Central Mountain City, Chuta Mansion Meeting Hall.
"I think the gods will be very pleased with the kingdom's grand ceremony", I mentioned as I looked at the map in the hall.
"I hope so", Simte replied with a worried sigh.
"Tell me more. What other ceremonies have you planned?", I asked with interest.
"This pilgrimage, which you named as such, will be called the First Journey of the Gods and will take place in spring, just the day before the full moon", Simte explained. "There will be a second journey, known as the Second Journey of the Gods, in which we will begin from the same place and end at the cathedral in the capital of the Northwest Region", he explained as he looked at the map.
"I understand... Which route will you follow?", I inquired.
"We'll reach the village by the river port, and we'll set out, visiting each location, performing ceremonies, and providing support to those in need. We'll reach the closest town to the capital of the Northwest Region and then continue foot to the cathedral", Simte described, tracing the route over the river and the land route they would take. "As for the date, it will be in the fall", Simte added.
"I understand. How long will this ceremony take?", I asked.
"There won't be a specific time... If people don't require our assistance, we'll just perform the relevant ceremonies at each stop and then continue the land route", Simte replied enthusiastically.
"Are there more ceremonies?", I asked, somewhat confused. "I thought people who worshipped multiple gods performed many ceremonies", I pondered while waiting for Simte's response.
"Yes, young Chuta", Simte replied enthusiastically. "The capital of the Northwest Region will organize a pilgrimage ceremony to the mountains in its territory. The North Region will hold ceremonies at the lake. The Northwest Region will have a pilgrimage that will go from the mountains to the sea. The East Region will hold an event at Snow Mountain in its territory. And our central regions will also have their own celebrations", he explained, pointing out each region on the map and the location or route of the ceremonies.
"I understand", I stated thoughtfully as I looked at the map.
"These are not the only ones", Simte added. "There will be many more ceremonies, though they are minor in comparison. The assistants will provide you with all the information tomorrow", Simte clarified, noticing my confusion.
"Please make sure all the ceremonies are included in a Kingdom ceremony manual", I told Simte seriously.
"It's already being worked on, young Chuta", Simte replied, giving me an expectant expression.
"You don't miss a thing", I commented with a laugh.
"I've been helping him for many years, Son of Heaven. I know you care about keeping the entire kingdom informed about the gods", Simte said with a grateful tone.
An hour later, in the Mansion's conference room.
The atmosphere in the room was peculiar to anyone who entered unexpectedly. There was a group of muscular men, dressed in leather armor adorned with gold, with a few feathers decorating their heads and torsos. Several young men could also be seen sitting in different corners of the room, watching the men with admiration.
"Let me be clear", I declared in a serious tone.
"First, we will divide the Kingdom into two broad zones", I began to explain while pointing at the map of the room, capturing everyone's attention.
"The northeast zone will include the northern part of the South-Central Region, as well as the North Central, Northwest, North, Northeast, and East regions. This area will be under the command of the General of the Northeast Zone... This general will be Michuá, who will act as governor of the Northeast Region for two years and then return to his usual duties", I clarified, indicating the corresponding regions. At the end, I began applause to celebrate the appointment.
"On the other hand, Sagua will command the other region, which includes the rest of the South-Central Region, as well as the West, Southwest, South, and Southeast regions", I mentioned, pointing out the areas under that zone.
"Both will be responsible for the security and internal defense of their territories, as well as leading military campaigns against our adversaries", I stated with a serious face.
"The assignments for each city have already been discussed, so I don't need to get involved in that", I commented nonchalantly as I walked calmly in front of the hall map. "However, there are some matters I want to discuss", I said, suddenly stopping in the middle of the map.
"Warrior tournaments will be held as a form of entertainment, and you will also participate to showcase the best fighters in the territory to the Kingdom. This will also serve to discover promising new warriors", I announced firmly.
"On another matter, negotiations with the people of the regions we do not yet fully control will be completed by the middle of this year at the latest", I said, addressing General Sagua directly.
"I need you and all the officers in your area to establish ports and regiments in the main towns in the western zone as soon as possible… At the same time, we explore the Northeast Ocean, we will also do so in the Western Ocean, so we cannot afford to delay this. Also, as usual, recruit local warriors for training and preparation in the assigned regiments", I stated, looking at the general of the Southwest Zone and their respective officers.
"It will be done as you indicate, young Chuta", they all responded, standing at attention.
"Tell me", I said, noticing Michuá raise his hand.
"Will we soon be able to use weapons with the power of the gods?", he asked, displaying childlike enthusiasm.
"I'm sorry I can't oblige you, but those weapons aren't quite ready yet", I replied. "I'm aware that you've already witnessed them in operation, but it's a very risky tool, and obtaining its components is quite complicated. However, it might be that in the new regions we'll be able to find large quantities of minerals that haven't yet been used", I explained to Michuá.
"I understand", he replied, showing a bit of dissatisfaction with my answer.
"Apparently, there will always be people dedicated to exploiting resources", I thought, remembering the cannons we tested a while back.
When I was two years old, we learned from the Tairona people's envoys that a new emperor of the northern people had risen to power; he was called 'Tizoc' in their language.
At first, I didn't pay much attention to this news because I didn't remember much of my previous life, but after a few years had passed, I had the feeling that this name was important. When I turned 5, explorers from the kingdom arrived with news of the appointment of a new emperor, as well as the confrontation between him and another empire west of the Aztecs.
"Apparently it was important", I thought at the time.
I had realized, with the appointment of the new Aztec emperor, that the encounter with the kingdoms of the old continent was closer than I thought. The new emperor, named 'Ahuizotl', brought back immediate memories of a history book I read as a child in my previous life.
I clearly remembered that this was the emperor before 'Moctezuma II,' who would be the emperor who would welcome Hernán Cortez to Tenochtitlán. This emperor believed that Cortez's arrival represented the arrival of the gods in the world, just as they had done in previous periods according to his religion. However, all he achieved with this was to increase the advance of the European kingdoms in search of riches on this new continent.
"Apparently, I have a few more years of preparation left", I reflected at the time.
At just five years old, with more memories from my previous life and these new discoveries, I was able to determine what time I was at. With the appointment of the new Aztec emperor, I knew I was in the late 15th century. Most likely, there were only a couple of years left until Christopher Columbus arrived in the Caribbean islands.
Although at first, with the first cannon models, I was only trying to bring one of history's most feared weapons to this continent, new information and the discovery of the short preparation time I had left made me prioritize incorporating new technologies.
I needed many of the technologies involved in cannon manufacturing to emerge, and very quickly, so establishing the Simte Academy was one of the priorities. While the new students were studying, a group of researchers from the development office, led by Faoa, helped me with the first steps of these new technologies.
We created a glassmaking workshop to develop chemical laboratory equipment and thereby obtain the materials needed to mass-produce gunpowder. At the same time, we improved iron production by establishing new types of furnaces, such as blast furnaces and reverberatory furnaces, although the efficiency of these furnaces is much lower than their later counterparts.
Also, the search for new deposits of sulfur and saltpeter began to produce gunpowder in large quantities. Within the Kingdom, a couple of deposits of each material were found in different areas. To obtain these materials and foster new local economies, I decided that each leader in these areas would establish a sulfur mine in the South-Central Region and saltpeter mines in the North and Northeast regions.
"With this, the use of currency will begin to become more popular", Chuquy told me after the leaders' meeting when I was five.
"Not only that, but it will also help people decide to move to areas with other jobs", I commented. "People will no longer just live to eat and die; now we will give them the option to progress", I argued to Chuquy, who was with me at the time.
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[A/N: CHAPTER COMPLETED
Hello everyone.
Chuita finally tells us an approximate date for the year he was born, based on the approximate dates of certain Aztec leaders' reigns.
Unnecessary fact of the day. Latitudes and longitudes have been used for many centuries. On sundials, certain numbers were used, without precise definition, to calculate the time and position based on the shadow cast on the clock.
Read my other novel called The Walking Dead: Vision of the Future.
You can find it on my profile.]