Chapter 1346: Chapter 1346

The sun rose to its zenith, while the smoke from cooking fires never ceased. A thousand Tlaxcalan archers sat and squatted outside the post station, messily having their lunch. They had just formed up and trekked from the southern counties, their military bearing and discipline at the level of the kingdom’s trained militia.

However, after enduring the exceptionally brutal eastern expeditions, the strict obedience at the garrison in Water Valley City, the long and uneasy migration of thousands of miles, and the arduous southern garrison and road-building within the kingdom... these Tlaxcalan archers, who had struggled to stand out, had completely erased any notion of tribal resistance and had become obedient and compliant, turning into a usable kingdom army.

"Hmm!... They understand reverence, follow orders, they’re a good bunch of eagle hatchlings!..."

Woodpecker Aitz finished his corn tortillas in two bites, then hoisted the battle flag and made a round among his archers. Wherever he appeared, the Tlaxcalan archers would immediately stop eating and respectfully bow their heads in greeting.

Aitz looked closely, and in the eyes of these archers, there was not only fear and obedience but also a distinctly evident spirit! This spirit, like that of the conscripted agricultural slaves Aitz had seen, was a desperate desire to earn military honors, to be granted land and slaves, to change their own and their families’ fates. For these warlike tribes, used to life and death and familiar with sacrifices, killing and being killed were nothing out of the ordinary to achieve that goal.

"Military honors and land grants... the only path of surrendering tribes to ascend the kingdom’s high mountains..."

Aitz pondered, his gaze lowered slightly. In this thousand-man camp, the majority of the tribal archers wore amulets of the Sun Hummingbird around their necks; some had the emblem emblazoned on their foreheads, and others even carried an additional God of Death Black Wolf amulet. This added faith in divine spirits, the ample food supply along the way, and the incentive of military rank managed to maintain the army’s morale at a level capable of battle.

"Praise the Chief Divine! Praise Your Highness! Having finished eating, everyone line up and depart!"

The battle flag waved, pointing northward. The kingdom’s officers waved the shafts of their copper spears, shouting loudly, using "striking" and "yelling" to align the tribal archers into a somewhat disorganized marching formation. Then, under the gazes of Postmaster Lo Duanbi and Garrison Leader Taishan, they marched noisily northward, leaving behind a trail of disorder and dust.

"Oh Chief Divine! This chaotic camp is finally moving on!..."

Garrison Leader Taishan pursed his lips, watching the departing tribal archers and shaking his head.

"Old Lo, look at their sorry state. They can’t even form up properly; do they look like they can fight?"

"They look like they can!"

Postmaster Lo Duanbi’s answer was brief but very assertive.

"Look at their eyes, arms, fingers, they’re excellent archers! Archers shoot from afar, they don’t need to form neat formations."

"...Well! Whether or not they can fight isn’t just about archery alone..."

Garrison Leader Taishan pursed his lips, somewhat unconvinced, and retorted.

"When I was campaigning northward, I also encountered those skilled canine descendants. As long as we charged in formation, engaging in close combat briefly, the large groups of canine descendants would flee, running as fast as rabbits!..."

"Chief Divine testifies! Taishan, this is different."

"What’s different? They’re all the same mess, all good at archery!"

Postmaster Lo Duanbi scratched his head with his single hand, thought for a moment, and replied earnestly. Googlᴇ search N0veI.Fiɾe.net

"They have the kingdom’s weapons, armor, and food; they also have kingdom officers commanding them..."

"They are devout to the Chief Divine, and the spirits will give them courage. They came from the east and then from the south; there is no way back for them..."

"Like me back then, they must risk everything, desperately hold onto this only chance, and fight for... the Chief Divine’s protection!"

Upon hearing this, the garrison leader Taishan nodded towards the northern horizon, watching the disappearing figures, and remained silent for a long while. It wasn’t until the able-bodied men of the village returned in teams that he let out a low sigh.

"May the Chief Divine bless us! Old Luo, it’s time to stew the meat..."

The deep autumn in the highlands is a season with little rain and is suitable for marching. After building segments of dirt roads and county paths, the speed of the march increased significantly.

Woodpecker Aitz estimated that before the road was built, a long march on the highlands could maintain a stable speed and enough strength for a thousand-man camp to cover about 30 li a day. However, after constructing smooth dirt roads and county paths, the daily marching speed could be increased to 50 li.

"May the Chief Divine bless us! With the smooth county paths, marching saves much effort... and from here to Northern Rivermouth County, it’s only 80-90 li. Hurry up and catch the pace, by the day after tomorrow before noon, we can definitely make it!"

With this thought, Woodpecker Aitz felt much relieved. His archers were light troops, and without needing to account for the next day’s actions, their speed could be doubled. Therefore, they were certain to arrive on time for the grand festival at noon the day after tomorrow, in front of so many nobles and priests!

"Haha! Although these northern villages and fields are only two hundred li away, they are quite different from the Capital Region!..."

With ease in his heart, Woodpecker Aitz leisurely observed the villages and fields along the road. He also recalled what he had seen and heard along the way, comparing the differences across the kingdom.

"The characteristic of Capital County is the military merit manor. Everywhere there are fourth-level samurai awarded land, first-level military merit nobility, and manors of all sizes, as well as Chinampas on the lake..."

Woodpecker Aitz stroked his chin, recalling his manor in the Patzcuaro Lake region. As a first-level military merit noble, he had been granted eight hundred mu of land and forty agricultural slaves. But in reality, after a few years of conquest and reclamation, the area of his manor had actually exceeded a thousand mu, with more than fifty agricultural slaves and over a dozen family members who had come from the Mexica Alliance. All his neighbors were likewise nobles of military merit, owning hundreds to thousands of mu of land, accompanying their lord on western expeditions and conferred frontiers of the kingdom.

These military merit manors of various sizes filled the entire Patzcuaro Lake region, and the military merit nobility and samurai in the manors were the most loyal pillars of the kingdom. During the recent autumn harvest season, the entire Capital County was a scene of prosperity and flourish everywhere!

"With the construction by countless captives and slaves, a long dyke of white stone has been erected on Lake Patzcuaro, and ’cement’ mixed with volcanic ash has been poured. This large lake prone to flooding in the rainy season has been preliminary tamed, like a giant water serpent that submits under the feet of the Chief Divine, obediently following the divine will..."

"During the just-past rainy season, the rainfall was retained and accumulated by the dykes, preventing any flooding. Neatly built canals directed the lake water, irrigating the vast fertile fields along the lake, nourishing the farmland on them. Groups of agricultural slaves worked diligently in the fields, wielding new farming tools, harvesting the emerald and yellow maize fields. Small patches of Chinampa floating fields were finally established in the corners of the lake, preparing for multiple annual harvests! And in the corners of the fields were the dug compost pits for preparing fertilizer for the high-yielding Chinampa floating fields..."

Thinking of the Chinampa by the lake, a smile spread across Woodpecker Aitz’s face. With the Chinampa floating fields, it truly felt like the home of the Mexica! And if the entire Lake Patzcuaro could be wholly divided and tamed like Lake Texcoco by the kingdom, then just the Chinampa floating fields and Milpa farmlands along the lake could support the entire Capital’s population of five hundred thousand!

Indeed, following the conquests and migrations of the eastern expedition, the Capital region of the Kingdom of the Lake, spanning over two hundred li, had reached a population scale of five hundred thousand. Of the Capital’s population, four-tenths, nearly two hundred thousand, were agricultural slaves, industrial slaves, and mining slaves producing wealth.

Among them, the agricultural slaves of military merit nobility and samurai accounted for about eighty-five percent; the mining slaves in Blackstone City mining area and smelting sites accounted for ten percent; the construction slaves of the royal family’s central dyke and temples made up the remaining five percent. This number was constantly growing with the kingdom’s external expansion, as batches of captives kept arriving, but the proportion remained roughly the same.

For the kingdom’s slaves, there were two routes to change their fate. One was to endure a long time, according to religious law, and become a commoner after ten years of labor. The other was to join the military campaign, achieve military merits for the lord’s family, and independently elevate themselves to the rank of samurai, thus automatically shaking off the status of a slave.

Of course, Woodpecker Aitz was not aware of these numbers and figures. As a military merit noble who had forged his own future, his memories of the Capital Lake region were of a prosperity blessed by the Divine, guided by the lord, and created by the kingdom’s warriors!

"In the prosperous Patzcuaro Lake region, new military merit manors were emerging everywhere. Boats loaded with stone and timber continuously transported building materials from the western mountains. In the military merit manors along the lake coast, stood tall wooden and stone houses, vast fertile farmlands, enclosed wooden market squares, and patrols of the kingdom’s warriors...!"

"In front of the tall houses, young samurai trained in martial arts and practiced archery under the guidance of their elders. Each family manor routinely had several samurai and an equal number of retinue soldiers. The samurai dressed in meticulously crafted leather armor, wore helmets, carried a greatbow, and wielded bronze axes and long spears... Their equipment was of high quality, ready to face any enemy, with their retinue equally well-equipped...!"

"In the vast farmlands, agricultural slaves wielded wooden, stone, iron, even bronze farming tools, harvesting the abundant crops. Priests guided the new harvest ’rituals’, fertilizing the earth, and even discovered some stone that increased yield... Grain filled the granaries, and pumpkins kept the agricultural slaves well-fed. No one desired to escape, for in the wilderness, the likelihood of starving, being killed, or captured was far greater..."

"In the enclosed marketplace, goods from all directions awaited trade. There were Obsidian ritual artifacts from the Alliance, gold and silver jewelry from the Cloud People, spices and dyes from the Seaside People, feather garments from the Woodlands People, as well as jade and opals from the southwestern mountains, even furs and horn leather from the northern wilderness... all awaited trade with military merit warriors!"

From the perspective of a military merit noble, Woodpecker Aitz saw this as the expected prosperity of the kingdom. This prosperity stemmed from the samurai’s battles, the conquest of the legions, and also the labor of the agricultural slaves. It was a prosperity of the military merit nobility, as well as the stabilizing foundation and inexhaustible impetus for the kingdom’s expansion!

And this prosperity, compared to the Mexica Alliance, which belonged only to the great nobility, was more likely to receive the sincere support and allegiance of the samurai!

"Prosperity from the land, and also prosperity from war... The samurai’s manors bloomed like flowers on the Capital’s Lake Patzcuaro, like the most beautiful Chinampa!... Praise be to the Chief Divine and the King!..."

After reminiscing for a moment, Woodpecker Aitz felt invigorated. He couldn’t help but chant softly, reciting praises created by the poets of Qinchongcan Capital. And after chanting, as he looked at the harvested fields and the village communities on both sides of the road, he once again sensed another kind of prosperity. A kind that was somewhat unfamiliar to him, rarely seen in the Alliance, a prosperity belonging to the commoners!