Aztec Civilization: Destiny to Conquer America!

"How do the kingdom's people stationed in Cuba interact with the simple Taino people?"

Upon hearing this question, Priest Tomate stroked his chin, roughly guessing Chiwaco's stance. As for the old militiaman's soft-heartedness, he neither approved nor disapproved in his heart. He glanced around the surrounding woods, his eyes flickering with a burning ambition!

To his south lay the sprawling iron ore and sparse, low-lying woods. To his north, beyond the hills two miles away, stretched a flat and expansive coastal plain. The plains were covered in tall grass, affected by hurricanes, the trees were not tall. And beneath the tall grass was easily tillable fertile land. Coastal fertile land, along with the iron ore belt, several interwoven streams and rivers, and excellent coastal transportation conditions... Undoubtedly, whether for farming, mining, or trade, this was truly a "fertile land"!

"The kingdom must control this iron mine, and seize the entire coast. The nearby Taino villages must supply food and labor. Crucially, the faith in the Chief Divine must be ignited among the nearby Taino tribes, becoming the sole supreme radiance!"

Priest Tomate, with a calm expression, declared the objectives he needed to achieve. Toward the simple and kind Taino people, he bore no hostility, and even some appreciation. But to accomplish the kingdom's mission, spreading the Chief Divine's faith as quickly as possible, he wouldn't hesitate to use force if necessary.

"Haha! The Taino people are so weak. Controlling this coast and spreading the Chief Divine's faith, isn't that easy?!"

Upon hearing their conversation, Warrior Puap laughed out loud. Confidently, he patted his chest, looking northwest, his eyes flashing with coldness.

Twenty miles to the northwest was where they set off, the Mayali Region. That large Taino Tribe had approximately over three thousand defenseless and weak villagers and around one or two hundred unarmored militia armed with wooden spears and short bows. The entire tribe was almost defenseless and had rarely seen bloodshed.

And the kingdom fleet, with a full four hundred warriors, most battle-hardened, accustomed to killing. The warriors were equipped with refined leather armor or even bronze armor, each person armed with two copper spears and bronze axes, and about a hundred greatbows, as well as Tiger Squat Cannons that, though damp from gunpowder, could still produce thunderous sounds. With such overwhelming force, capturing any large Taino tribe on Cuba Island was quite effortless!

"Let's go back, gather the warriors and sailors on the ship, distribute the copper spears and armor. Then, my trusted aides and I will don the bronze armors, serving as the vanguard assaulting in the battalion!... Tonight, we can break through the Mayali large tribe, capturing all the able-bodied men and women in one fell swoop!"

At this point, Puap's eyes showed pure murderous intent. He counted as a veteran warrior, emerging from heaps of corpses, where ordinary humans' lives meant nothing to him.

"Afterwards, we'll decapitate all the chieftains, leaders, and sages who hold sway in the tribe! Then command the remaining captives to take a blood oath, converting to the Chief Divine. Those who refuse will also be executed! Following that, make the surrendered able-bodied men personally burn all the Zemi God Cards in the village, severing ties with their past. Finally, carry them off to attack other Taino villages, with bloodstained hands, severing routes of retreat..."

"Haha, witnessed by the Chief Divine! Just give me six months, and I can conquer all the Taino villages within hundreds of miles in this Cuban Snake Head region! All conquered Taino people will also convert to the Chief Divine!"

Hearing Puap's fierce and wolf-like words, Chiwaco's brow twitched, and his old face convulsed.

"Damn Puap! I knew you couldn't say anything good, with your mind full of nonsense..."

What Puap proposed was entirely along the brutal approach of Black Wolf General. Though feasible, it meant piles of bodies and seas of blood to instill fear from the bones of the conquered tribes. Should this method be used to devastate all Taino villages within hundreds of miles, tens of thousands of Taino people in the Cuban Snake Head might be halved.

Moreover, within the Taino villages, there were actually none of the sharp contrasts between nobles, warriors, and commoners as often seen in various Central American divisions. The kingdom could not rely heavily on slaughtering the upper echelons, toppling the order to win over many grassroots guides.

"The Taino villagers have never shown enmity toward the kingdom. Their clean eyes lack the blood-red shade of the highland divisions..."

The old militiaman lowered his gaze, reflecting on the goodness and friendliness of the Taino villagers during their journey, finally feeling restless. His inquiry at this moment was because he keenly realized that as the kingdom's fleet initially taking root, their choices now would formally begin diplomatic relations between the Kingdom of the Lake and various Cuban divisions.

Should it proceed as Puap said, using force and slaughter to establish themselves, pushing the various Taino divisions against the kingdom... then successive waves of kingdom warriors would continue this approach, advancing the bloody process until fully conquering the Cuban Snake Island through violent means!

In this process, undoubtedly tens of thousands of Taino people would die, numerous Taino villages would be destroyed, and the peace and tranquility of various Cuban divisions would be utterly disrupted... All this went against his conscience, making it hard to accept and even cultivating guilt within him.

"Oh Chief Divine! Since I hold the power to choose and influence, I cannot watch this unfold!... The kingdom and various Taino divisions should be like corn and entwining beans, mutually promoting growth, and must not be the ravenous wolf and captured wild hare, engaging in one-sided slaughter…"

The old militiaman Chiwaco lowered his head, pondering for quite some time before opening his mouth slowly. He didn't immediately refute Puap but instead turned to the unspoken Divine Revelation Priest Mekate, posing a new question.

"Respected Priest Mekate, you excel at statistics and have observed various Cuban divisions in detail along the way... In your view, how many tribal populations are there on this Cuba Snake Island?"

"Hmm? The tribal population on Cuba Island?..."

Priest Mekate was taken aback by Chiwaco's sudden inquiry. As a Divine Revelation Priest with skilled technology, his temperament was relatively mild. During the fleet leaders' meetings, he usually only spoke on issues related to navigation and minerals and did not participate in other fleet decisions. However, with his status as a Second-Level Divine Revelation Priest, he certainly held an important place in the decision-making process.

"Along the way, we've circled most of Cuba Snake Island, hearing of or contacting nearly thirty large tribes with thousands of people... As for the smaller tribes of hundreds or thousands, they are too numerous to count."

Priest Mekate calculated silently with his fingers. In fact, along the way, he had indeed been continuously recording the scale of the tribes encountered, gaining a rough estimate of the population on Cuba Island.

"The east-to-west length of Cuba Snake Island is at least two thousand five hundred Li, and the distance between the north and south coasts ranges from two hundred to four hundred Li... The entire island is warm year-round, with abundant rainfall and fertile land. Most of the land can be cultivated... The yield of cassava crops is astonishing, producing over five hundred jin per mu without any fertilizer..."

After finishing his analysis, Priest Mekate paused and gave a preliminary conclusion.

"This fertile Cuba Snake Island, conservatively estimated, has a tribal population of 400,000 to 600,000! And if the entire island were fully developed like the Mexican Valley, supporting 2 million people shouldn't be difficult!"

Hearing Priest Mekate's conclusion, everyone nodded in agreement. As they traveled, the abundance of Cuba Snake Island had indeed impressed everyone deeply.

In fact, this 110,000-square-kilometer Great Island is only slightly smaller than the 130,000-square-kilometer England. The entire island features a tropical savanna climate, ideal for cultivation. More than two-thirds of the island's area consists of long grass plains and low-tree prairies that can be farmed into good arable land, unlike the difficult and treacherous tropical jungles found on other Caribbean Islands.

From an agricultural perspective, "Cuba" truly lives up to its name as a "fertile land." Even in future generations of Cuba, where blockades severely limited access to agricultural machinery and fertilizers, and where large areas of farmland were used to grow sugarcane, it still managed to support a population of twelve million! In terms of disease control, Cuba, primarily consisting of tropical savannas, is the only place in the entire Caribbean Islands that can control the spread of malaria effectively.

"Hmm, 400,000 to 600,000 tribal population, simply put, is 500,000 people."

Veteran Militia Chiwaco straightened slightly, looked seriously at Puap, and asked in a deep voice.

"Old Pu, there are 500,000 Taino people on Cuba Island, more than the bees in the forest! And our fleet only has over 200 personnel! ... Do you really believe you can conquer the hundreds of thousands of Taino people with just 200 men?"

"Uh? I... huh? Old Chi, that's not quite right, is it? We're fighting one tribe at a time..."

"I haven't finished, listen to me!"

Chiwaco waved his large hand, interrupting the bewildered Puap, and continued seriously.

"Even if we manage to win this aggressive conquest, how many warriors must perish? And even if the Tainos aren't skilled in combat, won't they flee? How do we have enough men to watch them?... If they escape inland, how many do we have to pursue them? Even if we catch them, then what? If they are captured, they might escape again. If we need to kill them, why capture them at all?..."

"Moreover, how many thousands of Taino villagers must be killed in such a bloody conquest? His Highness once said, 'Heads are not weeds, they won't grow back once severed...' The Taino people hold no animosity toward the kingdom. With proper methods and enough patience, they could originally be like green beans surrounding us and become devout sincere believers of the Chief Divine!... Uh, Priest Mekate, what do you think?"

Chiwaco glanced at the attentively listening Priest Tomate, then inquired of Divine Revelation Priest Mekate. Priest Mekate considered it; in fact, he also held a favorable view of the Taino people, and thus he nodded somewhat in agreement.

"Indeed! Captain Chiwaco, you make a very valid point! The Taino people, being numerous and gentle in nature, should not be treated as enemies. Instead, they should be transformed into citizens of the kingdom!..."

Priest Mekate was gentle in nature and rarely voiced his opinions, but his standing on the ship was not low. At this moment, his suggestion carried more weight than the erroneous Puap. The combination of Exploration Captain Chiwaco and Divine Revelation Priest Mekate constituted a significant influence, which could not be ignored by others.

Priest Tomate bit his lip and looked at the veteran militia Chiwaco, finally asking.

"Respected Captain Chiwaco, you mentioned proper methods to peacefully subdue the Taino people. So, what is your plan?"