บท 17: Chapter 17 Pre-War
Mexico's rainy season began gently, like an unripe girl. The sun hid behind thin clouds, painting the sky a light golden yellow. A continuous drizzle fell in the faint sunlight, soaking the trees and grass until they dripped with verdant vitality.
The mist by the riverbanks wove a hazy veil of smoke, as several small boats sailed through the rain, creating gentle ripples on the river's surface. Seeing this scene, Xiulote couldn't help but reminisce and miss the distant water towns of Jiangnan.
It had been two weeks since the meeting with the envoy from Xilotepec City-State. Although the Chief Commander had made a harsh declaration, it would still be a year before it could be realized. The nobility of Xilotepec still had time to hesitate, argue and hope for reinforcements from their western allies, uncertain of their arrival.
At this moment, he was in the forest by the river, directing some woodworkers and laborers, struggling to chop down the tough yellow rosewood with their crude stone axes.
This species of convex-shaped yellow rosewood was an exceptionally fine redwood that could grow twenty to twenty-five meters tall, with a hard texture, beautiful grain, clear tone, and a faint fragrance.
It was generally used for making high-grade guitars and furniture, and in later times, was worth its weight in gold. Now, Xiulote planned to use it to construct catapults.
With the help of experienced woodworkers, he had completed the design of a human-powered catapult: it was a fixed trapezoidal frame, four to five meters tall, roughly the height of a wall. There was a long, lever-like catapult arm, tentatively set at eight meters in length, with a sling attached to the top and ropes for pulling at the bottom. A cross-beam was placed on the frame, and it was tied to the middle of the catapult beam and two meters from the base of the catapult arm with sisal ropes.
When the catapult operator pulled the ropes, the two-meter short arm would drive the six-meter long arm, the crossbeam would remain stable while rotating on the frame, and the rocks placed at the top would be launched in a parabolic trajectory, striking distant cities.
However, when trying to turn the design into a physical object, Xiulote faced his first problem: the crossbeam and catapult arm bore too much stress and were prone to breaking.
Not understanding the techniques for reinforcing connections in wood or the methods for hardening wood, Xiulote could only think of a simple and rough idea: to use the best wood. The woodworkers thus recommended yellow rosewood.
Chopping such a hard wood with a stone axe was like sawing a tree with a pocket knife. So an hour later, when Aweit found Xiulote, he was still sitting on a rock by the river, boredly watching the laborers work.
"Can you get me a few bronze axes?"
"For such excellent equipment, you'll have to ask the Tonsured Guard to borrow it, they're currently the only ones that have them in the camp. Of course, that's if they're willing to lend them to you."
"Then I might as well ask the King." Thinking about the stern-faced Totec with his tonsured hair and tattooed face, Xiulote felt a great pressure. "At least the King seems much easier to talk to."
Aweit chuckled without commenting. "I came to see you on important business today. Put aside your big toy for now. There's a battle coming in the next few days, and I've applied to the King to take you to observe it. We need to leave tonight."
"What battle? Wait, what toy? I'm creating a catapult, a revolutionary weapon."
"An ambush on the Otomi people. The first batch of twenty-thousand reinforcements from Otapan has been on the move for a week and will soon be within the range of the elite troops' ambush. Surpassing the era? Wait until your toy becomes a usable weapon before you say that."
"When did the legion set up the ambush?" Xiulote thought and then said, "You mean the group of warriors that disappeared a few days ago?"
"Eh, when did you see that? Seems like that army's movements aren't very discreet."
"Alright, I'll go. But why the sudden impulse to take me to see a battle? ...Aweit, it's you who wants to join the fight, right?"
Aweit laughed without answering.
"Don't stop, you all must cut down the yellow rosewood trees within these two days…"
After shedding his priestly robes, Xiulote donned green leather armor and a battle robe, his entire persona radiating vigor, with the delicate features of his face gradually revealing a resilience in its lines.
After taking some rest and making preparations at the camp, accompanied by a retinue of about a hundred escorts, the two of them bypassed the city and headed west through the forest from the north.
Marching in the mountainous rainforest during the rainy season was arduous. Xiulote struggled through the soft, humus-rich soil underfoot, with no glimpse of the sky above and tangled roots beneath his feet, soaked through by the rain.
However, such difficulties were nothing compared to those in the tropical rainforests of the northeast or southeast plains. The rainforest in the rainy season was a nightmare for large-scale military marches, with swamps, poisonous creatures, miasmas, and water sources all representing unavoidable deaths.
After marching for two days, on the morning of the third day, they finally reached the ambush legion's camp, a small plateau behind a hill.
The camp was orderly and quiet, and Xiulote occasionally saw Jaguar Warriors wearing tiger head feathered helmets, donning yellow-patterned leather armor, and carrying shields and war clubs.
Aweit led Xiulote into the central large tent, where the Commander-in-Chief that Xiulote had seen before was present, one of the commanders draped in a Sun Stone cloak, with the image of a war club behind him.
"Casal," Aweit greeted the commander warmly, "How is the situation with the enemy?"
Casal just nodded with a faint smile, "Twenty thousand, from Otapan. Five thousand are City-State Warriors, the other fifteen thousand are conscripted Village Warriors."
"Only five thousand warriors? What good is so few men for reinforcement?"
"This reinforcement is merely a gesture. They march very slowly, only covering about a dozen miles a day, and with scouts posted far out, they spend most of their time waiting for scout reports. Their resolve for battle is very questionable. I estimate that as soon as they see that the situation is unfavorable, they will retreat."
"On their familiar terrain, fully-armed warriors certainly cannot catch these mountain folk," nodded Aweit, "So what's your plan?"
"We have eight thousand warriors. I plan to divide our forces into three groups and take the initiative to strike. Now that you're here, I'll entrust four thousand warriors to you to attract attention at the front. Once the battle begins, Balda will lead two thousand warriors in an attack from the left flank. And I will take five hundred Jaguar elites and fifteen hundred warriors to circle around and strike from the rear," Casal said, punctuating his words with a forceful punch of his fist.
A robust warrior beside them smiled at Aweit; this was Balda, identifiable by the patterns on his helmet and leather armor, presumably a hereditary noble from the Eagle Warrior Group.
Eight thousand against twenty thousand and still dividing their forces into three separate attacks at different times? Xiulote was full of questions, but seeing the confident expressions of the commanders in the tent, he temporarily put aside his doubts.
Returning to their own tents, the warriors rested early, conserving their energy for the next day's battle.
Lying on an officer's straw bed, the tips of the grass carried a natural scent, slightly prickly. This type of bed was already much more comfortable than the ground bedding of the common soldiers. Xiulote raised his concerns with Aweit.
"The fighting strength of an army isn't absolutely related to its numbers," Aweit replied with a light chuckle, "It depends on specific battle terrain and scenarios, as well as stamina consumption."
"For example, a Jaguar Warrior, before exhausting his stamina, can easily take on three regular warriors or ten Village Warriors, especially on narrow terrain. But in siege battles, he counts as no more than an ordinary Village Warrior, because a single stone thrown by a Village Warrior can kill him."
"And a Village stone-thrower, in close combat, is only worth half a Village Warrior. If given enough time to throw stones, he can be equivalent to a regular warrior. Once holding advantageous terrain, in mountain warfare or defending a city, he can inflict greater damage with his elevated position than even a Jaguar Warrior."
"The ones worth paying attention to are the five thousand City-State Warriors on the other side. On a large open battlefield, the Village Warriors are mostly there to maintain the line or to deplete the enemy's throwing spears and stones. Their crude stone and wooden spears limit the damage they can do to Armored Warriors, and their sparse shields and armor make them more vulnerable. Low morale makes them more likely to break."
"Actually, it's the warriors, only the warriors are the core of a city-state! Tomorrow's battle won't be difficult. It's a good chance for you to see the world. Xiulote, sleep at ease~~"
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