Aztec Civilization: Destiny to Conquer America!

As the sun set and night fell, the rear army's two thousand Samurai finally arrived with twenty thousand Militia and baggage, setting up camp in Xilotepec. The campsite was abuzz with human voices. The Militia were busy organizing the baggage, grinding corn flour, baking cornbread, and preparing provisions for the departure the next day. The Samurai gathered by camp units, discussing their hopes of returning home and fantasizing about the beauty of their homeland. The new Commanders of each camp were not idle; they were using their time to familiarize themselves with the Centurions under their command and to restore the organizational structure of the army. Inside the tent, Aweit shed the attire of the King and the burdens of royalty, revealing a more relaxed and comfortable demeanor. He wore only a robe, continuing to handle military affairs beside the campfire. On the eve of the expedition, military matters were intricate. Xiulote also assisted by his side, learning and helping to arrange the subsequent marching plans. After the surrender of the Xilotepec camp, the army now boasted thirty thousand Samurai and nearly thirty thousand Militia. The daily logistics arrangements, the marching plans of each camp, and the replenishment of food and supplies... all these matters came pouring in. With the increase in numbers, every task became extremely burdensome. And now, as they were about to face battle, the work became even more complicated. The army had to prepare various plans and contingencies, even though most of these plans would never be used. These affairs first went through preliminary handling by the staff, then flowed to the Supreme Commander, awaiting the final decision—as if they were simply wooden boards in the hands of a youth. "There are still too few Samurai who are proficient in mathematics!" Looking at the wooden board in his hand, Xiulote inwardly called for talent. In his hands were the camp records handed over after the surrender of Kuluka: a massive wooden board containing all the camp information depicted in drawings. Because there was no established script, the Mexica commanders had to use drawings to record detailed military intelligence. The youth first saw a group of small pictorial figures, which were very illustrative; he understood them at a glance. Above were eight simple little figures holding sticks, representing eight thousand Militia. Below them were four square little figures wearing hats and Leather Armor, representing four thousand City-State Warriors. At the very bottom were four figures with hats, wearing Leather Armor embossed with the character "return," representing four thousand Samurai directly affiliated with the Royal Family. To the far left of the Samurai figures were three large flags of varying sizes. The flags bore a rectangular block filled densely with vertical bars and divided in the middle by a red strip, like a ruler. "What is this? A command flag?" The youth studied it for a while and made a judgment. Aweit took the wooden board and glanced at it. "Correct, Commander flags. The three flags represent the Samurai coming from three different City-States. The floral pattern of the City-State is on the edge of the flag," Aweit recognized. In this era, such military knowledge was a secret passed down between master and disciple, accessible only to senior commanders. "The rectangular block represents the number of troops," Aweit pointed to the largest rectangle, "Look, this pattern is the emblem of the Capital of Tenochtitlan, considering the size of the block, it's around four thousand people." As he spoke, he pointed to the other two commander flags, "These two, the smaller City-State probably has about one thousand seven hundred Samurai, and the larger one about two thousand three hundred." The youth was astounded; calculating area from images was such an impressive skill? "Teacher, that's amazing, how can you calculate so accurately?" Aweit laughed heartily, tapping the youth lightly on the head. Hmm, it didn't hurt at all. "Look at these vertical bars in the rectangle, each bar represents a Samurai squad, distinguished by different patterns, generally consisting of 80 to 120 people. Count how many bars there are, and you can roughly figure out how many Samurai there are," Xiulote nodded. The Samurai squad was the basic tactical unit, usually led by an experienced Samurai who could command the troops in Scout, hunting, Formations, assault, and defense orders. One day, when there was a chance, he still had to reform the army into unified squads of a hundred and Centurions. "So what does this red ruler mean?" The youth continued to inquire. "It depends on the commander's own ideas who drew the picture," Aweit smiled. "The red line divides the Samurai squads into major categories. For me, I prefer to place squads skilled in offense above and those skilled in defense below." "And my former commander teacher liked to place the less important civilian Militia above as tactical expendables and the important Nobility Samurai below for cautious use." The youth understood that distinctions were everywhere, and everyone had a ruler in their heart. Then, he looked again at the twenty small flags to the left of the Militia figures, the flags had simpler patterns with a blank rectangle above them. "So these twenty small flags mean that the Militia come from twenty different villages? But why is the rectangle blank?" the youth extrapolated. "Right, twenty different villages; the patterns represent the villages belonging to different Great Nobility or Royal Family," Aweit nodded with a smile, a rare moment of relaxation while mentoring Xiulote. "As for why it is blank? Of course, that's because no one knows the exact number! The Militia are conscripted by village, led by the village leaders, and gathered in groups. The commanders will only roughly estimate their numbers based on their area, and then deploy them to specific construction projects or expendable secondary battlefields," Thus the youth understood, Militia were consumable war assets, widely used, with no need to know specific numbers or casualties.