Aztec Civilization: Destiny to Conquer America!-Chapter 1440 - 994: A Thousand Miles of Land, a Million People, the Alliance by the Seaside Under Kingdom Rule!

"Hmm? So that’s it! A book with twin flowers... Hmm?! What?!..."

As dawn broke, the side hall was illuminated by clear light. Xiulote suddenly got up, waking from a deep sleep. He widened his eyes, gazing at the rising sun with a vacant stare, while his mind buzzed with noise. He rubbed his temples, his head aching, as that unforgettable, silver-bell-like voice seemed to still echo in his ears. It took a while before he looked around, seeing the entwined sleeping sisters, a dramatic look crossing his face.

"This is... the older sister? This is... the younger sister?..."

This time, even with their eyes closed and no expression visible, Xiulote could clearly distinguish them, as if it was an instinct deeply engraved in his bones. He was stunned for a moment before understanding an ancient saying from the Celestial Empire.

"What is learned from books always feels shallow, true understanding requires personal practice..."

"No!... All conditioned phenomena are like dream bubbles, like dew and lightning, they should be observed thusly..."

Xiulote stood up, squinting at the glaring morning sun. The dizziness after the drunkenness and indulgence still left him a bit dazed, even the sun seemed to sway and shimmer. He tried to adapt for a while and spoke to himself, distorting a Buddhist scripture in the process.

"Chief Divine witness! This unforgettable pleasure, these dreamlike flower shadows, this marvelous flower dew, and trembling lightning... let me experience them several more times, trying to comprehend the escape from the most difficult entanglement!..."

Sunrise and sunset, flowers bloom without a trace. Such absurdly indulgent days lasted for several more days. Xiulote barely gained insight into Buddhist principles, extricating himself from impermanence and change, and continued to deal with the affairs of the Seaside Alliance.

"Chief Divine protect! The populations of various departments in the Seaside Alliance were roughly estimated once by their respective priests. In the vast Seaside Lands, the departments are too scattered, unlike the alliance and kingdoms on the Highland... In these thousand leagues of Seaside, there’s no division of states, only centers one after another! Specifically speaking, the Seaside Alliance controls two large cities and eight small cities, accounting for a total of ten city-states!..."

The rosewood table was long, with documents and illustrations from each city laid out across it. Xiulote sat cross-legged in front of the table, carefully examining the reports of each city and department. Behind him, two similarly-looking clerks smiled sweetly, their expressions bright, like fragrant flower buds after the rain. One was mixing dark blue ink, and the other was burning pleasant-smelling balm, perfectly in sync, creating a unique scene.

"The ten cities of the Seaside actually belong directly to the Kingdom! Eight small cities: Five Mountains City, Snake-Cutting City, Nianshui City, Conical House City, Coyote City, Ke Shi City, Lake Sacrifice City, Grass Altar City. Each small city is the center, encompassing a radius of 60 li, each with 30,000 to 50,000 tribes... The estimated total is over 300,000 troops and inhabitants!..."

Xiulote looked at the Seaside map, marking smaller blue circles. In the vast Seaside Lands, the jungle swamp was dense, rivers flooded during the rainy season... Before large-scale water control projects were completed, suitable sites for opening up settlements were very limited.

Therefore, the Kingdom’s rule over the Seaside Lands wasn’t a single entity but a series of circular areas centered around city-states. In fact, the rule area of the various Maya Chieftain Kingdoms was the same, determined by the natural conditions of the jungle and mountains!

"Two large cities, Golden Bay City in the Seaside center, with 160,000 mouths in a radius of 120 li. And Hidden Snake City in the farthest east, with 150,000 mouths in a radius of 160 li. Together, the two large cities have another 300,000 villagers and troops! The ten cities add up to a total of over 600,000 mouths!..."

Xiulote’s eyes shifted slightly, drawing two large circles, then he pondered silently. These over 600,000 Totonac Tribes mostly settled on the Seaside, being the most traditional Seaside departments, also known as the location of the East and West Totonac Alliance in the Alliance’s perception.

"Chief Divine witness! These over 600,000 mouths are organized into troops, establishing civilian settlements, directly under the Kingdom’s control! All these direct subjects have converted to the Chief Divine, sent Chief God Priests, and appointed Kingdom troop captains and civilian settlement leaders. They can provide a substantial amount of taxes and food, and can also provide the largest number of warriors and able-bodied men..."

"And from the ten cities by the Seaside going inland, there are three Totonac City-State Tribes that have submitted to the Seaside Alliance. They are located in the jungle deep in the inland, and can also be regarded as Totonac Tribes in the Jungle. These three cities are Feather Bird City, Earth River City, Rabbit Hill City... With each City-State as the center, in a radius of 100 li, each has about 60,000 to 70,000 tribes. Together, they are over 200,000 semi-directly ruled tribes, or vassal tribes..." 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

The so-called semi-direct rule means, simply put, they’ve not undergone large-scale cleansing of the nobility and chieftains, nor changed the original tribal system, but only made them swear a blood oath to convert to the Chief Divine. Therefore, these semi-directly ruled tribes still maintain a considerable degree of autonomy. The reason for autonomy is mainly because of the geographical separation of the jungle, the high cost of establishing direct rule makes it difficult for the Kingdom to control deeply.

"Hmm, for vassal tribes, they can provide more conscripted warriors, but the taxes and food supply are far insufficient... And the subsequent direct rule also requires the construction of jungle roads, and the development of inland river transport..."

Xiulote continued to move his finger, heading inland deep in the Eastern Coast, where the Kingdom’s rule was weaker, establishing nominal subordination and tribute in the Southeast Jungle.

"These deep jungles, scattered with small and large Totonac tribes, also estimate to over 200,000. But these over 200,000 tribes are of limited value to the Kingdom, being almost entirely autonomous... They have almost no large city-states, nor any decent city fortresses, the tribes are both poor and resilient. Apart from gathering them to go on raids, they can’t provide much taxes or labor..."

"The lack of large settlements also means they can easily migrate, flee or go into guerrilla warfare. For these impoverished jungle tribes, the cost of military expeditions is even higher, with very low potential rewards, completely disproportionate..."

"Therefore, the Kingdom’s control over the Seaside Alliance can temporarily only establish political tribute and religious governance in this Southeast inland jungle! For them, the Kingdom must send missionary priests to spread the faith of the Chief Divine, and guide their agricultural production, build cities and villages... Until gradually, they transform into semi-direct tribes..."

After reading the reports from each department by the Seaside and marking the entire Seaside map, Xiulote had a clearer and more definite understanding of the Seaside Alliance under the Kingdom’s control.

"Over 600,000 Seaside direct tribes, over 200,000 semi-direct jungle tribes, and over 200,000 autonomous jungle tribes... These thousand leagues of Seaside and jungle, the millions of Totonac tribes, are the foundation of the Seaside Alliance! And the entire Seaside Alliance’s area is roughly equivalent to the Kingdom of the Lake. Its population and potential are at least half of the Lake Kingdom!..."