The Fall of the Golden Empire (Novel) (Volume 1) "Bloody Sunset" by Zhang Baotong
The king waved his hand to calm everyone down and said, "Huascar's death made the Spaniards very angry. Even if they don't execute me immediately, they will hate me very much. Therefore, in order to calm down the anger and anger of the Spaniards, I I want you to hurry up and rush to Cusco and other places to assist in the inspection and supervision, and be sure to move enough gold within the specified time."
The ministers all said, "Your Majesty, don't worry."
The king clasped his hands, saluted everyone, and said sincerely, "Your Majesty, my life and death are decided by the princes and ministers, so I leave it to you."
When the ministers saw the king saluting like this, they quickly knelt down and said in unison, "For the sake of the king's health and comeback, I am willing to go through fire and water, even if I die."
Atahualpa calmed down for a while, and then told the princes and ministers the plan he had thought up last night. He divided these princes and ministers into several groups, one group went to Cusco, one group went to Quito, and three groups went to the Tromoc, Kalena and Laugna gold mines respectively. The purpose of going to Cusco and Quito was to urge the people to bring all the gold and silver to the cell in Cajamarca where the king was imprisoned. That house is now called the Treasury by the Spanish. The purpose of going to the Kaliavaya, Potosi and Laugna gold mines was to urge the miners to increase their labor intensity, produce more gold, and transport it quickly.
Gold was mined virtually throughout the Inca Empire, both on the surface and in streams and rivers. The gold in rivers and streams is washed away by rain. It's just that some places have more and some places have less. The purity of gold in the Inca Empire was around 18 to 20 karat. Only the gold mined from the Caliavaya mining area had the highest purity, which was close to 24 karat, or even higher. Mining silver is more laborious than mining gold, and the cost of smelting and purifying it is also higher. The Inca Empire discovered many large silver mines, but only the Potosi mine had the largest silver production and the highest purity. There is also the Laugue Gold Mine, which is a large gold mine with a long history in the Inca Empire and its output has always been very high. Given enough time, Kalyavaya's annual gold production alone could exceed the capacity of that vault several times.
Although the journey to Cusco and Quito is difficult and long, the journey to the gold and silver mines of Cagliavaya, Potosi and Laug is also very long, and some of these gold and silver mines are located in the Andes Mountains. Among the mountains more than a thousand meters high, some are in the forests of the Amazon River. Just one trip sometimes takes ten days and a half. In addition, the mining area is remote and the living and living conditions are very difficult. Therefore, most princes and nobles are not willing to go to that kind of place. However, the king has given the order, and the king is in danger. As a prince and minister, how dare he save his life without risking his life? Therefore, after hearing the king’s allocation, the princes and ministers quickly replied, “Please don’t worry, your king.”
Atahualpa waved his hand and said, "Okay, you go back, prepare yourself, and leave early."
The ministers said, "As you command, my great king."
After sending all the princes and ministers to Kusi and other places to supervise the collection and transportation of gold and silver, there was no need to go to court every morning, and there was no one to chat with him, relax, or comfort him. Atahualpa felt that the meeting room was much deserted. Now, he could only wait for news from the princes and ministers traveling to various places, and wait for the gold and silver to be shipped from Cusco and all over the country.
That morning, as soon as Petya took over, he divided the more than 20 soldiers into several groups, arranged for ten soldiers to stand in two rows outside the small courtyard door, and then arranged for six soldiers to stand in two rows inside the small courtyard, and then , and divided the other soldiers into two groups to conduct continuous inspections inside and outside the small courtyard.
After all the tasks were assigned and arranged, he entered Atahualpa's council room. At this time, the king had already eaten breakfast and was sitting on the chair in a daze. Petya said to the king, "Sir, please lend me the small table and four-piece chess set. I want to play a few games with Princess Ina."
The king immediately nodded and said, "Very good, you can take it." Although he didn't like letting his concubine be with other men, he was still happy to let his concubine play chess with Peter Ya, because Peter Ya He was looking after them, and he should have a good relationship with him. Moreover, he also knew that Petya was playing chess with the concubine under the big tree in front of the door, and nothing like that that he didn't want to see would happen.
Petya placed the small table outside the house and placed it under the big tree in front of the door. Then, he returned to the house and moved two small stools, and picked up the four-piece chess piece placed in the corner. This set of four-piece chess was given to the king by the prince. The chessboard is carved with a fine marble slab, and the chess pieces are made of gold and silver.
This kind of four-piece chess is a game played by the Incas for entertainment. The way of playing chess is also very simple. As long as you sandwich one of the opponent's pieces with two of your own pieces, you can capture the opponent's piece. As long as you eat up all the opponent's pieces, you win. Petya didn't really learn it, but he saw the king and his concubine playing chess, and he learned it after watching it two or three times. However, he always loses every time he plays chess with the king. He feels very unconvinced and always wants to surpass the king. But recently, the king stayed in the council room with the princes and ministers all day long, busying around. Peterya had no choice but to find the princess named Ina to play chess, because other than the king, ordinary princesses could not beat her. In fact, Petera knew very well that Princess Ina was giving way to the king. However, Princess Yina did not dare to be with other men for fear that the king would be angry and punish her severely. So, Peterya had no choice but to ask the king to ask Princess Ina to teach him how to play chess. The king was very happy to let Princess Ina play chess with Peterya, because he was willing to maintain a good relationship with Peterya. For Petera, his mission is to look after the Inca King, but playing chess with the King is a very good kind of care.
He set up the table and stools, and placed the chess pieces on the chessboard, and then went to the nearby hut to call Princess Ina. Ina was dressing up in the room when she heard someone calling her outside the door. She came out of the room and waved her hand towards Petera, meaning to ask him to wait a moment. So, Petya returned to the small table and sat waiting.
After a while, Princess Ina came. She went into the meeting room first to greet the king. In fact, she was also saying hello to the king. If the king looked unhappy, she would not play chess with Peterya because she did not want to let the king. Displeased. However, the king looked good today, so she came out of the meeting room and sat across from Peter.
Peterya looked at Princess Ina for a long time and said, "Princess Ina, you are so beautiful."
Although Princess Yina did not understand his words, she understood what he meant from his eyes. She couldn't help but feel a little fever on her face, so she smiled slightly at him, pointed at the chessboard and asked him to move first.
But Petera let Ina play first, because for him, women should take precedence in everything. However, Princess Ina believed in the custom of male supremacy and insisted on letting Peter go first. In the end, the two had to follow the rule of the loser going first. Because Peterya lost yesterday, he had to let him go first today.
Although Peterya learned chess very quickly, there was still a clear gap between him and a master like Yina. In fact, he also knew that Princess Yina did not use any clever tricks against him, and she often made him regret his moves. In this way, he still lost two games in a row.
(Please pay attention to Zhang Baotong's signed work "Poetic Emotions", which includes short prose, life essays and short stories. Today's release is the touching story "Unforgettable")
