"Honorable newly appointed Mexica Tlatohuani," said a Priest of Xilotepec City, holding a staff within the tent surrounded by curtains. "Descendants of the Primordial God, the God of Day and Night, Ometeotl, greet you."
Xiulote stood on the left side of the Priesthood inside the tent, curiously examining the attire of the Xilotepec envoy — a mix of black and white stripes reminiscent of a wild animal from his homeland twenty thousand li away — the national treasure, the giant panda.
To the right in the tent stood a group of commanders draped in Sun Stone capes; the man painted with a "serpent woman" on his back was the leader. Aweit stood at the back of the commanders' group, wearing a sincere smile.
In the center of the tent sat the King, adorned in a splendid red and white battle robe, his head topped with a skull helm. The King sat high on a platform, maintaining the majesty of a god. He had no intention of descending to perform sacred rites but instead gazed coldly at the envoy.
"Respected King," the Priest envoy bowed his head, his tone all the more respectful. "Xilotepec has always timely paid tribute to you and the great Alliance, and the City Lord has married a noblewoman from Mexica. We are loyal subjects of the great Alliance. I'm unaware of why His Majesty would march to war against us."
The King softly gestured to the Priesthood to continue maintaining his mythical posture.
Before Xiulote, an elderly Priest in a Sun Cape stepped forward: "Xilotepec is guilty of three crimes. First, the quantity of last year's tribute did not meet the requirements of the Alliance. Second, they secretly allied with the Otomi City-States to the west, harboring ill intentions. Third, they worship the old gods." When mentioning the third point, the elderly Priest looked sharply at the envoy.
The envoy maintained his bowed posture until he heard the third charge, at which point he lifted his head, his face showing a shocked expression.
The Priest continued: "The great Descendants of the Sun God demand that Xilotepec City-State surrender ten years' worth of tribute, sacrifices of three thousand men, annul alliances with the Otomi City-States. Hand over the Ritual Plates used for ceremonies and record-keeping in the temples, and convert to the worship of the great Sun God, War God Huitzilopochtli."
"Surrender the Ritual Plates and convert? These are unacceptable terms!" the Priest envoy shouted, clearly losing his composure. "The great Primordial God watches over us, the City-State boasts one hundred thousand warriors, three years of food supplies, and fortifications as solid and indestructible as mountain-top Divine Stones."
The King gestured again to the officers. Xiulote saw that the stony-faced leader stepped forward: "Then we will besiege the city for three years! The Tampen River will continue to bring us provisions, and reinforcements from the Alliance are continuously arriving. We can stay here for ten years!"
"Moreover, you have only twenty thousand warriors and a year's worth of food supplies," the stony man coldly spat out the harsh truth, "After a year, from Descendants to slaves, every male in the city will be sacrificed."
The envoy's expression froze, and silence filled the tent for a moment.
"Tributes, sacrifices, Ritual Plates, conversion." King Tizoc spoke for the first time, "Go back and relate to the Divine Descendants of your City-State that they have only one chance."
The envoy from Xilotepec could only leave silently.
After the envoy departed, the solemn atmosphere in the tent lightened somewhat. Tizoc relaxed his divine posture and asked Ahuizotl with a smile, "My dear brother, what's the news from the Otomi to the far west?"
Ahuizotl approached, his face becoming serious as he answered, "Respected King, according to intelligence gathered by our merchants, the Otomi are mobilizing. The nearby Otapan has mustered forty thousand people, with only ten thousand City-State Warriors. The more distant Guamare and Pamus each mobilized twenty thousand people, with each City-State Warrior numbering eight thousand."
Tizoc nodded, then asked the stony cold man beside him with a smile, "My loyal Chief Commander Totec, how goes the preparation of the legion?"
The stern Totec finally revealed a slight smile, responding, "If Otapan's people rush to their aid, we will surprise them on the road." The other commanders also displayed understanding smiles.
After concluding the military discussion, Tizoc finally found time to notice a corner of the tent.
"Xiulote." He beckoned, smiling and inviting Xiulote over.
"I just heard from Ahuizotl about your plan to build a large wooden trebuchet?"
Tizoc frowned slightly and muttered "Oh," not questioning what a 'trebuchet' was, as it seemed trivial to him.
"You say the sun is a giant fireball?" Tizoc went back to the main topic.
"Yes, the Sun is a giant fireball, much larger than the Earth and very far from us," Xiulote answered earnestly.
"Where does the Sun God reside?" Tizoc asked sternly, looking into Xiulote's eyes.
"This... it should be on the Sun," Xiulote cautiously weighed his words, not daring to debate the existence of gods, especially when the theologian was none other than the supreme Divine King.
"You say the earth is a giant ball of dirt?" Tizoc pressed on.
"Then where does the Earth Mother Goddess dwell?"
"...She should be at the center of the giant ball of dirt."
"Come, Xiulote, spin around in your place a few times."
Xiulote was baffled for a moment before obediently spinning a few times.
"Do you feel dizzy?" the King asked with a smile.
"Dizzy," Xiulote innocently replied.
"So, you say the earth is constantly spinning?" the King chuckled, "Then why don't we usually feel dizzy?"
Xiulote was at a loss for words.
He wanted to talk about the concept of relative velocity, but soon realized it was futile and irrelevant. In the end, he could only stammer.
The King seemed very pleased. He appeared to have shed some hidden worries and concerns and no longer scrutinized the youth with piercing eyes.
He gestured with his hand, beckoning the Tengu-clad Xiulote to come closer and step onto the platform. For the first time, he affectionately pinched Xiulote's face with his hand. Hmm, it hurt a little.
"You child," the King chuckled, "since you are to follow the path of a Priest, you must study astronomy and theology seriously. At least attain half of your grandfather's expertise."
"After all, your grandfather has already told me that you will eventually succeed him as the High Priest of Teotihuacan. Initially, I planned to marry a Princess to you, but alas, a Priest cannot have an official wife."
"Ahuizotl, my brother," the King signaled to the military officers, and Ahuizotl quickly mounted the high platform, bowing his head in respect to the King.
"The Teotihuacan lineage is also a direct bloodline of the Sun God, closely related to us in Tenochtitlan. You should treat Xiulote as your own nephew, and in this upcoming campaign, let Xiulote stay by your side. Teach him the basics of war and military."
"You should devote more time to Xiulote. As for the intelligence and guard squad you handle, let the Chief Commander Totec take over temporarily."
"Yes," Ahuizotl's face showed frank respect and obedience, with no trace of dissatisfaction.
"Xiulote, the Teotihuacan City-State has always been the most loyal supporter of the Royal Family. You must loyally obey the next Mexica Tlatohuani," Tizoc said with a smile, talking to Xiulote but his gaze stayed fixed on Ahuizotl's face.
When mentioning the "next Mexica Tlatohuani", he scrutinized every slight expression change on Ahuizotl's face. "Just like your grandfather did with me."
"I will heed your teachings," Xiulote dared not lose focus at this moment.
"Good. You may leave now."
They had walked far from the big tent, so far that the sun on the horizon began to set. The glaring sunlight finally moved away from the land.
"Congratulations," Ahuizotl said to Xiulote with a smile.