Aztec Civilization: Destiny to Conquer America!-Chapter 1692 - 1205: Balamo’s Sentiments, The Ministers Stand Ready to Fight to the Death

The strong wind blew across the mountains and fields, carrying a chill from the Northern Continent. When Red Crow Amoxtli turned from the sorrowful old farmer to the cunning and threatening Great Chief of the Canine Descendants, hundreds of canoes finally burst forth from the mountains upstream of a tributary of the Tampen River, docking at the confluence of the gently flowing river.

"Oh Chief Divine! The gray wolves of the wilderness traveled eastward for four hundred miles long, over towering mountain ranges hundreds of people high. And here the warriors like wolves land, break free from the barren and desolate valley cage, arriving finally at this vast and fertile green wilderness!..."

Poet Balamo staggered as he jumped off his sturdy yet somewhat damaged small boat, on the marshy grassland by the riverside, squinting his eyes unable to open.

These four hundred miles upstream of the Tampen River's tributary, the river is situated between the mountains, extremely difficult to navigate, with great elevation changes and rapid currents, truly dizzying him! Many times his boat even crashed into the riverbanks, knocking several pieces off the bow. The navigation ability upstream, for the low-bottom agile canoe is already at its limit, larger oar-sail ships might encounter troubles.

After a few moments of rest, Poet Balamo took a deep breath, opened his wind-swept eyes wide, gazing affectionately at the verdant land. He was even moved enough to kneel on the earth, kissing the slightly fishy and damp soil.

"Ah! The thousand-mile fertile field of the East, the plains along the great river Tampen, the prosperous fields of the Vastec people! Even the soil by the riverside carries a scent of grass and trees, much more nourishing than the barren sandy soil of the wilderness! This is the Chief Divine's protection, the Earth Mother's gift!..."

"Caw... Caw! Caw... Caw!"

Several large-beaked crows soared in the sky, emitting particularly loud cawing. This kind of large crow unique to America grows to almost half a meter, possessing a rather elongated sharp beak and occupies the niche of small raptors. And now, they glance down with sharp eyes at the boats landing one after another by the riverbank and the two-legged beasts disembarking from the boats, judging whether there will be food and danger.

In recent years, these intelligent creatures have patrolled between the hundreds of miles of swamps and plains, have seen too many two-legged beasts fighting each other and eaten far too many of the bodies. And these fur-clad, feather-adorned, owning elongated singular-claw two-legged beasts, often precisely the creators of fellow corpses and occasionally dangerous bird hunters.

"Ancestor! Praise Great Chief Balamo! He conquered the fertile lands of the East, leading our Great Tribe Qingqiu, finally emerging from the wilderness and valley!..."

"Oh! Chieftain brother-in-law, there's unexpectedly so much water here, so much grass and trees! Wow! There's an abandoned village over there, with surrounding cultivated fields!..."

"Indeed! Such a wonderful place, much better than the arid wilderness! Chieftain brother-in-law, from now on, these hundreds of miles of riverside fertile lands will belong to our Great Tribe Qingqiu, right?! Haha, you have to look out for my sister's sake, and take care of our Guamal Tribe..."

"Eh? Where are those original cultivating tribes here, those Vastec people? Oh! Chieftain father-in-law, you wouldn't want us to farm, right?... But I want to go hunting or fighting! That's what tribal warriors should do..."

With the docking of a large group of small boats, hundreds of Canine Descendants chieftains wearing grass clothes and fur robes, feather ornamented bone adornments, carrying greatbows and bone arrows, swarmed ashore. They surrounded Poet Balamo at the center, greeting and cheering in a chaotic manner, shouting various titles.

The majority of ordinary tribe warriors holding long spears stood around, yelling in unison "Great Chief Balamo." While a few armored, bow-carried, battle-axe-slung tribe chieftains crowded forward eagerly. They shouted "Chieftain brother-in-law," "Chieftain sister-in-law," "Chieftain father-in-law," each more close and enthusiastic, quite amusing indeed.

In reality, such intimate calling naturally has its reasons. Balamo was born into a common samurai family of the Alliance, naturally lacking the retinue base of a noble family, nor many reliable clan relatives, able to control ten or twenty thousand tribespeople for him.

Faced with such a situation, Balamo came up with a solution to fully utilize his natural talent, and allied through marriage with various large wilderness tribes, in one breath marrying more than twenty noble ladies and noble widows from different tribes! This way, he gained scores of chieftain-status brothers-in-law and a dozen adult and adolescent sons. These canine relatives, influential and of high status within the tribes, can firmly help him control all major tribes, even follow him in military campaigns and expeditions everywhere!

"Hey! Enough of the shouting! Didn't you see I'm praying and reciting, seeking enlightenment from the Divine?!... What's with gathering here so chaotically? Allocate some teams to scout and guard the surroundings! Tonight let's camp at that desolate village, clean it up in advance!..."

"As you wish! Great Chief!..."

"Alright! Brother-in-law!"

"Yes! Sister-in-law!"

"At your command, Father!"

As the poet Balamo shouted, the disorderly Canine Warriors quickly sprang into action. Led by their well-equipped chieftains, the Canine Warriors dispersed in groups of ten or twenty, running in all directions. Soon, sentry posts were set up, and patrol squads ascended to the surrounding vantage points, fully displaying the elite scouting capabilities of the Canine Warriors.

"Oh, Chief Divine! I've been wandering on the wilderness for over a decade, enduring so much wind and sand! At last, I've walked off the wilderness and have a proper territory! ... Hmm, this is the middle section of the Tampen Great River, three to four hundred miles away from the Desolate Valley City on the western wilderness and the Otter City at the eastern estuary... The location is just right, with two rivers converging, and the land is fertile. There are also many abandoned villages and farms of the Vastek people around; as long as tribal people are relocated here, spring plowing can start in April and May... It is indeed a great place for building a city!"...

Poet Balamo stands by the river, gazing at the surrounding scenes, his heart filled with ambition and emotion. If the Sakascat Wilderness is a land of arid, rocky desert; the Pamus Valley is a mix of yellow-green cacti and sparse grasslands; then the Vastec River Marsh here is lush with ample water resources and abundant grass and forests. Once fully cultivated, these fertile lands will provide a solid, prosperous foundation for the nearly two hundred thousand populace of Qingqiu County and the Great Tribe of Qingqiu. It is a foundation that can be passed down to descendants and expand further!

"Oh, Your Highness! You've stationed me at Qingqiu, guarding the Valley in the wilderness for over a decade... And now, you're headed to the Divine King's cage, while I've walked out of the cage of the Valley wilderness!"...

Poet Balamo gazed for a long time, reminiscing over the past years, his expression subtly melancholic. At this moment, he wore a robe made of buffalo hide, a bone Sun Amulet hung around his neck, and red ink painted the traditional chieftain markings of the Canine Descendants on his face, while a large group of Dog Descendant Warriors followed behind him... No matter how you look at it, he has already become a complete Great Chief of the wilderness!

Time flows like a river, continuously passing. It has been over a decade since Xiulote first dispatched him northward to manage the caravan at the Guamal Canine Descendants, familiarize himself with the situation in the Northern Land during that autumn. Nearly ten years have passed since he assumed control of Qingqiu County and took charge of the northern kingdom's enclave!

These past years of wilderness sand and winds have continually shaped the hills of Mexica, transforming him from a melancholic, gentle Mexica Warrior Camp Chief into the now bold, unrestrained, cunning, and ruthless Balamo Great Chief!

And the only constant is his love for poetry, like the reverence and speculation in his heart for the Highness who personally elevated and arranged him.

"Oh, Your Highness! Over a decade ago, both a grass tree and a monkey pledged allegiance to you. You personally granted me the surname, calling me Balamo Rulfo! At that time, the starting point for the grass tree was even higher than the monkey!"...

"But why did you, like a heartless Mountain God, cast the grass tree to the desolate Northern Wilderness, to the deserted and remote cage of Qingqiu, while allowing the monkey to remain in the affluent Kingdom of the Lake, even becoming the Marshal of the kingdom, constantly guarding the foundation you hold dear?"...

"Do you distrust my loyalty, and instead trust the monkey's pretentious demeanor? ...Yet my intentions towards you are like a sunflower facing the sun! Even if I cannot compare to the monkey who is as close as a shirt, how can Ezpan, that four-fingered surrendered Prepetcha general, compete with me?!"...

Poet Balamo's expression is filled with melancholy, emitting a low sigh. These past years, his emotions towards Xiulote are both complex and ever-changing.

"Chief Divine! The sun rises and falls, the wilderness wind blows, raising sand again! Everything in this world is changing, you are changing, I am changing, Qingqiu is evolving... The grass tree grows larger, while the once spacious Valley nursery has transformed into a narrow tribal cage! And you, my Mountain God, have you forgotten me?"...

Qingqiu is a cage? In the beginning, certainly not. When Balamo first managed one side independently, holding tens of thousands of Otomi and Canine Descendants, managing the hundred-mile radius of the Pamus Qingqiu Valley... He was filled with gratitude towards Your Highness!

But as he fortified Qingqiu Valley, gathered more and more Canine Descendants Tribes, he discovered that the farmland in the Valley was surprisingly limited, only supporting tens of thousands at most. The excess Canine Descendants Tribes had to be sent south, to exchange for food and weapon supplies from the kingdom... After just a few years, Qingqiu County's expansion reached its limit...

"Oh, Your Highness! Your grass tree grows into a great tree, standing tall upon Qingqiu! It gazes around with its four eyes, seeing only desolation! To the east are the eastward migrating Red Crow Canine Descendants, the Vastek people Alliance that are tributary to the Alliance, the southwest are the Otomi two States that are tributary to the Kingdom, and the southeast is the Northeast State of the Mexica Alliance... The only directions to expand are the Western and Northern Sakascat Wilderness!"...

"But what is there in the wilderness? How can a great tree grow there? I only see arid desert and barren hills, sparse cacti! Oh, and the deep silver mines in the northwest wilderness, the underground stretches of silver ore that span hundred miles, where not even grass grows!"...

"Yet despite this, I remain wholeheartedly loyal to you! As long as you exist in the kingdom, as long as you hold power in the kingdom! Whether it's the County Magistrates of each county or the established tribes in the wilderness, there will be no dissent, all can be commanded like your arm!"...

"Oh, my Highness, all the kingdom's Legion Commanders are ready with their legions! I have mobilized as many as twenty thousand fierce and barbaric Canine Warriors, ready to fight and raid the Alliance's north! These impoverished tribal warriors fear not death, they can always recruit more, as long as they can freely plunder and kill... But why must you head to the Lake Capital City, willingly enter the Divine King's cage?"...

"Don't you know? Should anything happen to you... the monkey, Ezpan, me... My loyalty, our loyalty, would have nowhere to go! And then, my ambition, our ambition, would be uncontainable!"...