Aztec Eternals Chapter 253

The showers are beginning to break, and the setting sun dyes the clouds red, and also sprinkles magnificent silhouettes. The light in the stone hall swayed in time, from bright golden yellow to deep red. Hongxia is rendered on the last two stone slabs, like the end of the kingdom's epic.

Shiloh raised his head, the light of the setting sun reflected in his eyes. Jatiri looked at him intently, and saw a pair of eyes as bright as the morning stars on the face of the handsome and calm young man, like a contemplative deity on a picture scroll. The knowledgeable elder lost his mind for a while, then pointed to the sixth slate and spoke loudly.

"Your Majesty, this sixth slate contains a total of five group paintings. It tells about the various policies promulgated by successive Tarasco kings in order to establish the authority of the royal family and concentrate the power of the kingdom!"

Hearing the word centralized power, the young king raised his eyebrows and looked carefully.

The center of the first picture is the tall condor king standing proudly. In front of him, there was a row of noble people in fancy clothes kneeling. The king radiates light like the sun, and his expression is solemn like a god. He is giving the wooden atlas in his hand to the powerful nobles in front of him.

"The king's upper body radiates stripes all around... Chief, is this the king's segregation ceremony on behalf of the sun god?"

Sherlot observed the details of the picture with a serious expression.

"Exactly, Your Majesty. In fact, this should be called the canonization ceremony, which is more appropriate!"

Jatiri smiled meaningfully.

"This is a large-scale canonization ceremony held at the end of the Condor King's reign! As time passed, the original powerful nobles grew old and died. They left a large number of descendants because of the inheritance of titles and land. , There have been many disputes. Because the Condor Royal Family has the supreme decision-making power, these disputes are left to the king to decide."

"Under the proposal of the second chief hummingbird, the Condor King finally carried out a 'generous' canonization. He counted the number of direct descendants of many nobles, and in the Patzcuaro Lake District, 220 real-power nobles were canonized at one time, And let these direct sons who have the right to inherit equally divide the land of the real power nobles."

"The proposal of the second chief? The generous canonization of the equal share of the land? A bold and ingenious proposal!"

Hearing this, Shiloh suddenly widened his eyes. He looked at the knowledgeable elder in amazement, this passage was really all too familiar.

"Exactly! The wisdom of the king is revealed, it seems that you must already know the beauty of it."

Jatiri sighed softly, and then said sternly.

"Under the witness of the Sun God, there are two steps to this enfeoffment: First, the descendants of many nobles in the Patzcuaro Lake District, whether they are Nava nobles or nobles in the Lake District, must submit a plank atlas, the fiefs in their hands, in the Nominally returned to the king.

Then the supreme king is selfless and just. Under the witness of the gods, he will not embezzle any noble's fief. He just generously gave all the titles, and then divided these fiefs into different small pieces and gave them back to the descendants of the nobles. In this process of surrender and return, the authority of the king was strengthened, and he legally had the right to dispose of all the land. "

"At that time, there were some elderly nobles in the Lake District who clearly opposed large-scale canonization on the grounds of tribal tradition. However, in the end, this canonization was vigorously implemented under the authority of the king and the chief's hand. Go on. After the large-scale canonization, hundreds of real power nobles in the Lake District have completely lost the ability to resist the king. The entire Patzcuaro Lake District has finally been completely included in the direct control of the royal family within a few decades.”

The knowledgeable elder smiled faintly, his eyes deep and distant.

"Your Majesty, I need to remind you that although this 'generous' canonization is ingenious, it hides great danger. In the eyes of the older nobles, the maliciousness hidden in the large-scale canonization is absolutely impossible to hide! The Condor King had this idea for a long time, but he has been waiting patiently for decades. It was not until the prestigious first-generation nobles were almost dead that he let Chief Hummingbird tentatively put forward this proposal. "

"Even so, in order to reduce the power of opposition, the scope of this canonization has been carefully limited. The canonization is only concentrated in the Patzcuaro Lake area in the heart of the kingdom, and does not involve the great military nobles on the frontier. In the testimony of the gods The condor king used his prestige to make a promise to ensure the independence of the inheritance rights of the frontier aristocrats. The frontier aristocrats also revised the rules of inheritance at the same time. With the countless secret efforts and compromises of the royal family, the peace of the entire canonization ceremony was guaranteed. conduct."

"Your Majesty, governance is a compromise of power, a confrontation between different groups and aspects of power. Even if you want to make tricks, you must have enough power as a foundation. Because the powerful control power and wealth tightly, never I'll give it up easily..."

Hearing this, Shiloh pondered for a moment and nodded seriously.

"Thank you Chief for your teaching! The direct central power is the foundation of administration. Governing a big country is like cooking a small fish in a lake. After controlling the heat, the next step is to wait slowly... Chief, I still have a question: The division and control of the real power aristocracy is limited to the Central Lake District, so how to deal with the military aristocrats who support troops on the border, the Tarasco royal family?"

Hearing this, Jatiri's eyes flashed. He carefully looked at the young king and replied with a smile.

"The king has an immortal tree in his heart... For the military nobles on the border, the royal family has summed up a strategy, which is to control wealth and establish checks and balances. Among these two, control the kingdom. Wealth, the top priority, is the foundation for establishing checks and balances!"

"Your Majesty, please look at the second, third, and fourth group paintings!"

Sherlot looked closer. The second group of paintings is quite freehand. At first glance, it looks like a simple landscape painting. The top of the picture is still a sun, and the center of the sun is a condor. At the bottom of the picture, there is a high mountain with trees, a lake with fish, and a valley with mines.

The third picture is easier to understand. The majestic pyramid is in the center, surrounded by an open market, and beyond is the city without walls. Countless merchants came from all directions, and the people carried gold and silver, precious stones, obsidian, cloth, feathers, clothing, grain, salt, spices, and shining bronzes on their backs. On the road that the merchant traveled through, there were many advisors and nobles holding atlases, inspecting and collecting commodities. It is worth noting that there is also the logo of the condor on the body of the business travel in the middle.

The fourth painting is again abstracted. A sturdy deity radiating radiant lines was entrenched in the center of the pattern. He has huge round eyes, a narrow and flat mouth, and behind him is a rare red seat with a backrest. And around the gods are all kinds of busy craftsmen. Some craftsmen hold stone tools, some hold pottery; some make weapons, some sew leather armor; some light flames to forge gold and silver ornaments; some mix two metals to forge precious bronze!

Shilot was stunned, and carefully looked at the gods on the fourth painting. The other party always gave him an inexplicable sense of familiarity, with toad-like facial features...

"Hey, I seem to have seen it somewhere... Chief, who is this god?"

"Haha, the king must have seen it! This is the artisan **** of the Toltecs, who masters music, dance and art, loves flowers, plants and beauties, and is good at metallurgy, painting and handicraft Sochi Piri! He is both Prey The craftsman **** of the Pecha people, with the animal body of a lake frog, is also the craftsman **** of the Mexica people, the prince of flowers!"

"So it is! The Prince of Flowers, the common deity between the two races..."

Shirot suddenly nodded. He watched the screen and waited for Jatiri's explanation.

"Your Majesty, these three paintings are about the expropriation and control of the country's wealth in the middle of the kingdom. The meaning of the second painting is that the king shines on the earth like the sun and owns everything on the land! The trees in the lake, the fish and turtles in the lake, and the minerals in the valley are all owned by the royal family. The condor royal family owns the water, forest and minerals of the feudal country, and will use a powerful army to maintain the possession of these properties.

Under the leadership of successive kings, the royal family will choose valuable industries and send a large number of people to develop them, such as salt springs and salt wells in the east, copper mines, gold and silver in the south, and stone of the dead in the west. As for other properties, the right of mining and utilization was granted to nobles and business groups in various places with compensation.

Your Majesty, through the development of these properties, the kingdom can obtain long-term and stable additional tribute in addition to the taxes in the fields, and support more loyal royal warriors! "

"Very good! The treasures of mountains and rivers, the industry of mountains and lakes, and the benefits of mountains and lakes are all owned by the state and turned into ruling power!"

Sherlot smiled, and these moves coincided with his plans. Since the Prepecha people have such a tradition, it is easier to carry out the "official mountain and sea" policy of closing the country.

"Please continue, chief!"

"Your Majesty, the fourth panel painting is about the kingdom's control over commerce. The city of Ivacio in the south is the economic center of the kingdom, and it is also a must for business travel in all directions. The old minister mentioned before that the kingdom has a special The commercial tax officer, on the one hand, takes a proportionate share of the commodities that come and goes, and on the other hand levies taxes on large-value transactions.

The kingdom will patrol the important places along the lake area, strictly crack down on private trade, protect the tax-paying business travel, and limit the interference of local nobles in business and trade. For the lucrative foreign trade, the royal family actually formed a special caravan. "

The knowledgeable elder paused, stretched out his hand and pressed it on the businessman with the condor logo.

"Bronze merchants from all parts of the world basically have a royal background in Tarasco. They also have the function of spying on intelligence. Before the Western Expedition, Tarasco merchants in Tenochitlan sent back Alert, remind the king of Suangua, be careful of the coronation war of the new king of the Union of Mexica. Only then, they lost contact. It is said that the Mexica was accused of trespassing, wearing jade, and offending the gods. All to be executed in public!"

Hearing this, Shirot was a little startled, and the past came to his mind.

He remembered a meeting he once had with the Mayan merchant Ticarlo. At that time, in order to open up a stable copper trade route, control the military supplies within the alliance, and at the same time deter Mayan merchants, he once gave orders to the monkey Kuluka to deal with the merchants in Tarasco... The young king just indifferently After thinking for a moment, focus on more practical issues.

"After the fall of the Tarrasco Kingdom, where did these big businessmen controlled by the royal family go?"

"Your Majesty, even though merchants have wealth, they are but beautiful birds raised by condors. Without the protection of condors, what will be the fate of beautiful birds in the presence of raptors? If they are wise enough, Give up most of the wealth, and perhaps escape from the greedy nobles of various countries. If they are not wise..."

Hearing this, Shilot nodded slowly.

"Beautiful birds will be killed because of their precious feathers. Chief, thank you for your reminder! These big businessmen are familiar with the trade routes of various countries, and have information and sales networks in various places. They are a force worth retaining! ... The newly born kingdom in the lake also needs to make its own voice in the world."

The young king pondered for a moment and looked at the samurai chief behind him.

"Bertard. Write down the will!"

"As ordered, Your Highness."

The samurai captain took out the pen and paper he carried, and lowered his head to record.

"Send messengers to communicate with the surrounding countries: The newly built kingdom of the lake is a kingdom shared by the Mexicans and the Prepecha people, and will protect the Prepecha merchants from all countries and protect their lives and property. From the messenger to the From the beginning of the day, any harm to the merchants of the kingdom will be recorded by the kingdom. The kingdom of the lake in the Mexican alliance will send messengers, samurai squads, and even legions to investigate the forces that dare to offend the alliance!"

Bertard's pen moved like a dragon, and he finished writing in no time. He handed the paper decree to the king for review. Shilot took a look and nodded. Afterwards, the samurai chief recruited personal guards, handed out the decree and jade talisman, and left a simple backup. After a short while, the guards left with Wang Ling.

Jatiri watched the process of the promulgation of the Wang Ling, thoughtfully. His gray eyebrows trembled slightly, and thoughts flashed in his mind, but he never spoke. After a while, he didn't open his mouth with a smile until the king looked again.

"The king has such a will, which is a gift from the gods to the people of Prepecha! I will tell the priests and scholars everywhere about your kindness and majesty. In the same way, I will also make a voice from the people to persuade the Prepecha people everywhere. Merchant Pecha, I will serve you as soon as possible."

"Very good, then there is Chief Lao!"

Sherlot smiled, with joy in his voice.

For the young king, Jatiri's performance is of great significance. In all aspects of the feudal state and politics, the knowledgeable elders can give full play to their influence. In fact, behind the knowledgeable elders is a Prepecha elite group that is actively moving towards the alliance, intending to join the new kingdom and join the ranks of the rulers.

In this era, knowledge is concentrated in the hands of a few elites. Ordinary civilians have neither cultural inheritance nor ethnic voice. They can form an army and perform military functions, but it is difficult to participate in the governance of the country. In the governance of the feudal country, since it is decided to suppress the Prepecha nobles who hold most of the wealth and population, it is necessary to unite the remaining village priests, tribal sages, noble sons, and senior craftsmen who have mastered technology. part of businessman.

"Your Majesty, river turtles, lake fish and water birds are all willing to serve the real eagle!"

Jatiri greeted with a smile, and continued with the previous story.

"As seen by the king. This fourth painting tells that under the blessing of the **** of craftsmen, craftsmen from various kingdoms gathered together to serve the royal family. The kingdom attaches great importance to craftsmen, and also uses the production of craftsmen to obtain a large amount of tribute. Equipped with weapons, it supplies a huge royal army.

In Qincongcan City, there is a large-scale artisan camp with thousands of artisans, specializing in the production of royal supplies and armaments. In the city of Ivacio, there are specially grouped official craftsmen who manufacture exquisite clothing, bronzes, and handicrafts for profit from trade.

During the Western Expedition, the rapid imitation of the longbow by the royal legion was the contribution of Qin Congcan's artisan camp. The solid bronze weapons of the Royal Legion also came from the artisan camp.

It is with the supply of official craftsmen that the Condor Royal Family can establish a powerful bronze axe guard army, forming an overwhelming military advantage over the military nobles in the frontier. The centralized control of craftsmen and the strong control of military materials are also important ways to control the frontier military aristocracy...

Your Majesty, the old minister once watched your administration and knew that you have always attached great importance to craftsmen, and you have also established a Shenqi Institute for researching new weapons in the alliance. I don't need to say much about this, of course. "

Shulot nodded slightly. He had arranged for the samurai chief, resumed the production of the artisan camp, and established a new shrine around the palace district. The new gunpowder production center, like the Alliance, will be built on an island in Lake Patzcuaro.

Then, the knowledgeable elder moved his finger and pointed to the last group of paintings on the slate. The tall Condor King appeared again on the screen. The king waved his scepter and pointed to the forest ahead. The densely packed countless stick figures were holding different weapons, prostrate and kneeling in front of the king.

"This fifth painting is the check and balance of the royal family on the frontier aristocracy."

Jatiri used the edge of his fingers to trace the various tattoos, clothing and weapons of the villains.

"Quatched serpent, Tepanek; face with wind marks, Guamar dog; black and white battle coat, Otomi; wide hat and narrow skirt, Tecos... The kingdom dispatched legions to conquer the frontier. The barbarian tribes, on the one hand, titled the headmen, collected the border tribes that were willing to surrender, and even accommodated the Guamar dogs who migrated south, and resettled the remnants of the Tepanek who fled west. These surrendered barbarian tribes were all sealed on the frontier lands. They are dispatched by the kingdom, perform military service for the kingdom, and even accept the support of the royal family, obey the orders of the royal family, and do some things that are inconvenient for the legion of the kingdom to do.”

The knowledgeable elder paused and smiled meaningfully.

"Remnants of Tepanek..."

Hearing this~www.mtlnovel.com~ Xiulote's expression changed and his eyes became sharp. He suddenly remembered a sudden ambush he encountered outside the Otomi village a few years ago. It was the first time in his life that he was so close to death.

Jiatiri observed the king's expression and waited carefully for a while before continuing to speak cautiously.

"These submissive tribes are stationed in the frontiers, which effectively check and balance the military nobles in the frontier, and also provide the royal family with a considerable number of alien mercenaries. The reason why the royal family can smoothly command the alien frontier people depends on the strong deterrence of the royal army. It is even more inseparable from the purchase and supply of the wealth of the country.”

"The strength of the center lies in the advantage of wealth; the stability of the frontier lies in the balance of military power!"

The knowledgeable elder stood tall, with a serious expression, and bowed solemnly to the king.

"Your Majesty, the centralized central government is like a towering tree! The powerful direct army is the backbone of support, and the most important root is the wealth of the feudal state! The labor of the villagers, the labor of artisans, and the digging of miners, The traffic of the caravan...fields, workshops, mines, business trips, all of these, only when the feudal government and government all intervene in it and absorb nutrients from the mooring ground can truly grow a powerful and stable central sacred tree!"

Chapter end

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