The Fall of the Golden Empire (Novel) (Volume 1) "Bloody Sunset" by Zhang Baotong
Atahualpa couldn't help feeling a little panicked when he heard the spies' report that Huascar was recruiting soldiers, expanding his army, and moving troops from all over the country to Cusco, the capital, to prepare to resist the invasion of Quito's army. It can be said that this is the most worrying and worrying thing for him in many days. Because he knew that there were not many troops around Cusco. If he could take advantage of Huascar's preparations and pursue the victory, Cusco would be within easy reach. But if Huascar was ready to attack again, the result would be unknown. . Therefore, after hearing the news, he immediately panicked.
He decided that he must deal with the enemy defenders on Puna Island as soon as possible, and then sent his troops south to attack Huascar before he was ready and win the battle. With this in mind, he immediately called for Chalkuchma and said, "Gather your Liwa soldiers together, I will give them a lecture."
With a horn blast, the Liwa soldiers soon gathered. Seeing the king coming, the soldiers quickly knelt on the ground and worshiped, "Long live the king."
The powerful and capable leader of the Great Dynasty glanced at the neatly lined up Liwa soldiers and said, "Do you still remember what I said to you on the training ground in Quito?"
The soldiers replied in unison, "Keep your Majesty's instructions in mind."
The king was very satisfied and said sternly, "I said that whoever kills the most enemy soldiers will be rewarded with the most beautiful woman. Now, the Incas are on the mountain opposite us. I want to see who of you can Whoever rushes to the top of the mountain first kills the most enemies."
The soldiers all replied, "Your Majesty, please wait for the good news."
The king said, "Very good, target, the top of the mountain opposite, prepare to attack."
The soldiers replied, "Yes, my lord."
Just as Chalkuchma was commanding the Liwa army to attack the mountain, King Atahualpa waved his hand and said, "Slow down." Then, he said to Prince Kiskis, "Let your soldiers fight first. Go forward, and then let the Liwa Soldiers follow."
The prince said, "Yes, my great king." Then he said to the commander beside him, "Blow the trumpet and drum."
With the sound of drums and trumpets, the shocked remnants of the defeated generals who had just been defeated were chased by a large group of supervising officers and rushed towards the top of the mountain like locusts before they could rest for a while. The elite Liwa soldiers followed closely behind. This posture obviously allows the Quito soldiers in the front to serve as cover, and the Liva soldiers in the back to make the main attack, so that they can rush to the top of the mountain to fight continuously, and the exhausted Incas will fight in close combat, or force the Inca to retreat behind the mountain.
However, the Quito soldiers in front were beaten to pieces by a flurry of rocks and arrows from the Inca, and fled in all directions. Even the officers supervising the battle could not stop them. This brought the Lihua soldiers directly face to face with the Incas guarding the top of the mountain. The soldiers of the Liwa Legion lined up in a very neat formation, held up their shields, and rushed towards the top of the mountain in a neat and fast pace. They were about to enter the range of the Inca's throwing rocks and bows and arrows. At this time, the Inca people on the top of the mountain had stones in their hands, arrows in their strings, and were ready to attack, united as one. Obviously, this is a life-and-death battle, a crucial battle that determines life and death. Therefore, both sides set up a life-and-death battle posture.
Just when this life-and-death battle was about to begin, Atahualpa suddenly waved his hand and asked the commander to blow the retreat horn. This not only puzzled Prince Quiskis and Commander Chalkuchma as well as the Quito officers and soldiers who were waiting to watch this life-and-death battle, but also the Liwa soldiers who were prepared to fight with life and death in exchange for glory and wealth. They were all very confused. They were listless, complaining and falling from the front line. Showing the boss's displeasure. Especially the Incas who were preparing to fight to the death with the Liwa people did not understand. They thought it was a delaying strategy by the Quito people. Therefore, they only put down the stones and bows and arrows in their hands when the Liwa people retreated to the bottom of the mountain. .
Commander Chalkuchma put his forehead on the ground and asked the king in a pleading tone, "The Liwa soldiers are about to have a life-and-death battle with the Incas, but why did the king suddenly withdraw his troops?"
At this time, the king had already boarded the golden sedan chair. Without even looking at the two army commanders who were kowtowing on the ground, he said, "All armies must withdraw from Puna Island immediately. All of them will be withdrawn early tomorrow morning." over."
The king's words made the two army commanders even more confused and confused. Prince Quiskis banged his forehead on the ground and begged earnestly, "Absolutely not, Your Majesty. We are about to wipe out the Incas on the island. If we retreat, won't they come back to life again?" If you leave these scourges behind, there will be endless harm. Please consider it carefully, Your Majesty."
The king stared wide-eyed and cursed, "You bastard, if I ask you to retreat, just retreat." After saying that, he shouted to Haya, the attendant next to him, "Get up the sedan."
For several days, the Quito army left Guayaquil one after another, heading towards the marching road at the southern foot of the Andes. Atahualpa began to move south on the morning of the third day, escorted by more than 2,000 soldiers of the palace guard. He sat in a golden sedan chair carried by eighty people and marched in the middle of the Chalkuch horse army, heading south with a rapid march of nearly a hundred miles every day. Because the Incas did not have cars and traveled mainly on foot, almost all the Incas were good walkers.
Although the Incas fled from the foot of Chimborazo Mountain, they did not damage the roads and bridges along the way. Therefore, the Quito army moved smoothly along the spacious marching road, and arrived in the city of Cajamarca within a few days.
The city of Cajamarca was an important mountainous town in the northern part of the Inca Empire, and was located halfway between Quito in the north and Cusco, the capital in the south. The small town is located in the valley, with majestic rocky mountains and endless green vegetation stretching along the reddish-brown valley. The Plaza de Armas in the city is spacious and flat, and a fifteen-kilometer-long marching avenue extends to the foothills of Mount Cubei, which is over 3400 meters above sea level. Next to the small town is the palace built by the Inca kings, and the smooth and comfortable hot springs flow continuously day and night. Walking in the green and quiet valley, you can see the majestic and primitive Cubemayo megalithic complex. The temple shaped like a giant head and the cave decorated with stone carvings make this small town in the northern mountainous area even more mysterious and beautiful.
King Atahualpa had been here many years ago, when he was still young. He only came here in a hurry and passed by in a hurry, without leaving much impression on this place. I came here again today. After walking along the green valley after the new rain, I was fascinated by the scenery of this clear and quiet small town.
At this time, it was evening, with mist lingering in the valley after the rain, and the breath was fresh. As the king of Quito, he was accompanied by two commanders and several nobles, and was guarded by more than two hundred personal guards. , followed the valley to Cubmayo, and then worshiped at the Giant's Head Temple and watched the stone carving caves.
Prince Quiskis said, "When Huascar is destroyed, your Majesty, you will be the supreme Inca emperor. You can build a very large palace here to enjoy the ultimate happiness on earth."
The king said, "Yes, I am going to build a large palace here, and I can bring you here every year to escape the summer and have fun." After saying that, he ordered the sedan chair to be lifted back to the palace.
The palace here was built by his father, Emperor Huayna Capak, in his early years. As a way station on the way to the northern region, the palace was relatively simple when it was built, even a bit like the mansion of an ordinary royal family, rather than the palace of the Inca king. After the palace was built, Emperor Capac never actually lived here because he was busy with wars all year round. Only Huascar and other princes and princesses stopped here for a day or two when they were rushing from Cusco to Quito. Because it has been uninhabited and unvisited for many years, the palace has become somewhat weathered and dilapidated, but all facilities are still complete.
It was already the first night when the king returned to the palace. He got off the sedan chair and entered the hot spring bath. The hot spring bathroom is made of smooth and tight marble. In the square pool that can accommodate more than ten people, steaming hot springs are gurgling. The two beloved sisters, Kuta and Maca, brought from Guayaquil, were waiting for him at the door. When he saw him entering the hot spring bath, he first knelt down and bowed in salute. Then, he took off his clothes and himself, and went down to the hot spring bath together to give the king a scrub and massage after a hard day's work.
The strong king hugged the two young and beautiful sisters for a while and said, "I have been to a place just now. It is very beautiful and quiet, and there are huge buildings and stone caves built by the Cajamarca people. Hey. , don’t look at this small place, it’s really good.”
My sister Maka sat in the king's arms and said coquettishly, "The king will take us to see it too, okay?"
The king said, "It's no longer possible now. I will continue my journey with my troops tomorrow morning. After Huascar is defeated, I will take you two sisters to travel throughout the empire."
However, Maka said, "But when will that wait?"
The king kissed his sister on the face and said, "It won't be long. It only takes ten days at most from here to Cusco. As long as I bring this 80,000 troops to the city of Cusco, it will only take three to five days." , we can capture the city of Cusco and capture Huascar alive."
Sister Kuta said while massaging the king, "My king, don't you have Prince Chiskis and Chalkuchma as your commanders? Why do you want to lead the troops to fight Cusco yourself? What if the king comes again? It would be too dangerous to be captured by the Incas like that time in Tumebamba."
Although the king was most taboo about others mentioning this matter, he told the two sisters about Tucheng's arrest. On the one hand, he showed his special love for the sisters, and on the other hand, he showed his own intelligence and wit. Therefore, when these two beloved concubines mentioned this matter, he not only was not angry at all, but felt very cordial.
He patted his sister Kuta on the shoulder and said, "The King of Quito is not a fool and will never let the Incas capture him alive again."
But my sister Maka hugged the king's neck and said, "I don't care whether the king will be captured alive by the Inca, I just won't let the king leave here."
Atahualpa said, "I am the King of Quito. No one dares to disobey my words, otherwise his head will be beheaded. Aren't you afraid?"
The younger sister hugged the king's neck tighter and said, "I'm not afraid of beheading my head. I just won't let the king lead his troops to Cusco. I heard that the king killed many people, but I haven't heard of him killing many people." Live as your own concubine.”
Because Maka hugged her too tightly, the king felt a little out of breath, so he shouted, "Let go, you're suffocating me to death."
But Maka hugged the king's neck tighter and said, "If you want me to let go, the king must promise me not to go to Cusco, or I won't let go."
The King wanted to pull Maka's arm away, but Maka's arm was held tightly, and Kuta also came to help and hugged the King's arm so hard that the King could not pull Maka's arm away. Atahualpa was really a little annoyed. He couldn't shout or get angry, so he had no choice but to say, "I promise, I promise."
Maka then let go of the king's neck. The king turned pale with anger. While rubbing his neck with his hands, he shouted at the two sisters, "The Inca king never killed his concubine, but I will. The first people I want to kill are you two women who tried to murder the King of Quito."
Listening to the king's hysterical yelling, the two beloved concubines immediately realized that the joke had gone too far, and they quickly knelt down and cried bitterly.
But the angry king did not forgive the two sisters. Instead, he cursed angrily, "You two must be spies sent by the Incas to murder me. Let's see how I cut off your heads." While naked, Ran out of the hot spring pool.
