The Fall of the Golden Empire (Novel) (Volume 1) "Bloody Sunset" by Zhang Baotong
A favorite concubine was holding a wine pot and pouring wine for the king and princes. The other princesses were singing and dancing, and an old musician was playing the rough and loud dance music of the Inca Plateau on a piccolo. The princes drank wine with the king and watched the concubines dancing. After the concubines finished singing and dancing and left the room, Huayahualoca, the governor of Chimborazo Province, said to the king, "Prince of Quiskis and Commander Chalkuchma led an army of 80,000 people to march south. In a few days, We crossed the Apurimac River and are about to capture the city of Cusco. By then, the king will no longer be the king of Quito, but the king of the entire Inca Empire. Congratulations." As he said, He raised his glass and drank a large glass first.
The Governor of Tungula Province, Prince Bescara, said, “Originally, the king had no intention of competing for the Inca throne, but Huascar did not know his own capabilities and insisted on sending Chief Chamul with 40,000 troops to attack the king, forcing the king to resort to war. Fight back.”
Hakama, the chief of Chincha Province, laughed and said, "Huascar did not even look at the celestial phenomena and omens, yet he dared to raise his troops to offend the king. Now, he will soon see his own fate."
The King of Quichi listened to everyone's discussion, drank another glass of wine, and asked, "Quischis and Chalkuchma have crossed the Apurimac River with 80,000 troops. You have all been to Cusco." , think about where this war will start and what will be the result?"
Chief Hakama of Chincha Province said, "I think the fight may start on the grassland outside Cusco. Because it is a valley, except for some farmers grazing sheep there, there are almost no people there, and it is far from the city of Cusco." It’s only about thirty miles.”
Huayahualoka, the governor of Chimborazo Province, said, "It will be another battle of Chimborazo, and Quito will annihilate the Incas in the Cusco Valley."
King Atahualpa smiled proudly and said, "I heard from Chaschi that the people of Cusco did not know that the Quito army was pursuing the victory and marching towards Cusco. Therefore, on the way to the city of Cusco, There were no defenses deployed on the Apurimac River, allowing our Quito army to successfully cross the Apurimac River and soon reach the city of Cusco. Therefore, I think Huascar's life is at risk. It's about to end." Then, he added, "I want to see what happens to Huascar and his direct line of princes. So, I think we can't stay here forever, but should immediately Rush to a place not far from Cusco.”
However, Huayahuallocca, the governor of Chimborazo Province, said, "The king does not need to take risks now. He should wait for the two commanders to capture Cusco in one fell swoop before heading south in person. However, in my opinion, the king would like to It is better to be stationed in the small town of Haoha, not far from Cusco. There is a palace compound built by the previous king for the king and his concubines to live in. The king must not come to Cusco in person, because it will be very chaotic and dangerous. .”
The king said, "What the prince said is exactly what I want. I will not go to Cusco. I hate that place."
The king and the princes were talking and drinking wine. After finishing the pot of wine, another favorite concubine brought another pot of wine and continued to pour wine for everyone. Everyone was drinking happily when a prince named Canasti came from Quito. When he saw the king, he fell to the ground and cried loudly.
The king asked unhappily, "Why are you crying? What happened?"
Prince Karnasti cried, "Princess Pariya's condition is not good and she is critically ill."
As soon as King Atahualpa heard that his mother was dying, tears welled up in his eyes. His father and mother are the two people who love him most in the world. His father is gone, and he will feel even more lonely when his mother leaves. In fact, his mother's health has been poor since his father left. However, he was busy fighting the war and rarely thought of his mother and rarely visited his mother. Every time, his mother missed him and sent someone to ask him to come over. And he also went there, sat for a while, said a few words, and then left because he had something to do. He asked the prince of Karnasti, "How is my mother's condition?"
Prince Carnasti said, "The wizard said that Princess Palia might not live for a few days. Therefore, Princess Palia asked me to report to the king quickly and ask the king to rush back to Quito as soon as possible so that you, mother and son, can meet again." "
The king stood up from the small stool, walked a few steps in the open space in the room with his hands behind his back, and then asked many princes, "Do you think I should rush back to the fund to see my mother?"
The princes all nodded and said, "Yes, if we don't rush back, I'm afraid we won't be able to see Princess Palia."
The king walked a few more steps in the room, but shook his head to the princes and said, "No, the Quito army is about to arrive in Cusco and will have a life-and-death battle with the Inca army. I can't go back to Quito now. On the contrary, we should be prepared immediately. Once the two commanders Chiskis and Chalkuchma take Cusco and capture Huascar alive, we will go south to Haoha to command and arrange the elimination of the Inca princes. and the Incas.”
"So," the king added with emphasis, "at this time, I cannot return to Quito. Moreover, my mother's condition must be kept strictly confidential and must not be known to anyone outside the palace. Therefore, I want to send one of you to Together with the Prince of Carnasti, the princes returned to Quito to help me visit my mother."
Hakama, the chief of Chincha Province, said, "How about you let me visit Princess Palia on behalf of the king?"
The king looked at Chief Hakama, who was nearly fifty years old, nodded, and said, "Then please do your best to visit my mother for me, and say that Quito's army has arrived at the city of Cusco, and a life-and-death battle is about to begin. To begin, I must take command close to Cusco. Once the city of Cusco is conquered and Huascar is captured alive, I will immediately rush to Quito to see my mother."
Chief Hakama nodded immediately and said, "Since Princess Paria's condition is very serious, I will not delay and set off for Quito now."
King Atahualpa said, "Thank you for your kindness, my lord."
Chief Hakama said, "Everything is for the king."
After the Chief of Chincha Province, Hakama, and the Prince of Canasti left, Huayavaloka, the governor of Chimborazo Province, said to the king and others in a sad tone, "The army of the Kingdom of Inca was fighting against the army of the Kingdom of Quito. At the time of the brutal decisive battle, I was serving as the deputy commander of the central army of the late King Huayna Capac. At that time, the Kingdom of Quito was almost on par with the entire Inca Empire in terms of land, population, and resources, so the war was proceeding abnormally. It was tragic and it was hard to tell the winner. In the end, the late king Huayna Capac brought 40,000 troops from Cusco as emergency reinforcements, which suddenly changed the outcome of the war."
Wayavaloka continued, "At that time, Princess Palia was only sixteen years old, and she was the only heir to King Quito. Two days before we captured the Quito Palace, her father, King Quito, died because of his country's He died of grief. When we captured the palace of Quito, the late king Huayna Capac took Parlia to the military camp and married her as his princess. For this reason, some people say that the late king did this because The princess was naturally beautiful and extremely beautiful, but in fact, the late king took pity on the princess because her parents died and she was left alone."
Prince Beskara, governor of Tungula Province, also said, “The late king was not only extremely dear to Princess Paria, but also extremely passionate about the land and people of Quito. He rebuilt the palace and formulated a more enlightened and reasonable system. The royal road from Quito to Cusco was built, the inn system was improved, and the Inca Quechua dialect was spread throughout the Kingdom of Quito, making the entire Inca empire more prosperous and powerful than ever before. Otherwise, Quito would The people regarded him as the greatest king and expressed heartfelt condolences for his death."
Ucamayaca, the chief of Capastaza Province, said, "The most wise thing about the late king was that he was able to break the rules that the Inca royal family had adhered to for more than two hundred years. He made an exception and granted the king the title of prince of the Kingdom of Quito, and brought almost half of the Inca empire to the throne. The territory is handed over to the king to inherit. In fact, there is also a lot of hard work and contribution from Princess Paria."
Atahualpa nodded and said, "Actually, my mother's love for me is deeper and stronger than my father's, because she has no other relatives, only our three children, unlike my father who has many uncles, brothers, wives, concubines, children and grandchildren. "
Prince Beskara sighed and said, "Time flies so fast! Counting the numbers, it has been almost five years since the late king left. During these five years, Princess Pariya's health was not good, and she was always sad. , life is not easy."
Atahualpa lamented, "My mother was destined to be a princess, but she barely lived a happy day. Her grandmother died when she was still young, and it was her grandfather who raised her. However, the Kingdom of Quito When he died, my grandfather died of excessive grief, which made my mother very sad and heartbroken. Later, after we had two brothers and a sister, she worried about us all day long. Especially after the death of my father, she was depressed all day long. , without a smile on her face. I just wanted to take her to Cusco to relax after I defeated Huascar, but now she is so sick. I really want to be by her side. She, but how can I leave casually in this situation?" At this point, tears suddenly burst out of her eyes.
Several princes comforted the king and said, "Yes, king, it is sometimes difficult to take care of state affairs and family affairs at the same time."
King Quito wiped his tears with his sleeves, looked up to the sky and sighed, and said to everyone, "Forget it, let's not talk about it." Then, changing the topic, he added, "It is estimated that Quito's 80,000-strong army has arrived. Outside the city of Cusco, the decisive battle will probably start in the next day or two. Therefore, we must arrive at the small town of Haoha as soon as possible in order to arrange and direct the affairs of the capital city of Cusco. I decided to send The Governor of Gula Province, Prince Beskara, will lead some soldiers and servants to go south early tomorrow morning to arrange and guard the palace in Haoha Town. I will rush there with the queen, princess and guards."
Prince Beskara said, "Yes, Your Majesty, I will take people to Haoha early tomorrow morning."
