The Fall of the Golden Empire (Novel) (Volume 1) "Bloody Sunset" by Zhang Baotong
The tense relationship between the two brothers, King Huascar of the Incas and King Atahuallpa of Quito, seemed to have been eased again. Prince Liavanto's tasks and missions were successfully completed, and he left with his entourage. Quito, return to Cusco.
Atahualpa immediately issued a proclamation to his entire kingdom and other provinces under his jurisdiction, ordering all those who could move to prepare and go to Cusco within a few days to pay homage to his father according to the ancient customs of each tribe. The late king Huayna Capac, and swore allegiance to King Huascar as usual. He also required the provincial governors and people going to the capital of Cusco to dress beautifully and neatly, and to hold solemn ceremonies of sacrifice and allegiance.
In fact, Atahualpa did not really want to go to Cusco to swear allegiance to Huascar, let alone give up his expanded territory to others. The promises he expressed to Huascar were just to buy more time to prepare for the northward crusade of Cusco's army from the south. Because he knew that his battle with Huascar was inevitable.
He summoned four important ministers, namely Kiskis, Chalkuchma, Ruminawi and Gilabamba, to the government room to conspire and discuss. As soon as he entered the court room, Quiskis asked Atahualpa in a very confused tone, "Is your Majesty really going to Cusco to swear allegiance to Huascar?"
Ruminawi also said, "If the king goes to Cusco, he will definitely never return and he will be tricked by Huascar."
Atahualpa shook his head seriously and said, "Do you think I would be that stupid? If I wanted to go, I would have gone a long time ago, and why would I wait until now?"
Ruminawi said, "Then why did the king issue an announcement to the whole country, saying that he was going to Cusco to swear allegiance to Huascar?"
Atahualpa sneered mysteriously and said, "I want you three commanders to each select 10,000 elite soldiers from your troops, dress them up as people from each province, divide them into teams of five to six hundred people, and follow me Let’s go to the capital city of Cusco together. When the team is approaching the capital city of Cusco, they will gather together and suddenly attack Cusco, catching Huascar by surprise, conquer Cusco in one fell swoop, and capture Huascar alive.”
Chalkuchma immediately explained, "There just happen to be only 20,000 to 30,000 defenders in Cusco, and it is impossible to mobilize troops from other provinces at the moment. If we take a surprise attack, we will definitely succeed in one fell swoop."
Chiskis and Luminavi also agreed with King Atahualpa's plan, so Atahualpa told everyone, "The troops of the three commanders will gather secretly on the outskirts of Quito, led by Gilaban." Prince Ba provided the soldiers with clothing of each tribe. The troops were divided into teams of five to six hundred people and set off from Quito at night. I first led an army of 30,000 people southward to Tumebamba, a border town in Quito, to inspect and make corresponding preparations. Erkuchma and Luminawi must lead their troops to Tumebamba City in a week to join me. Then they will march south. Kiskis will move the troops to the southern suburbs of Quito for city defense and emergency tasks. Support mission.”
The four important ministers replied, "As you command, my great king."
One morning two days later, Atahualpa led 30,000 troops southward to Cañaris and other provinces for inspection and defense. Because Cañaris Province is the frontier of the Kingdom of Quito, if Cañaris is lost, then the Inca army will approach Riobamba, the important town of the Kingdom of Quito. If they cross the Chimborazo Pass, then Quito There will be no danger to defend. Therefore, if you want to resist the invasion of the southern army, you must defend the city of Tumebamba in Cañaris.
The first stop of the King of Quito's inspection was a small town called Latacunga. The town is not big and there are not many people, but it is very quiet and peaceful. It is the season of clear wind and beautiful autumn scenery, and the golden sunset hangs over the top of the Cordillera Mountains in the evening, illuminating the small town in the mountains in a golden light. Because the king came here with an army of 30,000 people, the spacious passage that ran through the entire town was suddenly crowded.
King Atahualpa's sedan chair was carried by eighty soldiers. Chief Hastala and the residents of the town lined up to welcome him. It came to a stop in front of a solid stone house in the center of the town. Come down. Immediately, dozens of small sedans following behind also stopped. Attendant Haya quickly opened the sedan door curtain and helped the king out of the sedan.
At this time, Hastala hurriedly knelt down, bowed his head, and saluted, saying, "Hastala, the mayor of the town of Latacunga, pays homage to the King of Quito."
King Atahualpa said as he walked towards the stone house, "I know, get up."
Hastala then stood up quickly and quickly stepped forward to personally open the door curtain of the stone house for the king.
This stone house is no different from other stone houses in the Inca Empire, but it is equipped with gold tables, gold chairs and a large gold bed. It has been cleaned and the items are neatly placed. Obviously, this remote town would not have such precious items. Of course, the attendants brought them from the Quito Palace to prepare for the king's fall.
King Atahualpa entered the house and saw that Yina and Uga had prepared meals and were waiting for him in colorful and charming clothes. He had been sitting in the sedan chair for most of the day, and he felt sleepy and tired. So as soon as he entered the room, he threw himself on the bed without caring about anything, and kept breathing. The two concubines leaned next to him one by one and asked, "Is the king tired?"
King Atahualpa snorted feebly, and then asked, "When did you arrive?"
Yina said, "We came here on camels at noon today."
King Atahualpa nodded and said to Uga, "Don't you always want to go out and have fun? How are you feeling today?"
Wuga smiled and said, "After riding a camel for a day, I'm not exhausted yet." As he said this, he kept rubbing his waist with his hands.
The king smiled and said, "We have just walked a day's journey, and there are still more than ten days to go. What should I do in the future?"
Wuga shook his head bitterly and said, "If I keep walking like this for a few more days, I'm afraid I'll have to be carried away."
Just as he was talking, Haya came in and said, "Report to your Majesty, the mayor of Latacunga Town, Hastala, has hosted a banquet for your Majesty and has been waiting outside the door for a long time."
The king then remembered that the purpose of his inspection was to appease and stabilize the leaders and officials in various parts of the north. Only in this way could they remain loyal to him when the Inca army came, and avoid internal rebellions and backyard fires. . Although Latacunga is not an important town in the north, it is also the gateway to the south of Quito and should not be underestimated. So he got off the bed and asked Haya to prepare a valuable gift to reward the mayor.
When the king came out of the house, he saw the mayor of the town, Hastala, bending down and saying to him, "The king has come all the way to visit the small town. It is really an honor for the small town. I will prepare a table of meals to welcome the king. Please taste it, Your Majesty."
King Atahualpa nodded and followed the mayor towards a nearby stone house. The room was small, with a few oil lamps lit. Under the lights, a large table was filled with all kinds of delicacies. The two commanders Chalkuchma and Ruminawi, who accompanied King Atahualpa on inspection, were already seated at the table. Seeing the king arriving with the two princesses, everyone stood up to greet him.
After the king sat down, he glanced at the food on the banquet and saw that there were not only roasted pig's trotters, boiled corn, stewed potatoes, tomatoes, but also cooked rabbit and roasted lamb legs on the table. He said to the mayor Hastala, "You are doing a good job as the mayor of this small town. You have better food than I did when I was the king!"
When the mayor heard this, he immediately leaned over and said to the king, "Your Majesty leads troops to fight all year round, so he must know something about the life in our small town outside the city. We usually eat corn and potatoes, and rarely can we Pork and rabbit meat are available, but wolf meat and mutton are even less available. The day before yesterday, I heard that the king was coming to the town, so I found out that the king likes delicious food, so I sent someone out to find a way to get some meat to treat the king. "
When King Atahualpa heard this, he happily said to Mayor Hastala, "It's rare for a mayor to be loyal." After saying that, he grabbed a large piece of wolf meat with his hands and ate it. He praised it and said, "It's delicious. Everyone should try it."
After hearing what the king said, everyone also tore up a piece of wolf meat and started eating. At this time, the mayor clapped his hands, and several young and beautiful village girls came in, dressed in beautiful clothes, and danced a popular local song and dance.
Of course, these songs and dances cannot be compared with the singers in the palace, but the girls are all graceful, wild, and exude a lively and intoxicating atmosphere, which makes King Atahualpa feel like he has drank a glass of wine. The extremely clear and mellow wine made me drunk all of a sudden.
After watching the singing and dancing of the village girls, the meal was almost done. After the mayor waved the singers to leave, King Atahualpa could only think about the village girls and singers and did not want to waste any more time at the banquet, so he said to the mayor, "Your banquet is very delicious, and the singing and dancing are also very good." It's very beautiful. I'm very satisfied with your reception. So, I want to reward you." After saying that, Haya asked Haya to give the mayor a set of exquisite gold wine sets.
When the mayor saw that the king had gifted him such exquisite and unique valuables, he felt flattered. He knelt down to the king and thanked him repeatedly, saying, "The king is so generous and generous, and Hastala doesn't know how to repay him with gratitude."
The king said disapprovingly, "As long as the mayor is loyal to me, I will not treat you badly." With that, he led everyone away from the banquet.
As soon as the king went out, he said to Haya beside him, "Go and tell the mayor that I want to take away the singing girl, and call me the most beautiful tall girl by the way."
Haya said, "Yes, Your Majesty." Then he took the mayor who was accompanying him and whispered a few words into his ear. The mayor nodded quickly and said, "Yes, yes, yes."
The king returned to his residence and lay down on the bed, not wanting to move. Yina and Wuga knew that the king was tired, so they began to undress him. However, at this time, Haya brought a girl into the house. As soon as Yina and Wuga saw this scene, they knew that the king wanted this girl to sleep with him, so they asked in an interesting tone, "Does the king still need our service?"
The king replied calmly, "Forget it, you are tired after a long day of work, I don't need you to take care of me here."
Yina and Wuga hurriedly said, "Thank you, Your Majesty." and left the house.
King Atahualpa asked the girl to get on the bed, hugged her tightly, and asked her, "What's your name?" while kissing her.
The girl said, "My name is Delamiche."
The king said, "This name is very nice. Do you want to travel with me?"
The girl said, "I've been thinking about it in my dreams."
King Atahualpa said, "Very good, I will take you back to the palace and let you live a life of fine clothing and food for the rest of your life."
The girl said excitedly, "It will be my lifelong blessing to serve the king." Then, she added, "I went to Quito last year and saw the palace. The palace was tall, charming and majestic. At that time, I just thought it would be great if I could go in there one day and take a look.”
King Atahualpa kissed the girl and said kindly, "You can stay there every day from now on."
The girl said, "How happy my parents and family would be if they knew that I entered the palace and stayed with the king all day long!" Then she added, "I heard that there are many beautiful concubines living in the palace. But what do they do in the palace all day?"
After hearing this, the king smiled and said, "They stay in the palace all day long playing games, singing and dancing together, eating and drinking together."
The girl listened and said, "That's so interesting." After talking for a while, the king asked the girl to undress him and take off his belt. Then, after the girl took off her clothes, he hugged her and fell asleep.
Until dawn the next day, when the patrol team had assembled and was about to leave the town, the king had not yet woken up from his sleep. He was so anxious that Haya stood in front of the door and it was okay to call or not to call. When Prince Luminawi came to invite the king to go on his way, Haya entered the house again and woke up the king and the girl who was sleeping with him.
The king was woken up by Haya, and when he saw the sky, he knew it was time to hit the road. Then he got up calmly, washed his face, and asked Haya to bring some food to wait in the sedan chair before eating. He also asked Haya to take the girl named Delamiche and the other girls to ride the camel along the path. Take a shortcut to the next inspection location.
When the king left the house, the sedan chair had been waiting in front of the door for a long time. The king entered the sedan chair. The marching horn sounded majestic and powerful. The king's sedan chair and the team of 30,000 people, escorted by the mayor and residents, left the town and headed south along the wide marching road.
After passing Latacunga, Ambato, and Riobamba and continuing southward, King Atahualpa led the inspection team to the city of Tumebamba. Tumebamba is an important mountain town in the ancient Cañaris. It is located at the junction of the north and south of the Inca Empire. It not only has beautiful scenery and pleasant climate, but also has simple folk customs and dangerous terrain. It is a necessary place for the Inca people to pass from north to south. Therefore, this is the town that King Atahualpa and his party focused on inspecting.
When the local chief executive Ubato and military commander Kuta Chika learned that King Atahualpa was coming to inspect the local area, they had already made full preparations and rushed dozens of miles in advance to welcome the king into the city.
When the king's golden sedan chair and the escorting army entered the city of Tumebamba, tens of thousands of people waved colorful ribbons, blew horns, and sang and shouted like a roaring mountain and a tsunami. A group of elegantly dressed noble women riding camels surrounded the king's sedan chair, guiding the inspecting king and his entourage toward the palace of the late king Wayna Capak. In the past, many kings built palaces and villas here for summer vacation, but only the palace of King Huayna Capak was the most magnificent and magnificent. The place where King Atahualpa of Quito stayed was his father's summer palace.
