at the forefront, cloaked in formal sacrificial vestments. Nobles and priests thronged around, their bright feathers merging together and their gold and silver ornaments dazzling brilliantly. Everyone was dressed in their most formal, most vibrant, and heaviest attire, waiting outside the southern gate of the City-State for the arrival of the king's grand army.
Xiulote too had been forced to wear a blue feathered High Priest's crown, its long feathers elegantly curving above his head, making him appear half a meter taller.
If it were a warrior's feather crown, the feathers could be inserted upside down and hang down the back to facilitate battle. Fortunately, the crown he had chosen was relatively simple, without any gemstones or gold and silver inlays, making it tolerably heavy. The feathers around it tickled his face, prompting him to quickly leave the crowd and sneeze on the side.
"What use are these feathers? Wearing them on the head makes one look like a bird," Xiulote complained softly under his breath. Indeed, historical texts had mentioned that the Indians never understood why the colonizers coveted merely lustrous gold and silver and not the more precious feathers.
"Feathers are gifts bestowed by the divine spirits and are also the offerings beloved by them. The more magnificent and elongated the feathers, the more they symbolize honor and sanctity," Acap chimed in with a smile as he appeared from the side.
"It is said that the twin brother of the God of Death Xiulotel, the Feathered Serpent Divine Quetzalcoatl, possesses the most beautiful feathers in the world. He uses these feathers to control hurricanes, driving his immense serpentine body into the waters of the East, where he sleeps where the sun rises. One day, He will awaken and return from the waters of the East, bringing peace and prosperity to the world."
"Is the Feathered Serpent a flying feathered snake?" Xiulote asked, his curiosity piqued.
"This is the conclusion drawn by the priests of the City-State from the ancient murals in the Holy City of Teotihuacan," Acap said after a moment of thought.
"But in the murals of the Great Temple of Tenochtitlan, the Feathered Serpent appears as a tall, white-skinned man with a large beard. He was defeated and exiled by the other divine beings and sailed to the mysterious East, to Tlapallan, promising his return."
"Damn white-skinned, big-bearded deity," Xiulote expressed strong disdain for this myth. One day in the future, the Spanish colonizer Hernan Cortes would exploit this myth to successfully rally the first group of Nava guides and establish his leadership over the Tlaxcala servant army.
Then, on the day the Feathered Serpent promised to return, pretending to be the Feathered Serpent, he was welcomed into the capital city of Tenochtitlan with divine honors by Montezuma II. He deceived and captured Montezuma II, then massacred the priests and nobility in the Great Temple, destroying the imperial power center in one fell swoop, and leaving behind countless smallpox-infected garments as he fled.
The smallpox spread rapidly through the densely populated capital, and the Mexica, unprepared and deprived of an effective organization to handle the epidemic, could no longer control it. The disease directly destroyed the core ruling group of the empire and killed eighty percent of the population.
The City-State Alliance was subsequently dissolved, headless and leaderless. Two years later, during the second siege, the chaotic capital was conquered by the conquerors and the Tlaxcala servant army, marking the fall of the Aztec civilization.
What followed was Tarasco, the Mixtec, the Zapotecs, the Maya, and all of Central America. The returned "Feathered Serpent" brought only death and destruction.
"Disease, myths, servants, cavalry, warships." Xiulote counted off on his fingers, "The five weapons of the colonizers in conquering the New World. One by one, let's eliminate potential servants first, then reform the religion."
The youth was once again caught up in dreams beyond his reach until Acap patted his shoulder. "Look to the south."
Xiulote looked southward, where a magnificent army appeared at the horizon, with throngs of people stretching across the sky, their red battle robes soaking the clouds. That was the color of cochineal, a dyestuff Tribute from the Royal City. After a full month, Xiulote finally saw the imperial army.
King Tizoc first mobilized at the capital's tri-city area, assembling ten Xiquipillies, that is, eight thousand-man legions, into a royal army group, half of which were elite units from the City-States, including as many as two thousand Jaguar and Eagle Warriors. It was an army that no City-State could confront.
The grand army displayed the new king's awe-inspiring authority, first marching west for a week to intimidate Tarasco and the cities to the west, gathering the Allied Forces from various states.
The army from Tepanecapan was the first to join, followed by those from Tollocan and Tzalko, successively adding five eight-thousand-man legions. The grand army then turned southeast for ten days, passing through Cuauhnahuac and Xochipeople, adding two more eight-thousand-man legions.
The troops then stayed for two days, meeting with the leaders of the Qontal people and concurrently intimidating the southern border of the Tlaxcallans, causing a wave of villagers to flee inland. Finally, the grand army turned north, marching for a week, pulling another three eight-thousand-man legions from the rich Tzalko. Among these subsequently joined City-State armies, the ratio of elite units was slightly lower, about two-fifths.
At that moment, an army of twenty legions, a vast and overwhelming force that covered the sky and shadowed the sun, marched north, arriving at the ancient city of Teotihuacan, which was merely a three-day straight-line distance from the capital city. It astonishingly included over seventy thousand samurai! This was the power that intimidated all the tribes of Mexica.
"As time advances our state and the Heaven above bless its offspring, so rightly we must follow the order. Speak lightly of threats, and none shall stand unshaken." Watching the magnificent army that was gradually advancing and now filled the entire field of vision, Xiulote involuntarily recited an ancient passage.
"What are you saying?" Acap asked curiously.
"I am saying that seeing the great army of the King, I am much amazed," Xiulote made a gesture of astonishment. "It seems the King is not in a hurry to punish the Otomi people, but primarily to inspect each city, declaring his majesty."
"You speak truly," Acap said, laughing as he clasped Xiulote's shoulder.
"Every city-state is a descendant of the Heavenly Divine, autonomously deciding matters within dozens of miles. Although the King is the leader of the alliance, he cannot directly command the military and administrative affairs of the city-states, nor can he fully control the Great Nobility of the capital. To make the city-states obey, one must rely on the military power and the monarch's prestige of the capital, as well as blood relationships like ours from this city-state."
"Thus, the first task for a new king is to establish his prestige in the hearts of the city-states. Firstly, by gathering a large army, then inspecting each state, and simultaneously meeting tributes, while also intimidating rivals. Conquering enemies and sacrificing them is the final step to declare his majesty."
"Kill a turkey to frighten a troop of monkeys," Xiulote thought of a familiar idiom.
"Turkey, monkeys?" Acap paused, then burst into loud laughter, "That analogy is so interesting."
Acap then lowered his voice, looked around, and whispered with a chuckle, "If we compare the city-states to monkeys, then the king who occupies the capital is the Monkey King. Only when the Monkey King is strong enough can he command the nearby monkeys."
"From that perspective, if a monkey strays too far, it becomes a wild monkey, or a group of wild monkeys, needing a regular beating, to ensure timely delivery of the fruits."
"Right. However, the Otomi people are neither monkeys of the same kind nor foolish turkeys. They are cunning earth dogs. As soon as things look bad, they will hide themselves in burrows."
As they were talking, the vanguard of the army had already arrived forcefully. Four elite groups of eight thousand each passed through the southern road, then set up camp by Lake Haltocan.
Over thirty thousand warriors of various ranks clustered together, forming a moving sea of red and black pointed hats and yellow beast helmets, the obsidian war clubs reflecting a sea of light. The camp was bustling with voices, faces eager and confident, infected by the group's power, at the peak of morale.
On the lake, thousands of dugout canoes carrying food sailed from the capital area of Lake Texcoco. Ten years of food reserves were utilized, ensuring the troops were well supplied.
Then, an entire legion of veteran warriors, marching in the most organized formation Xiulote had ever seen in his life, approached silently. All in leather armor, carrying javelins in their backs, one thousand Jaguar warriors, one thousand Eagle warriors, and six thousand Fourth Level warriors. No words were needed, their relaxed yet always ready-to-fight demeanor proved this was the core force of the Empire.
Xiulote and Acap fell silent. In the presence of absolute power, even the most fearless words felt weak and ineffectual. Xiuxoke strode over in two steps, pulling Xiulote back into line, clearly the King would not stray far from his trump cards. Xiulote noticed that Xiuxoke also had a solemn and somewhat tense physique.
Following the most powerful legion in Central America, the royal litter of Tratuoani Tizoc, guarded by five hundred "hairshearers", processed slowly. These guards, resembling Xiongnu, had shaven most of their hair, leaving only a patch on the top and sides of their skulls. Dressed in green, thick cotton armor, draped in net-like cloaks studded with flags depicting abstract symbols of the Sun God.
Xiulote simply perceived them as Imperial Guards, appearing very strong in combat.
Regrettably, at this time in America, there were no suitable camel beasts, and there was no hope for ox carts, horse carts, or elephant carts. The divine lineage of Tizoc could only sit on a shoulder-carried litter borne by dozens of people, dressed in a white robe adorned with red patterns, wearing a white skull-shaped helmet, very conspicuous, its helmet also featuring green long feathers. This imagery, derived from ancient legends of powerful Evil Spirits.
Behind the shoulder litter, a row of feathered flags fluttered high, equally striking, with various pictographs painted on them. Xiulote was struggling to discern the sun, cactus, eagle, serpent, lake, and giants depicted, when an envoy hurriedly approached.
"The supreme Sun God, War God, Guardian God Huitzilopochtli's descendant, ruler of Tenochtitlan in the Lake Region, the great and glorious Tratoani Tizoc, wants to meet with his kindred, the ancient and holy city manager of Teotihuacan, High Priest Xutel!"
Hadiah
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