The tent’s canvas door was tightly closed, and a skylight opened on the top of the large tent. At noon, golden sunlight fell from the zenith, illuminating the yellowed scroll of the map, much like an ancient scroll passed down over centuries.
In fact, this map had only recently been drawn on bark paper newly produced in the Lake Capital City. The bark paper was durable, but due to its high lignin content, it always turned yellow upon oxidation. Even after bleaching, under the sunlight, the whiteness of the paper could not be maintained for long.
Upon hearing His Highness’s words, three confidants immediately gathered around and looked at the slightly yellow map, falling into deep thought.
The map, spread out, was quite large. It centered around two rivers, sketching out the territory of the Lake Region of Mexica. The map was densely covered with symbols and meticulously marked in different colors. Brown represented the layered mountains, symbolizing the terrain; blue portrayed the lengthy rivers, representing waterways; green depicted the dense forests, indicating vegetation. And black marked the towns of Tarasco, representing settlements.
Around the settlements, symbols in four different colors represented different political and military forces. To the East and due north was blue, symbolizing the friendly Mexica Alliance and the Otapan City-State. To the southeast was green, symbolizing the neutral Mistec and Zapotecs. To the northwest and far west was yellow, symbolizing the unknown Guamal Canine Descendants and northern Tekos Tribe. And at the center of the map, to the extreme east and southwest, was a glaring red, symbolizing the hostile Tarasco Kingdom, Tlaxcala Alliance, and southern Tekos Tribe.
At that moment, His Highness’s palm was firmly pressed on the southwest corner of the map—the red area of the southern Tarsus Tribe, the mountainous land of Colima! By the conspicuous blood-red mark was a prominently drawn black triangle, but its meaning was unknown.
Xiulote smiled and looked around the tent. He memorized the expressions of the generals and then patiently waited.
This was a military map of Mexica he had created over several months, modeled after military maps he remembered. Since gaining surrendered troops from various parts of Tarasco, he had handpicked individuals to collect large amounts of scout intelligence and establish a map-compiling team. In addition to geographical information and military intelligence, estimates of local populations, agricultural production, and mineral development were all recorded on the map.
In Xiulote’s plan, this map would expand from Mexica to encompass the entire world, evolving from a single map into a comprehensive atlas. Later, it would extend to the entirety of America and even the entire world, becoming a military and national tool for Mexica monarchs through the ages to govern the nation, expand territory, form alliances, and conquer disloyal subjects!
Toltec examined the map intently for a long while, only to feel that the dense annotations were like wriggling tadpoles, making his head spin. Thus, he was the first to inquire.
"Your Highness, is this the southwestern mountainous region, the land of Colima?"
Xiulote nodded slightly.
"Exactly! My only concern is Su’angua fleeing to the southwestern mountains; other directions pose no great difficulty."
"Your Highness, why is that? I’ve heard from merchants that the southwestern mountainous region is sparsely populated and remote, harboring layers upon layers of mountains, with steaming mouths of demons everywhere. Hundreds of Tekos Tribe settlements cultivate and hunt in the mountains, living in poverty. For a bit of arable land and a few water sources, they fight each other relentlessly. Further west lies nothing but the vast Great Lake."
Hearing this, Toltec scratched his head and continued with his puzzled inquiry.
"In such a barren and desolate area, if Su’angua leads his troops there, without cotton or food, without weapons or soldiers, and has to fight with the local tribes, he’d likely starve or impoverish to death within a few months! Wouldn’t it pose a greater threat to the Alliance if he fled to the powerful Tlaxcala in the east, or the prosperous Mistec in the south?"
Xiulote looked admiringly at his beloved general and said with a smile.
"Toltec, I haven’t seen you in two months, and it seems I need to take another look at you with fresh eyes. Very well, you speak with reason, showing much diligence recently!... Su’angua leads an unknown number of the Royal Legion, possibly thousands, and there are very few places he could go. The most likely scenario is of course heading back to save the Capital City, avoiding our entry or actively engaging us in battle!"
"The other directions, the east towards Tlaxcala is too distant, not bordering Tarasco. To the south, Mistec is nominally a subject of the Alliance. The Mistec leader might secretly communicate with Tarasco, but will surely not openly accept the enemy’s King, let alone allow their legions to cross the border. More importantly, these areas are under the might of the Alliance’s armies, ready to face military action at any moment!"
"Only the southwestern mountainous region of Colima! That area is the southwestern frontier of the Tarasco Kingdom, more than thirteen hundred miles from the Lake Capital City and several hundred miles from Qinchongcan City. The complex mountains are difficult to conquer, and guerrilla enemies are hard to locate, doubling the advantage for those who defend. The Alliance cannot reach such distances, nor maintain such extended supply lines. If Su’angua decides to abandon the Capital City and head directly there, he turns into a wolf entering the mountains, becoming a significant threat to the Alliance!"
Bertade pondered for a moment and then slowly began to speak.
"The topography of the Colima mountains is rugged, easily defended and difficult to attack. Going north through the Lerma River connects to the Chapala Lake Region. Eastward along the tributaries of the Tarsas River communicates with the southern regions of the kingdom. The Tarasco Royal Family has had branches in all states for two hundred years, with immense influence. If Su’angua seeks refuge there, and reorganizes the Tarasco Kingdom, rebellions around the lake area will erupt one after another, and cannot be quelled in just a few years!"