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“Bring me the tribute” said the huey tlatoani Akamapichtli to his servants as he decided to sit on his throne.

In no time after he sat, a dozen of servants entered and brought before him the treasures from all around the empire. They presented him with quetzal´s feathers from the southernmost parts of the empire, pulque from the surrounding conquered towns, the most luxurious clothes from the best weavers from the Oaxaca region, fresh fish from the both coasts at the east and west. They bring him exotic animals from the frontiers and the finest pottery that the people could have created all throughout the empire. They brought jewelry: jade collars, gold bracelets, and bird feathers covered in gold leaf. Both obsidian jewelry and knives to give away to the army. Finally they brought corn, a lot of corn, in all the presentation that there could be, in bulk, in powder, and specially, in the form of tortillas.

The huey tlatoani sated there contemplating his monthly tribute, quietly observing it, contemplating it, and reflecting upon it. Finally he said to his servants the following:

“And the cocoa? Where are my cocoa beans? You there, go and see where is my cocoa tribute.” he said as he pointed to a servant close to him.

The servant went outside and talked to other servants and as fast as he obtained all the information, as fast as he came back. He approached the huey carefully and with care he told him the bad news.

“My king and god, it seem that your cocoa beans…”

“What happened to them?” said the huey while interrupting him. “Did they got stolen, did they get lost, did the caravan transporting them got assaulted. I order you to tell me now!”

“It seems that the ones who should have paid the tribute, didn´t actually paid at all”

“It seems that I should have foreseen that, those mayans of the south refuse to pay tribute. Fast, go and bring my generals!”

The servant left the room and came back some 2 hours later with a well-dressed from head-to-toes general, all dressed in jaguar skin and with eagle shaped helmet. He took his sandals before entering the throne room (because it is prohibited to wear sandals before the huey tlatoani, but him) and approached him.

“What is the problem my king and god” said the general while postrating.

“The mayans at the south refuse to pay the tribute, we must send the army to force them into paying their due.”

“Are we sure the mayans refuse or did something else happened?”

“I am plainly sure they refuse, it is for this reason that we must go with the army to the south as soon as possible.”

Without much words left, the general began to assemble the army from within the surrounding areas of the city of Tenochtitlan. He went to the cities of Texcoco and Tacuba and spoke with the nobles of the respected cities.

“Your king and god demands the sending of soldiers for a campaign down to the far south.” Said the general to the nobles.

“How many do you need?” asked the old nobles from both cities.

“Five-thousand men are needed among the two cities, and we need them as soon as possible.”

With the men already, the huey tlatoani marched south with his army behind him. He crossed different territories with different climates and different animals: grasslands, desserts, and jungles. He crossed different towns with different people and different languages. He crossed all with steady speed and without stopping till he got right where he wanted to be. He ended up close to the city where his mayan subjects lived.

He camped outside the city to let his troops rest and to devise a plan to subdue them without any casualty. He would send his scouts to see the amount of people who were at the city and to see the defenses. For this he would wait two days. He send them and waited for the arrival. Unbeknownst to him, they came back in one day.

“What happened? Why did you came too early? You were supposed to come back tomorrow?” said the emperor.

“There was no need to make any analysis our king and god, the city is empty.” Said the scouts.

“How is that possible?”

The next day, the huey tlatoani entered with his troops and found the city empty, just as the scouts said, with no trace of any kind of life.

“Find a resident and bring him to me!” said the huey to his men.

After a couple of hours, his men brought him an old mayan man. The huey ordered his translator to make the old man tell him what happened in the city. After the translator asked the old man, he finally spoke.

“The residents left my king and god, they left because the cocoa crops failed and out of fear that you would send an army to kill them because of that.”

The huey tlatoani wasn´t impressed with the last part that he heard.