Aztec Civilization: Destiny to Conquer America!-Chapter 1678 - 1196: From Cuba to Haiti, Tomate’s Ambition of Faith!
The passing of the New Year is marked by the movement of the Sun and Moon. The vast Caribbean Sea continues to surge with mighty waves. The fleet of the "Demons" sails away, slicing through a thousand miles of waves. Meanwhile, the tempestuous "waves" on the main island of Cuba persistently spread among the Taino tribes!
"Witnessed by the Chief Divine, a miracle has descended! The prophecy brought by the Grand Shaman of the Longboat Tribe three years ago has truly come to pass! An unprecedented white-skinned demon has arrived in Cuba on a large ship! Their vanguard fleet has been defeated by the Longboat Tribe, leaving behind their large ship with a white sail and bearded captives!… But, they will return! They will come again with large ships and beasts, bringing brutal slaughter and plunder, and bringing endless plague and death!…"
In the past few months, canoes of the Taino people, carrying envoys from the Kingdom's tribes, hurriedly set off from Iron Bay Town, numbering over a dozen. They not only circled the main island of Cuba, notifying various Taino Great Tribes along the coast, but also ventured into the Cuban interior, even reaching the farther eastern island of Haiti, informing the western Haitian tribes with trade ties to Iron Bay Town. The arriving envoys not only brought miraculous proofs of prophecy but also carried the more important invitation to an alliance!
"Blessed by the Chief Divine! The Grand Shaman Tomate of the Longboat Tribe, in the name of the Chief Divine, swore a blood oath to protect the hot lands of Cuba! The Longboat Tribe is willing to unite with the hot land tribes to form a tribal alliance against the demons!… The Grand Shaman of the Longboat Tribe invites chieftains and elders of all tribes to witness the demons' large ship and captives, and to attend the alliance meeting at Iron Bay Town of the Longboat Tribe!…"
"Praise the Chief Divine! After the arrival of envoys from various tribes, the Grand Shaman of the Longboat Tribe will hold the Chief Divine's grand festival for the New Year, sacrificing the white-skinned demon captives in the presence of many chieftains!… All goods produced by each tribe can be traded during the ten-day festival. Disputes and conflicts among tribes can also be coordinated and resolved by the just Grand Shaman of the Longboat Tribe, witnessed by envoys from all participating tribes!…"
In three years, exploration teams from the Kingdom, with the assistance of the converted Taino tribes, have investigated and understood the main island of Cuba's details and gained some knowledge about the farther eastern Caribbean Islands.
The entire main island of Cuba stretches 3,000 li east to west, with a width of 200 to 400 li north to south, its area comparable to the total of the Kingdom of the Lake and the Totonaq Seaside Alliance! Its actual area is 110,000 square kilometers, roughly equivalent to the future Su or Min provinces.
On this warm and fertile large island, there are more than thirty Taino Great Tribes, each numbering thousands, scattered everywhere. Under the calculations and estimation of Cuba's High Priest Tomate, with the exceptionally productive cassava, the population of the Taino tribes on the entire island likely exceeds expectations, ranging between 600,000 to 800,000!
Further east of Cuba is "The Island of Mountains," also home to many Taino tribes, known as Haiti (Ayiti) Island. High Priest Tomate specially dispatched an Oar-sail ship fleet to circumnavigate entirely, visiting Taino chieftains along Haiti's coast. The fleet distributed Lake Gems, inviting tribes to trade in Iron Bay Town while spreading the prophecy of the white-skinned demons and proclaiming the Chief Divine's name. Haiti Island stretches roughly 1,300 li east to west and 200 to 600 li north to south, its area estimated to be two-thirds of Cuba's. Regarding the population of Haiti tribes, it is also in the hundreds of thousands, yet accurate numbers are unavailable due to the lack of an inland investigation.
Further east from Haiti, there is rumored to be another significant island called "The Land of the Brave and Noble," Boriken, known in later times as the island of Puerto Rico. It is home to tens of thousands of Taino tribes, and unlike the peacefully scattered tribes of Cuba and Haiti, they have gradually formed a "Brave Tribal Alliance" amid long-standing raids and harassment from eastern Caribbean tribes (Caribans). The leader of this alliance is known as "The Great Sun" Agüeybana (Agueybana), the only "Divine Descendant" to emerge among the Taino tribes.
"Witnessed by the Chief Divine! As long as there is long-term war pressure, and as the urgent need for more warriors arises, alliances of tribes will emerge under the pressure of reality…. and when the number of people in such alliances is sufficiently large and lasts for a long time, the prominence and expertise gained from pressing war pressures will lead to the rise and inheritance of tribal Divine Descendants!"
Further east from the Brave Island are the "Caribbean Islands," occupied by the Caribbean people, referred to by the Taino tribes as "Various Caribbean Islands." These islands and tribes, thousands of li away, have only been heard of by Tomate High Priest and have not truly contacted the Kingdom fleet, a situation beyond their current reach.
"Whew! For the past three years, I have been busy day and night, wholeheartedly preaching in Cuba and guiding various Taino tribes to convert… At present, the Taino tribes directly governed by the Kingdom amount to about 50,000 to 60,000, mainly concentrated along the Serpent Head coast of eastern Cuba!"
In the Main God Temple of the Stone, High Priest Tomate unrolled a crude piece of bark paper, carefully studying the map of Cuba drawn over three years, filled with densely named Great Tribes. His finger traced along the 700 to 800 li coast from west to east of Iron Bay Town, outlining the Taino divisions directly governed and controlled by the Kingdom.
The so-called standard for direct-controlled tribes is complete conversion to the Chief Divine, stationed Kingdom's Warriors, and trained tribal militia! In fact, when the demons' fleet arrived this time, the first landing and engagement with the Fish Bay Tribe was with a large Taino tribe that was gradually incorporated into the Kingdom's direct control.
"Chief Divine's blessing! The Kingdom's force in Cuba is approximately four to five hundred Kingdom warriors and sailors, plus the three thousand tribespeople from Iron Bay Town gathered through intermarriage with the headquarters. Such a small number of people can directly control fifty to sixty thousand Taino tribes and roughly train two to three thousand Taino militia among them, which was unimaginable back on the Mexican Plateau! The peaceful and gentle Taino people of Cuba are just like the most delicious black persimmons on the tree; the first monkey to arrive gets them first..."
"No, no, no, how can I think like this? We are under the guidance of the Chief Divine, completely different from the cruel demons! Under the Kingdom's direct control, the humble Taino divisions are never slaves to be plundered and enslaved... they are the citizens sheltered by the Chief Divine, our long-lost Jiao People from the islands thousands of years ago! They will surely reunite with us, rebuilding the seven systems of Jiao People across the world!..."
The Priest Tomate murmured softly, reiterating the Kingdom's political agenda in Cuba, "Convert and assimilate the Taino tribes, joining the big family of Jiao People." Then, he drew a larger circle with his finger, encompassing the entire eastern snakehead of the Cuba Main Island, a quarter of the three thousand-mile island!
"Praise the Chief Divine! The 'vassal' tribes influenced by Kingdom Priests, joining the Chief Divine among All Gods, accepting the Kingdom's arbitration in disputes, are spread throughout the eastern part of Cuba, estimated at a population of tens of thousands, even twenty thousand... These tribes are not directly incorporated, not because the Chieftains would bring out tribal warriors to resist... Actually, before the Kingdom fleet arrived, there were no warriors among the Cuban Taino tribes, only hunters... It's just that the headquarters of the Kingdom was too limited in Cuba, making it impossible to dispatch warriors for deep control!..."
The Priest Tomate slightly shook his head and continued to expand the trajectory traced by his finger until it included the entire Cuba Main Island and half of the western Haiti Island.
"The three thousand miles of Cuba Main Island, estimated to have roughly seven hundred thousand Taino tribes... plus six to seven hundred miles of western Haiti, at least two hundred thousand tribes... this is the 'trade' tribes of the Kingdom fleet! They know the name of the Chief Divine, aware of the prophecy of the white-skinned demons, and have even dispatched small boats for trade at the ports of Iron Bay Town... and within this range, the large Taino tribe also received envoys specially sent by me to participate in the Chief Divine's sacrificial ceremonies!..."
In short, "direct control," "vassal," and "trade," these three expanding circles represent the Kingdom's operation in the Caribbean Sea, representing the extension of the Kingdom's influence and Chief Divine's faith! Direct-controlled tribes have completely converted, can obey the Kingdom's command, and provide militia and resources. Vassal tribes have just converted, influenced by the Kingdom's arbitration, can provide some food support. As for the trade tribes, through the "Jewel Trade" and "Ironware Trade" led by the Kingdom at the trade center of Iron Bay Town, they indirectly provide goods and wealth for the Kingdom. The design of these three circles, this strategic idea of operating Cuba, originally came from the initial proposal of old militia Chiwaco and was summarized into practice by the Priest Tomate!
"A grand circle of four thousand miles, from Cuba to Haiti, is a million Taino tribes! At least a million potential Chief Divine followers!!..."
Seeing this grand circle and imagining the million Taino people within this range, the Priest Tomate was overwhelmed with excitement, and his eyes revealed a bright light! It was the passionate, almost burning desire for missionary work!
"Chief Divine! Among all known tribes in the world, whether it be Highland Tribes, Seaside Tribes, Cloud Central Tribes, Maya Tribes, even including Wilderness Dog Descendants, including various Hunting Tribes from the Northern Continent... only the peaceful, gentle, and simple Taino people are the easiest to convert and integrate into the faith of the Chief Divine! And only those who cultivate Cassava can provide such a large scale of Chief Divine's citizens!..."
"Ah, a million Taino people! A million descendants of Jiao People, citizens of Chief Divine who can convert! If all Taino divisions can be completely converted, controlling this grand circle of four thousand miles... it would be enough to establish an Ecclesiastical Province, supporting one Fifth Level Supreme High Priest, several Fourth Level Grand Priests, and dozens of Third Level Main Priests!..."
"And at that time, I, Tomate, not only will become the first Supreme High Priest of Cuba, forever engraved in the sacred text of the Chief Divine... also because of the achievements in developing the Eastern Islands and resisting the demon invasion, I will be posthumously honored as a Saint under the Throne of the Chief Divine... I can also formally establish the Cuba Chief Priesthood, fully develop the priest lineage of the Eastern Islands, blessing disciples and followers!..."
