Chapter 321 Northern Strategy, Patrolling the Valley

The wind was blowing, the flags were flying, the marching warriors had solemn expressions on their faces, and the sound of their armor clashing was sonorous and powerful, demonstrating the power of the king. Shulot patrolled the valley with a thousand personal guards, observing the situation of the prisoners while thinking about the handling of each department.

Along the way, as far as the eye can see, the meandering river flows through the valley, and the corn on both sides is lush. The Otomi serfs lowered their heads numbly, cleaning up the debris, corpses and blood stains scattered in the valley. Thousands of Guakili tribesmen laid down their weapons, took off their cotton armor, and were dispersed and detained in different camps. Their faces were full of unknown fear. And when the king's flag passed by, the dog descendants lowered their heads one after another, showing deep awe and obedience to the strong man.

Seeing the Guakili people bowing their heads, Shulot nodded with satisfaction. This northern expedition was an invitation from the Otomi people to resist the canine descendants from the south. But by this time, the king's ambitions had swelled. He is eager to control the North as much as possible and establish preliminary rule among the dog tribe.

The king climbed the hill and looked to the north. At the end of the undulating mountains lies the boundless northern wasteland. It is two thousand miles from east to west and more than two thousand miles from north to south, and is connected to the Great Plains of North America. In addition to the eight canine tribes, more scattered tribes were hunting in the north, chasing the buffalo herds in the wilderness, and migrating all the way to the depths of the Great Plains.

Conquering the North requires constant wars, and even more constant spreading of influence. The first step is to accept the Otomi people as subjects and continue to assimilate them. The second step is to defeat the canine descendants going south, subdue some tribes, and establish reputation among the wilderness tribes. The third step is to extend to the north and seize important strongholds. Then based on this, he controlled the surrounding tribes and conducted trade and missionary work at the same time.

The above three steps are what Shulot needs to achieve in this northern expedition. With the foundation of the first three steps, the fourth step is to imitate the Spaniards of later generations, immigrate to the border, persuade the tribes of canine tribes to settle and cultivate, and then grant partial autonomy and gradually incorporate them into the empire's ruling territory. The wasteland is vast, and conquest is an extremely long process, a vision within one's lifetime.

However, according to the trajectory of history, Western colonists would arrive within a dozen years and scatter the horses on the wilderness. In less than half a century, there will be hundreds of thousands of horses spread throughout the northern Mexican wilderness and the Great Plains of North America. All tribes in the wilderness will mount horses and evolve from hunting tribes to nomadic tribes. By that time, the difficulty of conquering the North will increase exponentially.

"So you need to conquer the north as early as possible. However, the power of the Alliance is limited, but the land of North America is unlimited, and there are brutal cold snaps from time to time. Let me think about it, how do the Khans rule the grasslands?"

Shulot thought for a moment and shook his head slightly. He turned his gaze to the valley again, and after a while he asked.

"Coca, what do you mainly eat in the Colavea Wasteland?"

"What to eat?"

Hearing this question, Koka stared blankly with round eyes. After a while, he counted on his fingers and answered.

"The tribe eats everything, wherever they go! Things that grow in the soil include roots, wild vegetables, corn, beans, pumpkins, and wild fruits. When the weather is good, the priests will let everyone plant some crops and wait for the next season. Harvest. Things that cannot be planted include rabbits, deer, birds, frogs, snakes, worms, moles, mice, ants, and lizards. If the year is really bad, you will have to go to war with other tribes to eat these. , capture other tribes and come back."

Shulot looked calm and nodded slowly. After thinking for a while, he asked again.

"Coca, how does the Otomi land compare to the wasteland?"

"It's much better! After everyone arrived, they said that if they had known better, they would have gone south earlier and grabbed the Otomi people's land. There is plenty of water, grass, fertile land, and high farming yields. As long as you plant crops for one season, you can support them. The Ding stutter of the tribe has been suffering for most of the year. Chief, before you go north, everyone is preparing to have more children and settle down here."

Coca scratched his head, with a bit of bitterness on his face.

"Yeah, Cocker."

Shulot smiled faintly and looked into Chief Red Frog's eyes.

"If you were asked to take your tribe to farm farther south, would you be willing? The land there is more fertile. As long as you are busy in the fields, you can have enough food all year round."

“As long as the fields are busy, you can have enough to eat all year round.”

Hearing this, a trace of yearning appeared on Coca's face, but soon he came to his senses and answered carefully.

"Great Chief, the wilderness tribes are different from the southern tribes. They are not good at farming and are used to moving around. Ordinary tribesmen may be satisfied with eating in the fields, but the warriors in the tribe are more interested in hunting with their hands. bow to get food"

"Great Chief, wasteland people are born warriors. I am willing to hold the hunting bow and fight for you!"

Shulot was silent. Wasteland dogborn are indeed born warriors, excellent hunters, and the best light infantry. After this battle, with enough prisoners and sufficient prestige established, it was time to form several thousand-man battalions of dog descendants. His face was solemn and he looked at Cocker again.

"Coca, how many warriors are there in the Red Frog Tribe in your hands now?"

"Two thousand. No, three thousand."

Coca looked at the serious expression on the chief's face and trembled slightly, but still answered truthfully.

"After the army has arranged the valley, it will go out again to conquer the Red Dog Alliance in the northeast. Coca, the three thousand soldiers of the Red Frog tribe will all go out with the army!"

"Ah, Great Chief, I am willing to lead the tribe and fight for you with all my strength!"

Hearing this, Coca's eyes flashed.

"Please let me go back and prepare the warriors in the tribe."

"No. Koka, you and the tribe leaders will stay with me as personal followers. Well, I heard from the leaders that you have a red-haired bodyguard named Miwa who is also good at fighting, so let him lead the three thousand Be a warrior!"

"Ah? Great Chief, Miwa is very lazy, how can he compare with me? He doesn't know how to fight, he can only lead soldiers to charge!"

Coca's expression changed and he explained eagerly.

"Staying still, only able to charge?"

Shulot smiled.

"Very good, that's enough. The Red Frog warriors just charge with all their strength. No matter how much the damage is, I will make up for it!"

After speaking, the king stopped talking and strode forward. Under the protection of his personal guards, he inspected the camps of ordinary tribes.

Ordinary tribes are roughly divided into three levels: chiefs, warriors, and tribesmen. From the chiefs to the tribal people, they are all equally poor and have very little personal property. The tribe's warehouses are publicly owned, with priority given to warriors and men. The mortality rate of newborn children is very high, and most of them are raised together. In the camp, the chief's clothes are complete and bright, especially red. The warriors' bodies were stronger because they were hunted from time to time to supplement their nutrition.

"Any village in the south is richer than the ordinary tribe of dog descendants. Well, the Guakili people are fierce and untamable, and they are poor and poor. They regard life and death as nothing."

Seeing everything in front of him, Shulot was thoughtful. He followed the long and narrow valley westward, inspecting various camps and appeasing the tribal leaders. Later, the king passed by the simple town in the center of the valley, but did not enter. He just gave instructions in a deep voice.

"In the temple in the center of the city, erect the emblem of the Lord God! Send military priests to appease people in the temple. The captured canine tribes need to pray regularly in the temple!"

The king headed west, passing many abandoned camps, until he reached the northwest valley mouth. Bertard looked calm and was already following His Highness again. The two continued to move forward and soon came to a camp with a red crow flag.

"Your Highness, this camp has been abandoned, and the tribes in it have already escaped from the valley entrance."

Bertard replied in a low voice.

"There is only an old tribal priest left here. He is dying and it seems that he will not live much longer!"