Legion

The winds had blown through half the summer. A full two weeks had passed since that unforgettable mobilization, and the legion of the Holy City of Teotihuacan had finally been assembled. The dry season had ended, but the rainy season had yet to arrive. The cool breeze had grown damp, while the warm sunlight remained just as comforting.

The southern part of the city-state had now been transformed into a vast military camp. During these busy days, Xolotl watched his father meet with hereditary nobles who would take part in the war, exchanging bows, pleasantries, banquets, promises, and gifts. Then the boy watched his father bump fists and embrace the elite warriors, boasting, praising one another, testing their martial skills, and finally drinking Tequila until they were thoroughly drunk.

The burly Xoloc was high-spirited and brimming with fighting spirit. From time to time, he also had to receive Militia representatives, mediate disputes, and display his authority. Slowly, a military leadership group centered around Xoloc finally began to take shape. This newly established eight-thousand-man corps could now barely be commanded as well!

The Aztec military system used squads of twenty as its basic unit, with a captain at the core of each squad. Then the units stacked in multiples of twenty: two hundred men, four hundred men, eight hundred men, until finally reaching the Xiquipilli, the eight-thousand-man corps, the ultimate measure of military strength for every city-state.

At the tireless urging of young Xolotl, Xoloc eventually divided the legion into ten battalions, each with around eight hundred men. As for the exact numbers, aside from Xolotl, no one here could count them clearly.

Of the ten battalions, five elite warrior battalions came from the urban communities and consisted mainly of formally trained warriors. Veteran warriors of Level 4 and above, including Eagle Warriors and Jaguar Warriors, had all been gathered into a single veteran battalion. They were capable of wielding powerful javelins and formed the core of the legion's combat strength. Naturally, the commander of the veteran battalion was Olorosh, Xoloc's most trusted Captain of Warriors and Xolotl's training instructor.

The remaining five commoner battalions consisted of conscripted Militia from the subordinate villages. Most of the Militia had received only rudimentary training. Some had experience hunting with slings, so they were gathered into a ranged Stone Thrower battalion. The other four battalions were all close-combat Militia units.

On this day, the fully reorganized city-state legion finally assembled on the drill field within the military camp. Priests held high the banners of the gods and joined nobles of every rank in maintaining order. The warriors gathered by battalion, forming circles of uneven size.

Dressed in splendid battle gear, Xoloc stood in the most conspicuous position, surrounded by the noble officers of each battalion. They stood together, flushed with triumph, surveying their "great army" with soaring pride while eagerly voicing their longing for battle.

Young Xolotl, meanwhile, brought along Assistant Priest Acap, the new aide and guard sent by his grandfather, and inspected each battalion in the name of the Priesthood.

The First Battalion was the veteran battalion. The seasoned warriors wore yellow or green Leather Armor, red-and-yellow cloaks, and wooden animal-shaped helmets. They held Shields in one hand and swung War Clubs in the other. The sharp Obsidian blades set along both sides of the clubs glinted with cold, cutting light beneath the sun. Most also carried two javelins on their backs, with spear-throwers tucked at their waists.

The veterans stood naturally, their ranks automatically settling into an extended battle formation. Their expressions were relaxed, carrying the calm indifference of men long accustomed to life and death. Their callused right hands casually swung their War Clubs, every movement bearing the rhythm of a thousand hammerings and a hundred temperings. Xolotl circled twice and counted more than two hundred intimidating Eagle and Jaguar heads.

"So we only have two hundred Jaguar and Eagle Warriors."

After counting them, Xolotl sighed in disappointment.

"This is rather far from the legion I imagined. I thought we would have an entire legion of Jaguars and Eagles!"

"Ha! Eight thousand Jaguar Warriors?!"

Hearing that, Acap gave a soft laugh.

"Even if you gathered every Mexica city-state together, you probably still couldn't make up that number! The three capital cities are the center of the Alliance. They can probably field over two thousand Jaguars and Eagles, plus more than five hundred Shorn Ones. That elite force alone is enough for every king to overawe the many city-states. You must understand, whether the Jaguar Warriors or the Eagle Legion, they are both Level 1 Military Merit Nobles of the Alliance!"

"All right! There will be Eagles, and there will be Jaguars."

Xolotl pursed his lips and began taking notes in his mind.

"Veteran battalion. Ace unit. Sword/club-and-shield infantry. One javelin. Leather Armor or Medium Armor. High morale. Average discipline. Intimidates ordinary troops. Excellent assault infantry."

These records, modeled after a familiar style of evaluation, helped him quickly understand the strength of the troops. Of course, once he truly became familiar with the legion, he would no longer need such notes.

Next came the Second through Fifth Battalions, the elite battalions. Depending on the wealth of their families, the warriors of every rank wore Leather Armor or Cotton Armor, while some also wore battle cloaks. Most wore pointed caps, grasping Obsidian War Clubs in one hand and round hide-covered shields in the other. The newly promoted warriors among them wore all kinds of excitement and fantasies about battle on their faces.

Within this somewhat disorderly formation, Xolotl spotted two familiar faces. One smiled warmly at him, while the other gave him a stiff smile.

"Elite battalions. Elite troops. Sword/club-and-shield infantry. Half Leather Armor, light armor. Average morale. Poor discipline. Close-combat infantry for holding the line. Their armor coverage is somewhat low. All right, still acceptable."

Further back were the Sixth through Ninth commoner battalions. These Village Militia were equipped far more simply. Most bared their upper bodies, with only a small portion wearing battle clothes. Their weapons came in every variety: Stone Spears, wooden spears, stone clubs, Stone Hammers. Their Shield coverage was also quite miserable. Only a small number of Militia leaders possessed standard War Clubs and Shields.

The Village Militia excitedly chatted among themselves, and the camp was filled with noise. Perhaps they shared the same passion for battle, but such untrained fervor would quickly scatter like drifting sand under the blows of the enemy or harsh conditions.

"Commoner battalions. Ordinary troops. Short Spear infantry. Cloth clothing, no armor. Low morale. No discipline."

After making a rough estimate, Xolotl sighed and pressed a hand to his forehead.

"What can armed strongmen like this be used for? Filling the battle line, cannon fodder to exhaust the enemy's arrows? If they do not huddle into a mass, they cannot maintain morale at all. Perhaps after discipline improves, Spear Militia could be considered, like the Ashigaru of the Shogunate in this era?"

As for the Tenth Stone Thrower Battalion, it gave Xolotl a fresh impression.

These seasoned hunters held a long cord, pinching each end between two fingers with a stone placed inside. Then they spun the cord with all their strength, making the stone accelerate continuously at its center with a whistling sound. Finally, relying on instinct and experience, they opened one finger at the right angle and let the cord unfurl. With a sharp whoosh, the rounded stone flew out and kicked up clouds of dust across the drill field!

The accuracy of the slings was painful to behold, but the power of massed volleys was indeed fairly considerable. Such weapons were especially suited for dealing with unarmored or lightly armored opponents. Unfortunately, although this throwing equipment was simple, mastering it truly took more than a year or two. Even among the Militia, hunters capable of using slings made up only one or two out of ten.

"Stone Thrower battalion. Ordinary troops. Slingers. Cloth clothing, no armor. Low morale. No discipline. Ranged strike troops requiring terrain support. Attacks enemy morale."

Xolotl shook his head. He could only accept this sole ranged force for what it was. As for the simple self-bows carried by some hunters, Xolotl tried firing several wooden arrows and immediately despaired at their range and power.

"Why are our archers so weak?"

After pondering for a long time, Xolotl asked in confusion.

"Bows are weak to begin with. Only weak tribal people use such feeble weapons."

Acap said this as if it were only natural. Yet he quickly remembered another tribe skilled in archery.

"Well, that is not entirely true! The Tlaxcalan are skilled at hunting and archery, and they worship the God of the Hunt. They have a self-bow nearly as tall as a man, fitted with copper arrowheads, that can pierce a layer of sturdy padded Cotton Armor within fifty paces. Many of our skilled warriors have been ambushed by those despicable Tlaxcalan!"

"Oh? Piercing padded Cotton Armor at fifty paces sounds quite good! We could organize archers like that as well. In certain terrain, powerful ranged troops would be extremely important!"

"Haha! Ranged ambushes, how could that be the deed of warriors? If you kill enemies that way, how can you capture Captives? And without Captives, there can be no promotion. That is why Mexica Warriors favor brave close combat and dislike using lowly bows."

Speaking of these traditional notions, Acap chuckled without committing himself.

"Of course, another reason is that ordinary Artisans lack the skill to make bows. The wood for bowmaking requires long preparation, and archery likewise demands years of practice. Some veteran warriors keep decorative bows at home and go hunting with them, but that is nowhere near enough to form units. Besides, the Tlaxcalan Bow has a very short range, and its power cannot compare with javelins. It has always done limited harm to the Leather Armor of Alliance Warriors."

"Traditions always have to change. Then where do the Tlaxcalan get their materials and techniques?"

Young Xolotl looked thoughtful, concerned with bowmaking techniques. In his view, archers and cavalry were indispensable parts of an army. The tactical roles of these two forces could not be replaced by infantry. Under the current circumstances, there were no horses in the Americas, so cavalry was impossible for now. But excellent archers had to be formed!

"Who knows what techniques they have? They revere Mixcoatl, the God of the Hunt, and have always had quite a few Bowyers. As for the leather, thread, bone glue, and wood used for bowmaking, most of it is probably made by themselves or obtained through trade with the coastal Totonac and Maya caravans. Those Maya merchants always have many sources of goods! But it does not matter. Even without bows, our valiant warriors have still swept across the world!"

"...Swept across the world? That may be true now. But in the future, the world will sweep over us."

Young Xolotl rubbed his chin and gave a helpless, bitter smile.

"Spears, bows, Leather Armor..." At this moment, Xolotl seriously considered the legion's shortcomings and how to improve them.

Based on what he currently understood, the political structure of the Mexica city-states resembled the early Greek city-states, or the fifty feudal lords of the Western Zhou, perhaps even the earlier Shang Dynasty. Their military equipment and organizational level barely remained at the level of the struggle for supremacy between Wu-Yue during the Spring and Autumn Annals. Only Tenochtitlan, the Lake Capital, could mobilize its communities at a rate of one man out of every three adult males, giving it military mobilization capacity barely comparable to the Qin State of the Warring States period.

"No cavalry, no archers, no heavy infantry. We are still centuries away from the Roman legions or the formations of Great Qin! Yet Europe in this era has already entered the age of Matchlock Muskets and Plate Armor."

Xolotl drew a deep breath and raised his head to look at the sky. Acap looked at the sky as well, at The Sun that symbolized the gods.

"Copper and iron metals. No iron mines, only Copper Mines. And warfare in the Bronze Age means Copper Spears, Bronze Armor, heavy infantry, and the Macedonian Phalanx!"

Xolotl's thoughts drifted far away. His eyes brightened, only to dim again at once. The only Copper Mine he knew of was controlled by the Tarasco.

"My task is heavy, and the road is long."

Xolotl murmured softly in words no one could understand.

"Fortunately, I still have time!"

Time slowly passed. Then a running messenger hurried in from outside the southern gate. His face was tense, and he brought important news.

"May the Main God bless us! The king's great army has already set out from the capital city!"