The Fall of the Golden Empire (Novel) (Volume 1) "Bloody Sunset" by Zhang Baotong
Who knew that the central Plaza de Armas in the small town of Cajamarca would be the burial place of the Inca Empire?
At that time, the central square of Armas in the small town of Cajamarca was crowded with six to seven thousand Inca soldiers, filling the large square with water. The sedan chair in which Atahualpa, the Inca king, was being carried and surrounded by many nobles, was also squeezed into the crowd. Moreover, behind the king, there were 70,000 troops lined up on the road several miles long, waiting for instructions. Obviously, the Inca King did not come specifically to visit the big Spanish white man, but to show the Inca King's dignity and military might to the big Spanish white man. However, there were indeed many Spanish soldiers who were so frightened by the huge team in front of them that they wet their pants.
At this time, some of the Spanish expeditionary force, which had only 169 people in total, was hiding in the Inca apartment, and some were hiding behind the house and in the woods. Their commander, Francesca Pizarro, was actually overwhelmed by the power of the Inca army in front of him, but he had already made two preparations. One was to attack the Incas, and the other was to be covered by cavalry and quickly attack retreat. However, when he was faced with whether he should launch an attack or retreat quickly, he was somewhat at a loss and hesitant. But Father Vicente de Valverde ran over to report and encourage him, saying, "How dare that tyrant throw the Bible on the ground! Rush towards them and conquer them by force, and I will forgive you! Hurry! Go, go, go and conquer these Inca people who are inferior to pigs and dogs."
Listening to the report and encouragement of Father Vicente de Valverde, and watching the Inca people heckling and laughing at them in the square, but most importantly, he saw that the Inca soldiers were not carrying weapons, so Francesca Pizarro decided to take the risk and make a desperate move to fight the Incas to the death.
So, he gave the order to the trumpeter Candia to blow the charge trumpet to attack the Incas. Candia fired a shot into the air, and with the sound of the shot, the Spanish horn sounded and the guns roared. The deafening roar of cannon and matchlock thunder echoed around the building. The square was filled with gunpowder smoke and the sound of killings was everywhere. The heavily armed Spanish colonial troops shouted and fought out from both wings. Sixty or seventy cavalrymen charged towards the Indians with their horses and whips raised, while Marquis Francesca Pizarro followed with more than a hundred infantrymen.
The Spaniards had attached many loud noise-making devices to their horses in advance. Pizarro's troops were equipped with only a dozen muzzle-loading guns. These guns were difficult to load and fire, but they had a huge deterrent effect on the Incas. The sound of gunfire echoed deafeningly over the square, and the smoke was so choking that people couldn't even open their eyes. The Indians had never heard such fierce gunfire, nor had they seen tall war horses galloping into the air with bells hanging and neighing. Therefore, when the Spaniards suddenly rode horses from the houses on the edge of the square, , firing guns and shouting in unison, rushed towards them. The Incas thought that these were magic soldiers falling from the sky, and they were so frightened that they were stunned and dumbfounded. The team that had been lined up neatly and majestic just now suddenly fell into chaos and fell into pieces.
The Spaniards charged towards the Incas with guns drawn and swords waving. The equipment of the Inca soldiers was stones, sticks, hatchets, slingshots and protective pads. Although these weapons could injure the Spanish colonists' men or horses, they could not kill them directly. The Spaniard's long sword could cut them into several pieces. Moreover, the soldiers of the Inca King's Praetorian Guard did not carry weapons at all. Because the Inca king did not regard this return visit as a close battle, but as a deterrent and shock to the big Spanish white man. Therefore, when the unarmed soldiers around the Inca king saw the Spaniards charging towards them on horseback, firing guns, and waving swords, they immediately huddled together and became a mess. They didn’t know where to escape, and they allowed the Spaniards to wave their swords. , slashing here and there, just like slaughtering a group of lambs that are being slaughtered. The Inca army fell into chaos, trampling each other and many people suffocated to death. Seeing the Inca nobles and soldiers falling in large areas in the square, the soldiers near the exit of the square were terrified and fled for their lives.
Watching the Inca soldiers in chaos, running for their lives. Francesca Pizarro held a long sword in one hand and shouted loudly, "Capture the Inca King alive!" and then rushed into the crowd of Inca soldiers. Juan Pizarro was responsible for attacking another sedan, and soon led his men to kill it. He swung his knife and killed the chief of Kipchak Province, Hakamaga, who was sitting in the sedan. But Atahualpa's sedan was protected by the princes, nobles and soldiers of the guard. They gathered tightly around the king, blocking the sharp swords of the Spaniards with their own flesh and blood. Atahualpa, who was sitting in the sedan chair, looked at groups of loyal ministers and guards lying in a pool of blood, and watched the Spaniards waving swords and slaughtering his soldiers. He was almost fainted by this cruel scene. But he felt that he was sitting in the sedan chair like a lonely boat tossed by huge waves in the sea and sky. He could only sway with the waves, but he could not control the tragic fate and situation at hand.
A group of nobles and soldiers protecting the Inca King were killed, and soon another group came around, always surrounding the Inca King's sedan, as if these guards and nobles could never be killed. However, no flesh and blood body can block the knight's sword. After a burst of fierce attacks and killings by the Spaniards, the Incas began to be unable to resist. Pizarro rushed to Atahualpa's sedan and killed several Inca lords carrying the sedan with his sword, but immediately several nobles ran over to carry the sedan. Seeing that Pizarro was unable to succeed, seven or eight Spanish cavalry rushed over on horseback and knocked over the emperor's sedan chair. The sedan fell to the ground. Atahualpa also fell out of the sedan. However, at this time many Inca guards rushed over to protect their king. A Spanish soldier ignored the commander's order in advance, rushed to the sedan, and slashed at the Inca King who was half exposed from the sedan. He thought that as long as he killed the Inca King, the Inca people would be leaderless and there would be no such thing. No longer do they desperately resist and protect their king to the death.
Just when the sword was about to hit the Inca King's head, another sword was seen flying through the air quickly, and the sword that was slashing at the Inca King was drawn aside. Then, the commander sternly shouted, "Whoever dares to hurt the Inca King, I will kill him." Just when Francisco Pizarro quickly blocked the sword that was slashing at the Inca King, his hand was struck by that sword. He made a gash with his sword. For a while, blood flowed freely and the pain continued. However, the Marquis, who was a swineherd, endured the pain. Under the cover of the Spanish soldiers, he rushed to the sedan, grabbed the Inca King's Pola Crown, threw it to the ground, and grabbed the king's arm and pulled him out of the sedan. came out, and then quickly brought back to the military camp.
The Incas, who had already been defeated, saw that there were countless dead and wounded in the square, and blood flowed like rivers. Especially since their king had been captured by the Spaniards, they were even more at a loss. They became a mess and just wanted to save their lives. The Spaniards pursued them either on horseback or on foot, killing the Indians until they were so frightened that they fled in all directions. However, the square is surrounded by walls, and there is only a small door into the square at the southern entrance. However, the fleeing soldiers crowded and trampled on each other, blocking the small door and making it impossible to get through. However, the Spaniards became more and more brave, The more you kill, the closer you get. At this time, about two to three thousand people fleeing for their lives swarmed to a wall that was as tall as one person and five to six hundred meters long, and pushed the wall down with all their strength. Outside the wall are open fields. So they fled over the crumbling walls and into the wilderness.
When the troops outside the wall saw the wall being pushed down by people, the people in the square fled in panic and howled like ghosts. They also became chaotic and fled towards the surrounding areas. For a time, the entire valley and wilderness within a radius of four or five miles was filled with people fleeing like ants. The Spanish cavalry, riding horses and whips, jumped over the collapsed wall and killed the Incas until the Incas were frightened and corpses were scattered all over the field.
Outside the city square is the "Virgin Palace of the Sun God" and the temple dedicated to the Sun God, which is covered by towering ancient trees. But the Incas did not dare to enter the Virgin Palace and temple rashly, so they fled towards the barracks and valley. Some soldiers saw that the Spanish were chasing them and had nowhere to escape, so they hid in a fortress not far away. This fortress is not only solid, but also well-made. It is surrounded by three walls on the outside and has water and food inside. However, this fortress was guarded by princes close to the Inca king, and no one else was allowed to enter. Therefore, the escaping soldiers were kept out by the strong and sturdy gate. The Spanish soldiers chased after them and slashed at the Indians blocking the outside of the fort. But most of the Indian soldiers had fled into the barracks and valleys. The Spanish walked up the steps of the fortress to a very spacious triangular square.
This square faced the gates of several large houses. When the Spaniards rushed over, they saw that these spacious houses looked like canteens in a barracks. After passing the canteen, there was a large area of houses with wooden planks and straw roofs. and several high-end residences. Further back are rows of neat white tents. However, there were only some soldiers left behind in the barracks. Before they even figured out what was going on outside, they were beheaded by a large white man who suddenly came in.
Below the slope of the barracks is a spacious valley. As far as the eye can see, the fleeing Inca soldiers are like locusts and ants, all over the wilderness. The Spaniards became more and more energetic in their killing, chasing them all the way down the slope to the valley, killing the Inca corpses all over the field and fleeing in all directions. They fought all the way to the foothills of the hills at the edge of the valley far away from the city and the military camp.
The dusk period near the equator is very short, about half an hour. But it was this short half hour that decided the fate of the Inca Empire. Because night had fallen, it was so dark that no one could be seen clearly. The Spaniards sounded the rallying call to withdraw their troops, which brought the horrific massacre to a halt. Otherwise, we don’t know how long the Incas’ nightmare will last.
