The Fall of the Golden Empire, Volume 1: Bloody Sunset by Zhang Baotong
As soon as the prince returned to his residence, Prince Barbara Palca came and asked him where he had been. He was so angry that he told the assistant minister in detail about his visit to Prince Ninan and his conversation with Princess Anna. Then, without waiting to discuss with the assistant minister, he shouted, "Leave quickly, hurry up." Leave now, I can’t stay here any longer.”
The prince quickly covered his mouth with his hand and warned in a low voice, "Prince, please don't make any announcement about this matter. If anyone knows about it, it will be very detrimental!"
The prince said, "What are the advantages and disadvantages? I want to leave. Who can stop me?"
The prince said, "Even if the prince leaves, he has to find a way. Now that the king is seriously ill, the Quito Palace is controlled by Prince Atahuallpa. What if Prince Atahuallpa plots against us outside the city of Quito? It’s also very easy. So, we have to find a way to leave quietly as soon as possible.”
The prince felt that what he said was reasonable, so he said, "Then how do you think we should leave?"
The prince thought for a while and then whispered to the prince for a while. The prince felt that this plan was feasible, so he asked the prince to make arrangements.
In the evening of the afternoon, Prince Huascar hosted a drink in the palace to thank Princess Parlia, and invited Prince Atahualpa, Prince Manco, Princess Ina, Princess Uga and Princess Anna as guests. Sitting here are Prince Barbara Palca and Prince Ulmantera, the commander of the southern army.
Everyone clinked glasses and toasted, drank happily, talked and laughed as if they were a family. Prince Ulmantera was a strong, tall, and powerful middle-aged man. He kept toasting to Prince Atahualpa and the princesses. In the Inca Kingdom, women drank as much as men and liked to get drunk. Therefore, it didn’t take long before the princes and princesses were made drunk by Commander Ulmanterra.
When Prince Huascar saw that Prince Atavar and the princesses were all drunk, he asked Prince Barbara Palca to greet everyone to continue drinking. He pretended to go to the toilet, and was led by the palace maid to quietly leave the palace and go to Ziyuan Pavilion. . At this time, his father had woken up from a deep sleep and was accompanied by Xiuwei beside the bed, talking softly.
Seeing Prince Huascar coming, the king asked, "I heard that you are hosting a banquet in the palace?"
The prince said respectfully, "Yes, father. When I came to Quito, my aunts were kind, warm and caring to me, so I should also express my gratitude to them."
The king smiled in agreement and said, "It should be like this. You brothers are friendly and caring for each other. Even if I, the father and king, leave, I can rest in peace."
The prince said, "The children will always remember their father's sincere words."
The king held his son's hand affectionately and said, "Yesterday, my father asked you to allocate the provinces of Quito to Pal. What you did was really inappropriate, but my father had no choice but to do it. Pal and his mother have been fighting for many years. Follow me, I am afraid that my mother and I will suffer and be helpless after my death, so I want to give him a piece of land in the Inca Empire, so that he will be grateful to you in this life and serve you to lead the army. Expand territory.”
Prince Huascar immediately replied, "My father's arrangement is indeed a far-sighted and far-sighted strategy to strengthen the Inca Empire. Not only was the boy willing to give the provinces of Quito to his younger brother, but he also respected his father's foresight." , full of admiration.”
When Emperor Huayna Capac heard the prince's words, the guilt and worries in his heart were immediately blown away by the warm wind, and he immediately said to the prince with joy, "My son is so kind and kind, and he will become a kind and loving king of the Inca Kingdom in the future."
The prince thanked him and said, "My father is so complimentary, and I am honored to do so." Then, he added, "I have something to tell my father when I come here."
The king said, "It doesn't matter if you say it."
The prince looked very embarrassed and said, "My father is ill, and I wanted to stay with him all the time. But today, Cusco sent a messenger to report that there was a rebellion in the Lake Titicaca area, and the rebels Tens of thousands of troops have been gathered and marched towards the capital. I must rush back to the capital immediately and lead the army to attack and quell the rebellion."
When the king heard this, he was shocked and immediately said to the prince, "If this happens, I must return at starry night and rush back to the capital early to lead the army to quell the chaos. However, most of the main Inca army is stationed near Quito. I don't know those who stayed in the capital." Is the army sufficient?”
The prince said, "If it is not enough, I can immediately recruit more troops. Father, just don't worry."
The king was still a little worried and said, "If it's not enough, we can send Pa'er to lead the main force south for reinforcements."
The prince nodded and said, "The child will report the military situation to his father every day." After that, he saluted his father and said goodbye.
Prince Huascar came out of the Ziyuan Pavilion and just returned to the palace apartment when he saw Prince Barbara Palca coming over to report to him that the banquet had broken up. Prince Atahualpa and the princesses were drunk and were helped by the maids. Go to the room and lie down to rest. Huascar asked the prince if the camels were ready.
The prince said, "Everything is ready, just waiting for the prince to go on his way."
The prince asked again, "Where are Prince Manco and Prince Ulmantera?"
The prince said, "Prince Manco was taken to the palace, and now he is arranged by Prince Atahualpa to sleep somewhere. Prince Ulmantera is drunk. I will ask him to wait until he wakes up tomorrow. We will return later.”
Prince Huascar pondered for a moment and said, "Prince Manco is still young. I don't think Atahualpa will do anything to him. If that doesn't work, let's leave him here and Princess Anna will take care of him until his father's death." After the king dies, send someone to bring him back." After saying that, he urged the prince to leave quickly.
Prince Huascar followed Prince Barbara Palca out of the room and walked out of the palace quickly along the path next to the palace hall. As soon as they left the palace, they saw Princess Anna suddenly walking out of the darkness and blocking the prince.
The prince was startled and asked, "It is already dark, why is my sister still here?"
The princess said sadly, "My sister is waiting here to see her brother off."
The prince was startled and asked, "How did my sister know that her brother was leaving tonight?"
The princess said, "My brother made the princes and princesses drunk, and he went to Ziyuan Pavilion alone. When he saw that his entourage had prepared their luggage and camels, they knew that his brother was leaving here and returning to Cusco. .”
The prince nodded and said to the princess, "The messenger came to report that there was a rebellion around the Lake Titicaca area, so my brother had to rush back to the capital and lead the army to put down the rebellion. Therefore, we can only let Prince Manco stay first. Please take good care of him and come over to pick him up after the rebellion is suppressed."
But the princess shook her head and said, "Brother doesn't need to make excuses to hide it. There is no rebellion in the Lake Titicaca area. It's just that my brother was afraid of changes after his father's death, so he left in a hurry with excuses."
The princess's words made the prince feel that he had lied, and he seemed a little embarrassed, so he smiled helplessly and said, "My sister is really smart and can predict things like a god. It's just that my sister has been promised to Prince Atahualpa, otherwise, My brother will definitely ask my father to take my sister to the capital city of Cusco."
The princess smiled sadly and said, "Although my sister has been away from her brother for a long time, she heard that he is honest, kind and affectionate. This time, my sister respects him even more. It's just that my sister is not destined to stay with him forever." As he spoke, he let out a long sigh.
Because the prince was afraid that things might change over time and was in a hurry, he said to the princess, "My sister does not need to see her brother off. In the future, my brother will often come to Quito to visit my sister."
But the princess shook her head repeatedly and said, "Brother, there is no need to comfort me. My sister knows that we are separated this time, and I am afraid it will be difficult for us to see each other again in the future."
The prince looked stunned and said, "I'm afraid my sister is worrying too much. Although there are thousands of miles between Cusco and Quito, how can we not keep in touch with each other as our brothers and sisters?"
But the princess still shook her head and said, "Although there are many brothers and sisters, if the father dies and everyone goes their separate ways to follow their master and only focus on fighting for power and profit to get the throne, what else can we say about brotherly kindness and sisterly affection?"
When the prince saw the princess looking worried and sad, he hugged her and said to her, "No matter how the world changes, the princess will always be my smart and lovely sister. But my brother does not have this blessing and cannot take my sister with him." Go back to Cusco." Then he added, "It's too late, I'll send someone to take my sister back to Yafei Pavilion."
The princess lay in the prince's arms for a while, then pushed the prince away and said, "Brother, hurry up and get on your way. If Prince Atahualpa wakes up and asks me, I will tell you that the Lake Titicaca area has appeared. Rebellion, you rushed back to Cusco overnight.”
The prince then said to the princess, "Please ask my sister to go to the queen mother in Qingxin Pavilion in the next two days. Tell the queen mother that the child has been unable to say goodbye to her because of something urgent. Please forgive her mother."
The princess said, "I'll go early tomorrow morning, don't worry."
Seeing that the prince's daughter was in love, the prince kept talking and urged the prince to set off quickly. The prince waved goodbye to the princess in tears and hurried to a dark corner of the square. Only then did I see that the guard officer and his entourage had been waiting here for a long time. Without saying a word, the prince was helped onto the tall camel by the guards, and hurried away towards the marching road leading to the south of the town.
