After getting used to the cold wind outside the sleeping bags, the traversers slowly walked to the cliff on the shore of the lake.

The higher you go, the stronger the wind. Bursts of cool and swishing cold wind, carrying the water vapor on the surface of the lake, make the dense bamboo forest growing on this highland, like a sea of green grass, continue to fluctuate with the air current, making a pleasant rustling sound.

On the opposite side of this cliff is the city of Tenochtitlan, which rises at the bottom of the valley and in the middle of the lake.

Even across a vast expanse of water, you can see that this is quite a magnificent city.

The city of Tenochtitlan, the capital of the Aztec Empire, was built on an island in the middle of the lake, which was very low-lying and flat, or very close to the waterline, with little uplifted hills to be seen, like sandbanks exposed at low tide by the sea.

After nearly two centuries of construction and development since the Aztecs built the city in 1325, the entire island has been completely urbanized, and there are no longer large tracts of farmland, but dense buildings like a chessboard. Except for the reeds on the shallows around the island, and the green gardens next to the palaces, there are almost no gaps in the red and white stone buildings as far as the eye can see.

Three 10-meter-wide embankments connect the urbanized island to the shores of the lake, and the embankments are bustling with business travelers. Because the water quality of Lake Texcoco was not very suitable for drinking, the Aztecs also built giant aqueducts with high-quality materials such as alabaster along two of the causeways, so that the city's 250,000 inhabitants could supply the city's 250,000 inhabitants with pure snow melt from the surrounding mountains.

In the center of the city of Tenochtitlan is a very huge square, located at the intersection of two wide avenues; Next to the square, there are three tall and magnificent pyramids, like ancient skyscrapers, at least hundreds of meters high; There are several other white flat-roofed palaces, also several stories high, with a solemn appearance, and rows of straight stone pillars under the eaves, which look a lot like ancient Greek temples.

In addition to the three large pyramids next to the square, there are also small pyramids that can be seen throughout the island. However, it is only around the central square that the buildings are extraordinarily grandiose, with bright colors and quite beautiful garden greenery.

The closer you get to the outskirts of the city, the more cluttered, low, and crowded the buildings become, even interspersed with thatched huts - the city of Tenochtitlan, like most cities in antiquity, is surrounded by a large area of low, dilapidated slums surrounded by magnificent temples and palaces.

Because the city is located in the water, it is very low-lying, so the city is densely packed with waterways, divided into many different neighborhoods by cobweb-like canals, and many homes have small docks in their backyards. Through high-powered telescopes, you can see countless Aztecs rowing canoes and rafts, carrying large baskets of corn, fresh vegetables, and beautiful flowers, as they move to and fro in the city's canals.

“…… Boats, canals, water cities, ......" Wang Qiu muttered quietly while filming the distant city of Tenochtitlan with a digital camera equipped with a long-distance special wide-angle lens, "...... Should I say, is this the Venice of the Americas? ”

“…… Oh? The Venice of the Americas? Don't you weishenme say that it is the Shaoxing of the New World? Professor Yang put down the binoculars and said casually.

“…… Hehe, Professor Yang, you probably haven't been to Shaoxing in recent years! Today's Shaoxing is no longer a water city. A few years ago, Shaoxing City carried out the reconstruction of the old city and wanted to widen the road, because the land requisition fee for the demolition households was too expensive, so in order to save money, it directly filled the river to build the road...... As a result, in the current urban area of Shaoxing, except for a few tourist attractions, there are no longer any canopy boats and canals written by Lu Xun! ”…,

“…… But it is still different from Venice - it is a highland inland lake at an altitude of 2,250 meters, and there is no outlet to the sea at all. ”

Professor Yang wiped the lens of the telescope with a flannel cloth and said with a sigh, "...... The Romans relied on water transport from the Mediterranean to deploy their forces, and were able to build a vast empire spanning three continents: Europe, Asia and Africa. The Aztecs, on the other hand, had their roots in this lake, but were besieged by mountains near this small Mexican valley. Even if you hit out a few times once in a while, you can't hold the occupation steadily...... After all, the horizon is still too small! ”

“…… Rome wasn't built in a day either, Professor. From the legendary wolf twins who founded the city of Rome to the era when Caesar and Octavian founded the Roman Empire and unified the Mediterranean, there was a gap of 700 years!

The Aztec Empire, on the other hand, was too young, and even since 1325, when the city of Tenochtitlan was founded, it has only been more than 190 years since the empire developed from a primitive tribal state. And in such a short period of time, they have built the city of Tenochtitlan from a desert island into the largest metropolis in the whole of America...... This kind of development is almost catching up with Hong Kong and Shanghai......"

As Wang Qiu spoke, he pointed the camera farther away—behind the city of Tenochtitlan, on the west side of the turquoise lake, there were other smaller cities scattered along the shore of the lake like pearls, guarding the city of Tenochtitlan. One of these cities is Texcoco, which bears the same name as this lake, and there is also a city called Tracopan. The two cities entered into the Triple Alliance with the city of Tenochtitlan in 1427, which established the mighty Aztec Empire.

In fact, each of these three cities had its own king, each with its own subordinate city-states, and it should be regarded as three independent states, which never formed a true empire. The so-called Aztec Emperor Montezuma II, in fact, his real position was only the lord of the city of Tenochtitlan. But because the shili of Tenochtitlan is the strongest, he is the leader of the "Triple Alliance", and then relies on the soldiers of the Three Kingdoms to dominate Mexico...... For example, Emperor Montezuma is the president of the United States, and Texcoco and Tracopan are the other members of NATO. Only in times of war can the "President of the United States" use the "NATO coalition forces," and in peacetime it is very difficult to meddle in the internal affairs of the allies.

On the other hand, only the inhabitants of these three cities can be considered true Aztecs. As for the rest of the towns in the Valley of Mexico, they were nothing more than conquered subjects and were not entitled to "national treatment". Emperor Montezuma never considered them compatriots, and they never considered themselves Aztecs. (On the island of Tenochtitlan, there is actually another city, Tretileko.) But later, as the city grew and the population increased, buildings filled the entire island, and the two cities were connected together, and it became a big city. ）

Beyond this 10,000-square-kilometer island, lake, and lakeside plain, in either direction, there are towering mountains that stretch into the sky, forming a huge natural wall, blocking this rich country and separating it from the outside.

Although, the Aztec Empire army, which was in its heyday, had repeatedly broken through this natural barrier and launched expeditions against the vast Shijie outside. But in the final analysis, it is only this rich valley that is their true home.

However, this seemingly invincible and powerful empire has actually entered the countdown to destruction.