The Fall of the Golden Empire (Novel) (Volume 1) "Bloody Sunset" by Zhang Baotong
On this day, a soldier reported the news to him: Commander Chalkuchma and 35,000 soldiers were stationed in Haoha, 200 kilometers east of here. At first, he didn't pay much attention to the news, but when he woke up from a deep sleep at night, an inspiration suddenly came to him: he should lead his soldiers to conquer this army commander who was called invincible by the Incas. If he could defeat or capture this leader alive, it would undoubtedly be more valuable than a pile of gold.
So, he immediately sent people to Haoha and sent a message to Chalkuchma, asking him to meet in the small town of La Oroa where they passed on their way back. He repeatedly emphasized that this was the order of Inca King Atahualpa. However, Charkuchma did not do what he wanted and just replied that he was seriously ill and could not travel. This made Hernando very angry, and he vowed to go to Haoha to capture the Inca nobleman alive.
When his order was issued, everyone thought he was out of his mind. His deputy Antonio persuaded him, "There are only 20 of us in total, but there are 35,000 people in Chalkuchma. If we go there, are we going to die? Besides, the Marquis didn't let us go to Haoha."
Letomundo also disagreed, saying, "Charkuchma is a cunning guy. I heard that he never makes mistakes in wars. Why should we take this risk?"
Santos also echoed, "The Marquis asked us to come here to look for gold, but he didn't ask us to hunt Chalkuch horses. Why should we ask for trouble and take that risk?"
But Hernando couldn't listen to everyone's dissuasion and said in a very tough tone, "What do you know? Get ready and set off early tomorrow morning." Because he knew that in the entire Inca Empire, only the king kept his word. With the Inca King as his trump card, the empire's millions of troops were just a bunch of lambs.
Early the next morning, Hernando led this cavalry team of only twenty people and began to march towards Haoha. The road to Haoha was extremely difficult and dangerous. The Spaniards traveled all day long in the remote mountains and mountains. Because the horses' hooves walked on the rocks all day long, the iron soles under the horses' hooves were quickly worn out because there were no In order to obtain iron, they had to find local Indians and use silver to make horseshoes and nail them to the horses' hooves.
In this way, they walked for about a week and finally came to a large town deep in the mountains and canyons. This place is Haoha, the residence of Chalkuchma. Unlike Atahualpa's defense against the Spaniards, this battle-hardened and cunning local commander placed tight sentries and guards on the passages and castles around Haoha. Therefore, as soon as the Spaniards entered Haoha, they encountered the sentries guarding the castle.
Hernando showed the sentries the safe pass given by Atahualpa and asked to see their commander, Chalkuchma himself, but the sentries still refused to let them pass because they had to report to them first The commander must obtain permission from their commander. Chalkuchma was Atahualpa's uncle and a battle-experienced and invincible commander of the northern army. Because he and Quiskis defeated Huascar's army, Atahualpa was defeated. Valpa sat on the Inca throne. It can be said that his status in this kingdom is below one person and above ten thousand people. Moreover, their commander had an order that all foreigners entering the Haoha area must report to him.
At this time, Chalkuchma was sitting in the room with several wives and concubines, drinking wine and eating fresh pears sent from other places by the postman. These fresh pears are all produced in southern provinces. The army commander had almost twenty wives. But most of the wives live in Quito. And now these young and beautiful wives were all rewarded by King Atahualpa of Quito after he defeated Chief Chamul in the Battle of Chimborazo, and some were given by others after he captured Cusco. , and some he captured from the Inca troops or the palace after winning the battle. In the Inca Kingdom, it was very easy to obtain wives and concubines, just like obtaining an item, without any marriage procedures and ceremonies. Moreover, the more wives and concubines there are, the more noble the master is.
The messenger suddenly rushed in from outside and reported, "Your Majesty, the guardian of Yamaguchi Castle has come to report that the Spaniards are coming to see you."
Of course Chalkuchma knew that the Spaniards were the big white men who had captured and imprisoned the Inca king Atahualpa. There were some things that he could not understand about these big white men: I heard that they were only one or two hundred people, but they could capture alive the Inca king who had an army of nearly 80,000 people. But what is the ratio between one or two hundred people and an army of 80,000 people! He also knew that Atahualpa was not a weak-minded person. He had also been following the late King Huayna Capac and leading thousands of soldiers into the battle. He was a courageous leader who could not let the big white man capture him alive easily. . In the hundreds of years of Inca history of conquests in the north and south, the Inca army was almost invincible and invincible. How could there be any precedent of failure or even the king being captured? He thought that the king must have been deceived by the Spaniards or fell into their tricks. But if it were him, Chalkuchma, this outcome would never happen. On the contrary, he would annihilate the Spaniards in one fell swoop and eradicate them.
After Atahualpa was arrested, as the commander of the army, he had been very conflicted and didn't know what to do. He really wanted to lead troops to Cajamarca to rescue the king, but he didn't know what the king was thinking. He was afraid that if he raised troops to attack, he would anger the Spaniards and the Spaniards would jump over the wall, which would hurt the king's life; at the same time, Deep in his heart, there was also the most shameful selfishness and distracting thoughts: he wanted to wait until Atahualpa was killed by the Spaniards, so that he could declare independence here and establish himself as king.
After he was captured in Atahualpa, he discussed with Prince Chiskis, the commander of Quito's army, how to deal with the king's capture. At that time, the two of them agreed to let Chalkuchma lead the troops to approach the north and act according to the opportunity to rescue King Atahualpa, while Kiskis led the troops to guard the city of Cusco. If Chalkuchma encounters something unexpected, Kiskis can serve as a backup. However, when Chalkuchma came to Haoha, he heard that King Atahualpa had signed an agreement with the Spaniards in exchange for gold for freedom. Moreover, Atahualpa also issued instructions to him through the prince. Without the king's order, he could only stay put and not act rashly.
But what he didn't expect was that the big white man actually came to the door. Should he see them or shouldn't he? He had no idea at the moment. In fact, he was very reluctant to see these foreigners, and they also asked him to go to Cajamarca to meet Atahualpa under the banner of Atahualpa.
It was a big risk to meet with Atahualpa, because Atahualpa was imprisoned by them, and if he went there, he would also be imprisoned, because he had an army of 35,000 soldiers, and this The army will undoubtedly pose a big threat to the Spaniards who have few men and horses. Thinking of this, he said to the messenger, "If you reply to them, just tell them that I am seriously ill and am resting in bed and cannot see them."
The messenger replied, "Yes, your lord, commander." Then he left the room.
This incident made Chalkuchma restless physically and mentally and he didn't sleep all night. However, early the next morning, the messenger came again to report that the Spaniards insisted on seeing him and brought instructions from King Atahualpa. If he wouldn't see them, they wouldn't get out of here.
Listening to these words, Chalkuchma couldn't help but feel a little scared, because the Spaniards carried the instructions of King Atahualpa. He would never dare to offend or despise the king's instructions, because it would risk beheading him. danger. However, he was afraid that it was a trick played by Spain on him. After thinking about this, he decided to call Deputy Commander Tempututa and General Tolarico and Tiumari to discuss it.
After a while, the three officers arrived at the conference room of the northern army commander. This is a large room of fifteen or six square meters. There was nothing else in the middle of the room except a large rough wooden table and a few benches. The three officers sat on the bench next to the table. Charkuchma informed everyone about the Spanish visit, explained their purpose of coming here, and then asked everyone how to deal with it.
After hearing this, the deputy commander, Tempututa, pondered for a while and then asked Chalkuchma, "What do you think, commander-in-chief?"
Chalkuchma took a deep breath and said, "In my opinion, the Spaniards are cunning and dishonest, and their words cannot be trusted."
Deputy Commander Tempututa nodded understandingly and said, "I think the commander's words are more cautious and appropriate. We really don't know much about the Spaniards. Therefore, I agree with the commander's opinion. It is better not to meet the Spaniards to avoid getting into trouble." It’s their fault, they’ve fallen into their trap.”
Seeing that the two commanders had expressed their opinions, Tiumari said, "I also think that if you don't know the Spaniards very well, you should not deal with them first."
But General Tolarico said, "Since there is an order from the king, they should be received so that they can know the order from the king. How is it that the king has been arrested for so long? Everyone is very concerned and worried. Meeting the Spaniards, It’s also good to know the King’s situation and instructions. The King’s instructions are the basis for our actions.”
Chalkuchma was very disgusted and angry at General Tolarico's words against his will, but he knew that General Tolarico had been serving as an aide-de-camp under Atahualpa in the past. It could be said that the king had placed him in the northern army. A close confidant, he had to listen to his words, because although Atahualpa was arrested now, he was still the Inca king, and he had to show respect and respect for the king's affairs.
So, early the next morning, he met with Captain Hernando of the Spanish Expeditionary Force and his deputy Antonio in his office. An Indian interpreter sat among them. To show the hospitality to the king's guests, some grapes and fresh pears were placed on the table.
The Indian interpreter first introduced Chalkuchma, "Captain Hernando is the brother of our Marquis and the commander of the Spanish Expeditionary Force, and Antonio is the captain's deputy. The two of them were ordered by the Marquis to convey the message to the General about the Inca King Atahualpa’s command.”
Chalkuchma nodded respectfully, then asked his two wives and concubines to bring Chicha wine to the guests, and kept looking at the two big white men with his eyes. These two white men were more than a head taller than him and much younger. They wore Spanish military uniforms and looked very powerful and tall. This made him feel a little in awe. At this time, he also saw that the two big white men were looking at him with the same eyes. And he was nearly fifty years old, short in stature, with a serious expression, even a bit rigid. He was dressed in the brocade robes of an Inca nobleman that was not very particular, which made him look somewhat ridiculous. But he looked very serious and serious as he watched the two white men drink two large glasses of wine in a row.
After finishing their drink, Hernando showed Atahualpa's security pass to Chalkuchma. Chalkuchma held the knotted rope and looked at it for a while, then said in a very respectful tone, "I wonder how the Inca King is doing now?"
Hernando said in a very positive tone, "You can rest assured that everything is fine with the king with us. He still enjoys the treatment of a king. He can receive his ministers every day and reunite with their wives, concubines, and children. We have signed an agreement with him, and as long as he prepares the gold we need, we will release him unconditionally."
Chalkuchma nodded speciously and said, "Very good, we are all very worried about the king." Then he asked, "I wonder what the king's orders and instructions are?"
As soon as Hernando heard this, he immediately said, "King Atahualpa wants you to go there. He wants you to report on the current situation of the army and the country."
This is what Chalkuchma is most worried about, because he knows that he cannot leave his base camp casually. Once he leaves here and reaches the Spanish side, it will be difficult to come back.
So, he immediately waved his hand, pointed to his head, pretended to have a headache and was ill, and said, "I have been seriously ill recently, and I'm afraid I won't be able to go there for a while." After that, he used He said in an explaining tone, "Actually, I have wanted to visit the King for a long time, just because my health has been poor and I cannot travel long distances."
However, the smart Hernando knew very well the fate of the Inca Empire: the words of the Inca King were law, and everyone must obey them unconditionally. Anyone who disobeyed the King's will would be guillotined. So, he took out Atahualpa's knotted rope again and showed it to Chalkuchma, and said, "This is the message the king asked me to bring you. I think you should listen to what the king says."
Chalkuchma appeared to be in a dilemma and did not express his position for a long time. Apparently, he didn't want to go to Cajamarca with them.
Maybe Antonio saw what Chalkuchma was thinking, so he said, "Your king has a very good relationship with our captain. The two of them play chess and chat together every day. A few days ago, there were rumors circulating in the Cajamarca area. The general wanted to launch an army to attack the Spaniards. The Marquis was very worried about this and blamed the King. It was our captain who put in good words for the King in front of the Marquis and calmed down the matter."
Chalkuchma looked a little surprised and said, "Really?"
Antonio said, "One of the reasons why the king wants you to go to Cajamarca this time is to use you to show the marquis that you have no intention of launching an army. Furthermore, the captain has already vouched for the king in front of the marquis. You In the past, as long as I made it clear to the King and the Marquis, the rumors would be self-defeating, and the King's life and safety would be guaranteed."
Hernando said, "King Atahualpa often mentioned the general in front of me, and said that he missed the general very much and valued him very much. He said that the general was the person he most relied on. Now that he is in prison, many I can't take care of the matter, and I really want to entrust the general with the important task of stabilizing the situation in the country, and help him raise more gold to transport to Cajamarca, so that he can escape the pain of imprisonment as soon as possible."
