Black Corporation: Joseon - Chapter 821
Episode 821: Siege of Tenochtitlan (7)
The battle between the indigenous allied forces and the Messica warriors gradually moved towards the center of Tenochtitlan.
When the battlefield was finally moved to Tenochtitlan’s great temple and palace, Messica’s high-ranking priests and nobles appeared.
“It is finally time for us to step forward.”
As Montezuma and other Messica leaders appeared, the conquest army that had been watching from behind began to move.
* * *
“It has finally appeared!”
“Kill!”
As Montezuma and other Messica leaders appeared, the indigenous allies began to push the Messica warriors even more fiercely.
“The time for revenge has come!”
“Let’s open their chests and take out their hearts!”
As the vengeful indigenous allies attacked, the Messica warriors also desperately tried to stop them.
“Protect Tlatoani!”
To protect Montezuma and the high priests, the last remaining Cuachiques (Mesica elite troops) and Pipiltin (Mesica nobles) fought with all their might against the natives.
However, more and more of the Mesica warriors, who were already weakened and outnumbered by the long siege, lost their lives and fell on the steps of the Great Temple.
The blood of the Mesica warriors began to flow down the steps of the main shrine, where the blood of those sacrificed as sacrifices would normally have flowed.
* * *
Ta-ta-tang!
When almost all of the Cuachiques and Pipiltines were dead and only Montezuma and a handful of high-ranking men remained, the conquering army intervened.
While the native warriors were hesitating at the sound of gunshots fired in the air, the soldiers of the conquering army divided the tribe between the Messicans and the natives.
“They will be punished through the imperial court!”
“Woooo!”
The native warriors, who heard the words of the commander of the conquering army through an interpreter, booed loudly and resisted.
However, when the conquering army warriors immediately raised their guns and aimed, they were forced to suppress their anger.
“This is what your chieftains and leaders have agreed upon! “Through the imperial trial, their crimes will be clearly recorded and they will be punished!”
Some high-ranking native warriors, who were pondering what the commander of the conquest army meant, asked the commander of the conquest army:
“Even if they do, what will they do with the others?”
“Those who surrender will be spared.”
The high-ranking warriors who heard the commander’s words chuckled, then turned around and shouted something at their own tribe warriors.
“Ooooh~.”
After hearing the words of the advanced warriors, the native warriors raised their blood-covered macuahuitl high, shouted, and scattered in all directions.
After a while, people’s screams began to echo throughout Tenochtitlan.
As screams came from all directions, the commander spoke to his subordinate officer next to him.
“It reminds me of the phrase ‘a grave tomb’.”
Wu Zi-she, who lost his father and brother to King Ping of Chu during the Spring and Autumn Warring States Period, later led the army of Wu and attacked Chu.
Wu Zishu, who succeeded in conquering the state of Chu, dug up the tomb of King Ping, who had already died, took out King Ping’s body, and then beat the body with a copper whip.
It is said that the body was beaten so many times that when Wu Ja-seo stopped whipping, the body could not even be found.
A subordinate officer, who understood the meaning of the idiom spoken by the commander, carefully raised a counterargument.
“Even so, it’s too much.”
“So it’s not a cave poem?”
“The survivors may feel resentful.”
“Isn’t that why we turned around and retreated?”
“….”
“The battle is ours, but next is politics. “Our job is done.”
After saying something meaningful to his subordinate, the commander turned around and gave an order.
“We will tie up those prisoners and lead them away. “The general will be busy from now on.”
“All right.”
The officer who received the order led his subordinates and tied up Montezuma and other high-ranking members of Messica and dragged them away.
* * *
Once the battlefield was somewhat settled, Lee Jing-ok entered Tenochtitlan.
Lee Jing-ok, who was looking at the ruins of Tenochtitlan with an indifferent expression, turned to the commanders of the conquering army who were waiting for him.
“Good job. “Thank you very much.”
“That’s too much praise.”
Lee Jing-ok, who praised the commanders, headed to where the leaders of Messica, including Montezuma, were.
Lee Jing-ok, who was looking at the captives kneeling on the ground, turned his head and gave an order to the commanders.
“Keep it locked up in an appropriate place. “Sooner or later, the judges from the tribunal will come.”
In response to Lee Jing-ok’s words, a commander stepped forward and expressed his opinion.
“All right. The resentment among the Haonde people runs deep. “If you think about the future, wouldn’t it be better to hand it over to them?”
Lee Jing-ok nodded slightly at the commander’s suggestion.
“In some ways, it could be a good method. But the empire has its own laws. And our imperial army must follow the military discipline of the empire, the laws of the empire, and the orders of His Majesty the Emperor. “His Majesty’s orders, both military discipline and law, dictate that they be handed over to the Tribunal.”
“All right.”
“And if I kill him without question now, I will feel relieved. But in the distant future, there will be people who will claim that they are unfair victims and that we are the villains.”
“No way…”
“When you become desperate to increase your fame, you will do all kinds of things. That’s why the referee’s ruling is necessary. And…”
Lee Jing-ok took a moment to catch his breath and continued his command.
“It is a law that requires a judgment from a referee to prevent the foolish actions of such people, and solid evidence is needed to obtain a proper judgment. Find those among the soldiers who are good at drawing and tell them to leave a clear picture of what those bastards did.”
“All right!”
* * *
According to Lee Jing-ok’s orders, the conquest army selected soldiers and began to thoroughly record everything in Tenochtitlan, especially buildings and traces of human sacrifice and cannibalism.
For this work, many soldiers and artillerymen skilled in drawing were mobilized.
The reason artillery units were mobilized was because accurate numerical records of the buildings and facilities where human sacrifices took place were needed.
In order for large, heavy artillery to demonstrate its power properly, properly made batteries were needed, and thanks to this, many artillerymen were experts in fortification and surveying.
The problem was that those who were mobilized and began recording work began to complain of severe mental fatigue.
“This is not something humans should do…”
The most obvious example was the building recorded as the ‘Skull Altar.’
-The Skull Altar is a building that is about 12 pieces long (about 36m), about 5 pieces wide (about 15m), and 2 pieces high (about 6m).
-The altar consists of two floors, with a skull tower and skull wall made of skulls on the second floor.
-A skull tower is a tower made of skulls stacked in a round shape in the shape of a well. It is about 6 feet (approximately 1.8m) in both height and width
– There is a skull wall behind the skull tower. This skull wall, called Tzompantli in their language, is in the shape of a half-buried skull tower described earlier.
-The skull wall is made by stacking display stands made of skulls. The gap between the front and back of this display stand is slightly less than 3 feet (approximately 0.9m)… (lower)
Those in charge of recording and translating various decorations made of human skulls into pictures complain of mental pain. did.
In the end, Lee Jing-ok had no choice but to divide the soldiers and alternate rest and work.
After much trouble, Lee Jing-ok, who received the report they wrote and read its contents, took deep breaths repeatedly to calm down his boiling anger.
“Huh! Huh~.”
Lee Jing-ok, who managed to calm down his anger by taking several deep breaths, gave an order to his subordinates.
“Give the captives just enough food to keep them from dying. “Make it so that you don’t even have the strength to commit suicide.”
“All right!”
“Even fill them with swords and shackles!”
* * *
The battle report written by Lee Jing-ok and the report on human sacrifice written by the conquering army arrived at Sinji Haenggung Palace using the fastest connection.
After safely returning from King Sejong’s funeral, Hyang checked the report and immediately gave an order.
“Send the judges from the tribunal as quickly as possible!”
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
“And make a copy of this report on human sacrifice and cannibalism and send it straight to our headquarters! “It will be an important reference for the Emperor when he makes his decision!”
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
The scent that gave the command muttered with a bitter expression.
“I would like to tell them all to kill, but there is a law and justification…”
In Joseon as well as the Empire, it was the king’s responsibility to decide on the death penalty, or the punishment for serious crimes.
Sentencing and sentencing for quite a few crimes were made through the judges created as the case progressed, but the death penalty had to be decided by the emperor.
If the county were to order the death penalty, it would be a serious violation of authority.
“But I can handle other things…”
Hyang began to write a letter to Wan.
The letter written by Hyang went to our headquarters along with the reports, and we were able to receive Wan’s response through the next regular service.
-Do as the situation dictates.
After receiving Wan’s answer, Hyang began to write down the order. After checking the contents of the completed order, Hyang muttered with a complicated expression.
“In the future, there will be more people who will curse at me… What’s there to know?”
* * *
Lee Jing-ok, who confirmed the order sent by Hyang, called the commanders together.
“What are the judges doing now?”
“We are checking again to see if what is written in the report is true.”
“What’s the reaction?”
“I don’t think there is any argument that he is guilty.”
“Hmm… I see. “The situation gave the order.”
As soon as the ‘situation’ was mentioned, the commanders immediately straightened their posture and looked at Lee Jing-ok. Lee Jing-ok delivered Hyang’s orders to the commanders.
– Among the captured Messicans, all except those awaiting trial at the Judgment Court are made public servants.
-Mesica people who became government slaves were put to work on road construction.
-The road on which they will be deployed is the section from the bridgehead to Tenochtitlan and the road connecting it with nearby cities.
-Use these to complete the bridgehead and Tenochtitlan connection road, which is currently being built by the Corps of Engineers, to a level that can be maintained permanently.
-Tenochtitlan will cut off all connecting roads and make it uninhabitable in the future.
-Mesicas who became government slaves are forced to live in a separate residence other than their original residence, including Tenochtitlan.
-The authority to supervise the Mesica people who became government slaves was entrusted to the natives who cooperated with the conquering army.
-The work performance of government workers is thoroughly supervised.
Lee Jing-ok and the commanders who had checked up to this point all had the same thought.
‘It’s a road murder.’
Like Tolax Caltech, there were many indigenous people who suffered from the Mesica people.
If they were given the authority to supervise them and rewarded and punished them according to their performance, it was certain that they would treat the Messicans harshly.
And Lee Jing-ok and the commanders’ expectations were exactly correct.
The Mesica people were mobilized to work at harsh construction sites as government slaves and had to work under the supervision of native supervisors.
Native overseers, driven by deep-rooted hostility and seeking rewards, treated the Mesica people harshly, and at some point, the number of the Mesica people began to decrease.
Thanks to this, the Mesica people came to live as a minority tribe in this region in the distant future.
In history before the intervention of the Incense, this was the opposite of the situation where they were still the dominant race in the Mexican region.
And because of this cruelty, it became the most famous of ‘Hyang’s few mistakes’.
However, politicians and historians from the indigenous tribes who had been attacked by the Messicans strongly opposed this.
“If the first emperor had not done this, the Mesicas would still be oppressing us! “That decision was the best decision for us who were oppressed!”