Aztec Civilization: Destiny to Conquer America!-Chapter 1725 - 1232: The Second Apa Plain

"The deity has arrived! With its gaze upon the red sky, it watches the multitude of citizens on the earth!... Offer your devotion, hair, and blood, drink the blood wine of conversion, carve the emblem upon your forehead, and devote your soul to the Chief Divine!..."

The blue Sacred Fire ignited outside Sand Eye City, the smoke from burning hair drifting in the valley. A faint scent of blood filled the air, as over forty thousand Tecos tribespeople converted one by one, pledging their soul's blood oath to the Chief Divine, those unwilling to convert were directly sacrificed by their same clan. The formerly high and mighty Divine Descendants and nobility of Tekos who ruled the City-State, were all led to the altar, sacrificed to the Supreme Main God under the eyes of countless people.

At this moment, blue fire, gray smoke, red blood, and yellow corpses together formed the colors of mystery, fear, and death. And the scorching heat, the suffocating air, the deafening scriptures, and the aching foreheads acted as indelible marks in the sacrificial rite, engraving unforgettable memories on all who converted.

"Believe in our God Huitzilopochtli! Those who defy Him will suffer eternal torment after death, their souls solidify into stone in the endless abyss, enduring fire and axe cuts, hunger and thirst day and night! Those who follow Him will have their souls ascend to the Red Divine Kingdom, resurrect after death, never worry about hunger and labor, eternally enjoy peace and goodness!"

The Kingdom Priests recited the scriptures of divine invocation, apprentices from the Tecos tribe loudly repeated them. The gripping mysterious dread accompanied the seeds of original faith, deeply engraved in the hearts of each trembling, prostrate Tecos tribesperson converting to the Chief Divine.

Indeed, the Kingdom Priests understood this! The cornerstone of all devout faith is born from inner fear. And with the amplification of fear, every grace bestowed by the Chief Divine henceforth would be magnified to the fullest. Without the initial terror and despair of darkness, there wouldn't be the subsequent light of sincere hope. The essence of the conversion ceremony is to reshape hearts and plant the seed of faith, further reinforced by daily prayer rituals and accumulated time, like volcanic ash cement, growing ever stronger...

"Unfortunately... the Eye of the Spirit in Great Lake County is still in Lake Stone City, unable to partake in this grand conversion. However, when the army heads south, it will bring most of the tribespeople to Lake Stone City for garrison. There, a grand spring plowing festival can be held again with tens of thousands of tribespeople participating! Yes, for the spring plowing festival, no Divine Descendant captives are needed, just the three sacrifices: wolves, deer, and fish!"

The Great Lake High Priest Yueluoji stood on the Divine Platform, managing the conversion while pondering the subsequent rituals. Originally a village priest by Lake Texcoco, he came from commoners in Mexico, later noticed by the prince during Xiulote's marriage in the Lake Capital City, thus embarking on a fast track to promotion.

At that time, the prince said to him, "Empathy with the believers is the most precious quality of a Priest. And as long as you adhere to your true heart, you will receive rewards from the Chief Divine!" He carefully contemplated the profound meaning of this "Divine Revelation," whether guiding believers in faith or teaching farmers to cultivate, he excelled among the hundreds of villages by Lake Texcoco!

Later, with the High Priest's selection, a group of Mexica priests went west to the Kingdom, he was chosen among them, and promoted to Second Level Priest. During the years in the Kingdom, he spread faith in Rivermouth County with remarkable success, finally breaking the toughest first-level ceiling for commoner priests, becoming a Third-level High Priest.

Subsequently, as Rivermouth County's outstanding priest, Yueluoji followed Monkey Kuluka's corps westward, overseeing missionary affairs around Chapala Great Lake. Currently, although he is a Third-level High Priest, as soon as the faith in Great Lake County consolidates in the next two years, and the priest system penetrates villages and banners... he will be promoted to Fourth Level Grand Priest, overseeing the entire county's ecclesiastic affairs, just like sailing with the current!

Behind Yueluoji's rapid rise, however, lies the compromise and contention between Mexica Preaching Priests and Prepetcha Preaching Priests within the Kingdom of the Lake. Mexica Priests are fewer but hold higher positions, concentrated in the capital region city, and the northern counties of Rivermouth and Great Lake. Meanwhile, Prepetcha priests are growing in numbers, usually occupying capital towns, the two southern counties of Apa Zicao, and coastal colonies in the North.

As for Qingqiu County's priests facing Wilderness Tribes, the situation is quite unique, with diverse origins. Most are war priests capable of fighting within corps, even incorporating numerous commissioned wilderness priests, forming a brave independent faction.

"Witnessed by the Chief Divine! This City-State of Northern Ticos, although quite average, the mountain valley where this City-State lies is genuine fertile land! If we could develop this place, it would be no lesser than Chapala's Great Lake Region..."

Standing on the Divine Platform, Yueluoji High Priest looked past the drifting smoke, past the prostrate bowing tribespeople, gazing toward the northeast's narrow mountains. This mountain valley extends from Sand Eye City, spanning several dozens of miles, covering a considerable area, with abundant rainfall.

The mountain range stretching diagonally to the southeast, spanning several thousand miles, serves as a natural boundary between the coastal valley and the Sakascat Wilderness. The moist sea breezes from the southwest Pacific in summer are entirely blocked by this mountain range, transforming into rainwater between the mountains, resulting in many east-to-west flowing rivers, irrigating the narrow strip between mountains and sea. Due to rainwater being intercepted by the mountains, the wilderness further east remains arid and barren, difficult for cultivation.

In the Classical Period, agriculture's lifeblood was water sources. Yueluoji High Priest, having climbed up from the lower levels and skilled in farming, immediately saw the cultivation potential of this valley. But, as abundant as it is, can also be its downfall. This valley, having only supported four to five thousand Northern Ticos tribespeople, is mainly due to too much water...

"The river beside Sand Eye City flows east to west, descending from the mountains! Such naturally undulating rivers are most suitable for constructing gravity-fed channels, no need for manual water lifting... The whole valley can be developed into excellent irrigated fertile land! Once the valley is fully cultivated, it could support not just four or five thousand people, but even double or triple that, supporting dozens to hundreds of thousands!"

"However, it's only spring now, and the rivers are already this swift. By summer rainy season, flooding and deluge are inevitable! The Northern Ticos haven't farmed by the river, instead distancing by two miles, evidently fearing floods... And Sand River is merely a tributary upstream to the larger Great Sand River in the northeast. The Great Sand River's flow is even more torrential, carving out a vast floodplain at its northern hundred-mile estuary! To cultivate Sand Eye City's valley, extensive reservoirs must be built, also entailing developing the northern Great Sand River plain... Yet if the entire vast floodplain of Great Sand River stretching two to three hundred miles were cultivated, it could potentially support a million population!" 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

Upstream in the East, what Tecos refer to as the "Great Sand River" is the large "Great Santiago River" (Grande de Santiago). The "Sand River" in Sand Eye City's valley is the Molina River, a tributary to the Great Santiago River in later periods. As for the main body of the Great River, further north of Sand Eye City, it carves out a vast, lush flooded plain, a tribal hunting ground yet to be developed...

This Great Sand River basin stretches from Sand Eye City to the northern Torpan Tribe. Spanning three hundred miles north to south, with immense agricultural potential, akin to Apa Plain, becoming a renowned granary of future Mexico! The basin holds abundant water, suitable for rice cultivation, with latitude near the Pearl River Delta. However, in this era, lack of development is due to the immense manpower and resources required for managing water resources and defending against Canine Descendants, far exceeding the abilities of local Tecos City-States. Northern Tecos tribes' agricultural levels and productivity are extremely limited, long-engaged in internal conflict and strife. This fertile land, the second Apa Plain, remains unexploited till now...