Aztec Civilization: Destiny to Conquer America!

Perhaps it was because they were taking captives, or perhaps it was encountering a creditor, or maybe some news had been overheard from the military nobility of the city-states. The next morning, Olosh's roaring voice hurried everyone to rise and set off southward along the smooth riverside dirt road.

Ever since entering the Mexican Plateau, the road southward had been comfortable and safe.

The end of the dry season in Mexico was still cool and dry, with the sky high and the clouds sparse, and without the bothersome rain of the lowland jungles, the roads were sufficiently flat. Villages along the way were populous, with fruit trees providing shade, and cactus and agave were crops unique to the highlands.

Alongside the rivers were countless productive floating gardens, chinampas, and single log canoes shuttled on the rivers, with merchants and travelers coming and going incessantly.

This was the actual controlled area of the Aztec city-state alliance, the core of the empire consisting of a dozen Mexica city-states, encompassing the essence of the Mexican Valley. After entering here, Olosh's mood visibly improved. Whenever he had the chance, he would talk to Xiulote about the "great city-state alliance."

According to Xiulote's understanding, Lake Texcoco was "the heart of the alliance," rapidly connecting the city-states along the lake.

At the imperial center were the sacred three cities, with Tenochtitlan in the middle of Lake Texcoco, Texcoco on the eastern side of the lake, and Tlacopan to the west of the lake. The leaders of the three city-states were also the joint sovereigns of the alliance; in the words of Xiulote's homeland, they were the great, second, and third chieftains. Of course, their status depended on the military power each city could mobilize.

For the sake of easy recollection, Xiulote internally tagged the three cities according to their geographical position and current state: Tenochtitlan, 'the heart of the empire, an unparalleled city of stone. Texcoco, 'a flourishing cultural center with an independent heritage. Tlacopan, 'a firmly controlled strategic location, close to the former capital of the Tepanec people.

Beyond the three cities and within two weeks' communication from Tenochtitlan were a dozen or twenty Mexica city-states, which constituted the core of the empire, the areas that could actually be controlled.

According to Olosh, to the northeast, marked roughly by the recently passed Mestitlan City, lay the "loyal vassals" of the Vastec people who had been subjugated for over a decade, with a moderate population. The empire collected a substantial amount of grain, leather, and feathers from there every year.

Xiulote drew a circle in his mind and took note, "Similar to the state of Yan, location northeast, military medium, diplomacy tribute."

Toward the west-northwest were the "hyenas and coyotes," the Otomi people, who were constantly being conquered and driven away.

Over these hundred years, the Otomi people were expelled from the fertile Mexican Valley by the Mexica and Nava people, scattered to the north, yet they repeatedly managed to establish new city-states on the frontiers. Their population was numerous; their direct military might was not too strong, but they were sufficient resilient and enduring. Xiulote drew another circle in the northwest and remembered, "Similar to the Xiongnu, position north, military medium, diplomacy hostile."

To the southwest, with Razico City as the boundary, further to the west lay the tough adversaries the "hard stones" Tarasco people, who possessed "unbelievably hard" bronze weapons and were the only known copper mine location in the world.

The empire's only disgraceful defeat occurred in the war with Tarasco two years ago, with numerous bloody battles and at least three legions of eight thousand soldiers killed in action.

Tenochtitlan had at one point issued a city-state mobilization order, one able-bodied man per household, forming an army corps of one hundred thousand troops. Intimidated by the empire's terrifying war capacity, the Tarasco city-state alliance withdrew from the empire's territory, turning to the west and north, attacking the small city-states of the Tekos instead.

Between the two nations, a tacit and stable peace was maintained. Xiulote drew a large circle to the west and noted, "Similar to Chu, position west, plentiful military, diplomacy neutral."

Slightly further south lay the "weed-like" people of Jontal, scattered along the Balsas River, with a sparse population, who had been subjected to the empire for many years; some small Mexica immigrant cities were already beginning to rise in this region.

Xiulote tagged them, "Similar to the Rongdi, position south, less military, diplomacy submission."

Farther south, until reaching the Pacific coast, lay the "weak and powerless" southern city-states: from west to east were the Tlapanecs, the Mixtecs, and the Zapotecs. These city-states, closely related by blood, were forced to submit to the Empire's tributes under the "great Montezuma I" and yet they, too, formed alliances with one another to jointly resist the pressures of the Empire,

The tag noted by the young man read "similar to Songweizhongshan, located in the south, with moderate military force and tributary diplomacy."

Beyond the mountains east of the Mexican Valley, and farther east, were the Empire's "fierce adversaries," the Tlaxcalans, with whom war had raged for decades.

The Tlaxcalans and the Aztecs both descended from the Chichimec-Nahuas, speaking similar languages, sharing cultural bonds, and intertwining blood, yet they harbored deep-rooted hatred after countless wars. Similar to the Aztec Alliance, the Tlaxcalans also formed a city-state alliance centered around the four cities of Tlaxcala, Ocotelolco, Tepeticpac, and Quiahuiztlan.

Tlaxcala possessed a similar military system and was capable of mobilizing armies of over one hundred thousand at their limit, making them the most dangerous enemy of the Empire.

In fact, it was ultimately the Tlaxcalans who introduced the Spaniards landing in Mexico, provided them with a foothold, detailed information, ample food, and even tens of thousands of servant cannon fodder. Eventually, taking advantage of the Aztec's internal turmoil, the Tlaxcalans and Spaniards were proactively invited into the capital city by Montezuma II, and the smallpox, deliberately spread by the colonizers, destroyed the city of Tenochtitlan in the lake and led to the demise of both the Aztec civilization and the Tlaxcalans themselves amidst the epidemic.

For ten years of blood and fire, the Tlaxcalans stained the throne of the New Spain Governor with the blood of themselves and the peoples of Central America!

Thinking of the future in history, Xiulote felt a chill in his heart. Drawing a circle in the east, he noted "similar to Zhao State, located east, large military force, unceasing warfare," and after some thought, he added four words "greatest threat."

To the east of the Tlaxcalan Alliance lay the "highly esteemed" religious city-state of Cholula. Cholula was the center of Nawatl religion, a city of temples, beautiful and affluent. With few warriors, it nonetheless enjoyed a special status among the city-states. Hearing this, Xiulote attached a tag "similar to Eastern Zhou, located east, few military forces, exalted status."

From Tlaxcala and Cholula, continuing east to the Gulf Coast of Mexico, lived another relative of the Mexicas, the "most Maya-like" Nahuatl-Totonac people.

The Nahuatl-Totonac people, having driven out the Otomis with the Mexicas, then settled by the coast, almost exclusively enjoying trade with the Maya, before selling these goods into the interior. Their boats were said to have reached the "great islands of the faraway Great Lake."

Geographical environment influenced political direction; decades of coastal trade and flourishing population made the Nahuatl city-states wealthy, also shedding the combative characteristics of their kinsfolk. They traded salt, feathers, leather, and other strategic materials with the Tlaxcalans for peace, staying aloof from the disputes in Central America.

Xiulote just so happened to have a matching label "similar to Qi State, located east, moderate military force, diplomatic neutrality."

As for the more distant Maya city-states, they seemed far-off and elusive. Olosh had only vaguely heard the names of significant city-states such as "Mayapan," "Chichen Itza," and "Chactemal," reluctantly recalled from the mouth of some Maya merchant he preferred not to think of.

The temperament of the Maya city-states was more peaceful than that of the various Mexicas factions, with wars and sacrificial rites on a smaller scale, tucked away in the rainforests of the remote southeast. Xiulote casually picked a label "similar to Yue, located southeast, specifics unknown."

Days passed in idle chatter. Having listened to the stories all along the way and memorized a circle of tags, Xiulote almost exhausted all of Olosh's ink, finally feeling satisfied to slowly digest the information. Joyful journeys are always fleeting, and he saw that in just one more day, he would return to his home in this life, to the ancient city of Teotihuacan in the Valley of Mexico.

The journey was real and vivid; for Xiulote, this world was finally not entirely unknown and shrouded in mystery, nor would it be a cold set of numbers and outcomes. His memories now contained real emotions—a hint of softness, some persistence, a bit of curiosity, and a longing for pursuit and yearning.

"Maybe there is also a dose of optimism," he thought, drawing a circle at the center of the Valley of Mexico and noting the last label: "Majestic, indeed, Da Qin!"