Chapter 208 Search

The sun sets quietly, and the stream flows silently. The rolling hills are flat, and the barren fields are gradually opening up. The mountains and forests of Zitacuaro have turned into black shadows on the horizon, and the lake area of ​​Patzcuaro is not far to the north.

King Suanga walks silently, wearing ordinary warrior clothes, with guards carrying the royal flag behind him. The inherited eagle flag has been rolled up and put away, and the flag bearers only hold high the flag of the three gods. If you stand at a distance and observe, it is difficult to distinguish the affiliation of the legion.

However, once you get close, the identity of the royal legion cannot be concealed. Longbows and copper axes, leather armor and copper helmets, as well as silent marches and neat military appearances are all symbols of elite warriors. The battalion commanders in the army all wear noble forked feather crowns and bright striped uniforms. The uniforms are embroidered with yellow divine eagles and symbols of the three gods.

The 10,000 elites of the Tarasco royal family were divided into two armies, with 5,000 people in front and behind, and scouts explored dozens of miles. Suangua personally led the Bronze Axe Guards in the front. In the past few days, under the golden sunshine, he walked through the familiar mountain roads and passed through unfamiliar deserted villages and towns, and he remained silent.

The front line of the march suddenly became slightly agitated. The scouts on the periphery waved the flags of warning, and hundreds of elite warriors quickly moved forward and began to run quickly. Suangua stopped the army and climbed the nearest hill. A few miles ahead, several green dots retreated quickly, and the scouts of the kingdom chased and surrounded them from both sides. The two sides chased and fled until the end of the sight.

The young king frowned and waited impatiently for a moment, and then the guards came in big strides. He carried several bloody heads and a few longbows on his back, bowed his head and respectfully reported.

"Dear king, the scouts encountered a team of Mexica warriors and killed them all."

Suangua glanced at the hairstyle on the head, then at the captured longbow, and felt impatient again. These are not warriors, but mountain tribesmen. Even these militiamen can be equipped with longbows. The young king did not say much, but just asked.

"Well done. Did the scouts detect any traces of the enemy brigade?"

"There are no traces of the enemy brigade within 20 miles, and there is no smoke from the march in the sky. The dry food carried by this team of scouts is very sufficient. They are running weakly during the chase, and they must have advanced very far."

The king nodded and waved his hand to let the guards retreat. He looked at the distant sky. The capital was 300 miles away in the northwest. It would take about seven or eight days for a normal march and five days for a forced march.

"We met enemy scouts here. The capital has lost control of the surrounding areas! The enemy situation is unknown, and a forced march is too dangerous. No, the number of enemies should be quite large, and it is not appropriate to entangle at this time!"

Su Angua thought for a moment and made a quick decision.

"Come here! Pass the order, the front scouts disperse, the army remains quiet, and turns to the southwest. Send two teams of 100 people to wander in the northeast and attack the Mexica scouts as a decoy!"

Accompanying the king's military order, tens of thousands of elite troops quickly changed their formation and turned to the hilly river valley in the southwest. This last elite of Tarasco continued to head to the heart of the kingdom, waiting for the battle that was destined to come.

The mountains and forests were quiet again, and the drooping grass and trees covered the traces of the fight. It was not until a day later that several Mexica reconnaissance teams hurriedly arrived. They dispersed, carefully searched for bloodstains and corpses in the forest, and then gathered again. The captains looked solemn, whispered for a while, and quickly divided into three groups. One group followed the shadows to the northeast, one group followed the footprints to the southwest, and another group traveled day and night and turned back quickly.

The sun rose and set, and two days passed in a blink of an eye. The high sun illuminated the earth, and the shallow stream flowed through the valley. Toltec sat on a big rock by the stream with his legs up, frowning, like a big dog in deep thought. Beside him was a longbow war club, and in front of him was a row of bamboo baskets filled with fresh and slender chili grass.

This was a temporary riverside camp, more than 150 miles away from Chincongcan in the west, and more than 100 miles away from Patzcuaro City in the southwest. Thousands of longbow militiamen patrolled the periphery in units of 100. Hundreds of tribal hunters were busy in the wilderness, collecting fresh young grass. Soon, a tribal leader came with a bamboo basket on his back and respectfully handed the harvest to the brave and "erudite" Black Wolf leader.

Toltec reached out, grabbed a handful of chili grass, stuffed it into his mouth and chewed it. The fresh stems and leaves exuded a unique spicy fragrance, and the refreshing spicy taste spread in the mouth, with a slight bitterness in the freshness. Toltec chewed for a while before nodding expressionlessly, waving his hand to let the chief retreat, and then grabbed a handful of "snacks" and chewed slowly to refresh himself.

The army temporarily camped, and of course they did not collect chili grass for eating. This chili grass is actually ox knee daisy, which is actually an excellent hot pot vegetable in later generations, and it is the most easily available hemostatic medicine at this time. Its stems and leaves can stop bleeding and reduce inflammation. It can be applied externally to wounds on the body surface, or taken internally to relieve inflammation in the body.

Toltec chewed snacks while waiting patiently. In the recent looting, he smelled the breath of a change in the situation, so he made a prompt decision and led the militia to advance more than a hundred miles, and sent dozens of reconnaissance teams to search and extend to Zitacuaro in the southeast.

"The envoy of congratulations should have met with Your Highness and conveyed my suggestions. What is Your Highness's reply? Facing the threat of food shortage, what is the main force of Tarasco in the southeast doing? If we can capture the enemy king, I, Toltec, will be the first person to march west! How glorious it will be then!"

Toltec was imagining the future. A reconnaissance team appeared from the end of the wilderness. Their uniforms were bloody, their faces were dusty, and they had been running for two consecutive days, bringing back an important message!

"What! A reconnaissance team is missing. Then, you found traces of the enemy's movement? But you are not sure of the specific direction? You were also attacked by the enemy team!"

The scout captain nodded repeatedly. Toltec asked for a long time in detail before letting him go down to rest.

The black wolf of Mexica thought again and again. Although the scouts did not observe the enemy's flags and did not know the number of enemies. But his intuition told him that he must be an extremely powerful opponent to be able to deal with the scouts so cleanly, march quickly, and not leave too many traces. At this moment, Tarasco only had one such army left, the King's Legion!

"The key now is to expand the search and pass the news to His Highness in time!"

Thinking of this, Toltec finally made up his mind. He stood up and quickly summoned his guards and heads of various tribes.

"You will be divided into dozens of teams of fifty people. Expand the search to the east, northeast, south, and southwest! Once the enemy group is confirmed, quickly retreat to the old camp dozens of miles away from Patzcuaro City to report back. Don't linger in the battle! The first person to report the news will be promoted to a senior warrior. Reward him with 100 baskets of grain, 100 pieces of cotton cloth, and 100 slaves! I will personally report his name to His Highness!"

Hearing the high reward, the eyes of the leaders of each tribe flickered. They looked at each other vigilantly like wolfhounds smelling prey, and howled with low excitement.

Then, Toltec waved his hand vigorously without delay.

"The remaining 100 guards, follow me and return to the old camp immediately!"

"Black Wolf" strode away, and finally grabbed a handful of chili grass and chewed it hard in his mouth. The spicy taste made him excited, and the desire to fight made his blood boil. Then, he began to run at a steady speed, and the guards followed closely behind. The hunters in the valley scattered one by one. Only a row of bamboo baskets filled with spicy fresh grass were left by the stream.

Toltec ran for half a day. It was not until the night fell that he stopped to have dinner, found a high ground, and rested with his guards. When it was just dawn, he urged the march again and ran ahead. By noon the next day, the old camp was finally in sight. Marching a hundred miles a day was almost the limit of this era.

Arriving at the old camp in the forest, Toltec paused for a moment. I don't know when, there were many more warriors guarding the camp. The patrol team was neat and strict, with the unique killing of the elite. "Black Wolf" watched for a moment, and finally strode forward with a happy look on his face. He lowered his head and saluted respectfully to the warrior chief of his highness,

"Sacred Eagle Warrior Chief, your injury is finally healed? I've been worried about you for a long time! Well, you look ruddy and energetic, you should be well taken care of by the captain of the navy."

Hearing this, Bertard was a little embarrassed. Then, a smile appeared on his weathered face.

"Anna is cold on the outside but warm on the inside. She is a good woman. I am completely well now. After lying down for several months, I can finally return to the battlefield and catch up with the end of the Western Expedition! If I don't work harder, all the credit will be taken by you guys. Toltec, I heard that you captured the Ospai alive, which can be regarded as revenge for me!"

Bertard stretched out his hand and patted Toltec's shoulder vigorously.

Toltec came from the team of His Highness's followers. He was a young general trained and promoted by him. He was young and was able to be responsible for the recruitment of tribal hunters before the expedition because of his recommendation. The two have a very close relationship and can be regarded as His Highness's followers.

Hearing this, Toltec was in high spirits and said loudly with a smile.

"Captain of the Holy Eagle Warriors, Ospai is just a cowardly fish that can't even commit suicide. Now, I, Toltec, have found a real big fish, which may be the king of Tarasco! Is your highness in the big tent now?"

"Big fish. King" Bertard pondered for a moment, then nodded seriously.

"Your highness is handling military information in the big tent. Military affairs are the most important, you and I will go to meet your highness!"

When it comes to business, the two of them said no more. After a while, they walked to the big tent of your highness together.

Xuluot was wearing a black robe, holding a simple map in his hand, and had a close discussion with Ezpan who was standing by with his head bowed. Hearing the movement at the door of the tent, the young commander looked up.

Bertard entered first and bowed his head.

"Your highness, Toltec has urgent military information to report."

Xuluot smiled and nodded.

"Let my black wolf in!"

"Your Majesty, Black Wolf Toltec greets you and congratulates you on your victory in the Northern War! I also brought you new good news!"

Toltec stepped into the big tent. His eyebrows flew, he knelt on one knee and greeted loudly.

Xuluot looked at his beloved general with a smile.

"Toltec, what good news did you bring?"

"Your Majesty, I found the trace of King Tarasco!"

"What!" Xiuluot stood up suddenly. His expression became serious and he stared at the young general.

"When and where? What is the specific situation? Tell me everything in detail!"

Facing the gaze of His Majesty, Toltec shrank his neck and carefully explained the information he knew one by one.

Xuluot pondered for a moment before slowly speaking.

"So, the scout did not see the enemy's legion with his own eyes?"

"Your Majesty, in the east of Qin Congcan, the only legion that can march in large groups without leaving too many traces is King Tarasco's legion!"

Toltec continued to explain.

"The scouts I sent are all experienced hunters! Only the enemy's royal army can make them disappear silently."

Xiulote nodded and said nothing. He thought for a while and looked at Ezpin beside him carefully.

"If Tarasco's royal army is to our east, where can they be hidden?"

Ezpin thought for a moment, borrowed the map from His Highness' hand, and drew on the map one by one.

"Your Highness, there are many places in the east where you can hide your tracks. The first is the mountain forest boundary of Sitacuaro. Secondly, to the north, south of Sitacuaro, there are also many rolling hills and sporadic fortresses. But these places , there is no sufficient food supply, and it will be difficult to avoid our scouts as we continue to march towards the hinterland. "

Shulot nodded slightly. Then he continued to ask.

"If the enemy is in the south, where can they go?"

"Your Highness, the southern hinterland of Tarasco is still intact. The nearest is the southernmost city of Ivacchio in the Patzcuaro Lake District, which is rich in copper mines. It is rich and prosperous there, and you can get a lot by searching for big merchants. Supplies. Then there is the valley on the north bank of the Talsas River, where there are many noble estates. There are also many marching channels with water sources between the Patscuaro Lake area and the Talsas River. By passing through, you can avoid our detection, take a detour to the south or even southwest, and enter the Patzcuaro Lake area!”

The young commander said "hmm" in agreement. Then, he frowned, stared at the corner of the map, and pondered silently.

"Your Highness, you have led the main force of the legion south, and no one can resist it at this time!"

Toltec looked excited. He pointed with his hand at the center of the lake area, Qin Cong Can City.

"Let us directly surround Qin Congcan, wait for the enemy's king's army to come, and then defeat them in one fell swoop! I, Toltec, am willing to be your vanguard! As long as the enemy's king is captured, the Tarascans will disperse into Each department fights independently and is not subordinate to each other. The victory of the Western Expedition will surely follow. You will become the greatest commander in the history of the alliance!"

Shulot smiled and nodded, then shook his head.

"Toltec, I am not worried about Suangua escaping into the royal capital. Although Qin Congcan is strong, it is a caged city. If he enters the royal capital, King Tarasco will be a caged bird and can no longer escape. "

Then, he stretched out his hand and pressed hard on the corner of the map.

"What I'm worried about is that Suangua retreats here!"