Aztec Civilization: Destiny to Conquer America!

Xiulote shook his head and continued to analyze the military situation from the drawings. He suddenly saw a very vivid shape. "Is this yellow cluster a corn cake? There's one, two, three, four... twenty-five?" "Hmm. This cluster represents the ready-made dry food, usually corn cakes. Normally, when stationed, the samurai can eat just two meals a day, one in the morning and one in the evening, each consisting of two cakes. On the march, a strong samurai needs at least three cakes per meal. And on the day before a battle, samurai need to accumulate more physical strength, so they will eat three meals, each consisting of more than three cakes." The young man nodded, understanding that food supplies must precede the troops. Battles and marches consume more food. Marching rations must be light in weight and small in volume. The best choice is to make corn cakes, as they are convenient to carry and are dry and solid. "And here, one cluster of corn cakes represents the ten-day consumption of a thousand samurai. Twenty-five corn cakes mean that the main camp originally had enough marching rations for twenty-five thousand samurai for ten days. Kuluka really prepared well." "Tomorrow we need to deploy thirty thousand samurai, and we must prepare at least ten days' worth of dry rations, so that would require thirty corn cakes. It's better to have some extra, so let's have thirty thousand militiamen work tonight and make up to forty by dawn!" After speaking, Aweit called his trusted aide to immediately convey the new orders. "What about the militia's food supply?" the young man asked curiously, as he hadn't seen a corresponding symbol. "The militia generally brings their own food, mostly sweet potatoes, corn, beans, and squash. They will also forage for additional items like wild rabbits, field mice, wild vegetables, leaves, or insects during the march. If there is a shortage of food in the camp, the militiamen are usually the first to be abandoned. Commanders typically launch a meaningless assault to expend them first to prevent unrest among the militia. Of course, if there is enough food in the camp and the commander wants to train the militia, they also will be supplied with an extra meal of corn cakes each day." Xiulote remained silent for a moment. An ancient Huaxia poem says, "Men remain sleepless, generals' white hairs and soldiers' tears." In the writings of civil officials, there is a shared sentiment between generals and soldiers. However, the militia cannot be compared to the samurai, let alone to the commanders. The militia must labor day and night, preparing dry rations and digging ditches. They must also endure continuous hunger and be the first to suffer casualties. Thus, the soldiers should only have tears, not white hairs, because they don't live long enough to develop them. The moment of tenderness passed quickly. The young man looked around again but didn't find any new food symbols. He then asked with perplexity, "How much food is left in the main camp?" Aweit promptly turned the large wooden board over. In that instant, hundreds of food symbols in the form of simple square sketches appeared before the young man's eyes. Corn, beans, squash, fish, avocados, chili peppers, and cocoa were all depicted in individual square frames, neatly arranged to fill the entire board. Xiulote occasionally saw frames with corn being crossed out, and others circled. "What do these frames represent? And these lines and circles?" "Like the corn cake clusters, a frame represents the ten-day consumption for a thousand people. Crossed-out frames indicate losses, such as Otomi guerrilla attacks or mountain transport damages. Circled ones indicate spoilage; this food can harm a samurai's health and, after simple processing, is left for the militia. There are always militiamen for whom the food is insufficient." There are now... let me count... about three hundred frames here, which means food for one hundred thousand people for a month. This was likely prepared for Tizoc's grand army, now all amassed here. Xilotepec's main camp benefits from its proximity to the river, making it convenient to transport food. This batch of food should be enough for us!" However, this kind of frame is quite inaccurate. Such raw food can sometimes feed only eight hundred people, and other times up to twelve hundred, depending a lot on the quartermaster's mathematical skills and the rate at which the food spoils." If there are no major issues, the losses are still tolerable. But if a major problem arises, it is the time for the quartermasters to pay with their lives, regardless of their nobility rank. For the Alliance, it's also the position that sees the most executions." "As a commander, to ensure there is an accurate amount of food when the samurai march, it is still better to choose processed corn cakes. Corn cakes can also be stored longer than raw food." Xiulote nodded; food storage and transportation are always major issues. In the warm, humid rainy season, storage losses alone can account for up to thirty percent per month, and transportation losses are proportional to the distance." In simple encampments, old food often cannot be stored for long, so the army's food supply is always insufficient." Once the supply lines are cut and there are no new food supplies, the old food quickly spoils during the rainy season. Just like the current King Tizoc, he is definitely facing a severe food shortage. And once there is a shortage, the military's morale plummets, and combat effectiveness rapidly declines." "If we could establish an efficient logistics team, it would greatly reduce the Empire's burden of food supply when deploying. Of course, first I need to cultivate a group of experts proficient in calculation." The young man set another goal for military reform in his mind. Xiulote continued to turn the wooden board back to its front. His attention was finally caught by a row of prominent long banners in the center of the board, adorned with many bright green feathers, next to various intricate patterns. "What is this? It looks very detailed." The young man was puzzled, counting a total of nine long banners.