Aztec Eternals

The sky is near dusk, the waves reflect the red sun, and the capital city in the lake shines in the rays of the sun, like a magnificent painting of the Lord God. The expansion of the Great Temple Pyramid is coming to an end.

Gillim was wearing a plain robe and a dark cloak, and with a few guards, he walked all the way to the palace. Although he has become a "female snake" and is the most important advisor to the king of the alliance, he still lives a simple life and has a low-key style.

Having been engaged in intelligence work for many years, he has long been accustomed to keeping his personal presence to a minimum at any time. At this moment, he was walking on the bustling streets of the capital city, stepping on the shadow of the dusk, just like walking in an open field. No one noticed his existence, and no one recognized his identity.

The chief intelligence officer walked through the prosperous market, silently looking at the merchants who came and went, observing each other's clothing, expressions and movements. The New Year's celebrations in mid-January have long since ended, and the tribute messengers from all the states have returned, but merchants from all over the world are still staying in the capital.

With the prosperity of the Mexica Union, the wealth of the world has come together. The great nobles have enough financial resources to splurge, which will give birth to prosperous commerce. The alliance itself produced a lot of obsidian, gold and silver, salt, grain, cotton cloth and spices, and the Sifang tribes paid tribute to furs, tobacco, feathers, shells, rouge, jade, gold and silver ornaments.

Copper materials from the Western Kingdom and the Wetamo Mountains are monopolized by the Central Union, and are given priority to military production. Only businessmen with an official background can trade in small amounts and make huge profits. The fireworks of the artisan camp continued day and night, and a large number of copper tin materials were forged into sharp copper spears, armor-piercing copper arrows, and sturdy bronze cloth armor.

With the popularity of bronze weapons, the control of obsidian was gradually relaxed. The obsidian produced by the alliance has become a valuable commodity that merchants from various countries will definitely purchase. For the needs of blood sacrifice, all the ministries in the world go to war every day. Even the distant Zapotec people are also conquering the Mayan tribes in the eastern rainforest every year. In the world of Central America, the black sapphire stone, which can be used as a weapon and has religious significance, is the same hard currency as cocoa beans.

"Why are there so many gems in the Western Lake Kingdom?"

The chief intelligence officer cast a scrutiny glance at Prepecha's gem shop.

In just a moment, a huge amount of gemstone trade has been completed. A Mayan merchant with a slender head took out tens of thousands of catties of grain and hundreds of rolls of cloth, and exchanged two bamboo baskets for gems of various colors. The merchants on both sides were all beaming with joy, and the tax collector who was witnessing beside him was also beaming.

The number of gems produced in the Kingdom of the Lake is too large, and the quality is extremely stable, and even the price of gems in the whole world has dropped by several percent. Now, only the Mayan merchants who mastered coastal trade are left with the ability to purchase gems in large quantities.

The chief intelligence officer knew that the Mayan merchants purchased high-quality Prepecha gems in large quantities, not selling them locally, but shipping them east to the seaside. They go out to sea on Mayan galleys, trade with countless island tribes in the sea, and use Prepecha gems to buy cheap tobacco, spices, cotton cloth and grain, and even get ten times the profit!

At this moment, Prepecha's gems may have spread to the end of the world, becoming the third expensive hard currency after cocoa and obsidian.

"Many secret guards have been exploring the kingdom for several years, but they haven't found any traces of gem mines. Instead, all clues point to the Special Trade Bureau of the Kingdom's Shenqi Institute."

The chief intelligence officer looked at the gem shop and pondered. He already had an astonishing guess in his mind. It's just that in the current political situation of the kingdom, it is meaningless to say this guess.

Most of the gem shops in Prepecha are run by the official merchants of the Kingdom of the Lake. They sell a large number of gems stably in the alliance states in exchange for the daily supplies the kingdom needs, especially food and cloth. Then, these daily supplies will be boarded at the port north of the capital and transported to the west by the Royal Navy.

The alliance is based on farming and warfare, and the control of military supplies and food and cloth has always been very strict. After the reform of the teaching law, the outflow of war preparation materials was strictly prohibited. However, the Kingdom of the Lake is different after all. It has an extremely close relationship with the Alliance, and has always been given special treatment. His Royal Highness Seirot was entrusted to foreign countries, and the king and high priest were quite caring, providing various support year after year.

In fact, without the continuous blood transfusions from the Mexica Alliance, the Kingdom of the Lake could not have resumed production order so quickly, let alone raised troops to fight against the outside world.

In addition to food, cloth, tin mines and other material support, King Avit even promulgated a decree generously, allowing the Kingdom of the Lake to send manpower to recruit impoverished farmers and urbanites in the densely populated Texcoco Lake District to go to Reclamation in the western lake area. The high priest also instructed the village priests in various places to cooperate and complete a certain migration quota every year. Valley

Thinking of this, Gilliam lowered his eyes slightly. According to the information he had, last year alone, more than 10,000 people migrated from the Texcoco Lakes region to the Western Kingdom. The holy city of Teotihuacan has the largest migration population, with almost 2,000 people.

"The king's trust in His Royal Highness is really better than parent-child..."

The chief intelligence officer pondered for a moment, then smiled helplessly. Then, he looked at the fat tax collector with an abacus in the market. With the alliance strictly prohibiting smuggling, prohibiting local governments from setting up private cards to collect taxes, protecting the safety of merchants, regulating commodity prices, and unifying weights and measures... After a series of commercial law reforms were implemented, the commercial tax in the Texcoco Lake District increased rapidly. Now the business tax that the alliance gets every year is enough to support two legions of 8,000 people.

The tax collector's position is controlled by the priesthood and the royal family, and it has now become a famous "fat vacancy" in the alliance. After the children of the great nobles obtained this position, they would become fatter visibly.

"The position of tax collector can be used to appease the great nobles who are dissatisfied with the centralization of power. Most of the children of the great nobles who hold this position will gradually wear down like obsidian weapons and lose their fighting spirit..."

Gilliam smiled slightly, which caught the attention of the fat tax collector.

The tax collector watched it carefully for a moment, then suddenly his whole body trembled and his face turned ashen. The other party turned out to be the "female snake" adult who executed the most alliance nobles in the entire world! According to rumors among the nobles, the female snake holds not only the supervising inspector samurai, but also the secret detective samurai. Not long ago, several of the Union's tax collectors were mercilessly executed for accepting bribes and acquiescing in the military trade of foreign merchants.

Thinking of this, the tax collector immediately bowed his waist and walked towards this side with small steps. Gilim glanced at it lightly, waved his hand, and left silently again.

The chief intelligence officer continued to move forward, walking through the temple of the community. The sound of singing in the evening came from the temple, and the rosin of prayers filled the air. Outside the shrine, hundreds of people knelt on the ground and prayed devoutly in the direction of the great temple under the guidance of the priest.

"Praise the Lord God Most High! He gives us food, He protects our souls... He protects us in the dark and promises a better tomorrow!..."

Seeing this scene, Gilliam frowned slightly and quickened his pace. Although he is proficient in theology, he does not have much reverence for gods.

Over the years, the religious reformation has deepened, and the glory of the Lord God has been rooted in the hearts of all people in the Lake District. Throughout the lake capital, the belief in polytheism has been transformed into a single god. The image of the Lord God is gradually changing~www.readwn.com~ is gradually abstract, from the cruel and **** Hummingbird God of War to the majestic and benevolent Almighty Lord God.

Gilliam could feel that with the strengthening of monotheism, the completeness of religious theory, the complexity of prayer rituals, and the improvement of the world after death... Religion's control over people's hearts has become stronger and stronger, and the power of priests is rapidly expanding. Influence is also growing. From all the states outside the Texcoco Lake District, there are devout believers who come from not far away for hundreds of miles to visit regularly.

"The prayers of the priests are getting louder and stronger, and they are gradually suppressing the great nobles all over the Lake District. This is not a bad thing for the centralization of the royal family. But the lofty status of the high priest, the lake of His Royal Highness Shulot The Middle Kingdom, the two added together... Once the immortal sun is gone, how will the king maintain his balance and sit firmly on the throne?"

Thinking of this, the chief intelligence officer was worried. The powerful divine power in the hands of the high priest is far more worrying than the kingdom in the lake, which is far more than seven hundred kilometers away. The elders have heard the call of the Lord God and will not stay in the world for too long. Without him to suppress everything, once the great nobles who are dissatisfied with the centralized power collude with theocracy, I am afraid...

Jilim raised his head, and the great temple more than 60 meters high cast a huge shadow, covering the central temple area, as well as the small mortals. Under the Great Temple, more than a thousand believers from all over the world are shedding tears, falling under the majestic shadow, praying to this shocking spectacle, and sing the glory of the Lord God!

The chief intelligence officer watched silently for a moment, then shook his head indistinctly. Then he turned around and headed for King Avit's palace.

There, the bloody, intriguing King Avit sits on the throne, waiting for a long time. The king's eyes are as calm and deep as Lake Texcoco, and look east like a burning red sun.