Inca Elegy (Novel) "The Fall of the Inca Empire" (Volume 2) by Zhang Baotong
Near the military camp is a large flat canyon area, surrounded by many mountains and valleys. But whether it is high mountains, low ridges or valleys, at a glance, there is lush green everywhere. Pizarro and the others walked from a path in the valley toward a low mountain. Corn and other crops of different seasons were planted in the valley and hillsides beside the road. Some corn is already in harvest season, while others are just growing out of the ground.
Along the way, Pizarro asked the old man how much land he planted and how much grain he harvested every year. The old man said, "There are three men and two women in my family. The three men have three pieces of land, and the two women each have half a piece of land. The food harvested every year is not small, but most of the food harvested requires Hand it over to the Incas. After handing over most of the food, the family will have very little left, and can only barely make ends meet for the family."
Walking to a large coca field, Pizarro pointed to the coca and asked, "Do you still grow coca?" The old man replied, "These are tributes to the Incas. Because the coca grown here is more famous. , the texture and variety are good, so the coca grown must be handed over to the Incas and transported to Cusco or Quito for the Inca royal family and nobles to enjoy."
When Antonio heard this, he asked, "Do you like the Inca or the Quito?" The old man shook his head and said, "I don't like either. But the Quito is worse than the Inca." Antonio asked, "Why?" The old man said angrily, "The Inca people only tax us more heavily and do not oppress us locals. However, the Quito people not only tax us more heavily, but they also hate and oppress us as the Inca people."
Antonio said, "Who do you like?" The old man thought for a while and said, "We like whoever is good to us." Then he talked about the past. He said, "Three or four hundred years ago, our place was a paradise for the beautiful and rich Mantaro tribe. We Mantaro people have lived in this flat and quiet canyon for generations. All Mantaro people are relatives. , everyone lives in harmony and freedom. At that time, the chief was the leader of our family and tribe. We all respected him. His words were our rules and laws. He would help mediate and reconcile any disputes or conflicts we encountered. It’s fair to say. We enjoy the food and coca we grow ourselves and never hand it over. Therefore, we can’t finish the food we harvest every year. The people in the tribe spend a lot of time singing, dancing and falling in love together every year. . Alas, the Mantaro people really lived in paradise at that time."
"However, later, the Inca king led an army to capture the banks of the Mantaro River and the Haoha Canyon, took the chief to the capital city of Cusco, forced the Mantaro people to worship the sun god, took away all the land and redivided it every year. They paid a lot of taxes and tributes to the Incas. From then on, the Mantaro people never had a good life."
With that said, the old man took Pizarro and the others up to a mountain. Their family's land is on this mountain ridge. When you go up the slope, you will see that there is a large gentle slope on the ridge. There are many channels for watering on the slope, and these channels come from higher mountains and stretch down the mountain. These channels are made of neat stones and are very strong and practical. The water in the canal comes from the melting ice and snow on the top of the mountains or the perennial mountain springs.
Then, the old man took them to the village where he lived. This village is located in a small mountain village. The village is not big, with only a dozen households in total. The bright sun shines on the mountain nest, making the stone farmhouses look even more shabby and dilapidated, as if they have experienced tens of thousands of years of weathering and rain.
As soon as I entered the village, I saw a girl sitting on a stool in front of a house, crying. Pizarro then walked up and asked, "Girl, why are you crying?" The girl moved her arms away from her tear-filled face, looked at Pizarro, said nothing, and cried even more painfully.
The old man next to him said to Pizarro, "This family wants to marry their daughter to the old village chief, but the daughter fell in love with a young man from another village." Antonio said angrily, "This old man is crazy. I'm still confused. There are young people who won't marry, so why marry their daughters to the old people?" The old man explained, "Inca customs stipulate that girls in the village cannot marry to other villages. Moreover, the village chief is a rich man in the village. If a girl marries the village chief, her family will be very respectable and she will be honored." The old man added, "According to Inca customs, the father must be in charge of his daughter's marriage."
Antonio felt that the matter was unfair, so he rushed into the girl's house to argue with the girl's father. However, when I entered the room, I saw that it was narrow, small, and very poor. In addition to a large water tank and a stove cover for cooking, there was also a small table and a few small stools. Outside, there wasn't even a bed to sleep on. A cow and two sheep were kept in a small room next to them. The stench of cow and sheep excrement made it impossible for anyone to stay in the house.
However, the girl's father and an old man who may be the village chief were sitting in the house, chewing coca and discussing marriage. Seeing Antonio and Martin come in, the two old men stood up and nodded and bowed to the sudden stranger with a smile on their faces. Antonio pointed at an old man and said, "Are you the village chief?" The old man said, "Yes." Antonio said angrily to the village chief, "You are so old, and you want to marry such a young girl? Don’t you feel ashamed?” After listening to Martin’s translation, the village chief immediately smiled and said, “This is their family’s honor, there is nothing to be ashamed of.” Antonio asked again in a tough tone, “Don’t you have a woman?” the village chief replied He said, "Yes, I already have six women, but the Inca regulations allow a village chief like me to marry seven women. However, my first woman has died, so I want to add another one." "
When Antonio heard this, he thought that you have six women and you are still not satisfied and want to marry another young girl. He became even more furious and was about to reprimand the village chief. At this time, Pizarro took the old man into the house, gave Antonio a very stern look, and said, "Are these things your responsibility?" Antonio did not dare to say anything. Pizarro asked Martin to introduce each other, and then he bowed politely to the village chief and sat down together.
The girl's father hurriedly brought a small plate of coca for Pizarro to taste. This was the most solemn courtesy a host would give to a guest, because ordinary people rarely had such items. But Pizarro waved his hand. The old man took out a small handful of coca from the small plate, put it in his mouth and chewed it. Then, he said to the village chief and the girl’s father, “This is the commander of the Spanish army, flying over from the sea on a white horse. Yes, specially printed for Canucks and Quitos.”
The girl's father said happily, "That's great. Once you come, we will have a good life." Pizarro asked everyone, "If you have any requests, just tell me." The girl's father said, "Every year. There are too many tributes and taxes handed in." Pizarro said, "Well, I will announce that you will no longer be allowed to pay tributes and taxes in the future." When everyone heard this, they couldn't believe their ears. So, Martin had to repeat Pizarro's words again, and everyone nodded in disbelief.
So, Pizarro simply left the house, stood outside the door, and said to the people who followed them from the military camp, "Common people, you have suffered from the harsh rule and exploitation of the Inca, now we are here I came here to defeat the Incas, to liberate you, so that you will no longer be exploited and oppressed, and live a good life again. Therefore, I declare that from now on, you will no longer have to pay any taxes or tribute. As long as you comply with Abide by the law, do not infringe or harm others, and you can do whatever you want, and we Spaniards will uphold justice for you."
When these words were translated by Martin in Quechua, everyone immediately knelt down on the ground and kept kneeling and saluting Pizarro with piety and gratitude in worshiping the gods. Pizarro saw that the people worshiped him like a god and quickly asked everyone to stand up.
A middle-aged man asked Pizarro, "Are you leaving soon?" Pizarro said, "Yes, we will leave soon, because we have to go to Cusco." When the man heard this, he immediately said worriedly, "But as soon as you leave, those Quitos will come again."
"Yes, as soon as you leave, the Guidos will come back again." People looked worried. Pizarro waved his hand to everyone and said in a very firm tone, "Don't worry, they will not come again, because we will eliminate them all."
At this time, a soldier came on horseback, walked up to Pizarro, gave a military salute, and said, "Report to Mr. Marquis, Captain Juan has also arrived with the cavalry rearguard team." Pizarro listened to this. He nodded, and then said to Antonio, "Go and greet Juan and the others, and arrange them closer to the headquarters." Antonio responded, and followed the soldier as he trotted down the mountain.
With the support of the locals, Pizarro spent a whole day wandering around nearby villages and mountains, and also had a meal at the village chief's house. By the time he and Martin went down the mountain and returned to their house, it was already dusk.
He returned to his room and saw that his room was neatly tidied and clean. He felt very puzzled because this time he marched into Cusco. The mountains were high and the roads were far away. He did not let the princess Come along, because she still has to take care of those children. Therefore, a house without a woman is naturally more chaotic. However, the house was so neat today, which made him feel surprised and puzzled.
At this time, he saw a young and graceful woman walking into the house from the outside, swaying her light and graceful waist. The reflection of the light at dusk outside the house just illuminated her wonderful silhouette. This scene was really touching and fascinating. The heart and soul can only be seen in dreams. Ah, this is the princess he misses day and night, his dearest little pigeon Tutula. He was excited and impulsive, and before Tutula could see clearly, he rushed over, eagerly picked up the girl and held her in his arms, kissing her like crazy.
With his beloved beauty, Pizarro felt as if he had ascended to heaven. For several days, he either stayed at home guarding his beloved beauty, or took his beloved beauty to nearby villages and mountains for fun or hunting. For this reason, he even felt that he did not want to go through the difficult and boring march of climbing mountains and crossing rivers every day, and having to prevent the intrusion of Indian soldiers.
Therefore, he ordered Soto to lead the cavalry squad all the way south to explore the way, and asked Almagro to lead a part of the cavalry to reinforce it later. He also set about establishing a colonial stronghold in Haoha to facilitate the journey from Cusco to Cajamarca. The road to; while enjoying the happiness and joy in Haoha, the paradise on earth.
