Chapter 701 The Interrupted Promise, Black Wolf's Counter-Question

".When and where will it hit before it stops?"

Hearing the question in the king's tone, Black Wolf Toltec looked startled and pondered for a long time.

If he had followed His Highness's request and captured the ancient city of Feathered Serpent and captured an outlet of the kingdom on the coast of the East China Sea, he would have accomplished his goal. But according to his original intention, he naturally wants to continue to attack the Totonac tribes until they can no longer attack them!

Although this expedition all the way east started unexpectedly, it progressed very smoothly and the results achieved were astonishing. The morale, weapons and equipment, organizational training, and familiarity of the Kingdom's legions in large-scale wars all have to be higher than those of Totonac's ministries that have been in peace for many years. The Totonak tribes were unprepared and were attacked by the Lake Legion, which was also a vassal state affiliated with the Suzerain Alliance. They were immediately stunned. The response of the coastal states was very slow. Their military forces were not mobilized and united at all, and they were defeated one by one. One third of them surrendered.

Under such circumstances, from an external strategic perspective, as the supreme commander of the legion, he must take advantage of the fact that the coastal tribes were stunned and continue to advance eastward quickly! It's like a pack of wolves chasing a herd of deer. They don't give each other any chance to breathe and recuperate, so they can catch the most prey.

Similarly, from an internal strategic perspective, when the Black Wolf Legion marches eastward, its core force is only 8,000 Guajili Legions, plus several thousand meters of Stike troops. At this moment, the army is rolling and expanding. Counting the 3,000 newly surrendered water warriors, there are more than 8,000 surrendered troops from Totonak's tribes alone!

According to the territory currently controlled by the Black Wolf Legion, it is impossible to feed so many surrendered soldiers who have seen blood. The surrendered soldiers only feared the force of the kingdom. Before the land and serfs were entrusted, there was no loyalty at all. At this moment, under the pressure of the kingdom's warriors, they were promised plunder in return. They were controllable warriors who could inspire bloody bravery, with blood on their hands, to attack other coastal tribes with whom they were not close.

If the brutal war of conquest continues, the number of surrendered soldiers will gradually be depleted, and the legion will be able to capture enough land, population, and wealth to settle the surrendered warriors. And if the war ceases here, the plundering cannot continue, and external enemies gather again, I am afraid that the legion itself will self-destruct before long!

"If Yao Lin hadn't said that he would surrender the Nishui City Department, the army would completely attack and destroy this place, kill one or two thousand people in the battle, and completely plunder Qinbo Ali, it would have almost satisfied the appetite of the warriors. But now, there are many more. With thousands of troops surrendered and limited loot, the war must continue!”

"The number of wolves is increasing, their ferocity is getting stronger, and their desire for prey is getting greater and greater! If there is not enough flesh and blood to feed them, they will come back to bite the wolf king."

Thinking of this, Black Wolf Toltec frowned and felt a little troublesome. He silently clenched the bronze sword at his waist, thinking about the specific battle situation in front of him. At present, the army is like a sea. The waves are rushing towards the east, and there is no room for retreat. And from a tactical point of view, at least we have to attack Jinwan City, sweep away the Jinwan tribes, and plunder a lot, so that we can barely feed our warriors and soldiers!

"Dear King's Envoy, judging from the current situation, the Totonac rebels are gathering quickly with Jinwan City in the southeast as the center! We must at least arrive at Jinwan City and completely sweep the Jamapa river "

"What? Attack Golden Bay City and sweep the Jamapa River?"

Hearing this, the king's messenger Yao Lin pursed his lips and swallowed hard. The Jamapa River, 20 miles east of Golden Bay City, can be regarded as the dividing line between the east and west Totonac lands. If we completely sweep west of the Jamapa River, it will be equivalent to taking all the land of West Totonak! The coastal tribes vassalized by the conqueror Montezuma I were also limited to the land of Citotonac.

In other words, this is to completely overthrow the vassal system that the alliance has established for thirty years on the coast of Totonac! This is overthrowing the old stable order and starting over again. It is a war to destroy the country like the Tlaxcala Crusade!

"O Lord God! How can I explain to the vassals of the world by acting like this? How can I report back to the king of the royal capital and explain to the great nobles of the alliance?"

Thinking of this, Yao Lin's face changed several times, and his eyes showed anxiety. Although he is the king's envoy and comes from a noble family branch of the royal family, in terms of his stance, he is the most traditional alliance noble, leaning towards the conservative old order, and is naturally opposed to this complete order change!

Yao Lin's clan brother, the third-level priest Yao Ke, as a branch of the God of War lineage, is in charge of the prison in the royal capital and is in charge of the most conservative royal power. In the past thirty years, his grandfather, his father, and he have all served as royal envoys of the alliance in the land of Totonac, having long-term contact with Nishui City and responsible for the collection and transfer of local tribute. This kind of familiar relationship with the vassal tribes for generations was the reason why King Avit sent him east to mediate the coastal conflict. It was also the basis of trust for him to persuade the local noble chiefs to surrender to the alliance.

Since succeeding to the throne, King Avit has been ambitious, carried out religious reforms, conquered the west and east, strengthened the centralization of power, and aspired to unify! But in fact, in the entire alliance, there are only a few nobles who can really focus on the world, keep up with the king, and move forward. Even among the royal family and nobles, like Yao Lin, the conservative forces who maintain the traditional order and follow the conventions of the alliance still account for the majority!

There has never been a precedent of complete unification in the world, nor has there ever been a centralized system. As part of the royal family, they bowed their heads and supported the king's conquest. But from the perspective of their inner ideas and their own interests, they do not necessarily agree with this drastic change and expansion.

"The western expedition to Tarasco is the will of the elders, and it is also to clear the hidden dangers of the eastern expedition. The eastern expedition to Tlaxcala is to completely defeat the old enemy of the alliance and eliminate the threat at hand. Now the threats from the east and west of the Mexica Valley have been eliminated! Whether it is the Mixtec, the Zapotec, or the current Totonac people, they are willing to submit and pay tribute, and dare not take the initiative to offend the alliance. The king's current massive centralization of power is contrary to tradition, causing the nobles of various states to riot, and the alliance is not stable"

"Bless the Lord! The hegemony of the alliance has been established in the world, and there is no more worry from the outside world. Since In this case, why should we send out a large army to continue the conquest? If we maintain the traditional stable order, why worry that it cannot be passed down for hundreds of years? Ershui City is more than 700 miles away from the capital. Even with the martial arts of the predecessor Montezuma I, he did not make it a direct subordinate. He just established a vassal here and collected tribute! Just like now, even if the Lake Army conquered the Totonac land, how could it be directly governed when it is so far away? In the end, it is still necessary to enfeoff the new nobles and establish vassals. It will be the same after decades. "

Complex thoughts emerged from Yao Lin's mind and disappeared in reality one by one. After a long while, he took a deep breath and asked with a serious face.

"The Lord God bears witness! Dear Black Wolf Army Commander, I want to ask you on behalf of the king: Are you sure that after attacking Jinwan City and sweeping the Jamapa River, the expedition of the Lake Army will end here? After that, the tributes of the vassals of Qinbo Ali must be maintained as much as possible and guaranteed to be paid on time! I need a clear guarantee to give an explanation to the Supreme King!"

"The Lord God bears witness! I, the expedition of the Black Wolf Army, will end."

Black Wolf Toltec looked solemn and opened his mouth to answer, but his voice was a little difficult. He knew that if his answer at this moment fell into the ears of King Avit, it would be a solemn political promise. And such a promise is actually a shackle on the hands and feet of the Lake Army. Once the restraints are put on, if you want to untie them, you have to consider the king's majesty and pay a sufficient price.

"Ah! Praise the Lord! The Guakili Legion is loyal to His Majesty, the divinely inspired prince, and fights for the supreme king! The legion's conquest of the Totonac rebels, the ultimate goal will naturally be decided by the wise prince in the Tree Snake City camp!"

At this critical moment, the artillery battalion commander Tupa gritted his teeth, stepped forward decisively, and interrupted. He looked deeply at the Black Wolf Commander and shook his head imperceptibly.

The Black Wolf was startled for a moment, and suddenly woke up. The expression on his face changed rapidly, and finally settled into the shame of reflection. He was arrogant and had been the commander of the Black Wolf Legion for too long, and he always said what he meant. In his subconscious, he already thought that the Black Wolf Legion was his own legion and had to make a promise on behalf of His Majesty.

Tupa's young face was filled with a respectful smile. He humbly bowed his head and asked the king's messenger in a deep voice.

"Captain, witness! Respected Envoy Yao Lin, may I ask if you can meet His Highness when you come to the east? What instructions did His Highness give?"

"Uh, I did meet His Highness Shulotte when I came here."

Hearing this, Yao Lin pursed his lips and frowned deeply. Seeing that the Black Wolf Legion Commander was about to fall into a trap, he gave himself a clear answer, but a new trouble came out halfway.

Regarding His Highness' instructions, it is impossible to respond with lies. Yao Lin was silent for a while, but still answered truthfully.

"His Highness Shulotte warmly entertained me for several days before telling me. 'When the general is away, he may not accept military orders. He must make specific judgments based on the changing situation. Just like going out hunting, no one can guarantee in advance what prey will be caught'. And he believes in the Black Wolf Legion Commander, and the conquest of the Totonak land will be decided by the Black Wolf General!"

Hearing the words of trust from His Highness, Black Wolf lowered his eyes, and his heart was moved. He closed his eyes, sorted out some messy thoughts, thought about Yao Lin's words before and after, and looked for the most critical pulse. After a few breaths, he suddenly opened his eyes and stared at the eyes of the envoy Yao Lin with a wolf-like sharp gaze.

"Emissary Yao Lin, I have a question that I want to ask you sincerely. Since you are here on behalf of the Supreme King to deal with the affairs of the Totonac land, and you are asking me these questions. What exactly are the instructions given by the king?"

Hearing this question, the king's envoy, the royal noble Yao Lin, suddenly changed his expression.