The Fall of the Golden Empire (Novel) (Volume 1) "Bloody Sunset" by Zhang Baotong
After another two days of rapid march, Quito's 80,000 troops arrived in the mountains only ten miles away from the Quipapan plain in the afternoon and stopped. They spread their tents across the valley like stars. After marching all day, the soldiers ate corn cakes and dried meat, spread out their blankets, and slept holding their bows, arrows, spears and other weapons and clothes. But before dawn, the assembly horn sounded. After the soldiers had breakfast, they began to march as quickly as possible along the Royal Avenue towards Cusco.
When they arrived at the spacious and flat Kipaipan Plain, the sun had just risen from the eastern mountains, and from time to time, patches of white mist slowly floated up from the plains and mountains. Looking towards the plain from the roadside of the marching road, one can see the vast depths of the plain as far as the eye can see. The wild grass half a man's height is covered with dew, and a few wild or domestic animals can be seen in the calm wasteland. Sheep were wandering in the grass.
The large groups of Quito soldiers began to walk quietly towards the plain through the dewy grass, scaring the sheep on the grass to run wildly. After walking for about a kilometer or two, we saw densely packed tents set up on the hills next to the plain. They knew it was an Inca military camp. As a result, the Quito army stopped marching, blew loud horns, and directed the troops to line up and arrange their formations in an orderly manner.
Soon, deafening trumpets sounded over the Inca military camp on the other side of the mountain. Tens of thousands of troops lined up from the military camp and went down the hillside to the plain. After about dozens of minutes of formation and formation, the two armies with almost equal numbers lined up like they did on the Chimborazo Pass plains, and started a decisive battle on the plain grassland only 500 meters apart.
The Inca army wore yellow military uniforms, holding spears and daggers in their hands, and some even held farm tools in their hands. They were determined to protect the Inca King and the capital of Cusco to the death, and fought to the death with the invading rebels. On the grass five hundred meters away, there was the Quito army in red military uniforms. They were holding spears, javelins, hatchets and broadswords, and they were ready to charge at any time.
The Inca King Huascar and dozens of princes and ministers around him were protected by 3,000 palace guards. They stood on the top of the hill and looked down the mountain. Behind them are hundreds of statues of gods collected from temples around Cusco. They firmly believe that these gods will bless them to win this war.
Just as the two armies were finishing their formation, before either side could ask for any conditions or make any contract, they heard the sound of Guido drums and trumpets, and immediately, tens of thousands of troops swooped towards the Inca army like locusts and ants. Come. The Incas did not show weakness and rushed towards the invading Quitos amidst the sound of drums and trumpets. Inca warfare has always been so simple and cruel, with soldiers from both sides lining up to fight. There is no need to talk about tactics or tactics. What matters is numbers, skills and courage.
It didn't take long for the entire spacious and flat Jipaipan Plain to become a battlefield of melee and fighting. Tens of thousands of soldiers on both sides, wearing military uniforms of different colors, mixed and intertwined with each other, brandishing axes and spears, shouting hysterically, and fighting, as if everyone had turned into a barbaric butcher. Because what they want to capture is not just one victory, but the entire kingdom.
The two armies were engaged in a melee, fighting with all their strength. For a moment, the sky was dark, the sun and the moon were dark, and the entire sky was shrouded in a terrifying shadow that made people tremble. However, one side is well-trained, brave and warlike. In addition, they have fought all the way from thousands of miles away and are advancing with overwhelming force. Therefore, their morale is high and they are bound to win. They fight through battles and are extremely brave. On the other side were newly recruited soldiers and troops transferred from other provinces. Although they have not fought in many years, and some do not even know how to fight, they are loyal to King Inka and regard protecting King Inka's safety as more important than their own lives. For this reason, the two armies fought fiercely and fiercely, and they were inextricably killed.
The fighting continued until noon, with more than half of the Inca dead and wounded, and the people who got off were obviously unable to withstand it. But the Quito people became more and more courageous as they fought, advancing step by step. King Inka immediately asked the trumpeter to blow the retreat trumpet. Hearing the call to withdraw the troops, the Inca soldiers, who could no longer resist, began to retreat like a tide. The Quito soldiers pursued them closely, and the Incas had to let the second echelon of soldiers rush up before withdrawing the remaining soldiers.
When the people of Quito saw the Inca soldiers coming to meet them, they were afraid of suffering a loss, so they also blew the call to retreat. However, they allowed the soldiers in the first echelon to come back to rest, but they made the soldiers in the second echelon ready to charge and attack. The reason why the Quitos were pressing every step was because they knew that they were fighting for a quick victory. Otherwise, once the Inca reinforcements arrived, the advantages of both sides would be reversed. They will definitely lose. Therefore, they will never let go of any offensive opportunities.
Then, the second wave of soldiers from the two armies charged together. Tens of thousands of soldiers shouted loudly and fought hard. The fierce drums and shrill horns rang out over the plains and in the distant mountains, one after another, making people tremble with fear.
When the sound of drums and horns fell silent, corpses and countless maimed bodies were scattered all over the grassland of the plain. The green grass has been dyed bright red. Under the afternoon sun, large areas of blood and blood stains emit a hot fishy smell, which makes people look horrified and miserable.
The third wave of battles was still fierce. In order to win or lose, both sides made a desperate effort and devoted their last troops to this decisive battle. Both sides still use that simple but effective tactic. The army spread out in a straight line and rushed forward to fight in a melee. However, the Incas sent temporary recruits from the city of Cusco and princes, nobles and servants from the palace. The Quitos sent the Liwa Legion, which had strict military discipline and experienced hundreds of battles. Therefore, as soon as the two sides met, the victory or defeat was already clear. Although the Inca fought tooth and nail, they could not stop the ferocious and fierce Liwa people's spears and tomahawks. Therefore, this fight almost became a massacre. The cruel scene was even more tragic and tragic than the last scene of massacre at the foot of Chimborazo Mountain, making people dizzy.
Just as the people of Quito were becoming more and more courageous as they fought, and the Incas were retreating steadily, the Inca Emperor Huascar, who was standing on the sacrificial hill and commanding the battle, saw that it was already afternoon, the sun was hot, and the wormwood was dry, and from the mountain pass, The wind blowing from the side blew the undulating wormwood in waves. So, he had an idea and ordered the grass to be burned.
So, hundreds of soldiers holding torches descended from the hillside to the plains and began to set fire to the grass. Dry weeds soon began to burn across the plains. A fire broke out in the plain, and the wind helped the fire. The fire points instantly set a prairie fire, forming a sea of fire. The fire spread rapidly in the direction of Quito along the wind, burning Quito's hair and clothes. The billowing smoke choked Quito's eyes, causing Quito's formation to become chaotic. When the Inca soldiers saw this scene, their morale was greatly boosted. They took the opportunity to attack and quickly broke through the Quito defense line.
The Quitoans began to retreat across the board, being chased on all sides by the Incas in yellow military uniforms. The Quito soldiers, who were not familiar with the local geography at all, fled for their lives towards the end of the plain. For a time, the entire Quipaipan plain became the slaughterhouse of the Incas. The Inca soldiers were like butchers with red eyes, waving their swords and axes, shouting hysterically, and chasing down the Quitos wearing red military uniforms. They kill everyone they see, even injured people will be killed on the spot, because they have a deep hatred and sworn hatred with the Quito people. Either you die or I live. There is no room for forgiveness. Therefore, the entire Jipaipan Plain was littered with corpses and blood flowed, and even the sky and daylight became sad, dark and gloomy.
Seeing that the Inca army was about to be wiped out and a great victory was achieved, Huascar suddenly ordered the drums to be beaten and the troops withdrawn. Because the Indians have a custom and habit, they never fight at night. They consider nighttime to be a time for rest and sleep. It was getting late at this time. Huascar saw that the Quito army had been defeated and the defeat was determined. He thought that as long as there was a decisive battle tomorrow, the Quito people could be completely annihilated. Therefore, he ordered his troops to return to camp to celebrate the victory.
Originally, the Incas could have driven away the invading Quitos and left no escape route. However, Huascar, who did not understand military affairs and fighting, once again lost a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to win. Because at this time he ordered to withdraw his troops and return to camp to celebrate the victory, this gave the Quidos who had been killed and fled in all directions a chance to breathe.
After the Incas withdrew their troops and returned to camp, the sky began to slowly darken. Under the afterglow of the setting sun, the Kipaipan Plain slowly returned to calm, and the evening wind blew silently from a distance. The evening mist also began to accumulate on the mountainside. But there was a lot of joy in the Inca military camps on the hills on the edge of the plain. Although they suffered heavy casualties in this battle, they were still rejoicing in their victory. Especially after dinner, when it got dark, they lit piles of bonfires around the camp and began to celebrate their victory with singing, dancing and carnival. The singing, dancing and carnival continued late into the night before slowly stopping. But the bonfires around the military camp were lit all night long.
