NOVPUBThe banners flapped in the breeze as the elite samurai ascended silently, letting the mountain wind sweep across them while they watched the sun rise to mid-sky. Only when the king shook the small flag did the trusted aides halt their steps, pausing atop the hill.
Xiulote stood at the summit of the hill, surveying the surroundings. Behind him, the shield guard Ters, with a wooden expression, still held the royal banner aloft.
From the high vantage point, the world seemed to open up, broadening the king’s horizons. In the long wind, the hills undulated like towering waves, continuously rising to the mountain peaks; under the sunlight, the land gradually bare, like footprints of the gods, occasionally shimmering with a faint golden light. Only a winding creek flowed tinklingly like a lively snake, tracing the path of the onlookers, converging towards Lake Zirahuen, the lowest point in the terrain.
"What magnificent mountains! What a splendid river! All this wonderful landscape is in my hands!"
The king exclaimed loudly after a moment of gazing. He had inspected farms along the way, witnessed the fruitful earth, and now, having climbed the high mountains to behold the vast rivers and mountains, he felt extremely delighted! However, the instincts of a military leader soon resurfaced, manifesting in a contemplative murmur.
"Qinganbate, gentle mountains... This terrain is so treacherous, easy to defend but hard to attack, not gentle at all!"
"Your Highness is discerning! Qinganbate is indeed a range of treacherous mountains,"
Ezpan, touching his severed left finger, complimented with a clear gaze.
"As for the description of gentle, there is also an ancient legend that corresponds to the relics on the mountains. Legend has it that in the distant ancient times, these mountains were bustling with noise and billowing smoke, serving as the mouth of a demon that devoured mortals, leading to the underworld, the Land of the Dead."
"The demon ravaged for a thousand years, and the thick smoke rose for a thousand years. Until a great Divine Descendant witnessed the evil of this place. He first used human sacrifices to attract the Chief Divine, then resolutely sacrificed himself here. With a thunderous noise that shook heaven and earth, the Divine Descendant sealed the passage to the underworld with his divine body, and since then, the mountains have become gentle..."
"Later, the shameless Divine Eagle Royal Family claimed that it was an ancient Divine Eagle sage who sealed this place... However, only the Chief Divine’s supreme power could accomplish all this! It must be the Chief Divine’s Divine Descendant who sealed this place!..."
"Hmm, well said!... A smoking demon’s mouth? A calmed dormant volcano?"
Listening to this, Xiulote pondered and asked with a smile.
"Ezpan, since this is the demon’s mouth, is there the Stone of the Dead?"
"Your Highness is wise! Not only are there copper mines here, but also the Stone of the Dead, which is found at the higher parts of the mountains. Most of the Stones of the Dead used for sacrificial rites in the Capital City, Qinchongcan, come from here!"
"Very good!"
Xiulote nodded in satisfaction. To the east of the lake region lay mountainous saltpeter pits, and to the southwest nearby sulfur deposits. Thus, during the saltpeter collection season of winter, a large-scale production of gunpowder could once again be organized. And once copper cannons and gunpowder were ready... the king, confident, smiled again as he looked down at the mountains and rivers.
"Ezpan, with these rising mountain terrains and river flowing from the mountains, the land is majestic and has a water source. If we were to build a fort and establish a camp here, it would be extremely difficult to conquer!"
"Your Highness is wise! I have spent a long time in these mines. Nearby in the mountains, there are a few abandoned blue stone fortresses, which are tough to conquer. Fortunately, after Your Highness captured the false king of Tarasco, otherwise, if he had fled here, just by holding the camp, he could have blocked the conquering army and comfortably integrated the southwest..."
Ezpan smiled in agreement, also with a sigh.
"It is said that the initial false king of Tarasco stationed his troops here, guarding against the remnants of Urixiu in the southwest and the scattered Tekos Barbarians in the mountains. As the kingdom rapidly expanded, the remnants and Barbarians in the mountains were all subdued. The southwest border consistently expanded to the edge of the Colima Mountain Region, about five hundred li away, making these fortresses in the hinterland completely abandoned."
Hearing this, Xiulote showed a reaction. He looked towards the Head Warrior on the other side.
"Bertade, what is the current situation of the Tarasco remnants in the southwest mountains? Have they surrendered?"
"Your Highness, most of the remnants in the southwest have submitted their surrenders. The Lords from various regions also sent Envoys with tributes, nominally submitting to the newly formed Kingdom of the Lake. But in fact, they still maintain their regional autonomy traditions, tightly controlling everything in their fiefdoms."
Bertade pondered for a while, first nodding lightly, then slowly shaking his head. He calmly extended his hand towards the southwest.
"Your Highness, please look, the terrain in the southwest is very fragmented and complex. Interlocking mountains close in the middle to form several lower basins, with scattered towns and villages situated among them. Between the mountain ranges, there are strings of narrow passes that only a few troops need to guard, but it would take a great effort to break through."
"The mountain people here are isolated and cling together, unruly and difficult to tax. The local nobility are also stubborn and self-important, valuing land above all. Once the central government forcefully sends people to manage, it can easily provoke a joint uprising by the mountain people and the nobility. Moreover, the residents of the southwest mountain area are fewer than a hundred thousand, brave and skilled in battle, with rugged terrain and poor land output. Conquering it is very troublesome and there is hardly any wealth to plunder..."
"Overall, the cost of directly governing the southwest far exceeds the benefits of direct rule! The central government of the kingdom has no desire and finds it difficult to establish direct rule. During the period of Taracos, the approach to managing this area was to divide and distribute military nobility, enfeoff compliant local chiefs, using military deterrence on one hand and trade on the other."
Hearing this, Xiulote furrowed his brows. He gazed towards the undulating south, his thoughts drifting far away.
The Pacific Rim Plate and the American Plate collide, forming a chain of volcanic mountains along the western edge of America. With the long-term volcanic activity, the rich mineral deposits from beneath the earth have been brought up to the surface. In Central America, the plate collision created the towering Southern Madre Mountains, which extend and divide the world’s southwest into nearly unbridgeable halves, with the Fiefs of the southwest being an extension of the Southern Madre Mountains.
To undertake a campaign from the Patzcuaro Lake Region to the distant Colima Mountain Region, only two routes crossing the mountain range are feasible. The northern route requires assembling a fleet, traveling westward along the Lerma River for five hundred li, conquering the Chapala Lake Region, then turning southwest for four hundred li along the tributaries. The southern route requires traveling through the mountain passes, heading southwest for four hundred li, then turning northwest for another two hundred li.
Overall, although the northern route is longer, it can transport tens of thousands of troops via water. The southern route, saving one-third of the distance, can only accommodate a small number of elite troops through the mountains."
"This situation is very similar to that of the Celestial Empire’s southwest!"
Xiulote’s expression remained calm, as he gave a self-mocking smile.
"The iron ore in the Colima Mountain Region is like the carrot before the donkey, always visible but unattainable! Even reaching Colima and mining the deep iron ore is a tremendous difficulty... Perhaps I should think of some strategies for North America, where the future border between America and Mexica is a hugely rich mineral belt..."
The King pondered for a while, then asked again.
"Bertade, where exactly can the Fief effectively deploy officials and exert control over its southwestern border?"
The Head Warrior tiptoed, glanced at the nearest basin to the southwest, and cautiously finger-counted before carefully responding.
"Your Highness, the furthest control area in the southwest of the Fief is one hundred and fifty miles southwest of the Capital City, at Urapani City. This is a major town in the western part of Zicao County. Urapani means a plant that flowers and yields fruit in the same season, so it’s also known as the ’Flower Fruit City’ in the mountains!"
"Flower Fruit City in the mountains?!"
Xiulote paused, a strange twitch forming on his face. He inquired subconsciously.
"Are there many monkeys there?"
"Your Highness is knowledgeable! The southwestern mountains indeed abound with long-haired howler monkeys... and the pineapples they love to eat."
Ezpan stepped forward and continued to praise with a smile.
"Hmm."
The King nodded stiffly. He controlled his expression before asking seriously.
"In that case, beyond the Lake Region’s southern plains, the Fief controls only a little over fifty miles of mountainous area. Bertade, the southwestern mountains stretch for four to five hundred miles! Even though the mountain paths are difficult, the Fief should not control merely a small portion. How could the scattered Great Nobility of the southwestern mountains resist tens of thousands of the Kingdom Legion?"
"Your Highness, if willing to endure thousands of casualties, the old nobility of the southwestern mountains indeed couldn’t withstand the Legion, and the Kingdom’s ruled area could extend another two hundred miles southwest. However, subduing the mountain area wouldn’t yield any benefits and effective governance cannot be established quickly. Once the large troops withdraw, the mountain people will surely launch a rebellion again with the support of some interested parties. If troops were stationed in the mountains, the increase in food consumption would double with the lengthening of mountain roads and would also face repeated guerrilla attacks from the mountain people."
Hearing this, Xiulote fell silent in contemplation. Energized, Ezpan stepped forward and volunteered.
"Your Highness is merciful! You do not wish for the warriors to suffer too many casualties. I am familiar with the terrain here and can lead the new Spear Army of Prepetcha to pacify this region for Your Highness! In head-on battles, the mountain people are actually quite weak. As long as we dispatch troops before the autumn harvest and stay for a year, then ruin the mountain people’s spring planting next year, their food supply will be depleted. Without food, the mountain people can only submit to the true sun!"
"Destroying autumn harvest and spring planting... Hmm, Ezpan, I see your loyalty and will entrust you with an even more critical task!"
Xiulote looked at Ezpan calmly, touched his shoulder intimately, and softly praised him. Immediately, Ezpan, visibly moved, bowed deeply. Then, the King furrowed his brow and turned to the Head Warrior.
"Bertade, you mentioned ’some interested party’s’ support? Could it be from the south..."
"Indeed, Your Highness."
The Head Warrior nodded affirmatively.
"Scouts have been reporting back continuously. Over the past few months, there have been some unusual activities in Zicao County to the south. Subjugated old nobles meet frequently, seeming to have formed a loose mutual-aid alliance. They also frequently send envoys to conspire with the nobility of the southwestern mountains."
"These nobles, who dispute and conflict with each other generationally, can only put aside their differences to resist the central pressure. Once the Kingdom Legion gets mired in the mountains, the southern nobility will definitely secretly support the mountains people, divert Your Highness’s attention and exhaust the central power as much as possible..."
"Hmm, the old nobility in the south..."
Xiulote asked indifferently.
"Are they planning a rebellion?"
"The campaign to the west just ended, and the Alliance’s military exploits are still clearly visible. Unless driven to desperation, they likely lack the courage to rebel."
"What is their breaking point?"
"The land,"
The Head Warrior replied succinctly.
"Land... Land... I will give them another choice. Although the Chief Divine is the War God, He also possesses mercy."
The King, expressionless, had already made up his mind. Although the setting sun bled red across the evening sky, the sun would always bring light! 𝔫𝖔𝔳𝖕𝖚𝔟.𝔠𝔬𝖒
"I’ve rested enough, let’s continue!"
The marching call echoed vibrantly, resounding across the vast earth. The elite Samurai once again formed into their marching formation.
As the sun dipped slightly westward, a huge mountainous mine finally came into view. A rough wooden fence loosely enclosed, separating the copper veins from the rest of the mine. Gilded copper ore painted streaks on the ground, piles of soil and stone built up into small mounds, and rudimentary furnaces emitted black smoke.
Groups of miners, dressed plainly, bent and gaunt, bowed their heads and carried baskets, bustling both inside and outside the mine, numbering over a thousand. Meanwhile, stationed at key traffic points and highland, were groups of Mexica Samurai. Armored and shielded, some even holding longbows, they closely monitored the operation of the mine. As the most crucial copper mine of the Fief, the site hosted an entire large unit, two hundred elite Samurai.
Seeing the approach of the Royal Banner from afar, a fully-equipped unit captain of the Samurai sprinted out from the mine. Approaching the King, he revealed a fierce yet familiar face and knelt down like a mountain.
"Your Highness, I salute you! I am the Divine Eagle’s feathers, following you to the ends of the earth!"
