Chapter 541 The King’s Plan, Victory Declared in Advance
"Ah! Capture Tree Snake City within twenty days?!"
"Exactly! No matter what the cost, I will capture Tree Snake City before the rainy season reaches its peak!"
There were only two people left in the big tent. Avitt made no secret and declared coldly. Gillim's expression suddenly changed, and he exclaimed in worry.
If you want to capture such a strong Tree Snake City in such a short period of time, you must risk your lives and lose thousands of Alliance warriors!
You know, the storming of Feathered Serpent City alone took a full month, and resulted in casualties of 400 royal warriors, more than 3,000 city-state warriors, and 8,000 city-state militiamen. The Tree Snake City is more important, with taller walls and more defenders. There are two to three thousand more Tlaxcala warriors in the city than in Quetzalcoatl City, and it is estimated to be around six thousand.
Unlike the emerging Mexica Confederation, the Tlaxcalans were more rigidly stratified. These die-hard snake warriors are more or less of noble blood and would find it difficult to surrender to the Alliance. They will definitely drive the militia in the city to resist until the end.
Thinking of this, Gillim saluted solemnly and sincerely admonished.
"Your Majesty, is it too hasty to order the city to be destroyed in twenty days? If the legions suffer too many casualties, I am afraid they will be dissatisfied and even resentful."
"Gillim, this is my decision!"
Avitt shook his head, his expression was stern and Qiankun was arbitrary.
"The situation now is different from before! The elders and high priests have all gone to the countries of the Kingdom of God Alliance. Without the suppression of the Sun and Morning Star, there will inevitably be instability and even rebellion. And when all the ministries in the world learn about it, they also There will be a reaction, especially the Totonac people not far to the east, as well as the Mixtec and Huastec tribes in the south, and even the Huastec people who just paid tribute and had their leaders detained."
"All the legions from all over the country have been dispatched to participate in the Eastern Expedition. The hinterland of the alliance is extremely empty. Even the capital in the lake has only 4,000 royal warriors, 2,000 temple guards, and 1,000 elder guards who will not be dispatched easily. Nobles from various places are secretly dissatisfied. , the foreign vassals have hidden rebellion, and if there is a change internally or externally, the capital city in the lake will not be able to conquer it at all. Therefore, I cannot wait for the rainy season to end before solidly attacking the city! "
Hearing this, Gillim pursed his lips and looked serious. He leaned down, bowed solemnly, and whispered.
"Your Majesty, the Texcoco Lake area has generally been cleaned up, and there should be no rebellion. The two states of Texcoco and Tlacopan were severely punished by the elders and high priests. The great nobles may have died. died, or were transferred to seal, and the rest were just exiled.”
"Where are the other seven states in the north and south? And where are the newly conquered Otomi and Prepecha people?"
Hearing this, Gillim lowered his head and said nothing, unable to speak.
As the chief intelligence officer, he clearly knows how many powerful nobles have been deprived of their power by the alliance's centralization reforms in recent years, and how many flames of dissatisfaction have been planted. Just because the alliance interfered with the succession of the great nobles and sent tax priests to the noble fiefdoms, it triggered more than a dozen noble rebellions and assassinations.
And in the seven years since the king took the throne, the number of alliance nobles who have died at the hands of the elders, high priests, and him has even exceeded the total number of casualties in the alliance's battles in the previous fifty-two years!
Although the royal center carried out such vigorous reforms and aggressive killings, there was no large-scale rebellion in the entire alliance. This was all due to the long-term suppression of the elders' god-like authority, the ruthless and decisive cleansing action of the high priest, and the military success of the alliance's conquests everywhere. The royal power and the divine power cooperated very well and worked together to suppress the local nobles firmly.
Now that the elders and high priests have left, it is very likely that the various royal families within the alliance will undergo changes, and the high priests will also be divided internally and restrain each other. The form of central power reform is indeed very different.
After a while, Gillim sighed softly and asked for instructions in a deep voice.
"My lord, what is your plan?"
"At any cost, conquer Tree Snake City and capture the gods in the city! Then, I will declare victory in the Eastern Expedition, lead the three royal legions back to the capital city in the lake, and hold an unprecedented grand ceremony to suppress the alliance states and the world. Each department! As for the remaining two cities of Yun She and White Snake."
Speaking of this, Avitt pondered for a long time. He calculated the situation of various ministries in the Eastern Expedition before finally making a decision.
"For the time being, Casal will lead the four city-state legions to carry out the early siege. It is impossible to attack the city during the peak of the rainy season. Neither the Mexica legion nor the Tlaxcala garrison can do much. The scale of the battle will be huge. Small"
"As for the siege after the rainy season, Captain Stanley of the Eagles had two legions, as well as thousands of people from Iskali and Tepopolo. After they captured Oak City in the western Wesochinco State , ten thousand people can be sent to besiege the city, and Xiulote's southern legion will also send twenty thousand people to the north to continue the siege of the two snake cities!"
"The main force of the royal family returns, and the vassals of various states besiege the city."
Hearing this, Gillim's expression flashed, thoughtful. He bowed respectfully and nodded in agreement.
"What the king said is true! The return of the main force of the royal family to the capital will stabilize the situation in the alliance. Just like a closed fist, it can be punched out at any time to deter foreign countries at home and abroad! And the consumption of food and grass on the Eastern Expedition front will also be greatly reduced. As for the dangerous Yunshe Mountain City and White Snake Hill City, we need to slowly besiege them. There is no need to rush them. They can be handed over to His Highness Shulot, who is good at fighting."
"Well! I feel at ease when Xiulote fights. After the Tree Snake City is captured, I will send an envoy to explain the follow-up arrangements to him carefully. As for the end of the Eastern Expedition, leave it to him! "
Avit smiled and nodded slightly. Then, he thought about the arrangement of the capital's grand festival. The expansion of the Great Temple was completed, the high priest was murdered, the elders went to the Kingdom of God, the Eastern Expedition God War was won, and the autumn harvest was prayed for. Five major events were to be combined in the unprecedented grand festival! Such a grand festival is destined to be the top priority to announce to the Lord God and ancestors, suppress the various states inside and outside, and win the hearts of the alliance!
"How many Tlaxcalan gods are there in the North Army now?"
"Your Majesty, the North Army conquered Hot Spring City and Quetzalcoatl City, and captured about a thousand gods and nobles. The various legions scattered and looted, and captured more than a thousand people. Together, including the old and the young, there are more than 2,500 people!"
"More than 2,500 noble bloodlines. It's still a long way from the number of 6,000."
Avit frowned, thought for a while, and said in a deep voice.
"Let the southern army send 2,000 captured descendants of gods and nobles to the lake capital! After conquering the Tree Snake City, we will search the city and collect the lucky number of 6,000! After capturing the noble captives, I will return to the lake capital to take charge, and then inform the whole world to hold a grand ceremony to celebrate the victory of the Eastern Expedition!"
"Yes, I will obey your will!"
Gilliam bowed his head and bowed. Then, his expression changed slightly and he asked again.
"Your Majesty, most of the four states of Tlaxcala have been conquered. After the grand ceremony, how should the land and population of these four states be dealt with?"
"Well, how should the land of the four states of Tlaxcala be dealt with."
Avit pondered for a long time. The two northern and southern expeditions to the east were extremely bloody, and the four states of Tlaxcala were already in ruins. If the alliance wants to truly rule here, it needs to migrate Mexica immigrants, occupy important cities and fortresses, and assimilate the remaining Tlaxcala tribes. According to the traditional practice of the alliance, the newly conquered land should be enfeoffed with princes, nobles should be relocated, and new Mexica city-states should be established.
"Should we follow the tradition of enfeoffment or directly incorporate it into the direct jurisdiction? If it is incorporated into the direct jurisdiction, the royal center needs to invest manpower and material resources, station legion warriors, and there will be dissatisfaction and complaints from the nobles of each state."
Thinking of this, Avite hesitated. The internal structure of the alliance is complicated, which is different from the Lake Kingdom, which is a blank sheet of paper. Even as noble as he is, he cannot reduce the enfeoffment as much as Xiu Luote, expand the direct jurisdiction, and continuously strengthen the centralization. He weighed the pros and cons, thought about the situation of all parties in the alliance, and finally sighed.
"According to the previous plan, most of the land of the four states will be enfeoffed, and the alliance will only control important cities and checkpoints! Transfer some nobles of the seven states in the north and south, grant more than twice the fertile land of the four states, and then incorporate their original land into the direct jurisdiction of the royal family!"
"As you wish!"
Gilliam nodded respectfully and bowed to the ground. He hesitated for a while, but still raised his head and suggested.
"Your Majesty, the four states of Tlaxcala are vast and fertile. Even if half of the Tlaxcala tribes were wiped out in the eastern expedition, there are still 500,000 or 600,000 people left! Although these tribes are enemies of us Mexica, they share the same language and culture, and can be assimilated in one generation. For hundreds of years, the civilians at the bottom have been called moth people and have become accustomed to the rule of the gods."
Speaking of this, Gilliam paused. In this era, the sun god, the god of death, the cloud snake god, the feathered serpent god... all have different symbols, and in the hearts of the people, there is a real divinity. Not long ago, he heard that His Highness Shulot claimed the position of the god of death to win the hearts of the captives in Tlaxcala, and he also had a similar plan.
"Your Majesty, after eliminating the descendants of the Cloud Serpent God in the various tribes of Tlaxcala, if there is a royal nobleman sitting in charge and inheriting the Cloud Serpent God position, you can quickly win over the hearts of the various tribes and make them work for the alliance!"
"Hmm? Royal nobles, inherit the Cloud Serpent God position, and conquer the various tribes of Tlaxcala?"
Hearing this, Avit was slightly stunned and asked hesitantly.
"You mean, my nephew, Montezuma Socoyotsin, will be enfeoffed as a prince here, claim the Cloud Serpent God position, and rule the Tlaxcalan people?"
". Your Majesty, that's not the case."
Gilliam gritted his teeth and spoke frankly.
"Your Highness Prince Chimalpilli is brave and intelligent, different from ordinary people! In my opinion, His Highness can be enfeoffed as a prince and inherit the Cloud Serpent God position!"
"Ah? Little Chimalpilli, enfeoffed as a prince?"
Hearing this, Avit was surprised. He looked carefully at the Chief Intelligence Officer with a slightly cold expression.
"Gilliam, he is only nine years old this year! How can he leave the capital and be granted the land of Tlaxcala?"
"Your Majesty! Although the little prince is still young, he is indeed smart and decisive, much better than other noble sons!"
Gilliam fell to the ground, touched his head to the ground, and tried to persuade him.
"You can continue to take the little prince with you and teach and raise him carefully. But let him inherit the Cloud Snake God and be enfeoffed as a prince. On the one hand, he can nominally rule over the transferred alliance nobles and control the four states. On the other hand, this will be very helpful for the assimilation of the Tlaxcala people and winning over the hearts of the people of various tribes!"
"When the little prince grows older, he will be able to go to the east to manage the four snake cities. The four snake cities are not far from the capital in the lake. If you take the shortcut in the mountains, the distance is less than 300 miles, which is convenient for meeting."
"Besides, the future alliance will be handed over to His Highness Shulot and Princess Alyssa, and the young little prince must have a place to stand! Your Majesty!"
"A place to stand? My son, little Chimalpilly."
Hearing this, Avit lowered his eyes, thousands of emotions stirred in his chest, but he didn't make a sound. The big tent was silent for a while, only Gillim's bitter advice echoed in the king's tent.
"Alyssa and Xiuluot are together, and they will inherit the alliance I left behind. And the enfeoffment of little Chimarpili"
Avit closed his eyes and thought, silent. Reason and emotion kept colliding in his mind. The eldest daughter Alyssa has always been his favorite. Now she is married, and she will inherit the power of the alliance with her son-in-law Xiuluot in the future. And he only has the second son left by his deceased wife. If there is no arrangement, he will feel a little guilty.
"Well, speed up the assimilation of the four eastern states"
After a while, Avit took a long breath and found a reason to convince himself. He suppressed his deep emotions and nodded slowly.
"Enfeoff little Chimarpili and succeed the throne of the Cloud Snake God!"
Gillim knelt on the ground, overjoyed. He saluted respectfully, with a hint of joy in his voice.
"Praise the king, praise the Lord! With the Lord's protection and the blessing of the ancestors, the Eastern Expedition will surely be a great victory! Your Majesty, you have destroyed the two tribes of Tarasco and Tlaxcala, and divided the whole world into two. You are a great king who has never been seen before! In a few decades, you will surely become the most supreme, greatest and immortal Great Tlatoani in the history of the alliance!"
"Haha!"
Hearing the words of the female snake, Avit laughed out loud. Then, he proudly shook his head to correct it.
"No, Guillem, you are wrong! The elders and the high priests have fallen one after another. In the current Mexica Alliance, I am the most supreme and greatest Great Tlatoani!"
"Yes, congratulations to the king! You are the supreme, shining sun!"
Gillim saluted and praised, and Avit laughed heartily. The tears on his face had dried up, leaving only ambition and the desire to conquer. The power of the whole world has never been so concentrated in the hands of one person, and he wants more!
"Maybe, I should change to a new name."
Avite thought faintly. Then, he clenched the staff and shouted loudly.
"Come, tell the whole army to mourn for the elders and the high priest for one day! One day later, the whole army will go south to attack the Tree Snake City, avenge the high priest, and sacrifice for the elders!"
"Obey your will, the highest sun!"
Soon, the news of the plea spread, and the cries and roars of the warriors sounded throughout the camp. Those boiling shouts, like the howling of wolves, continued all night, with a shrill murderous intent.
The old sun slowly set, and the new sun will rise tomorrow. And after the sun rises, it will be a bloody and cruel siege, like a sacrificial fight!