Inca Elegy (Novel) "The Fall of the Inca Empire" (Volume 2) by Zhang Baotong
He entered the room opposite the barracks, where Monsieur Riquelme, the treasurer, lived. Mr. Riquelme, the treasurer, was drinking with two beautiful young Indian women. These two women were the concubines of the Inca King Atahualpa. After Atahualpa was hanged and executed, the concubines fell down and scattered, leaving no place for them to live. Several of them hanged themselves the next day, and some others fled into exile and their whereabouts are unknown; the remaining women were divided by Pizarro between the treasurer and two other members of the royal family. The purpose was also to ease the confrontational relationship with the treasurer that had arisen in order to shirk responsibility after the execution of Atahualpa.
The two beauties each held a glass of wine and persuaded the treasurer to drink. When the treasurer drinks a drink by himself, he asks a woman to drink with him. Little did they know that the women of these Indian aristocrats were no worse than men when it came to drinking. They would often drink heavily until they were drunk. Therefore, before the two women drank too much, Mr. Treasurer himself was already a little drunk.
Seeing Pizarro come in, the treasurer seemed very polite. He pointed to the stool next to the table and said to Pizarro, "Mr. Marquis, please sit down." As soon as Pizarro sat down, he asked the treasurer, "How can these two women be?" What do you mean by calling me sir?" The treasurer nodded quickly and said, "Although this Inca woman is not as coquettish and coquettish as our Spanish girls, she is more docile and lovely than Spanish girls." Pizarro said, "She is the Princess of Inca after all. "The treasurer said, "Ever since I came to this ghost place, I have felt that the days have been monotonous and uncomfortable day by day. But since the Marquis gave me these two treasures, I feel that the days have completely changed and become more comfortable. It's much more enjoyable. I have to thank you for all this, Mr. Marquis." Pizarro said, "As long as it makes Mr. happy, I will be satisfied."
As the treasurer spoke, he picked up a large glass of wine and said, "I can't do it anymore. Let my beloved little dove drink two glasses with you." After that, he handed the wine glass to Pizarro. Then, he said to the tall and thin woman, "You have a drink with Mr. Marquis first." Pizarro had just drank at his home and was currently inspecting the barracks. He should not drink anymore. It can be seen that the tall woman came to toast him and drank a large glass of Chicha wine in one gulp. The treasurer said "Okay, have fun." He handed another glass of wine to Pizarro and asked another small woman to clink the glass with Pizarro. Pizarro drank the second glass of wine without saying a word. At this time, the treasurer said, "My little pigeon, you go back to your room, I want to say something to Mr. Marquis." The woman put down the wine glass in her hand and entered the back room without saying a word.
Mr. Treasurer saw Pizarro put the wine glass on the table and asked, "Mr. Marquis came to visit today. There must be something important, right?" Pizarro smiled like an old friend, "It's okay, I just miss you. So, I came here to see you." The treasurer also smiled and said, "It's rare."
The two chatted casually for a few words, and then Pizarro asked, "The troops are ready to march into Cusco. I think they will set off in two days. I wonder if Mr. Treasurer has any other difficulties or ideas." Mr. Treasurer thought for a while and said, "There is no difficulty. I just wonder what the security situation is along the way?" Pizarro said, "I asked Soto's cavalry squad to lead the way, and General Almagro led the cavalry squadron." As a backup to remove obstacles along the way, I will take you, the Inca king and the prince in the middle, and Juan will lead the cavalry squad and more than a hundred infantry to press back. As for Cajamarca's remaining guard, I will let Gonza Luo led 30 infantrymen and more than a hundred Indian soldiers to guard it. So, sir, please feel free to worry about safety."
When the treasurer heard this, he said, "Mr. Marquis has made arrangements, so I can rest assured."
The two chatted for a while, and Pizarro said he wanted to inspect the barracks, so he left.
Coming out of the treasurer's room, Pizarro saw that it was already getting late and wanted to go to Juan's barracks. Then, he went to Juan's big house to spend the night because he had long heard Juan say that the Inca King Atahuallpa's favorite concubine was brought to him and asked him to take some time to enjoy it. However, because he had been busy executing Atahuallpa and supporting the coronation of the new Inca king, he did not have time, so he I want to take advantage of my leisure time tonight and go over there.
Juan's barracks is located in three or four bungalows behind the Almagro Barracks. It can be said that apart from Hernando's squad, it is the squad with the largest number of cavalry and infantry. However, what surprised him was that when he walked to the barracks dormitory, many rooms were darkly lit. Of course he knew that this was not because the soldiers were all asleep, because the soldiers usually liked to play dice and gamble and would not go to bed until very late. Therefore, it was a bit strange to see so many houses with lights dark.
So he came to a lighted room, where there were only three soldiers playing dice under the light. As soon as the soldiers saw the commander coming in, they quickly stood at attention and saluted. Pizarro asked, "Why is it so dark in your barracks? What are they doing?" The soldiers looked at me and I looked at you, but they didn't dare to answer. Seeing this, Pizarro shouted loudly, "Am I asking you a question? Are you all mute?" Seeing that the commander was angry, a soldier stammered and replied, "He, he, they all go shopping. It’s a brothel.”
When Pizarro heard this, he asked, "Where is the brothel? Why didn't I hear about it?"
Although there were prostitutes in the Inca Empire, prostitutes were a despicable profession that was discriminated against. They could only live in dilapidated huts in the wild and were not allowed to enter the villages, so as not to interact with other women and ruin the reputation and morality of women from good families. Men are not allowed to have public contact with prostitutes, and women are not allowed to talk to them, otherwise they will get the same notoriety as them, have their hair cut off in public, be regarded as a woman of disrepute, and be spurned by their husbands. In the town of Cajamarca, where the Incas often stayed and lived, it can be said that many people have never heard of the word prostitute.
The soldier said, "The brothel is at the north corner of Inca Street, and it's called the House of Fraternity." Pizarro asked sharply, "Who started it?" The soldier hesitated for a long time without answering. Seeing the soldier's embarrassed look, Pizarro asked the soldier next to him, "Except for our people, I don't think they are outsiders, right?" The soldier lowered his head and said, "I don't know either. However, the commander will know it when he goes over and takes a look." Pizarro nodded, sighed softly, and asked, "Where is your captain?" The soldiers said in unison, "I don't know."
Pizarro left the soldier's dormitory and looked around again. The night was getting darker, and the barracks was also silent and deserted. He couldn't help but think that if he were Luminawi or Quiskis, he would send an elite force to carry out a sneak attack at this time. The paralyzed and lax Spaniards would definitely be defeated and completely routed. Therefore, this is what he is most worried about.
Juan was obviously not in the barracks, which made him very angry, but he couldn't let it out. But he felt that the fact that someone was running a brothel should be investigated and dealt with seriously. Otherwise, everyone would act randomly without restraint and be busy gambling and prostitution all day long. Is this still like an army?
So, he planned to call his secretary Antonio to go to the north corner of Inca Street to check it out in person. On the way back to the office, he happened to pass by Soto's barracks. Seeing that the lights in Soto's room were still on, he decided to go in and take a look. Soto was looking at the map through a glass lantern. Seeing Pizarro coming, he put down the map in his hand and saluted the commander. As the commander-in-chief of the expeditionary force, Pizarro looked down upon members of the Spanish royal family, but he felt a sense of awe for his subordinate Soto.
Pizarro said to Soto, "It's so late and I'm still looking at the map." Soto said, "Although the road going south is a royal road leading to Cusco, there are many dangerous passes where police officers are stationed. The troops of Erkuchma and the troops of Kiskis. Therefore, it is not easy to pass through these dangerous passes. I think that only if we think more about the difficulties and are fully prepared for them can we win the war. while minimizing casualties.”
Pizarro listened to this and patted his subordinate on the shoulder with great emotion and said, "You said it very well. The great cause of our expeditionary force really needs people like you who are conscientious and down-to-earth. After saying that, he apologized in a very deep tone and said, "I'm so sorry about that." Soto knew that he was referring to the execution of Inca King Atahualpa, but that matter has passed and cannot be undone. , so he said, "You can't blame the Commander too much." Pizarro said with infinite emotion, "As long as you understand me, Captain, I will feel relieved." The two said a few more polite words, Pizarro said in a meaningful tone, "We are about to march into Cuscu. At this time, we must be more vigilant, just in case. Therefore, we must set up more sentries and night patrols." Soto said , "Don't worry, I have already arranged it, and I have to check the sentry several times every night." When Pizarro heard this, he breathed a long sigh of relief and said, "With your words, I feel relieved." After saying that, he left Soto's barracks.
After leaving the barracks, the night became darker. He looked at his watch and saw that it was already half past ten at night. He thought for a moment that since there were people like Soto worrying about him, he felt that there was nothing to worry about. I decided to spend the night in Juan's mansion. Because I have been busy these days, and I will leave here in two days, so it is time to relax. So, he returned to the headquarters office and saw that Antonio was still drafting a mobilization speech for him to march into Cusco under the lamp, so he said to him, "Okay, take it easy for a while and accompany me to Juan's mansion." Courtyard." Antonio stood up quickly and said, "On horseback or on foot?" Pizarro said, "Of course, on horseback." So Antonio went out to get him the horse.
After a while, the horse came. Pizarro left the house, mounted his horse, and walked out of the barracks with Antonio. Arriving at the gate of the barracks, the sentries quickly saluted. Pizarro said to the sentries, "We will march into Cusco in two days. You must keep your eyes open during these two days to prevent anything from happening." The sentries said, "Yes, Commander."
