Chapter 425 Conversation

The candlelight was shining, and the golden and silver carvings were in the magnificent king's hall; the bonfire was blazing, and the gorgeous murals of gods were shining with colorful lights.

The door of the hall was tightly closed, and there were only two people and servants in the hall. There was silence and solemnity everywhere. Avit raised his eyes slightly and looked at the mural on the ceiling of the palace.

Huitzilopochtli, the sun god, the god of war, and the patron saint of the Mexica, was in the center of the sky, wearing feathers that stretched like the sun, holding a spear emitting lightning, looking down at dozens of subordinate gods and thousands of people. And in his left hand below him was the god of death, Xiulotel, who wore a black wolf head and spit out a long red tongue, and loyally protected the rising sun.

Further behind were Tlaloc, the rain god, Tezcatlippo, the original sun, Ometeotel, the god of day and night, Miscuatl, the god of hunting, and Quetzaltesin, the god of fire.

In this ceiling mural, the order of the subordinate gods was deliberately designed, which seemed to be full of deep meaning. Among the subordinate gods, Quetzalcoatl, the feathered serpent god widely believed by all tribes in the world, was not painted. It was obviously painted not long after the religious reform.

Avit stared at the mural of the gods on the ceiling, thinking silently. The main god of the sun shines in all directions! No matter how brave and good at fighting the god of death is, no matter how famous he is, he is a loyal subordinate god of the main god, always guarding the rising of the sun, and never disobeying him. The residence of the god of death is in the west of the sunset, desolate and far away, and has never threatened the throne of the main god. The power of the god of death is even more incomparable to the main god who rules the world.

Many unforgettable memories flashed in succession, like a scroll painted by the gods. The scroll was vivid in an instant, and then disappeared one by one, taking away some of the advice of the ministers around him.

After a while, Avit's heart was finally clear. He smiled confidently, raised the scepter, and stood up from the throne like a jaguar.

"Praise the Lord! Xiuluot, my student, in the past three years, you have conquered the three states of Otomi, conquered the Guakili dog tribe in the north, changed the fiefdom in the south, and conquered the Tekos tribe. Even in the lake capital 700 miles away, I can keep hearing good news about you! My child, I am proud to watch you grow up day by day! At this moment, you appear in front of me, as handsome as an eagle, soaring in the vast sky!"

Avit's words were filled with joy from the heart. He walked down steadily and powerfully and came to Xiuluot's side. Then, he stretched out his hand, naturally shook the young man's hair, and helped him up affectionately.

"Xiuluot, my student, get up! In front of me, you don't need to be polite."

Hearing this, Xiuluot stood up, smiled respectfully, and looked at the king's face.

"Your Majesty."

"There is no one in the hall, just call me teacher!"

Avit raised his eyebrows and interrupted Xiuluot's words. Then, he laughed heroically and gave the student a strong hug.

"Haha, your height is slightly higher than mine!"

"Teacher"

Faced with the warmth of the king, Xiu Luote was somewhat moved. He bowed his head and saluted. Then, Avit turned around and returned to the throne. Xiu Luote followed him and stood beside the throne.

"Xiuluo, how is the Lake Kingdom?"

"With the blessing of the Lord God, everything is going well!"

Xiuluo thought for a while and answered with a smile.

"Whether it is the Otomi people in the north or the Tekos people in the south, they have successively sent envoys to surrender to the alliance and pay tribute regularly every year. The Chapala Lake area in the west is facing the harassment of the Guamal dogs, and it is too busy to take care of itself and unable to go east. However, the kingdom was established not long ago and has a shallow foundation. There are not enough people in the country, and there are some shortages in food after continuous wars."

"I will think of a way for you to deal with the population and food."

Avit agreed calmly. Then, he took out a huge map from under the throne and unfolded it in front of Xiu Luote.

"After the autumn harvest, the alliance will mobilize all its troops, launch a war of gods, conquer the Tlaxcala people, and destroy the old enemy in the east!"

The king's calm eyes revealed a burning flame.

"The core of the Tlaxcala Four-State Alliance is located in the Tlaxcala Valley two or three hundred miles away in the east! The alliance will mobilize 100,000 warriors, divided into two routes, north and south, heading east respectively, to destroy all enemies who dare to block them!"

"What, mobilize 100,000 warriors?!"

Hearing this, Shulot was shocked. Behind the 100,000 warriors, there must be at least the same number of militias to maintain logistics and guard the rear. The main population of the alliance is three or four million, and mobilizing more than 200,000 men is a real big deal!

Of course, this conscription ratio is because the logistics distance is only two or three hundred miles. If the alliance's territory expands again, to conquer the Zapotecs a thousand miles away, the troops that can go out will be reduced by more than half.

"That's right! 50,000 warriors directly under the royal family, and 50,000 vassal warriors from various states. There are more than 1.3 million Tlaxcalans. They are good at fighting and have fought for a hundred years. They can mobilize 40,000 to 50,000 warriors and nearly 100,000 militiamen. More importantly, they have built many difficult mountain cities that require a large number of troops to surround. In this battle, the alliance does not want tribute or surrender, but only wants to completely destroy the Tlaxcala Alliance!"

Avit's expression was cold and hard, and he decided the fate of millions of people. The alliance has accumulated quietly for three years just to eliminate the old enemy in one fell swoop. He looked into Shulot's eyes and said in a deep voice.

"Scouts have found out that the old enemy Tlaxcalans have a secret covenant with the Totonacs in the east, the Mixtecs in the south, and the Zapotecs. Once the alliance marches east, these three tribes are likely to send troops to rescue. Shulot, my prince, if the food is supplied by the alliance, how many warriors can the lake vassal state mobilize?"

"Teacher, the kingdom can mobilize two and a half legions, about 20,000 warriors!"

Xuluot had expected this and answered frankly.

Except for the troops stationed in each county, the kingdom can dispatch two and a half legions for an expedition. The main force is the 7,000 Guards Legion and the 8,000 Guakili Legion, and then thousands of tribal warriors will be drawn from the surrendered Tekos army to assist. If these tribal warriors stay in the heart of the kingdom, they will be a hidden danger to public security. Once they are recruited to the front line, under the pressure of tens of thousands of elites, they will be the best vanguard!

"Twenty thousand warriors. Not bad, very good!"

Hearing this, Avit's eyes flashed, and he was quite satisfied. The Kingdom of the Lake was not established for a long time, and its foundation was unstable. In his opinion, 20,000 warriors are indeed the limit of the kingdom's military deployment. And the fact that Xiuluot can dispatch so many elites to fight for the alliance is enough to prove his loyalty. In this case, he gave the student a chance to choose.

"Xuluot, do you want to join the North Route Army or the South Route Army? The North Route Army will go straight into Tlaxcala State, and must pay attention to the support of the Totonac people. The South Route Army will attack Tepeyacak State, and must be wary of the Mixtec and Zapotec people's attacks."

Xuluot frowned slightly and fell into thought.

At this time, the Mexica Alliance had divided the world into five parts and occupied two. The remaining tribes in the world were secretly connected, vaguely forming an encirclement. In general, the Mixtec and Zapotec people in the south have more troops and are more troublesome. But with the support of the Talzas River, the looted spoils can be transported back to Zicao County in the south.

"Teacher, I will join the South Route Army!"

After a moment, Xiuluot made a decision and replied loudly.

He believed that with the powerful strength of the Kingdom's Royal Guard Corps, it would not be afraid of any field battle! In this alliance's eastward expedition, the land of the Tlaxcalans obviously had nothing to do with the lake country. If the Eastern Expedition succeeds, the Tlaxcala Valley will either be directly incorporated into the alliance, or be granted as a prince's territory, or both.

And what the Lake Kingdom can get is the spoils of the Eastern Expedition. Among them, the young and strong population that can consolidate the foundation of the kingdom is the most valuable. Only along the Tulsa River can the population obtained in the war be transported thousands of miles back to Zicao County in the south.

As for the Mixtecs and Zapotecs, if they dare to attack, they will plunder all the Mixtec states along the river!

"Very good!"

Avit nodded with satisfaction and smiled at Xiu Luote. In just a few words, the two decided on the military and national affairs of the alliance and the future direction of the world. The army was dispatched and the affairs were complicated. The specific details of the military affairs later would be handled by special consultants and generals.

Next, the conversation between the teacher and the student was much easier. Avit asked about the customs and customs of the north and south, and Xiu Luote also talked about the situation of the various tribes in the northern wilderness and the continuous mountains of the Tekos in the west.

"So, the wilderness extends infinitely to the north, and there are still dog tribes all the way north for more than 2,000 miles?"

Avite was quite surprised. He opened his eyes wide, like a jaguar that smelled blood.

"That's right! Teacher, according to the surrendered Chief Guakili, in order to avoid the cold wave disaster, they went south from the northern wilderness more than a thousand miles away and arrived at the land of the Otomi people. And on their former land, one or two thousand miles further north, there are still countless migrating tribes. The tribes in the wilderness are like stars in the sky. Going further north, there are tens of thousands of miles of land where the endless cold wave rages! These lands are extremely fertile, covered with thick long grass, and also growing dense black forests. There are several large rivers running north and south, connecting everything along the way."

Xuluot talked about the vast North American continent, with the same brilliance in his eyes.

"In the northern wilderness, there are huge veins of gold and silver, exposed between the Gobi Desert and rocks. Further north, there are huge open-pit copper mines, open-pit coal mines, open-pit iron and other metal mines. In the northwest of our world, there are towering rocky mountains stretching for thousands of miles. It is very likely that there is the source of our Mexica people, the land of Aztlan. Relying on the barrier of rocky mountains, many places in the far northwest will not be attacked by cold waves. There is fertile land that can be cultivated, rivers flowing down from the mountains, more prosperous tribes, and even city-states in the mountains."

Hearing such a vast world, Avite stood up suddenly. He looked to the north with a hawk-like desire to conquer in his eyes. After a while, he calmed down and slowly sat back on the throne.

"Xuluot, my student. After hearing what you said, I really want to take the legion to the north. You just said that the Tekos people in the west of the world also have thousands of miles of land?"

"Indeed! From the estuary of the Leman River to the estuary of Talsas, the Tekos people in the north and south are scattered over more than 1,500 miles of land. Their land is either along the endless western lakes or along the river valleys in the mountains. The terrain is extremely scattered and the terrain is quite dangerous. Only by opening up two great rivers in the world and conquering along the seashore can the land of the Tekos be brought under control!"

"Well, not bad!"

Avit nodded slightly. He looked at Xuluot and said with a smile.

"Xuluot, my student. I handed the west of the world to you, but I didn't expect the west to be so vast! It seems that there is still a lot to do in the future of the Kingdom of the Lake!"

Hearing this, Xuluot's eyes flashed and he nodded respectfully. He thought about his teacher's words and heard the subtext.

"The Kingdom of the Lake can only expand to the west."

The two of them were talking and laughing, and before they knew it, they had been chatting for a long time. All the tribes and major events in the world were all tolerated in the hearts of the kings and considered in their minds.

"Xuluot, I heard that you have implemented a strict reduction of fiefs in the south, and reduced the fiefs of the nobles of Prepecha by more than 90%?"

After a moment, Avit shook the staff in his hand and asked another question of concern.

"That's right! Teacher, these southern nobles are the remnants of the Kingdom of Tarasco, and they control 80% to 90% of the land and population in the south. The tributes collected by the kingdom from the 200,000 people in the south and the manpower obtained are not as good as the 40,000 to 50,000 people in the capital."

Xuluot nodded, looking confident and determined.

"After my northern expedition, I rested for a season and then continued to go south to reduce fiefs. Tens of thousands of elite warriors pressed down like mountains. The old nobles had no way to resist and could only obey. Those who were unwilling to obey were all wiped out, their fiefs were completely taken back, and their children were exiled to the northern border!"

"Not bad, very good! Excellent!"

Avite was slightly moved, and his emotions fluctuated in his words.

"The local old nobles have too many fiefs and populations! The power of the royal center must continue to be strengthened! What a pity!"

Hearing this, Xu Luote's heart shuddered. He pursed his lips and looked at Avite's expression cautiously.

"Teacher, the alliance and the kingdom are different after all, so there is no need to rush. Otherwise, the nobles' counterattack is really dangerous."

"Yeah."

Avite's expression did not change, and he did not comment. He looked at Xu Luote and asked with concern.

"Xuluo, my child, I heard that you encountered a dangerous assassination in the south?"

"Ah! Yes"

Xuluote lowered his eyes and nodded in response.

"Teacher, the situation was quite dangerous. The assassin hid frog poison in my fingernails, and I almost brushed shoulders with death."

"Yes. I heard the details from the intelligence officer."

Avit calmly looked at Shulot, not knowing what he was thinking. After a long while, he spoke lightly.

"Xuluot, my child, the mastermind who assassinated you has been captured by the Alliance and is imprisoned in the dungeon of a nearby temple. They assassinated the Highness of the Alliance, and their crime is unforgivable. They are keeping their lives now just so that you can see them! Soon, they will all be executed, and their heads will be erected in front of the Great Temple to warn all states!"

"Ah! Gu Lamo was captured by the Alliance?"

Xuluot was shocked, and the surging hatred rose up and turned into cold murderous intent.

"Lord God bless you! Thank you, teacher! I will go to see them properly!"

"Yes."

Avit nodded calmly, not caring. For the king of the alliance, the fate of a few noble assassins is nothing more than some tiny grass mice. He pondered for a moment, looked at the mural on the ceiling again, and said quietly.

"Xuluote, today's conversation ends here. Alyssa is waiting for you in the rose garden right now. She has been waiting for you for a long time, don't let her down!"