Aztec Civilization: Destiny to Conquer America!

Chapter 2102 - 1536: Carving Up the Realm, Centralizing Power!

Seeing this, Xiulote paused and mentally divided the map of the Land Amidst the Clouds into numerous small, fragmented pieces. The enfeoffment following this southward expedition into the Land Amidst the Clouds provided as many as 850 noble titles, so many middle and lower-level noble positions? The amount of hereditary nobles and military merit nobles enfeoffed this time was almost two or three times that of the enfeoffment after the eastward expedition to the Tlaxcala Land!This seems that Aweit has clearly borrowed from his previous proposal of "establishing many lords to diminish their strength" for the future governance of the southern eight hundred miles of mountain forests and the distant Land Amidst the Clouds. It’s to "divide and control"...

"Reassign the Three Southern States of the Alliance, the Raziko State’s Sun City, the Sarco State’s Salt Lake City, the Vatstapek State’s High Mountain Sun City... 140 various level nobles, with their entire families, are to move to the Eastern and Western Land Amidst the Clouds. The highest status among them is the Honorable Noble of Sun City, Prince Yu Yan Mihoy. Prince Yu Yan will hand over Sun City and be reassigned between Ye Guo City and Xianggou City, with a fief twice the original size..."

"Oh Chief Divine! Reassigning Prince Yu Yan?!..."

Xiulote looked surprised, gazing at Aweit. This was the Legion Commander of the Yu Yan Legion among the Three Southern States, and also a descendant left by the Predecessor Monarch Acatl in Raziko State, and the "Female Chiefs"! Now, with Aweit having almost completely controlled the northern and western states of the Alliance, is he finally using the great victory of defeating the Mixteco to take action against the obedient Honorable Nobles of the southern states to complete centralization?

"Indeed! Reassign Prince Yu Yan to the complex mountains of central West Mixteco. Then send Little Montezuma and his people to the wealthy southern coastline. Mihoy is another branch of the Predecessor Monarch Acatl’s lineage, giving him the fief doesn’t ’violate’ previous promises to the Acatl lineage. And with Mihoy and Little Montezuma counterbalancing each other, it’s just like a balance between ’day and night’..."

Aweit smiled as he sliced off a piece of turkey drumstick meat, dipped it in spices, chili, and salt, and began to chew it heartily. And the place he carved was precisely in the middle of the drumstick, splitting the "southwest" drumstick in half.

"Among the Three Southern States, Prince Yu Yan of Sun City is the strongest, Chieftain Flower Tree of Salt Lake City is the wealthiest, and Clan Leader Pan Mang of High Mountain City is the weakest... This time, let’s take advantage of the great victory of destroying the Mixteco to reassign the most troublesome Prince Yu Yan!"

"By enfeoffing half of the wealthy West Mixteco, I can also consider myself to be fulfilling my duty to Brother Acatl, to the Royal House of the Acatl lineage. And they have indeed contributed significantly in this southern expedition, with a considerable loss as well. Afterwards, they can obediently take their people and move to their fiefs in the forest and by the sea, suppressing the Mixteco tribes! For the campaign against the southeastern Zapotecs, I won’t conscript their soldiers anymore, they’re not needed..."

"As for Flower Tree and Pan Mang, not only will I not move against them yet, but I will also handsomely reward them with a batch of wealth. The army’s expedition to the southeast requires food logistics to be routed through their fiefs, necessitating requisitioning their mobilized civilians and surplus grain... And once we defeat the Zapotec people and unify the empire... I will reassign both of them to Oaxaca and the Coastal Zapotecs, achieving another form of ’balance’!"

"In this way, the unification of the empire! The core Texcoco Lake District of the Alliance, as well as the traditional Eleven States surrounding the Alliance, will be fully centralized! Xiulote, you mentioned before about some ’county system’, which can now be implemented within the Alliance! Hmm, let me think, what should these states be renamed to sound appealing as ’counties’? Hahaha!..."

Reaching an exhilarating part, Aweit laughed again. While laughing, he carved up the turkey, handing a large piece of meat to Xiulote. Xiulote wanted to help, but the Divine King waved his big hand with a smile, stopping him. Carving the "empire" is the most satisfying joy of the king, how could he let others assist?

"..."

Xiulote pondered, thinking about the anger displayed by Montezuma II during this inspection. The anger of this cousin towards the combination of the Divine King and Prophet’s dominance over the world couldn’t shake the overall situation of the Alliance. But the underlying unrest in people’s hearts did make Xiulote somewhat uneasy!

The advancement of Aweit’s centralization reforms was thus so intense. Not only dealing with many local nobles and legion commanders, but now even making moves against the Royal House of the Acatl lineage. Although, in the eyes of the Divine King, offering such a vast Western Land Amidst the Clouds to the Acatl lineage is already considered generous enough, sufficiently favorable for the descendants left by the brother!

However, this centralization reform itself is like a constantly swinging axe impacting the traditional great nobility! And when the axe cuts down the noble forest, can those towering trees, that have always shared both glory and despair with the Alliance, truly tolerate it indefinitely?...

"May the Chief Divine protect! Teacher, if we want to smoothly reassign Prince Yu Yan of Sun City and the hereditary nobles of the Southern Three States... the most reliable way would still be to dispatch a Royal Legion, to be stationed nearby, for ’assistance’ and ’protection’..."

"Hmm! This matter, I will entrust to Giant Bear Stanley to handle! His southern expedition was done well, very steady. I am very confident entrusting this to him!..."

Hearing that Aweit was already prepared, Xiulote nodded and said no more. He continued turning the pages of the small booklet handwritten by Aweit, which by the end had turned into a plan book for the campaign against the Zapotecs, listing very detailed preparation work. And the most important part was...

"Based on the enfeoffed military merit nobles, continue garrisoning in the Divine Stone City Valley. Meanwhile, in the Mountain River City Valley and Cloud Mountain City Valley, station a Royal Legion in each, also for garrisoning..."

"Then, the army for the southern campaign against the Zapotecs will be divided into two routes. A twenty-thousand-strong corps will set out from the mouth of the Cloud Mountain City Valley and directly enter the Oaxaca Valley! The other twenty-thousand-strong corps will march from the Coastal Mixteco and attack the Coastal Zapotecs..."

Seeing this, Xiulote furrowed his brows and calculated carefully. Of the six Royal Legion corps, one is between Water Valley City and Mountain Peak City, maintaining the logistics of the Eastern Army. One must go between Sun City and Salt Lake City to supervise the reassignment of the Southern Kingdom’s nobles. One remains in the Divine Stone City to Cloud Mountain City, the "Highland Mistock" garrison. Another one stays in the Mountain River City Valley, the "Lowland Mixteco," to both garrison and suppress all directions...

It seems, on the long logistic line, with the situation of continually dispersing the Royal Forces... among the three or four Royal Legion corps that can continue the assault against the Zapotecs, isn’t there only two direct Royal Legion corps left? If they still have to split into coastline and valley routes, within twenty-thousand troops for each route, wouldn’t there be only one direct Royal Legion corps of eight thousand left from the Royal Legion?

Xiulote pondered for a long time, still feeling uneasy. He cautiously reminded Aweit, who laughed heartily and waved his hand, confidently saying.

"Xiulote, have you forgotten! I still have four thousand loyal Tonsured Guard and four thousand traditional Eagle Jaguar Warrior Brigade at hand!..."

"Send these two most battle-hardened corps into the two army routes! Each army route will then also bring along eight thousand City-State Warriors and elite militia... With twenty thousand troops in each route, it is enough to sweep across the various Zapotec states!... If the Zapotec people flee east, then summon some militia to move south with supplies to maintain the supply route..."

"In any case! Once the September rainy season is over and new grains arrive from the rear... the army will continue to march south, completely destroying the Zapotec Divine Race, to achieve the final unification of the empire!..."