Aztec Civilization: Destiny to Conquer America!-Chapter 1669 - 1190: Waves of the Caribbean Sea, It Truly Isn’t Easy Being the Silver Raven Great Chief...
"A hundred pounds of vanilla? To bring back his daughter and grandson, the Great Chief of the Silver Raven Tribe has indeed spared no effort, presenting all the vanilla accumulated in Crow City over the years to me, a woman with little vision, who loves to eat and drink! Haha!"
As night gradually fell, a bonfire was lit in the grand hall. The bright firelight illuminated the figure of the Serpent Mother Miyava on the stone seat, highlighting her striking silhouette and the corners of her mouth raised, along with the cold disdain in her eyes. The little Light Snake beside her blinked and, seeing her mother's demeanor, mimicked it by half-lifting her small face, curling her lips into a 'sneer' at the White Feather Envoy.
"Hmm... White Bird?... Mud?..."
"Ahem! Honored Serpent Mother, esteemed Seaside Goddess!"
The firelight flickered, and the temple's female warriors, adorned in armor and wielding axes, cast elongated shadows. The Silver Raven Elder, Cao Bai Ya, cautiously saluted the large and small figures seated on the stone throne. He paid as much reverence to the two-year-old Light Snake, bowing his head even more humbly than he did to Miyava, demonstrating even greater respect.
The little Light Snake, said to be the 'Divine Blessed Maiden' with both the bloodlines of the sun and the divine serpent flowing through her, was also rumored to be destined to marry the youngest son of the God King, marking her as one of the most revered in the world. Her 'prophecy and divinity' held significant weight among the Totonac Tribe, embodying the hearts and hopes of countless seaside tribespeople! Without this intentionally deified 'Totonac Goddess,' the title of 'Serpent Mother' alone could not unite millions of Totonac tribespeople.
Even if the Serpent Mother understood people deeply and possessed exceptional political skills, she still couldn't compare to the appeal of the 'Divine Blessed Maiden.' In this era, among the Central American tribes who devoutly believed in the divine, people's allegiance lay with 'the gods,' with sacred bloodlines, and with the ethereal yet genuinely existing 'divinity!' The so-called 'divinity' was, naturally, born noble, inherently elevated, revered by countless people, and was to be without any humility or blemishes! Only a 'god' born perfect could guide the tribes, making countless tribespeople prostrate themselves...
But the first twenty-odd years of Miyava's twisted and difficult journey, humbled and made small, were filled with too much humility and blemish to be related to 'divinity.' In the eyes of the seaside nobility, she was a formidable 'woman,' powerful as a Serpent Mother and capable of manipulating human hearts, yet she was still merely 'human.' This difference is why sometimes, she couldn't help but envy or even feel jealous of her daughter...
"Chief Divine witness! A hundred pounds of vanilla beans, enough to demonstrate the Great Chief's sincerity! Even the Silver Ravens' tribute to the Mexica Alliance was only a few dozen pounds of vanilla a year... The two princesses and royal descendants really shouldn't remain long on the Totonac Coast... After all, all royal descendants with Mexica Royal Family blood will come under the scrutiny of the Mexica Royal Family... And given the identities of the two royal descendants, they will naturally be subject to the direct marriage arrangements by the royal elders, or even by Mexica God King Avit!"
In this era, until the invention of artificial pollination in the 19th century, genuine vanilla vanilla beans were a Mexican specialty more precious than gold! They required planting for 3-4 years before flowering, then being pollinated by Mexico's unique jungle stingless bees (Melipona) to produce a limited quantity of vanilla pods. Its unique fragrance attracted pests and bird damage, and it was also very delicate, not tolerant of too much rain and sunlight. In simple terms, growing vanilla required very specialized farming techniques, or else it would just die on you frequently!
Thus, throughout Central America, the only ones truly skilled in cultivating large quantities of vanilla were the Southern Vastec Tribes who had been domesticating and cultivating vanilla for generations and the great Mexica nobility in the Mexican Valley who owned vanilla chinampas and professional agricultural slaves. The Totonac Tribes, having endured brutal warfare, didn't cultivate or produce much vanilla.
"Hmm... Mexica Royal Family marriage arrangement? Using the God King to threaten me?... Haha! Truly a crow with eagle feathers!"
The Serpent Mother Miyava chuckled softly, dismissing the 'Mexica tiger skin' brought up by the Silver Raven Elder. Accompanying Xiulote, she understood Mexica internal politics far more deeply than the Silver Raven Elder. She even had some understanding of the personality traits of key individuals within the alliance and delved deeper into them than Xiulote had!
In reality, the 'Serpent Mother' Miyava, with her twisted origins and extreme realism, having risen from the depths, far surpassed the idealistic and somewhat romantic 'Eagle Father' Xiulote in her study and mastery of human nature...
In Miyava's view, God King Avit is like a proud Divine Eagle, always focused on the biggest prey and the most threatening rivals. His strategic direction has always been southeast, targeting the largest remaining prey in the world: the Mistecs and Zapotecs who refuse to submit, the southern mountain forests stretching 1,400 miles, and the nearly two million Cloud Central Tribes!
And after conquering the Cloud Central Tribes, the God King will likely continue the conquest southeastward, attacking from Coastal Zapotec to the Highland Maya... Only such achievements, surpassing those of predecessor monarchs, could match the God King's desire for immortal greatness, granting him a grandeur that surpasses and dominates the grand achievements of his predecessors!
In simple terms, the God King's vision is too high, his ambitions too grand! He's genuinely uninterested in the northeastern tribes conquered long ago by Predecessor Monarch Montezuma, the scattered 'small Carramy,' the difficult 'badlands' of swamps, jungles, and seashores, or the Wilderness Dog Descendants constantly running around escaping. Miyava determined that as long as the northeastern tribes maintained ample alliance tribute without causing blatant rebellions that would challenge the God King's authority... it wouldn't attract the intervention of the great Mexica army!
After all, it would take years of alliance food accumulation to launch a large-scale military campaign, to conduct a war of annihilation. The God King certainly wouldn't want to waste such a grand campaign on the far northeastern corner, already submitted.
The real interest in intervening with the Silver Ravens would only be from a political force within the alliance. Even under the God King's centralization, whether it was local state honorable nobility or a royal family branch in the central capital, they couldn't muster much of an army... As for the ideas of the Great Chief Papata of the Silver Ravens, it's likely just an effort to use the Mexica tiger skin as a shield, sitting on both sides and observing carefully.
Upon comprehending all this, Serpent Mother Miyava's smile gradually brightened, while her eyes turned increasingly cold. She smiled and nodded, calmly promising.
"Indeed, Liuyu and Liuyao have birthed the bloodline of His Highness. It truly is time to return to the Silver Raven Tribe!"...
"Ah! Praise you, revered Serpent Mother! The friendship between the Great Chief and you will remain everlastingly. And the Silver Raven Alliance and Seaside Alliance are also blood-related allied kin!"...
Upon hearing this, Elder Grass White Raven of the Silver Raven Tribe rejoiced immensely, quickly voicing praise. He also took the opportunity to suggest the Great Chief's second mission, to form an alliance with the Totonac people, solidify the southeastern direction, and even jointly resist the northern and western Dog Descendants...
"Indeed! The Silver Raven Alliance and Seaside Alliance are both inherited by His Highness's bloodline, naturally making them blood-related allied kin!"
Serpent Mother Miyava smiled and nodded as Elder Grass White Raven's smile froze, continuing her previous words.
"After all, according to the secret agreement between the Great Chief Papata and His Highness, the children of the two princesses are undisputable heirs to the Silver Raven Tribe!... However, with the current situation of the Silver Raven Tribe, establishing His Highness's bloodline as heirs is truly not easy! The Great Chief of the Silver Raven Tribe is indeed facing tough times..."
"Uh? What secret agreement? I haven't heard the Great Chief mention it... This? Serpent Mother? The Great Chief he..."
"You see, the Silver Raven Tribe has gathered tens of Vastec Tribes to establish the Silver Raven Alliance. Among the alliance are several large tribes with tens of thousands of people... with so many large tribes, such a loose tribal alliance, Papata himself may not even be able to stabilize his position as the leader of the alliance! As for candidates to inherit the tribe or even the alliance, they are bound to face internal obstruction!"...
"Ah? That... the Great Chief is the sole leader of the alliance... no need to worry... and the candidate for succession... hasn't... yet..."
"Chief Divine! Besides His Highness's bloodline grandchildren, Papata also has several grown sons, all with their own followers within the Silver Raven Alliance, having intermarried with other tribes. He has married five wives and concubines from major tribes, and fathered two sons; they all have support from their maternal tribes. Even in the Mexica Alliance, his youngest daughter Liulin just married Quetzalcoatl, meaning she will certainly birth royal descendants... Alas! If I were the Great Chief of the Silver Raven, I would also be very troubled at this moment! Bringing back two daughters and grandchildren to establish them as the Silver Raven Tribe's heirs requires immense determination and silencing of opposition voices!"...
"Uh! Serpent Mother... the Great Chief he... that heir... this... is indeed very difficult!"...
Upon hearing this, Elder Grass White Raven of the Silver Raven Tribe was greatly shocked, displaying slight panic on his face. This seductive, serpent-like woman was truly formidable! She could see through the internal affairs of the Silver Raven Alliance with such clarity, even knowing several heir candidates. She truly deserved the terrifying title of "Serpent Mother." And by clinging to some non-existent secret agreement and inheritance of the Silver Raven, she intends to directly involve herself in the internal conflicts of the Silver Raven Alliance!"...
"Therefore, given that the Great Chief of the Silver Raven genuinely sends you as an envoy to seek the Totonac's support... as Serpent Mother Great Chief of the Seaside Alliance, as blood-kin allies, it is a duty I cannot shirk!... Here's what I'll do! I'll deploy eight thousand tribal warriors, and gather two thousand naval forces, to escort the two noble ladies and royal descendants westward, back to Crow City of the Silver Raven!"...
"Wha... what?!... Dispatch ten thousand warriors to escort noble ladies and royal descendants?!... This! This isn't necessary at all!"...
Little Light Snake tilted her head slightly, taking another glance at her mother. Though she could not comprehend her mother's words, she could see that the White Feather Messenger at the foot of the stone throne was visibly becoming fearful. After some thought, she mimicked her mother's manner, lifting the corners of her mouth at both ends, narrowing her eyes into cute crescents, looking at the "White Bird" like a "Snake." Then, she lightly rubbed her little hands, pinched her little face, stretched out towards the air with a playful simulation, and unreservedly uttered.
"Hmm... pinching... mud!"...
"Mud... is fun!"...
