All Under Heaven

The fine rain always fell tirelessly, in the rainy season of June.

Raindrops struck the broad surface of the Lerma River, stirring layer upon layer of ripples. A light breeze caressed the new shoots in the fields, and the young corn plants were happily growing taller. Beneath the corn, beans and pumpkins had just begun to sprout.

Xolotl stood atop the stronghold's watchtower, squeezed together with Avet as they looked toward the lakes and camps on the far bank of the Long River. Tarasco patrols were inspecting the riverbank through the rain, and the Mexica army on this side was doing the same.

"I finally know the use of this flag. At least it can keep off the rain." Xolotl reached out and adjusted the command flag on Avet's back, letting the canopy atop it shelter them both. "You said this camp was the most important one?"

"Yes." Commander Avet carefully observed the distant Tarasco main camp. "Do you see that lake? That is Lake Cuitzeo. Its northernmost end connects to Lake Lerma, then it stretches westward all the way into the Tarasco interior. If one came ashore at Lake Cuitzeo's southwesternmost point, it would take only a week to reach the Tarasco heartland: the Patzcuaro Lake Region in the Patzcuaro Valley."

"Patzcuaro." Xolotl repeated the word twice before understanding. "The Purepecha people?"

"Smart." Avet smiled faintly. "The Tarasco people do not call themselves Tarasco. They call themselves the Purepecha people. They named themselves after the Patzcuaro Valley, where their most prosperous capital stood and where their people rose to power. In truth, several centuries ago, they were merely one branch of Chichimec Dog-kin who moved south, conquered the prosperous local Bajio and Michoacan tribes, and inherited the name Purepecha."

"So that was it! Just as we rose in the Valley of Mexica and thus call ourselves Mexica People, or Tenochca People. Outsiders, meanwhile, say we are Aztecs from distant Aztlan. Then our ancestors were also a branch of Chichimec Dog-kin who moved south?" The clever youth drew an inference from one instance to another.

"That is not something a priest should say." Avet burst into laughter. "When the Guardian Deity made its promise to us, our name ceased to be Aztec. We became Mexica People, bearing the Mandate of Heaven to conquer all under heaven."

The Mexica People's all under heaven was the greater Mexico region of Mesoamerica.

Xolotl smiled in agreement and switched to a more important topic. "The Tarasco people are our greatest opponents, so how many people do they actually have? How many troops can they mobilize?"

Avet pondered, tracing figures in the air with his fingers. Only after quite some time did he answer. "From the Lerma River in the north to both banks of the Balsas River in the south, from the Mexica city-states in the east to the shores of Lake Chapala in the west—this is the territory held by the Tarascan City-State Alliance: the Michoacan Region. The Tarascan Alliance controls more than 1.6 million people."

"Michoacan? Land of fishermen?"

"Yes. The Tarasco people control the territory of eight states. The three states in the Patzcuaro Lake Region have roughly eight hundred thousand people, centered on the three cities of Tzintzuntzan, Ihuatzio, and Patzcuari. Tzintzuntzan City is the largest, with a city population of fully fifty thousand.

To the west of the Tarasco people lie the two states of the Lake Chapala Region, with around six hundred thousand people. But these two states are far from Tzintzuntzan, and the Tarasco king cannot effectively control this region.

The remaining two hundred thousand people are spread across three states between the lakes. Overall, populations always gather near lakes, because only lakes can support productive Chinampas."

In this era, a state was a vague regional division. It could be a city-state and its dependent villages, a region inhabited by a particular people, or a small tract divided off by terrain. Xolotl regarded it as the equivalent of a "county" in Huaxia concepts. The Tarascan Alliance controlled eight counties, and the county containing its capital was Tzintzuntzan State.

"With 1.6 million people, the Tarascan Alliance likely has fifty thousand warriors in all. Twenty-five thousand come from the Patzcuaro Lake Region and are direct troops under the king's control. Another twenty thousand warriors belong to the highly autonomous Lake Chapala Region. The remaining five thousand belong to the three states between the lakes." Avet continued calculating.

"Fifty thousand warriors from 1.6 million people—that means one warrior for every thirty-two people?" Xolotl thought about it. This truly was a Warring States age of nations slaughtering one another and exhausting themselves in warfare. Without high-yield crops, it simply could not be sustained.

After considering it for a moment, Avet nodded. "Overall, that is roughly the ratio. At the capital cores of the various tribes, the proportion of warriors is higher. In other regions, it is slightly lower."

Xolotl showed that he understood. The capitals of every tribe always possessed more resources, wealth, and people to support stronger armed forces and maintain their dominance over the other alliance city-states.

Put simply, the strong became king, and the king was the strongest.

"Then how many militia does Tarasco have?" the youth asked again.

"The number of militia is difficult to determine. It depends on whether it is the busy farming season or the slack season, and on how tightly the tribe governs. Emergency mobilization is even more extreme." Avet thought for a while. "Overall, the food supplies of each tribe can support militia numbering twice their warriors at most. Beyond twice that number, the food storage and production of the states will be seriously affected, and famine will inevitably follow."

As he spoke, Avet gave a meaningful glance toward Otopan City in the north.

Xolotl nodded in understanding and sighed softly.

The tribes of Mesoamerica at this time were somewhat like the daimyo of Japan's Warring States era. There were only relatively prosperous City-State Warriors and desperately poor Village Militia, together forming a two-tier military system of warriors and peasant soldiers.

Unlike the Celestial Empire, there was no developed class of small independent farmers here. Independent farmers had only just begun to emerge economically and politically, and they could provide very few "good family sons" or "garrison soldiers."

"Tarascan Alliance: eight states, 1.6 million people, fifty thousand warriors—twenty-five thousand direct troops—and one hundred thousand militia." For the first time, Xolotl had gained a clear understanding of a tribe's concrete military strength.

Naturally, another question concerned him even more. "How many people does our Mexica Alliance have? How many warriors?"

Avet smiled confidently. "Excluding those vassals, the great Mexica Alliance directly controls eleven states. The core is the Lake Texcoco Region in the Valley of Mexico. The entire lake region has four prosperous major states, with around 1.5 million people."

"Mexico State, where the capital is located, has more than five hundred thousand people. And the Mexica capital, Tenochtitlan, the city in the lake, has an unparalleled two hundred and fifty thousand people! It is the ancestral land of the Mexica People, the sacred place in the lake, the colossal city of white stone, and the center of all under heaven! No other city can compare with it." Without realizing it, Avet's voice took on the tone of a sacred chant.

Xolotl nodded longingly. Tenochtitlan at this time was Mesoamerica's city of miracles, the grandest city in all the Americas. It was not the buried broken walls and ruins he had seen in later ages.

The youth emerged from his memories, curiosity rising in his heart. "Avet, how do you know so many figures?"

Avet smiled faintly. His confidence made the commander's smile brim with charm. "In the entire Mexica Alliance, only by asking me can you learn these specific figures. I am the Alliance's Chief Intelligence Officer. And in mathematics, the only one here who can surpass me is you."

"Wonderful! Please continue." Xolotl rose on tiptoe, wanting to pat the head of his teacher and friend, but Avet casually brushed him aside.

"The Lake Texcoco Region has 1.5 million people. It is territory directly under the royal house and can mobilize an overwhelming fifty thousand direct warriors. On this expedition, the king brought a full forty thousand direct troops to command the city-states. Of course, after several troop divisions and casualties along the road, he now has only ten thousand direct warriors in hand."

Avet winked at the youth, and the youth nodded as well, confirming that he understood.

"With the lake region as the core, the two western states have five hundred thousand people, the three southern states have seven hundred thousand, and the two northern states have three hundred thousand. The entire Mexica Alliance has more than three million people and firmly occupies the fertile, prosperous highland valleys!"

"What about the eastern city-states?"

"To the east of the Lake Texcoco Region rise towering mountains, and amid those mountains are demon mouths that smoke and spit fire. Where would there be eastern city-states? Farther east lies the territory of the Tlaxcalan."

Xolotl froze for a moment, then realized that east of the capital stood the towering Popocatepetl Volcano. It was also one of the few places on the entire Mexica Plateau where snow and ice could be seen.

"The seven western, southern, and northern states together also have fifty thousand warriors, close to the four states directly under the royal house. Teotihuacan City is also one of the royal house's sources." Avet smiled at the youth.

The youth was calculating seriously. "Mexica Alliance: eleven states, three million people, one hundred thousand warriors—fifty thousand direct troops—and two hundred thousand militia." As expected, it was the absolute hegemon of Mesoamerica.

"And what of our hereditary enemies, the Tlaxcalan?" Xolotl was somewhat impatient to understand this world.

"The Tlaxcalan have four major states. The status of the four states is actually not very different. They support one another, and there is no concept of troops directly under a capital. Tlaxcala State in the north and Tepeyacac State in the south are stronger, with four hundred thousand people each. The central states of Huexotzinco and Cholula have two hundred thousand each."

"The center of Cholula State is Cholula City, the holy city of the Nahuatl faith, and its position is far more transcendent." Avet earnestly recounted intelligence on their mortal enemy.

"Like us Mexica People, the Tlaxcalan possess an efficient military mobilization system. Their warrior ratio is also around one in thirty."

Xolotl nodded to show he understood. The two peoples were close in culture and blood; in truth, they were relatives who killed one another rather than loved one another.

"Tlaxcalan Alliance: four states, 1.2 million people, forty thousand warriors, eighty thousand militia."

"What about the Otomi People we are currently campaigning against?" The youth looked north.

"The Otomi People? They are a very loose alliance. Otopan City merely serves as their ancestral land and defensive core. Their four principal states are Xilotepec State with three hundred thousand people, Otopan with over two hundred thousand, Pamus with two hundred thousand, and Guamare with three hundred thousand.

Among them, Pamus and Guamare have many Chichimec Dog-kin. They do not obey the Otomi Alliance; they merely live intermingled with them. Sometimes they exchange and blend together, sometimes they slaughter one another. In truth, the Otomi People have long intermarried extensively with the various Dog-kin tribes. The name Guamare State comes from the Guamal Dog-kin."

Xolotl was rather astonished. The Otomi People had nearly one million people? Then he recalled the wooden board with red circles and crosses in Totek's hand, as well as the army's brutal sweeping operations along the way, and could only shake his head.

"Otomi Alliance: four states, roughly six hundred thousand people, over twenty thousand warriors, militia unknown."

Standing atop the lofty watchtower, the youth and his teacher discussed all under heaven so absorbedly that it seemed the world itself lay within their hearts. Before them stretched a complex and vast world. Their longing for all under heaven burned fiercely!

"Chichimec Dog-kin are everywhere across the northwestern highlands and deserts. They migrate constantly and are broadly divided into eight tribes. They have no formal warriors, but every person is a soldier. The four states near the Otomi People contain at least seven hundred thousand Dog-kin."

"Chichimec Dog-kin: four known states, at least eight tribes, roughly seven hundred thousand people, nomads without horses, every person a soldier."

"The Huastec are relatively loyal vassals of the Alliance. They live near the lakes at the eastern end of all under heaven, scattered across the northeastern plains. They once had an alliance as well, but we campaigned against it and dissolved it long ago.

They are born musicians, with a tradition of worshipping nakedness, and rarely wear clothes. Mm, their young women are slender in figure and skilled at rhythmic dances." Avet looked at the youth and smiled meaningfully.

"Huastec: spread across six states, roughly six hundred thousand people, fifteen thousand warriors, thirty thousand militia."

"The Tecos people live west and north of the Tarasco people, near the lakes at the western end of all under heaven. They have a loose alliance and have constantly been campaigned against by the Tarascan Alliance. Colima State is their ancestral land, with nearly two hundred thousand people, and there is also a world-rift there that smokes and spits fire."

"Tecos Alliance: four states, seven hundred thousand people, twenty thousand warriors, fifty thousand militia."

Colima? That name sounded very familiar. Xolotl racked his mind, searching through old memories.

Colima, Colima Volcano? The famous "Volcano of Fire," extremely active. When he had traveled in Mexico, he had watched this volcano erupt. Billowing smoke had blotted out the sky and shrouded the land in every direction, an extraordinary sight. It had even forced the closure of nearby airports, ports, and iron mines.

Iron mines? Iron mines! A flash of inspiration streaked through Xolotl's mind. He suddenly remembered a piece of information he had not cared about at all then, but which was now of vital importance.

"The Peña Colorada Iron Mine!" Xolotl was so excited that he nearly jumped from the watchtower, fortunately caught by Avet in one swift motion.

Because it lay within an active volcanic geological belt, Colima State possessed abundant mineral resources. There was Mexico's—and indeed all Mesoamerica's—largest iron mine: Peña Colorada, a magnetite deposit of magmatic-hydrothermal apatite. Its ore reserves were astonishing. The surface ore layer was fifty to three hundred meters thick and extended for more than ten kilometers.

"Colima, the Iron Age, hope!" Xolotl cried out involuntarily, grabbing Avet's arm again. The teacher's expression did not change. He had long grown accustomed to his student's wild words and occasional outbursts of excitement.

Once he had calmed down somewhat, Xolotl realized things were not so simple. Historically, the great Colima iron mine would not be discovered and exploited until modern times, for three unfavorable reasons.

First, its main ore layer lay more than one hundred meters underground. Only scattered iron ore could be found on the surface. A hundred meters underground was naturally nothing to later generations, but it was a great challenge now. It would require sufficient manpower, material resources, and copper picks, as well as years of excavation.

Second, the great iron mine lay in the mountains, and transportation was extremely inconvenient. Roads through the mountains would have to be built to transport the iron ore.

Third, the great iron mine had formed under the influence of magma, and the active Colima Volcano stood nearby. Mining carried potential risks.

Nevertheless, Xolotl would never let this great iron mine slip away. It was the dawn and hope of a new age!

During the rest of the conversation, the youth became somewhat absentminded. He only roughly recorded Avet's descriptions of the various tribes.

"Nahua-Totonac: seven states, seven hundred thousand people. Twenty thousand warriors, forty thousand militia. A loose city-state alliance on the eastern coast, merged with some Toltec people.

Chontal: four states, two hundred thousand people. Five thousand warriors, ten thousand militia. Settlements without cities along both banks of the eastern Balsas River, south of the Mexica Alliance. Mexica People are constantly moving in.

Mixtec: five states, eight hundred thousand people. Twenty thousand warriors, forty thousand militia. A loose city-state alliance south of the Tlaxcalan Alliance. They are the mountain People of the Clouds and also the finest goldsmiths, with Tototepec State as their core ancestral land. One of the Empire's disloyal vassals.

Zapotec: three states, five hundred thousand people. Fifteen thousand warriors, thirty thousand militia. A loose city-state alliance east of the Mixtec Alliance, rich in cochineal. The Empire's second disloyal vassal. Farther east of the Zapotec lies the terrifying, boundless rainforest, leading into the unknown Maya heartland.

Tepanec: four states, two hundred thousand people. Five thousand warriors, ten thousand militia. Southwest of the Mixtec Alliance along the Pacific coast, too weak to be worth mentioning.

There are also Wildman tribes among the mountains and forests, large and small, impossible to count clearly. Wherever sweet potatoes can survive, there are human settlements."

"Eighty states under heaven, divided by distance into five garments. Fifty years in a human life, a hundred battles unite nine clans!" The youth's heart surged, and he could not resist reciting a crooked poem. Then he reconsidered. Fifty years in a human life? Pah, pah, what a bad omen. That was a slip of the tongue.

"And what of the more distant Maya?" After a while, Xolotl asked Avet curiously again.

Avet wracked his brains and pondered for a long time before answering. "That is the end of all under heaven, the boundless southeastern rainforest. The Maya People are roughly divided into three kinds: the northern Yucatec Maya, the central Itza Corn People, and the southernmost K'iche' Corn People. Mm, Corn People is what the Maya People call themselves."

"As for more specific numbers?" At last, the commander shrugged, absolutely refusing to say he did not know. "Once we have conquered the known world, we can go and see the end of this world!"

Xolotl laughed heartily. The two looked south once more. Tarasco scouts were running toward the southern main camp. After a long while, a great mass of elite warriors clad in armor and helmets filed out. They carried enormous Copper Axes gleaming with cold light, radiating grim killing intent, and surrounded another tall back banner as they marched straight to the Lerma River.

The incessant fine rain finally came to a halt. Across the great river, hundreds of meters wide, the supreme commanders of the two armies faced one another from opposite banks. Their enormous back banners swayed in the wind as they saluted each other for the beginning of the campaign.

After spending a whole day sorting through maps and population data, I finally straightened out the various peoples of Mesoamerica. As I wrote, it turned into a five-thousand-character mega chapter.