The Fall of the Golden Empire (Novel) (Volume 1) "Bloody Sunset" by Zhang Baotong
After surrendering the Yaveri tribe, the Quito army rested here for three to five days before preparing to continue marching north. Not long after, Chaschi came back and reported that there was a local tribe of nearly a thousand people in the valley about fifty kilometers northeast of the Karanka Valley. This tribe is not only primitive and ignorant, but also fierce and aggressive, with strong fighting power.
Considering that deep mountains and dense forests are not conducive to the detour and movement of large troops, Atahualpa decided to first send Colonel Tashi Guye to lead three thousand soldiers as the vanguard for the expedition. Therefore, Tashiguye led three thousand soldiers from the Karanka Valley to camp in a relatively flat mountain col about five kilometers away from the village called Sangku in the evening of the same day.
Early the next morning, after breakfast, Colonel Tashiguye followed the usual practice when the Inca army conquered foreign tribes or tribes in the past, and prepared to send a lieutenant with a guide and soldiers to Sangku Village to persuade them to surrender. Because this can avoid unnecessary killings and casualties.
However, at this moment, a spy ran into his tent and said in a panic, "Report to Colonel Tashi Guye that hundreds of Sangku people are swarming towards here not far from here."
He immediately asked the trumpeter to blow the horn, assemble the troops, and prepare to fight. As soon as the team gathered, they saw many naked or half-clothed Sangku tribesmen descending from the hillside across the creek. They held weapons such as bows and arrows or javelins, and shouted while crossing the creek in groups of three, five, and four or six to fight the Quito army.
Colonel Tashiguye ordered three thousand soldiers to be divided into two teams to block back the Sanku people who were crossing the stream, and then asked the guide Jiawo who knew the local dialect to shout to them. Gavo shouted to the Sanku people, "We are the Quito army sent by Father Sun. We are not here to kill you, but to benefit you, so that you can escape from the barbaric and animal life and live like Quito." A civilized life.”
However, the Sanku people did not listen to this advice. They whistled, screamed, and made weird noises to mock and ridicule the Quito people's good advice. The soldiers were furious, so they clamored for Tashi Guye to issue an attack order and teach this group of shameless barbarians a lesson. However, Tashiguye firmly disagreed with this approach because he had participated in many conquests against foreign races and remote tribes in other provinces, and he knew very well the principle of fighting without bloodshed. He would not issue such an order unless it was absolutely necessary or when the utmost benevolence and justice were exhausted.
This kind of patience may have given the Sanku people some illusion, thinking that although the Quito people were outnumbered, they were timid and afraid of death and did not dare to challenge them. So, they roared and sent out a small group of soldiers. A small group of people crossed the stream and entered the valley to challenge Quito's army.
These Sanku people really overestimated their capabilities. A few hundred of them dared to provoke and confront the Quito army of more than 3,000 people. One or two hundred of them rushed across the stream, and then rushed towards the Quidos with swords and arrows, intending to fight with the Quidos.
However, the Quito team was not in disorder at all, nor did they charge and fight back against them. Instead, only a small group of Walizaka's soldiers made a small counterattack, and then defeated the arrogant Sanku people. Not only did they fight back the Sanku people who crossed the stream, but they also captured them alive. More than ten people.
Lieutenant Walizaka asked the soldiers to take the prisoners back to the barracks and imprison them, but Tashiguye asked the soldiers to bandage the wounds of the injured Sanku people, explained and persuaded them, and released them immediately. . Walizaka and the soldiers were very confused by Tashiguye's actions, and even warned him that his actions would not only fail to influence the Sanku people, but would only make the Sanku people more arrogant and cruel.
Perhaps after experiencing the power of the Quito soldiers, the Sanku people saw that their people were beaten back, and some people were captured and released by the Quito people. Their arrogance plummeted, so they retreated in panic. village.
Originally, Tashiguye thought that the Sanku people had already experienced the strength of Quito's army and should change their minds and stop fighting for peace. Therefore, I sat in the military camp for two or three days, waiting for the Sanku people to surrender and ask for peace.
That morning, before Tashiguye got up, he heard a report from the soldiers that there were bloody dead heads lying everywhere on the bank of the stream. Tashi Guye hurried to the stream at the edge of the mountain col and saw a large number of bloody human heads lying on the grass beside the stream. There were at least twenty or thirty people, and the blood on some heads had not yet solidified. At a glance, it was obvious that these heads had just been chopped off. He knelt down and looked at the heads carefully. Although he couldn't identify who they were, he could tell at a glance that they were Quito soldiers.
Tashiguye couldn't help but wonder: Except for him who came here with the vanguard, people from other units were still in Karanka. Which unit should these people be from?
Lieutenant Walizaka said, "Could it be the team that delivers food to us?" This sentence immediately reminded Tashi Guye, because he had sent someone to request the king to deliver food a few days ago.
Thinking of this, Tashiguye immediately asked Walizaka to assemble the team and led five hundred soldiers out of the mountain valley to inspect the path leading to Karanka. Before walking three or five miles, at a place where two paths intersected, I saw dozens of corpses of soldiers lying on the roadside and in the forest. These soldiers were all wearing red Quito military uniforms. There are also some discarded grain bags on the side of the road. Apparently, their grain transport troops were attacked and robbed by the Sanku. All the food was robbed and all the soldiers transporting it were killed.
At this time, the sky was already bright. Because there had been a heavy rain at night, the forest was surrounded by morning mist and the rain was not yet gone. Tashiguye looked around and asked the soldiers to count the dead heads lying on the ground. There were forty-five in total, and some even had their heads missing.
Seeing this scene, Tashiguye was heartbroken and regretful. He thought that if he hadn't been so kind, kind, restrained and patient, he would have dealt with this group of Sanku people long ago, and there would be no such tragic scene!
Valizaka and the soldiers were also pleading with him, "My commander, don't show any mercy or patience to these stubborn, cruel and violent Sanku people. To be kind and patient to them is to be kind to ourselves." Killing and maiming, so these Sanku people must be killed, or even eradicated."
Listening to what the soldiers said, Tashiguye thought that he had suffered such a big mistake because he didn't listen to them in the past, and now he could no longer disobey them. With great sorrow and anger, he said to Lieutenant Walizaka, "I will take the troops to Sanku Village first. You go back immediately and bring me the large troops. The sooner the better." Lieutenant Walizaka He responded and ran back to the camp with a few soldiers.
Zhaxiguye led a small number of troops and observed the two paths leading to the front for a long time. Because it was not long after the rain, many barefoot footprints could be seen on the path leading to Sangku Village, as well as some camellias. Horse footprints. The Sanku people do not have llamas, and these llamas are used by the Quito army to transport food. Tashiguye made an immediate decision and led the team towards the path while asking the soldiers to be ready for battle at all times.
The troops walked forward quietly. After the rain, the path was wet, very muddy and slippery. The path continued forward, and as we walked, we came to the top of a mountain. Looking down from the top of the mountain, the mountain col is filled with morning mist. You can only hear the crow of chickens, but you can't see the villages or fields. Moreover, the path has reached the end here, and there is a cliff if you go further.
At this moment, a large army was seen coming from behind. The army did not look like the large group of troops brought by Valizaka, but a sea of people, with banners covering the sun, and they were walking towards this direction in a swaggering manner. When Tashiguye saw the familiar sedan chair in the middle of the team, he immediately understood that this was the King of Quito coming from the Karanka Valley.
He immediately ran over, saluted the king, and wanted to report to the king what had happened in the past few days. However, the king waved his hand to indicate that he already knew. Seeing the king's gloomy expression, Tashiguye couldn't help feeling terrified. Because for an officer who is unfavorable in combat, whether he is a general or a prince, as long as the king says a word, his head will be moved immediately.
Atahualpa asked in a gloomy tone, "Have you found the whereabouts of those Sanku people?"
Tashi Guye immediately took the king to the mountainside, pointed to the mountain col shrouded in mist and said to the king, "There are roosters crowing in this mountain col. It must be a village. However, I haven't found the way down yet."
The king asked, "How did those Sanku people get down?"
A word reminded Tashiguye, and he immediately led a few people to carefully search for the footprints of the indigenous people. It turns out that in a patch of tall and dense thorns, there is a gap that can be passed by one person. Once you pass through the gap, you can see a steep path that can only be walked by one person.
Tashiguye led the soldiers slowly through the thorns and followed the steep path until they reached a high slope. At this time, the sky was getting bright and the fog was gradually dispersing. Although the village houses could not be seen clearly, the clear outline of the mountain col could be seen.
The king also came here under the protection of many soldiers. He looked down the mountain col for a while and then said to Tashi Guye, "Take two thousand soldiers down and surround the entire village. Don't let anyone escape. I We and our troops are waiting here for news about you.”
The school officer said, "Yes, Your Majesty," and led the soldiers down the slope.
After the rooster crows a few times, the village becomes quiet again, so quiet that it feels like there is no one here at all. Tashiguye led the soldiers down to the bottom of the slope and saw everything in the col. This is a deep valley surrounded by mountains on three sides. The valley is not big and uneven. There are more than ten houses built in the upper areas, and some corn and potatoes are grown in the lower areas. A small stream meandered through the valley bottom with a clear sound of flowing water.
Colonel Tashi Guye commanded the soldiers to surround them from both ends, and within a short time, the entire village was surrounded. After all intersections and houses are guarded. The school officer then led people into the house to arrest people. Because the doors of all the houses are closed, not bolted, you can enter directly into the house by pushing the door open.
The houses in the village are simple and narrow, but all the houses are full of people. When they entered the house, the people who had been awakened from their dreams were screaming and howling in fear. The soldiers rushed over, grabbed these defenseless people and pulled them out of the house. Within a few minutes, a flat area where crops were dried was already filled with people.
These people were all women, old people and children, about two hundred people. They didn't know whether they had no clothes to wear or didn't bother to wear them. Most of them were naked. They looked at these red-coated soldiers who suddenly fell from the sky with very frightened eyes in the cool breeze of the morning. Some were even frightened. Crying softly.
School officer Tashi Guye pulled an older woman out of the crowd and asked, "Where have all the men here gone?"
A guide nearby who spoke the local language translated the words to the woman. The woman said, "They all went to fight."
The school officer asked again, "Where are they fighting?"
The woman shook her head and said, "I don't know."
