Chapter 505 The Mixtec Threat

The sun shines brightly, illuminating the simple tent. The warriors slay and guard the king's residence. The messenger came from a long distance and fell down to report back. The king then stood up with the magic staff in hand.

"Are there thousands more Stek warriors in Xiaoliu Village?"

Shulot unfolded the map and searched in the basin south of Water Valley City. The first thing that caught his eye was the small city of Tlaxcala, eighty miles to the south, which was captured by the army. Itzocan, that is, the city of Daolu.

In the Nahua language, itz is the abbreviation of itztli, which means "flint and knife", while ocan is the transformation of ohtli, which means "path, road". The two together are the "path of flint", the city of Daolu. As the name suggests, the terrain here is also surrounded by mountains and basins, with undulating hills and rocks.

From Daolucheng to the southwest along the basin, another seventy miles, is the mountain pass fortress group. This fortress group is also part of the army's food route. The Army Food Road runs along the mountains, first from Gaoshan City to the southeast, to the mountain pass fortress group, then along the basin to the northeast, passing through Daolu City, and then to the foot of Shuigu City.

The total length of the food road is nearly three hundred miles, supplying fifty thousand troops and tens of thousands of prisoners. The militia teams transporting food kept their heads down and carried their loads without stopping, maintaining the lifeline of the army.

"Yamaguchi Fortress Group, Toro Castle"

Shulot looked at the rear of the army, the two most critical logistics nodes. Then, he moved his fingers and groped for the basin where Daolu City was located.

There is an obvious mountain passage in the southeastern corner of the basin. It winds towards the southeastern mountains. After walking a hundred miles on the mountain road, you will arrive at Huejotzingo, the Mixtec military camp where the reinforcements were added, "the place of the little willow tree", that is, the little willow Village.

"Little Willow Tree in Xiaoliuzhai."

Shulot looked at the Mixtec city hidden deep in the mountains and frowned slightly. Then, he looked at the warrior commander.

"Bertard, what's the terrain here?"

"Your Highness, there are large areas of small willow trees growing in Xiaoliu Village. The places where the willow trees grow are mostly muddy and wet swamps. Similar to Mire Marsh Village, the terrain here is also muddy and dangerous. It is difficult to deploy an army, and it is quite easy to defend and difficult to attack. "

"Haha! Thousands of troops were added to the Quagmire Village, threatening the mountain pass fortress group sixty miles to the north. Thousands of troops were added to the Xiaoliu Village, threatening the Daolu City a hundred miles to the north. The Mixtec army was stationed at these two locations. , is it to threaten the army’s food supply?”

Having said this, Shulot showed an angry look on his face and shouted sternly.

"Send legion envoys to two strongholds to rebuke the leaders of the Mixtecs! Ask them if they want to become enemies of the Mexica Alliance and rebel against their suzerains!"

"Yes! Your Highness."

Bertard nodded, immediately wrote two royal orders, summoned two personal envoys, and sent them to the Mixtec tribes in the south. Then, he pondered for a while and said calmly.

"Your Highness, the South Route Army is stationed under Shuigu City and can rescue the back road at any time. It only takes two or three days to get to Daolu City from here, and it only takes five or six days to get to Yamaguchi Fortress. The Mixtecs are increasing their troops in key areas on the front line. They may not have the determination and courage to fight the Alliance directly! I’m afraid, the more important thing is to contain the Alliance’s forces so that the Tlaxcala people can hold on longer!”

"Um."

Shulot held the scepter in his hand and nodded. He thought for a while and gave a few more instructions.

"Increase rear defense. There are 6,000 royal regiments stationed in the Yamaguchi Fortress Group and Daolu City respectively. The Yamaguchi Fortress Group is closer to the rear, and four thousand militiamen will be added to garrison it. As for Daolu City, two thousand militiamen will be added to guard it. Southeast Pass.”

As a result, the Yamaguchi Fortress Group has 3,000 warriors and 4,000 militiamen, totaling 7,000 people. There are three thousand warriors and two thousand militiamen in Daolu City, a total of five thousand people. The defenders occupies a favorable location, and even if thousands of Stek warriors suddenly attack, they can still defend until the main force arrives.

"Finally, send out elite scouts to find out carefully! How many additional troops are there from the Mixtecs, how many warriors and how many militiamen are among them!"

"Do your will!"

After arranging the defense, Shulot's expression calmed down a little. He looked carefully at the situation in the south, murderous intent rising in his heart.

"Bertard, the Mixtecs are hiding in the southeastern mountains and are threatening our food routes at any time."

"Your Highness, the army's food road is still stable at present. The defenders everywhere occupy dangerous terrain. It is impossible for the Mixtecs to cut off the food road without dispatching a large army."

"Well, the South Route Army is here. If the Mixtecs dare to move north in a big way, they will be defeated in one fell swoop!"

Shulot was full of confidence in the combat power of the main army. But soon, his words changed and his expression became serious.

"But if the Mixtec army keeps its secrets and neither goes north nor retreats, it will be difficult. They are hidden in the mountains with difficult terrain, making it difficult to conquer. If the army continues to go north, it will take another 120 miles. When the four dangerous snake cities of Tlaxcala are besieged, how can we ensure the safety of our retreat? Are we going to have to keep dividing our troops and be led by the Mixtecs? "

Hearing this, Bertard also frowned.

Although the Mixtecs have not yet raised the flag of rebellion and declared war on the Alliance, they are expected to be lenient and must be treated as enemies. The five Mixtec states have a population of more than 800,000, and an estimated 20,000 to 30,000 warriors. This place is only more than 300 miles away from Shanhe City, the western ancestral homeland of the Mixtec people. There will be no problem with the other party's food supply, which is enough to support tens of thousands of troops. Behind the Mixtecs, there were the three Zapotec states, with a population of half a million and about 20,000 warriors.

Of course, the Mixtec and Zapotec tribes were city-state alliances with many internal factions, belonging to different honorable nobles, without a powerful king or big leader. Until the critical moment of life and death, it is impossible for them to gather warriors and fight with all their strength.

"Well, the threat of the Mixtecs is always there, and the uncertainty of its specific scale is always a thorn in the back, and it's uncomfortable!"

"Your Highness, what do you mean?"

“I have an idea but haven’t made up my mind yet.”

Xiulote pondered for a while and solemnly gave the order.

"Black Wolf's more than 10,000 people will continue to march 130 miles eastward in the past two days to remove the mountain city on the flanks. The Huashu Legion will follow him to suppress the tribes and capture prisoners in that area. The most warriors The more powerful Yuyan Legion will continue to go north for sixty miles, circle to the north of Cholula City, block the roads, and plunder the surrounding villages and towns, while the Panmang Legion with the lowest combat power will still stay in the Shuigu City area. Thoroughly clean up the entire basin.”

"As for the Imperial Guards, they will be stationed in Water Valley City to suppress the north and south. I will personally sit here and arrange the spring plowing of the prisoners in Tlaxcala while working on solving the problem of the Holy City and attacking the various tribes in Tlaxcala. There is no need to rush. At this time, the South Route Army has made a breakthrough, and the North Route Army has more warriors and stronger combat power."

Shulot paused for a moment and looked towards the mountains to the north. He seemed to be crossing a distance of hundreds of miles to see the "evil commander" of the powerful alliance, the noble king's banner of the Mexica people.

"I think it won't be long before the Northern Route Army will receive good news!"

Bertard nodded and looked north together. At this moment, he was also looking forward to the breakthrough of the Northern Route Army and the climax of the Eastern Expedition.

A few days later, the Mixtec leader replied to the envoy, saying that "the loyal Mixtec tribes have no rebellious intentions. They are just taking precautions to prevent the remnants of the Tlaxcalans from fleeing into the hinterland." However, according to the intelligence of the scouts, people gathered in the south The number of Mixtec warriors is still increasing.

In late April, Hei Lang led an army of 10,000 people to march eastward and set out to conquer the mountain city. Eight thousand men of the Yuyan Corps went north, looted and blocked the roads. The Holy City of Cholula was horrified and once again sent an envoy to Shuigu City, requesting an audience with His Highness. Shulot refused and still refused to meet.

At the end of April, the envoy from the capital city in the lake finally made a detour from the west. They brought the latest information from the Northern Route Army!

The easter egg chapter will update the map. Mark the cities and villages mentioned below.