The Fall of the Golden Empire (Novel) (Volume 1) "Bloody Sunset" by Zhang Baotong
When the boat arrived at the shore, the sisters helped the king to stand up. They felt that the king's body was a little weak and his steps were heavy, so they loudly called to the guards standing guard in front of the small stone house to come over and help the king. Two young and tall guards came over quickly, helped the king up and walked towards the small stone house on the shore. The small stone house was not far from the lake, about a few hundred meters away. Therefore, the king was supported by two soldiers and protected by his two beloved concubines, and quickly entered the small stone house.
The small stone house is about ten square meters, and a large bed takes up almost half of the room. The bed was covered with alpaca red felt. There is a chest and table next to the bed. The boxes contain the clothes of the Inca king and his beloved concubine. There are some exquisite pottery and wine sets on the table. The two soldiers placed the king safely on the big bed and left the hut. The two beloved concubines covered the king with felt, lit some mosquito-repelling spices, and then sat silently beside the king and waited.
After a while, Prince Atahualpa came to see his father, carrying a bow and arrows, holding a javelin, and wearing a splendid military uniform. When the two sisters saw the prince coming, they got down from the bed and bowed to each other. When the prince saw his father sleeping soundly, he strangely said to the two sisters, "My father said he wanted me to go hunting with him, but he himself fell asleep."
Uga said, "The king just swam and may be a little tired." Yinaye said, "Prince Ninan has been in poor health recently and has been ill for a long time. In addition, he has eaten less recently and has constant nightmares. He often has nightmares at night. I woke up in the middle of the night, so I was always worried and tired all day long, and couldn’t sleep well at night.”
The prince nodded and said, "That's it, I won't disturb him anymore and let my father have a good rest." After that, he left the house.
The Incas did not have the habit of taking a lunch break at noon. And the Inca king rarely slept in the afternoon. Sometimes, when the Inca king felt a little tired, he would invite people or drink a few glasses of wine with his concubines, tell stories or tell jokes, and soon he would be invigorated again. Either he would take the prince and his guards to hunt in the wild, or he would come to the military camp to compete with the soldiers. Although the king is already in his early fifties, he has never felt tired, let alone old. Therefore, the king's behavior today clearly shows that he is ill.
In the middle of the afternoon, dinner was brought to the hut. The staple food is cooked baby corn and potatoes. Main courses include tomatoes and broad beans, as well as delicious rabbit and pig's trotters. These are the foods that the Inca king and his sisters liked to eat. The fragrant rabbit meat was the prey that the young and handsome Prince Atahualpa had just caught from the mountains and forests.
Yina woke up the king and asked him to eat. The king opened his eyes in confusion, shook his head feebly, and then closed his eyes again. Wuga said to her sister in surprise, "Is your Majesty possibly sick?"
Yina nodded silently and said, "The king seems to have caught a cold." So he asked Haya to call Prince Atahualpa quickly.
After a while, Prince Atahualpa arrived, walked up to his father, and said to his father respectfully and affectionately, "My son knew that his father loved to eat rabbit meat, so he went out with his guards to kill two hares, and asked the cook to carefully cook them. I cooked it and sent someone to bring it over for my father to taste."
The king felt that he was not feeling well and originally did not want to eat. However, as soon as he saw his beloved son, Prince Atahualpa, he felt much better. He asked his beloved concubine to help him sit up, and said to the prince, "It's been a long time since I went hunting with my beloved son. I heard that your archery skills are much more accurate now. If we try again, I'm afraid I won't be as good as you."
Prince Atahuallpa immediately said humbly and respectfully, "My father's words are very flattering. How can I compare with the great and famous father Inca, the son of the sun? My father has been constantly fighting in his life. He has excellent martial arts and proficient archery. He can penetrate the poplars with a hundred steps. No one knows the Inca Kingdom, but no one in the future would dare to compare with it."
When it comes to martial arts and archery skills, the young prince has long surpassed his father. But for the sake of his father's prestige and reputation, he had to deliberately let him go every time he went hunting or competing with his father. Of course, as the father, he also knows this very well. Now I hear that the prince is not only humble and virtuous, but also always praises him with words of respect and admiration. I feel that the prince is understanding, courteous, humble and filial. Then I look at the beloved son in front of me. He is not only tall and strong, heroic, but also has an extraordinary bearing. , with extraordinary wisdom and the demeanor of a king, I thought that if Prince Atahualpa could succeed him as the supreme Inca emperor in the future, he would definitely be an emperor with great talent, military skills, and incomparable wisdom. Thinking of this, he took his beloved son's hand affectionately and said impulsively, "My virtuous son, you know that among all my wives and concubines, your mother is the one I love most; among all the princes, What I love most is you. Whether it is intelligence or martial arts; whether it is physical fitness or magnanimity, you are outstanding among all the princes. You are one step ahead of others. If you can become an Inca king in the future, you will definitely be a wise monarch. . It’s a pity that your bloodline prevents you from becoming an heir to the throne.” At this point, the great Inca King Huayna Capac let out a long sigh.
As a child of the king, Atahualpa should have been sent to the capital of Cusco at a very young age, and went to school to receive a noble and strict education like all noble children. However, because his mother Palia has been with the king for many years, he has also been with the king since he was a child. Although the king had many children, Atahualpa was his most beloved child. Because of the years of war, Atahualpa lived with his father in the military camp all year round. The two of them always ate from the same plate, and their relationship was almost as close as that of brothers. When the child got a little older, he began to wield swords, shoot arrows, and talk about literature and martial arts with the king. Therefore, King Wayna Capak felt that this child had the aura of a king and would definitely achieve great success in the future, so he always This child is being trained in the same way as the future Inca king. Originally, the Inca royal family stipulated that a son who was not the son of the Inca king and his biological sisters could not be established as a prince. However, the Inca King not only made the child the prince of Quito, but also made him the commander of the army of the Quito Palace. He even wanted to put the entire Inca Kingdom under his control in the future. Because in his mind, all other children are inferior to this prince.
Prince Atahualpa certainly understood what his father said. The religious beliefs and marriage customs of the Incas stipulated that the Inca emperor was the son of the Sun God. Therefore, the heir to the throne must be a man born from the marriage of the emperor and his own sisters to maintain the purity and purity of the Sun God's bloodline. But his mother was the daughter of the last monarch of the Kingdom of Quito. Prince Ninan may not live long, but Prince Huascar is the son of his father and his legal queen, his sister. From all aspects, Prince Huascar is the legitimate heir to the throne. After that, there was Prince Manco, born to his father and his cousin. When it comes to inheriting the throne, these people are all ahead of him. Therefore, he felt that the right to inherit the throne would not fall on him no matter what. However, he also felt that he had followed his father in the north and south campaigns since he was a child. He had made outstanding military achievements. Both his achievements and abilities were far superior to other princes, and he was He is the prince whom his father loves and trusts the most, which makes him very ambivalent about the future throne.
However, he still said to his father in a grateful tone, "Supreme Father, I am satisfied to receive your great and merciful love. My beloved son has his own self-knowledge. He just wants to be able to follow his father and respect him. Filial love is a way of repaying the father's kindness in raising oneself, and one should not dare to be greedy for power and seek extravagantly."
Prince Atahualpa's words moved the Inca king even more. He pulled his beloved son into his arms affectionately, hugged him tightly for a while, and said to his beloved son with deep emotion, "Don't worry, my son. You are not born to your aunt, but your father regards you as closer than a child born to your aunt. Even after your father ascends to heaven and lands on earth, he will allocate you a large territory and make you a hereditary prince, and you will live a simple life. A life of wealth no worse than that of a king."
After hearing this, Prince Atahualpa called out affectionately, "Father." Then he lay on his father's shoulders and began to cry.
While stroking his son's head, the king comforted his son and said, "Don't cry, these are the things a father should do. How can a father not love his beloved son?" After that, he asked the two beloved concubines. He held himself up and sat down at the small table, drinking wildly with his son and concubines until he was drunk.
That night, the Inca King fell asleep early after dinner because he was not feeling well. After a long sleep, I felt my body was hot and my mouth was dry, so I shouted for water. Yina got up and poured water for the king. The king was supported by Yi Na with one hand and fed with water in the other, and he drank a large glass of water.
After drinking the water, the king still felt that his body was feverish and hot, so he knew that he was ill, and that he was seriously ill. So, he said to Ina, "I am sick and very uncomfortable. Please ask Haya to call the Kachaba wizard quickly."
Yina woke up her sister Uga and asked her to take care of the king. She walked out of the hut wrapped in felt, woke up Haya who was sleeping next door, and asked him to quickly find Atahualpa who lived in the tent of the camp. Prince, ask him to call the wizard Kachaba.
Prince Atahualpa himself served as the guard commander of the palace and his father. Therefore, as soon as he heard that his father was ill, he immediately asked the Kachaba wizard to be found. Then, he took the Kachaba wizard and some guards out. After arriving at the military camp, he hurried towards his father's residence by the lake. He entered the small stone house where his father lived and saw his father lying on the bed. He went to his father's bedside, greeted him a few words, and asked the wizard Kachaba to diagnose his father's illness.
The Kachaba wizard carefully checked the condition of Inca King Huayna Capac, and then secretly motioned to Prince Atahualpa who was sitting aside waiting for the results of his condition. Prince Atahualpa followed Wizard Cathaba out to the starry, moonlit meadow in front of his door. He asked with a stern expression, "What disease does your father suffer from?"
The wizard said evasively, "The king may be suffering from ominous symptoms."
Prince Atahualpa said, "But it doesn't matter."
Wizard Kachaba sighed, and Weiwei said quietly, "The king's condition is very similar to that of Prince Ninan. I'm afraid he's suffering from the plague."
When Prince Atahualpa heard that the Kachapa wizard said that his father also suffered from this terrible disease, his mind exploded and he asked quickly, "How did you see it?"
The wizard said, "I was the one who went to see the doctor when Prince Ninan fell ill. He was also in a state of hallucination like the king. He was weak, had a fever, was weak and had night sweats. He also had small red spots on his face, body and arms. Rash." In order to convince the prince of his diagnosis, the wizard added, "Your uncles Prince Jikawu and Prince Mayadika also have this disease."
Prince Atahualpa looked sadly at the stars in the distance. He could not imagine what would happen to him once his father died. He really didn't want his father to die. After thinking for a while, he said in a serious tone, "Is this disease really incurable?"
What he was thinking about at this time was not his father's life or death, but what would happen to his future glory, wealth, life and death after his father's death? His father indeed loved him very much and wished he could pass on the Inca Kingdom to him now. However, the rules for succession to the throne of the Inca Kingdom were very strict and clear. The heir to the throne must be the son of the emperor and his aunt. Although his father favored him, he could not violate the Inca Kingdom's inheritance method that had been followed for hundreds of years. Perhaps it was precisely because his father favored him so much that he aroused the jealousy and hatred of the direct relatives in the palace. These direct relatives are not only powerful, but also hold military and political power. Once his father dies of illness, no matter whether Ninan Cuyuc succeeds to the throne or Huascar, who is in charge of his father's country in the capital of Cusco, succeeds, he will definitely not let him go easily.
When he thought of this, the prince couldn't help but shuddered, his eyes suddenly went dark, and he almost fainted and fell to the ground. Fortunately, the Kachaba wizard on the side supported him and asked in surprise, "Prince, what's wrong with you?"
The prince calmed down and asked again, "Is this disease really incurable?"
Wizard Kachaba nodded again and said, "I'm afraid it can't be cured." As he spoke, he sighed again and said, "This disease was spread from the wild Spaniards with white faces and yellow hair. I heard that this disease is like Just like the seeds of wild flowers, they are blown everywhere by the wind. Whether it is a barbarian or an Inca king, whoever the wind blows on will become sick and possessed by evil spirits. Even the great Sun God can't do anything about it. Didn't you see that in Ji? There are so many cities and outside the city, how can there be a day when there are not groups of people who are infected by the seeds of the disease and fall ill, and the dead people are carried by their relatives to the barren mountains and fields outside the city for burial?"
Prince Atahualpa pondered for a long time, and then said to the Cachapa wizard in a fierce and threatening tone, "Don't reveal the illness of the Inca King to anyone."
Wizard Kachaba couldn't help but tremble when he saw the prince staring at him with such vicious eyes, but he still said, "But the king's illness cannot be hidden no matter how much it is said."
The prince suddenly pulled out a dagger from his waist, put it on Wizard Kachaba's neck, and said, "If anyone asks, just say that the king has caught wind and cold, and he will be fine in a few days. Do you understand?" "
Wizard Kachaba responded quickly, "Yes, yes, yes."
At this time, Yina came out of the house and asked them, "What are you talking about outside? Your Majesty is waiting for Wizard Kachaba to reply."
Prince Atahualpa quickly took the dagger away from Wizard Kachapa’s neck and replied to Ina, who was standing by the door, “I know.” Then, he whispered to Wizard Kachapa, “If the king Once your true condition is revealed, it will be the end of your life, will you know?"
The Kachaba wizard replied repeatedly, "I know, I know."
