Aztec Civilization: Destiny to Conquer America!

Chapter 2103 - 1537: Matters of the Country, Solely Sacrifice and Lance!

Bronze Tripod Cooking, carving up the world. This grand feast of kings continued until deep into the night. Fortunately, the two kings, though joyous, remained moderate. They did not arrange for conquered Mixtec beauties to come and ’entertain with dancing’ as a means to liven things up.On one hand, the two were both in-laws and mentors as well as political partners and rivals, which unconsciously fostered an image of ’solemnity and steadiness’ in front of each other. On the other hand, they were indeed self-disciplined, starkly different from the common hedonistic tendencies of the alliance’s great nobility.

As the saying goes, ’What the superior likes, the inferior will exaggerate.’ Power amplifies hierarchically, like ripples spreading. With the Divine King and the Prophet at the top, serving as models of self-discipline, the military discipline of the alliance’s nobles and the various army corps thus maintained a certain standard. Even in the marauding by the corps, areas were divided, and the spoils of war were centrally distributed, not scattered messily... This truly had a flavor of classical militarism.

Of course, as the founder of all this, Xiulote was acutely aware that Mexica’s classical militarism was fundamentally different from that of the Classical Period’s Qin Han and Rome. This was because the maintenance of this Bronze tribe era, the alliance’s military discipline, was not solely due to the harsh laws of Qin Han or just the honor, punishment, and Wealth of Rome. The most crucial foundation among them was actually the ’religious sacrificial rites’ that soothed the Samurai spirits, was the continually reinforced ’divine power faith’!

’The great matters of the country are only in sacrifice and lance! And sacrificial rites, even before war!’

So when three days later, the alliance army officially entered Mountain River City, the first thing they did was to topple the old god statues in the Temples of the Gods and erect the Chief Divine’s Hummingbird emblem! Next, the raging fire consumed the Ancestor Temple of the Cloud Divine Race, and the tablets recording the divine lineage were also completely erased.

Then, for twenty thousand starving Mixtec tribe members, they were made to convert in a grand conversion. Similar conversion ceremonies, as the Alliance Priest continued to arrive, expanded further into the Cloud Mountain City Valley and even the Mixteco Coast. Only after converting to the Chief Divine did the priests distribute household registrations and distribute pumpkin mixed grains to relieve famine to the surrendered Mixtec tribes. If they managed to plant pumpkin before July, they might have some food in October to stave off hunger...

During the grand conversion of the Cloud Central Tribes, the stringent search for Mixtec Divine Descendants and Nobles expanded from the surrendered tribe’s simple camps to the entire cloud-covered mountain forest wilderness! Soon, one by one, "Cloud Nobles" with intact teeth and noble tattoos were tied up by Jaguar Warriors, gathered from all over as one of the most important achievements.

The appearance of such scenes also meant that a grand festival, to ’eradicate the original ruling class of Mixtec’, ’appease the Alliance Noble Samurai’, ’proclaim the demise of the Mixteco Alliance’, and ’offer sacrifices to the Supreme Chief Divine, praying for war blessings’, was about to be grandly held!

’Honorable Divine King, the impending grand festival of victory... When, where, and what scale of sacrifices should be held?...’

’Hmm, Xiulote, the time for the grand festival, of course, the sooner the better. It is now the end of June, and in the early rainy season of July, if we could have three clear auspicious days, that would be best!... As for the location of the grand festival...’

Saying this, Aweit pondered for a while and inquired.

’Would you perform divination, ask the Ancestor and the Chief Divine... is it the northern ancestral land Cloud Altar of the Mixteco people, or the ancient southern city Tilantongo? Which one is more auspicious?...’

For such a simple inquiry, there was no need for the Eight Trigrams; tortoise shells and animal bones would suffice. Xiulote took out two deer bones, drew the diagrams of the two locations, roasted them in fire, watching the cracks form. Nearby, the Bronze Tripod bubbled and boiled another Little Fire Chicken. Naturally, the chicken head of this bird was to be offered to the Chief Divine, thrown into the fire to burn to a crisp.

’In July, Cloud Altar grand festival... Small Prosperity!...’

Generally, the characteristics of auspicious omens could be ’clear, straight cracks’, or ’symmetrical cracks’, or ’continuous cracks’, and a very special type, ’cracks encircling the divination content.’ Simply put, the more ’aesthetically pleasing’ the bone pattern that appeared, the more ’auspicious’ it was!

If the crack patterns were too chaotic, too ugly, then they could not be explained, undoubtedly a ’bad omen’! However, if one was really dissatisfied, wishing to insist, one could offer sacrifices and burn the animal bones again...

’In July, Tilantongo grand festival... Great Prosperity!...’

Xiulote saw the second bone pattern and broke into a smile. Tilantongo located in the highland Mixteco, with the ancestral land Cloud Altar only separated by a few dozen miles north to south. Both ’Holy Lands’ were where the original Mixteco ancestors first established tribes and kingdoms on the highland. The meaning of ’Tilantongo’ in the local tribal language was ’Black City and Temple of Heaven.’

Approximately four to five hundred years ago, the most powerful Great Chief in Mixtec history, ’Master of Eight Deer,’ or ’Eight Tiger Claws,’ was the divine descendant chieftain of Tilantongo. Through marriage and war, for the first and only time, he successfully unified the Mixteco Tribes, creating the most prosperous era in the Cloud! From then on, in the hearts of the Mixteco Tribes, ’Tilantongo’ held a special status, elevating ’Master of Eight Deer’ to an ancestral spirit.

In later generations, the record of this history also uniquely survived the Spaniards, preserved in two ancient codices: the ’Codex Nuttall’ and the ’Codex Bodley.’

As for the results of the current divination, the Mexica ancestors and the Chief Divine have chosen ’Tilantongo’ as the site for the Grand Festival. Perhaps they want to personally tell the ’Master of Eight Deer,’ ’The Mixteco Alliance has perished!’ ’The Mixteco people are all going to become Gummy People!’ ’The Land Amidst the Clouds is now the territory of the Chief Divine!’ ’As an Ancestor God, you can rest or join the ranks of the Chief Divine as a Gummy Spirit Hero!’...

’July, the Grand Festival at Tilantongo...Great Prosperity?!...Good! Very good! Let me think about the number of sacrifices...’

Aweit took two pieces of deer bone, carefully examining the burned patterns on them, his face solemn but showing excitement. The next crucial question was: How many sacrifices should be made to the Supreme Chief Divine?

If a businessman faced such a question, the usual method would be to write the time, place, number of people, and method of execution on a tortoiseshell...then ask the Ancestor God if this is auspicious. If the divination is a favorable omen, it means the ancestor agrees, and preparations can be made to use captives or slaves as sacrifices.

For the Alliance, things are much simpler. The mathematics passed down from the Maya provide a series of ’auspicious numbers’ from small to large. Each auspicious number represents a different omen, with corresponding sacrificial rites. Sometimes the number of participants can be increased, but usually, there is not much deviation. As for a grand festival to annihilate a tribe alliance...

’Xiulote, this Grand Festival cannot be delayed for too long, and the number of Priests is limited...shall we use the ’800’ end-of-era number? Conveniently enough, the captured Mixteco Divine Descendants, Nobles, and Priests are approximately this number...hmm, you will serve as the High Priest!’

’I’ll be the High Priest? 800 sacrifices?...Hmm, then it will require eleven Fourth Level Grand Priests to coordinate, with two groups sacrificing simultaneously...It will probably last three days, preferably all sunny!’

Xiulote calculated the time needed for this Grand Festival, realizing it would be quite the physical feat. Aweit thought for a moment, then smiled and said.

’The Chief Divine will protect us! There should be three consecutive sunny days in July! Once it reaches the peak of the rainy season in August, it will become very difficult...so the festival must be completed as soon as possible! The samurai have been waiting anxiously...’

’Yes! Announcing the festival at the Cloud Sky Temple, devouring the Cloud Old God, the Chief Divine will surely be pleased!...’

’Haha! Xiulote, while you are sacrificing the Cloud Old Nobles, I will personally reward each newly ennobled Military Merit Nobility, pronouncing each of their names! This is the cycle of death and rebirth, the apocalypse of the era and its initiation!...’

’Yes! The old Cloud Nobles will all perish, becoming the fertilizer for the fields. And on this fertile land in the clouds, new corn will grow, embracing the Mexica cocoa trees...until everything merges, indistinguishable from one another?’

’Good! Mexica’s cocoa trees, very good!...until everything merges, indistinguishable from one another? Hmm, interesting...’

Hearing this line of verse, Aweit smiled and gently tapped his fingers. Xiulote appeared mild-mannered, humbly lowering his head. Then, he looked at his rough hands, his gaze deep.

At this moment, he seemed to see his hands covered in bright red, warm blood. Yet his expression remained calm, like a serene grandfather, only softly reciting.

"...For those fine weapons are ominous instruments, which all beings loathe. Therefore, the sage stays away...Mourn with sadness when killing multitudes, and treat victories as funerals."

’Xiulote, what mysterious scripture are you reciting?’

’Reporting to the Divine King... I am praying, pleading in advance for the souls lost in the festival, wishing for their path to the Red Kingdom!’

’Ha! My student, you are still soft-hearted...’

’No, teacher...My heart is very calm. My hands will be steady. I will not prolong the suffering of the sacrifices. And the elders and grandfathers, they will also be in the sky, watching over me~~ May the Chief Divine protect the Alliance!’

’Oh! Ancestors of the Divine Kingdom...May the Chief Divine protect the Alliance!’