Aztec Eternals

“The Main God is my witness! At the end of the God-Revealed Island Chain lies the vast Ice and Snow Peninsula. On the Ice and Snow Peninsula, there are the Mountain Tribe and the Deer Tribe, both nomadic and hunter-fisher tribes who herd deer, and also fellow Jia people who share our origins. The kingdom has established two ports on the Ice and Snow Peninsula: God-Twin Smoke Port and God-South Mountain Port. Both ports are on the scale of several hundred people, with planted potato fields…”

“It is worth mentioning that there is an elderly shaman in the Mountain Tribe who, with many descendants and shamanic divinity, has established a very loose Mountain Tribe Alliance with a scale of ten thousand people. The Mountain Tribe Alliance can mobilize two thousand tribal warriors to fight against the nomadic Deer Tribe in the northern snowfields… They have formed an alliance with the kingdom through marriage, witnessed by the ancestors, and have already made offerings to the Main God. They are skilled in archery, and many of their strong tribal men have joined the kingdom's strongholds in the West Sea, making them very reliable ‘main forces’! Before I arrived, due to the impact of the White Disaster, a thousand tribal people from the Mountain Tribe, including three or four hundred warriors, had just begun to move south to join us…”

“Oh? Losanda, the High Priest Zuwaro and you have both established marital relationships with the Mountain Tribe? Has this tribe converted to the Main God?”

“Well… the main branch of the Mountain Tribe can be considered officially converted, while most of the branch families worship the Main God as one of the many gods in the Celestial Realm…”

“Oh! That means it's still in the early stages of faith transmission, and more missionary priests need to go there! …”

In the Main God Temple on Whale Island, three high-ranking priests of the kingdom sat cross-legged, jointly watching the “Map of the West Sea Continent” on the wooden table. The northern starting point of this map is the Kamchatka Peninsula at the end of the Aleutian God-Revealed Island Chain, a vast land of 270,000 square kilometers!

However, due to the influence of the Kuril Current, the coast of this Ice and Snow Peninsula is much colder than the coast of Alaska. Only in the central part of the peninsula, in the hot spring valleys controlled by the Mountain Tribe, are good places for herding deer and growing potatoes. As for the two coastal strongholds occupied by the kingdom, they actually have no development potential. At most, the two ports can each support a thousand people. In terms of positioning on West Sea voyages, they can only serve as necessary supply points, like the ports along the island chain.

“From the Great Ice and Snow Island, going south along the Kuril Islands, you can reach another vast island, the Ainu-Moshiri Great Island. This is the home of the Jia people branch, the tens of thousands of Ainu tribes! There are many Ainu tribes on this island, ranging in size from dozens to thousands of people. Among them, the five largest clans are the North Ezo, Ishikari, West Hara, East Hara, and Ura…”

“Among them, the Ura clan has been conquered by the Wa people in the south for many years and has become a vassal. The Ishikari clan, along with the Wa people, once fought against us, but ultimately suffered a crushing defeat. Currently, the Ishikari tribes fear us, submit to us, and trade large amounts of coal and iron ore… Yes! There are very considerable coalfields on their territory, as well as many small iron sand mines… This Ishikari clan is also the kingdom's main target for assimilating the Jia people and spreading the faith on the Ainu-Moshiri Great Island! …”

“As for the formerly weakest North Ezo clan, they have joined our kingdom, completely converted to the Main God, and are our very close main allies. We have sent samurai officers to train several hundred Ainu tribal conscript spearmen for them, roughly similar to the kingdom's peasant soldiers, but not as good as the tribal flag teams… High Priest Zuwaro has even married three noblewomen from the North Ezo clan, is intimate with the chiefs of each tribe, and has become the nominal ‘spokesperson’ of the North Ezo clan! …”

On the map in front of the table, High Priest Chimel once again used a fine pen to mark and record the approximate location and size of the five Ainu tribes, especially marking the “coal mines” and “iron mines” in the Ishikari tribe's territory. The area of this Ainu-Moshiri Great Island is 83,000 square kilometers, about one-third of the Kamchatka Peninsula. But it can support ten times the population of the Kamchatka Peninsula!

“High Priest Zuwaro not only married a wife from the Mountain Tribe, but also married three Ainu wives? …”

“Yes! In addition, High Priest Zuwaro also married a wife from the Jurchen tribe of the Forest Sea. That Maha tribe in the Forest Sea is also a very important ally of ours! …”

“After the initial ‘conflict,’ High Priest Zuwaro successfully established a ‘Golden Trade’ channel with this Wa people's Worm Mountain clan through ransom negotiations. Since then, the kingdom has finally been able to use sufficient ‘gold’ to conduct the ‘Golden Trade’ prophesied by His Majesty, to trade for the artisans, rice, salt, ironware, and armor of the West Sea tribal alliance…”

“Afterward, the scale of the Golden Trade gradually expanded, and new Wa people forces joined in. This is a temple force called ‘Tendai,’ which holds a respected position in the Wa Kingdom tribal alliance and can easily raise large amounts of Wa Kingdom artisans and materials… The eleven master craftsmen I brought back this time were basically exchanged for gold from the trading fleets of the ‘Tendai’ Temple! …”

Speaking of this, Losanda moved his finger down, pointing to the approximate location of the Wa people's capital on the rough map of Honshu Island. Then, after thinking for a moment, he drew a “lake,” marking it as the heartland of the Wa people, just like the “Lake Texcoco area” and the “Lake Pátzcuaro area.”

“Wait! The ‘Tendai’ Temple force? Like the city-states of Cholula, with a sacred council of priests and elders? …”

“Yes! Teacher Miki. This ‘Tendai Temple’ has its own city-state and has a great influence in the ‘capital region’ of the Wa people. Their city-state is called something like ‘Mount Hiei’ or ‘Mount Nanmei,’ and they also occupy many ‘fertile lands by the lake,’ building many temples of various sizes, called something like ‘-ji’! … But the Wa people's temple forces are not limited to this one; there seem to be many priestly orders. The power of the Tendai Temple priestly order is limited, and they cannot command the many glorious nobles, only having some influence over the shogunate…”

“Hmm? Multiple temple orders standing side by side? Then they are not as good as the former Cholula priestly order, roughly like the city-state priestly orders of the Totonacs, each dominating one side… Is this ‘Tendai Temple’ reliable? Such priestly orders often have many elders, with different thoughts, and may not be a sustainable trading partner…”

“Yes! Both teachers are truly insightful! We encountered two branches of elders within the ‘Tendai Temple’ one after another, and a battle of a thousand people broke out with the second branch… In the end, we captured ten large ships, captured their priest elders, and reached a new gold trading agreement! That is to use gold to trade for their ‘Prince Shiba’ bloodline and the title of ‘Glorious Noble’ to obtain stable and reliable channels for communication with the Wa people…”

“What?! These Wa people are even willing to sell the ‘prince’ bloodline and the ‘glorious noble’ title?! ”

“Yes! The Wa people seem to be very obsessed with gold; just a few hundred or thousands of catties have made them willing to exchange even their divine descendants… Of course, this ‘Prince Shiba’ bloodline is currently very down on its luck and can hardly even protect itself. They sought refuge in the ‘Tendai Temple’ and were eventually sold to us by that captured Tendai priest elder… Among them are a Shiba ‘Prince’ and a ‘Princess,’ who urgently need to form a marital alliance with the kingdom to give birth to an heir with a claim.”

Speaking to this point, Losanda paused, hesitating slightly. But he thought again that this achievement could not be concealed from the two high priests anyway and would inevitably have to go through Chimel and Miki to be reported back.

“May the Chief God protect us! The kingdom needs to send a noble lady to the Western Sea as soon as possible to form a marriage alliance with the 'Prince Royal.' As for that young 'Princess Royal'... my fellow captain warriors and I unanimously believe that only a descendant of His Majesty's divine bloodline can convince the many Western Sea warriors and priests!”

“The Western Sea region is extremely vast. Even if we only consider the Ice and Snow Peninsula, Mao Hili Great Island, plus the Karafuto Peninsula, and reclaim the territory claimed by the Wa people's Prince Royal, it would be enough for a divine descendant Prince to establish a powerful fiefdom with hundreds of thousands, or even a million tribes!...”

“What, the potential for a fiefdom of a million tribes?! To offer a 'Princess Royal' to His Majesty, to give birth to a Prince of divine bloodline?! ”

Upon hearing this, Chimel and Mickey revealed shocked expressions, somewhat incredulous and filled with speculation. Zuwaro's expansion into the Western Sea continent, supported by massive amounts of gold and the kingdom's backing, was happening at an astonishing pace, far exceeding their most optimistic expectations! The situation in the Western Sea continent, while pleasing, also harbored hidden dangers that needed to be addressed and arranged in advance. And currently, in the Western Sea continent, the only kingdom priest who could restrain Zuwaro was probably Losanda…

“May the Chief God guide us! Perhaps, letting Losanda remain permanently in the Western Sea continent... would be more beneficial to the kingdom's long-term interests than allowing him to advance and return?”

Chimel frowned slightly, looked at the proud Losanda, and some thoughts arose in his mind. He pondered for a while, then carefully asked.

“Losanda, what exactly is the situation within this 'Wa People's Tribal Alliance,' the 'Kingdom of Japan' mentioned in His Majesty's prophecy, with whom we trade gold?”

“May the Chief God bear witness! The Wa People's Tribal Alliance is very similar to the alliance. From the central government in the capital to the local areas, there are hereditary nobles called 'Samurai,' who actually control fiefdoms of various sizes. The highest leader of their nobles is the Wa Kingdom's Great Tlatoani, the 'Shogunate General.' Below him are three powerful 'Regent Princes,' as well as many 'Honorable Nobles' who control local fiefdoms…”

“In recent years, the Wa people's 'Shogunate Royal Family' has been plagued by internal strife. The Great Tlatoani 'Ashikaga Shogun' is constantly being replaced, and the 'Succession Wars' are a chaotic mess. In several consecutive wars, the Wa people's 'Shogunate Royal Family' has neither been able to quell the rebellious nobles nor hold large-scale sacrifices, nor has it been able to consolidate the divided royal family and suppress the subordinate princes… In the end, a 'Hosokawa Prince' launched a military coup and seized actual 'power to speak'! This has caused the authority of the royal family to plummet, and the local 'Honorable Nobles' have begun to act independently and slaughter each other…”

Losanda spoke earnestly, striving to describe his understanding of the "Wa Kingdom Tribal Alliance." Chimel, who was from Mexica, pondered for a moment and spoke cautiously.

“Losanda, are you saying… that the current situation of this Wa Kingdom Tribal Alliance is like the decline of the Tepanec, the dominant power of the highlands in the past? The Tepanec Alliance is gradually declining, while the subordinate Mexica tribes are rising, and the divine bloodline is about to be replaced?…”

“Ah! Teacher Chimel, we still don't know the specific situation of the Wa people in enough detail. But at present, it does seem to be trending in that direction!…”

Chimel and Mickey exchanged glances, both showing some contemplation. The two carefully asked many questions about the internal affairs of the Wa people and the details of the gold trade. Then, Losanda finally spoke about the kingdom's third official stronghold in the Western Sea continent, which was also the largest Western Sea port, Shin Karafuto Port.

“May the Chief God bear witness! Shin Karafuto Port has already gathered more than two thousand tribesmen from various tribes, possessing a full six or seven hundred warriors from various tribes! Among them, there are about two hundred kingdom warriors, one hundred or so Shan tribe deer tribe archers, one hundred or so Jurchen soldiers and cavalry, and two hundred Wa people surrendered soldiers… And after more than a thousand tribes from the northern Shan tribe who are migrating south this year, and more than three hundred able-bodied men join, the kingdom's Western Sea warriors who can fight in battle can even reach a thousand! These are all warriors who can fight, and they are all equipped with armor and iron weapons obtained through gold trade…”

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“Are you saying that this newly built Shin Karafuto Port of the kingdom will soon have three or four thousand tribesmen and a thousand warriors?…”

“That is indeed the case, Teacher Chimel!”

“Oh, Chief God! So many tribes… Does this port have enough food production to support them?”

“Well, potato fields and fishing and hunting can probably meet more than half of the food consumption… As for the remaining half, and even the food to help the Maha tribe in the forest sea, it all has to come from the gold trade with the Wa people! Before I left, Shin Karafuto Port was stepping up the opening of potato fields and planting radishes that are easy to produce, hoping to produce more rations…”

Chimel listened patiently, his eyes flashing, and he roughly understood the key role of the Wa people's “gold trade” in maintaining the Western Sea stronghold. And without a doubt, the lifeline of Zuwaro's expansion and development was the “gold” transported from him!

“May the Chief God protect us! How much gold is left in the Western Sea camp?”

“The High Priest Zuwaro brought two thousand catties when he first set sail. I transported another two thousand catties when I provided support for the second time. And the gold trade with the Wa people several times, as well as the gifts sent out by the High Priest Zuwaro, and the time when the golden tree was used to lure the enemy… It probably cost fifteen hundred catties? If the trade for the Wa people's 'Prince Bloodline,' 'Honorary Title,' and 'Gunpowder' is completed, it will cost another thousand catties…”

Losanda carefully calculated and found that more than a ton of gold had already been spent. Of course, compared to the ships, craftsmen, livestock, and supplies that the kingdom had obtained, this consumption was nothing. But this ton of gold flowing into the Wa Kingdom, who knows what will happen, and where will it eventually flow…

“May the Chief God bear witness! There should still be fifteen hundred catties of gold left in the Shin Karafuto Port camp! And this gold, it is estimated that it can still support three or four more gold trades? The big merchant who traded with us before has left the Wa Kingdom, and the scale of trade in the past two years may decline…”

“Losanda, the gold trade with the Wa people cannot be stopped. The more craftsmen, livestock, and supplies that can be exchanged, the better! As for the gold… when you go west to provide support in a few days, load another two thousand catties of gold! Take it to the High Priest Zuwaro and several warrior chiefs, and let them trade freely… When next spring and summer come, you will transport more craftsmen and livestock back!”

Chimel gently stamped his foot, and nine tons of gold were as stable as Mount Tai under the soil. However, according to this spending speed of eight hundred catties a year, which is getting faster and faster, nine tons of gold is estimated to only support the Western Sea trade for about ten years.

In fact, the gold reserves of the Lake Kingdom's homeland are far less than those of the Mexica Alliance. The mining costs of the West Coast Gold Mountain and the Alaskan gold mines are also slightly higher, with certain requirements for technology and manpower. However, the kingdom is rich in copper mines, and the output of silver associated with copper is also very large, and it is often used to build statues and decorations.

And the most critical thing is that Qingqiu Jiedushi, the poet Balamo, has already controlled half of the Zacatecas Wasteland, and controlled the “predicted” open-pit silver mountain vein belt of “hundreds of thousands of tons,” especially the Fresnillo silver mine with a storage scale of “hundreds of thousands of tons” in later generations!

Throughout the three hundred years of the colonial era, the Spaniards mined at least 100,000 tons, two to three hundred million taels of silver in Mexico, with an annual output of more than three hundred tons, accounting for more than half of the world's silver production. More than half of these mined silver was transported to the East and flowed into the silver black hole of the Ming and Qing Dynasties. And with the kingdom's current manpower and mining technology in the wilderness, it is estimated that four or five tons, tens of thousands of catties of silver a year, can still be easily mined.

Of course, this requires the rear of the Lake Hekou County to provide food supplies to support Balamo's Qingqiu County in the wilderness for mining. Then transport the silver to the Leman River for loading, and sail westward all the way to the mouth of the Leman River, and set sail from Monkey's Great Lake County, and load it onto the Western Sea route's transoceanic ship…