On the Great Pyramid of Tenochtitlan, as usual, a bloody human sacrifice is taking place

In the smoke of the curling smoke, the priests in fine clothes puffed out their cheeks and blew the horns of bones, sweated and beat the human skin drums, and shook the brass bells madly...... All kinds of noisy music, singing, and chanting, sometimes loud, sometimes thick, sometimes thin, like the sorrow of a crow, and like a mouse grinding its teeth, with the dazzling blood spilled on the stone platform, made the atmosphere of the festival more tense and terrifying......

“…… Yes! Invincible Vecchilopochelli, invincible Lord of Hosts! Master of all the kings of the earth! Bring down your boundless power, bless your loyal people, and burn all your enemies to ashes......"

The red-robed Aztec priest shouted the name of the Aztec patron saint, the god of war, Vecchilopochelli, and then slashed open the chest of the living sacrifice, removed the beating heart, and smeared the blood on the hideous idol to please the bloodthirsty god.

At the same time, dozens of shrine maidens who had consumed the psychedelic poisonous mushroom powder also gathered around the altar filled with spices and blood, dancing naked and frantically to the beat of the music, making all kinds of bizarre exaggerated, crazy, hysterical gestures and movements, like the heavy metal rockers or mental patients of later generations...... In this way, he sought the metaphor of the gods.

However, in the face of the hard work of these priests, Emperor Montezuma, who was sitting under the feather umbrella, rolled his eyes.

The priests in the city have been tossing and turning for more than ten days to curse the enemy like this, but they have not seen any effect so far.

- Since the army of Tenochtitlan was still in a state of paralysis and strike, and the labor dispute was intensifying, and it was impossible to fight the foreign enemy, so after learning the bad news of the alliance between the Spaniards and the old enemies Tlaxcala, the Emperor Montezuma had to hope for the supernatural Liliang.

He first sent a few priests who claimed to be good at cursing to Tlaxcala with a group of emissaries to see if they could secretly cast a spell to kill the Spaniards. The gang set out from the city with confidence, and then came back in a gloomy way and told him that the white man's skin was too thick for evil to penetrate, so they had to temporarily change their spell and curse the Spaniards for getting lost on the journey to Tenochtitlan......

Even if the Emperor of Montezuma was devout in his belief in the gods, he knew that the priests' rhetoric was completely unreliable - from the city of Tenochtitlan to the territory of the Tlaxcala, it was the most densely populated place in the entire Aztec Empire, and there were villages everywhere where you could ask for directions, and there were all kinds of eye-catching road signs, caravans coming and going, not to mention the native-born Tlaxcala people to show them the way...... If the Spaniards can still be disoriented in this situation, then it can only be said that they are all deaf and blind.

(Historically, these Aztec priests cursed the road to Tenochtitlan by piling up a lot of felled trees and digging a few trenches to cut off the road, which looked a bit like a field fortification, or a private checkpoint in the Chinese countryside that collected tolls, but left no soldiers and horses to garrison.) As a result, before the Spaniards arrived, these obstacles had been removed by the natives who had seen it inexplicably...... ）

And the information that the diplomatic envoys had snooped out of the Spaniards was beyond Montezuma's comprehension, and he was confused.

- First of all, there were no horses in the Americas at this time, so the Indians of all ethnic groups were generally afraid of the Spanish war horses. Since they had never seen horses as animals, they described horses and cavalry in a very strange way, similar to Godzilla in the eyes of modern people. …,

As a result, Montezuma II, who was waiting for news in the rear, got such a military intelligence report that I didn't know how to complain:

“…… These "giant hornless stags" have small bells around their necks that make a loud noise when they run fast...... They often snort and growl...... They sweat easily...... During the run, its nose produces a large amount of foam, and it falls to the ground like agave soap (the Aztecs are recorded to have used this plant to make soap)...... As they gallop, they make a sound like thunder, and the sound of stones falling to the ground like drops...... As they pass by the road, they leave a lot of small potholes in the ground, and it seems that wherever their hooves tread, they will crack......"

Next, the muskets and artillery of the Spaniards brought an even greater shock to these Stone Age people.

“…… Inside the cylindrical metal tube, there are liliang of the god of thunder and fire...... When whites used this weapon, everyone was in a panic. People fled for no purpose, as if they had eaten poisonous mushrooms or seen ghosts. They could not overcome this fear, and when night came, the atmosphere of terror would permeate the entire village, and almost everyone could not sleep......"

Fortunately, these whites are not many in number, and they are expected to be able to deal with them under normal circumstances...... It's a pity that the Aztec Empire is not normal at all, and the powerful imperial army is partly rebelling, partly on strike, and partly watching from the sidelines, and is generally paralyzed. Emperor Montezuma's power had been greatly reduced and he was unable to assemble a reliable and powerful army to stop the Spaniards on the eastern seaboard.

After the arrival of the Spaniards, the Emperor of Montezuma also tried to persuade the warriors of Tenochtitlan to stop the strike, withdraw their power claims, and restore unity and unity on the grounds of an approaching external threat, but the result was very successful - the priests and warriors still did not give in to each other, the priests of Tenochtitlan were resolutely unwilling to give up any political power and economic interests, and the warriors of Tenochtitlan were not willing to toss and turn for nothing. The excessive favoritism of the Emperor Montezuma towards the priests made the warriors feel even more disappointed and resentful. At least until the enemy reaches the outside of Tenochtitlan, there is no need to expect them to have any enthusiasm to fight.

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In fact, long before the Spanish landed, the Aztec Empire was already showing signs of collapse.

Although the Aztecs were a bloodthirsty warlike people, their conquests were more political, and if other tribes submitted to them, the Aztecs generally demanded only suzerainty and tribute, and did not send officials to replace the original chieftains, nor did they have garrisons to oversee them.

This strategy allowed the Aztecs to concentrate their forces and expand rapidly, nearly unifying Mexico within a century. However, because it did not break the original local ruling system, the control of the central government was extremely poor, and the conquered areas were always in rebellion. Any serious military defeat could trigger a chain reaction within this "large and fragile" empire, leading to a fire throughout the empire.

During the first decade of his reign, Emperor Montezuma II doubled the size of the Aztec Empire through a series of successful expeditions, reaching its peak at its peak. But four years ago, he suffered an unprecedented defeat against the Tlaxcala, but he almost lost the territory he had previously opened up with his own hands - the most elite Aztec warriors lost tens of thousands, the newly conquered subjects no longer paid tribute, and the territory of the Aztec Empire suddenly shrank back to a territory that was worse than before Montezuma II's accession to the throne, that is, the Lake Turkco region of the Valley of Mexico, plus a narrow strip of land along the Gulf Coast. …,

After the army of Tenochtitlan mutinied, and after the rebellion and civil war broke out in Texcoco, even the iron triangle that made up the Aztec Empire collapsed by half, and the valley of Mexico, which was the core of the rule, was no longer stable - many oppressed and evil vassal states on the shores of Lake Texcoco were all happy to watch thousands of Aztec troops kill each other, and from time to time secretly provide some material support to the rebels who were in a disadvantage, so that this civil war could continue endlessly, It also allowed the Aztecs to bleed endlessly.

In this state of complete paralysis of the war machine, the Aztec Empire relied almost on inertia to maintain its rule, completely unable to withstand any blows.

Therefore, when the Spaniards attacked the city of Chorula, the Emperor of Montezuma could not draw troops to come to the rescue.

With the fall of the second largest city in the Mexican Plateau, the weakness of the Aztec Empire was completely exposed to the world, triggering the covetousness of countless careerists and the shaking of more vassals.

For the anxious Emperor Montezuma, the previous hundreds of whites and thousands of Tlaxcala warriors were enough to give him a headache, but Kuohetmok, who had been ordered to send an envoy before, actually thought that his life was too easy, and brought him another 10,000 expeditionary troops of the Kingdom of Hongshutizgan!

And this is still an army led by a foreign god himself, also equipped with various magical weapons!

What's even worse is that these three liliang forces actually converged in Cholula City, and continued to advance towards Tenochtitlan City!

O gods of heaven! Are you going to throw all your bad luck together and throw it all at the unfortunate Aztecs?

If the Tlaxcalas had received the news and had mobilized all their forces to join up with the expeditionary force of the Kingdom of Hunsutizgan and join forces with the Imperial rebels in the city of Texcoco, then Montezuma would have to face a siege of about 50,000 enemy troops on the outskirts of the capital!

His obedient private army consisted of only 4,000 men, and he was exhausted from fighting the rebels in Texcoco for many days.

Even if the warriors of Tenochtitlan were able to give up the dispute when the enemy was approaching the city, and unite with the outside world, Montezuma would only be able to muster a maximum of 60,000 men, and the strength of the army was only equal to that of the opponent, and the combat effectiveness was probably inferior...... After all, it has been a few years since I trained properly.

As for the other two core components of the Empire, the city of Texcoco has rebelled, while the city of Tracopan will only sit on the sidelines until the situation is settled. And the rest of the vassals who were brutally exploited were loyal if they did not take the initiative to rebel and join the enemy.

As the ruler of a large empire, Montezuma II was politically mature, and he knew that most of the city-states and tribes in the Valley of Mexico were angry at the Aztecs' oppressive rule, and were always waiting for the right moment to make a move.

Now, with the city of Chorula changing hands, the authority of the Aztec Empire has been greatly questioned. If the Aztecs suffered another serious military defeat, the crater, which had been suppressed by the Aztec army for a long time, would erupt in an instant, shattering the entire empire to pieces.

On top of that, a protracted and severe drought has made this year's maize harvest extremely poor. The cessation of tribute by many of the vassal states left the granaries of Tenochtitlan empty, and famine could break out at any time...... This meant that the Aztec Empire could not afford to fight a protracted war.

Thinking of this, Emperor Montezuma, who was almost nervously broken, couldn't help but press his temples a few times, and then made a difficult decision.

“…… Kuauchtmok, your self-assertion this time has plunged our country into an unprecedented terrible danger! ”…,

He summoned Kuauchtmok, who was at home, and as soon as he opened his mouth, he rebuked mercilessly, "...... By your foolish invitation without much thought, the army of the Honshutizgans entered the valley justifiably, and then rushed to the city of Chorula, where they met our other old enemies, the Tlaxcalas, and the whites who had landed from the eastern coast...... In a few days at most, they will be outside Tenochtitlan! ”

“…… I'm really sorry, but I am to blame for not thinking it through. "Kuohtmok sweated like rain for a while, kowtowing like pounding garlic," ...... But, according to what I have heard, didn't they fight a battle in the city of Chorula? Why are they united again now? ”

“…… The whites and the Tlaxcalans have also fought before, and after that, they have not concluded an alliance with the intention of dealing with us together? ”

Emperor Montezuma glanced at him, "...... Your message is out of date, Kuauchtmok! After the initial conflict, they quickly reconciled! Now the coalition has left the city of Chorula and is approaching the city of Tenochtitlan! ”

Silently pondering the contrast between the various parties near the city of Tenochtitlan, Kuauchtmok quickly turned pale, "...... So, we're about to be besieged by several enemies? ”

“…… That's right! The Tlaxcala, the Honshuitizgans, the rebels of the city of Texcoco, plus the whites from the sea in the East...... The current city of Tenochtitlan is really not sure to fight against so many enemies at the same time! Alas, even if we were able to defeat them in the end, we would pay a heavy loss that we could not afford, and our rule over the surrounding city-states would collapse completely, and the hegemony of hundreds of years would collapse forever! ”

Emperor Montezuma wrenched his fingers one by one, and then sighed helplessly, "...... So, for now, I can only use diplomacy to defuse this crisis! No amount of concessions can be made, but these enemies will not be truly united!

Kuauchtmok, since you have invited these Honshutizgans, it is up to you to receive them and lead them into the city of Tenochtitlan! I command you to immediately put on your most splendid costumes, take the guard of honour reserved for diplomatic envoys, and make a trip to the camp of the enemy coalition forces, and invite them peacefully into the city for talks, and I will give them a grand welcome with the gift of a friendly nation! ”