The Fall of the Golden Empire (Novel) (Volume 1) "Bloody Sunset" by Zhang Baotong
King Atahualpa of Quito led 40,000 Quito elite troops and the 40,000-strong army of Chief Chamul led by the southern Inca army sent by Inca King Huascar encountered each other in the wilderness area on the outskirts of Tumebamba. General Tachica's roundabout response encircled the Inca army and annihilated the Inca army on the outskirts of Tucheng. However, unexpectedly, General Kuta Chica secretly surrendered to the enemy and cooperated with the Inca army to encircle the Quito army on the hillside on the northern outskirts of Meicheng and captured the king of Quito, King Atahualpa alive. It can be said that General Kutachka was the key to the victory or defeat of this battle.
The person who caused this fatal danger was naturally Atahualpa himself, the great king of Quit. During his inspection to Tucheng, he found that General Kutachka was not strict in running the army, the discipline of the garrison was lax, and the soldiers were lazy. Instead of severely punishing him, he gave him his favorite concubine Delamiche and returned the favor to him. Authorize him to recruit soldiers, expand the army, promote positions, and use munitions warehouses. However, instead of repaying the favor of King Quito, General Kuta Chica stabbed him in the back at the critical moment, captured him alive, and escorted him to the Incas. This is very confusing.
In fact, General Kutachka's betrayal of King Quito had a profound background connection. Kutachka is a colonel of the local garrison in Tumebamba City and has been stationed there for more than ten years. Tumebamba was the favorite summer resort of the late Emperor Huayna Capac. This is not only the junction of the north and south of the Inca Empire, but also has warm winters and cool summers, a pleasant climate, simple folk customs, and beautiful scenery. It was the late emperor's favorite place to live. Tucheng was originally a territory of the Kingdom of Quito, located in the Cañaris region. Because the late emperor liked this place very much, he built a relatively large palace here, as well as a large number of fortifications and castles. The king would come here to live for a period of time every year in summer or winter. He has deep feelings for the people in this area and has given some relatively preferential conditions to the local people. Therefore, the local people respected and appreciated Emperor Huayna Capak very much.
General Kutachka was originally a sergeant in the local garrison. He once served as a palace guard for the late emperor. He was rewarded by Emperor Huayna Capak and was promoted to lieutenant and colonel of the garrison. Moreover, he and Prince Huascar also had a very close relationship. Every time Prince Huascar passes through here on his way to Quito, he must stay and stay here to meet him. Moreover, he felt that Prince Huascar was peaceful, upright, kind and simple. Moreover, before his father's death, Prince Huascar promised to hand over the Kingdom of Quito and some other provinces to Prince Atahualpa, but he did not want to give Tumebamba to him. However, Tumebamba itself belongs to the province of Cañaris, the southernmost province of Quito. It is said that after the death of the late emperor, Prince Huascar explained this to Atahualpa and wanted to get the city of Tumebamba back. However, Prince Atahualpa did not agree. This is probably one of the reasons why the conflict between the two brothers has deepened.
As a colonel of the Tumebamba City Garrison, Kutachica did not want to get involved in the dispute between King Inca and King Quito, because it would be a great risk to him. Although he was loyal to King Huascar, , but he is an officer in the Kingdom of Quito. Therefore, he just wanted to fulfill his duties and serve King Quida loyally. Just when he was going all out to recruit soldiers for the Quito army and expand its establishment, Chief Chamul led an army of 40,000 people to crusade northward and was about to reach the city of Tumebamba. Moreover, someone sent him a message from the Inca King Huascar, appointing him as the governor of the province of Cañaris in the Inca Kingdom. The provincial governor was generally a position that could only be held by Inca princes. And he was just a civilian and a school official, who had just been appointed by the King of Quito as the general of the Tucheng garrison. After repeated thinking and weighing, he finally decided to submit to King Huascar because he felt that he liked King Huascar more.
At this time, King Atahualpa happened to write a letter asking him to bypass the southern suburbs of Tucheng and return to the town of Yehe, cut off the retreat of the southern army from behind, and encircle the southern army together with the Quito army. So, he sent someone to tell Chamul, the commander of the southern army, the news. Chief Chamul asked him to deceive King Atahualpa's trust, and then, when the Quito army arrived at the northern suburbs of Tucheng, he would cut off the Quito army's retreat and attack the Quito army from behind.
In the battle on the outskirts of Tumebamba, Chief Chamuul sent by the Inca King Huascar took advantage of the internal and external cooperation of Waiting for Work and Kuta Chica to defeat the Quito army who was exhausted from the long-distance attack, and defeated the Quito King. and the army commander Atahualpa were captured alive. Although King Atahualpa escaped, the victory greatly boosted the morale of the Cuzco expeditionary force. After the battle, they took a short-term rest and recruited a lot of new soldiers locally. Not only did their combat effectiveness not decrease, but it also increased significantly. Then, 20,000 troops temporarily recruited from the nearby Kipchak province also rushed to Tumebamba day and night, and merged into an 80,000-strong army.
On this day, Commander Chamul convened various generals in his camp on the plains on the southern outskirts of Tumebamba to discuss the march northward. Commander Chamul is about in his early forties. He is not tall but strong, with a full beard, big eyes, and a loud voice. At first glance, he looks like a leader or chief of a foreign tribe. He was originally a chief of the Conti Province of the Inca Kingdom. He led his army to put down the rebellion in the Lake Titicaca area and was appreciated by King Huascar. He stayed in the capital of Cusco to serve as the commander of the southern Inca army. .
The meeting was also attended by General Pamiglia, deputy to the commander of Chamul, General Kutachka, governor of Kaniyaris and top commander of Tumebamba garrison, and Bachilama, top commander of the Kipchak troops. General. They sat in a circle on small stools in the large tent led by Chamul.
Commander Chamul said with a very serious expression, "We had already captured King Atahualpa of Quito alive, and could force him to make the commanders of Quito lay down their weapons and surrender. In this way, the Kingdom of Quito could be easily obtained. However, But someone killed the officer on duty guarding the cell and let Atahualpa run away. After he ran back to Quito, he would definitely gather all the troops to fight our southern army to the death. In this regard, I think we are already in Tume Bamba City has been resting for three or four days, and 10,000 to 20,000 new troops have been recruited locally. General Bachilama also brought over 20,000 troops urgently recruited from Kipchak Province. Now we have eight There are tens of thousands of people, and the Quito army originally only had 70,000 or 80,000 soldiers. In one battle, we wiped out 40,000 elite soldiers, and there were at most 40,000 troops left. If we add in the new recruits, the number will probably not exceed 60,000. .So, in terms of numbers, we have a clear advantage, and the Inca King is still mobilizing more troops as reinforcements. I think we should act early, not give the Quito army too much time to prepare, and we must arrive as soon as possible. The city of Riobamba broke through the plain area of the Chimborazo Pass, squeezing the Quito army in a narrow area close to the city of Quito, and slowly squeezed and advanced towards the north, forcing the Quito army to move towards Quito retreats until we capture Quito and capture Atahualpa alive."
General Kutachka said, "The commander's tactics are very clever, but I heard from the dispatched Chaski that Prince Quischis, the commander of Quito's army, arrived at Latacunga yesterday with an army of 30,000 people. March day and night towards Riobamba City. It is estimated that they will arrive at Riobamba City tomorrow night. I think they will definitely set up a formation on the plains of Chimborazo Pass and wait for a life-or-death battle with us."
General Bachilama heard this and said with concern, "If they get there first, they will definitely occupy better terrain, wait for work, and fight us in a decisive battle. Therefore, we must have a countermeasure."
Commander Chamul thought for a moment and said, "What's the terrain like there? I've never been there. Who can tell me?"
General Kuta Chica said, "I have been to that place two or three times. Chimborazo Mountain is an active volcano and the highest mountain in the Kingdom of Quito, about 30 kilometers away from Riobamba City. The top of the mountain is covered with snow all year round. There is a very spacious mountainous plain not far from the mountain peak. But the mountainous plain has some high slopes, grasslands, wastelands and mounds. If the opponent sets their barracks on high slopes and mounds, it will be difficult for us to capture it."
General Pamiglia, the deputy of Commander Chamul, said, "Then we can only attack when they come down from the high slopes and mounds. In this way, when they retreat, they will be attacked by the high slopes and hills. It is difficult to retreat to the position because of the mounds of earth.”
Commander Chamul nodded and said, "That's right, we must set up our troops far away from the Quito army's position, and wait for the Quito soldiers to rush closer to us before launching an attack, so that they can The high slopes and mounds occupied appear meaningless.”
Everyone expressed their approval, but Commander Chamul said to General Kutachka, "You must keep sending Chaschi to inquire and find out the movements and arrangements of the Quito army."
General Kutachka said, "Yes, my commander."
At this time, someone came to report that the troops of the Prince of Quischis had camped on the outskirts of Riobamba instead of on the plains of the Chimborazo Pass. Therefore, General Pamiglia speculated, "Could it be that the Quito army wanted to gather in Riobamba so that they could wait for the follow-up troops to arrive and then march towards Tumebamba to join us in Tumebamba?" Ba for a decisive battle?"
Chief Chamul shook his head and said, "If more than 100,000 troops from both sides engage in a decisive battle, the plain area outside Tumebamba City will be too small and cannot be extended at all. I think they are still waiting for the follow-up troops. Come together and fight with us at Chimborazo Pass."
General Kuta Chica also said, "I heard from the spies who came back from Quito that on the march road leading from Quito to the south, troops and vicuñas transporting food kept gathering in the south of Quito and then headed south. . Moreover, there are many soldiers and troops coming from the north towards Quito. Therefore, I think it is better to fight this battle earlier than later, because Quito can mobilize a lot of people and materials at any time, and we are far away from Cus Kejing City is thousands of miles away, separated by thousands of mountains and rivers, so it is very inconvenient in terms of personnel recruitment and material supply. Therefore, I think we should adopt a quick victory to avoid a protracted war."
General Bachilama of Kipchak Province asked Commander Chamul, "Isn't King Huaskar sending reinforcements?"
Commander Chamul said, "Your Majesty said this to me, but it is easier said than done. Over the years, the Inca army has expanded its territory and conquered the north and south. Almost all the young and strong men who can fight have been After recruiting troops, how many people are left who can fight? Besides, even if we can recruit some new soldiers, organize them and then travel long distances here, it is not an easy task. So, I think this battle still depends on us. These people are here. If everything goes well and we can defeat the Quito army in one fell swoop at the Chimborazo Pass, then we can pursue the victory and fight all the way to the city of Quito."
At this point, Commander Chamul said to the generals, "I agree with General Kutachka's opinion that a quick victory should be carried out against the Quito army. Therefore, I order all the troops to mobilize today and prepare for tomorrow." Early in the morning, the entire line moved towards the plains of Chimborazo Pass.”
