The Talsas River originated from the mountains of Tlaxcala and flowed westward for more than a thousand miles, forming a wide Atoyak Lake in the south of the kingdom. In the local language, the meaning of Atoyac (Atoyac) is "big lake".

The great lake of Atoyak has hundreds of waves and waves, and the wide place can't see the edge at a glance. Busy canoes travel across the lake, linking the north and south of the lake, and trading goods from all directions.

To the south of the Great Lake, there are endless rolling mountains and forests. The Tekos tribes are scattered among them, and they call the land under their feet Sakatura. Going further east from Sakatura State is the newly acquired mountain Wetamo State of the Union. On the northern shore of the Great Lake, there is a rare fertile plain along the lake. The villages of Prepeca are rich and busy, with vast hectares of farmland, which together support a large city by the lake.

That is the commercial center of the southern ministries, the seat of Zicao County, and Kuramo City. The city has a population of more than 20,000, more than a dozen temples, and a huge trading market. It is the most prosperous place within a radius of 200 miles.

In the east outside Kuramo City, there is an exceptionally vast manor. Here is a forest of beautiful trees and clusters of flowers, obviously it has been carefully managed for a long time. Graceful ragwoods flourished outside the estate, majestic dahlias bloomed within, and hundreds of warriors stood guard throughout the estate.

Entering the manor, the architectural style is quite gorgeous, with white stone and red rock as the base, gold, silver and jade as decoration, incorporating many characteristics of the people in the cloud. And go all the way along the garden path, the deepest part is a solemn main hall. But at this moment, a group of great southern nobles dressed in fine clothes sat around it, relatively speechless.

The main hall is built of bluestone, with a zenith on the top, separated by light gauze, and the walls are painted by gods, and the area is quite wide. The seats of the people in the hall are orderly, with two middle-aged nobles sitting opposite to each other in the first place in the middle. The nobleman on the left is handsome, slender, and calm. The nobleman on the right has a fleshy face, a short and stocky figure, and a fierce expression.

The heavy silence lasted for a long time, and the short and stout nobleman couldn't bear it at first. He looked at the handsome nobleman and asked angrily.

"Witness of the three gods! Zicao patriarch Gulamo, are you going to raise troops with me or not!"

Gulamo pondered for a while, looked at the short and sturdy nobleman, and answered calmly.

"Witness of the three gods! Palm patriarch Zotor, tens of thousands of kings' legions are going south, and now they raise their troops, but there is no chance of winning!"

"Bah! What about tens of thousands of legions?"

Zottoer let out a harsh "Bah", his voice was cold.

"Gulamo! The vicious bandits want your mouth and land. Do you want to open the door and give away all the inheritance left by your ancestors obediently?"

Hearing this, Gulamo's expression changed and he bowed his head in silence.

Zicao patriarch Zotor waited for a while, but did not wait for a reply. He simply stood up and shouted to the great nobles in the palace.

"We are the nobles of the Kingdom of Tarasco! This land has been our land for generations! Our ancestors left us the fief, how can we hand it over for nothing!...Let us take up arms and fight the northern invaders to the end! "

"The patriarch of the palm is right, and he will fight with the northern barbarians!"

The atmosphere in the arena became more serious. Several young nobles stood up, loudly applauding and agreeing, while more nobles remained silent.

Seeing this, Gulamo sighed and spoke lightly.

"Gulamo, things haven't reached that point yet! The king asked us to go to Alto to have an audience, and there will definitely be a decree. At that time, maybe we can talk about it... Even if you hand over 30 to 50% of the land, you can exchange for the kingdom Promises are also acceptable!"

"Yes, isn't this still undecided? Maybe the king just collects a tribute!"

"Indeed, the king has just returned from the northern expedition, and he will have to rest for two years. Let's pay a tribute to buy peace."

"Go to the king first, and listen to the kingdom's will before speaking..."

Only then did most of the nobles speak one after another, and mixed voices of approval resounded in the hall. The south of the kingdom has been at peace for a long time, and the great nobles enjoy the commercial interests of the Talsas River, and they are extremely rich. They survived the tragic Western Expedition, and they are still lucky at this moment.

"Ha! You cowardly idiots, you still want to go to see him! The king of the north brought tens of thousands of warriors to the south, is it for an outing?!"

Zotor looked around at the crowd and cursed angrily.

"The samurai and militia in my territory have been mobilized long ago, and they can fight the Mexica to the death at any time! You haven't raised your troops yet, and when the enemy reaches the door, what will you use to resist? Or are you going to be clay pots?" The fish in the pot, obediently make soup for others?!"

Hearing this, Gulamo raised his eyebrows and looked at Zottoer.

"Zotol, you are not going to listen, what does the king say?"

"Listen to me! I came here today to find you cowards to fight together!"

Zottor's face flushed red.

"There are a thousand Mexica garrisons in the city of Kuramo. I brought five hundred warriors, and everyone will fight together, kill them first, and occupy the city of Kuramo! I will ask you one last time, Kuramo, Are you doing it or not?!"

"...Zotor, now is not the time."

Gulamo looked flat and refused.

"The city of Kuramo is full of our people, and we want to take it at any time. The key now is the tens of thousands of kings in the north... After all, we must go to the king first and listen to his will."

"Ha ha!"

Zottol laughed angrily. he asked mockingly.

"Gulamo, are you going to take your rose daughter, Medina, to meet the king?"

Hearing this, Gulamo lowered his eyes and his voice turned cold.

"Zottoer, everyone is different from you after all. Your family is close to the southwestern mountainous area and has close ties with the Tekos barbarians. If you really can't resist, you can even take your tribe and escape into the mountains. We have no danger here. Everyone's foundations are all in the lakeside plain."

"Ah!"

Zottol sneered and stopped looking at Gulamo. He looked around at the other nobles and asked.

"What about you? You are not like Gulamor, who has a daughter made out of roses!"

Most of the nobles still shook their heads in silence. The old nobleman Sitley advised in a low voice.

"Zotol, we all understand what you said. Everyone is also mobilizing, but the current situation...wait for a while."

"Then you wait! A group of howler monkeys waiting to die!"

Zotor turned around and left. Before leaving, he kept mocking.

"No, you are not even as good as howler monkeys! Howler monkeys know how to scream twice before they die! You are ant eggs, just take them out and eat them raw!..."

"Hey, Zotol, where are you going?!"

The old nobleman Sitley chased after him and shouted.

"I will return to the fief and move the family, women and children into the southwest mountainous area! Our brave mountain warriors will kill all the intruders in the rugged mountain forest! ... No matter how many they are! Roar!"

Zotor gave a final roar and strode out of the hall. Several noble families from the southwest also left with him.

The hall fell into a deathly silence. After a while, Gulamo rubbed his brows with his hands and forced a smile.

"That's how it is! Everyone go to see the king first, but don't stop mobilizing in the fief, and be prepared."

The nobles echoed a few words in a low voice, said some meaningless routines, and got up to leave. The old aristocrat Xitley intends to stay at the end. When there was no one around, he approached Gulamo and asked in a low voice.

"Guramo, there are many Preepecha nobles in the Northern King's army... How are you getting in touch? Can you talk?"

Hearing this, Gulamo frowned instantly, and his pupils shrank. He stretched out his hand to touch the short dagger at his waist, and asked with a smile.

"Sitley, who did you hear the news from?"

"Ha! Gouramo, dying with your arms tied is not your style. I've watched you grow up. Zotol, a howling monkey. You, a deadly snake!"

The old Sitley smiled, looked at Gulamo's hand, and pressed the long dagger at his waist.

"My fief is just to the north of you. Why don't you know about the envoy you sent... Besides, it's already at this time, what is there to hide between the two of us? Could it be that you still want to do things alone?"

Hearing this, Gulamo slowly let go of his hand and smiled lightly.

"Sitley, you old crow, your eyes are really bright... They all accepted the gift, and some people accepted it. It's just that the current situation is unreliable..."

"That's true. The general trend is here, and the previous words can't be counted. Now in the tribal villages and communities in various places, there are often rural sages from the north. The leaders may have other thoughts."

Sitley shook his head and sighed softly.

"I really envy Zotol~lightnovelpub.net~ who has deep mountains and old forests to drill into; I also envy you, who has a beautiful daughter. And with my old bones, I can't count on anything!"

After finishing speaking, Old Crow Citley turned around and staggered out. Gulamo silently watched the other party's back disappear, and after a long time, he murmured.

"Old crow, I envy you too. You have no choice, so you don't have to suffer so much."

Afterwards, the handsome Gulamo stood up and paced slowly in the empty hall, looking at the bright murals.

On the murals on the four walls of the main hall, there are many naked dancing gods and many charming women. The style of these paintings is actually more inclined to Maya, which is a kind of splendor of indulgence. The Zicao family has been in the rich land for more than two hundred years, and they are already different from their compatriots in the north. The patriarchs of the past dynasties lived a luxurious and extravagant life, loved beauties singing and dancing, and were deeply influenced by the customs of the southern city-state.

After a while, Gulamo finally looked at the guards around him, and ordered in a deep voice.

"Go, bring Medina and the musicians!"

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