Aztec Eternals

“Black Bear, gather the bones of your great-grandfather! Build him a tomb, erect a stele… Forget it, just follow your tribe's tradition, wrap them in animal hide, and let me return them to the tree! … Hmm, also collect that official uniform of the Associate Military Commissioner, and give it to the Ancestral Shaman… What? You still want potatoes and pickled fish? Ancestral Shaman, what do you think? … Good! The Ancestral Shaman has agreed to your request, go and get them! Remember to kowtow to your great-grandfather! …”

The Solon tree stood silently. A hundred years of time were etched into its growth rings, stretching into its treetop. Different flags came and went, and the buried corpses turned into white bones. To it, all the rises and falls that occurred on this land were like passing clouds.

“Swish… swish…”

Ha'er Man Chieftain Ali, carrying the bones, wrapped in ropes, once again climbed nimbly upward, stepping on the mottled bark. Wudu Wen tilted his head, looking at the tree trunk he could no longer climb, muttering, not knowing what he was saying to his ancestors.

Aguda took out a leather bag and carefully and meticulously stored the wrapped official uniform and two copper seals, then tied it tightly with a short rope. He had always been very focused. His Nvzhen origins had honed his remarkable courage, but also limited his horizons. But now, the person who could see through the mist had pointed out the direction for the tribe's advancement, and he would be the most motivated chieftain!

“Ali… Ali…”

Ancestor Zuwaluo squinted his eyes, watching Ali in the forest. He was still skeptical about the situations of the Great Ming Dynasty that the converted old chieftain, the new priest of the main god, had described. He hoped to observe everything in the southern Great Ming with his own eyes, but he still trusted Ali as a person.

Personal experiences and knowledge are always an invisible shackle. Zuwaluo had never been to the Great Ming, so he didn't know the value of this mature Nvzhen chieftain, and thought that the imperial politics Ali described were common knowledge taught in universities and known by many people. However, when they first met, Ali said that he had connections with important figures in the Liaodong military garrisons. How could an ordinary Nvzhen chieftain promise such a thing?

In the twentieth year of Hongwu (1387), Emperor Taizu of Ming sent troops to the northeast, forcing the surrender of Mongol Grand Tutor Nahachu, and recruiting the various Nvzhen tribes of Liaodong. From this time on, a large number of descendants of noble chieftains from the Nvzhen tribes joined the Prince of Yan Zhu Di's residence as eunuchs. This was the beginning of the seeds planted by the Solon tree.

Then, twelve years later, the Jingnan Campaign (1399) began. Among the generals who followed the Prince of Yan south, many were eunuchs of Mongol and Nvzhen origin, unafraid of arrows and exhausting their strength to the death, even more loyal than most Han soldiers! The reasons for this were, on the one hand, the Prince of Yan's own command and charisma, and on the other hand, the fact that these hundreds of sinicized foreign eunuchs and Prince of Yan's close followers had no choice but to change their allegiance. They could only follow the Prince of Yan to the death in the Jingnan Campaign!

And when the Jingnan Campaign succeeded, the Prince of Yan became Emperor Taizong, and he also generously rewarded these close followers and meritorious officials who participated in the Jingnan Campaign. Throughout the Yongle period, the highest-ranking eunuchs in charge of the Twenty-Four Offices, the “Grand Eunuchs,” were almost all sinicized foreign eunuchs of Nvzhen, Mongol, Xifan, U-Tsang, and Korean descent who had participated in the Jingnan Campaign and risen from obscurity.

This also reflected Emperor Taizong's strategy for governing the borderlands. He was a figure similar to a “Khagan,” without ethnic prejudice, accustomed to appointing officials of corresponding tribal origin who were familiar with tribal affairs to conduct investigations, pacifications, investitures, expeditions, and surrenders of various border tribes. And from Nurgan, U-Tsang, Annam to Southeast Asia, the Emperor's will to develop the borderlands actually ran counter to the political ideology of Neo-Confucianism, and was generally opposed by civil officials, but was vigorously implemented by eunuchs. From the perspective of real history, the Ming Dynasty governed by civil officials was always conservative and inward-looking, while the Ming Dynasty governed by eunuchs was open and outward-looking. If you want the Ming Dynasty to expand outwards, then perhaps there is only…

Among Emperor Taizong's many eunuchs, the one with the highest status and the most trusted by Emperor Taizong should be the Nvzhen eunuch Wang Yan, the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Imperial Treasures. This one was personally named “Gou'er” (Dog) by Emperor Taizong, and had made great contributions in the Jingnan Campaign. He not only managed the Directorate of Imperial Treasures, but later became the first Garrison Grand Eunuch, responsible for guarding the capital's gateway, the most important Liaodong Regional Military Commission for thirty years! In addition to him, there was also the Nvzhen eunuch Liu Shun, the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Imperial Horses, who followed Emperor Taizong on five expeditions to the desert north, and personally welcomed Emperor Xuanzong Zhu Zhanji to the throne after Emperor Renzong's death, which counted as two ascensions to power.

From Yongle to Xuande, there were many Nvzhen eunuchs, many of whom had participated in the Jingnan Campaign. They revolved around Emperors Taizong and Xuanzong, and were deeply involved in the empire's politics, especially in leading and implementing the development and governance of the vast northeast. And the ancestor of Ha'er Man Chieftain Ali was one of these Nvzhen eunuchs, who had followed Yi Shiha in developing the Nurgan Regional Military Commission!

It was precisely because of this connection between the “descendants of predecessors” among the eunuchs that Ali was able to write a grateful proclamation to Emperor Xiaozong in the tone of a “slave” of the Emperor's household when he took over as the Associate Regional Military Commissioner of Ha'er Man seventeen years after his father's death.

“When my grandfather was alive, he paid tribute to horses and sable skins every year, and has never violated this to this day. I obtained this position in the fourteenth year of Chenghua (1478). Now, I humbly request to be promoted to Associate Regional Military Commissioner, and report this to the Holy Emperor.”

However, when all the Nvzhen eunuchs of the Yongle and Xuande years had withered away, and no new successors entered the palace, the representatives of the Nvzhen tribes in the empire's power completely disappeared, and they no longer had any influence on the empire's governance. Afterwards, the Great Ming completely retreated from Outer Northeast, and these sinicized mature Nvzhen tribes, which the empire had cultivated outside the pass for more than a hundred years, spending a lot of manpower and material resources, moved towards their true end.

After all, the crude knives and spears of the raw Nvzhen savages do not recognize the rules and order of the Great Ming, but only the food that can fill their stomachs. They will only climb up your stockade like fearless beasts, and then chop off your head to use as a bowl!

“Ancestor Shaman? Ancestor Shaman?!”

“Oh! Ali, are you done?”

“Yes, it's buried!”

In the dim shade of the woods, Ali nodded and pointed to the treetops. This time, however, the remains were first wrapped in sturdy animal hide bags and then tied to the branches of the Soroen pillars. They didn't appear white; instead, they were the grayish-yellow of deerskin, as if truly blending with the bark of the trees.

"This old man of the Doer Bi River Guard probably knew my ancestors as well. Let us properly bury him, hoping his soul rests in peace… May the Lord God bless him!"

With that, Ali lowered his head and prayed sincerely for a while. The Jurchen tribes in the forest sea, living in a wild natural environment, greatly valued the destination of the soul after death, with a sense of 'valuing ghosts and gods over life and death.' Therefore, their spiritual world was always difficult to integrate with Confucian culture. If the Lord God's faith did not occupy the high ground of their thoughts, Tibetan Buddhism would gradually spread and eventually be engraved in the hearts of the Jurchen nobles.

To completely Sinicize these Jurchen tribes, either the Northeast had to be developed to create corresponding productivity, or they had to be brought into the interior to completely change their impoverished and barbaric lives… Often, complex thoughts and beliefs must correspond to higher productivity! The barbarization of the Doer tribe and Udu Wen is, in fact, a necessity to adapt to a difficult environment.

"Yes, may the Lord God bless! And may the Lord God guide! Guide the souls of these Jiaoren tribesmen to ascend to the red and peaceful kingdom of God!…"

Zu Walo closed his eyes and prayed sincerely for a while in this Jurchen tribal cemetery. The faces of several young priests flashed through his mind, and only the youngest and strongest priests could stay in this difficult and arduous guard post to preach!

"Ali, let's go! Go back and pack up… The road to buy horses in the west is still very long, probably taking more than half a month. Our time is limited, and we can't delay for too long… Leave two months' worth of food for the Doer tribe. We should set off early tomorrow morning!…"

"Zu! The Doer tribe has more than a hundred people. If we leave two months' worth of food… our remaining food may not be enough for the round trip! After all, the carrying capacity of the horses is limited, and the traded salt bags take up too much of the load."

"Agudai, I have already calculated that the remaining food is enough for us to reach the forest tribes in the west and deal with them. This time, we will take all fifty warriors of the Doer tribe with us to strengthen the team as much as possible! After taking away the strong men, the Doer tribe may not be able to hunt any large prey, so we must leave enough food for them!"

At this point, Zu Walo pursed his lips, grasped the bronze axe at his waist, and a Shan Tartar-like coldness appeared on his face.

"Agudai, you told me before… when you migrated south, let alone a month's worth of food, you often didn't even have ten days' worth. But you still migrated thousands of miles south, until you attacked and killed the original small tribe, occupied the Nurgan Regional Military Commission, and then met us…"

"Hmm?! Zu, are you saying? According to the migration method, rob? Kill? And then eat…"

Hearing this, Maha Agudai's eyes sharpened, and he also clenched the iron mace he carried. He grinned fiercely, revealing his tiger-like mouth, and laughed loudly.

"Haha! That's right! Bring the warriors of the Doer tribe, equip them with spare leather armor and spears, and we will have two hundred fully armed warriors! Bringing back two hundred horses is no problem… But the salt we carry probably can't be exchanged for so many horses, right?… Then it's indeed better to rob! Slaughter any livestock we can't take away on the spot, put them in salt bags, and use them as rations for the return trip!…"

"Uh!…"

Zu Walo blinked, speechless for a moment. Agudai's bloodthirstiness was truly worthy of the title of "Tiger," and he was much fiercer than him.

"May the Lord God bless! Agudai, 'robbing' is a backup plan. But when we really take action, the fewer the better!… First, see what the forest tribes offer, and try to exchange with salt, gold, or ironware! If they ask for too high a price, or are unwilling to sell horses or grain, or simply harbor ill intentions towards us… then it's time to draw our weapons and seize livestock!"

"Okay! Then let's go west first and talk to the horse-breeding tribes in the forest! Wuxiong, the fifty people of the Doer tribe are still under your leadership as chief! Let's go west together to find food, so that your tribe can be full all winter!"

"Roar! Food, food! Full in winter! Roar!!…"

Wudu Wen let out an excited bear roar, the muscles on his face trembling, fierce like a hungry bear. In the distant forest sea, the same bear roar came from afar, but it was a brown bear whose territory had been provoked by this call.

"Roar! Roar!…"

"??…"

Hearing this shocking and deep bear roar, Ali and Zu Walo shook their heads, their bodies trembling. Wudu Wen and Agudai's eyes lit up, and they suddenly looked northeast, unable to help swallowing.

"Great Spirit witness, a bear! Sounds like a brown one, in the northeast!…"

"Roar! That's at least enough meat for four or five people! Meat!!…"

"Zu, let's delay our departure by one day! Wait for me to lead people to hunt this bear back, and then let the old and weak in the寨子properly marinate and store it…"

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"."

The wind blows through the forest sea, and the eagles fly over the treetops. When the crowd packed up their warhorses and gear and set off west again on the third day, Wudu Wen already had a roasted bear paw in his hand, which was Agudai's "hunting harvest." Zu Walo's face twitched as he looked at the roasted bear whip in his hand, and he silently stuffed it into Ali's hand.

"Here! Ali!"

"???"

"I'm in good health, I don't need this! You're old, and the road is still long. You need to nourish your body…"

"?!…"

Ali was speechless, and before he could refuse, Zu Walo had already mounted his horse, and the horse's hooves "deng deng" trotted to the front of the team. Although the old wife Mahahe often taught him how to ride a horse, and personally demonstrated it in various ways… but in just a year or two, his horsemanship was still limited. Such a trotting horse was already his limit.

In fact, the kingdom warriors in the team were all at this quarter-baked level, not even good enough for mounted infantry, and not much better than walking. However, the archers of the Shan and Deer tribes had experience taming and riding reindeer, and they learned to ride horses much faster. Perhaps this is also the ancestral gene of the Kamchatka tribes~~

"Da da!"

"May the Lord God bless! Speed up the march!"

The Niu Man River flows westward, and the trees along the river beach gradually become sparse, and in the more distant forest sea, tigers roar and wolves howl. When the dangerous two-legged team appeared, even the fiercest Northeast tiger cautiously silenced its roar. Only the horse hooves and footsteps of the marching team, and the rushing sound of water, remained in the forest.

"Hua! Hua!…"

When the rushing river turned into a surging river, the turbulent and wide jade belt appeared from the southwestern horizon, and even more humid water vapor rushed towards them! Standing by the river and looking west, the trees on the west bank had completely turned into scattered spots. A riverside swamp with lush water and grass had already appeared before the crowd's eyes!

"Priest Zu! Look at that great river, look at the rolling river sand, the black and surging river water!"

Ali straightened up from his horse, his face full of excitement. He pointed to the sparse tree swamp grassland on the west bank and laughed happily.

"May the Lord God bless! After trekking two or three thousand miles, and traveling for two or three months, we have finally arrived at the middle reaches of the Mixed Tong River!"

Hearing this, Zu Walo also smiled. The appearance of such a flat grassland also meant that they had finally reached their destination. And the tribes grazing herds would chase after the water and grass and appear at any time.

"Haha! May the Lord God bless! This place where rivers converge and the river water turns black is truly a rare sight!… Why not call it 'Black River'!…"

Note: The location of this Black River is the current "HH City."