February 1519 was the year of the "first reed" in the Aztec calendar.

The city of Tenochtitlan, in the middle of Lake Texcoco, has a new morning.

The great sun god Vecchilopochtli once again shone his light on his subjects, the Aztecs who had led him to the island in the middle of the lake and founded the city of Tenochtitlan.

The tenth emperor of the Aztec Empire, Montezuma II, stood on the balcony on the top floor of the palace, overlooking the great city at his feet.

-- Bustling markets, criss-crossing canals, rows of stone palaces, lush courtyards and flower beds...... Everywhere there are majestic towers and temples, some built on land and others in the water.

Although it has suffered many disasters, the city is still so beautiful and majestic, thank God for blessing this land!

To thank the gods for their blessings, the Aztecs would sacrifice thousands of people each year to satisfy the gods' appetites.

Surrounded by the guards, Montezuma lifted the curtain made of reed mats and stepped out of the palace on a high platform, the houses of the nobles of Tenochtitlan, built on high pedestals, in the most prosperous part of the city, many of which were decorated with colorful patterns. However, these houses generally have no windows, and the door openings are only covered by simple curtains. Even the lavish palaces of Montezuma had only this kind of curtain nailed to the door openings in place of the door leaves - and then, with the full honor of the emperor, they came to the square where the Great Pyramid was located, ready to begin the ritual sacrifice.

However, the few spectators in the square, and their lack of pious expressions, made the emperor frown.

Moreover, after seeing the Emperor's guard of honor, the citizens continued to gossip casually, and even threw rude glances at him, which made Emperor Montezuma II feel very unhappy in his heart, but the serious expression on his face remained unchanged, and he simply went straight to the throne and sat down.

Then, to the beat of drums, the Aztec warriors escorted the sacrifices, young men from various Mexican towns, to the square in front of the pyramids. The sacrifices, who had taken the narcotic drugs in advance, waited for death with cold and quiet expressions.

An old priest brought a jade basin filled with blood and respectfully brought it to Montezuma. The emperor skillfully put his fingers into the basin and wiped it on his forehead, and immediately there was a blinding blood red.

The old priest then sprinkled the remaining blood on the stone tablet vigorously, while another young priest vigorously struck the human skin drum to announce the beginning of the sacrifice.

-- Four powerful red-robed priests grabbed the dead limbs of the living sacrifice and lifted him up to the sacrificial stone, while the other priest of the highest rank raised a beautifully polished obsidian dagger, slashed the chest of the sacrifice, and then grabbed out the beating heart with his hands, held it high and showed it to the people, and then placed it in front of a hideous idol with a reverent expression.

The rest of the priests also took their own knives and unloaded the living sacrifice that was still twitching, and then threw the bones from the top of the pyramid, and the viscous blood flowed slowly along the steps of the pyramid.

The people around the square let out a cheer of excitement, and the priests began to slaughter the next human sacrifice with their knives.

However, Emperor Montezuma II, who was perched on the throne, frowned with great dissatisfaction.

Too little! This is too little human sacrifice!

With only a dozen ordinary farmers of low status, not even a prince or general, how could the bloodthirsty gods stop being thirsty? …,

Montezuma couldn't help but think back to the sacrifice of his predecessor, the great Emperor Avisoto, who had taken out 20,000 living human hearts...... On the day of the end of the sacrifice, when the sun sets, not only are all the steps of the Great Pyramid covered with severed limbs, but the square is also covered with rivers of blood, and even people's ankles can be drowned in the low-lying areas!

The sun god must have been very satisfied with this sacrifice, which cost more than 20,000 lives, so he blessed the Avisoto Emperor with one brilliant victory after another, allowing the Aztec Empire to continue to expand its territory and truly become the overlord of Mexico.

But what about your turn? There were only a dozen or so living sacrifices this time, and with the blood they let out, I am afraid that even the top of the pyramid would not be enough to dye red!

But this is also something that cannot be helped, since the defeat of the Tlaxcalans four years ago, the Aztec army in Tenochtitlan has not won a decent battle for a long time, and recently it has been completely paralyzed, playing a strike with him, the emperor!

There is no victory without armies, no captives without captives, no human sacrifices to the gods...... Moreover, as the Imperial army was paralyzed by civil war, the city-states around Lake Texcoco became increasingly disobedient, refusing to pay for food, cotton, and human sacrifice. This year, in particular, less than a third of the towns are still paying tribute according to the prescribed amount, and the rest of the towns are either looking for various excuses to default and discount, or simply turn away the tax collectors of the empire, seemingly completely forgetting the fears that the Aztec army once brought them...... What a bunch of crazy clowns!

Alas, how did the warriors of Tenochtitlan not understand that it was their birthright to fight for the Aztec gods and capture captives! It is also their honor to be able to serve the gods! The tribute sent from the vassal states to the Aztec Empire was a tribute to the gods, and naturally should be enjoyed by the priests who served the gods. As for the samurai...... You have all been blessed by the gods, don't you dare to be enough?

Don't be greedy anymore! Aztec warriors! Otherwise, the gods will rain down thunder and wrath on you!

- Although Montezuma II was also a strong and warlike soldier, he always considered himself first and foremost a priest, a noble priest who served the god of war and the god of the sun, the Aztec patron saint, Vecchilopochtli.

So, in the class struggle between the samurai and the priests that was now breaking out within the Aztec Empire, he stood firmly on the side of the noble priests and refused to make any compromises to the samurai, thus making the samurai deeply feel a wound called betrayal.

In later historical records, Montezuma II was called emperor, but his official position should be "military chieftain", or "generalissimo", similar to Caesar, Sulla, and Augustus in ancient Rome, all of whom were hereditary rulers dressed in a republican cloak - each Aztec emperor had three titles: military chieftain, chancellor, and high priest, representing the three powers of military, judicial, and religious, and the three together were emperors. As for the day-to-day government affairs such as finances and projects, the House of Elders is responsible for taking care of them, and the emperor cannot interfere excessively.

But the difference is that most of the Aztec emperors regarded military chieftains as their own vocation, and the remaining titles of chancellor and high priest were part-time; Montezuma II, on the other hand, seems to think that he should be the first high priest, and the other two titles are part-time......

Therefore, the status of the Aztec emperor is actually similar to that of Zhang Zuolin, Wu Peifu, Yan Xishan and other "marshals" in the Republic of China, they should first be a warlord, their power fundamentally comes from the army in their hands, once they lose the support of the army, it is equivalent to the collapse of the throne. …,

However, in this crucial class struggle, Montezuma II completely betrayed the interests of the soldiers, and naturally caused himself to be abandoned by the army, thus losing the basis of his power. It's just that with his prestige in power for many years, he can barely hold the field for the time being.

And the civil war in Texcoco City has been fought endlessly so far. The king of Kakama, whom he supported, had done his best, but was never able to achieve a decisive victory due to a lack of troops, and Montezuma was naturally unable to withdraw his personal guard from there.

In recent months, with the general uproar and paralysis of the Imperial army, all kinds of ominous signs have been pouring in: the lake around the city of Tenochtitlan has set off huge waves, and the lake is boiling and gushing out a large number of bubbles, which have swept many of the neighboring houses into the water; A strange fissure appeared above the forest to the east, like a burning wound, and as if it were a drop of flame, shining the sky like dawn; Next, a small force that had withdrawn from the battlefield of Texcoco encountered a landslide on the way, and all of them were buried under the earth and rocks......

In the emperor's eyes, all of these ominous signs were manifestations of the wrath of the gods.

What's worse is that, according to the Aztec calendar, the "Great Cycle" that reincarnates every 52 years will reach the end of the year again.

According to mythological prophecies, at the end of each "Great Cycle", the Aztec tribal god Quezlkoatl, who was defeated and expelled by the god of war and the sun god Vecchilopochtli, would attempt to return from the sea in the east. However, since the previous "Great Cycles" were uneventful, the Aztecs gradually forgot about this dangerous prophecy.

However, since previous years, the eastern coast inhabited by the Totonacs has been inhabited by strange rumors, such as giant wooden fortresses that can float on the surface of the sea, terrifying weapons that can shoot stones, spews of lightning and fire, hornless giant deer (war horses) that can be ridden, and white-skinned Inhumans who possess all this...... Montezuma had divined these things with the wisest priests in the country, but the answer he received made him shudder: "...... The white-skinned Quetzalcoatl is returning from the East, and he's trying to reclaim everything that once belonged to him! ”

In Aztec mythology, the Quetzalcoatl god Quezl Keyatl, who held the priesthood of wisdom, was the ruler of Mesoamerica in ancient times, but was unfortunately defeated by the god of war Vecchilopochtli and was forced to flee in hatred and disappear into the eastern sea. However, before leaving, Quetzalcoatl made a vow to his followers: "When the first reed grows, he will return with his army again!" ”

According to the Aztec calendar, this date is exactly 1519, which is this year.

Of course, the Aztecs, who relied on blood and fire to conquer Mexico, were never a cowardly people, and even the returning Quetzalcoatl could not be easily submitted. Only the most brutal violence can make them bow their proud heads.

According to the emperor's idea, if the other party really wants to invade his empire, then he hopes to be able to defeat these "messengers of Quetzalcoatl" in the war, and send these white-skinned "gods" to the pyramid sacrifice, so as to please the god of war he serves, Vecchilopochtli.

But the problem was that Emperor Montezuma II was now at his weakest moment on the throne - the regular army was on strike en masse, the personal guard was mired in the allied civil war, and he could not draw even a decent army except a few hundred cronies in the palace!

In this embarrassing situation where the whole country is paralyzed and there are no soldiers available, how can he stop the "returning Quetzalcoatl"?