Chimalpopoca, who had just arrived in Tepanix and sought help from his grandfather, was sent back to the Aztec capital, Tenochtitlan.
The city-states headed by Tepanix formed an alliance and simultaneously sent troops to Tenochtitlan to complete the blockade of Lake Texcoco.
This scene seems familiar.
The wheel of history seems to be turning in reverse, and it is back to a hundred years ago, when the ancestors of the Aztecs were encircled and suppressed by an alliance of city-states.
Some people were enslaved, and some fled to Lake Texcoco for refuge, and this is how the current city in the lake came to be.
Nowadays, Lake Texcoco is besieged, and the legendary "Water Garden" has become a desperate place.
The order in the city has collapsed. The Aztecs, who were once extremely united by their faith, became a mess when their faith collapsed.
Some nobles and rich men recruited soldiers and began to plunder the city's stored grain.
There are even lower-level farmers, holding their farm tools high, with a strong tendency to revolt.
The so-called monarch family is in danger.
When Chimalpopoka returned, the people in the city also saw the army surrounding them outside the city, and the civil strife briefly subsided.
People realized that perhaps the divine punishment judgment had not yet come, and they were already going to become the dead souls under the spears of the alliances in various cities.
The palace steward who came with Chimalpopoka brought the decree of Lord Tepanix——
"The new monarch of the Aztecs will embark on the 'Road of Redemption' and head to the north of the earth to find the temple of the only true god in the world, the Lord of Balance, and pray for His mercy and forgiveness!"
"During this period, the Aztecs are not allowed to step out of the city in the lake, and they will be under surveillance by the alliance of cities!"
Having said this, he glanced at the young man with a cold look, full of ridicule, "If the great Aztec monarch Chimal Popoca can calm the anger of the gods, not only the Aztecs will be saved, but also the Aztecs will be saved."
He will also be the hero of the city alliances and will be recorded in history!"
But on the contrary, he said nothing, and the Aztec nobles in the palace already knew it.
Such imprisonment cuts off the chance of survival.
When the Day of Judgment comes, hundreds of thousands of Aztecs will be the first to be sacrificed to appease the wrath of the gods.
It is even possible that they will all be slaughtered before the Day of Judgment.
Life and death are all in the hands of others.
There was dead silence in the palace.
Chimalpopoka already looked lost.
Among the crowd, only his uncle Izcoatl still had light in his eyes, pinned on his nephew.
If the gods leave a path of repentance and salvation, it does not mean that life is cut off.
If with piety, one could actually reach the palace of the gods and seek mercy and forgiveness, the Aztecs would not have perished.
"Chimal Popoca, the rise and fall of the Aztecs depends on you!" Izcoatl suddenly said.
Everyone woke up and looked at him in astonishment, thinking that he had lost his mind and gone crazy.
Chimalpopoka was still sluggish, but his uncle patted his shoulder. The pain made him regain his soul, "I, I don't know what to do..."
"Then embark on the road to redemption!"
"As long as you can return smoothly, the punishment of the trial will be erased. This is our only chance, and only you can complete this important task. You must repent and atone for your father's sins! You are the Aztecs'
monarch!"
The words fell.
Hope for life rekindled on the faces of those around him.
We are on the verge of despair, even if it is just a straw, we must hold it firmly in our hands.
"Go, Chimalpopoka!"
"When you set out, the chaos of the Aztecs will subside, and all the people will pray for you and devoutly repent of our foolish belief in false gods!"
"If you come back, you will be the master of the rebirth and lead the Aztecs to rebirth!"
"If you die, no one will blame you. This is a sin left by our ancestors. As future generations, we can only choose to bear it!"
The group of powerful nobles who were about to start a struggle suddenly united as one.
Because they have no choice.
The 12-year-old boy feels the gaze of countless eyes, and his blood boils with expectations.
"Okay, I'll go!"
"I, Chimalpopoka, will seek the gods and beg His forgiveness with sincere repentance."
That night.
Izcoatl crowned his nephew Chimalpopoka again.
The whole city gathered under the altar, chanted the holy name of "Balance", and uttered repentance and praise.
This coronation has nothing to do with enthronement.
It is the naming ceremony of the indigenous people. Chimalpopoka is his first name, which means "smoking shield".
He has not yet reached adulthood and cannot be tested or given a name.
But now, he will embark on the road to redemption and become the hope of the Aztecs.
The elders of the royal family put a crown of gold on him and shouted his name——
"Tonight, the Aztecs will call the name of Balance, worship his glory, and make our monarch a servant of the messenger, embarking on the road of salvation, offering repentance and piety!"
"Chimalpopoka, we named you the 'Sin King'. You will carry the sins of our ancestors and people and beg for the baptism of the Lord of Balance to purify all sins and troubles..."
That night, everyone in the city in the lake was united and full of people.
The name of equilibrium continues to shake the night sky.
The Sin King Chimal Popoka sat on the altar, and every citizen knelt down and worshiped him. Young and old, they cut the palms of their hands with obsidian daggers, and the blood was smeared on his legs and forehead...
Their sacrifices will guide the way for the 'Sin King'.
And the blood on their foreheads will also represent their sins, and they will kowtow and surrender before the true God.
The sacrifice continued until the afternoon of the next day.
Chimalpopoka almost collapsed and fell into a coma.
The team ready to go has been formed. More than 100 palace guards and maids, as well as bachelors who are proficient in astronomy and astrology, will embark on the road to redemption with Chimalpopoka.
They carried with them the most precious treasures of the Aztecs, which they would sacrifice to the true god upon arrival.
The sleeping Chimalpopoka was carried onto the sedan chair, and several guards worked together to carry him. After last night's sacrificial activities, he was covered in blood and had become a bloody man.
The city gate opens.
This road is the only land entrance and exit of the city, and it is obviously guarded by the armies of each city.
After negotiations between the two parties, it was learned that the Aztecs had accepted the will of Monarch Tepanicus and were going north.
Each city sent personnel to form a 2,000-man battle group to accompany them.
Make sure they don't flee in the hope of leaving the Aztecs' fire outside and eking out an existence.
This trip was decided hastily, but the cities were rich, and weapons and food were quickly mobilized. They only had to set out north and pick up supplies from each city along the way.
As for the more distant unknown road, they can only rely on themselves.
Nowadays, the city-state alliance only operates one place, each is its own enemy, and has no ambition to expand outward.
Although there are distant tribes coming to trade, the furthest distance known is only a few hundred kilometers.
The temple of the god must be out of reach.
No one can confirm the follow-up path, only one direction is clear——
All the way north!
When Chimalpopoka woke up, it was already the third day.
He has experienced both physical and psychological torture these days, and his sleep was in a state of darkness.
The swaying car made him very uncomfortable.
After ordering someone to put him down.
The waiters and maids in the team came to welcome him one after another.
One of the middle-aged men was a bachelor accompanying him. He pointed at the maids and said: "We don't know how far this road to salvation is. If you can't reach it in this life, you have to leave the Aztec fire.
He keeps going!”
Chimalpopoca was shocked, "If I can't go back, the Aztecs in the city will..."
The university scholar said: "Master Izcoatl ordered me to give you the secret book. You will know the arrangement after reading it!"
As outsiders to the city-state civilization, the Aztecs quickly absorbed their advantages and made up for their own shortcomings.
He created his own hieroglyphics and left many ancient books for future generations.
They also advocate education. For example, this great bachelor is an expert in astronomy and herbal medicine. He has always been the doctor of the nobles in the city.
Of course, the so-called medical skills are limited to using herbal medicine to treat diseases, which is a little more advanced than witch doctors. It follows the written records summarized by predecessors, but it is obviously far less than the ancient Eastern countries of the same period.
After all, American civilization started too late.
Chimalpopoka read the secret book and saw his uncle's handwriting...
Although the road to redemption is forced by Tepanix, he has no choice but to do so.
But when everyone was at a loss, it was his uncle, Izcoatl who stood up and made the final decision.
Tracing the original history of the Aztecs...
Chimal Popoka's father, Vizi, still has more than 6 years to live, and Chimal Popoka will not ascend the throne until he is 18 years old in more than 6 years.
He left little ink in history.
He reigned for 10 years after he ascended the throne. Because of his kinship with Monarch Tepanix, he participated in the struggle for the successor of this powerful city-state...
Because he was on the wrong team, he was assassinated and died at the age of 29.
But now, the development process is the same. Due to the will of the State of Tempanex, he was forced to embark on an unknown road.
After his death, the fourth monarch of the Aztecs was his uncle Izcoatl.
Izcoatl was the initiator of the Aztec "Three Cities Alliance". He got rid of Tepanix's vassal relationship and took advantage of the civil strife in Tepanix to quickly annex it with the Allies.
The treasury was divided.
From then on, the Aztecs embarked on the road to power and dominance.
There are only a few sentences in the secret book, but reading it made Chimalpopoka burst into tears.
Izcoatl indeed regarded him as a kind of fire, leaving behind the meaning of continuing the bloodline.
It would be best if you come back with success.
If not, try to preserve yourself and leave your bloodline as much as possible.
As for the Aztec capital, there is no need to worry about Chimalpopoca.
Because the true God made a prophecy, and judgment will come two years later, whether the Aztecs will live or die, there will be a final decision.
During these two years, all countries would not kill the Aztecs, because the gods were coming, and all countries hoped that the sacrifices of hundreds of thousands of Aztecs would calm their anger.
If he is alive, people will be sent to find him and return.
If he cannot be saved in the judgment, at least he has a hope.
Of course, everyone knows very well that it is unknown whether Chimalpopoka will survive the road.
But other than that, the Aztecs had no choice but to hope for a miracle and finally repent and redeem themselves.
After reading the secret book, the Grand Scholar took it back and threw it into the bonfire while setting up camp to rest at night.
"Your Highness, we must hurry up when it comes to nurturing the next generation. We, the Aztecs, have merchants in each city as spies. Your favored maid can be picked up by them before they leave too far from the border to preserve the bloodline."
Chimalpopoka was not shy. He looked at the accompanying maids as if they had completed an important task.
The next few days.
Different maids would come into his account at night.
The young man saw spring and had food and drink all the way. In his opinion, the road to redemption was not that difficult.
One and a half months later.
The last small city on the northern border of the city-state alliance.
It's night.
The sudden shouting of killing woke up Chimalpopoka who was sleeping soundly.
He sat up in shock and heard shouts outside the house——
"The Aztec's maid wants to sneak into the caravan and escape!"
"Kill them all!"
"I have seen these maids step into the account of the 'Sin King' many times. This is the spark of sin they want to leave behind!"
"Hurry and catch the 'King of Sin', be careful of him escaping..."
Bang!
The door was broken open, and soldiers covered in blood tied up Chimalpopoka. When he tried to resist, he was knocked unconscious.
When he woke up again, his eyes were covered with blood.
The corpses of the Aztec palace guards were piled up like mountains, and the maids had their bellies cut open and hung on wooden frames.
Dead, everyone is dead.
The only one who survived was the great bachelor, who was now covered in bruises. He showed sadness to him and shook his head slightly.
On the road again.
The so-called guilty king no longer has the treatment of a monarch.
They were not allowed to ride in sedan chairs and were walking in the ranks, surrounded by expressionless soldiers from other countries.
The person who served him for food and drink was still the great scholar, who also became taciturn, and the fire of hope seemed to have been extinguished.
At first, there was only one master and one servant, and there were people helping to set up the tents, but soon the treatment gradually declined.
Walking in the wilderness and mountains, soldiers from various countries became depressed and no longer even regarded him as the leader of a country, and began to ridicule and curse him.
I don’t know how many days have passed.
The depressed Grand Bachelor actually regained his composure. He looked at the warriors who were agitated all day long and whispered to Chimalpopoka: "We still have a chance!"
He asked: "What chance? All our people are dead, only you and me are left!"
"If we continue to be monitored by them, sooner or later, we will be killed. They are already impatient. There is no way they are really willing to escort us to worship the true God!"
"When the palace guards died, all the treasures we sacrificed to the true God were carried on their backs. Those treasures are the source of sin!"
"They will think that as long as they kill us, the mission will not continue, and they can even swallow these treasures!"
Chimalpopoka said: "But they will still kill us first before carving it up!"
The Grand Scholar smiled miserably: "Let's see... can I stir up their anger among themselves and turn them into enemies first? Sin King, you know very well that the hatred between city-states is deep!"
"Otherwise, we have no choice..."
"Without them, we can truly embark on the road to salvation and find the temple of the gods without being directly killed by them!"
Chimalpopoka took a deep breath and took out a sculpture from his arms, which was the statue of the Lord of Balance.
He placed it on a stone and silently recited praises and confessions, "The only true God in the world, the Lord of Balance, Uchimalpopoka, I pray for your mercy and forgiveness, and give me guidance to embark on the true road to salvation.
I listen to the instruction and judgment in the palace of God. Even if I die, I am willing to die under the judgment of the gods..."
…
Equilibrium 11 years, mid-September.
Chihuahua is fully explored and the system map is open.
Zhou Li'an took everyone to fly to the state of Sonora, which borders Arizona in the United States. It is only 200 kilometers away from Phoenix, the Hohokam people, and only 450 kilometers away from Palm Springs, the 10th city of Balance.
It can be reached by plane in two hours.
At present, as long as the exploration of Sonora is completed, only two places are left in the "Baja California Peninsula".
The Baja California Peninsula is connected to California and faces the state of Sonora across the sea. The long and narrow peninsula is divided into "Baja California Norte and Baja California Sur".
The place is of little significance, as the peninsula contains many deserts, volcanoes, and no natural deep harbor.
After the Mexican-American War, the United States looked down upon this land. After taking away California, the peninsula was left in Mexico.
But come on, 3 days is enough to explore the long and narrow peninsula.
The development momentum of each city is good and balanced.
Return to equilibrium and time acceleration can be enabled.
It has been nearly 3 months since the Aztec punishment came.
Zhou Li'an is also curious about the impact that crime and punishment will have on various cities...
[Eye of the Void] is turned on.
Consciousness descended over Tenochtitlan.
At this moment, he discovered that a new city was rising outside Lake Texcoco.
It is not so much a new city as it is a military fortress.
Among them are all majestic city-state warriors, wearing different costumes and setting up their own flags...
Then fly to Lake City.
The big city was in a state of depression, and it was no longer the bustling place it was when that day came.
The flowers in the courtyards and buildings in the city seemed to have withered and lost their vitality.
When consciousness comes to the palace.
Only by listening to people’s discussions…
"The Aztecs were besieged? They also sent the new monarch Chimal Popoca north to find the Temple of Balance and pray for salvation???"