Aztec Civilization: Destiny to Conquer America!
Chapter 726 - 390: Royal Banner Marches South and the Religious Trial

Chapter 726: Chapter 390: Royal Banner Marches South and the Religious Trial

The wind whistled fiercely, and the Wolf Banner fluttered triumphantly. Seven thousand Imperial Guard Legion marched southward from Otto City, carrying the power to suppress all unrest. The samurai clad in heavy armor along with their copper cannons, the legion could only advance thirty li per day. It took Xiulote four days to reach the fief of the Crow Family. A thousand troops from the Jingji Legion had already stationed at the Crow Manor, taking over every aspect of the fief.

Old Crow Xiteli, along with his clansmen, knelt at the entrance of the manor to welcome the arrival of His Majesty’s banner.

He hurried along, slowly and steadily, and finally made it back to Crow Manor just before the Mexica samurai launched their attack. After reading the secret letter, he slapped his foolish eldest son to the ground with a smack and cursed loudly.

"Told you to learn your letters! Told you to learn your letters! You almost doomed our family, you fool!"

That very night, the Crow Family surrendered to Olosh, the Legion Commander, handing over their entire lands and a population of over ten thousand, along with a secret letter from the Zicao Family. Olosh left a thousand samurai to wait for His Majesty and continued southward to support Kulamo City.

Xiulote stayed one day in Crow Manor and met with the old clan leader of the Crows. The King expressed great pleasure over Old Crow’s submissive decision. In the entire Zicao County, only three noble families, each controlling over ten thousand subjects, achieved the glory of nobility. Both the Palm and the Zicao families had subsequently rebelled, leaving only the Crow Family to obey the decree and surrender their lands.

After pondering for half a day, Xiulote decided to set up the Crow Family as a model. After handing over 200,000 mu of their lands, they would be re-granted 20,000 mu reserved for the Zicao family in the state of Guamare and allowed to retain 1,000 subjects.

Old Crow repeatedly kowtowed, his tears of gratitude mixed with bittersweet joy. The lands and subjects assigned by the kingdom were directly doubled, reducing the reduction from 95% to 90%.

"...still better than the already extinct Zicao family and the soon-to-be-extinct Palm family!"

Old Crow thought thus. In such tumultuous times, mere survival was not easy. Next, his real task was to hinge closely on the wings of the kingdom, soaring high with the Divine Eagle...

After dealing with the Crow Family, the seven thousand Imperial Guard Legion proceeded southward and arrived at Kulamo City three days later. By then, the rebellion in Kulamo City had been quelled, leaving behind unerased traces of blood. The banner of the Chief Divine fluttered again over the city walls, and the patrolling Mexica Samurai controlled the entire city. Thousands of rebellious civilians were captured and concentrated in the north end of the city for guarding.

Jaguar Olosh and the veteran Etalik met and divided their responsibilities. Olosh stayed in the military camp outside the city, commanding the Jingji Legion and taking over all the noble lands around Kulamo. Etalik stayed inside the Temple Pyramid in the city, calming the city’s order.

His Majesty’s Royal Banner stayed at the military camp outside the city for one day. Olosh reported the latest developments.

After extinguishing the Zicao Family, the Jingji Legion split into several teams, sweeping across the north coast of the Atoyac Lake. Where the king’s forces went, the southern nobles all bowed their heads in submission, handing over lands and subjects. The Jingji Legion proceeded east to the easternmost boundary of the Atoyac Lake and west to meet with the Second Spear Legion from Ezpan. In just a few days, the plains along the north shore of the lake stretching over a hundred li, plus over ten noble fiefs including Kulamo City... The eastern part of Zicao County, with over seventy thousand people, was now under the control of the royal forces.

Xiulote nodded in satisfaction. He had brought along artillery as he traveled south, yet there hadn’t been a chance to use them. The rebellion in the east had risen and been extinguished abruptly; the flames had barely sparked before they were rapidly suppressed by the army of samurai. He praised Olosh a few times and then enjoyed a merry drink with his former teacher.

The next day at noon, the Imperial Guard Legion, escorting the Royal Banner, entered the city of Zicao County, while the Artillery Camp remained outside the city. The old general Etalik led His Majesty into the city while recounting the beginning and end of the rebellion in Kulamo City.

"Are you saying that two thousand militia members in the city, along with several thousand robust subjects, all joined the rebellion? Were they coerced or did they volunteer?"

Xiulote paused in his steps, gazing at the deserted streets along the way. The streets were only occupied by the solemnly vigilant samurai and the scattered residents hiding in their homes.

"There was coercion, but more volunteered,"

Etalik spoke gravely.

"The Zicao Family shouted stirring slogans, saying His Highness was assassinated and there were mutinies in various legions. They wanted to restore the tri-god faith and rebuild the Tarasco Kingdom. After the restoration, all participants were promised great rewards!"

Xiulote remained silent in contemplation. After a while, he firmly spoke.

"Zicao County harbors too many remnants of the old dynasty. This purge should improve things significantly. Priests from the kingdom have already headed south, taking over the recaptured noble lands, organizing households, and spreading the faith of the Chief Divine. Once the old nobility are relocated north across the Lerma River, the entire Zicao County will be directly governed by the kingdom. By next autumn’s harvest at the latest, public sentiment should have greatly improved!"

"Your Highness is merciful!"

Etalik bowed deeply. Then, with a serious expression, he offered his advice.

"However, open rebellion in Kulamo City must not go unpunished. Only by ingraining fear into the bones of the southern people can the spread of faith be greatly facilitated!"

"Oh? What do you suggest?"

"All twenty thousand individuals in Kulamo City and the Zicao lands who participated in the rebellion or are related to it should be sent north to become agricultural slaves, awarded to the military nobles and samurai!"

Etalik studied His Majesty’s thoughtful expression and continued.

"Your Honor, half of a thousand Mexica samurai fell in this rebellion! Without fear, there is no grace. Fear and grace are twin-born. The people of Kulamo must be severely punished! Moreover, according to the newly promulgated royal decrees, agricultural slaves are allowed to marry. If the children of agricultural slaves are raised by the village community and the government, they are considered commoners. And once the agricultural slaves have labored for ten years, they can regain their status as commoners and receive a plot of land sufficient for subsistence."

Xiulote nodded, this decree was indeed initiated by him at the suggestion of the Sage. The initial proposal was that agricultural slaves, after working for five years, could return to being commoners. However, as soon as this was announced, various military nobles came forward to the court, earnestly advising otherwise.

The Sage had also carefully calculated for His Majesty that it was only by toiling for ten years could an agricultural slave not only sustain his military noble master but also accumulate enough wealth to buy another slave for the master. In other words, the military nobles wished to maintain their wealth for generations without taking part in production. Given the average lifespan of the time, most adult agricultural slaves would not live past ten years.

The nobility born from military service was the foundation of the King’s power. Facing such resistance, he could only compromise temporarily. Once agricultural production technology had improved and the Kingdom had grown richer and stronger, the decree would have to be amended again.

Thinking this, Xiulote made a decision.

"Etalik, as you said. Twenty thousand people from Kulamo shall be demoted to agricultural slaves and sent to the North!"

Following that, the King shook his head with a bitter smile.

"Old Etalik, you are the administrator of Kulamo City, charged with guarding one part of the kingdom. Yet, you consider punishing all your subjects?"

"Haha, Your Highness, it’s much easier to paint on a blank slate than to patch things up extensively!"

Etalik also shook his head with a bitter smile.

"These past two years, I have suffered quite a bit in the South! You must relocate some civilians here and send more priests. Once the priests distribute the homes in the city, the new civilians will naturally be grateful!"

Xiulote smiled and nodded, choosing not to say more. In the midst of their jovial conversation, the fate of twenty thousand rebels was decided. The King then ascended the pyramid at the city’s center, his expression solemn. Looking at the bloodstains yet to be cleared, he could imagine the fierceness of the battle. The traces of the melee extended all the way to the top of the pyramid, where the High Priest of Kulamo, Yitai, had long been waiting.

"Praise the Chief Divine! Greetings to you, Supreme High Priest of Divine Revelation!"

"Praise the Chief Divine! High Priest Yitai, you have fearlessly upheld Kulamo City for the Chief Divine, establishing meritorious achievements. The Chief Divine has seen your devotion and will grant you grace!"

"Praise to Him!"

Yitai knelt and bowed his head, suppressing the excitement in his heart. With the King’s words, his future was promising.

Xiulote smiled and nodded slightly, then tousled his hair. He then sat down in the temple and asked about the details of proselytizing in the city.

"...Supreme High Priest, the Prepetcha Samurai from the Temple Guards who converted to the Chief Divine fought bravely to the end, none deserted or surrendered," Yitai respectfully reported.

"The civilians in Zicao County are not devout yet; there are too many believers in false gods hiding among them. Please grant the permission to increase the number of Temple Guards in the Kulamo parish and establish a specialized squad to empower the capture and disposition of these false believers!"

Hearing this, Xiulote raised an eyebrow. Given that Kulamo City had just experienced a rebellion, increasing the Temple Guards was understandable. However, empowering them to apprehend and dispose of false believers... that equated to granting judicial religious power! Although religious trials were conducted to some extent everywhere, dealing with influential old god believers, they were generally small scale and mostly reactive. Now, here was Yitai, daring to propose establishing a tribunal right in front of him!

The King pondered for a long time. Thinking of the increasingly urgent timeline, his internal balance tilted more towards agreement. After a while, his expression stern, he finally nodded his consent.

"Granted."

"Praise the Chief Divine! Praise You!"

Joy appeared on Yitai’s face. Being a rare high priest of commoner origin in the Alliance, he had finally found a chance to distinguish himself in the southern part of the Lake Region!

"For the determined stubborn false god believers identified in the trials, do not execute them privately."

Xiulote thought for a moment before he added,

"Gather them and send them to the Qingambat Mine, where there is a shortage of workers. Have the newly formed squadron start operations in the Kulamo area. If they perform well and the belief in the Chief Divine effectively spreads, I will consider establishing a dedicated Treason Tribunal, with its head’s position equivalent to a Fourth Level High Priest."

"Praise You! Praise the Chief Divine!"

The Third Level High Priest Yitai grasped the implicit meaning in these words, his mind agitated. This was a genuine path to greatness! The road to priesthood for commoners typically ended at the Third Level, with the Fourth Level positions, overseeing various regions, being extremely rare. And now, he had received this unprecedented opportunity...

"Supreme High Priest of Divine Revelation, I will offer my life for the glory of the Chief Divine!"

"Praise the Chief Divine! He protects you."

Xiulote looked at the Temple’s Hummingbird Sun, nodding calmly. He understood the power of religious trials, as well as their cruelty, yet he decided to unleash this fierce beast. Because, after an assassination attempt, the King’s heart had finally taken the ultimate step.

Old General Etalik was silent, sensing the emergence of a terrifying force. After a long moment, he reached deeply into his chest, took out a stack of papers, and handed them to the King.

"Your Highness, these are the confidential letters from the Zicao Family, related to many Prepetcha generals!"