novelAbuy Chapter 1869 1349: Great Thinker, Theologian, and Painter Xiulote
Chapter 1869 1349: Great Thinker, Theologian, and Painter Xiulote
The November long wind howls, bringing a foreboding chill to the mountain-dwelling Opata Tribes. Meanwhile, an unexpected "Cold Crow" arrives; its black "feathers" bring both death and the new life of integration, though it is destined to come with bloodshed.Further south, nearly ten thousand Yaki Tribe members have fully converted to the Chief Divine. The strongest Yoeme Great Tribe completely renamed itself to the kingdom's "Firestone Town." Priests redistribute tribal wealth, gather the hearts of the tribespeople, not only bringing the faith of the Chief Divine but also ushering in new development and order! Just like the newly dug "toilets and compost pits," these dictate the daily lives of the tribespeople, strictly ordering them to squat and fertilize...
At this time, the first batch of three sand ships loaded with red bricks has already arrived from Reagan Town. The planning of the grand and magnificent Firestone Town Temple has commenced from the side halls. For the sake of the Divine Spirits and winter warmth, not only the true believers but also the fake ones within the tribe work diligently. And the conscription of tribal manpower to build temple and dwelling, and ensure believers survive the winter is precisely the process of the kingdom establishing governance order in Firestone Town! After all, the new order must bring benefit and hope to more people to overthrow the old and truly consolidate.
"Chief Divine bless us! We will bring a brand new order! Just like in the Divine Revelation, bringing light and the sun, bringing prosperity and warmth, bringing development and future!..."
South from the West Bay Diocese, the Northern Teotihuacan Lands in the Great Lake County have gradually settled down after constant campaigns and pacification by the Divine Monkey Corps. Along the downstream of the Lerma River, four to five hundred miles, about a hundred thousand Tecos Tribe have established direct-controlled settlements, with Warriors of the Kingdom appointed. Meanwhile, in the more remote mountains, over ten thousand Tecos Banner Teams have submitted and paid tribute nominally while maintaining varying degrees of autonomy.
Incorporating these mountain tribes into direct control is destined to be a long process. The first to delve into these areas are always the Chief Divine's priests, extending like the roots of the Divine Tree steadily into the long Guamare Mountain range. Before establishing the sacrificial altars of each tribe, and shaping the order of belief, the kingdom can only use trade markets as nodes, use military deterrence as the "order foundation," use tribal trading as the "tax system," and resolve tribal disputes as "governing authority." Simply put, it's "tributary system."
"Chief Divine bless us! The kingdom's rule is like a river. The places connected by the river are where we can first control as direct rule territory, requiring patient management! Because the scope directly managed by the Capital City is always related to communication time. The longer the communication time, the harder it is to react timely; local autonomy is necessary... This is also why roads are crucial, they can reduce communication time, expand the scope of direct control, and undermine the autonomy foundation of each tribe. Besides roads, there are four-legged Riding Beast horses that can run faster than two-fold, also making the kingdom's manageable territory increase two-fold..."
"Among all ruling methods, the power of 'military force' is always limited, like the fierce Jaguar unable to pounce on the treetop Flying Bird. The treetop and mountaintops belong to fierce Flying Eagles, like 'trade' which is all-pervasive. And more pervasive power is from the sky's sun, illuminating land and ocean, the Chief Divine's 'faith'!..."
In Lake Stone City, Monkey Kuluka sits under a Cotton God Tree, attentively studying the small parchment book in hand. This is the "King's Guidance" from Xiulote, similar booklets regularly sent from the Southern Expedition armies to the Kingdom, then distributed to each Legion Commander.
"In tribe-specific governance, besides military intimidation's 'The Path of Tyranny,' there needs to be a new order establishment 'The Path of Kings.' As for religion's role, it is 'Virtue' and 'Law.' Use religious laws to constrain upper and lower, use fear and hope of the soul to appease believers' hearts, like anesthetic knife water for stability and facilitate the initial establishment of rule..."
"However, faith that disengages from reality cannot last long. The Chief Divine's priests must bring tangible change!... For newly conquered vast territories, establish the kingdom's new order. And the essence of this new order is the redistribution of corn tortillas. This process is destined to be driven by a few management, supported by a group, neutral by a group, and opposed by a final group. Always remain vigilant, distinguishing allies, neutrals, and foes..."
"A new order becomes more stable with more supporters, yet also harder to achieve! And if a new group of 'profit supporters' cannot be cultivated, the kingdom's rule will be like floating duckweed on water, with no root and scattered by the wind..."
"Chief Divine is witness! The source of corn tortillas is always limited, either develop production to create more tortillas to distribute to certain groups or redistribute old upper wealth to middle and lower levels. About the last method, it is external warfare, taking tortillas from other tribes to distribute in our own, satisfying upper and lower needs..."
"As for the specific governance of a place, it's like cooking small fish. The flame must not be too fierce, nor can it be without flame. Orders, once given, should not be changed frequently. Building trust is not easy, and it should not be easily overturned... Remember, running hastily through the mountain forest can lead to becoming lost, unable to reach the true goal. Encountering bears and tigers is inevitable, leading to battles... In general, after planting the seed, the Samurai are responsible for weeding, while the Priests should nurture the seedlings. The only force that changes everything is time, through the succession of generations, allowing the seed to grow into a towering tree!..."
Kuluka patiently read the book, his gaze occasionally flickering like a wise monkey. Within these books of the Xiulote, there were no specific orders or instructions, only the thoughts summarized by the King, expounding governance concepts, much like the silent spring rain nourishing great trees across the Kingdom. For Kuluka, who was one of these great trees, he already had sufficient practical experience, and what he lacked was precisely this kind of refined and thorough theory to finally enlighten him, thus elevating to a new height!
In fact, a small portion of these books had been copied and circulated into the Mexica Alliance. Some devout minor nobility treated the books as "Scripture of the Prophet," fervently pursuing them. Whether they could understand it, or how much they could understand, they would collect and pass them on to future generations.
Perhaps the greatest value of a transmigrator is to become a thinker, calmly writing books. Spreading these exceptionally valuable "intellectual knowledge," completely changing the essence of the era, pointing out the true direction forward! Of course, the prerequisite for this is that he must be able to protect himself, not being backlashed by the times, or neatly tied to a stake and burned alive by the old forces whose interests were harmed...
"Oh, Chief Divine! Every three months, His Highness writes a new booklet, this truly is... truly is divine revelation, divinity overflowing!... Well, it seems His Highness is quite leisurely and safe, so he can write so much without worry. And reading these books indeed provides great enlightenment, every word worth a hundred others!"
Monkey Kuluka gazed for a long time before reluctantly putting down the book, standing up. He ascended the ancient Lake Stone Temple in Tecititlan, with the towering Eagle Mountain Divine Mountain of Quetzalpetl looming behind him. His gaze turned southeast, across the Guamare Mountains, across the Great Lerma River, across his homeland of the Texcoco Lake District, all the way to the Land Amidst the Clouds of the Southern Expedition!
There, batches of food carried by tens of thousands of civilians supported the central and eastern front of the Alliance Army. The garrison at the Divine Stone City Valley had harvested, and the two legion units at the eastern front had just received ample food supplies, further tightening the siege on Cloud Mountain City. Further south, at the valley entrance in contact with the Zapotecs Valley of Oaxaca, a battle involving thousands had just concluded, with dark red blood staining the entire valley entrance. At the valley entrance, the newly built Wei of the Mexica Alliance Army, heavy as terror from the northern highland, weighed heavily on the hearts of the Zapotecs Tribes!
At the northern Alliance main camp outside the city, the ancient Royal Banner of the blood sun and evil spirit bones fluttered in the howling mountain wind. Aweit smiled faintly, lifting a bloodied head, scrutinizing it for a while. On the unwilling face of that head was a blue bat wing, a rare offering from the Oaxaca Divine Descendants.
"Hmm, a head of the Oaxaca-Silver Peak City Divine Descendants, a rare sacrificial offering!... In this post-autumn slaughter, four thousand Zapotecs vanguards were directly defeated by two thousand of the Alliance's Armored Warriors, losing half, with their divine descendant leader killed, and four to five hundred sacrifice captives taken!... Who knows, after this battle, whether the southern Zapotecs Tribes will have the courage to launch a large-scale northern support?"
"Haha! Such spoils of war should be shown to my good son-in-law Xiulote, the Chief Priest Great Prophet of the army! Then we'll send the head to various camps, and let Xiulote hold a grand sacrifice to boost the Samurai's morale!"
Aweit, with a smile, single-handedly held the head, and with two Imperial Guards, headed towards the adjacent Black Wolf Royal Tent. But when he entered the tent, his gaze shifted, and he paused.
On a large piece of hide paper spread on the mahogany desk, Xiulote, clad in a white robe, was leaning over, concentratively painting on the pale yellow hide paper with a delicate brush dipped in red and gold paint. And on the painting, an abstract and peculiar Divine Bird possessed the long beak head of a Hummingbird, the wings of an eagle, the body of a pit viper, the claws of a Jaguar, an indescribable divinity!
At that moment, the golden-red Divine Bird perched on the Cotton God Tree amidst the clouds, seemingly an incarnation of the Sun!