Chapter 264 Discussions in the Southwest Mountain Area

The flags were flying, and the elite warriors climbed high and walked in silence, letting the mountain wind blow mightily and watching the sun rise into the sky. It wasn't until the king waved the flag that the guards stopped and rested at the top of the hill.

Shulot stood on the high point of the hill and looked around. Behind him, the shield guard Tels looked dull and still held the royal flag high.

Climbing high and looking into the distance, the world suddenly opens up, making the king's mind feel magnanimous. In the long wind, the hills rise and fall, like huge waves, constantly rising to the high points of the mountains; under the sun, the earth gradually becomes bare, like the footsteps of gods, shining with a faint golden light from time to time. There was only a meandering river that flowed, like a long and agile snake, tracing the way everyone came and converging towards the lowest-lying Qilahuon Lake.

"What a mountain! What a river! All these great rivers and mountains are in my hands!"

The king looked at it for a moment and sighed in admiration. He inspected the farm all the way, seeing all the harvest land, and then climbed up the mountain to enjoy the vast mountains and rivers. At this time, he felt extremely happy! Then, the instinct of a military leader came to mind again, turning into a deep murmur.

"Chingambat, the terrain of Gentle Mountain is so steep and easy to defend but difficult to attack, but it is not gentle at all!"

"Your Highness, it's obvious! Qingambat is a steep mountain range."

Ezpin touched the severed finger on his left hand and complimented with clear eyes.

"As for the description of gentleness, there is an ancient legend that corresponds to the ruins on the mountain. It is said that in the distant ancient times, this mountain range was once full of shouts and billowing smoke. It was the mouth of the demon that swallowed up mortals, leading to the underground. Kingdom of the Dead.”

"The demons have been raging for thousands of years, and the smoke has been rising for thousands of years. Until a great descendant of the gods witnessed the evil here. He first used human sacrifice to attract the main god, and then resolutely sacrificed himself here. With a sound that shook the world There was a loud noise, and the divine descendant used his divine body to seal the passage to the underground. From then on, the mountains became gentle."

"Later, the shameless Condor Royal Family learned about this legend, and claimed that the one who sealed this place was the ancient Condor Sage. However, only the power of the Supreme God can do all this! The one who sealed this place should be the Lord God's God. "

"Yeah, that's right! A smoking demon's mouth? A calm sleeping volcano?"

Hearing this, Shulot asked thoughtfully and smiled.

"Ezpan, since this is the Mouth of Demons, is there the Stone of the Dead?"

"Your Highness is wise! There are not only copper mines here, but also Stones of the Dead. The place of origin is high in the mountains. Most of the Stones of the Dead used for sacrifices in Qincongcan City come from here!"

"very good!"

Shulot nodded with satisfaction. There are nitrate-containing pools in the mountains to the east of the lake area, and adjacent sulfur production areas to the southwest. Then in the winter when saltpeter is removed, manpower can be organized again to carry out large-scale gunpowder production. When the bronze cannon and gunpowder were ready, the king smiled confidently and looked down at the mountains and rivers again.

"Ezpan, this mountain rises in levels, and rivers flow down from the mountains. The terrain is majestic, and it has water sources. If you build a fortress or set up a camp here, it will be extremely difficult to break through!"

"Your Highness is wise! I have stayed in this mine for a long time. There are several abandoned bluestone fortresses near the mountains, which look strong and difficult to attack. Fortunately, Your Highness captured the false king of Tarasco in a battle. Otherwise, let him escape. At this point, as long as we stick to the camp, we can stop the conquering army and calmly integrate the southwest."

Ezpin smiled and agreed, but also felt a little sad.

"I heard that the first puppet king of Tarasco once set up a camp here to guard against the remnants of Uriciu in the southwest and the Tekos barbarians scattered in the mountains. Later, with the rapid expansion of the kingdom, the remaining barbarians in the mountains were all destroyed. One by one, the southwestern border was pushed to the edge of the Colima Mountains, five hundred miles away, and the fortresses in the hinterland were completely abandoned."

Hearing this, Shulot's expression changed. He looked at the warrior commander on the other side.

"Bertard, what's the situation with the remnants of Tarasco in the southwest mountains? Have they surrendered?"

"Your Highness, most of the remnants in the southwest have surrendered. The lords from various places have also sent envoys to send tribute, and nominally submitted to the new Lake Kingdom. But in fact, they still maintain the tradition of autonomy in the region and firmly He controls everything on the land."

Bertard thought for a while, nodded gently, and then shook his head slowly. He pointed quietly to the southwest.

"Please see, Your Highness, the terrain in the southwest is very fragmented and complex. The staggered mountains converge to form lower basins in the middle, where scattered towns and villages are located. There are a series of narrow passes between the mountains, and only a few troops can It takes a lot of effort to break through the garrison.”

"The mountain people here are closed and clinging together, rebellious, and difficult to collect taxes. The local nobles are also stubborn and arrogant, and value the land more than anything else. Once the central government forcibly sends people to manage it, it will easily cause a joint riot between the mountain people and the nobles. In the southwest mountainous area, which is hundreds of miles away, there are no more than 100,000 residents scattered here and there like hedgehogs. The people here are fierce and brave, the terrain is difficult and difficult to navigate, and the land output is very poor, which is very difficult to conquer and there is nothing to plunder. property."

"In general, the cost of direct administration of the southwest far exceeds the benefits of direct administration! The center of the kingdom has no will, and it is difficult to establish direct rule. During the Tarakos period, the way to govern here was to enfeoff military nobles and confer obedient The local chiefs used military force to deter them, and at the same time they used trade to win them over.”

Hearing this, Shulot frowned. He looked towards the undulating south, his thoughts drifting away.

The Pacific Plate and the American Plate collided with each other, forming a continuous volcanic mountain range on the western edge of America. With the long-term volcanic activity, the rich mineral deposits underground were brought to the surface mountains. In Central America, the collision of plates formed the towering Sierra Madre del Sur. The Sierra Madre del Sur extends all the way, dividing the southwest of the world into two halves that are difficult to communicate. The southwestern mountainous area of ​​the Fengguo is a branch of the Sierra Madre del Sur.

If you want to conquer the distant Colima Mountains from the Patzcuaro Lake area, there are only two routes across the mountains, north and south. The northern route requires a fleet to go west along the Leman River for 500 miles, conquer the Chapala Lake area, and then turn southwest for 400 miles along the tributary. The southern route is to follow the aperture between the mountains, travel 400 miles southwest, and then turn northwest for 200 miles.

In general, although the northern route is long, it can carry tens of thousands of troops by water. The southern route saves one-third of the distance, but can only pass a small number of elite troops in the mountains.

"This situation is really similar to the southwest of the Celestial Empire!"

Xuluot looked calm and laughed at himself.

"The iron ore in the Colima Mountains is like the carrots in front of the donkey. You can always see it but can't eat it! Even if you go to Colima, digging deep iron ore is a big problem. Maybe I should think of some ways in North America. The US-Mexico border in the future is a very rich mining belt."

The king pondered for a while and asked again.

"Bertard, where is the southwest border where the feudal state can really send officials to effectively control?"

The warrior leader stood on tiptoe, looked at the nearest basin in the southwest, and counted with his fingers for a while before answering cautiously.

"Your Highness, the farthest controlled area in the southwest of the feudal state is in the city of Ulapani, 150 miles southwest of the capital. This is an important town in the west of Zicao County. The meaning of Ulapani is a plant that blooms and bears fruit in the same season, so it is also called the 'Flower and Fruit City' in the mountains!"

"Flower and Fruit City in the Mountains?!"

Xuluot was stunned, and there was some strange twitching on his face. He asked subconsciously.

"Are there many monkeys there?"

"Your Highness is knowledgeable! The mountains in the southwest are indeed rich in long-haired howler monkeys, which are ferocious and like to roar. Oh, and howler monkeys love to eat pineapples."

Ezepan took a step forward and continued to smile and admire.

"Yeah."

The king nodded stiffly. He controlled his expression for a while before asking seriously.

"So, after crossing the hundred-mile plain south of the lake area, the fiefdom only controls more than fifty miles of mountainous areas. Bertad, the southwest mountainous area is as long as four or five hundred miles! Even if the mountain roads are difficult to travel, the fiefdom should not control only such a small area. How can the scattered nobles in the southwest mountainous areas resist tens of thousands of kingdom legions?"

"Your Highness, if you are willing to pay thousands of casualties, the old nobles in the southwest mountainous areas will indeed be unable to resist the legions, and the kingdom's ruling area can be extended another two hundred miles to the southwest. However, conquering the mountainous areas will not bring any benefits, and effective rule cannot be established in a short period of time. Once the army withdraws, the mountain people will inevitably rebel again with the support of those who are interested. If the army is stationed in the mountainous areas, the food consumed will increase exponentially as the mountain roads are extended, and the mountain people will also encounter repeated guerrilla warfare."

Hearing this, Xiu Luote pondered in silence. Ezepan was refreshed. He volunteered and stepped forward to ask for orders.

"Your Highness is merciful! He does not want the warriors to suffer too many casualties. I am familiar with the terrain here and can lead the new spear army of Prepecha to conquer this place for Your Highness! In a head-on battle, the mountain people are actually vulnerable. As long as we send troops to attack before the autumn harvest, station troops for a year, and then disrupt the mountain people's spring plowing in the second year, their food will be exhausted. Without food, the mountain people can only surrender to the real sun!"

"Destroy the autumn harvest and spring plowing. Well, Ezpan, your loyalty, I see it in my eyes, and there will be more important tasks for you to do!"

Xuluot looked at Ezpan calmly, patted his shoulder intimately, and praised him softly. The other party immediately looked excited and bowed. Then, the king frowned and looked at the chief warrior.

"Bertard, you just said that the support of 'interested people'? Could it be from the south."

"That's right, Your Highness."

The chief warrior nodded affirmatively.

"Scouts have reported back one after another. In the past few months, there have been some unusual movements in Zicao County in the south. The surrendered old nobles have been meeting constantly and seem to have formed a loose and mutually supportive alliance. They also frequently sent envoys to communicate and conspire with the nobles in the southwestern mountains."

"These nobles who have been arguing with each other and clashing for generations can put aside their conflicts only to resist the pressure from the central government. Once the kingdom's army is stuck in the quagmire of the mountains, the southern nobles will definitely secretly support the mountain people to divert your attention and try to consume the central power."

"Well, if you want to pacify the southwest, you must first settle the south. The old nobles in the south."

Xuluot asked indifferently with a blank expression.

"Are they going to rebel?"

"The Western Expedition has just ended, and the alliance's martial arts are still prominent. If they are not forced into a desperate situation, I am afraid they will not have the courage to rebel."

"Where is their bottom line?"

"Land."

The chief warrior answered briefly.

"Land. Land, I will give them another chance to choose. Although the Lord God is a god of war, he is also kind."

The king looked calm and had already made a decision in his heart. Even if the setting sun is blood-red, filling the dusk sky, the sun will always bring light!

"I'm sure, let's keep going!"

The marching horn sounded loudly, echoing in the vast sky and earth. The elite warriors once again formed a marching line.

When the sun was setting slightly in the west, the huge mountain mine finally appeared in front of everyone. A circle of wooden fences was hastily surrounded, dividing the copper vein and the mine. The gilded copper ore drew stripes on the ground, the piles of earth and stone piled up into hills, and the simple furnace was rising black smoke.

Groups of miners were dressed in simple clothes, hunched and thin. They lowered their heads, carried baskets, and were busy inside and outside the mine. There were more than a thousand of them. At the key points and high ground of the mine traffic, there were teams of Mexica warriors. The warriors were wearing armor and holding shields, and some were holding longbows, closely monitoring the operation of the mine. As the most important copper mine in the feudal country, there was a whole battalion of two hundred elite warriors stationed here.

Seeing the king's flag approaching from a distance, a fully equipped warrior captain strode out of the mine. He walked in front of the king, showing a sturdy and familiar face, and knelt on the ground like a mountain.

"Your Highness, I greet you! I am the feather of the condor, following you to the end of the world!"

Note: Urapani is located in the city of Uruapan in today's Mikancho, Mexico.