Chapter 493 The Old Foxes of the Holy City

The boat drifted northward up the Talsas River. It only took half a day to cover fifty miles. The messenger galloped across the flat basins and could cover the same distance in about half a day. As for the army dispatching and marching across the wilderness before spring plowing, it would take at most two days to reach the same destination.

Fifty miles is the distance from Shuigu City to Cholula City! From a ruined land where flames burned, corpses fell, and gunpowder smoke spread, to a prosperous holy city with flowers, crowds of people, and temples in full bloom!

As the sun rises, the bright sunshine falls on the Great Pyramid of Cholula, just like it falls on a holy mountain built by mortals. The divine smoke is lingering, and the pleasant aroma spreads among the sanctuaries of the gods, bringing the aura of blessing from the gods. At this moment, on the top of the towering holy mountain, in the open sanctuary, more than a dozen distinguished priests and elders sat cross-legged, facing each other in silence, looking down without saying a word.

"YoYo!"

The egrets screamed in the sky, stretched out their long necks, looked at these two-legged beasts that also wore feathers, and hovered curiously.

"YoYo?"

"Yesterday afternoon, the Mexican Southern Route Army captured Shuigu City."

After a long silence, Peter, the priest leader of the Holy City, spoke first. He wears formal sacrificial robes, holds a jade plate for prayer, and wears an obsidian pendant around his neck. At this moment, his usually kind smile had faded, and his expression had become gloomy, even a little cold.

"Acotel, the leader of the Water Snakes, was killed by the Mexica, and his head was hung on the gate of Water Valley City. The leader of the Black Snakes escaped on a boat without even notifying us. The three thousand warriors sent by the Holy City to support Water Valley City, enter Only 20% of the hundred priests escaped, and now, the Mexica's 50,000-strong southern army is only 50 miles away from us."

After hearing the cold facts from Petel's mouth, the atmosphere in the sanctuary became quieter, as if you could hear a pin drop. The priests and elders sat motionless with their eyes lowered, not knowing what they were thinking about.

"Tell me what to do now!"

"what to do?"

The deputy leader of the Holy City, the priest and elder of Kuio, gave a cold "hum" and replied in a low voice.

"The solid Shuigu City, with a wall six to seven meters high, and more than 20,000 defenders, was fully prepared, but it only lasted for one month!"

Petel lowered his eyes, as if falling into meditation. Hearing this, he knew what this damn old guy wanted to say.

"Twenty thousand defenders only defended for one month!!"

Quiao stood up, his gray brow trembling. He asked in a deep voice.

"How on earth was Shuigu City lost?!"

"The Mexicans used some kind of trebuchet to throw fireballs into the city. Then they used some kind of bronze cannon to fire stone bullets at the top of the city. Then, they used armored longbowmen to cover them, set up long wooden ladders, and threw He used an explosive pottery ball and finally attacked with heavily armored ax warriors, directly capturing Nancheng."

The Holy City War Elder, Vizier opened his eyes and answered calmly and accurately. As a war elder, his understanding of military affairs is the most profound among the elders. As a high-level priest, he will not be intimidated by the false power of evil gods, nor will he be fooled by any divine power. He can clearly see the battle situation and ask for key information.

"Now, it is meaningless to discuss the fall of Shuigu City."

The Wezier looked certain and answered calmly.

"If the Mexica launches an attack, the holy city of Cholula will never survive. Even if we mobilize all 5,000 warriors, recruit 10,000 militiamen, and have another year's worth of food, we will not be able to defend it for a month." What’s more, the Holy City only has an inner city in the temple area, and there is no solid outer city.”

"Damn!!"

Hearing this, the priests and elders of Quao shouted angrily. He slapped his palm on the cotton blanket and roared out the dissatisfaction buried in his heart.

"If I had known this, why would you rush to join the Tlaxcala people?! Now, the land promised by the Tlaxcalans has vanished, and the threat of the Mexica Legion is right in front of you! Heritage IV The great holy city that has existed for five hundred years is about to be destroyed in the hands of greedy fools like you!"

"Ahem!"

The leader of the Holy City, Petel, coughed twice, interrupting Quao's roar.

"Quio, joining the Tlaxcala war is a unanimous decision of the priests of the Holy City, not an individual's arbitrary decision. And we made such a choice because we were forced by the threat of the rapid expansion of the Mexica Alliance. A decision has to be made!”

Pate paused, a cold light flashing in his eyes.

"Don't forget, a few months ago, we negotiated with the Mexican envoys to join the alliance and retain the status of priests and elders. What were the conditions offered by the Mexicans?!"

"Hey! The conditions at that time are not unacceptable now."

Hearing this, Quao also sighed. After a moment, he whispered back.

"As long as the independence and autonomy of the city of Cholula can be maintained, even obeying the Mexica king of Trochtitlan is not unacceptable. As long as taxes can be collected from the business travelers passing through the border and the worshipers can be accepted, even if they surrender The land and population will not affect our lives too much. As for honoring the high priests of the capital city in the lake, making the Holy City of Mexica the first holy city, and even raising the Mexica God of War as the main god, it is nothing more than that. These are just false names!”

"fart!"

Hearing this, the leader of the Holy City, Peter, was furious. He stood up suddenly, like a skinny raven, and shouted angrily.

"Will the king who obeys the alliance not reach out and place elders in the holy city?! If we give up the land and population, where can we recruit warriors to guard?! In such a chaotic world, without the protection of warriors, how can we keep power and wealth if others interfere with us?! As for the false reputation you mentioned."

At this point, Petel was shaking with anger. He stretched out his hand angrily, threw the expensive jade plate in his hand to the ground, and broke it into several pieces!

"False reputation, false reputation! Without these false reputations, how can our holy city Cholula guide the various tribes in the world and gain the respect of believers? Quiao, you idiot, remember this! We can be in high positions for generations, without working hard, and can enjoy the sacred smoke and herbs, gorgeous clothes and food, beautiful girls. Enjoy the life that ants dare not even think about, relying on this lofty and mysterious false reputation!!"

"."

Faced with the rebuke of the leader of the holy city, Elder Quiao's face turned pale, but he couldn't speak for a long time. After a long while, he sighed again.

"Petel, I know you are right, it's all for the elders. But the situation is like this, the ferocious Mexica barbarians are holding war clubs and coming to our door. If we don't handle it well, the war club will fall, and everything will be gone!. What do you think we should do?"

"Humph! Why panic! The gods protect the holy city!"

Petel took a few breaths, shouted in a low voice, and was still full of confidence.

"This is the Holy City, the holy land of the Nahua gods, and the place where believers all over the world believe and respect! No matter how cruel the Mexica people are, they dare not kill here! Otherwise, they will not only be enemies with all the tribes in the world, but also lose the hearts of the people within the alliance! And the Mexica people are not a piece of stone without cracks."

"That makes sense! How can other cities compare with the lofty Holy City?"

"Chief Petel is right! The Mexica people should also be cautious."

"Well. At this time, it's up to you to make the decision!"

Several priest elders kept silent until this time, and then they spoke to express their agreement. Quiao also nodded, with more confidence on his face.

Only the war elder Wezier opened his mouth and wanted to say something. But when he saw the performance of the elders, he lowered his eyes and closed his mouth silently.

"The gods bless the holy city!"

Everyone talked about it, and the emotions gradually subsided. Chief Petel waved his hand, and a dozen pure female priest apprentices came up. With reverence in their eyes, they first lit a large bunch of incense for the elders, and then stretched out their arms to carefully hold the old priest elders in their soft arms.

Elder Quiao raised his head and exhaled comfortably. He inhaled the relaxing divine cigarette, but still couldn't resolve the worries in his heart.

"Chief, the Mexica are right in front of us, how should we deal with it?"

Chief Petel stood up, frowned, and couldn't make up his mind for a while. But this matter can't be delayed, it must be done quickly. After thinking for a while, he looked at the elders and gave orders in a deep voice.

"The Tlaxcalans are probably not the opponents of the Mexica. And the threat of the Mexica can only be resolved by the Mexica."

"What do you mean?"

Quiao was stunned, leaned forward, and looked at the chief.

"The Mexica?"

On the other side, Wezier suddenly opened his eyes, thinking.

"I think about it, the key point now, the crisis of the holy city, is only on three Mexica people."

Petel thought about it and said it more clearly.

"One is in the north, he holds the kingship and wants to suppress theocracy. One is in the south, he holds the military power and wants the kingship. The other is in the west"

"He holds theocracy and wants to suppress the kingship?"

Hearing this, Queo asked tentatively.

"No! Not that person. That person is dying, holding a murderous knife in his hand, and can't be touched at all. It's not the more terrifying one either."

Petel narrowed his eyes and smiled meaningfully.

"It's another person, maybe two people. He is looking at theocracy and wants it."

"We need to separate three people and meet them separately"