Aztec Civilization: Destiny to Conquer America!-Chapter 1431 - 985: Preparations for the Eastern Campaign against Maya, Hidden Snake Shipyard
As August reached its end, the torrential rains of the rainy season gradually subsided. In the Temple of Hidden Snake City, the compilation of the epic was already underway, and the discussions among the numerous Coastal Priests were fervent and lively.
As the ruler of Hidden Snake City, Black Wolf Torc did not have the patience to sit in the Temple listening to the Priests’ confusing chatter. As the rain slightly lessened, he strapped on his Longsword and, accompanied by several hundred Red-Haired trusted aides, dashed towards the East outside the city.
"By the Chief Divine Witness! This ramshackle place is the shipyard of Hidden Snake City? The great Mayan ships you built, were they really constructed in this shabby place?... "
Black Wolf and his trusted aides crossed the Great River of Hidden Snake by boat. They swiftly traveled upstream a few miles before reaching the mouth of a river bay. This section of the river had a gentle current, and many villages were visibly capable of providing labor and food.
At the bottom of a small hill in the middle of the bay lay a large area of thatched and stone houses, wood frames and poles, which constituted the shipyard of Hidden Snake City. Over a hundred wet logs were piled on the riverbank’s mudflats, clearly moldy from the rainy season. As they approached, the tools and houses at the shipyard revealed marks of axe and Stone Hammer and even remnants of a great fire. The entire crude and ragged shipyard was deserted, with not even a flock of crows willing to land, resembling an abandoned ruin.
"Chuchut, I’m asking you! Why does your shipyard look like this hellhole? Can ships still be built here?..."
Confronted by the icy gaze of the Black Wolf General, Chieftain Chuchut sweated on his brow and hesitated for a long moment before whispering a response.
"Big leader Black Wolf, the shipyard outside the city... well, by the grace of the Chief Divine, when the army besieged Hidden Snake City, it was plundered and burned twice by your legion... The Samurai in charge were killed, and the civilians and ordinary craftsmen dispersed long ago... However, these framework houses still stand, and there is still wood, with some restoration, it can be restored..."
"Huh, My legion burned it?!..."
At this, Black Wolf Torc froze. He cast a harsh glance over his trusted aides behind him and harshly reprimanded them.
"Damn it! Didn’t I tell you? When you encounter shipbuilding sites or craftsmen who can build ships, you must protect them for me!..."
"This is unfair! Boss, this place is so poor and broken; it wasn’t us who burned it!"
Red-Haired trusted aide Wuta murmured sullenly with a bowed head.
"By the Chief Divine Witness! It was those surrendered Coastal Samurai who burned it! We Wilderness Samurai just looted things and captured prisoners; we didn’t kill many people; after all, that’s all money!... But those surrendered Coastal Samurai, many of them went mad. They shouted the Chief Divine’s slogans, fought the Totonac Tribes furiously until no one was left, and then burned it..."
"...Enough! I understand now! So it’s those little wolf cubs..."
Upon hearing this, Black Wolf raised an eyebrow and interrupted trusted aide Wuta. His Tribal Vanguard unit, driven by the kingdom’s main force, served as both the vanguard in campaigns and cannon fodder in sieges. They shouldered the most casualties in siege assaults and endured harsh military laws, where beheading was commonplace, maintaining a strict high-pressure state throughout. It was only after surviving many life-or-death situations that they earned the chance to join the Kingdom Legion or transfer to a local flag team.
In other words, these Surrendered Armies, unlike the kingdom’s main force, had to endure life-and-death hardships to acquire an official "designation." While day-to-day duties like transport were manageable, the ferocity and murderousness during actual combat and expeditions were unavoidable. Training the army this way, treating them as wolf cubs to cultivate into a wolf pack, could only be achieved by the fiercest Black Wolf Torc.
"Chuchut, where are the craftsmen and large timber Papu promised me?... The prince gave me strict orders to restore the shipyard of Hidden Snake City as soon as possible!"
"Big leader Black Wolf, those Maya shipwrights capable of building large ships have surrendered to Death GodTemple at the foot of the Divine Mountain along with the Naval Forces..."
Chieftain Chuchut bowed, answering cautiously.
"As for the craftsmen who can build dugout War Boats, Hidden Snake City has some, and there should be some in the surrounding villages and tribes as well... As for the large timbers promised by Papu, they were previously transported from the shipyard by the Naval Forces and hidden at Sunrise Village at the Rivermouth of the Sunrise River! But for the transportation of large timbers, assistance from the Naval Forces is necessary... That village is managed by our Eastward Migration Tribes, and many villagers have participated in War Boat construction..."
"Sunrise Village? That small village at the Rivermouth seventy or eighty miles to the East?... Your Eastward Migration Tribes?..."
Black Wolf Torc stroked his chin and pondered for a while before eyeing the tense Chieftain Chuchut.
"Chuchut, your fleeing Eastward Migration Tribes can build ships?"
"Well... Everyone just contributed labor; they have always participated in the construction of paddle-sail large ships and dugout War Boats... Small boats are indeed no problem, but for building large ships, guidance from Maya Master Craftsmen is still necessary..."
"Very well! Chuchut, you are their chieftain?"
"Yes..."
"Alright! I’ll leave the shipyard matter to you all!"
With that, Black Wolf Torc made a sweeping gesture, authoritatively ordering without letting Chieftain Chuchut refuse.
"Chuchut, from today onward, you are responsible for rebuilding the shipyard of Hidden Snake City, and you are now the manager of the shipyard! Hmm, your status will provisionally count as First Level military merit nobility!... This shipyard and the surrounding seven or eight villages within ten miles are all under your care!..."
"Bring back those East fleeing Tribes, handle the wood here properly. I’ll organize your tribes into a shipbuilding flag team, freeing you from labor and tribute obligations, just focus on shipbuilding! As for the lacking Bronze Tools, I’ll redistribute from the legion with assistance from the trusted aides! And the Kingdom Shipwrights who will guide you will arrive soon enough..."
"You have one month to prepare everything. By the end of September next month, I want to see you start building twin-hulled dugout War Boats! October is busy with autumn harvest, so that doesn’t count. By early November, I want to see the first twin-hulled War Boat launched. Before the end of this year, I want to see you begin building Maya paddle-sail large ships!..."
"By the grace of the Chief Divine! The prince has decreed that we shall continue eastward conquest, and as many large and small ships as possible are needed!... I am giving you sufficient manpower and resources, and each month you must produce at least ten twin-hulled War Boats. By next year, twenty War Boats each month!..."
"Ah! Big leader Black Wolf... This... you want me to be responsible for shipbuilding?..."
On hearing this string of shipbuilding duties, Chieftain Chuchut’s knees wobbled, and his voice trembled.
The kingdom’s strict militaristic system centered on warfare, unlike the loose tribal systems of the city-states. The production of military equipment, including warship construction, allowed no excuses or procrastination. Cutting corners or excessive delays inevitably meant someone would lose their head! With Black Wolf, the big leader graciously promoting him, bestowing a title, providing people and resources, if he failed to meet the shipbuilding task...
"Haha! It’s settled! By the Chief Divine Witness! Let it be so!..."
Black Wolf grinned broadly, giving Chieftain Chuchut a heavy pat on the shoulder, causing him to shiver all over. Subsequently, he furrowed his brows, pondering for some time before taking out a Royal Decree from his bosom and spreading it out.
"The prince instructed four things... Tribal conversion, seventy-five thousand Hidden Snake Tribes have sworn blood oaths of conversion; preparing for the alliance, I have already dispatched envoys from Coastal Priests to the tribes of the Southern Jungle and the Southeast Zoque Tribes; expedite shipbuilding, hmm, I found someone knowledgeable to do the work, fail and you’ll face execution... Hmm! What was the last thing?... "
Black Wolf squinted, examining the last record carefully, and then looked at the pictogram following it before realizing.
"Ah, yes! It’s cassava! The exploration fleet mentioned that more than a year ago, they had planted a field of cassava to the east of Hidden Snake City!... And now, these cassava are ripe for large-scale expansion!... As for the exact location of this cassava field... got it!..."
With this thought, Black Wolf reached out and grabbed Chieftain Chuchut by the collar. His gaze turned severe, and with a chilling presence, he sternly interrogated the shivering Chuchut.
"Chuchut! Where did you ambush the Kingdom’s exploration fleet over a year ago in this vicinity?!..."
