The Fall of the Golden Empire (Novel) (Volume 1) "Bloody Sunset" by Zhang Baotong
All the assigned soldiers happily packed up their belongings and hummed erotic songs while they were busy asking their slaves to help carry gold and silver items to their homes. Therefore, Plaza de Armas was suddenly a busy scene of singing and laughing. However, where the team gathered just now, there were still a team of more than 150 infantry and 50 cavalry standing. Those people looked at other soldiers busy carrying gold and silver ingots, but they got nothing. Naturally, they felt very frustrated and disappointed. However, their commander Almagro continued to lecture them.
He said to the soldiers, "You have all seen that I, like you, have not received our due share. Now the share given to each of us by the Marquis of Pizarro is one hundred gold pesos. Although this is relatively small, it is still better than It would be better not to have it. Because we did not catch up with that battle and did not participate in the battle to capture the Inca king alive and defeat the Inca army, that is to say, we did not bear the risk of that battle. Therefore, we do not need to be jealous of others, because we still have time and opportunities. , we will soon have the opportunity to march into the capital city of Cusco, where there is much more gold and silver than here, and then we will receive the same rewards and remuneration as Pizarro's soldiers."
After speaking, Almagro gave each soldier a half-pound nugget of gold and some silver. The soldiers took the little gold bricks and silver they got and left the square unhappy. In this way, a great distribution of gold and silver that brought many joys and many sorrows came to an end.
In Spain at that time, one could happily live a wealthy life for a year with fifty dollars. One Spanish gold peso is equivalent to sixteen dollars and seventy cents. The peso was a currency in Spain at that time, and it was the oldest currency. During the Spanish colonial period, the peso was also a currency unit mainly used in the former Spanish colonial countries. At the beginning, there were five peso coin forms. The bottom unit of the peso was cents. One peso could be exchanged for one hundred cents. There were one peso, two peso, five peso, twenty peso and forty peso in circulation. The front design of the peso uses lions, the back is engraved with a castle, and on the left is a kingdom casting scene, symbolizing the casting history of the Spanish kings.
The gold peso had the highest value and the strongest purchasing power. At that time, one gold peso could be exchanged for five to six or even seven silver pesos in China. Although 20 to 30 tons of gold were transported from Peru to Spain each year at that time, one gold peso in Spain could still be exchanged for 12 silver pesos. However, Francisco Pizarro's soldiers each received at least 45 pounds of gold and 90 pounds of silver. Not counting the silver, the gold alone was worth four thousand four hundred and forty gold pesos. What would this gold mean to a Spaniard who could become a wealthy man with fifty gold pesos? This is simply unimaginable.
So, after a few days of distributing gold and silver, five soldiers were eager to return to Spain. Although these people only received a share of gold and silver, they were very lucky people. Because after they return home with these gold and silver belongings, they can become rich and enjoy their lives. The soldiers who stayed in Cajamarca would soon experience a reality of skyrocketing prices.
This morning, Pizarro asked Antonio to take a few soldiers to see off the returning soldiers. Because they not only just returned to the country, but also shouldered the important task of escorting a batch of gold objects back to the country. Captain Hernando, as the messenger who presented the gold items to the king, was responsible for escorting the gold items, and was responsible for reporting work to the king and paying the gold items.
Pizarro had more considerations in sending Hernando to this job. First, it is a punishment, to keep him away from you, so as not to cause trouble for yourself and cause more trouble. Moreover, he will soon implement his plan to march into Cusco, and he cannot let Hernando become his resistance and obstacle; secondly, because Hernando is well-spoken and appears more respectable, it is more appropriate to meet and report to the king. third, you can ask him to take some of your and your brothers' belongings back to your hometown. Hernando was quite happy to take on the important task of escorting the gold and being an envoy, because he could take the opportunity to take his share of the property back to his hometown for future use. As for things like marching into Cusco, he didn't need to worry or think about it at all, because he knew that as his younger brother, Marquis Pizarro would not lose him no matter what. He can sit back and wait for the results, and still get a larger share and greater benefits than others.
Because there were a lot of items to be escorted, in addition to the few returning soldiers, Hernando also took three accompanying soldiers and more than 20 domestic slaves, driving camels carrying large baskets and bags. , start heading towards the coastal colonial point of San Miguel along the Royal Avenue. After about ten kilometers, Antonio took the soldiers and rode back to the military camp.
As soon as he returned to the military camp and before he got off his horse, Pizarro asked him to go to the street to buy some paper and quills. Originally, the Inca Empire had no writing or paper, but since the Spanish occupied Cajamarca, they passed on the papermaking technology, and some people started to set up paper mills. There is a shop in front of the paper mill, which specializes in selling paper, notebooks and letterheads, and also sells some quills and ink.
Antonio came to the front of the store, took out three gold pesos, put them on the counter, and said, "Buy a dozen papers and a quill." A young and beautiful Indian girl stood at the counter. When Antonio only gave With three gold pesos, she pointed to a notice posted on the door and showed him.
He looked at the notice on the door and was almost startled. The notice read: Paper cost ten gold pesos per dozen, notebooks ten gold pesos each, quill pens ten gold pesos per dozen, letterheads twelve gold pesos per dozen, and ink bottles fifteen gold pesos.
Antonio couldn't believe his eyes, because he used to frequent this store, and a dozen pieces of paper, totaling twelve, had always sold for only two gold pesos, and a quill only sold for one gold peso, but now the prices of these items have suddenly increased. Nearly ten times more. This was simply unacceptable to him. So he said to the Indian girl, "Call your boss."
Because the paper mill was run by a soldier named Aialma, who worked in a paper mill in Spain before coming to Peru, so he was quite familiar with papermaking technology. Seeing that the papermaking industry was profitable, he built factories and shops on the streets and started a papermaking and stationery business.
After a while, the Ayalma soldier who was the boss came over and greeted Antonio and said, "Are you here to buy pens, ink and paper again?"
Antonio said rudely, "I think you are too evil. The price of pen, ink and paper has increased tenfold overnight."
Ayalma said disapprovingly, "Have you not seen how many times the price of oil, salt and pickles on the street has increased?"
Antonio, who had never bought those items, asked, "How much has it gone up?"
Ayalma said, “A bottle of chicha used to cost one gold peso a bottle, but now it sells for twenty gold pesos a bottle. A bag of salt used to cost only one gold peso, but now it costs twelve gold pesos.” Pesos. Do you think the price of my pen, ink and paper should be increased?"
Antonio asked, "Why do things have to increase in price so much at once?"
Ajalma asked, "How much money did you have in your pocket?"
Antonio said, "It's not much money."
Ajalma asked again, “How much money do you have now?”
Antonio said, "It's just the two gold and silver ingots, which is more than 8,800 gold pesos."
Ayalma said, "That's right. In the past, if my paper cost ten gold pesos a dozen, you would definitely not buy it. But now, if my paper costs twenty gold pesos a dozen, people will buy it." . Because everyone is rich."
Antonio had no choice but to buy a dozen papers and a pen, and then left the store. At this time, he remembered that he should buy a gold necklace for his fiancée. He had been to a gold shop on the streets of Cajamarca and had long been interested in a very exquisite necklace. The price was not expensive at only ten gold pesos. He had always wanted to buy it in the past, but he didn't have that much on hand. Money, now that he has money, these ten gold pesos are nothing to him.
So, he came to the gold store and pointed to the kind of gold necklace he wanted to buy. An Inca man placed a gold necklace on the counter. He handed ten gold pesos to the salesperson without even looking at it. But the Indian man said, "This necklace costs two hundred gold pesos." Because the prices of all the items in his store have been replaced by new ones.
He said, "When did your price go up?"
The man said, "It has been rising for several days. If you don't buy it, it will continue to rise tomorrow."
The sudden increase from ten gold pesos to two hundred gold pesos really made him find it unacceptable, but he really liked the necklace so much that he bargained with the Inca man selling it and said, "At most, I I only give you a hundred gold pesos.”
However, the man shook his head and said, "No, this is the price set by the boss."
Antonio said, "Call your boss."
The Indian man said, "The boss is not in the store."
At this moment, a Spanish soldier who had just arrived with Almagro came over to see Antonio buying a necklace, and said to him, "I told him, Mr. Secretary, in Spain, there are only a few necklaces better than this." Gold pesos. It’s better to keep the money and sell it after returning home.”
As soon as Antonio heard this, he returned the necklace to the man.
Antonio said to the soldier with great emotion, "Cajamarca is the most expensive place in the world?"
The soldier smiled and said, "That's because Cajamarca is also the place with the most wealthy people in the world."
They both burst out laughing. Then, the soldier said, "If I were you, I would stop working and return home immediately. With your money, you can not only build a few houses, but you can also marry a beautiful rich girl. It can be said that you will be prosperous and wealthy." , I can’t spend it all to live a peaceful and happy life. There is no need to take risks and suffer here anymore.”
Antonio said, "My little money is nothing. Not to mention that I dare not compare with the marquis, I can't even compare with those who are captains. Besides, there is more gold in Cusco. Once I leave, Cusco will I don’t have any share of the gold over there. I think we’ll wait until we get to Cusco.”
But the soldier said, "When you get to Cusco, you may want to get more gold."
Antonio said, "Maybe, because I am just a lieutenant now. Maybe if I work for a while, I can become a captain."
The soldier said, "When you become a captain, you still want to be a general. In this way, you may never have time to return to your hometown in Spain."
Antonio said, "If that's the case, then I have to bring my fiancée here."
The soldier said, "Will she come with you? Besides, haven't you seen that soldiers and officers are now marrying Inca girls. Each of them has several, a dozen, and some dozens. Since there are There are so many Inca princesses or noble girls, so there is no need to marry Spanish girls. For those of us who are thousands of miles away, Spanish girls are just the flowers of our dreams after all, out of reach!"
But Antonio said, "But I still want to bring my fiancée here, she has been waiting for me. Besides, Indian girls are not as beautiful as Spanish girls. It is okay to sleep with them at night, but it is not okay to bring them to the public as a wife." .”
But the soldier said, "I heard that your original secretary, who seems to be named Robert, abandoned some of them for the queen of the Inca king and ran away with Queen Anna. According to this, the Inca princess or the noble girl is also Not necessarily as good as a Spanish girl."
Then, the soldier added, "Besides, your four Marquis brothers, Captain Soto and all the other officers and soldiers almost all live together with the Incaan princess. I'm afraid you are the same way, right?"
Antonio said, "Yes, but this is only temporary. After all, we men cannot live without women. However, this can only be said to be a cohabitation relationship, not a marriage relationship."
The soldier said, "Actually, a marriage relationship is not the same as a cohabitation relationship. Marriage is a mutually binding relationship. If the relationship is not good, you have to divorce. Divorce is more troublesome and involves a lot, and it is not easy. But there is no liability in a cohabitation relationship. Any responsibility, and the children we give birth to are also our own. Especially in this new world, we are the masters and can do whatever we want without restraint, so we have greater freedom and rights than at home."
