Aztec Civilization: Destiny to Conquer America!-Chapter 1808 - 1298: Thirty Years’ War – Wa People and Ainu People

"Chief Divine! According to Your Majesty's Divine Revelation, as long as we cross the territory of the 'Jurchen Tribal Alliance', we can reach the 'Korean Tribal Alliance', and the 'Great Ming Han tribe coalition'... So, the 'Solon Daur Tribes' mentioned by the Cold Swamp Great Chief should be the constituent tribes of the 'Jurchen Tribal Alliance'? But why are these Jurchen tribes so chaotic?..."

Zuwaro frowned slightly, falling into deep thought. He certainly wouldn't easily trust the words of the Cold Swamp Great Chief; he must personally go to the Western Sea Continent across the strait to explore trade. At the same time, he heightened his alertness, suppressing the urge for adventure that occasionally surged within him.

"The Great Chief is right! Directly heading south, passing through countless coastal Shandan tribes, and going straight to the 'Korean Tribal Alliance' for trade, without knowing their reaction... That's truly a no-return, too risky!... Although, he doesn't seem to know about the existence of the Korean tribes. And everything he said tonight clearly has another purpose..."

The Cold Swamp Great Chief sat beside him, sipping the fruit wine in his hand. His face was flushed, seemingly intoxicated, but he drank leisurely, patiently waiting. Only when Zuwaro had sorted out his thoughts did the chief burp and laughingly ask.

"Zu! Is there anything else you want to know? I've told you everything I know, just like how a tit cleans itself!" 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

"Cough!"

At such a vivid metaphor, Zuwaro instinctively raised his head, looking at the tribe hall's open roof, where there was no tit, only a symbol of wisdom—the Ainu Divine Might, a cat owl. The cat owl stared at him with wide eyes, and the Cold Swamp Great Chief beside him did the same.

"The wise owl also represents cunning, different from the cunning of a fox... Forget it, I might not be able to outwit him, better be direct! The Cold Swamp Great Chief is probably waiting impatiently…"

Zuwaro lowered his eyes slightly, thought for a moment, then smiled and asked.

"Swamp! I remember you mentioned before that on Ainu Maoxili Island, apart from the Wa people in the far south, there are five strong Ainu clans. From west to east, they are Bei Yu, Ishikari, West Yuan, East Yuan tribes, plus the southernmost Neipu tribes. And among them, the strongest is your neighbor, the Ishikari tribes occupying the southern inland valley?…"

"Exactly! Zu, among the five Ainu clans, the Ishikari tribes are the strongest and most malevolent! They occupy the whole Great Island, except for the southernmost bay, the warmest and most fertile 'river of waves' (from Asahikawa to Sapporo). Their tribe is very numerous, with a combination of large and small tribes, probably numbering thirty to forty thousand, the most populous among the five clans!…"

Upon hearing Zuwaro's inquiry, the Cold Swamp Great Chief became spirited. He directly threw the wooden cup on the ground, and with the muddy wine, began to outline the general situation of Maoxili Island (Hokkaido).

"Zu! A long time ago, before the Wa people invaded Maoxili Island. On the Great Island, the five Ainu clans coexisted, like five fingers on a hand. Although we varied in length, we were roughly similar, maintaining balance and peace among each other. Like maple leaves floating on water, no matter how they turned in circles, they wouldn't overturn…"

"However, when a hundred years ago, Wa people began to land on Maoxili Island, everything changed drastically! They slowly established villages on the southern warm coast of the Great Island, planting the protective 'Rice God', thus settling in. Initially, they appeared very peaceful, trading ironware and wine with us for furs and sand gold, even gifting many presents to the chieftains. But when the Wa people bore children and generations, they grew more numerous and more greedy! Like greedy caterpillars, they kept nibbling at the maple leaves of Maoxili Island, gradually invading northward!…"

"They occupied our Ainu people's hunting grounds and territories, turning them into their fields and villages. They dispatched warriors with spears and daggers, driving away our hunters, even started demanding tribute from weaker tribes... Their greed became increasingly uncontrollable, only thinking of more possession! And the southernmost Neipu tribes were severely harmed by the Wa people. After enduring for many years, they could no longer tolerate it, eventually inciting a war against the Wa people!…"

"And that tragic war occurred thirty-six years ago when I was seven or eight years old…"

The Cold Swamp Great Chief squinted his eyes, seemingly recalling sorrowful, unreturnable memories. While Zuwaro listened intently, eagerly urging him on.

"Swamp! What happened then? What was the Ainu tribes' war against the Wa people like? How was the Wa people's army constituted? How many wielded long spears, how many practiced archery, and how many wore armor?… How many were in their army? What was the war like compared to you?…"

"Ah! That dreadful war of resistance against the Wa people!..."

The Cold Swamp Great Chief sighed deeply, once again raising his cup. He drank his wine while carefully observing Zuwaro's concerned expression, listening to his curious urgency.

After quite a while, he confirmed that Zuwaro truly knew nothing and indeed had no connection to the Wa people. It made sense, given those Wa people value gold more than life, they wouldn't easily give it away...

It wasn't until now that the Great Chieftain of the Cold Swamp finally displayed a smile, shaking his head and sighing.

"Ancestor! At that time, I was too young! So, I did not witness the scenes of that war. And the manner of fighting the Wa People, I know little about... Actually, that war was not a united stand of five Ainu Clans against the Wa People. Instead, it was only the southernmost Neipu Clan, along with part of the Saihara Clan, jointly resisting the twelve southern Wa Tribes! What Wa Twelve Halls..."

"Ancestor, don't be anxious! The slaughter of that war has long past. The Wa army from then and now are completely different. Actually, the greatest strength of the Wa People is not their twelve halls built on the southern seaside, but across the Strait..."

"In the war thirty-six years ago, the Ainu Allied Forces of the Neipu and Saihara Clans almost broke through all the twelve halls, burning down most of the Wa camps! But soon, more Wa tribal reinforcements came from the south of the Strait, continuously, landing at the remaining Wa strongholds, wielding sharp daggers and spears..."

"Afterwards, a terrifying and brutal Wa warrior personally led six hundred elite warriors, launching a surprise attack defeating the Great Chieftain of Neipu, Koshama In, and decapitated both father and son of Koshama In! Then, he first reached a peace agreement with the distant Sumunkur Tribes, and then gathered all the Wa People Warriors, conducting cruel massacres against the nearby Neipu factions..."

"This brutal Wa warrior thus stepped upon the heads of the Neipu Ainu people, becoming the Great Chieftain of the Twelve Wa Tribes step by step! Since then, he has ruled the southern Wa Great Tribe for thirty years, and even now, he still lives!..."

"That Wa person is a brutal Great Chieftain! In these thirty years, over thirty thousand tribes, once strong Neipu various factions, have already completely declined to the bottom under his constant oppression and plunder! The Neipu factions lost half of their territory, the population reduced by more than half. The remaining over ten thousand people have almost entirely become vassals of the Wa People, paying taxes and supplies, even having to sacrifice able-bodied men and women... Even the slightly distant Sumunkur Tribes have suffered various overt and covert invasions, bowing to the Wa, losing the courage of the Ainu people..."

"That Wa person is even a cunning Great Chieftain! In these thirty years, he expands the southern territory while fanning disputes among the northern Ainu Clans! Precisely under his agitation, under his supply of ironware support, the Shikari factions in the center of the Great Island are growing day by day, continuously expanding towards the western Bei Yu various factions, and towards the eastern Sumunkur Tribes, invading the territories and hunting grounds that all factions rely on for survival!..."

"And the primary target of the Shikari faction's invasion is us Bei Yu various factions! In these thirty years, the west coast seaside we once occupied, the coastal territory we once owned, has now been seized by their Shikari faction, leaving only the last two promontories! So many large and small Bei Yu tribes have either been annexed by the Shikari factions or driven away by the Shikari factions, fleeing towards the desolate North Island and Thousand Islands! And as of today, the Bei Yu tribal Great Tribe with thousands of people only remains with us at the northern promontory, and the Hanbin Faction at the western promontory!..."

At this, the Great Chieftain of Cold Swamp's face was flushed, and his expression seemed extremely indignant! He grabbed Zuwaro's hand, his voice impassioned and filled with compelling strength.

"Ancestor! Your wife's tribe, the Beiyu Beike Tribe, is also one of those invaded and expelled by the Shikari faction! And as of today, faced with the threat of collusion between the Wa People and the Shikari faction, we remaining northern heritage clans must stand together! And only by standing together can we revive the former glory of the Bei Yu, restore the Ainu Maoxili Island!..."

"Ancestor! We are scattered brother tribes, shared bloodlines of clans! Witnessed by the divine might we guard, witnessed by the divine might of the sea and thunderbolt!... At this moment, let us swear allegiance with blood, let me represent the Cold Swamp faction, and with you representing the Thousand Islands faction, form an unbreakable alliance, and fight evil side by side!..."

"Ah!..."

After a long six-day build-up, it finally revealed the sharpest, most heart-stirring Ainu dagger, "makiri," on the final night. Faced with the initiative of alliance proposed by the Great Chieftain of Cold Swamp, the Exploration Captain Zuwaro seemed to have drunk too much wine, his head buzzing, his thoughts becoming somewhat muddled.

"Chief Divine!... 'Brotherly alliance, return to the Jiao People'... This was originally what I should say, what I should do, how instead it is proposed first by this Ainu Chieftain? How should I respond to the Great Chieftain of Cold Swamp's request? And how should I choose among the various factions of Maoxili Island?"

Zuwaro felt his mind a bit chaotic, and the aftereffect of the mouth-chewed wine was indeed quite substantial. He tried to organize the situation while dragging time, shaking his head and saying repeatedly.

"Wait, wait! Swamp, let me think it through well, think it through!..."

"Ancestor! What more do you have to think about? Is it possible, with your Bei Yu heritage, to ally with the Shikari faction? What can they offer you? They are filled with greed!... And what about the further south Wa People? They are ten times greedier and more cunning than the Shikari faction! They are utterly untrustworthy and unreliable!"

"Wait! Swamp... You haven't finished saying earlier... Oh, right! That old chieftain who ruled the Wa Great Tribe for as long as thirty years, brutal and cunning, what's his name?"

"Ha! His name? In the mouths of the Ainu people, he's called 'that evil old eagle of the south!' As for his damned Wa name... seems to be something like 'true and vast strong earth'... Oh! It's 'Takeda Nobuhiro'!"