"Tlaxcalans? Eating our Tortillas?!"
The Sun hung high overhead, blazing fiercely. There was no winter on the Mexica plateau, and even now, in late autumn, the sunlight was still enough to make a man sweat. Sweat beaded on the forehead of the farming garrison chief, Tai Shishan, as he widened his eyes and glared hard at the relay station chief before him, Luo One-Arm, barking sharply.
"Old Luo! This is our village's grain! Our village's Tortillas! Why should we let some damned Tlaxcalans eat them?!"
"Tai Shan... This is an army passing through. This is war! Marshal Kuluka, in His Majesty's name, has issued the royal order for the Western Expedition! Full mobilization, an attack on the Lake Chapala region to the northwest... This campaign is going to be a big one!"
Relay station chief Luo One-Arm stretched out his only hand and forcefully gestured "big." His expression was very grave, and his tone was firm, allowing no room for argument.
"You know this! In our kingdom, war comes first! In wartime, Warriors come first! The marshal's scouts gave instructions for logistical supply, so I have to carry them out!!"
Hearing the relay station chief's words, firm as nails driven into iron, the farming garrison chief Tai Shishan opened his mouth, and for a moment could not speak. The Lake Kingdom was founded on farming and war, campaigning east and west, without a single year free of fighting. And as a retired Level 3 Warrior, he understood wartime army demands very clearly.
The kingdom's military machine turned entirely for war! Without war, there would be no serfs, no enfeoffed fields or titles, no path upward for ordinary commoners and tribal warriors!
And without war, the hundreds of thousands of newly submitted tribes would become unstable elements inside the kingdom. If