Chapter 375 Southern Nobles

The Talsas River originates from the mountains of Tlaxcala and flows westward for more than a thousand miles, forming the wide Lake Atoyak in the south of the kingdom. In the local language, Atoyac means "big lake".

The Great Lake of Atoyak has hundreds of miles of waves and is so wide that you can’t see the edge at a glance. Busy canoes travel across the lake, connecting the north and south of the lake, trading goods from all directions.

To the south of the great lake, there are endless undulating mountains and forests. The Tecos tribes are scattered among them, and they call the land under their feet Sacatula. Going further east from Sacatura State is the newly acquired mountainous Wetamo State of the Alliance. On the north shore of the lake, there is a rare fertile plain along the lake. The villages of Prepecha are rich and busy, and there are thousands of hectares of farmland, which together support a large city by the lake.

That is the commercial center of the southern ministries, the seat of Zicao County, Kuramo City. The city has a population of more than 20,000, a dozen temples, and a huge trade market. It is the most prosperous place within a radius of 200 miles.

To the east outside Kuramo City, there is an extremely vast manor. This place is full of beautiful trees and flowers, and it has obviously been carefully managed for a long time. Beautiful rag trees flourish outside the manor, majestic dahlias bloom in the manor, and hundreds of warriors are guarding various parts of the manor.

Entering the manor, the architectural style is quite gorgeous, with white stone and red rock as the base and gold, silver and jade as decoration, integrating many characteristics of the people in the clouds. And going all the way along the garden path, at the deepest point, there is a solemn main hall. At this moment, a group of southern aristocrats, dressed in fine clothes, were sitting around, looking speechless.

The main hall is built of bluestone, with a zenith on it, separated by light gauze. The four walls are painted with gods, and the area is quite wide. Everyone in the hall was seated in an orderly manner. At the top of the hall, two middle-aged nobles sat opposite each other. The nobleman on the left has a handsome appearance, a slender figure, and a calm demeanor. The noble on the right has a fleshy face, a short stature, and a fierce expression.

The heavy silence lasted for a long time, and the stocky noble could not bear it at first. He looked at the handsome noble and asked angrily.

"Three Gods witness! The leader of the Purple Grass Clan, Gulamo, will you join me in raising troops?"

Gulamo pondered for a while, looked at the stocky noble, and answered calmly.

"Three Gods witness! Zotor, the leader of the Palm Clan, and tens of thousands of the king's legions are marching south. Now they are raising their troops, but there is no chance of winning!"

"Bah! So what if there are tens of thousands of legions?"

Zotol took a hard "poof" with a cold voice.

"Gulamo! The ferocious bandits want your land and land, do you still want to open the door and hand over all the inheritance left by your ancestors?"

Hearing this, Gulamo's expression changed and he lowered his head and said nothing.

Palm Patriarch Zotor waited for a while but did not receive a reply. He simply stood up and shouted to the nobles in the palace.

"We are the nobles of the Kingdom of Tarasco! This land has been ours for generations! Our ancestors left the fiefdom to us, how can we hand it over for nothing! Let us take up arms and fight the northern invaders to the end!"

"The Palm Patriarch is right, let's fight with the northern barbarians!"

The atmosphere in the field became even heavier. Several young nobles stood up and cheered loudly in agreement, while more nobles remained silent.

Seeing this, Gulamo sighed and spoke calmly.

"Zotor, the matter hasn't reached that point yet! The king asked us to go to Alto for an audience. There will definitely be a decree issued. At that time, maybe we can talk. Even if we hand over 30% to 50% of the land, we can get the kingdom's promise. It’s also acceptable!”

"Yes, isn't this still undecided? Maybe the king just collects a tribute!"

"Indeed, the king has just returned from the northern expedition and has to rest for two years. Let's pay a tribute to buy peace."

"Go to see the king first and listen to the kingdom's will before speaking."

Only then did most of the nobles speak, and chaotic voices of approval echoed in the hall. The southern part of the kingdom has been at peace for a long time. The great nobles enjoy the commercial interests of the Talsas River and are extremely wealthy. They survived the brutal Western Expedition and still feel lucky at this moment.

"Ha! You cowardly fools are still thinking of going to the audience! The king of the north is going south with tens of thousands of warriors. Is it just for an outing?!"

Zotol looked around at everyone and cursed hatefully.

"The warriors and militiamen in my territory have been mobilized long ago and can fight to the death with the Mexicans at any time! You haven't raised your troops yet. When the enemy comes to the door, what will you use to resist? Or are you going to be a clay pot? The fish in it will be cooked into soup!"

Hearing this, Gulamo raised his brows and looked at Zotor.

"Zotor, if you're not going to listen, what will the king say?"

"Listen to this! I came here today to fight with you cowards!"

Zotol's face turned red.

"There are a thousand Mexica garrison in the city of Curamo. I brought five hundred warriors here, and we all worked together to kill them all first and occupy the city of Curamo! Culamo, let me ask you one last time, Are you going to do it or not?”

"Zotor, it's not time yet."

Gulamo looked calm and refused.

"The city of Kuramo is full of our people, and we can capture it at any time. The key now is the tens of thousands of royal troops in the north. After all, we must first go to see the king and listen to his will."

"Ha ha!"

Zotol laughed in anger. he asked sarcastically.

"Gulamo, are you going to take your rose daughter, Medina, with you to see the king?"

Hearing this, Gulamo lowered his eyes and his voice turned cold.

"Zotor, after all, we are different from you. Your family is close to the southwest mountainous area and has close ties with the Tekos barbarians. If you really can't resist, you can still lead your tribe to escape into the mountains. But our place is invincible. Everyone’s foundation is in the plain beside the lake.”

"Ah!"

Zoltor sneered and stopped looking at Gulamo. He asked, looking around at the other nobles.

"What about you? You are not like Gulamo, who has a daughter made of roses!"

Most of the nobles still shook their heads in silence. The old noble Sitley advised in a low voice.

"Zotor, we all understand what you said. Everyone is also mobilizing, but we have to wait for this situation."

"Then just wait! A bunch of howler monkeys waiting to die!"

Zotol turned around and left. Before leaving, he kept sarcastic.

"No, you are worse than howler monkeys! Howler monkeys know how to scream twice before they die! You are ant eggs, just take them out and eat them raw!"

"Hey, Zotol, where are you going?!"

The old nobleman Sitley shouted after him.

"I will return to the fiefdom and move the family's women and children into the southwest mountainous area! Our brave forest warriors will kill all the intruders in the rugged mountain forest! No matter how many there are! Roar!"

Zotol roared one last time and walked out of the hall. Several nobles from the southwest also left with him.

The hall fell into a deathly silence. After a while, Gulamo rubbed his brow with his hand and forced a smile.

"Then let's do it! Everyone goes to see the king first, but don't stop mobilizing in the fief, and be prepared."

The nobles responded in a low voice, said some meaningless clichés, and then stood up and left. The old aristocrat Sitley deliberately stayed last. When no one was around, he approached Gulamo and asked in a low voice.

"Gulamo, there are many Prepecha nobles in the Northern King's Army. How are your contacts going? Can you persuade them?"

Hearing this, Gulamo instantly frowned and his pupils shrank. He asked with a smile as he reached out and touched the dagger at his waist.

"Sitley, who did you hear the news from?"

"Ha! Gulamo, it's not your style to just sit back and die. I watched you grow up. Zotor is a roaring monkey. You are a poisonous snake that kills with one blow!"

The old Sitli smiled, looked at Gulamo's hand, and held down the long dagger at his waist.

"My fiefdom is just to the north of you. How could I not know about the envoy you sent? Besides, it's already this time, what can we hide between us? Is it possible that you still want to accomplish things alone?"

Hearing this, Gulamo slowly let go of his hand and smiled lightly.

"Sitley, you are an old crow, but your eyes are bright. They all accepted the gifts, and some of them accepted. But the current situation is unreliable."

"That's true. The general trend is here. I couldn't tell what I said before. Nowadays, in tribal villages and communities in various places, rural sages from the north often appear. I'm afraid the leaders also have other thoughts."

Sitley shook his head and sighed.

"I really envy Zotor, who has deep mountains and old forests to explore; I also envy you, who has a beautiful daughter. But I, with my old bones, can't count on anything!"

After saying that, Old Crow Sitley turned around and staggered out. Gulamo silently watched the other party's back disappear, and after a long time, he murmured in response.

"Old crow, I envy you too. You have no choice, so you don't have to suffer like this."

Afterwards, the handsome Gulamo stood up and walked slowly in the empty hall, looking at the bright murals.

On the murals on the four walls of the hall, there are many naked dancing gods, as well as many women with charming movements. The style of these paintings is actually more Mayan-like, a kind of indulgent splendor. The Lithospermum family has been inherited in the prosperous land for more than two hundred years, and has long been different from its compatriots in the north. The family heads of the past generations lived a luxurious and luxurious life, and loved singing and dancing with beauties, which deeply influenced the customs of the southern city-state.

After a while, Gulamo finally looked at the surrounding guards and ordered in a deep voice.

"Go and summon Medina and the musicians!"

I was so tired a few days ago that I slept like a cat. Now, it’s hard to get up and code