The sun fell quietly, and the streams flowed silently. The rolling hills were gentle, and the barren wilderness gradually opened up. The mountains and forests of Sitacuaro turned into black shadows on the horizon, and the lake area of Patzcuaro was not far to the north.
King Suangua walked silently, wearing ordinary warrior uniforms, with his bodyguards carrying the royal flag behind him. The inherited eagle flag had been rolled up and put away, and the flag bearers only held high the sacred flags of the three gods. If you stand far away
Upon observation, it is difficult to discern the affiliation of the legion.
However, once they got close, the identity of the royal regiment could not be concealed. The long bows, copper axes, leather armor and bronze helmets, as well as the silent march and neat military appearance were all symbols of elite warriors. The battalion commanders in the army were all headaches.
Wearing the forked feather crown of a nobleman, he wears a bright striped battle suit. The battle suit is embroidered with a yellow condor and the symbols of the three gods.
The 10,000 elite members of the Tarasco royal family were divided into two armies, with 5,000 people at the front and 5,000 at each side. Scouts were scouted out for dozens of miles. Suangua personally led the bronze ax guards at the forefront. In the past few days, under the golden sunshine,
, he walked through familiar mountain roads and unfamiliar deserted villages and towns, and remained silent.
Suddenly there was a slight commotion at the forefront of the march. The scouts on the periphery waved warning flags, and hundreds of elite warriors quickly moved forward and began to run quickly. Suangua stopped the military formation and climbed onto the nearest hillock. He could see a few miles ahead,
Several small green dots retreated quickly, while the kingdom's scouts chased and outflanked them from both sides. Both sides chased and then fled until the end of the line of sight.
The young king frowned and waited impatiently for a moment before his bodyguard walked up. He carried several bloody heads and long bows on his back, lowered his head and respectfully reported back.
"Dear King, the scouts encountered a small team of Mexica warriors and have killed them all."
Suangua glanced at the hairstyle on his head, then at the captured longbow, and felt irritated again. These were not warriors, but tribesmen in the mountains. Even these militiamen could be equipped with longbows... Young
The king didn't say much, he just asked.
"Well done. Did the scouts detect any traces of the enemy group?"
"There is no trace of the enemy group within twenty miles, and no marching smoke can be seen on the horizon. This group of scouts carried very sufficient dry food. They were unable to run during the chase. They must have gone very far ahead."
The king nodded and waved his guards to retreat. He looked towards the distant sky. The royal capital was three hundred miles away to the northwest. A normal march would take about seven or eight days, while a forced march would take five days.
"I encountered enemy scouts here... The royal capital has lost control of the surrounding area! The enemy's situation is unknown, and a rapid march is too dangerous... No, the number of enemy troops should not be small, so it is not appropriate to entangle them at this time!"
Su Angua thought for a moment and made a quick decision.
"Come here! Give the order, the former army scouts disperse, the army remains quiet, and turns to the southwest. Then send two squads of 100 people to wander in the northeast and attack the Mexica scouts as suspected soldiers!"
Following the king's military order, tens of thousands of elites quickly changed their formations and turned to the hills and valleys in the southwest. This last elite of Tarasco continued to the heart of the kingdom, waiting for the destined battle.
The wilderness of the mountain forest was quiet again, and the low-hanging vegetation covered the traces of the fighting. It was not until a day later that several Mexican reconnaissance teams hurriedly arrived. They spread out, carefully searched for blood stains and corpses in the forest, and then
Gathered again. The captains looked solemn, discussed in low voices for a moment, and quickly divided into three groups. One group followed the figure to the northeast, the other group followed the footprints to the southwest, and the other group traveled day and night, turning back quickly.
The sun rose and set, and two more days passed in the blink of an eye. The high sun illuminated the earth, and a shallow stream flowed through the river valley. Toltec sat with his legs upright on the big stone by the stream, frowning, like a pondering giant.
Dog. Beside him is a long bow and war stick, and in front of him is a row of bamboo baskets filled with fresh and slender spicy grass.
This is a temporary riverside camp, more than 150 miles away from Qinchongcan in the west, and over a hundred miles away from Patzcuaro City in the southwest. Thousands of longbow militiamen are scattered in units of hundreds.
Patrolling the outside. There were hundreds of tribal hunters busy in the wilderness, collecting fresh grass. Soon, a tribal leader came with a bamboo basket on his back and respectfully handed over the harvest to the brave and 'erudite'
The leader of the black wolf.
Toltec reached out his hand, grabbed a handful of spicy grass, stuffed it into his mouth and chewed it. The fresh stems and leaves exuded a unique spicy aroma, and the refreshing spicy flavor spread in the mouth, fresh and slightly bitter. Toltec chewed
After a while, he nodded expressionlessly and waved the leader to leave. Then he grabbed a handful of "snacks" and chewed them slowly to refresh himself.
The army temporarily set up camp and collected spicy grass not for eating. This spicy grass is actually hyssop. In fact, it was an excellent hot pot vegetable in later generations. At this time, it was the most easily available hemostatic medicine. Its stems and leaves can stop bleeding.
Anti-inflammatory, it can be applied externally to wounds on the body surface, or taken internally to relieve inflammation in the body.
Toltec was chewing snacks while waiting patiently. During the recent robbery, he smelled a change in the situation, so he made a prompt decision and led the militiamen forward for more than a hundred miles, and sent dozens of reconnaissance teams to the
Search extension to the southeast of Sitacuaro.
"The congratulatory envoy should have met with His Highness and conveyed my suggestions. What was His Highness's reply? Faced with the threat of food shortage, what is the main force of Tarasco in the southeast doing? If the enemy can be captured
King, I, Toltec, will be the first person to conquer the West! When the time comes, what a glorious sight it will be!"
Toltec was thinking about the future. A reconnaissance team appeared from the end of the wilderness. Their clothes were bloody, their heads were dusty, and their faces were dusty. They ran for two consecutive days and brought back an important message!
"What! A reconnaissance team disappeared. Later, you found traces of a large group of enemy movements? But you are not sure of the specific direction? You were also attacked by an enemy team!"
The scout captain nodded repeatedly. Toltec asked carefully for a long time before letting him go down to rest.
The Black Wolf of Mexica thought again and again. Although the scouts did not observe the enemy's flags and did not know the number of enemies, his intuition told him that he could handle the scouts so cleanly and march quickly without leaving too many behind.
Traces must be an extremely powerful opponent. At this moment, there is only one such army left in Tarasco, the King's Legion!
"The key now is to expand the search, and the other is to convey the news to His Highness in a timely manner!"
Thinking of this, Toltec finally decided to pay attention. He stood up and quickly summoned his bodyguards and leaders.
"You are divided into dozens of teams in units of fifty people. Expand the search to the east, northeast, south, and southwest! Once the enemy group is confirmed, quickly retreat to the old camp dozens of miles away from Patzcuaro City to report back. Don't be reluctant to fight.
! The first person to respond to the news will be promoted to a senior warrior. He will be rewarded with 100 baskets of food, 100 bolts of cotton, and 100 slaves! I will personally report his name to His Highness!"
When they heard the high reward, the eyes of the people in each department flickered. They were like wolf dogs that smelled prey, looking at each other warily and howling in low excitement.
Then, without further delay, Toltec waved his hand vigorously.
"The remaining hundred personal guards, follow me and return to the old camp immediately!"
"Black Wolf" strode away, and finally grabbed a handful of spicy grass and chewed it hard in his mouth. The spicy taste invigorated him, and the desire to fight made his blood boil. Then he began to take the lead and run at a constant speed, and the guards followed closely.
Afterwards, the hunters in the river valley dispersed one by one. Only a row of bamboo baskets were left by the stream, filled with spicy fresh grass.
Toltec ran continuously for half a day. It was not until night fell that he stopped to have dinner, found a high ground, and took his guards to rest. When it was just dark, he urged the march again, and he should run ahead first. Wait until the second
At noon that day, the old camp was finally in sight. They marched hundreds of miles in one day, almost reaching the limit of this era.
Arriving at the old camp in the forest, Toltec paused for a moment. At some point, there were many more guarding warriors in the camp. The patrolling team was neat and strict, with a solemn look unique to the elite. The "Black Wolf" waited for a moment, and finally strode forward.
In front of him, his face was filled with joy. He lowered his head and saluted respectfully to His Highness's warrior commander.
"Captain Holy Eagle Warrior, your injury is finally healed? I have been worried about you for a long time! Well, seeing that you are rosy and energetic, you should be well taken care of by the captain of the Navy."
Hearing this, Bertard was slightly embarrassed. Then, a smile appeared on his weathered face.
"Anna is a good woman with a cold face and a warm heart. I have completely recovered. After lying down for several months, I can finally return to the battlefield and catch up with the end of the Western Expedition! If I don't work harder, all the credit will be lost.
You guys are done. Toltec, I heard that you captured Ospai alive, so you can avenge me!"
Bertard reached out and patted Toltec hard on the shoulder.
Toltec came from the team of followers of His Highness. He was a young general who was trained and promoted by him. He was young and could be responsible for recruiting tribal hunters before the expedition because of his recommendation. The two have a very close relationship.
, can all be counted as a line of followers of His Highness.
Hearing this, Toltec was in high spirits and spoke loudly with a smile.
"Captain of the Holy Eagle Warrior, Ospai is just a gutless rat fish, and it is not easy to even commit suicide. Now, I, Toltec, have found a real big fish, which is probably the king of Tarasco! Your Highness is now
In the big tent?"
"Big fish... king..." Bertard pondered for a moment, then nodded seriously.
"His Royal Highness is handling military affairs in the big tent. Military affairs are the most important thing. Please come with me to meet His Highness!"
When it came to business, the two of them stopped talking. After a while, they walked together to His Highness's tent.
Hulot was wearing a black robe, holding a simple map in his hand, and was discussing closely with Ezpan, who was standing in front of him. Hearing the movement at the tent door, the young commander raised his head and looked up.
Bertard entered first and bowed his head in salute.
"Your Highness, Toltec has urgent military information to report."
Shulot smiled and nodded.
"Let my black wolf in!"
"Your Highness, Black Wolf Toltec sends his regards to you and congratulates you on your victory in the Northern War! I also bring you new good news!"
Toltec stepped into the big tent. His eyebrows were flying, he knelt on one knee and greeted loudly.
Shulot looked at his beloved general with a smile.
"Toltec, what good news do you bring?"
"Your Highness, I have discovered the traces of King Tarasco!"
"What!" Shulot stood up suddenly. He looked solemnly and looked at the young general.
"When and where? What are the specific circumstances? Tell them all in detail!"
Facing His Highness' gaze, Toltec shrank his neck and carefully explained the information he knew one by one.
Shulot pondered for a moment before speaking slowly.
"So, the scout didn't see the enemy's legion with his own eyes?"
"Your Highness, in the east of Qin Cong Can, the only ones who can march in large groups without leaving many traces are King Tarasco's legions!"
Toltec continued to explain.
"The scouts I sent are all experienced hunters! Only the enemy's royal army can make them disappear silently."
Xiulote nodded and said nothing. He thought for a while and looked at Ezpin beside him carefully.
"If Tarasco's royal army is to our east, where can they be hidden?"
Ezpin thought for a moment, borrowed the map from His Highness' hand, and drew on the map one by one.
"Your Highness, there are many places in the east where you can hide your tracks. The first is the mountain forest boundary of Sitacuaro. Secondly, to the north, south of Sitacuaro, there are also many rolling hills and sporadic fortresses. But these places
, there is no sufficient food supply, and it will be difficult to avoid our scouts as we continue marching towards the hinterland."
Shulot nodded slightly. Then he continued to ask.
"If the enemy is in the south, where can they go?"
"Your Highness, the southern hinterland of Tarasco is still intact. The nearest is the southernmost city of Ivacchio in the Patzcuaro Lake District, which is rich in copper mines. It is rich and prosperous there, and you can get a lot by searching for big merchants.
Supplies. Then there is the valley on the north bank of the Talsas River, where there are many estates of great nobles. Between the Patscuaro Lake area and the Talsas River, there are also many marching channels with water sources. If the royal army starts from here
By passing through, you can avoid our detection, take a detour to the south or even southwest, and enter the Patzcuaro Lake area!"
The young commander said "hmm" in agreement. Then he frowned and stared at the corner of the map, silently.
"Your Highness, you have led the main force of the legion south, and no one can resist it at this time!"
Toltec looked excited. He pointed with his hand at the center of the lake area, Qin Cong Can City.
"Let us directly surround Qin Congcan, wait for the enemy's king's army to come, and then defeat them in one fell swoop! I, Toltec, am willing to be your vanguard! As long as the enemy's king is captured, the Tarascans will disperse into
The ministries fight independently and are not subordinate to each other. The victory of the Western Expedition will inevitably follow. You will become the greatest commander in the history of the alliance!"
Shulot smiled and nodded, then shook his head.
"Toltec, I am not worried about Suangua escaping into the Royal Capital. Although Qincongcan is strong, it is a caged city. If he enters the Royal Capital, King Tarasco will be a caged bird and can no longer escape.
.”
Then, he stretched out his hand and pressed hard on the corner of the map.
"What I'm worried about is that Suangua retreats here!"
