Invincible urban management

Chapter 27, A Preliminary Exploration of the Aztec Empire

After getting used to the bitter cold wind outside the sleeping bag, the travelers slowly walked to the cliff by the lake.

The higher you go, the stronger the wind.A gust of cold wind blows past with the water vapor from the lake, making the dense bamboo forest growing on this highland, like a sea of ​​green grass, undulate and fluctuate with the airflow, making pleasant rustling sounds .

On the opposite side of this cliff is the city of Tenochtitlan, which stands at the bottom of the valley and in the center of the lake.

Even across a vast expanse of water, it can be seen that this is a rather magnificent city.

Tenochtitlan, the capital of the Aztec Empire, was built on an island in the middle of the lake. The terrain of this island is very low-lying and flat, or very close to the waterline, with almost no raised hills to be seen. , Just like a sandbar exposed when the tide recedes by the sea.

Since the Aztecs built a city here in 1325 according to the oracle, after nearly two centuries of construction and development, the entire island has been completely urbanized. There are no longer large tracts of farmland, but covered with chessboard-like Densely packed buildings.Except for the reeds on the shoals around the island, and the green gardens next to the palaces, at a glance, there are red and white stone buildings, and there is almost no gap.

Three embankments with a width of 10 meters connect this urbanized island with the shore of the lake, and there is an endless stream of business travelers on the embankments.Because the water quality of Lake Texcoco is poor, salty and turbid, it is not very suitable for drinking, so along the two long embankments, the Aztecs also laid giant aqueducts with high-grade building materials such as alabaster to facilitate For the 25 residents in the city, it provides pure snow water melted from the surrounding mountains.

In the center of Tenochtitlan, there is a very huge square, located at the intersection of two spacious avenues; beside the square, stand three tall and magnificent pyramids, like ancient skyscrapers, visually at least There are hundreds of meters in height; there are several other white flat-roofed palaces, also several floors high, with a solemn and solemn appearance, and rows of straight stone pillars under the eaves, which look a lot like ancient Greek temples.

In addition to the three large pyramids next to the square, some small pyramids can also be seen in other places on the island.However, only around the central square will the buildings be extraordinarily magnificent, with bright colors and dotted with pretty gardens and green spaces.

And the closer to the outskirts of the urban area, the more messy, low and crowded the buildings are, even mixed with many thatched sheds - Tenochtitlan, like most cities in ancient times, has several magnificent and beautiful buildings. Around the temples and palaces, there is a large area of ​​low and dilapidated slums.

Because the city is located in the water, the terrain is very low-lying, so the city is densely covered with waterways, divided into many different blocks by canals like spider webs, and many houses have small docks in the backyards.Through high-magnification binoculars, you can see countless Aztecs paddling canoes and small rafts, carrying large baskets of corn, fresh vegetables, and beautiful flowers, coming and going in these city canals often.

"...Small boats, canals, water cities..." Wang Qiu muttered softly while shooting the distant city of Tenochtitlan with a digital camera equipped with a special long-distance wide-angle lens, "...it should be said , is this a Venetian city in America?"

"...Oh? The Venice of America? Why don't you say it is Shaoxing in the New World?" Professor Yang put down the binoculars and said casually.

"...Hehe, Professor Yang, I'm afraid you haven't been to Shaoxing in recent years! Today's Shaoxing is no longer a water city. A few years ago, Shaoxing City was rebuilding the old city, and the roads had to be widened, because the land acquisition fee for demolition of residents was too high. It is expensive, so in order to save money, we directly filled the river and built roads... As a result, in the urban area of ​​Shaoxing, except for a few tourist attractions, you can no longer see the awning boats and canals described by Lu Xun!"

"...But it is still different from Venice after all-it is a plateau inland lake at an altitude of 2250 meters, and there is no outlet to the sea at all."

Professor Yang wiped the lens of the telescope with a velvet cloth, and said with a sigh, "...the Romans relied on the water transport from the Mediterranean to deploy their troops, and they could build a huge empire spanning three continents, Europe, Asia and Africa. The Aztecs used this lake It is the foundation, but it is surrounded by mountains near this not-so-large Mexico Valley. Even if you fight out a few times occasionally, you can’t maintain a stable occupation... After all, your vision is still too small!"

"...Rome wasn't built in a day, Professor. From the time when the legendary pair of wolf-child twins founded the city of Rome, to the era when Caesar and Octavian created the Roman Empire and unified the Mediterranean Sea, it took 700 years. !

However, the Aztec Empire is too young. Even if the city of Tenochtitlan was established in 1325, it has only been 190 years since the empire developed from a primitive tribal state to the present.And in such a short period of time, they have built the city of Tenochtitlan from a deserted island into the largest city in the entire Americas... Such a speed of development is almost catching up with Hong Kong and Shanghai..."

As Wang Qiu spoke, he pointed the camera at a farther direction—behind the city of Tenochtitlan, on the west side of the turquoise lake, there were other smaller cities scattered along the shore of the lake like pearls Arranged to defend the city of Tenochtitlan.One of these cities was Texcoco, which bears the same name as the lake, and another was called Tlacopan.These two cities and Tenochtitlan concluded the "Triple Alliance" in 1427, thus establishing the prestigious Aztec Empire.

In fact, each of these three cities has its own king, and each has its own subordinate city-states. They should be regarded as three separate countries and have never formed a real empire.The so-called Aztec emperor Montezuma II, in fact, his real position is just the lord of the city of Tenochtitlan.But because the city of Tenochtitlan is the most powerful, he is also the leader of the "Triple Alliance", and then relies on the soldiers of the Three Kingdoms to dominate Mexico... If you have to use an analogy, Emperor Montezuma is the president of the United States. Scoco and Tracopan are other NATO members.Only in times of war can the "President of the United States" use the "NATO coalition forces". In times of peace, it is difficult to interfere in the internal affairs of the allies.

On the other hand, only the residents of these three cities can be considered true Aztecs.As for the rest of the towns in the Valley of Mexico, they are nothing but conquered countries and do not have the right to enjoy "national treatment".Emperor Montezuma never saw them as countrymen, and they never considered themselves Aztecs. (In Tenochtitlan, there is actually another city, Tratilec. But later, with the development of the city, the population increased, and the buildings filled the entire island, and the two cities were connected. Together, it becomes a big city.)

And beyond this island, lake, and lakeside plain with a radius of no more than 1 square kilometers, no matter in which direction, there are continuous towering mountains that pierce into the sky, thus forming a huge natural wall, blocking this land. A rich country that separates it from the outside world.

Although, the Aztec imperial army, which was in its heyday, broke through this natural barrier many times and launched expeditions to the vast world outside.But in the final analysis, only this fertile valley is their real home.

However, this seemingly invincible powerful empire has actually entered the countdown to destruction.