The Fall of the Golden Empire (Novel) (Volume 1) "Bloody Sunset" by Zhang Baotong
When he was awakened by a noisy door opening, he thought Hernando had told his brother to let him out. However, when he opened his eyes, he saw a few Spanish soldiers entering the house carrying oil lamps, and then placed the oil lamps in the corner. Behind him came two officers and an Indian interpreter. It was obvious from their menacing posture that they were not here to let him out.
The two soldiers yelled, pulled him up from the ground, tied his hands, and stood under the oil lamp in the corner. The officer whom Hernando called his fourth brother walked up to him with murderous intent and asked sharply, "I heard that you hid all the gold, right?"
When Chalkuchma heard the Spaniards ask him about the gold, he replied calmly, "No, I am a soldier. I am only interested in fighting. I never care much about gold."
Gonzalo hit a snag and couldn't help but feel a little annoyed and said, "You said you are not interested in gold? Who can believe you? Only ghosts believe it."
Chalkuchma explained very seriously and sincerely, "It's true. Gold is usually used to decorate temples. It can't be eaten or worn. What use do I need it for?"
This statement stopped Gonzalo from questioning, but he didn't believe what Chalkuchma said at all, so he gritted his teeth and glared at Chalkuchma, saying, "Stop talking nonsense to me, stop giving me sophistry. You Tell me where you hid the gold. Otherwise, I will let you speak with whips and sticks. My whips and sticks will not recognize you as a general or a prisoner."
When Chalkuchma saw that Gonzalo was serious, he couldn't help but feel a little scared, but he still answered frankly, "I really didn't hide the gold, and I really don't know where the gold is. Where can I tell you?" There is a lot of gold in the city, I heard that there is a lot of gold in Cusco, and there is also gold in places with sun temples and palaces.”
When Gonzalo heard this, he said, "It's up to you to say this. I'll ask you about other places and places you should know. For example, Quito and Joja."
Chalkuchma shook his head and said, "In the Inca Kingdom, gold is generally controlled by the Inca King. I am a soldier. I have many women and a lot of land, but I really don't know much about gold. many."
Gonzalo obviously didn't want to quarrel with him anymore, and shouted to his soldiers, "This gentleman has finally decided that he doesn't want to listen to good advice, so he will serve him with whips and sticks. Beat me hard." Beat him to death. Beat him until he wants to talk."
As soon as he finished speaking, two soldiers put him to the ground, and the other two soldiers rained down on him with whips and sticks on his body and legs. Immediately, the old man, an Inca nobleman, was beaten until his skin was torn and his flesh was torn, and he was rolling on the ground. But apart from moaning instinctively, the old man didn't cry or beg for mercy at all.
Gonzalo felt that this old man was stubborn, so he asked the soldiers to beat him in different shifts. It wasn't until Hernando came over with Antonio and Letomundo that he stopped Gonzalo from drinking. Seeing that this stubborn old man probably didn't know where the gold was hidden, Gonzalo saw his elder brother yelling at him like crazy, and said, "This is the order of the Marquis." Then he led the soldiers away.
Hernando asked two assistants to help Chalkuchma up from the ground, but before Chalkuchma could stand, he fell again. Fortunately, two Spaniards supported him. But he still couldn't stand and fell straight to one side. It turned out that one of his legs was broken.
Hernando was trembling with rage. He asked Chalkuchma to find a bed and went to the Marquis's office. The Marquis was sitting at the table listening to Gonzalo reporting to him the interrogation of Chalkuchma, and on the table in front of him lay the road map to Cusco drawn by the bishop.
Listening to Gonzalo's report, Marquis Pizarro looked at Gonzalo for a long time and said with great dissatisfaction, "You have been talking for a long time and you haven't said a single useful word. It seems that you have to do it again." Put him on trial.”
Hernando yelled at his two younger brothers, "Chalcuchma is the distinguished guest I invited, and you treat my guest like this? He was originally unwilling to come here, but I persuaded him many times and told him He came here after vouching for him. But as soon as he came here, you broke his legs. You are too cruel."
The Marquis of Pizarro was very displeased and said, "My dear brother, please calm down. This is the headquarters of the Spanish Expeditionary Force, not at home. You brought the Chalkuch horse here, which can be said to have established a magical foundation." But don't worry too much about how to treat him and deal with him." At this point, he waved his hand and said, "Thank you for your hard work, Captain Hernando, you can go home and have a good rest."
Hernando said, "I haven't finished speaking yet. What are you going to do with Chalkuchma?"
Marquis Pizarro said, "I can't possibly let him go. If I let him go, he will lead his army to attack. By then, we will all be finished."
Hernando said, "Chalcuchma is a soldier. You should ask the Inca King about gold. Because the gold in the Inca Kingdom is controlled by the King."
The Marquis of Pizarro said, "I know this better than you, okay, you can go." Then he said to Secretary Robert who was sitting at the table counting the amount of gold, "You said the gold in that room is fast." Is it full?"
Rolbert said, "Yes, it will fill up quickly."
The Marquis said to Robert, "Let's go and have a look now."
Before the Marquis could leave, Hernando added, "I tell you, Mr. Marquis, if the gold in that room is almost full, the Inca King should be released immediately according to the agreement."
The Marquis glanced at Hernan with great disdain and annoyance and said, "You have a soft heart and a Bodhisattva heart. If I were like you, we would have been wiped out by the Incas long ago. Don't even think about it. Let him go, and he will lead his troops to attack me tomorrow. Maybe you and I will become his prisoners." With that, he took Robert out of the house.
(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 novella "Love Ladder" (11. Elope hand in hand))
