Chapter 902 The smoke and dust of the march, the prelude to another western expedition

"Tlaxcalans? Eat our tortillas?!"

The sun is high and the sun is shining. There is no winter on the Mexica Plateau. At this time, the sunshine in late autumn can still make people sweat. Tai Shishan, the leader of the garrison field, covered with beads of sweat, stared at the postmaster Luo Duarm in front of him with wide eyes, and shouted sharply.

"Old Luo! This is our village's food! Our village's cake! Why do people from Tlaxcala eat it?!"

"Mount Tai... This is a military campaign, a war! Marshal Kuluka, on behalf of His Majesty, issued a king's order for the western expedition! Fully mobilize and attack the Chapala Lake area in the northwest... This time the expedition is coming, everyone! of!"

The postmaster Luo stretched out his only hand with one arm, and made a gesture of "big" vigorously. His expression is very serious, and his tone is also very firm, unshakable.

"You know! In our kingdom, fighting comes first! When fighting, warriors come first! The marshal's scout ordered logistics supplies, so I must get them. I did it!"

Hearing the resolute words of the postmaster, Tai Shishan, the leader of the village, opened his mouth and was speechless for a while. The Kingdom of the Lake is based on farming and warfare, and there is not a year without wars. As a retired third-level samurai, he is very clear about the requirements of the army in wartime.

The kingdom's military machinery is all geared towards war! Without war, there would be no serfs, no enfeoffed land titles, no upward passage for ordinary civilians and tribal fighters!

Without the war, the hundreds of thousands of tribes who had surrendered soon would become unstable factors within the kingdom. Those warriors who are good at fighting, if they can't stand out, don't have the opportunity to be awarded military honors and join the ruling class of the kingdom, they are likely to become bandits and rebels everywhere... Therefore, for the Kingdom of the Lake, the war cannot be stopped.

Although Tai Shishan, the leader of the village, does not understand these principles, he understands the importance the kingdom attaches to war. Once the war starts, the villages all over the country must serve the army of the kingdom, and meeting the needs of the army is the top priority. Regardless of whether these troops are legions from the county, militia from home, or troops from other counties, or even some messed-up Tlaxcalans.

"Damn it! Damn the Tlaxcalans. Aren't they captive serfs? Such a tribe also has legions?..."

The voice of Tai Shishan, the leader of the village, became quieter, but the anger on his face did not disappear.

"The Lord God testifies! Since I have led the team, I must keep my word! I have already promised that I will reward the hardest and best teams with corn cakes! This group of stupid turkeys!...Lao Luo, no matter what, you have to save some cornbread for me!..."

"Ha! Taishan, Tlaxcala people, of course they have legions. Their warriors are very capable of fighting! We marched east and captured the Tlaxcala tribe... there are many, many warriors who can fight !... When I was charging to the city with the ball of divine power, the arrows on the other side were like heavy rain in the rainy season!..."

As a veteran of the imperial guards who participated in the Eastern Expedition, the postmaster Luo waved vigorously with one arm. He spattered all over, talking about the battlefield of the Eastern Expedition more than a thousand miles away, describing the excellent shooting skills of the Tlaxcalans, and repeating his glorious experience of being wounded. Although he is uneducated, he also knows a simple truth: what can catch a rabbit and eat it may be a cat or a jaguar. And the only one who can catch wolves and eat them is the jaguar... only the stronger the enemy is, the more glorious it is to defeat the opponent!

"Your Majesty made a decree last year to form a whole regiment of 8,000 people from the hundreds of thousands of Tlaxcalan tribes captured, just in two counties to the south! ... And today will come, a whole one, especially The Lascala Thousand-Person Camp! I have to feed them first, corn cakes, there must not be enough!..."

Speaking of this, the postmaster Luo paused with one arm. He looked at the dissatisfaction on Tai Shishan's face, thought for a while, and suddenly had a solution.

"The Lord God testifies! Taishan, you said just now that those who want tortillas... are not for the sake of eating, but to reward those who do well?"

"Yes! I patted my chest and promised them! There will be rewards for doing well..."

"Well... since it's a reward, wouldn't it be okay to replace it with meat? It doesn't need to be too much, let's say something for two people! Ding Zhuang in the village probably hasn't eaten much meat all year round..."

Postmaster Luo Duyi blinked his eyes and looked at his brother.

"Luocang, take out the 20 to 30 catties of bacon you got from hunting, and roast it...Oh no, stew a big pot of broth!...Don't worry, don't do it now! Wait for the Tlaxcalans The battalion has passed, let’s do it again. Don’t let the warriors smell it, and cause some trouble for nothing..."

After giving instructions to his clan brothers, the head of the post station, Luo Duyi, looked at Mount Taishi again, and grinned a "serious" smile.

"Taishan, how is it? Two pieces of meat and a few mouthfuls of broth per person will always allow you to fulfill your promise of rewards, right?"

"Ah this? Uh! . . . Praise the Lord God! If there's broth, that's enough! These stupid turkeys don't taste meat all year round, they're just happy..."

Hearing Luo Duarm's arrangement, Tai Shishan, the leader of the village, froze for a moment, the anger on his face disappeared instantly, and he was even a little embarrassed.

"However, uh...Lao Luo, this meat is from your own family...I took them to eat...that...money..."

"Haha! Praise the Lord God! It's nothing! Just treat it as my invitation to you!..."

Postmaster Luo grinned with one arm, and the scars on his face were trembling "kindly".

"Since I'm sealed here and next to your village, there will be many opportunities to deal with you in the future! When the nephews from my clan come over and join the army in the future, they will also be counted as fellow villagers with the warriors from your village. ..."

"That's right! Since you are sealed here, if you need help from the village in the future, it's just a matter of one sentence!"

Retired warriors from two kingdoms, one blind, one one-armed, smiled and chatted about the past when they were able to fight, and felt that they hit it off very well, and even called them brothers.

The sun is gradually setting to the west, and the big pot of food is ready. On the newly built Sanhetu county road in the south, faint dust gradually rose. A team of running scouts arrived first, shouting a few words in Nahua with an eastern accent. Afterwards, a large group of Tlaxcala warriors, carrying long bamboo bows and carrying short spears as tall as a man, and wearing brand-new paper armor, appeared in front of everyone.

This Trask Warrior Battalion did not belong to the newly formed Long Snake Legion, but an additional Archer Battalion recruited to serve as a long-range supplement to the First Long Spear Legion in Hekou County. Before they were conscripted, they were still working on the newly cleared farmland in the south. And when the conscription order was passed on to the flag teams, Trascaldin, who was almost able to shoot arrows, participated in the selection.

"The days of opening up wasteland and farming in the south were really hard! I was busy working in the fields when the farming was busy, and I had to cut trees and trees and build canals when the farming was off. I was as tired as a bee all day long, and I couldn't straighten my waist. Hope...it's better to come out and fight for the god-born king who inherits the 'Death Skull', and he will be awarded a title and land for his meritorious service!..."

Facing the strong Tlaxcala who enthusiastically joined the army, the recruiter of the kingdom had to temporarily raise the standard: 40 paces away, aim the Tlaxcala bow at the army's leather helmet, hit seven out of ten shots, and the bone arrow does not fall , to join the Legion. And even with such a strict standard, a thousand archers were still selected. It seems that even after several screenings, there are quite a few Tlaxcala warriors hiding in the Tuntian tribe.

In mid-October, a thousand Tlaxcalan archers were recruited from the banner teams in various villages, and they were led to the royal capital Qincongcan almost without stopping. They put on new paper armor, long bows made of bamboo, and short spears for close combat in the camp outside the capital city.

Subsequently, a group of Mexica and Prepecha officers were drawn from the Gyeonggi Army Corps to formally organize archers from one thousand tribes into a battalion of one thousand archers. The battalion commander of the Thousand-Man Battalion is under Olosh's command, the captain of the warriors from the holy city, and one of the family warriors of the royal family of the holy city, Epeck.

"Huh! Lord God bless you! After driving for half a day, I can finally rest!"

Among the large group of Tlaxcalans carrying bamboo bows and wearing paper armor~lightnovelpub.net~ a young leader wearing an eagle feather crown, carrying a fir longbow, and carrying a battalion battle flag is particularly eye-catching. He is the battalion commander of the Thousand-Person Battalion, "Woodpecker" Epeck.

In the Mexica League, being named Woodpecker is no irony. On the contrary, "woodpecker" has good eyesight and a beak that is as sharp as an arrow. It is a respectful title for archers with excellent archery skills, which is roughly equivalent to "magic shot". Among the Mexica warriors who advocate melee combat and do not pay attention to archery, there are actually very few archers with such a title.

"Quick! Tell the station master to bring up all the prepared food! ... Hurry up! Everyone, hurry up! In an hour, eat everything and prepare it, and continue on your way north!"

The woodpecker Epeck waved the battle flag in his hand, pointed left and right, his movements were vigorous and agile. His voice was very loud, short and forceful, like the sound of a woodpecker.

"Witness of the Lord God! Hurry up, hurry up! The day after tomorrow, the day after tomorrow is the grand ceremony for the expedition!"

"This time, the high priests of the alliance even sent a fifth-level priest elder to come! And the chief priest of the fourth level of the kingdom's priests will also attend in person! The highest priests of the alliance and the kingdom are here. Be sure to arrive on time! No one is allowed to embarrass me! Hurry up!..."

(end of this chapter)