The Fall of the Golden Empire (Novel) (Volume 1) "Bloody Sunset" by Zhang Baotong
The 40,000 Inca army and the 40,000 Quito army launched a life-and-death battle of sneak attacks and counter-sneak attacks on the wild slopes on the outskirts of Tumebamba. Just as the two armies were fighting until the sky was dark and the sun and the moon were dimming, Kuta However, General Chica led an army of 30,000 people to rush over and surrounded the Quito army and King Quito, forcing King Quito to put down his arms and be captured alive.
King Atahualpa was escorted by a large group of Inca soldiers towards the city of Tumebamba. At this time, it was already dusk. The setting sun stayed on the top of the Western Mountain for a long time, dyeing the surrounding area a bright red and sad color. Perhaps people had expected a bloody battle here and had left here early to hide. Therefore, there were only groups of Inca troops and local General Kuta Chica's troops in the entire city, either escorting Quito soldiers or Carrying wounded soldiers through the streets. Although the Inca won this battle, their casualties were also very heavy. Therefore, instead of the joy and celebration of victory, the victorious Incas were filled with a low and depressed mood and atmosphere.
Although King Atahualpa was tied up by the Five Flowers, he still held his head high and his chest high, pretending to be a righteous man who looked down upon his death. This does not mean that he is not afraid of death, but because he is the king of Quito, and a king must act like a king at all times. Furthermore, he must set an example for his captured soldiers. Walking to a thoroughfare in the city, he saw a large army of General Kutachka parked by the roadside. Regardless of the soldiers' obstruction, he walked up to an officer leading the team and asked him with the words "King of Quito" He said to the officer in a tone of voice, "Call your commander, General Kutachka, and tell him that I have something to ask him."
The officer looked a little embarrassed, but still replied, "Yes, Your Majesty. I will convey your words to the general immediately."
But the Inca who was escorting the king said to the officer in a solemn tone, "The prince cannot see anyone without the consent of Commander Chamul. This is what Commander Chamul said."
The officer hurriedly said, "Yes." Atahualpa arrogantly said to the officer escorting him, "Bring me Commander Chamul."
But the Inca officer said, "I will take you to see Commander Chamul right now."
After walking through a street in the city, we came to the castle. The castle was filled with Inca soldiers, and there were soldiers even on the tall watchtowers and city walls, creating a scene of tight barriers. The soldiers took Atahualpa to the door of a small cabin in a corner of the castle. In front of the door stood a soldier holding a battle ax. Atahualpa knew at a glance that this was a cell, and said to the officer escorting him, "I want to see Commander Chamul."
The escort officer said, "Commander Chamul is still busy right now and doesn't want to see you. He will come to see you when he is free." Then, he pushed Atahualpa into the hut without any explanation. Have someone untie the rope from his body. Then, there was just a bang and the iron door of the hut was locked.
Atahualpa glanced around the hut and felt that everything in the hut looked very familiar. After thinking about it carefully, he remembered that he had been here when he came here for an inspection not long ago. At that time, he was still the king of Quito, but now he is a prisoner. He stood in the middle of the hut for a long time. He felt that his legs and feet were sore and tired, and he couldn't hold on anymore. Then he saw a small bed in the corner of the room, and wanted to sit on the small bed and rest for a while. He set out from the morning to After commanding the battle for an entire afternoon, he was indeed too tired to hold on any longer. However, no one had slept on the small bed for a long, long time. The dust had fallen into a thick layer, and the felt was dirty and torn, which made him feel sick and tired. He really didn't want to sit on the bed, but there was no other place to sit in this small room except this small bed. Besides, he was really too tired to stand it, so he had to sit on the corner of the small bed. However, sitting like this was not comfortable enough, so he took off his helmet and let his whole body fall down on the small bed without caring about the dirt.
His body got a temporary rest, but his mind was thinking about the battle that had just ended. There were two things he didn't expect about this battle: first, he didn't expect that the Inca army would launch a counter-attack on him; second, he didn't expect that General Kuta Chica would betray him and team up with the Incas to attack him from both sides. This was the main reason for the defeat of Quito's army.
But what puzzled him most was why General Kutachka betrayed him. During his inspection tour last month, he not only forgave him for his lax military management, but also gave him the beautiful woman he loved as a gift. Moreover, he also equipped him with military supplies for nearly 30,000 soldiers, turning him from Colonels were promoted to generals commanding an army of thirty thousand men. Instead of repaying his kindness, he deceived him and betrayed him. Since General Kutachka would betray him, there must be a certain reason. If he got to the bottom of it, he thought that Tumebamba itself was a city at the junction of north and south. It belongs to the province of Cañaris, but this province was once ruled for a long time by the Inca kings, and perhaps they wanted to think of themselves as Inca rather than Quito. So, while the Inca and Quito were fighting to the death here, the general he trusted most betrayed him and deceived him. As for the Inca nation, they can easily forgive and treat prisoners of war preferentially, but they will never have the slightest tolerance or forgiveness for deceivers and betrayers. He thought that if he was lucky enough to escape, he must catch this shameless villain. Even if he was cut into pieces with thousands of knives, his corpse was cut into pieces, and his nine tribes were destroyed, it would not relieve the hatred in his heart.
After lying down for a while, he felt a little hungry, but no one came to bring him food. He wanted to get up and go to the door to ask the guarding soldiers to bring him food, but he felt that he was a majestic King of Quito, how could he beg from a small guard? This is too beneath my dignity.
So, he endured his hunger and lay quietly on the small bed, turning over and over again, reflecting on the reasons and mistakes of the defeat in this battle. However, it seems that it is too late to think about what has happened, and it will not help, because time will certainly not go back, and the situation will not return to before the war. Anyway, some of it is impossible because he is no longer the king of Quito. He was merely a prisoner, waiting to be transported to Cusco to be tried and disposed of by Huascar. He wondered what Huascar would do to him, whether to hang him or imprison him for life? He didn't know, but he knew that Huascar would definitely not forgive him, because his existence was the biggest threat to Huascar's throne.
Unconsciously, the sky had turned dark, and a cool breeze came from nowhere, making him feel a little chilly. So he opened the felt and covered himself. However, soon, he felt itchy, and it was so painful that it was burning. He immediately realized that there were lice or lice in the bed. Because in this cold plateau area, farmers almost have these things on their beds and blankets. In the past, he had followed his father to fight in the north all year round, and had often dealt with fleas and lice. At that time, he didn't think these things were so scary, but now when he hears about these little things, he feels terrified in his heart. Wow, goosebumps appeared on my body.
He quickly opened the felt and got off the bed to the floor, not daring to sit on the bed again. He just thought that this place was not a place for people to stay. Anyway, he couldn't stay here for a minute. So, he thought about how to escape from this hut. There is only one exit from the hut, and there is an iron door at the exit. There is a small, palm-sized window on the iron door, which is used to deliver meals to prisoners.
He came to the iron gate and shook it hard with his hand, but the iron gate didn't even move. He knew that not only he could not shake the iron gate, but even ten more people might not be able to shake it. This couldn't help but make him feel a little desperate.
The hut was very dark, with only a beam of moonlight shining into the hut through the small window of the iron door. He looked out the small window. The moonlight outside was very bright and the night was very quiet. A soldier in Quito uniform was standing upright in front of the door guarding the cell under the moonlight.
He tentatively said "Hey" to the soldier outside. The soldier turned around, walked to the door and window, and asked, "What's the matter?"
Atahualpa said, "Come here."
The soldier looked around, then walked over and asked, "What's going on?"
The king said, "Are you a subordinate of General Kutachka?"
The soldier said, "Yes."
The king asked again, "Do you know who I am?"
The soldier said, "You are King of Quit."
The king asked again, "How do you know that I am the king of Quida?"
The soldier said, "Last time you visited Meicheng, you came here and taught me a lesson."
Atahualpa couldn't help but reach out and touch the lock on the iron door to see if it was still the same rusty lock. However, before he could touch the lock, the soldier told him, "Don't worry, Your Majesty, this is a new big lock."
This sentence suddenly made him feel cold all over. He couldn't help but sigh, and then he changed his tone and said to the soldier kindly, "In this way, we have known each other for a long time."
The soldier said, "Yes."
The king added, "You told me that time that this was a death sentence for felons."
The soldier said, "Yes, Your Majesty, no one who is locked up here can get out alive."
The king said, "Does this mean I won't be able to survive?"
The soldier whispered, "Yes, Your Majesty, I heard that the officer who escorted you just now said that he would escort you to Cusco tomorrow."
The king sighed longly and said, "It seems that I really won't live long." As he said that, he took off his pure gold helmet from the bedside and gave it to the soldiers. But the helmet is too big and cannot be handed out through the small window.
The soldier hurriedly waved his hands and said, "Your Majesty, are you trying to make me lose my head?"
Atahualpa then realized that although his helmet was priceless, it was worthless to ordinary soldiers. Not only was it worthless, but it would also bring disaster to him. Because the laws of the Inca royal family did not allow ordinary people to own valuables such as gold, silver, and gems. If this soldier accepts his helmet, his head will be lost if others know or discover it. So, he had to put the helmet next to the bed again.
When he walked to the small window again to talk to the soldier, the soldier asked in a puzzled tone, "Your Majesty, I really don't understand. You and Huascar are both brothers. Why are you still fighting and killing each other?"
The king smiled indifferently and said, "He thinks I don't listen to him and refuse to give him all the territory I acquired."
The soldier said, "He has such a large territory, but he still cares about your little territory?"
The king said, "He doesn't care about that bit of territory. He just listened to other people's slanders and tricks and wanted to find an excuse to get rid of me, so that he would feel that his throne was secure. Otherwise, why would he send Chamul Are you going to lead an army of 40,000 to attack me?"
The soldiers remained silent, because Inca law stipulated that subjects were not allowed to comment on or slander the king, and offenders would be beheaded. Of course Atahualpa knew that soldiers would not dare to comment on royal affairs casually, so he had no choice but to change the subject and asked, "Where is my little brother's home?"
The soldier said, "In a small village north of Tungula Province."
The king said, "I heard that the girls there are very good, beautiful and gentle."
The soldier sighed and said, "That's right, it's just that all the good girls are married to nobles and officials. For example, the head of our village is over fifty years old and has seven wives, and the mayor is almost six." I am ten years old and have ten wives, and each one is younger and prettier than the last, but we ordinary people can only marry one, and they are all unwanted."
When the king heard this, he immediately said, "If the little brother can let me out, I can let the little brother marry fifty or two hundred young and beautiful girls."
