Aztec Civilization: Destiny to Conquer America!

Chapter 1401 - 956: Arrangements for the Kingdom’s Capital Region, Xiulote’s Final Trump Card

"Olosh, my most trusted teacher... The three major cities of Capital County, a mining area, and a population of over half a million, are the most important political core of the Kingdom of the Lake and the economic pillar of material production for the kingdom!..."The sun rises and sets, and in the blink of an eye, two days have passed. Xiulote repeatedly pondered the layout of the Kingdom of the Lake, considering the positioning and arrangement of each county and the future movements of each legion... Until the blueprint in his mind became clear, he picked up his pen and continued to write letters to the kingdom’s senior officials.

"The Avit God King has made full preparations, sending envoys to request my return to Lake Capital City, Tloquiditlan, to participate in the Grand Festival. I have no way to refuse, as my father is also in the Capital City... Next, the management of Capital County, the military affairs shall be your responsibility, the political affairs entrusted to Chief Minister Jatili, and the economic production handed to Divine Revelation Director Talaya. Among the three, you shall be the leader!..."

"In the entire kingdom, whether it’s Rivermouth County, Zicao County, Apa County, Qingqiu County, or the newly conquered Great Lake County, all supply excessively large military forces, beyond the production capabilities of each county..."

"Among the five counties, Rivermouth County with over thirty thousand people, and Apa County with nearly thirty thousand people, both have vast arable lands, ample food supply, and many banners... However, metal equipment, agricultural implements, and tools cannot be self-supplied, and their output of goods is also scarce... They are primarily agricultural counties based on farming and warfare."

"Zicao County, with nearly thirty thousand people, occupies the prosperous trade route of the Tarsas River, with quite developed commerce. The county hosts several small copper mining sites, a large-scale Black Rock Mountain iron mining district, capable of producing many metal resources, along with the kingdom’s vast Southern Shipyard... It belongs to a trade and production... hmm, industrial county."

After pondering for a while, Xiulote still wrote down the word "industrial." The industry here, rather than actual factories, is more reminiscent of workshop industries.

The mining district developed in Zicao County, the foundries and smelting workshops, and the shipyard constructing longships are all practically controlled by the Divine Revelation Place, implementing the army’s laws, essentially the state-run "industry" within the divine military system. As the kingdom is still newly established, and military laws are always strict, these military-industrial enterprises maintain high operational efficiency, continuously providing the driving force for the kingdom’s war machine!

"As for the remaining Qingqiu County, located in the northern wilderness, the land is barren, with little material output. Although its area is vast, it has only fifteen or sixteen thousand people, and grain production merely suffices to maintain itself. The newly conquered Great Lake County, with around twenty thousand people, has great future potential, but presently faces similar difficulties... These two counties, related military matters even surpass agricultural production, can be termed as military counties."

"Among all the counties, only Capital County is the most crucial foundation of the kingdom! With over half a million people, Capital County boasts vast and fertile manors, producing food that can supply eight to nine hundred thousand people. The copper and coal extraction in the Blackstone City mining district and bronze smelting provide the kingdom and half the realm’s copper needs!"

"The bronze foundry bureau in the Capital City provides bronze spears, bronze axes, bronze arrows, bronze cloth armor, and bronze cannon for almost the entire army of the kingdom... The Divine Revelation Place’s Gunpowder Bureau in the Capital City also produces gunpowder weapons to conquer the realm... As for the special trade bureau’s Lake Gem, it is even an important source of revenue for the kingdom’s expansion and prosperity..."

At this point, Xiulote paused, reminiscing about the various reports from Capital County, inaccurately estimating the figures for the kingdom.

If described in the words of later generations, the economic production proportion of the over five hundred thousand people in Capital County, likely occupies more than 60% of the total one hundred and eighty thousand people of the entire kingdom. Next is Zicao County, hosting numerous workshops, occupying about 20%. As for Rivermouth County and Apa County, the two agricultural counties, each occupies about 10%. The Great Lake County and Qingqiu County probably each only have 5%...

Of course, in this era of warfare, the importance of economic production is evidently less than the war capability of the army. After all, if you can’t produce things, you can still mobilize the army to seize them...

"Chief Divine bears testimony! Population, food, military preparedness, sources of wealth... Capital County is the core of the entire kingdom, and my most crucial foundation! As long as the prosperous Capital County is in hand, no matter how the magistrates of the counties wage wars, they will remain within the control of the kingdom..."

"Olosh, my teacher, my Capital Army Commander! For the Capital Army, expansion through conquest isn’t the top priority; protecting the workshops and farms within Capital County is the most vital!..."

"After I head to Lake Capital City, the major affairs of Capital County will be jointly discussed by you, Chief Jatili, and Talaya. I will entrust the authority to make decisions to you three. If the situation is urgent, as long as the joint discussion approves..."

At this point, Xiulote’s expression turned serious, hesitating slightly before solemnly writing.

"Chief Divine bears testimony! Capital County’s thousands of military farms, hundreds of civilian settlements, tens of thousands of agricultural slaves, massive military production... Once the situation becomes urgent and the joint discussion approves... The Capital Army can mobilize emergency forces county-wide, drafting one in three, organizing an unprecedentedly large legion!..."

In the entire realm, only the Alliance has the strength to threaten the kingdom’s Capital County. If matters indeed progress to that stage, Xiulote’s intention to return to the kingdom becomes almost impossible. By that time, the core upon which all counties and tribes of the Kingdom of the Lake converge...

"Olosh, my teacher. If the above events occur and I can no longer return to the kingdom... The Ancestor bears witness! I have a three-year-old son, Shaokang, secretly raised by his mother Nashu in the Temple of the Goddess of Spring in the southwest of Capital County. Chief Jatili is also aware of this... If the worst happens, he, being a direct descendant of the Holy City lineage, can succeed my legacy. Please assist him in growing up..."

After painstakingly writing this final segment, Xiulote took a deep breath, remaining motionless for a long time. In political planning, there can be no wishful thinking; one must consider the worst possible scenarios!

For the already formed military-political group of the Kingdom of the Lake, once the kingdom fully breaks with the Alliance, if he were detained in Lake Capital City, or even killed... Naturally, the kingdom’s factions couldn’t possibly reinstate Xiuhua, the eldest son under Avit’s control, surrendering life and death to the God King, and facing the inevitable purging. By then, the only choice the kingdom has, the only connection to unify the various tribes, can only be the secretly raised second son, Shaokang!

In fact, Xiulote sending Nashu and his second son Shaokang back to the Kingdom of the Lake early was precisely driven by political instinct, leaving the kingdom a potential heir that could be accepted by all tribes. And such a happening signifies a dreadful civil war sweeping the entire realm!...

"Hoo!... Avit, my uncle, my teacher, my father-in-law, thank you for teaching me the last lesson... Chief Divine shelters! I sincerely hope such a future never occurs... We should not be adversaries, but seekers with the same ideals, searching for a future empire for the entire realm, for millions of tribes!..."

"Ancestors shelter! Avit, you think the same, right!... I remember our oath, wishing you soar high like the Divine Eagle, bathed in the sacred sunlight, while I am willing to be like a submissive cactus, silently rooted... waiting for time and the future!"