Aztec Civilization: Destiny to Conquer America!
Chapter 812 - 444 Taming the Bison

Chapter 812: Chapter 444 Taming the Bison

The night was deep, dispersing into the flickering firelights of the High Priest’s Mansion; layers of clouds concealed the flawless, bright full moon. Shadows fell from the ceiling of the sleeping chamber, enveloping the restless young king. This night was exceptionally long, filled with silent contemplation.

Nashu quietly guarded the corner without any disturbance. She patiently accompanied the sleepless His Highness like a shadow.

Until the Morning Star rose, a faint light emerged from the East, and Xiulote sighed softly. A straightforward poem surged to his heart and inexplicably escaped his lips.

"Taizong raised righteous troops eighteen times, the white banner and yellow axe pacified the two capitals. Captured and slain Dou, the world became clear, Twenty-four accomplishments completed. Ascended the throne at twenty-nine, achieved peace at thirty-five..."

At this point, Xiulote abruptly paused, becoming alert. He sat up and looked towards the corner, seeing Nashu’s confused face.

"Your Highness, what were you reciting just now?"

Nashu blinked, showing a cat-like curious expression.

Xiulote’s face changed several times before he responded softly.

"That was a poem celebrating a legendary king. That king accomplished great feats, some of which I strive to do, while others I wish not to emulate..."

Nashu tilted her head in thought. Tonight, the highness seemed somewhat melancholic, looking especially delicious... She licked her lips and softly advised.

"The dawn is near... You’ve stayed awake all night, should I have the shadow servants assist you in taking a nap for a while?"

"Hmm. I have a headache; please help me massage my head..."

Moments later, Xiulote rested on Nashu’s firm thigh, breathing in the enchanting fragrance and enjoying the gentle caress. He exhaled deeply, gradually emptying his mind, and sank into a long, distant dream.

In that dream, there was a tall Divine Tree, which dropped seeds that sprouted into small trees, growing robustly... A storm arrived, Divine Eagles flew in the sky, then a thunderbolt struck the tall Divine Tree... Finally, the clouds cleared, and infinite light ascended into the sky...

"Hmm!!"

Xiulote suddenly opened his eyes. He looked at the ceiling; the sun was already at its peak. He sniffed and sensed the faint aroma of food permeating the room.

"Your Highness, you’re awake."

Nashu smiled gently, coming forward to help His Highness up.

"I have prepared your favorite roasted venison, fish soup, turkey omelet, and spicy stir-fried vegetables. On the side, there is honey herb tea and dried cactus fruit..."

"Hmm, alright."

Xiulote nodded. Under Nashu’s service, he briefly freshened up and began enjoying his lunch. Ever since he had a woman attending to him, life had become much more comfortable. If Bertade were here, he would only prompt him to wake up and practice martial arts at the scheduled times...

After lunch, he glanced at the midday sun and ordered in a deep voice.

"I woke up late today, but the planned itinerary remains unchanged. I will visit the Alliance’s bison ranch this afternoon and likely won’t be able to return by evening, so I’ll stay overnight there."

"As you command, Your Highness."

Nashu bowed and immediately went to make arrangements. In just two or three quarters, everything was prepared. Two hundred Imperial Guards protected the banner of His Highness, heading directly to the southwest Long Bridge of the Capital City.

The surroundings of the Lake Capital City were bustling, and the plains along the lake were thoroughly cultivated, even the surface of Lake Texcoco had large floating fields built. The Alliance’s bison (North American wild bison) could only be confined to the mountain pastures southwest of Lake Texcoco, a distance of four to fifty li away from the Lake Capital City.

The group consisted of elite warriors and arrived at the mountain pasture within half a day. Xiulote climbed the hill and saw the vast wooden fence, and the large herds of bison from afar. Dozens of pastoral slaves were busy in the pasture, preparing hay for feeding. At least half of them were dressed in the fashion of Northern Tribespeople. On the higher part of the pasture, there was a small wooden-and-stone fortress, garrisoned by a squad of bow samurai guarding the Royal Family’s "giant beast" tribute.

Seeing the group of elite warriors arrive, an elderly tonsured guard hurriedly descended from the fortress. He wore the attire of Military Merit Nobility, and swiftly knelt before Xiulote with respect.

"Military Merit Nobility Mohe, saluting the embodiment of the Divine, the invincible His Highness Xiulote! May you be swift and fierce like the northern grizzly bear, filled with unparalleled power!"

"Chief Divine bless! Military Merit Nobility Mohe, may the Chief Divine’s brilliance illuminate you!"

Xiulote nodded calmly. He pondered the unique name "Mohe" and asked.

"Mohe, judging by your name, are you a warrior assimilated from the Northern Tribe?"

Mohe promptly bowed again and eagerly explained.

"Respected Highness, my grandfather was a warrior from the Northern Tribe who submitted during the predecessor monarch Montezuma’s campaign against the northeastern Vastec people, more than thirty years ago. I have lived in the Lake Capital City since birth. And my father even served as a Tonsured Guard for the predecessor monarch Asayacatl, and died in the suppression of the Chalko City-State rebellion..."

"Oh! So you are from a samurai family loyal to the Royal Family."

Hearing this, Xiulote understood. Throughout the history of the Alliance, almost every predecessor monarch would recruit the brave barbarian warriors into the military, even accepting them into their personal army. In certain situations, the loyalty of barbarian warriors was sometimes more reliable. For instance, the Kingdom’s Imperial Guard included numerous Tekos warriors, Otomi warriors, and recently assimilated Canine Descendant Divine Archers.

"Mohe, which Northern Tribe does your grandfather come from? And how did you obtain the position of managing the giant beasts?"

"Um..."

Mohe scratched his head and answered earnestly.

"Your Highness, my grandfather died in the Alliance’s war early on, so I don’t know about his background. My father mentioned twice that the ancestral tribe seemed to live by the Endless Lake, surviving through fishing, hunting, and planting, also hunting fierce bison herds... And there is a very, very turbulent and very long Great River coming from the Northwest, flowing into the Endless Lake...

"Bison herd... Northeast Great River... Endless Lake..."

Xiulote pondered for a while, scrutinizing Mohe’s rugged appearance, and an indistinct guess surfaced in his mind.

"Mohe’s grandfather might have originated from the Coa Wei Ke tribe along the lower Grande River..."

"Your Highness, my grandfather had much experience dealing with wild bison and possessed extensive knowledge of the wilderness. My father learned some of it, and passed it on to me. Hence, when the Immortal Elder commanded the taming of Northern giant beasts, I got this opportunity to serve the high-ranking Royal Family, managing these fierce bisons..."

Mohe carefully watched His Highness’s expression and reported meticulously.

"Therefore, I have stayed in the mountains, established the pasture, and tamed these giant beasts for five years..."

"Oh?"

Hearing this, Xiulote was intrigued and asked in a serious tone.

"Mohe, currently, how many bisons are there in the pasture?"

"Your Highness, over these five years, the Vastek people annually offered 40 bison calves. Bison calves require 2-3 years to mature. Once matured, bisons mate in summer, and female bisons would conceive for 9-10 months to give birth to calves... Today, the pasture has already seen the second batch of calves coming forth, and counting those dead from illness and various accidents, there are approximately two to three hundred bisons."

"Hmm? Only two to three hundred?

Hearing this number, Xiulote frowned and his face darkened. Over five years, the Vastek people offered 200 bisons, and the pasture bred two batches of calves. Yet the number of bisons hasn’t visibly increased?

"Your Highness..."

Seeing His Highness’s expression, Mohe immediately bowed low and continued to explain.

"Bisons are difficult to tame, extremely fierce. Taming them is entirely different from domesticating turkeys. They run swiftly, are enormous in size, and their nature is wild. Male bisons often knock down the fence, running into nearby mountains, even entering village fields and devouring crops. Adult bisons possess enormous strength and stubborn temperament, making it difficult for pastoral slaves to forcibly lead the escaped bisons back to the pasture. Even if brought back, escaping bisons often run away again. In such cases, only bow samurai can be dispatched to shoot these bisons!..."

"During the mating season in summer, male bisons fiercely collide to claim more females, the force of mountains, completely unstoppable. Victorious bisons would also expel defeated opponents from the pasture or severely injure them..."

At this point, Mohe paused and pointed towards the herd of bisons.

"Your Highness, look. These bisons are smaller in size, most of them are females. The pasture only retains one-tenth of the males for mating during the mating season. As for the newly born bison calves, if they are males, the pasture selectively keeps them..."

Mohe carefully described the bison taming experiences, hard-earned by integrating his grandfather’s knowledge, painstakingly explored. Many experiences came at the cost of pastoral slaves’ lives.

Bertade listened attentively while arranging the Imperial Guard warriors at various spots in the pasture. Mohe glanced several times at the copper-armored, clattering Imperial Guard warriors, with his demeanor changing, cautiously advising.

"Your Highness, these imposing armored warriors might disturb the pregnant female bisons... Female bisons’ pregnancy lasts nine to ten months, typically giving birth to one calf. During pregnancy, they’re exceptionally sensitive. When encountering large gatherings, unknown warriors exuding murderous aura, or unfamiliar sounds, they feel threatened, becoming exceptionally vigilant and uneasy... If sufficiently disturbed, they might attack or suddenly miscarry..."

Hearing this, Xiulote glanced at the valley’s bison herd. Many adult bisons had turned, aiming their horns towards the direction of the Imperial Guard warriors, assuming a defensive posture. He pondered for a while and sternly ordered.

"Bertade, select a high land area at the perimeter, have the Imperial Guard warriors set up camp there. Tonight, we’ll sleep outdoors by the pasture."

"Yes, Your Highness."

The Head Warrior followed orders and redeployed the guards. Despite the bison herd maintaining a wary posture, they visibly relaxed as the warriors distanced themselves.

Subsequently, Xiulote listened patiently while frowning.

"Male nature is wild, adults easily escape, and they fight during the mating season... Female bisons pregnant for nine months, can only give birth to one calf, easily disturbed into miscarriage... North American wild bison are indeed hard to tame!"

Male bison weigh up to 900 kilograms, running incredibly fast with tremendous impact power. They could maintain a speed of 60 kilometers per hour for several quarters, resembling medieval tanks. Similarly, male bison are temperamental, lacking strong territorial concepts, wandering often. Ordinary wooden fences can barely restrain them. For the Mexica Alliance, not to mention taming male bison for plowing, even simple fixed location taming is difficult to achieve.

In contrast, female bison weigh about 500 kilograms, preferring to stay put to nurture their calves if food is abundant during pregnancy. Mountain pastures could barely tame some docile female bisons in enclosed valleys through terrain advantage.

Xiulote patiently listened for a long time. Subsequently, he gazed into Mohe’s eyes with long-lasting anticipation, asking in a serious tone.

"Mohe, could the bisons tamed for years in the mountain pasture be ridden by people to charge against enemies?"