The Fall of the Golden Empire (Novel) (Volume 1) "Bloody Sunset" by Zhang Baotong
Next, the king who had just ascended the throne returned to sit down next to Keya Barancaya and began to receive and accept the tributes and worship of the governors and lords from all provinces and regions across the country. These provincial governors, lords and tribal leaders lined up in a long line, carrying their own gifts, walked past the ceremony stage, came to the king, knelt down before the king, and then presented the gifts they brought to the king.
The governor of Apurimac presented to the king two golden lions the same size as pumas, while the governor of Arequipa presented two large vats of fine chicha wine. Lord Tumbes sent a large basket of valuable fresh fish. The Kipchak lord sent a large basket of fresh pears. The governor of Kagillias sent two young beauties from noble families. Although the items sent from various provinces and places were light or heavy, the Inca king did not care about it. Instead, he asked the palace manager to register them one by one with a knotted rope, accept them all, and cordially send gifts to these provinces. The governor and the lords nodded in thanks.
King Atahualpa of Quito entrusted the palace's high priest Riti Kaleba to send two life-size naked beauties made of pure gold. These two typical Quito beauties are not only young and beautiful, but also wild and coquettish. The gold statues are made with exquisite craftsmanship and excellent shape, just like two vivid and lifelike real people.
The young king was dazzled by the two pure gold beauties in front of him. He couldn't help but stood up and touched the golden person's face with his hand, and then touched the golden person's breasts. Then he couldn't help but said to the palace manager, "Put these two golden men in my bedroom."
The palace steward said, "Yes, my great king."
When Huascar wanted to thank the guests in Quito, he discovered that the guest in Quito was not his brother Atahualpa, nor Queen Anna, whom he missed and loved, but an elderly man. Huascar was startled and asked, "Who are you?"
Letikaleba replied, "Your Majesty, I am Prince Letikaleba, the high priest of the palace of Quito."
King Huascar immediately recognized this as his former teacher. Then he held the hand of High Priest Liticaleba affectionately and said, "I haven't seen you for more than ten years, but I don't recognize my teacher anymore."
"I was less than 50 years old when I was in Cusco, but now I'm over 60," said Leticaleba.
Huascar couldn't help but sigh and said, "Time is ruthless, and the face ages easily." Then he asked, "Prince Quito, why didn't my brother Atahualpa and my sister Anna come?"
Liticaleba replied, "King Atahualpa has always wanted to come to Cusco to congratulate his brother and meet with you to reminisce about old times, but he has been sick recently, suffering from headaches and diarrhea, vomiting and diarrhea, and has been bedridden for more than ten days. I had no choice but to send a minister to come and celebrate the king on his and Queen Anna’s behalf.”
Although Huascar seemed a little unhappy, he still asked, "Do you know what kind of disease my brother is suffering from and whether it is serious?"
Litikaleba said, "Maybe it's acute diarrhea and it will be fine in a few days."
Huascar nodded.
The worship and offerings continued for a while before ending. After that, Huascar took Barrancaia off the ceremonial platform, rode in a sedan chair, surrounded by the princess, princes and ministers, and escorted by the palace guards, left the crowded palace square and went to Worships and prayers are offered at the Temple of the Sun God and other shrines.
The girls from the Palace of the Virgins of the Sun God and the young men and women who were descendants of the royal family, who had been standing in line under the ceremony stage, began to go up to the ceremony stage and perform various palace and folk performances for the people in the square. Song and dance.
By the time they finished their performance, it was already afternoon and the sun was heading west. The girls and the descendants of the nobles lined up and left the square under the escort of the palace guards, returning to the main hall of the Huayna Capak Palace. But the people in the square refused to leave. They continued to sing, dance and revel in the square and refused to leave until evening.
At this time, the young king of the Inca Empire had returned to the palace of Cusco with his queen, princess and princes after worshiping the sun, moon, thunder, stars and rainbow temples. The Royal Palace of Cusco was the palace of more than ten Inca emperors in the past dynasties. The entire palace is built of fine stone. It is not only spacious and majestic, but also exquisite and perfect. The hall is covered with gold ornaments, and even the floor is paved with gold bricks. Therefore, as soon as you enter the palace, you will see the golden walls and the dazzling golden light everywhere.
After dinner, Prince Huascar was still in high spirits, so he summoned several ministers to chat together. This was one of the main forms of daily entertainment for the Inca kings. This method can not only enhance the relationship between the monarch and his ministers, but also obtain a lot of information and make more detailed and reasonable arrangements for some affairs.
This kind of activity is usually carried out in the court room of the palace meeting hall. But the government room was very simple. This is a room of more than thirty square meters. The floor and walls are naturally paved with gold bricks and gold foil is applied to the walls. There are no windows in the room, but there is a ventilation hole one foot square. The room was empty, clean, and spotless. There was nothing in the room except the Inca king's golden chair in the center. But because I want to invite ministers to come over and chat. Therefore, the attendants brought five or six small wooden stools in advance and placed them in front of the big golden chair.
But there are only four or five princes here tonight. There are Prince Barbara Palca, the auxiliary minister of the Inca Kingdom of Campac and the Inca Kingdom, Prince Varuk Cayaquil, the commander of the southern army of the Inca Kingdom of Campac and the Inca Kingdom, and Huan Cappan, the general manager of the Royal Palace of Campac Inca and Cusco. Prince Pa and Prince Hurtado Huaco, high priest of the Inca and Royal Palaces of Campac and Cusco.
This way of chatting is more cordial and relaxed. It does not require the ministers to lie down on the ground and kneel to the king with their faces on the ground, nor does the king need to ask the ministers this and that with a straight face. Instead, the king and his ministers were all sitting around on small stools, chatting in a calm tone, making daily routines, or telling stories or anecdotes.
Huascar first asked his beloved concubine to bring some fresh pears and grapes for everyone to taste. These fresh pears and grapes are specialties from remote areas, and are presented to Huascar today by the governors and lords of those areas. Four young and beautiful concubines each stood next to a minister holding a tray. While eating fruits, the ministers talked about the gifts presented by the provincial governors and lords.
Prince Huanca Pampa, the general manager of the palace, said, "If you ask me, the basket of fine coca leaves presented by the Governor of Cusco is the most precious. This kind of coca leaves is most suitable for growing in such high-temperature and humid areas. However, this kind of place is prone to breed a lot of weeds. Not only do we need to constantly weed, but they also need to be carefully pruned. After picking the coca leaves, they should be placed in the sun to dry, but not too dry, otherwise the precious leaves will be lost. The green color will be dried out in the sun; but if it does not get enough heat, it will become moldy and rot. When storing, baskets must also be made of the local thick vines that grow on the edges of cliffs, and the wide leaves of the thick vines must be used to lay the bottom and Cover.”
Prince Varuk Kayakil, the commander of the southern army, immediately agreed and said, "This kind of coca leaf has obvious energizing power, aphrodisiac and tonifying effect. Chew a few pieces and you can work all day without eating. You will not feel tired even if you work. When people are weak and sick, suffering from diarrhea, fractures, colds, sores and other diseases, they may chew a few pieces of coca, or grind coca leaves into powder and apply them on them. It can be cured quickly. Moreover, the texture and taste of this coca are also very delicious. I have tasted coca from all over the Incas, but there is no coca there that can compare with this coca. Every time When you are marching and fighting, if you encounter any difficulties or obstacles, just give the soldiers a few pieces of this high-quality coca, and the soldiers will charge into the battle with their lives. This is incomparable to those gold treasures."
Prince Barbara Palka said, "The pair of rare birds given to the king by the chief of the Wali tribe are extremely precious. Its feathers are not only extremely gorgeous, but also as long as two arms. The male's feathers are especially long and beautiful. It was used as a headdress for the Inca king. I heard that this kind of tropical rare bird is only found in the Wali tribe. This kind of rare bird only mates once or twice in its life and only lays two to four eggs each time. It is very rare and valuable. I heard All the kings had crowns with feathers like this, but few have seen this rare bird in person."
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