Aztec Eternals

The drizzle always falls tirelessly, in the rainy season of June.

The raindrops fell on the wide surface of the Leman River, causing ripples in layers. The breeze is blowing the new shoots in the field, and the seedlings of corn are growing happily. And under the corn, are just sprouting beans and squash.

Shulot stood on the watchtower of the cottage, huddled with Avit, looking at the lake and the camp on the other side of the long river. Tarasco patrols were patrolling the river bank in the rain, as were the Mexica troops here.

"I finally know the benefits of this flag. At least it can keep out the rain." Shulot reached out and helped the command flag on Avet's back, allowing the umbrella cover on the top of the flag to block the two of them. "You just said that this camp is the most important?"

"Yes." Commander Avet carefully observed the Tarasco camp in the distance. "Do you see this lake? This is Lake Quetseo. Its northernmost point is connected to Lake Leman, and then it extends westward to the interior of the Tarascos. It only takes a week to reach the core hinterland of Tarasco, located in the Patzcuaro Lake area of ​​the Patzcuaro Valley."

"Patzcuaro." Shulot repeated the word twice before realizing it. "The Prepecha people?"

"Smart." Avet smiled slightly, "Tarasco people don't call themselves Tarasco people, but Prepecha people. They are the most prosperous capital city, the center of the rise of the ethnic group. , the Patzcuaro Valley named itself. In fact, hundreds of years ago, they were just a branch of the Chichimecs who went south, conquered the prosperous Baggio and Michoacan tribes in the area, and inherited the Pray Petra's name."

"That's right! Just as we arose in the Mexica Valley, we call ourselves Mexica, or Tenochca. And foreigners will say we are Aztecs, from far away Aztlan. So say Come on, our ancestors were also a branch of Chichimaker dogs who went south?" The smart boy drew inferences from one instance to another.

"This is not something a priest should say." Avit laughed, "When the patron saint promised us, our name is no longer Aztec, but Mexica, with the destiny to conquer the world .”

The world of the Mexica is the Greater Mexico region of Central America.

Shulot also agreed with a smile, and changed to a more important topic: "The Tarascos are our biggest opponents, so how many people do they have? How many troops can they mobilize?"

Avet was meditating, writing and drawing in the air with his fingers, and it took him a long time to answer: "From the banks of the Leman River in the north, to the banks of the Balsas River in the south, to the city-states of Mexica in the east, and to the surroundings of Lake Chapala in the west. , is the territory owned by the Tarasco City-State Alliance: the Mikencho region. The Tarasco Alliance controls a population of more than 1.6 million."

"Mickenjo? The Land of the Fishermen?"

"Yes. The Tarascos control the territory of eight states. There are about 800,000 people in the three states in the Patzcuaro Lake District, and the core is the three cities of Chin Tson Can, Ivacio, and Patzquale. Among them Qincong Cancheng has the largest scale, with a population of 50,000 people.

To the west of the Tarascos, in the two states of the Chapala Lake District, there are about 600,000 people. However, these two states are far away from Chin Cong Chan, and King Tarasco could not effectively control this area.

The remaining 200,000 people are distributed in the three states between the lakes. In general, the population always gathers near the lakes, because only the lakes can build the productive chinampas. "

In this day and age, states are a kind of vague regional division. It can be a city-state with attached villages, a block where ethnic groups gather, or a small piece of terrain. Xiuluote regards it as a "county" in the concept of Huaxia. There are eight counties under the control of the Tarasco Federation, and the county where the capital is located is Chin Tseng Chanbang.

"The Tarasco Alliance of 1.6 million people is estimated to have a total of 50,000 warriors, and 25,000 are from the Patzcuaro Lake District, which is directly under the king's control. The other 20,000 warriors belong to the highly autonomous Chu The Pala lake area. The remaining 5,000 belong to the three states between the lakes." Avit continued to calculate.

"There are 50,000 samurai among 1.6 million people, that means one samurai for every 32 people?" Xiulot thought for a while, this is really a "Warring States" where all countries fight each other and resort to war, not relying on high-yield crops at all Can't keep it up.

Avit thought for a moment, then nodded: "In general, it's about the same ratio. In the capital core of each tribe, the proportion of supporting warriors is higher, and in other areas, the proportion of warriors is slightly lower."

Xiulot expressed his understanding. The capital of each tribe always has more materials, wealth and population to support stronger force and maintain the suppression of other alliance city-states.

Simply put, the strong is king, and the king is the strongest.

"How many militiamen are there in Tarasco?" the boy asked again.

"The number of militiamen is hard to say. It depends on whether the farming is busy or slack, and it also depends on the strength of the tribe's rule. It is even more extreme during emergency mobilization." Avit thought for a while, "In general, the food of each tribe can support as much as possible. Twice as many militias as samurai. More than twice as many will seriously affect the food storage and production of the states, and famine will inevitably follow."

As he said that, Avey looked at the city of Ottopan in the north with a pointed look.

Xiulot nodded knowingly and sighed slightly.

At this time, the various tribes in Central America were somewhat similar to the daimyos of the Sengoku period in Japan. Only the relatively wealthy city-state samurai and the very poor village militia jointly formed a secondary military system of samurai and farmers.

Unlike the Celestial Empire, there was no well-developed class of small farmers here. The self-cultivating farmers are just in their infancy economically and politically, and the number of "good family sons" or "fu soldiers" that can be provided is very small.

"Tarasco Alliance, eight states, 1.6 million people, 50,000 warriors/25,000 direct subordinates, 100,000 militia." This is the first time that Xiulot has specific military strength for a tribe. a clear understanding.

Naturally, he had a more concerned question: "How many people are there in our Mexica alliance? How many warriors?"

Avit smiled confidently: "Not counting those vassals, the great Mexica Union actually controls eleven states. The core is the Texcoco Lake District in the Valley of Mexico. There are four prosperous states in the entire Lake District, about One and a half million people."

"The state of Mexico where the capital is located has more than 500,000 people. And the capital of Mexica, the city of Tenochtitlan in the lake, has 250,000 people unparalleled in the world! It is the ancestral land of the Mexica people , the sanctuary in the lake, the giant city of Baishi, and the center of the world! There is no other city that can compare with it." Unknowingly, Avitt's voice carried a sacred chant.

Shulot also nodded longingly. Tenochtitlan at this time was the miracle city of Central America and the most magnificent city in all of America. It was not the piece of ruined walls hidden underground that he had seen in later generations.

The young man woke up from his memories, and he was a little curious: "Avit, how do you know so many numbers?"

Avet smiled slightly, and his confidence made the commander's smile full of charm: "In the entire Mexica alliance, you can only know these specific figures by asking me. I am the general intelligence officer of the alliance. And I can surpass me in mathematics." Yes, there is only you here."

"Great! Please continue." Xiulot stood on tiptoe, wanting to pat his teacher and friend on the head, but Avitt brushed it away.

"There are 1.5 million people in the Texcoco Lake District. This is an area directly under the royal family. It can mobilize an overwhelming 50,000 direct warriors. This time, the king brought a full 40,000 direct subordinates to rule City-state. Of course, after several divisions and casualties along the way, he now has only 10,000 direct warriors in his hands."

Avit winked at the boy, and the boy nodded to confirm receipt.

"With the lake area as the core, there are 500,000 people in the two states in the west, 700,000 in the three states in the south, 300,000 in the two states in the north, and more than 3 million people in the entire Mexica Union, firmly occupying a rich and prosperous land. plateaus and valleys!"

"What about the eastern city-states?"

"To the east of the Texcoco Lake District is a towering mountain range, and there is a mouth of a demon that emits smoke and fire in the mountain range. Where is the eastern city-state? Further east is the territory of the Tlaxcalans."

Shulot froze for a moment, then realized that to the east of the capital was the towering Popocatepetl volcano. It is also one of the few places where ice and snow can be seen in the entire Mexica Plateau.

"The seven states of West, South, and North have 50,000 warriors in total, which is similar to the four states directly under the royal family. The city of Teotihuacan is also one of the origins of the royal family." Avit smiled and looked at the boy.

The young man is earnestly calculating: "Mexica Alliance, eleven states, three million people, one hundred thousand warriors/fifty thousand direct subordinates, two hundred thousand militiamen." Sure enough, he is the absolute overlord of Central America.

"Then what about the enemies of our generation, the Tlaxcalans?" Shulot couldn't wait to learn about the world.

"The people of Tlaxcala have four big states. In fact, the status of the four states is not much different. They support each other and there is no concept of direct control of the capital. The state of Tlaxcala in the north is stronger than the state of Tepeyakak in the south. Some, 400,000 each. In the middle are Uyso Chinko and Cholula, 200,000 each."

"The center of Cholula is the holy city of Cholula, the holy city of the Nahuatl religion, and its status is much higher than that." Avit seriously told the information about his old enemy,

"The Tlaxcalans, like us Mexica, have an efficient military mobilization system, and the ratio of warriors is about 1:30."

Xiu Luote nodded to show that he understood that the two ethnic groups were related by blood, but they were actually relatives who killed each other and did not love each other.

"Tlaxcala Alliance, four states, 1.2 million people, 40,000 warriors, and 80,000 militiamen."

"What about the Otomi people we are conquering?" The boy looked north.

"Otomi people, they are a very loose alliance. They just use Ottopan City as the core of their ancestral land and defense. The main four states, Hilotpek state has 300,000 people, and Ottopan has more than 200,000 people , Palms 200,000, Guamare 300,000.

Among them, Palms and Guamare have many chichimek dog-descendants, they do not submit to the Otomi alliance, but just mix with each other. Sometimes they communicate and merge, and sometimes they fight each other. In fact, the Otomi people have intermarried in large numbers with the canine tribes for a long time, and the name of Guamarebang comes from the Guamal canines. "

Shulot was a little surprised. There are nearly one million Otomi people? Now he thought of the wooden plank with red circles in Totek's hand, and the brutal sweep of the army along the way, so he could only shake his head.

"Otomi Alliance, four states, about 600,000 people, more than 20,000 warriors, unknown militia."

Standing on the tall watchtower, the teenager and the teacher discussed the world selflessly, as if the world was in their hearts. In front of them is a complicated and vast world. The desire for the world is burning fiercely!

"The chichimek dog descendants are everywhere on the northwest plateau and desert. They are constantly migrating, roughly divided into eight divisions, and there are no official warriors, but all the people are soldiers. There are at least seventy in the four states close to the Otomi Ten Thousand Dogs."

"The chichimek dogs are known to be of four states, at least eight tribes, about 700,000 people, nomads without horses, and all the people are soldiers."

"The Vastecs are relatively loyal vassals of the alliance. They are near the lake at the eastern end of the world and live scattered in the northeast plain. There used to be an alliance, but it was disbanded by our conquest.

Natural musicians, they have a tradition of worshiping naked and rarely wear clothes. Well, their teenage girls are slender and good at rhythmic dancing. "Avit looked at the boy and smiled deeply.

"Vastec people, scattered in six states, about 600,000 people, 15,000 warriors, 30,000 militiamen."

"The Tekos live west and north of the Tarascos, near the lake at the western end of the world. They have a loose alliance and have been constantly conquered by the Tarasco League. Colima is their ancestral land , there are nearly 200,000 people, and there is still a crack in the world that is emitting smoke and fire."

"Union Terkos, four states, 700,000 people, 20,000 warriors, and 50,000 militia."

Colima? The name sounds familiar. Xiulot tried hard to recall, searching for the memories of the past.

Colima, Colima Volcano? The famous "flaming volcano" is very active. When he was traveling in Mexico, he saw the eruption of this volcano. The smoke was billowing, covering the sky and covering the surrounding fields, which was very spectacular. It even led to the closure of nearby airports, ports and iron mines.

iron ore? iron ore! A flash of inspiration flashed across Shulot's mind, and he suddenly remembered a piece of information that he didn't care about at the time, but now it is very important.

"Pea Colorado Iron Mine!" Shulot almost jumped off the watchtower in excitement, but was fortunately caught by Avit.

Because it is in a volcanically active geological zone, Kolima is rich in minerals. There is the largest iron mine in Mexico, and even in the whole of Central America, Pea Colorado (magmatic hydrothermal apatite) magnetite. The reserves of the ore layer are extremely astonishing. The thickness of the surface layer is 50 to 300 meters, extending more than ten kilometers.

"Colima, the Iron Age, hope!" Shulot couldn't help but whispered, and gave Avette another hug. The teacher has long been used to the students' nonsense and occasional agitation.

After calming down a little, Xiulot realized that things were not that simple. Historically, the Colima Iron Mine has not been discovered and exploited until modern times because of three unfavorable factors.

First, its main ore layer is more than 100 meters underground. There is only scattered iron ore on the surface. One hundred meters underground is of course nothing to future generations, but it is indeed a big problem now. It must have enough manpower, material resources and copper picks, and it will only work after several years of mining.

Second, this large iron mine is located in the mountains, and the traffic is very inconvenient. To transport iron ore, roads between mountains must also be built.

Third, the large iron mine was formed by the influence of magma, and its vicinity is the active Colima volcano. There are potential risks in the mining process.

However, no matter what, Shulot will not let go of this big iron mine. This is the dawn and hope of a new era!

In the following conversation, the young man became a little absent-minded, and he only roughly recorded Avit's introduction to the various tribes.

"Nahua-Totonak people, seven states, 700,000 people. 20,000 warriors, 40,000 militiamen. On the east coast, a loose city-state alliance, and some Toltecs are integrated.

There are 200,000 people in Qiongtal, four states. Five thousand warriors and ten thousand militiamen. In the southern part of the Mexica Union, on both sides of the East Balsas River, there are no urban settlements. The Mexica continued to move in.

Mixtec people, five states, 800,000 people. Twenty thousand warriors and forty thousand militiamen. To the south of the Tlaxcala Alliance, a loose alliance of city-states. They are the "people in the clouds" of the mountains and the "best goldsmiths", with Tototepek State as their core ancestral land. One of the disloyal vassals of the Empire.

Zapotec people, three states, half a million people. Fifteen thousand warriors and thirty thousand militiamen. To the east of the Mixtec Alliance, a loose alliance of city-states, rich in rouge. The second disloyal vassal of the empire. Going further east in Zapotec is the terrifying vast rainforest, which leads to the unknown Mayan hinterland.

Trapanic people, four states, 200,000 people. Five thousand warriors and ten thousand militiamen. Southwest of the Mixtec Alliance, along the Pacific coast, weak and negligible.

There are also savage tribes in the mountains and forests, large and small, it is impossible to count them clearly. As long as sweet potatoes can survive, there will be human habitation. "

"Eighty kingdoms in the world, divided into five kingdoms, far and near. Fifty years in the world, a hundred battles and nine races!" The young man's heart surged for a moment, and he couldn't help but chant a crooked poem. On second thought, fifty years in the world? Phew, this is a bad omen, it was a slip of the tongue just now.

"What about the more distant Maya?" After a while, Shulot asked Avitt curiously.

Avit racked his brains and thought for a long time. Fangcai replied: "There is the end of the world, the boundless southeast rainforest. The Mayans are roughly divided into three types, the Yucatan corn people in the north, the Itza corn people in the middle, and the Kiche corn people in the south. Um, Corn people is what the Mayans called themselves."

"As for the more specific number?" The commander finally shrugged, never saying that he didn't know. "After we conquer the known world, let's go see the end of this world!"

So Lotte laughed, and the two looked south again. Tarasco's scouts are running towards the camp to the south. After a long time, a large group of elite warriors in armor and helmets filed out. Holding a huge copper ax flickering with cold light, with awe-inspiring killing intent, and surrounded by another tall flag on their backs, they went straight to the Leman River.

The drizzle finally stopped. Across the river hundreds of meters away, the supreme commanders of the two armies faced each other across the river, their huge flags swaying in the wind, saluting each other for the start of the battle.

After sorting out the maps and population data for a day, I finally sorted out the various ministries of Central America. As you write it, it becomes a 5,000-character chapter.