Mexica Sunrise : An Aztec AAR

[_Tristan_]

Turn 5 : AD 1525, year Seven-House : The Texcala Wars continued

As expected the Texcalan have attacked us both in Tenochtitlan and Cholollan. Our men have withdrawn baiting them into the trap waiting for them.




The Prince gathers the men that had feigned to run, luring the Texcalans farther into our lands, giving us the advantage of fighting on our grounds...



…and counter-attacks the massed Texcalans around Cholollan, with the support of the town garrison.

The Defence of Cholollan

Our Prince comes upon the Texcalan army led by one Temilotecatl in a wooded area of the country around Cholollan.
Those cowards had been hiding in the cover of the trees so our Leader orders a feigned retreat to entice them out of their hiding place.



As soon as they begin to move, Cuitlahuac orders his archers to stop, face the Texcalan and fire at will while the remainder of our troops reorganize a bit further on.



He then orders the Arrow Knights with the support of Spear throwers to form a second curtain of defence to protect the eventual retreat of the archers…






Once the Texcalans are out of the woods, our men are ordered forward and charge the enemy, ululating war cries…



The men of the garrison of Cholollan, one company of Jaguar Knights with some supporting archers, join the battle on our left flank, notably drawing some enemy Cuahchique from the main fight.



The melee rages…



…with our Prince in the thick of it…



…but soon the Texcalans lose heart and begin to rout…



… and some of our men give chase…



…as our own right flank is weakening and Cuitlahuac ,sensing that the tide may turn, launches himself almost single-handedly to the rescue of our men.



It is enough to give them heart and soon even the enemy leader leaves the field of battle, emptying his bowels as he runs.



It seems he can’t stop running…

Once again, Prince Cuitlahuac is victorious.



Sacrifices are made to Huitzilopochtli on the orders of Cuitlahuac, to thank the God of the special attention he seems to have for the Prince.



Temilotecatl, his Texcalan opponent chooses to flee and is chased into the far off lands occupied by his new allies, the white men who call themselves “Spaniards”. He is the shame of the One World and Moctezuma has ordered that steps be taken to have him sent to Mictlan, the Underworld.



The men sent to pursue the cowardly Texcalan have stumbled upon a settlement of those Spaniards, which they call VeraCruz. It seems to be manned by a powerful garrison.



This settlement is proof that those “Spaniards” are here to stay…


Upon learning of their ally’s defeat, the Spaniards are furious and must surely begin to consider us as a potential threat to their ambitions.



Our Emperor, still unmarried, and sensing that the troubled times ahead of us will require that his descendance be assured, has once again adopted a man of worth. This one goes by the name of Xilotzin “Lord Maize” and has proven his worth in battle fighting alongside our Prince near Cholollan. He came highly recommended by the Prince. Our Emperor was no fool in considering that he might be a spy for Cuitlahuac but thought that it would be a gesture that would please his brother and end the brotherly feud.



Another of the gold-robbing white men was taken out... Our gold is a gift of the Gods to embellish our temples and Our Lord Speaker will not allow it to fall into the hands of such greedy foreigners.



Around Tenochtitlan, our Lord Moctezuma gathers the forces scattered in the country to deal with the invading Texcalans, but having had to wait on reinforcement he cannot reach them in time to do battle. Surely the might of our Lord’s army will send them running to their filthy homes...



A menace was taken out in the person of a Tarascan emissary that tried to meet up with the Texcalan army that our Lord tried to engage. Surely, our taking Tolocan right under their noses did not go well with the Tarascans and they surely want to play the anvil to the Texcalan hammer.



One captain Itzquemitl, a Jaguar Knight, was assigned the task of bringing relief to the garrison of Tochpan as requested by the Speaking Council. His mission was successful and funds have been granted by the Elders so that some veterans have been called back into service fielding two new companies of Cuahchique.
Emboldened by this favourable turn of events, Captain Itzquemitl took upon himself to rid the Tochpan countryside of the bandits lurking on the trade route to Tenochtitlan.


Getting rid of bandits around Tochpan

Captain Itzquemitl has devised a stratagem to bring the brigands out of hiding… He has disguised his men as a train of pochtecatl, merchants…
The train engages on the south road from Tochpan to Tenochtitlan and soon enough the trap works and an ambush is spotted…

All pretense is then dropped and the battle is joined…

Our men quickly gain the summit of a low hill overlooking the road, leaving the bandits no time to organize themselves.



From the hill, our men see the panic that takes the bandits as they try to prepare themselves for what is to come…



Then Itzquemitl orders his men to advance down the hill…



…and himself leads the charge…




…followed by his men.



This is too much for bandits and they quickly disband. Those that are caught are garrotted, the fate of all law-breakers in our lands.

Such bravery and cunning as has been shown by Itzquemitl “Obsidian Cloak” did not go unnoticed by Moctezuma and he is both made a noble and adopted by our wifeless and childless Emperor.



In the troubled times ahead, such a man will be an asset to the Mexica people…