Aztec Civilization: Destiny to Conquer America!
Chapter 703 - 370: Kingdom of the Lake, The Operating Military Machine

Chapter 703: Chapter 370: Kingdom of the Lake, The Operating Military Machine

The Kingdom of the Lake was busy yet tranquil during the rainy season. The "Three Sisters" crops thrived in the fields, bolstering each day; meanwhile, farmers busied themselves repairing small canals and draining the lower fields. Without sufficient fertilizer, there was no talk of additional fertilization.

By the end of August, this year’s harvest could almost be confirmed. With plentiful but not excessive rainfall and no lake overflow, the crops were bustling—it would be a bountiful year!

At the Rivermouth stronghold, the Guajili Legion had already been formed. Following Arno’s advice, the king generously rewarded the brave warriors, helping the proud tribal warriors endure the harsh initial training period and gradually adapt to military discipline. Of course, their discipline was far from comparable to that of the Spear Legion, but they could form arrays, obey commands, and would not charge without orders.

Next, Xiulote enfeoffed a batch of seasoned Samurai for the northern campaign to the villages of the Canine Descendants in the east and west. Under various flag teams, new mobilization units at the First Level were added, strengthening the kingdom’s control over the squads. Then, he selected a group of battle-savvy War Priests from the army, along with some naturalized wilderness Priests, to replace the ordinary Priests in the Canine Descendant villages. The fifteen Guajili flag teams were further consolidated.

After inspecting the flag teams, the king confirmed that nearly 60,000 tribe members of the Canine Descendants, who had barely held a hoe, were not fit for farming. In the short term, the fifteen tribal flag teams would exercise more military functions and were not expected to generate much economic income. In other words, as long as each part of the Guajili could sustain itself, pay a symbolic tribute, and produce some leather and feathers, it sufficed to contribute labor in times of war.

The Alliance’s fleet made two more round trips, bringing in large quantities of grain and tin, and taking away armor and copper. Alisa received a letter from the little golden eagle, which delighted her. She had someone bring little Aviloztli over again, and Xiulote threw another yo-yo.

Alisa’s reply was lengthy, filled with many trivial matters, resembling a girl’s diary. In the diary, there was also a cute sketch. The drawing depicted two little figures holding hands, a golden eagle perched on the shoulder of the male figure and a green snake coiling at the feet of the female figure. Both the golden eagle and the green snake held a fish in their beaks.

Xiulote held the letter, caressing it for a long time. He had not seen Alisa for many years, nor had he touched the little green snake. The memories of his youth lingered in the distance, while the young king stood atop the stronghold. He was always clad in armor, a bronze sword forever hanging at his waist, unable to be removed, nor allowed to be.

The Alliance’s Envoy brought greetings from the King and the High Priest. The King requested an increase in gemstones in this year’s tribute, and the High Priest agreed for Olte to serve as the head High Priest of the Otomi. Also accompanying was a top-secret message that the elder was seriously ill and bedridden, and his 90th birthday celebration had not been held as scheduled.

Hearing this, Xiulote felt somewhat dazed. The immortal Sun God had established the Alliance, enduring from the last century to this day, now at the end of another century. Could it be that He was about to be extinguished? No one knew the answer, and the people of Mexica did not wish to know.

August passed in the raindrops, and the fragrant autumn breeze came, turning to September in a blink. The pumpkins in the fields ripened, and farmers began their diligent labor, joy of harvest overflowing everywhere. The Canine Descendants harvested the pumpkins, surprised by the fertility of the soil beneath their feet, finally settling their minds.

The Black Wolf’s Royal Banner finally started its slow journey southward. Mid-September, escorted by six thousand Imperial Guard Legion members, the king returned to the Capital City, having been away for a year and a half.

Compared to his departure, there was an added sense of prosperity in Qinchongcan City, Capital City. The villages of the Capital Region recovered their vitality, and villagers could occasionally enter the city, exchanging surplus farm produce for necessary pottery, stoneware, and textiles. Merchants from all over the world continuously flocked, selling grain, cotton, spices, and feathers from the southern regions, while purchasing the kingdom’s special copper and gemstones.

The tax officials from various regions worked day and night, gathering the taxed goods to the warehouses in the Capital City, waiting for the Preaching Priesthood to tally and allocate. Indeed, the current commercial tax was still levied in kind, supplemented by a small amount of textiles, cocoa, and gold and silver.

Xiulote had considered establishing a clear currency system. However, the tribal structure across the world was too fragmented, gold and silver reserves too abundant, and the number of goods relatively limited. Often, gold and silver could not function as "money". Many tribes, just like the Canine Descendants of the wilderness, accepted only goods like cocoa, salt, food, textiles, and weapons, scoffing at gold and silver which could not be eaten directly. After all, if they wanted these gold or white stones, they could simply mine and refine them themselves, since the mountains were full of them.

It was the gemstones produced by the Kingdom of the Lake, however, due to extremely consistent quality, very vivid colors, and relative rarity, that were becoming the currency unit of many affluent city-states. Of course, once beyond these wealthy city-states, in the poor villages and rural areas, the value of gemstones was still unacknowledged.

Seeing this situation, Xiulote carefully controlled the output of glass gemstones, maintained the market’s credibility and value, and sought to make exorbitant profits from manufacturing "currency". He also continually sent out Royal Family trading caravans, expanding the gemstone trade to farther regions. With ongoing wars, the grain and cotton from various regions were strictly controlled, not to be sold immensely. These gemstones’ greatest value lay in their exchange for slaves.

According to estimates from the Sage Jatili, from the beginning of gemstone trading early last year till this September, the Kingdom had purchased about twenty thousand healthy slaves using manufactured glass gemstones, averaging over a thousand people per month. These slaves were mainly obtained through various means from the southern regions of Mistec, Zapotecs, and Tlapanec.

Tens of thousands of adult male losses had drawn the attention of lords from all around. The Mistec and Zapotecs Alliance in the south respectively issued decrees prohibiting the sale of slaves to the Kingdom of the Lake and dispatched Samurai to patrol and crack down harshly. Although the Tlapanec people, who bordered the kingdom, did not dare to prohibit it openly, they had greatly increased the number of "bandits" who hindered trade. The sources of slaves were gradually drying up unless a new source could be found.

The purchased twenty thousand able-bodied slaves had already been distributed to the military nobility of the kingdom as agricultural slaves. Now, Xiulote’s most troubling issue was the promise of fief granting to the Kingdom Legion.

In the conquest of the west, the Northern Route Army had 2.2 million acres of land granted, requiring 110,000 slaves; the Holy City Legion’s settlement involved 300,000 acres, requiring 15,000 slaves; and the just-concluded northern campaign, which summoned the Otomi Legion, didn’t need slaves, as they were rewarded with the fiefs of three ownerless states. The Imperial Guard Legion still needed 400,000 acres of land, along with 20,000 slaves.

In Rivermouth County, the King had set up a large tent and granted fiefs to a hundred or two hundred veteran Samurai from the Imperial Guards who had been promoted to the military nobility. Then, with five thousand Canine Descendants captives and wild mountain people, he barely finished granting the military awards from the northern campaign. But when he returned to the capital city, and saw the report from the Sage Jatili, his headache intensified once again.

The kingdom had been established for over two years, and the fief granting from the western campaign had been completed long ago, but the number of slaves granted was far from sufficient, and most of the granted lands had been forced to lie fallow. Up to today, there was still a deficit of about 80,000 slaves. Although the King’s prestige was flourishing, and the Samurai revered their leader without many objections, calmly waiting, the King’s credibility was crucial—these gaps had to be filled soon!

And to fill such a huge gap, the only solution was war, war, and continuous war!

"For land and agricultural slaves, the kingdom needs to wage war. And after the victory in war, Samurai continue to be promoted, creating even greater demand and then continuing the war..."

Xiulote stood at the top of the Palace of Wind, looking towards the southwest, in the direction of Qinganbate. The mines there also needed replenishment of manpower to further expand production.

At this moment, thousands of miners were busy day and night, plumes of black smoke rising from there. Numerous copper mines and coal mines were being extracted and then smelted into armor, spears, battle axes, Qin swords, arrowheads, and even bronze cannons! Everything in the kingdom was preparing for military expansion, and only military expansion could solve all the problems of the kingdom!

Thinking thus, Xiulote lowered his gaze, recalling the situation when he had just returned to the capital city. The victory of the northern campaign had greatly uplifted the military nobility. Generals from the capital city had been requesting audiences, while those from other areas continuously sent communications.

The Jingji Legion Commander Olosh suggested expanding the scale of captives in the autumn, thoroughly sweeping the wild tribes around the borders; the Family Head Oorta of the Sky proposed launching a war against the Chapala Lake Region to subdue the Prince with Feathers; the Director of the Mining and Metallurgy Bureau, Necali, suggested campaigning against the southwestern mountains to expand the mining areas; the Second Spear Legion Commander Ezpan spoke of suppressing the rebellious southern nobility, eliminating remnants of the Tarasco Kingdom; the veteran Etalik wrote endorsing the view of Commander Ezpan and provided intelligence on the southern nobility’s manpower and private armies. And before leaving Rivermouth County, the Second Spear Legion Commander Kuluka had tactfully expressed his hope to get His Highness’s permission to completely devour the forest land of the Saka state to the west.

"What kind of military machine have I actually created by hand?"

Xiulote looked up at the sky, where a red falcon in the lake region was soaring with its wings spread. Its gaze was so sharp, its belly so hungry, always in search of new prey!

After a long while, Xiulote walked back to the palace. Bertade followed silently behind until the voice of His Highness was heard.

"Inform the Deputy Director of Weapons, Chalape, and notify the Director of the Bronze Bureau, Tilipi: let them be ready. Two days later, inspect the Sun Divine Eagle Cannon and the Rain God Tiger Squat Cannon!"

"As you command, Your Highness."

Bertade nodded and went off personally. His heart, too, was full of anticipation, yearning for war.