Aztec Civilization: Destiny to Conquer America!

Chapter 1409 - 964: The King’s Teachings on Politics…

"Black Wolf, as a Legion Commander and a Great General who stands alone, you not only need military talent but also need to familiarize yourself with and grasp ’politics’!... I have high expectations of you. You are good at fighting and always win, this is very good! For the Alliance and the Kingdom, a military victory is the best political means to align people’s hearts. And the wealth and population plundered in war are the most effective economic supplements to satisfy the interests of Samurai and Priests... Tupa, you should listen carefully too. If you don’t understand, ask me!""Yes! Your Highness!..."

Hundreds of war boats unfolded on the Sacrificial Lake, surrounding a small ordinary boat in the middle. On the small boat, Black Wolf Torc exerted all his strength, rowing hard while seriously pondering, sweat perspiring from his forehead.

In front of him was the Guard Commander Ecatl rowing with a lowered head. Behind him, with eyes wide open, rowing and listening attentively to the King’s teachings was the Artillery Camp Commander Tupa.

At this moment, Xiulote sat beside Black Wolf, facing the high and far-setting sun, gazing at the shimmering lake surface, listening to the sea-flavored long wind, leisurely teaching the assembled generals.

"If you want to preside over a region, you must understand what military, politics, economy, and thought are, and the relationship among these four under the heaven..."

"In today’s world, Priests, Samurai, and tribespeople all revere leaders who can achieve victory! People believe that victors possess divinely blessed power, willingly following the strong without caring whether they are benevolent... However, the military is always a continuation of politics, and it must serve politics, not the other way around..."

"Your Highness, the ’politics’ you speak of, can’t be seen or touched, I still don’t quite understand."

Black Wolf Torc scratched his head in frustration. He naturally disliked this kind of abstract thing that required strenuous thinking, but the highness kept forcing him to read, learn, and reflect continually.

"The so-called ’politics’, the first is ’governance’, the second is ’control’. For you, it means managing a place, managing a group of people, and managing them well! And the essence of politics is the orientation of people’s hearts; having people follow you is good. If people rebel against you... Black Wolf, don’t show fierce looks, don’t bare your teeth! Slaughter is never the best way. You need to divide the people under your rule, understand the needs of different strata, and then unite them with politics..."

Xiulote looked at Black Wolf’s puzzled expression like a Husky, pondered for a moment, and tried to express it as simply and clearly as possible.

"From my personal experience, in today’s world, the key to politics has two points. One is the distribution of power, the other is the political route... that is, whom do we allow to dine with us, choosing reliable people to embark on the journey together. And the decision of how much to eat and where to go must be firmly held in our hands!"

"Eating? Journey? How much to eat, where to go?..."

"Exactly! If the Seaside Lands are a piece of corn bread, always held by the Divine Descendants of the various tribes, then our conquest now is to snatch this corn bread from the hands of the Divine Descendants of the tribes. Thus, for these old rulers, our conflict is irreconcilable, and we must sacrifice them, send them to the pyramid top... And after acquiring the corn bread, we distribute it according to past merits, present strength, and the upcoming route..."

Saying this, Xiulote stretched his hand, took a piece of corn bread used as rations from Guard Commander Ecatl’s hand, exerted effort and snapped it, finally breaking the hard bread into evenly equal two parts.

"The Kingdom’s conquest of the Seaside Lands relies on the strength of the Samurai. The Kingdom’s Legion Warriors, the surrendered Totonaq Warriors... these tens of thousands of troops are our strongest supporters and the most powerful stratum in the Seaside. Therefore, we first give half of this bread to them, ensuring the reward of their merits, namely the promised military merits subsequent to land and title grants, can indeed be fulfilled..."

Seeing this, Black Wolf and Tupa nodded seriously, like a big and a small wolf sitting. Then, they watched as Xiulote stretched his hand again, splitting the other half of the bread into two again.

"From the remaining half, we take another half and give it to the Kingdom’s Priests and the local elite of the Seaside. In their hands, they possess cultural knowledge and, to a certain extent, the thoughts of tribespeople. We need them to manage the Seaside City-State for the Kingdom, manage civilian settlements, and lead tribal beliefs... In reality, the power they want far exceeds the quarter of the corn bread in my hand. And the bread they eat, the power they hold, will continuously and steadily expand..."

At this point, Xiulote paused. He showed a smile, looking at Black Wolf and Tupa, questioning them as if testing them.

"Black Wolf, Tupa, do you know what the reason is?"

"Um... because the Priests are rather cunning and will steal the bread of the Samurai?"

Tupa pulled his hair, tentatively answered.

"The Chief Divine bears witness! In the Alliance, many High Priests presided over regions, eventually becoming wealthy, even transforming into a hereditary family!..."

"Hmm, that counts as one reason. Anything else?"

"Uh... because those Totonaq elites keep sending women to the King, then giving birth to the King’s bloodline?..."

Hearing Black Wolf’s answer, Xiulote’s old face darkened. He looked at Black Wolf’s earnest face, holding his hair, and sighed.

"Black Wolf, Miyava gave birth to my eldest daughter, Light Snake... You can be wary of Miyava, but you must protect my eldest daughter for me... In fact, I plan to let you become my eldest daughter’s Martial Arts teacher, get involved in her education..."

"Yes, Light Snake should learn the War Club and Shield like a Mexica child, have the strong body and mind of a Samurai! And she cannot be educated by those Totonaq elites to learn about potion and dance, turning into a Snake Woman..."

Thinking about the education of his children, Xiulote touched his nose, rarely feeling a bit headachy. He did not have the time and energy to teach each of his children personally. Therefore, he was unsure how his children would grow up... After a while, he shook his head, returning to the topic.

"Ahem! The bread in the hands of Priests and elites will continually become bigger. The main reason is that their governance over the City-State and villages increases the output from each place, thereby making the entire bread larger!..."

"Improving the output of agriculture and workshops allows a tribesperson to produce more wealth. Managing villages and towns allows more population to thrive. Expanding the scope of direct control, incorporating more tribal lands of the mountains... The combination of these actions is the improvement of the Kingdom’s production capability! And it’s what I am about to talk about: the economic interests of each stratum within the Kingdom..."

"Uh... Your Highness, you haven’t said whom the remaining half of the half bread is given to."

Black Wolf Torc thought for a moment, pointing at the last quarter of corn bread in Xiulote’s hand, seriously asking.

"Besides, you only talked about how much to eat; nothing about where to go!"

"Haha! Indeed! Black Wolf, your question is excellent!"

Xiulote chuckled. He seriously answered while looking at the last quarter of bread in his hand.

"This last quarter of political power in the Seaside Lands... naturally goes to the followers who share the same political route, can embark on the journey together! And my path, my goal, in short, is ’advance, advance, continually advance, advancing towards the entire world!’..."

"The Chief Divine bears witness! The road I tread is to unify the world and consolidate tribes into one path! Thus, all heroes under the heavens must be used by me! Those who can keep pace with me, run with me, share these powers of the world! And those who cannot keep up shall dwell on a segment of the path; I won’t linger in granting wealth..."

"Black Wolf, Tupa, do you wish to proceed with me, unite the world, consolidate tribes, and forge an unprecedented Empire?"

"The Chief Divine bears witness! Your Highness, you are the sole Divine Eagle of the Sun, also the supreme Thunderbolt, I am willing to serve you unto death, shatter all enemies!"

"Your Highness, you are my Wolf King, and I am your subordinate wolf! I am willing to bite and chase for you, whether it be the East or the West!..."

"Haha! Great!!"

Watching the two generals bowing and laying their heads on the boat plank, Xiulote laughed heartily, feeling great joy. He accurately broke the last corn bread in his hand into one large and one small piece, handing the large piece to Black Wolf, the small piece to Tupa.

"You accompany me on the journey, I shall share power with you! This stretch of a thousand leagues of Seaside is merely the beginning of our long road! The world’s path is still long; it will be broader beyond your imagination!..."

Xiulote gazing upon the vast Sacrificial Lake, looking toward the distant East, where the Holy Mountains loomed high, solemnly promised.

"The Chief Divine will bless us! We will keep advancing, advancing, advancing!... Until we reach the shores of the endless Great Lake!"