Chapter 422: Banquet and Prayer, Lakeside Village

"Come, come, the respected prince has spoken, everyone go back to your seats and continue drinking!"

Izel, the mountain patriarch of the Glory Family, put on a smile and ordered loudly.

"Let the Vastek dancers come over and dance something charming. Then play the music and continue dancing!"

Soon, the charming Vastek girls came to the center of the banquet wearing shells that barely covered their bodies. They stretched their waists happily, stood on tiptoes lightly, and danced the cat dance that made people fantasize.

The atmosphere in the field was once again joyful. The western nobles watched the dance, talked and drank, as if nothing had happened. From time to time, someone came up to toast the king, congratulated him a few words, and then naturally withdrew.

"The Lord God blesses the alliance, and the king shines in all directions! The respected King Avit has sent envoys to various states, summoning nobles to the capital to meet and participate in the celebration. Your Highness, your wedding in the near future will become a grand event for the Glorious Alliance!"

Iser raised his glass, bowed his head, and then drank it all.

"Congratulations to your Highness!"

Hearing this, Shulot nodded slightly, with a smile on his face and full of expectations in his heart. He raised his glass, smiled and drank the remaining wine in the glass, but his expression became solemn.

"Iser, congratulations to you too! After parting on the Western Expedition, your bravery made me unforgettable. When we met again, your face was already clear, and your eyes were as sharp as an eagle!"

Hearing these meaningful words, Iser paused slightly. The meaning of his name is "eyes in the dark, blurred face". The difficulties of being a bastard in the past emerged in his mind, and he never regretted the choice that night. Now, a new choice is in front of him.

After a long silence, Iser made another choice. He stepped forward calmly and approached within two steps of Shulot. Then, in Bertard's vigilant eyes, the young mountain chief whispered imperceptibly.

"Your Highness, the death of Captain Xiusok. Tepetl was all planned by the Alliance Intelligence Corps. The Chief Intelligence Officer."

Hearing this, Shulot nodded lightly. This answer did not surprise him. Seeing Shulot's calm expression, Izel gritted his teeth and continued to remind him.

"Your Highness, my respect for you has never changed! The Chief Intelligence Officer of the Female Snake is interested in the little prince, please be careful!"

"Huh? Interested in the little prince?"

Shulot raised his eyebrows and remained silent. The only ones who can bear the title of "little prince" are the thirteen-year-old Montezuma II, the son of the previous king Asayacatl, and the eight-year-old Chimalpilly II, the son of Avit. There is no doubt that Gilliam is interested in the latter, that is, Alyssa's younger brother. And the so-called "intention".

After thinking for a moment, Xiu Luote nodded calmly. He reached out and patted Izel on the shoulder.

"Izel, my appreciation for you has never changed! God bless you!"

"God bless you!"

The two raised their glasses and drank together, and the conversation became more intimate. Xiu Luote thought of his previous confusion and asked softly.

"The high priest has a kind temperament and has always been on good terms with the western nobles. Why are so many people afraid of him?"

"."

Hearing the kind evaluation, Izel was speechless for a moment. He looked at the puzzled expression of His Highness and bowed his head to answer respectfully.

"Your Highness, the high priest is in charge of religious law, strictly implements reforms, and takes back religious power from all parts of the alliance in the capital. Now it is quite effective! In the past three years, no less than 20 or 30 nobles and priest families from all parts of the alliance have been ordered to be exterminated for violating religious orders. In the western city-state, five families were also exterminated. And the title of the high priest in the alliance is 'bloody setting sun, the sacrifice of God'."

"Ah? Bloody setting sun, the sacrifice of God?"

Xuluot widened his eyes and found it difficult to accept for a while. He couldn't connect the kind and gentle grandfather in his memory with the cold and ruthless high priest in Izel's mouth. But he clearly knew that if the religious law and centralized reforms of the alliance wanted to be effective, they had to be stained with the blood of the old nobles. And the reaction of the western nobles at the banquet also proved this point.

Xuluot returned to his seat and sat down, thinking silently, and stopped talking. Izel turned around and sat down, asked the maid to bring fresh fruit, and chatted with the nobles around him to maintain the atmosphere in the field.

The cheerful bamboo flute sounded, and the dance music was all around. Before we knew it, it was already deep in the night. When the maids once again brought the carefully prepared cocoa, the banquet was coming to an end. Many nobles raised their cups and drank together, praying to the emblem of the Lord God together.

"Praise the Lord God, drink this cup full! He protects the alliance and promises us Mexica people to lead all the tribes in the world!"

As the host, Izel raised his cup and shouted with a smile.

"Pray for the Lord God! May He bless us!"

"Pray for the Lord God! May He bless us!"

Many nobles shouted together. Xiuluot raised his cup with a smile, and his eyes swept across the scene. Everyone was sincere and respectful and serious in praying to the Lord God.

"Praise the elder, drink this cup full! He is the immortal sun, and will always shine on the Mexica Alliance, experience the next reincarnation, and ignite the sacred fire of the sacred mountain!"

Izel paused and praised sincerely.

"Pray for the elder! May he be healthy forever!"

"Pray for the elder! May he be healthy forever!"

According to the Alliance calendar, a reincarnation lasts 52 years. The last reincarnation began in 1454, and the next one in 1506. Although the news of the elder's serious illness was vaguely circulated among the nobles, most of the nobles still stubbornly believed that the elder would recover again like many times before.

Xuluote nodded. The nobles showed seven points of respect and three points of fear for the elders' prayer.

"Praise the king, drink this cup! He is the supreme king, who will lead the entire alliance to a strong path and unify all the tribes in the world!"

Iser's expression became solemn and he turned to the east.

"Congratulations to the king! May he rule the world!"

The western nobles present did not respond immediately. Everyone looked at each other until several noble elders took the lead and turned to the east one after another.

"Congratulations to the king! May he rule the world!"

Xuluote saw everything. For the congratulations of King Avit, the nobles were five points of awe, three points of obedience, and two points of hidden dissatisfaction. The source of this dissatisfaction was the king's centralized reform. Whether it was the priests who went to villages everywhere, the commercial taxes that were gradually collected, or the interference in the inheritance of the nobles, it meant damage to the interests of the great nobles.

These accumulated contradictions were temporarily suppressed by the powerful central government, and they were constantly alleviated through wars and transfers, maintaining the surface calm.

"If the elder goes to the Kingdom of God, will the powerful nobles in various places still be so obedient?"

Xuluot lowered his eyes and thought without saying a word until Izel came again.

Izel raised his glass and saluted respectfully to His Highness, making Xuluot the center of the banquet.

"Praise His Highness, drink this cup! He is an invincible commander and the future sun of the alliance. The ceremony is coming, let us celebrate His Highness's wedding!"

Everyone gathered around with smiles on their faces. At this moment, His Highness is so close, and the faces of the nobles are naturally very happy and sincere!

"Congratulations to His Highness! I wish you and the princess will lead the alliance side by side to a more glorious future!"

Xuluot woke up from a deep sleep at noon the next day. He suddenly opened his eyes and saw the warrior leader standing at the door, and then he breathed a sigh of relief. He drank too much yesterday. Although the tequila at this time is not high, it can still make people drunk after drinking it repeatedly.

Xiu Luote smiled bitterly and shook his head, rubbed his eyebrows, and looked at the warrior leader.

"Did I say anything I shouldn't have said last night?"

Bertard smiled slightly and shook his head.

"Your Highness, no. You didn't say anything when you were drunk. You just seemed to be mumbling, chanting some cadenced, indistinguishable scriptures?"

"Hmm? Indistinguishable scriptures?"

Xiu Luote was stunned and had some vague guesses.

"Yes! There is a sentence that is repeated over and over again. I can remember it after repeating it dozens of times."

Bertard smiled and repeated the "scripture" that he didn't understand but could remember.

". The so-called beauty is on the other side of the water~ The so-called beauty is on the other side of the water!~~"

"Uh"

"By the way, there is another sentence after that, which I can understand."

Bertard raised the corner of his mouth and repeated in a low voice.

"The so-called beauty is on the other side of the water. Alyssa, here I come!~"

"Ah?."

"Your Highness, what is the meaning of this scripture?"

Hearing this, Xu Luote was a little embarrassed and answered with forced calmness.

"The meaning of that sentence is to pray to the Lord God, may everything go well at the wedding!"

"Okay. Your Highness, I remember it."

"."

The relaxing time is always short. Xu Luote did not stay in the western city-state for too long. At noon on the third day, he boarded the galley warship with the respectful farewell of Izel, and once again led 3,000 guards to Lake Texcoco, which was one or two hundred miles away.

A few days later, the waves of Lake Texcoco flashed in front of the king again. The Texcoco Lake area is the heart of the alliance and the most prosperous place in the Mexica Valley.

Along the way, the surrounding villages are well-populated, and the merchants and travelers on the lake are intertwined. The gorgeous flowers bloom on the islands in the lake, which are the gardens of the nobles. Large tracts of Milpa farmland are lush and green on the lakeshore, and farmers are busy in the fields from time to time. Rich Chinampa floating fields appear alternately on the lake, growing expensive vanilla, cocoa and spices. Everything in front of everyone is full of the prosperity of early summer.

Starting from Lake Texcoco, the kingdom fleet turned south. When the sun sets, the holy city of Teotihuacan appears in the east of the lakeshore, only a few dozen miles away.

Xiuluot ordered the ship to stop. He landed on the land on the east bank of the lake and looked at his hometown in this life. The memories of his childhood reflected in his heart, making people feel a little emotional for no reason. Soon, dusk was approaching, and the golden and red glow covered the lake. Xiuluot took three hundred guards and found a village by the lake, and rested for one night on the land close to his hometown.

Compared with the villages in the Patzcuaro Lake area, the villages by Lake Texcoco are obviously much more prosperous. In addition to barns, there are many stone houses and many small wooden houses in the village.

When the noble prince arrived, the "three elders" who managed the village greeted him respectfully and bowed to him. According to the tradition of the alliance, one is the village priest, one is the village leader, and the other two are warriors or militia leaders with status.

Xiuluot had a gentle expression and comforted the "three elders" with a few words. Then, he called the young village priest Yoloki to check the village together.

The statue of the main god stood in the center of the village. Under the statue was a stone altar, on which were placed some natural pine resin, fragrant herbs, air-dried bacon, and some scattered gold grains. Yes, the villages in the Mexican Valley are so rich that there are altars decorated with precious metals.

It was the time for evening prayers, and many villagers were kneeling in front of the altar, praying devoutly to the Lord God. Shulot watched from a distance for a moment and did not come forward to disturb. He nodded with satisfaction and said to the young priest with a smile.

"Yes, the believers are very devout. Rocky, next, take me to the barn in the village!"

Hearing this, the young priest Yoroki pursed his lips, bowed his head and obeyed.

The group of people headed towards the barn built with blue bricks. The rainy season in the valley is very hot and the rainfall is very abundant. The barn must be built strictly with bricks and stones and covered with thatch leaves to preserve the grain for a long time and prevent it from getting moldy.

Shulot checked the perimeter of the barn, stretched out his hand to touch the thick wall, and nodded with satisfaction again.

"Ask Rocky to take me to the warehouse and take a look!"

"Master of the Sect Priest"

Yoroki gritted his teeth and wanted to say something, but didn't. He opened the barn door silently and walked in first.

"Um?!"

When Shulot entered the barn, his expression suddenly darkened. The walls of the barn were empty, with only a dozen bags of dried beans, a dozen baskets of dried pumpkins, and some dried insects, but not even a bag of corn! You know, it's only mid-to-late July. There are still more than two months until the corn harvest, and more than a month until the pumpkin harvest.

"Damn it!"

Hearing the angry shouts of the sect chief priest, the young priest Yoloki fell to his knees with a "pop".

"Master of the Sect Priest"

"Joloki, according to the teachings, there must be at least one year's worth of grain stored in the barn to prepare for the famine in the coming year!"

Shulot's face was ashen, he pulled out the bronze sword from his waist with a "dang" sound, and asked with murderous intent.

"Tell me, where did the food in the barn go? Did you embezzle it?"

"Ah! Dear sect leader, I don't have it, I don't have it."

Yoroki's face turned pale. He kowtowed to the ground and hurriedly defended himself.

"Witness the Lord God! I have not misappropriated any food! Mr. Sect Priest, all the food in the village has been confiscated by the nobles who originally enfeoffed it!"

"Um?"

Hearing this, Shulot's expression moved slightly.

"They were all taken away?"

"Exactly, exactly!"

Yoroki nodded repeatedly, clenched his fists and swore.

"Master Priest of the Sect, four months ago, this place was just under the direct control of the alliance! The hereditary nobles who were originally enfeoffed here finally collected a wave of tributes and took away all the food and valuable property. Even the tributes dedicated to the Lord God , all sifted out by believers from the river near the gold mine in the past few months."

". Damn it! Which noble family dares to be so bold!"

Hearing this, Shulot's face turned angry.

"Tell me the names of the hereditary nobles here! I will report to the alliance and punish them severely!"

"Ah? Master the sect leader"

"What, you don't dare to say it?"

".No, it's not."

Yoroki licked his lips and answered carefully.

"Two months ago, that hereditary noble family was annihilated by the high priest's decree!"