Inca Elegy (Novel) "The Fall of the Inca Empire" (Volume 2) by Zhang Baotong
Just when the revelry of the citizens of Cusco was not over and the fun was still lingering, after the Spaniards divided up private houses and robbed virgins, someone came again to report that there was an army from Quito stationed not far from Cusco. . The Marquis of Pizarro had already received the news, but he only sent people to closely monitor the movements of the army and did not send troops to attack. Because he felt there were more important things to do first. At present, a coronation ceremony was held for King Manco, gold, silver and houses were distributed to the soldiers. Important things had been done. Therefore, he decided to send troops to crusade and eliminate the base that always threatened Cusco. Many armies.
Pizarro could have sent General Almagro to lead his 250 cavalry and infantry to complete this task. However, he felt that sending only 250 troops to attack the 30,000-strong army of Kiskis still seemed weak and lacked confidence. But he didn't want to send his Soto cavalry team there as well. That was his old capital and couldn't be wasted easily. He decided to send Manco to lead the Inca troops to fight with Almagro's troops.
So, he called Manco to discuss it and said, "Have you heard that the 30,000-strong army of Chiskis has been stationed in the mountain pass not far from Cusco. If they are not destroyed, they will remain there forever." Threatening the city of Cusco. I think they should be eliminated as soon as possible. Considering that these Quito troops once carried out a massacre of the Inca royal family and nobles in Cusco and committed heinous crimes against them, so, If you can personally lead an army to participate in this crusade, it will greatly enhance the glory and prestige of your Inca king, and also make the Inca people think that you, King Manco, are worthy of being the son of the late King Huayna Capac. I don’t know. Does King Manco have this intention?"
King Manco said without even thinking, "I hate those despicable and rebellious Quito people. I must let them pay for their cruel and vicious massacre with their blood and lives. Since Mr. Marquis wants me to lead Of course I don't want to send troops to attack them. I must kill them all and avenge their blood. Besides, the Inca king has always had the tradition of personally conquering and making great achievements."
After listening to this, Pizarro happily patted the young man in front of him on the shoulder and said, "Very good, you will lead your Inca army to attack. I will ask General Almagro to lead his troops and fight against them." You fight side by side.”
King Manco said excitedly, "Great, with the cooperation of General Almagro, Quiskis will be captured alive by me, and I will chop off his head with my own hands."
Therefore, the newly crowned Inca King Manco is about to embark on a new journey. With the cooperation of the 250 cavalry and infantry led by Almagro, he will lead an Inca army of nearly 10,000 people to attack and destroy the remaining troops of Atahualpa. The first thing he had to deal with was the 30,000 Quidanian army led by Chiskis. After occupying Cusco, this army participated in the massacre and purge of the Inca royal family, princes and nobles, almost killing them all. Now, King Manco will lead his army to carry out comprehensive revenge on these massacres.
The personal expedition of the Inca king has always been a major event for the entire Inca nation, requiring a lot of preparation. He convened a meeting of princes and ministers to discuss and appointed Prince Mutuvasu as the commander of the Cusco army, Prince Wanka Pampa as the military counselor, and Pumakulka as the palace manager responsible for transporting grain and grass. Then, some princes were sent to the Inca provinces to announce that the Inca king was going to
The emperor personally conquered the remnants of Quito's rebel Atahualpa, and asked the princes of the provinces to always prepare for the arrival of the Inca king.
After everything was ready, Manco chose a sunny day in early April to hold a grand and grand expedition ceremony. He was riding in a sedan chair, surrounded by a large group of princes, and led more than 10,000 Cusco troops from the Inca Square to march north. The two hundred and fifty cavalry and infantry led by Almagro followed the Inca army. Since the city of Cusco suffered from the white terror and bloody massacre by the Quito army, this crusade against the Quito army was regarded by the citizens as an opportunity to collect debts and take revenge. Hundreds of thousands of citizens surrounded the streets and avenues where the Inca army passed, blowing trumpets and waving, singing and dancing on the roadside, and sent the army out of the suburbs of Cusco.
Before the army marched all the way to the small town of Bilkas, it met the Quito army led by Quiskis at the dangerous mountain pass where Spain had had a life-and-death duel with the Indians. On the opposite hillside of a flat canyon, soldiers from Quito's army in red uniforms stood densely, guarding this choke point for north-south traffic from a commanding position.
Manco stopped the army and asked Almagro how to fight. Almagro first asked Manco's troops to rush over and fight with the Quito army, so as to block the large group of Quito people on the high slope. Then, he led the Spanish cavalry to assault the mountain pass. After passing the mountain pass, he could block the The retreat of the Quito people to the north.
So Manco led more than 10,000 Inca soldiers in yellow military uniforms and surrounded them toward the hillside. Spanish troops followed. However, as they were approaching the hillside, all of the Quitos suddenly rushed down the hillside and poured into the mountain from the mountain pass, blocking the entire canyon tightly. The plans made by Manco and Almagro in advance were thus disrupted. Failed. Therefore, Manco had to let the troops retreat first, and then discussed with Almagro again. In the end, it was decided that Manco would command the Cusco army to charge hard first, and then the Spanish cavalry would attack after the two armies formed a melee. .
Manco commanded the army to rush over. Immediately, tens of thousands of people fought together at the very narrow entrance into the mountain. There were shouts and screams, as well as the sounds of fighting with swords, axes and spears, and they continued to kill. The sky was dim and the earth was dim, the sun and the moon were dim, corpses were scattered all over the fields, and blood flowed into rivers, so that the corpses all over the ground blocked the entire mountain pass, making it impossible to pass. At this time, Manco asked the soldiers to blow the horn to retreat.
In less than half an hour of this fighting, both sides suffered thousands of casualties. The Spanish cavalry had long been prepared for an attack. However, when the Indians withdrew from the mountain pass, they found corpses piled everywhere in the mountain pass, making it impossible for the horses to pass quickly. Therefore, Almagro decided to give up the attack.
It soon became dark. That night, Manco's army and Almagro's army lit a bonfire and camped on a plain less than 700 to 800 meters away from the mountain pass. So that he could wait until the next day to fight again with Kiskis' army. However, the next morning, spies came to report that in addition to corpses strewn across the mountain pass, the Quitos had already evacuated.
Manco led his troops into the valley, following the corpses, and pursued the victory all the way to the small town of Bilkas. In the town, they discovered a small group of Quito soldiers setting fire to houses. Manco directed the soldiers to pursue and extinguish the fire. Fortunately, the fire was not big, so it was quickly put out by the soldiers. When the Quito soldiers saw the army chasing them, they fled in panic.
Manco and Almagro decided to camp in a small town and let the troops rest for a few days before pursuing north. Because going further north, the road would be more steep and difficult, and they must be fully prepared. However, soon, orders came from Pizarro. It was said that Kiskis was besieging Haoha, and Haoha was in a hurry, asking them to rush to Haoha day and night.
However, when they rushed to Haoha without stopping, when they reached Huancayo, they met several Spanish soldiers who had retreated from Haoha. They said that forty Spanish soldiers and dozens of Indian soldiers, under siege by tens of thousands of Quiskis troops, were defeated in less than half an hour and gave up the former Inca barracks. The army had to rest and prepare here in Huankayo, because it was not far from Haoha.
A few days later, Manco and Almagro finally arrived at Haoha, where tens of thousands of troops faced off on both sides of the not-so-wide Mantaro River. The river is only thirty or forty meters wide. On this side of the river were nearly 10,000 Manco's new Inca troops and more than 250 Spanish cavalry and infantry from Almagro. On the other side of the river were nearly 30,000 Quito soldiers. The soldiers raised their javelins and shouted and cursed across the river, but no one dared to rush into the water and rush across the other side.
Although Soto once led more than 60 cavalrymen on horseback into the icy river, rushed to the other side, and killed tens of thousands of Chalkuch horse soldiers, but if the Indian soldiers had not fled in panic at that time, , but stick to the position, with the many against the few. Maybe the real ones who fled were not the Indians, but the Spaniards. After many battles with the Spanish, the Indians no longer feared the Spanish so much. Therefore, the risky behavior of the Soto Cavalry Team can no longer win by surprise, but will cause unnecessary heavy losses.
Suddenly, several cannonballs fell into the crowd of Quito people on the other side. After a few loud noises, several people were blown to pieces. Then, the Spanish matchlocks also fired, and they saw Quito on the other side. People fell to the ground in rows. The Quito people were stunned by the sudden gunshots and explosions, and immediately started to retreat in fear. As soon as they retreated and dispersed, the team became a mess, and it seemed that they were defeated like a mountain.
Just as the Quitos were retreating, Manco commanded the soldiers to shout together, rush down into the cold river, and rush towards the other side. When Quito saw the Inca rushing over, he panicked and ran away in all directions. As a result, the Incas soon rushed across the other side. Prepare to chase the scattered Quitos.
However, at this time, Kiskis led a war team of more than 2,000 people, armed with javelins and spears, and came towards the fleeing soldiers, blocking back the fleeing Quito soldiers. The fleeing soldiers had no choice but to turn around and begin to fend off the pursuing Incas. As a result, nearly 10,000 Inca people and nearly 30,000 Quito people who came across the river began a face-to-face fight on the spacious and flat playground of the barracks.
