"Black Wolf, Tupa, in the kingdom's long-term political course, managing the Eastern Sea is of vital importance! From the great grasslands along the Coahuiltec river in the north, to the jungle coast of Huastec; from the thousand-li seaboard of the Totonac, to the shores of eastern Maya; then to Snake Island of Cuba eight thousand li away, and even the still more distant islands of the Great Lake... this vast stretch of more than ten thousand li is what we call the Eastern Sea lands! And this route linked by sea is the line of interest for the kingdom's eastward expansion, and also the future lifeline of all the tribes under heaven!..."
The group drifted by boat across the lake, water-light reflecting the mountain colors, while ranges stood in the east. Xolotl gazed far toward the east, his eyes seeming to look all the way to the end of the Caribbean Sea, to those lush, fertile island chains.
The kingdom's political groups had already expanded and scattered to every part of Mesoamerica under heaven. And once he returned to the Lake Capital, the authority for campaigns in all four directions would be placed entirely in the hands of his generals. At this crucial moment, he needed to tell everyone clearly, to put forward the kingdom's overall political line, thereby uniting everyone's thoughts and goals beneath one clear banner! And the "banner" he chose was the kingdom's "expansion," the "unification" of all under heaven!
"Monkey Kuluka holds Chapala Great Lake for me and campaigns down the lower Lerma River; Miner Ezpan swears the Colima tribes to me and pacifies the North Tecos coast; the old general Etalic controls the lower Talsas River for me and conquers the Tepanec coast; the poet Balamo recruits the Wasteland tribes for me and controls the