"The Fall of the Inca Empire" (Novel) (Volume 2) Inca Elegy Zhang Baotong
The news that Inca King Atahualpa was hanged by the Spaniards quickly spread like a wind through the vast mountains of the Andes and Cordillera of the Inca Empire. This bad news, like the smallpox epidemic, plunged the kingdom into panic and despair. For hundreds of years, the Inca King has been the son of the sun in their hearts and their king, their supreme and absolute admirer and obeyer. However, now that the king suddenly disappeared, they felt that the sky was about to collapse.
During these hundreds of years, the Inca Empire experienced twelve or thirteen kings. The departure of every king will cause them to experience a panic and uneasiness like the sky is falling. However, this panic and uneasiness will quickly disappear because the new king will soon ascend the throne and take over. However, King Atahualpa did not die normally, but was hanged by the foreign Spaniards. Therefore, the panic and uneasiness of the Inca people is filled with deep sadness and despair. It was as if the sun had set forever, and there was no more light and hope in this world.
On the sixth day after the execution of the Inca King Atahualpa, the Plaza de Armas had been cleared, and the wooden stake used to bind and hang the Inca King had been removed. However, it seemed that there was still something in the entire square. I could clearly smell the cold smell of blood. The scene of the hanging of the Inca King at that time will be fresh in the memory of every Spanish soldier and Indian living in the small town of Cajamarca, as if they will never be forgotten. Therefore, every time the Spanish bugle blows loudly in the square, people can't help but feel a trembling tremor. Because the execution of the Inca King was so frightening and frightening.
This day is September 5, 1533, the sixth day after the execution of Inca King Atahualpa. At about three o'clock in the afternoon, the autumn sun was shining brightly on the small town of Cajamarca. At this time, the familiar bugle sound echoed over Plaza de Armas again. Immediately, the heavily armed Spanish soldiers quickly ran to the square to gather in formation.
Judging from the time and place when the bugle sounded, it seemed that something major would happen. Therefore, when the Spanish soldiers lined up in the square, the Indians living in the town and nearby would come one after another to see what new dramas these Spaniards would perform after executing the Inca King.
Maybe people's guess is correct. In the middle of the north of the square, a larger rostrum than the one built when the Inca King was executed has been completed. In front of the rostrum are several baskets of red, purple and yellow flowers just picked from the mountains. bouquet. The pillars on both sides of the rostrum are wrapped with bright and dazzling brocade velvet, and some bouquets made of colorful cloth hang on the beam in the center of the rostrum. This kind of red and green, overly grand and gorgeous decoration can only be seen in the homes of royal nobles when they are getting married. Since this kind of occasion was deliberately arranged by the Spaniards, it makes people feel rare and curious.
After the Spanish soldiers filed into the square and sat cross-legged in the open space in front of the rostrum, a large group of Indian nobles, led by Antonio and several other Spaniards, came to the rostrum. Among them were many distinguished Inca nobles, including the chief of Chincha Province, Jacamaga, the chief of Tungula Province, the Prince of Bescarra, and the chief of Pastaza Province, Ucamayaca, as well as their families and adult children, as well as Some of Atahualpa's concubines and relatives numbered at least nearly two hundred people. They don't know the reason and purpose of coming here at all, but according to their impressions and observations, the Spaniards are very hateful and abominable. They will only try their best to deceive them and torture them, and will never do anything to them. beneficial things. Therefore, they were unwilling and unhappy to be coaxed and coaxed here by the Spaniards. Therefore, they all hung their heads, grumbled, made a fuss, and shouted to express their protest and dissatisfaction.
They came to the podium and didn't know whether to stand or sit down. Because if they stand, they will block the soldiers sitting behind them. However, there are no stools for them to sit down. They are not ordinary Indians. They are royal relatives and nobles. To be royal relatives and nobles, you must be careful and cannot just sit on the ground. At this time, Antonio shouted and waved his hands for them to sit down. They had no choice but to dawdle and lazily, and it took them a long time to sit down.
After a while, people near the barracks began to commotion, which attracted the attention of people in the square, so everyone looked over there. I saw an old man throwing a cane being escorted by a group of Spanish soldiers towards the rostrum. When the man walked into the square, someone suddenly shouted, "Look, that's General Chalkuchma, the ever-victorious general of the Inca army." Hearing someone shout like this, people focused their attention on the man who was walking. Come to the limping old Indian.
People recognized him immediately. However, he is much thinner, has long hair, a thick beard, his face seems smaller, and his eyes are smaller. He was wearing very shabby clothes, no big gold ornaments, or a hat made of colorful feathers. The whole person looks like an ordinary old Indian man. But the most surprising thing is that his legs were broken and he was throwing a cane. However, people still admire and respect him. Immediately afterwards, someone shouted to him, "How are you, General Chalkuchma!" Then the Indians who were watching all shouted in unison, "How are you, General!"
Chalkuchma was infected by people's spontaneous respect and enthusiasm. He stopped and looked deeply at the people around him with a very solemn expression. He wanted to say something, but did not speak. He just looked at People waved their hands, and then limped toward the rostrum, escorted by the soldiers.
When he walked to the front of the rostrum, all the Inca nobles stood up, surrounded Chalkuchima, and shouted in a tragic tone, "General, General." while bowing to him. . Apparently, many of these nobles were royal relatives whom Chalkuchma knew, and were even his own relatives. Chalkuchma threw his body with his crutches, folded his fists, and kept greeting the princes, ministers and nobles who came to greet him.
Seeing that the order in this venue was chaotic, even a little out of control. Pizarro stood on the rostrum and shouted loudly at the soldiers escorting Chalkuch's horse, "Drive them away quickly!" At this time, the soldiers used all their strength to push Chalkuch's horse away. The horse was separated from the crowd and escorted to the stage.
When the leaders of the Spanish expeditionary force, including the Marquis of Pizarro, General Almagro, Mr. Treasurer Riquelme, and Father Vicente de Valverde, took their seats on the rostrum, the soldiers took the Inca nobleman Charles General Kuchma, Prince Xakamaga, Prince Bescarra and Prince Ukamayaka also came to the rostrum and sat with the Spanish leaders. The Spaniards always sit on the rostrum of meetings, and the Indians always sit in the dock or the trial bench. Therefore, in this way, people feel even more baffled and unbelievable.
The loud bugle sounded again, announcing the beginning of this solemn and grand meeting. After the bugle sound stopped, the crowded venue immediately fell into silence. At this time, the commander of the Spanish Expeditionary Force, Marquis Pizarro, walked up to the podium, glanced at the thousands of eyes that were staring at him, and then, raising his voice, he preached in a solemn and solemn tone as usual when issuing orders, "The country We cannot live without a king for a day, and the people cannot live without a king. We executed Inca King Atahualpa not to abolish the Inca King, but to eradicate the evil Inca Demon King and re-support the intelligent and kind-hearted new Inca monarch. Today, we This solemn and grand ceremony is held to crown the new monarch of the Inca Empire." At this point, he said in a declarative tone, "Now, please invite our good friend of the King of Spain, the descendant of Huayna Kabak, Atahualpa's brother, Huaypalcon, the young king of the Inca Empire, came to the stage to be crowned."
All this came too suddenly for the Incas. They did not expect that the Spaniards would choose a new king for them. According to Inca law, the succession of the new king is also in order. The late King Wayna Capak had three princes, two of whom were legitimate heirs to the throne. Huascar was killed by Atahualpa, leaving Prince Manco the only heir to the throne. However, after the Quito army captured Cusco, Prince Manco had been searched and captured everywhere by Atahualpa, and he had no idea where he was hiding. Moreover, the Spaniards were not familiar with Prince Manco, or even knew nothing about it, so they chose this young man named Vaipalcon.
Vaipalcon is very young, just in his early twenties. He is a typical Inca aristocratic young man. He is well-dressed and enjoys himself. He wears a pair of large earrings on his ears, a luxurious fine wool brocade top, and a tube skirt. Embroidered with Inca royal lace. He is tall, has fair complexion, and exudes the elegance of an aristocratic young master.
Atahualpa had a brother and two sisters. In the past, this younger brother had been living with his mother, Princess Palia, in the palace, but before her mother passed away, she handed him over and asked him to take good care of him. Because the King of Inca has been following his father in all kinds of wars since he was a child, and he has a strong military temperament, so he has always looked down on his younger brother who is like a young man. However, he had to obey his mother's last wish.
In order to fulfill his mother's last wish, he asked his brother what he wanted to do. The younger brother said that he wanted to be a palace guard to protect his brother's safety. However, Atahualpa said to his brother no, you cannot be a palace guard. Only a very careful and shrewd person can take on this position. The younger brother thought for a while and said that he wanted to be a general so that he could follow his elder brother and lead troops to fight. The king said to his younger brother, you can't even be a bodyguard, you still want to be a general. You think leading troops to fight is a fun thing, but if you don't do it well, you might lose your head. When the younger brother heard this, he was speechless for a moment. Finally, the elder brother said to his younger brother, otherwise, you can become the deputy commander of Prince Kiskis. He felt that his younger brother was his biological brother after all, and he could not be allowed to hold too low an official position. Moreover, higher official positions were not suitable for him, and deputy commander could be said to be the most suitable position. This allows him to supervise Prince Kiskis without having to take charge of specific and important affairs. Originally, after the capture of the capital city of Cusco, his younger brother was to follow Prince Ciskis to garrison Cusco. However, because he was going back to Quito with his brother to worship his mother, he was caught by the Spaniards in Plaza de Armas in Cajamarca.
At this time, this frail and fair Indian young man was supported by several beautiful Indian girls and walked up from the backstage and stood in front of Pizarro. Judging from his expression, he didn't seem to be excited or happy at all, but looked very restrained and helpless. Obviously, he was not mentally prepared to inherit the throne, and he didn't seem to be that interested in the throne. Because he is so young that he seems to have not yet understood the meaning of being a king.
In fact, he was only told this morning that he would succeed his brother Atahualpa's throne and serve as the king of the Inca Empire. But he never thought of becoming the king of the Inca Empire. Serving as an Inca king not only requires blood from the royal family, but also requires a series of strict and careful training since childhood. But he doesn't have that kind of fate or idea, whether it's in terms of blood, merit, strategy, or even ambition. The succession to the throne depends on blood, but he is not a direct prince born from his father and his sisters. The elder brother Atahualpa was able to obtain the throne because of his father's favor and his illustrious military exploits. And he has none of these. Therefore, he never thought of sitting on the throne of the Inca Empire. Especially since his brother had just been hanged by the Spaniards, this fear was still lingering in his heart. Therefore, when he heard that Marquis Pizarro was going to elect him as the king of the Incas, he shuddered involuntarily and quickly begged. , "Spare me, I haven't done anything wrong to the Spaniards."
Marquis Pizarro sneered and said, "This is to make you the king of the Inca Empire, not to send you to the execution ground." Poor Vaipalcon continued to plead, "But I can't be the king, I really can't. ." Pizarro didn't listen to him at all. Instead, he said, "What can you do and what can't you do? As long as I let you do it, you can do it." Then, he said to his secretary Antonio very impatiently, " Go and clean up the new king so that he can look more like a king in front of the Incas." Thus, this young man of the Inca nobles was pushed to the forefront of history.
