Divine Eagle and Cactus

"What a magnificent river!" Xolotl stood atop a hill, gazing at the Lerma River, unable to stop himself from sighing in admiration.

"Indeed, what a magnificent river!" Avet stood beside him as well, the command banner on his back raised high.

He looked east, toward the source of the Great River, then northeast, toward Xilotepec, and finally north, toward the king's grand camp, praising it from the bottom of his heart.

"Xolotl, do you know what makes this river so good?" Avet asked with a smile.

"What makes a river good? Marching along it is faster, and transporting provisions is easier, of course." The clever youth understood as soon as he thought about it.

"Exactly. And this particular location is especially good." Avet nodded in agreement. "Do you know how long it takes to get from here to the Mexica camp outside Xilotepec?"

"I'm not like you. You've fought around here before. How could I know the exact terrain?" The youth shook his head.

"From here to the camp outside Xilotepec takes only eleven days. Seven days east by water, then four days northeast by land. Tell me, how long did we take to get from Xilotepec to Otopan?"

"Oh, that stretch of mountain forest? Around sixteen days." The youth recalled the grueling trek through the woods.

"Yes. Without enemy interference, sixteen days. From here, it is at least five days faster." Avet grew a little excited. "Do you remember how many mountain camps the army established along the way from Xilotepec to Otopan to transport supplies?"

"Four, with roughly three days' journey between each one."

"That's it! From here to the nearest mountain camp outside the Xilotepec camp takes only nine days. Six days by water and three by land. That place is also on the only route between the Otopan camp and the Xilotepec camp!"

Avet smiled and patted the command banner behind him, making the great umbrella above his head sway. "From the siege camp to there takes at least thirteen days."

"It's only four days faster. What are you so excited about, Avet?" The youth gave him a speechless look, then noticed the banner, a full three meters tall and still swaying. His back immediately began to ache.

This thing was only a little shorter than the king's four-meter grand command banner, but that banner was always placed on the king's palanquin. He did not have to carry it himself.

"Four days faster! Hm, it may be useless now, but it means we have the initiative. An eagle must ride the wind to fly swiftly enough to seize a fleeing wild rabbit."

"That is only if you spot the wild rabbit first." Xolotl had long guessed something of Avet's intentions. He too had ambitions of soaring high, but all of it could only follow the current.

"That is why we are staying here for now." Avet laughed. "Just as you said before, guarding a stake and waiting for the rabbit to run into it."

"A stake is easy to guard, but this river is not." The youth looked at the Tarasco patrol on the opposite bank. Copper Spears gleamed coldly in their hands as they faced the Mexica army from afar across the river. Farther behind them, several scouts were racing back to report.

"Do we not have this command banner?" Avet smiled and patted the towering banner again. "After two idle years, I am finally carrying it once more."

"Are you really that happy just carrying a banner? That umbrella banner looks heavy. You keep carrying it around—aren't you tired? Rest for a while. Let someone else help you carry it!" Xolotl asked with some concern.

"This is the highest command over thirty thousand men. It is power bestowed by the Sky God. How could I hand it to someone else?" Avet said with a smile, then shifted his tone. "How about this? You carry it for me?"

The youth hurriedly waved his hands. It was so heavy; he was not an idiot. "You just said it was power. How can you casually hand it to someone else?"

"Of course I cannot hand it to just anyone. But you, Xolotl..." The teacher across from him laughed. "I could accept giving it to you."

"Forget it. Don't try to trick me into helping you. This thing is ridiculously heavy." The wise youth had already seen through his teacher's scheme. "I'm still a child. Spare me."

Avet laughed happily. Smiling, he teased, "You are still young, so you do not understand the benefits of this banner. When you grow up, you will rack your brains trying to carry it. If it is too light, you will not be satisfied. You will want a heavier one—the heavier, the better. Even if it kills you from exhaustion, you will not put it down."

Xolotl curled his lip. "I want to be the master of power, not the slave of power!"

"Master? Slave?" Avet savored the words for a while before saying, "That is a good metaphor. So how do you intend to be the master?"

"Being the master... hm." The youth thought for a moment, his eyes turning. "Perhaps by restraining my own desires?"

Avet burst out laughing. He patted Xolotl on the head and said with a smile, "You are the master, so why should you restrain your desires? As the master, you only need to learn one thing: how to command your slaves, how to wield your power!"

Once again, Avet used the ancient ideas of the ruling class to indoctrinate the youth.

"In other words, you need to think about what you intend to do with your power."

"And you? What do you want to do with your power?" the youth countered.

"I want to use the power in my hands now." Avet patted the commander's banner again. "To catch the biggest, fastest rabbit. And gain even more power from it!"

"And after that?"

"After that, the Divine Eagle will soar into the Sky Family. Everywhere within Its sight will be Its hunting ground, and in time, become the kingdom of the gods." Avet softly recited a prayer to the gods. "I want to become the Divine Eagle and conquer the whole world. What about you?"

"The Cactus will sink deep into the Earth Mother. Everywhere It can touch will be joined as one by Its roots, and thus become humanity's home." Xolotl recited the next line of the prayer. "Then I will be the Cactus and forge an empire."

"Then the Divine Eagle shall alight upon the Cactus. And It promises the Mexica People: the open field of Corn and deer, the bounds covered by Heaven and Earth Mother, shall all be your future!" The two continued the prayer together, their voices rising ever higher, drifting into the clouds before falling back upon the earth like an oath offered to the gods.

Burning emotion flowed into their voices and surged within their hearts. They stood shoulder to shoulder and looked into the distance.

After a long while, Avet finally smiled softly. "The Corn has only just sprouted, yet we are already discussing how to eat it. Perhaps we are thinking too far ahead."

Xolotl nodded as well. "Then let us drive in the stakes first. What if the rabbit comes?"

The youth and his teacher looked at each other and laughed.

Avet then exercised the commander's authority, turning the north bank of the Lerma River into a vast construction site.

He first selected five high hills by the river and established five forward camps upon them. The camps relied on the terrain, built small but sturdy, each several miles apart. Together, they controlled the entire stretch of river suitable for crossing. These camps were like nails; even if the Tarasco crossed from farther away, the nails would threaten their rear.

In each camp, Avet stationed three thousand Militia and one thousand City-State Warriors as the foundation of combat strength, along with one hundred direct warriors and ten Jaguar Military Nobility as the command echelon. Their task was not to attack, but to hold the camp for at least five days. Relying on the sturdy camps preserved the army's morale. With the advantage of terrain, one militiaman could wield half the combat strength of a warrior.

Next, one day's journey from those camps, Avet built another large camp.

He placed ten thousand true elite troops there, letting them rest and gather strength, staying out of the enemy's sight and preparing at any time to strike while the enemy was halfway across the river. This was the main force for field battles, retaining the initiative to choose the proper battlefield. Xolotl's newly formed Longbow Guard was also stationed in the camp.

At the same time, Avet had long since dispatched messengers upstream to establish contact with the capital's fleet. On one hand, they sought food supplies and reinforcements; on the other, they demanded effective forces for intervention on the water.

Amid grim military preparations, two weeks swiftly passed. The first Mexica boats finally arrived from the upstream capital with food supplies, like a small swarm of ants.

The Tarasco had also finally finished assembling. An army of eighty thousand came rolling in, setting up a camp stretching for miles along the south bank of the Lerma River. Facing them stood the Mexica people's fortified camps, boats, and warriors—a line of defense linked by mountains and rivers.