The conquerors of the Norman Empire were presented with a great empire in decline. In its heyday, it would definitely have a population of more than 50 million. Now I'm afraid there are less than 10 million left. And people are terrified. The most terrible thing is that during this time period, the external enemy launched an aggression against them.

In the north of Central America, on the vast plains of the Americas. The Chichimec and Apache hunted bison formed a large army. Attack on Aztec territory. Their warriors smeared their bodies with brownish-red dye. Wear animal skins or thatched clothing. Wear feathers as decorations. Armed with stone spears, battle axes and bows and arrows. Some of these elite warriors were armed with rudimentary armor woven with rattan.

Despite this, these people are poorly armed and undisciplined. But there are too many of them to count. According to the Aztec border sentinels, more than 200,000 tribes of Chichimeks and Apaches, totaling more than 200,000 troops, marched south, burning, killing and looting. Almost unstoppable.

This made General Walter very strange. No matter how nice it sounds in the future, primitive tribes are primitive tribes. Even if they belong to the same clan, they will kill each other. The system of primitive tribes was more backward than that of feudalism, and the weakness of cohesion and mobilization was almost negligible. In such a situation. The other party is able to gather thousands of tribes and hundreds of thousands of armies. What kind of thing is this? It's unimaginable.

And for the ill-fated Aztec Empire. The attack of the northern barbarians was not the deadliest—the deadliest was the rebellion of the southern part of the empire, the people that had been conquered and replaced by the empire.

The Maya, a powerful people who had once gained hegemony in Mesoamerica, raised the banner of rebellion at a time when the Aztecs were at their weakest. Armed as fast as they could, they rebuilt their cities, fortresses and temples. Expelled officials from the Aztec Empire. And kill the Aztec troops stationed there. Because of their remote location, they were not so affected by the plague, which guaranteed their manpower.

A total of 50,000 elite Mayan troops, armed with obsidian clubs, obsidian spears, spears and bows, as well as heavy cotton armor, began their march north. Their goal was the capital of the Aztecs, Tenochtiran, a megacity with a population of more than half a million in its heyday.

In this way, there was a terrible plague and rebellion inside, and a large number of barbarians (for the relatively civilized Aztecs who had entered the era of slave empires, the Chichimeks and Apachis, who were still in the primitive tribal era, were indeed barbarians) invaded. In such a critical situation, the Aztec emperor Montezuma II was old and deaf and bedridden.

No matter how you look at it, the Aztec Empire is dead. Kuytrahuak, now in power over the Aztecs, the leader of the Jaguar warriors and the nephew of Montezuma II, was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan. Because of the high-pressure rule of the Aztec Empire, it is usually fine. But something really happened, and the inhabitants of various regions were unwilling to continue their allegiance to them. Only the inhabitants of Tenochtilan with vested interests can be relied upon.

He sent emissaries and tried to persuade the inhabitants of other cities to provide him with troops and supplies. But in the end, there are very few people who correspond. At this moment, the vast majority of the Aztec nobility were in a state of semi-readability. Sit back and watch the Emperor who had once weighed on their heads, and Tenochtilan in danger, completely ignoring their lives or deaths.

So, eventually. Kuytrahuak, received only an army of less than 30,000 men. Although he equipped his army with the best equipment he could get his hands on, axes, swords, and bows of steel obtained through trade with the Normans. However, the Mayan army, which was nearly twice as numerous as his army, was not always able to win. And in the face of those hundreds of thousands of northern natives. He didn't even have the courage to fight.

It was at this time that the Normans came. Originally, Kuytrahuak didn't want to deal with these pretending to be ghosts. He was not like his stupid uncle, unsuspecting the Normans. On the contrary, he was not just wary of these people. To some extent, he even saw these people as the Empire's worst enemies. He often said to his men and friends:

"If one day, the Aztecs really can't survive. Then the reason must be because of those Normans. ”

In a sense, he was right when he said that there would have been no great plague without the arrival of the Normans. The strength of the Aztecs will not be weakened. The Mayans would not start a rebellion, and the barbarians of the north would be crushed by the armies of the Empire.

Of course, these things are unknown to this native. He was no different from the average Aztec of this era. It is also common to associate the evil surname infectious disease with heavenly punishment and the like. The relationship between the Normans and this plague was completely unexpected. And the low-ranking sailors and sailors among the Normans, naturally, did not understand either. And a well-informed businessman or official. Even if they knew, they would never have told these poor Aztecs.

So Kuytrahuak was not brilliant and prescient. It's just that the intuition is sharp and accurate.

I heard that the empire was in such an emergency, but the Normans still came here slowly to do business. Kuytrahuak felt depressed. I just left my subordinates alone and ignored them. But I heard the subordinate say something again. He really paid attention to it—that subordinate said. This time, it was not only Norman merchants who came to the empire, but also a large number of samurai. The person who went to inquire about the news said. The number of these samurai was in the tens of thousands. Hundreds of warships were on board.

Hearing about this, Kuytrahuak was surprised. Then he asked, "What do these Norman warriors want to do here?, do they want to be our enemies too?"

Although there was a lot of wariness of the Normans. But he also knew that these Normans did have some technology that was like gods to them. Those huge fortress-like battleships. The most perfect obsidian swords can't match the steel weapons. There are also those full-body armor that can be called invulnerable, and creatures that are much faster than humans can run, and what the Normans call "horses". Especially the kind of black powder that can explode, almost blowing up the palace in one fell swoop......

Although he didn't want to admit it, Kuytrahuak knew. These Normans were extremely strong in combat. Even the sailors, pirate crews, and caravan guards who weren't regular were organized much better than the Jaguar warriors he was proud of. Not to mention the legendary conquest of countless cities, the professional army of the country, the army of the terrifying Emperor Egil.

So, although intelligence showed that these Norman armies were smaller than the barbarians of the north and the rebellious Mayans. But Kuytrahuak didn't want to underestimate them.

"Send messengers at once and ask them what they are trying to do? Remember, try to be as kind as possible. Don't them off!"

Soon, the crown prince of the Aztec Empire gave the order. The messenger galloped away, offering as gifts a large number of feathers, the finest cotton textiles, and gold and silver vessels. He was summoned by General Walter.

After seeing General Walter, a kind-faced man, the messenger still did not dare to be careless. Respectfully inquired about General Walter's intentions.

And General Walter is also worthy of being a top talent adjusted by the system. After a while, he laughed, and said what he had just thought about as if it were the real thing: "It's because the lord has heard that the situation in your country is unstable. So there is a fear that something will happen to the empire's plantations here. Therefore I was sent to lead an army to guard our inheritance. ”

The plantation that General Walter refers to is the Daxing Manor run by the Normans and produced using Aztec manpower. There is a large amount of cane sugar, spices and cocoa produced. Transport back to the Empire. The Aztecs could also see the importance that the Normans attached to these estates. So General Walter's reason sounds very reasonable.

After receiving such an answer, the messenger made a few more polite remarks. After that, I went back to report the situation. Kuytrahuak thought about it for a moment after hearing about it. Indeed, after the empire fell into chaos, the Normans themselves were responsible for the safety of several plantations on the coast. With their small forces, they repelled many mob attacks. However, the next opponent is likely to be the Mayans, who have a regular professional army. These Norman irregular armies were not necessarily sufficient. Because of this matter, it is understandable that troops were sent to arrive.

Although that is to say. But Kuytrahuak still found it odd. It's just that the current situation doesn't allow him to think too much. So he gave his men an order: "Keep an eye on these Normans." Report to me immediately if there is any situation. After that, I went to work on other things. In recent times, several more cities in the north have been lost. The barbarians are getting closer and closer to Tenochtilan...... Whether to take the initiative to fight or to hold the city, people are still debating. There's a lot to be busy.

One reason is tellable, and another is unspeakable—that Kuytrahuak is impossible, even if he wanted to deal with the Normans. A ruined Aztec empire simply can't provide enough power......

(To be continued)