The Fall of the Golden Empire (Novel) (Volume 1) "Bloody Sunset" by Zhang Baotong
Immediately, a slave came to obey the order. [Read the full text.] The mayor said to his servant, "Hurry and prepare a meal for the incomparably noble King of Quito."
The servant said with a troubled face, "But there is no food that the king likes to eat, and there is no royal chef in the palace."
After hearing this, the mayor also began to feel embarrassed, because this time the king arrived suddenly without any preparation in advance. But the noble king said, "This is not a palace, so there is no need to be particular, just get some food."
After the slaves left, Atahualpa asked the mayor, "Have you heard about the fighting ahead?"
The mayor shook his head and said, "I only know that Cusco sent Commander Chamul to lead an army of 40,000 to invade our territory, and the king led 40,000 elite troops to fight. I have not heard anything else."
Atahualpa nodded and asked no more questions. At this time, the servant came to clear the table and served some of the food that had been prepared.
Atahualpa picked up a piece of pig's trotters and started chewing it, and soon there was only a small amount left on the plate of pig's trotters. At this time, he wiped his hands with a towel, burped, and said to his father-in-law next to him, "You should also eat something." Then, he asked the mayor to prepare a place for him to sleep. The mayor quickly called a concubine and whispered a few instructions to her. The concubine bowed her body obediently and said to Atahualpa, "Your noble King of Quito, please come with me."
Atahualpa followed his concubine into a large house next door. This large house was the one he stayed in during his inspection tour of the south the year before last. The interior has been restored to its original state, but without those young and beautiful kagirls, it seems a bit lonely and monotonous. But he also knew that these were extraordinary times, and he was lucky to be able to escape alone with his life saved.
So, I fell on the bed and fell asleep. The mayor's concubine whispered tenderly, "Can I undress and undress the king?" The voice was so clear and soft that the king felt a sense of ecstasy. He sat up and looked at the king lovingly. The young and beautiful woman held her in her arms and asked, "How old are you, little girl? Where is your home?"
The woman smiled and said, "My little girl is under sixteen. Her home is in Chaba Village, more than a hundred miles away."
The king asked again, "My little girl, would you like to follow me back to the palace of Quito?"
The little girl was flattered and said, "I'm afraid I don't have such a good fortune."
The king said, "Well, when I return to Quito tomorrow, I will take you back to the palace." After saying that, he asked the woman to take off his clothes for him, and fell asleep with her arms around her.
Not long after he fell asleep, a loud and urgent rumble of footsteps woke him up from his dream. Apparently, a large group of people were passing by in the small town outside the window. After being on the run for several days, he had become a frightened bird. He would panic at the slightest movement. So, without even bothering to put on his clothes, he jumped out of bed and ran towards the door.
However, when he opened the door and looked outside, he saw the mayor of Hastala and the commander of Quito's army, Prince Kiskis, standing respectfully in front of the door, waiting for his summons. He hurried back to the house and asked the mayor's concubine to light the oil lamp, help him get dressed and put on his tassel, and then asked the mayor's concubine to ask the people waiting outside to wait in the next room.
He let his mind calm down for a while, and then the mayor's concubine took him to the next room. Before he could sit down, Prince Kiskis knelt down on the ground with a bang and shouted in a voice that sounded like an exclamation of fear, "The king is frightened."
Atahualpa walked straight to a chair and sat down calmly, saying, "Get up."
But seeing the displeasure on the king's face, Prince Kiskis thought that he had disturbed the king's sweet dream, or that he had arrived too late and did not dare to get up.
Seeing that he refused to get up, the king asked, "Where are you going with your army?"
The prince said, "Come and rescue the king."
The king sneered, his face grew longer, and he said, "By the time you come to save me, I'm afraid I will die long ago without a burial place."
When the prince heard this, he trembled all over and quickly explained, "Wei Chen only learned the news about the king last night. As soon as he heard the news, Wei Chen gathered his troops overnight and traveled all the way from the north of Quito city day and night. "
When the king of Quito heard this, he felt that he had been wronged by his loyal minister, and asked, "How many troops do you bring?"
The prince said, "Thirty thousand elite soldiers." The king nodded and said, "Very good, you can bring 30,000 elite soldiers to block the Incas now, but you cannot fight them. I will bring another 50,000 elite soldiers to fight to the death with the Incas."
The prince replied, "The king is wise, and I will remember it in my heart."
The King of Quito still emphasized in a worried tone, "Commander Chamul is not a mediocre person. He is also assisted by the Kutachka rebels, who are even more powerful. They should not be underestimated. Therefore, I would like to remind the prince to remember that before I send elite troops to catch up, Until then, we can only hold on and don’t fight rashly.”
The prince replied repeatedly, "Please rest assured, your Majesty, your Majesty's imperial decree is known to me."
Atahualpa breathed a sigh of relief and asked, "Where will the army camp tonight?"
Prince Kiskis said, "The army traveled last night and traveled nearly a hundred miles a day without resting for a meal. Since the king is out of danger, I want the army to set up camp here, rest for a while, and start their journey early tomorrow morning."
Without even thinking about it, the king of Quito said, "We can arrange for the army to set up a pot to cook food and eat early. Then, rush to Gualanda and block the Chimborazo Pass. The Incas must not be allowed to cross Chimbora." Suo Pass."
Although the prince felt that the king's request was a bit excessive, because the army had been traveling day and night without rest. Now that the king was out of danger, it was time for the troops to rest, but he did not dare to go against the king's will, so he had to reply repeatedly, "Your Majesty is wise. , Weichen will do as he is told.”
Because the king was a little sleepy, he waved to the prince and said, "Okay, you go." After that, he took the mayor's concubine into the bedroom next door.
Early the next morning, before breakfast, Atahualpa took the eight-man bridge prepared for him by the town mayor and rushed towards Quito, escorted by more than 20 soldiers.
After a whole day of rushing, Atahualpa finally arrived at the Quito Palace just as it was getting dark. Although the separation lasted less than two weeks, the king felt as if he had been away for several years. Having just returned to the palace, he did not alarm the royal family, nobles and family. Instead, he quickly sent people to the northern town of Ibarra to summon the northern army. His uncle, High Priest Chalkuchma, led his troops back to Beijing quickly, and then, He also transferred some of the elite troops of Prince Ruminawi, the commander of the central military region stationed in New Loha, to the capital to join the 30,000 elite troops of Chalkuchma. He led them to march south again to fight against the forces of Chamul. The troops fought to the death.
Please pay attention to Zhang Baotong's signed work "Poetic Emotions" documentary, short prose, life essays and short and medium stories, currently uploading "Elegy of Paradise" 49 full of sadness)
