Chapter 614 The Second Kingdom Exploration, the Return of Quetzalcoatl!

The sea and sky are vast, with boundless waves in the east, and land looms in the southeast. The kingdom's exploration fleet set out from the mouth of the Cat Eagle River and headed east along the extended land. After traveling one hundred and twenty miles, we reach the mouth of the Rio Filobobos River; and after another sixty miles, we reach the mouth of the Rio Colipa River.

Cat Eagle River, Zhanjiao River, and Pingsha River are three long rivers lined up in a row, like the root system of trees, extending inland and branching out into more than ten tributaries. These long river tributaries connect the four states of Tlaxcala, the coast of Huastec, and the coast of Totonac. They even extend all the way to the southeast, reaching the vast Lake Miguel Alemán, 700 miles away, at the border of Totonac, Mixtec, and Zapotec. In other words.

"O God! This eastern seaside is really a wild place. There are trees everywhere, and they are connected by these rivers!"

Puap took off his eagle helmet and wiped the sweat from his forehead and neck. Then, he took a piece of shriveled tomato, threw it into his mouth, and chewed it. A very sour and slightly sweet taste spread in the gray earth warrior's mouth, making him energetic again.

"After coming down from the plateau, in addition to the continuous rain forest, the coastal lowlands are filled with rivers one after another! If there were not these large and small rivers, drilling everywhere in the hundreds of miles of forests, it would be really life-threatening! "

Hearing this, Mayan businessman Tikalo shook his head and laughed. Where is this? Next, when we get to the Mayan tribes in Yucatan, there are more than 2,000 miles of rainforest from north to south, and 1,600 miles of rainforest from east to west. There are green oceans everywhere, and there are no long rivers connecting the inland. That is really life-threatening!

Without local guides and local city-state support, any legion will be dead if it goes deep into the rainforest! Well, no matter how powerful the legion is!

Thinking of this, Ti Carlo lowered his eyes and remained silent. Some long-standing family records flashed in his mind, making it difficult to let go. After a while, he smiled and said.

"After crossing three big rivers, we left the territory of the Huastec tribe and came to the territory of the Totonak people. Further to the southeast, a hundred and twenty miles away, we reach the respected Yu of the Totonak tribes. Snake City! In ancient legends, this is where Quetzalcoatl left the mainland and sailed to the East China Sea on a snake raft!"

"Therefore, hundreds of years ago, the coastal tribes who believed in Quetzalcoatl established an ancient city-state here and built the revered ancient Quetzalcoatl temple! Then, the Totonak people who came south from the northern wilderness , after settling on the seaside, he gradually converted to Quetzalcoatl.”

"It's mid-January now, which happens to be the first Quetzalcoatl Day after the New Year! All the tribes in Totonac along the coast will hold extremely grand festivals that last for several days. If the fleet speeds up, they should be able to make it in time. superior!"

The rowers took turns paddling, and the fleet kept moving forward. Two days later, the kingdom's exploration fleet finally arrived at Feathered Serpent City. At this time, a celebration ceremony to worship the gods was being held in the Feathered Serpent City. And tens of thousands of Totonak tribesmen are dancing and celebrating inside and outside the city-state!

". Merciful Quetzalcoatl, He has the most beautiful feathers in the world! He rides the hurricane with his feathers and dances in the storm on the seaside! With his beard fluttering and a smile on his face, He sings with us!"

The songs of celebration echoed throughout the city. The nobles and chiefs were all dressed in bright clothes, with tall bird feathers on their bodies, surrounded by gold, silver and precious stones, and sang with their hands raised high. The young girls, wearing scanty shorts with their wrists and ankles exposed, were strung with colorful shells and danced a youthful and lively dance amidst the "ding-dong" sound.

The whole city is immersed in a sea of ​​festive joy. The arrival of the Kingdom's fleet did not attract much attention. Although the longships of the kingdom are large, they are similar to the large galleys that the Mayans often traveled with. In fact, at this time, there were several Mayan merchant ships docked on the seaside of the city-state. On such festive days, nobles and leaders never begrudge wealth, and it is the best time to do business!

Under the vigilant eyes of their Mayan counterparts, a group of people stepped off the long boat and entered the ancient city in front of them. Although this Feathered Serpent City of the Totonac people has the same name as the Feathered Serpent City of Tlaxcala, its architectural style is more primitive and very different.

The Feathered Serpent City of the Tlaxcala people is a small but sturdy castle with a complete bluestone exterior wall and tall twin temples. The Feathered Serpent City of the Totonak people is an open market city-state with a vast area, only simple wooden fences, and most of the houses are low thatched houses and wooden sheds. In the city-state, the only stone buildings with more than two floors are the single pyramid more than ten meters high, and the most revered Quetzalcoatl Temple built on the top of the tower!

"Huh? Is this the statue of Quetzalcoatl? It looks really weird."

The old militiaman Chihuaco stood near the temple, raising his head and looking curiously at the carvings of the pyramid temple. The Prepecha people believe in the three gods of the sun, the earth, and the moon. The Mexica Alliance has given up its belief in the feathered serpent and completely destroyed the feathered serpent sculpture. Therefore, this was indeed the first time he saw Quetzalcoatl.

The reliefs are lifelike and have been carved for hundreds of years. Among the spiraling feathered serpents stands the chiseled Quetzalcoatl. Quetzalcoatl's eyes are two huge sapphires, and his forehead is extremely broad, his nose is high and upright, and his appearance is very deep, which is completely different from the other Nahua gods. What's more important is

"It's really strange! Quetzalcoatl, why do you have such a long beard? Oh! It's so ugly, much uglier than His Majesty!"

Seeing this, Chihuaco shook his head and sighed. In this era, no one in the world has the habit of growing a beard. Genetically speaking, Native Americans also have the least body hair, their skin hair follicles are the least sensitive to male hormones, and they almost never have lush beards. This statue fell in Chihuaco's eyes, just like the people of the ancient Celestial Dynasty felt when they saw the "foreign barbarians" for the first time.

Two steps away, Puap's eyes widened. The carved beard of Quetzalcoatl was dyed with gray-red dye and inlaid with rubies. And Quetzalcoatl's face was plated with some silver particles, sparkling in the sunlight.

"Broad forehead, high nose, blue eyes, white skin, and gray-red beard? Huh? I seem to have heard someone say that this is"

"This is a foreign evil! Damn it! These degenerate Totonac people not only believe in Quetzalcoatl, but they also portray Quetzalcoatl as a white-skinned evil demon!"

Seeing the carvings of the temple, the chief priest Tomat's eyes widened with anger, and his hands were shaking with anger. Although the Quetzalcoatl of the Alliance also has a beard, he is not carved into the appearance of an evil spirit inspired by the gods!

"Ah! O supreme god! May you send down thunder to punish these lost tribes! The alliance's legions must come here, destroy the statues, and burn the evil spirits to ashes!"

"Tsk tsk! The Quetzalcoatl of the Totonac people is indeed very strange. I don't know who they learned it from, but it actually looks nothing like our Mayan Quetzalcoatl!"

Not far away, the Mayan businessman Tikalo touched his bright bald head and looked at the sculptures of the temple with puzzlement and confusion in his expression.

However, at this moment, several old feathered serpent priests suddenly walked out from the high temple. They held corn and feathers in their hands, singing and dancing as they walked down the pyramid. And a dozen priest apprentices, carrying a gorgeous bamboo raft, followed carefully behind them.

The young dark snake stood on tiptoes and looked out. On top of the raft, there was a wooden statue of a feathered serpent with gold and silver carvings and a height of two people. At the bottom of the wooden statue, there are a row of several long wooden snakes. This is the sculpture of Quetzalcoatl riding on a raft of snakes.

"O merciful Quetzalcoatl, He suffers a sad heartache.

He was harmed by the gods of darkness and witnessed the end of decline!

He took out the obsidian stone mirror and looked at his pale face.

He stretched out his old hand and left his final fingerprints on the stone.

"

The feathered serpent priests were singing and dancing, carrying the raft and walking towards the sea several miles away. The people of the city also sang loudly, following the footsteps of the priests. The nobles took out thin obsidian mirrors and reflected the sun's rays, which fell on the undulating sea like shining stars.

Everyone in the fleet looked at each other and then followed the residents of the city-state to the seaside.

“O merciful Quetzalcoatl, He chose self-exile!

He left the people he loved and went to the endless eastern lake.

There is His homeland and the beauty of countless birds and flowers.

His loving subjects wept and begged. they said:

O merciful and bright God, when will you return? .

"

By this time, the feathered serpent priests had arrived at the seaside. They lowered their magnificent raft into the vast sea. The nobles and chiefs immediately stepped forward, scrambling to put their gold, silver and precious stones on the raft dedicated to the gods. The young and pure city-state girls were holding tropical flowers and dotted them around the raft.

Soon, driven by the currents and tides, the tall Quetzalcoatl statue was loaded with gold, silver, gems and flowers, and slowly sailed into the depths of the sea. Tens of thousands of Totonac people stood on the beach, staring blankly at the raft going away. Their faces gradually showed sadness, and even shed tears.

It wasn't until a big wave hit and the idols on the raft disappeared that the Quetzalcoatl priests sang again in a sad tone.

“O merciful Quetzalcoatl, who has left the weeping people!

He traveled on the raft of the green serpent to the far east.

He makes divine promises to those who love Him and are loved!

The beautiful feathered serpent will return one spring,

With flowers of prosperity, end the short-lived withering.

"

“He said: I will return from the lake in the east,

On the biggest ship ever!

Bring back peace and prosperity, bring back light and wisdom,

Save you again!

"

At this point, the feathered serpent priest's song suddenly stopped in the wind. The priest apprentices blew the low conch shells, like weeping at the bottom of the lake. The myth of Quetzalcoatl is circulated in songs. Up to this point, only endless regrets and the last misty hope are left.

An atmosphere of sadness enveloped the crowd. Tens of thousands of Totonacs could stand it no longer. They fell on their knees in groups by the sea, their eyes filled with tears. They stretched out their hands tremblingly, facing the boundless sea to the east. Under the leadership of the priests, they issued hysterical calls:

"Come back! Merciful Quetzalcoatl!"

".Come back! Bright Kecharkoatl!."

"Please take a big ship and return from the eastern sea! Use light and prosperity to save your people!"

".Please, please come back!"

The sound of crying blood is heartbreaking. The calls and cries of tens of thousands of people rang out on the beach outside Quetzalcoatl City, spreading far into the distance. However, on the distant skyline in the east, there is only an empty sea surface and lonely flying seabirds.

Chihuaco stood in the crowd, staring towards the east. He had never participated in such a celebration, but he could truly feel people's desire for Quetzalcoatl, for peace, light and prosperity!

However, in the past hundreds of years, in thousands of worship ceremonies, the benevolent and bright Quetzalcoatl has never returned. The world of Central America maintains a balance of population limits in constant division and fighting. The world is struggling towards the Bronze Age, waiting for a breakthrough that has been accumulated for thousands of years.

In the original history, such Quetzalcoatl festivals would continue to be held. Such calls and waiting will continue!

Until exactly thirty years later, a tall three-masted sailing ship really returned from the eastern coast on the day of the festival, sailing towards the crowd of people who were welcoming it wildly. Then, it was loaded with "messengers and incarnations of Quetzalcoatl", with brutal greed and desire, bringing endless darkness and death!