Inca Elegy (Novel) "The Fall of the Inca Empire" (Volume 2) by Zhang Baotong
The captain who boldly disobeyed military orders and led his troops to attack Quito knew the seriousness of his fault. In order to reduce his fault, he brought many precious gold objects to Almagro. These gold objects were searched and looted along the way and in Quito.
Benalcasal brought two guards and a large military cloth bag to the door of the mansion where Almagro temporarily lived. The guards on guard immediately stopped them, unloaded their guns and swords, and asked the two guards to stop and wait in front of the door with their horses. When Benalcazar saw this stance, he couldn't help but gasped.
He carried the cloth bag and was escorted by a guard into the prince's mansion, which was full of guards and had tight barriers. Entering a large room, he saw Almagro, dressed in military uniform, leaning on his back and looking at a map on the table. So, he made a pitiful look, bowed down, and shouted begging, "Dear General Almagro, the commander of the San Miguel garrison, Bernard Casal, reports to you. "
After a long time, Almagro turned around, slowly raised his head while smoking a cigarette, looked at him with that sharp gaze, and then asked, "Since you are from San Miguel, Commander of the garrison, why are you here instead of in San Miguel?”
Benalcazar kept blinking his eyes and explained in a low voice, "The subordinate was supposed to follow the commander's order and go to San Miguel to garrison. However, the soldiers all thought that San Miguel was just a soldier. It was enough to have dozens of people guarding the town and port, and I kept urging them to attack Quito. I initially disagreed, thinking that even if we were to attack Quito, we had to ask the commander for instructions first. However, the soldiers all said that there was During this time of asking the commander for instructions, we have already captured Quito. I also think the soldier’s request is reasonable. Besides, Quito is the birthplace of Atahuallpa and the northern capital of the Inca Empire. It is the center of our expeditionary force. Important cities that must be attacked and conquered. As long as we capture the city of Quito, the entire Inca Empire will be completely destroyed. However, the commander and our troops are far away in Cusco, and there has never been time to attack Quito. , we might as well take the opportunity to capture Quito, which can be regarded as a great contribution to the expedition."
At this point, he looked at his superior's face and reaction, and then said, "But no matter what, this operation still violated the commander's order, so I ask General Almagro for your understanding and tolerance. I will not be able to bear it." Thank you." Then, he put the cloth bag on the table with the military map.
Almagro opened the cloth bag with his hands, revealing most of the bag of golden gold. However, he was unmoved and still said to the subordinate who disobeyed the order in a very serious tone, "Your disobedience shows that your selfish desires far exceed your loyalty to the king. This makes us I suspect you want to betray us, break away and form another government."
Benalcazar suddenly broke into a cold sweat when he heard this. Because betrayal and division are very serious crimes for a soldier. If convicted of this crime, he will be hanged and will be charged for eternity. Especially when the expedition is at a critical period, any betrayal and division are absolutely intolerable.
While wiping the sweat on his forehead with his hand, he confessed to his superior in a swear-like tone, "Dear General Almagro, I dare to swear to God on my own honor that if I capture Quito Not for the Spanish expedition, but for my own personal purposes or for any betrayal or disloyalty, then let God punish me severely."
Then, he described how he led more than 140 cavalry and infantry to risk life and death in a bloody battle with Ruminawi's 50,000 elite soldiers, and how he established a residential area for the Spaniards after capturing Quito and named Quito after Francis. Co. de Quito gave a detailed explanation and report to Almagro to prove that he took the initiative to capture Quito out of compliance with the wishes of the soldiers and the purpose of making contributions to the expedition.
After listening to Benalcasal's repeated oaths and assurances, Almagro made no comment. He slowly sat on a chair, lit another cigarette, and continued to listen to the subordinate's statement. However, Benalcasal felt that he had said all he had to say, that all was said, and that these words and these events were enough to prove his innocence.
However, Almagro said, "After listening to your report and explanation, I think you are talented as a commander, but I am still not sure about your loyalty and trustworthiness. Therefore, you must give I wrote an oath and a guarantee." The reason why Almagro did this was because his top priority was to rendezvous with Benalcasal's team and prepare to fight against the invaders that would arrive soon, but for Benalcasal, Narcazar's serious disobedience to military orders must be dealt with seriously, so he thought twice and decided to take this approach.
Benalcazar thought that Almagro would at least remove him from his post or put him in confinement for a few days. Unexpectedly, he was asked to write an oath. He nodded quickly and said, "I will write, I will write, but, I can't write." Almagro immediately called a young clerk over, whispered a few words, and then left the room.
By the time Almagro returned to his office, Benalcasal's oath had been written. Benalcasal had the clerk read the oath to Almagro. Almagro listened, nodded, and then said to Benalcazar, "I believe in your oath and confession and will truthfully report your situation to Marquis Pizarro. Since you have captured the base Duocheng, then, I order you to continue to be stationed in Quito and establish a Spanish residential area in Quito to continue to attract Spanish people to live in Quito."
At this point, Almagro strengthened his tone and said, "But the phenomenon of disobeying the order must not happen again, otherwise, severe punishment will not be spared." Benalcasal nodded and bowed repeatedly, and expressed his forgiveness to Almagro. Extremely grateful for the appointment. Next, Almagro handed Benalcasal a chair, asked him to sit down, and briefed Benalcasal on the invasion of Alvarado with about 500 elite troops. , and discussed together how to deal with it.
Two days later, Alvarado led the troops who had come out of the alpine snowfields where they had narrowly escaped death. After resting for a week in a small village next to the plateau, they embarked on a journey to the city of Quito. However, what they never expected was that as soon as they set foot on the Royal Avenue in Riobamba City, they would be blocked by a Spanish force that had been waiting for a long time.
Next to the road is the plain battlefield under the Chimborazo Pass where the blood is not scattered and the bones are not yet cold. The Spanish troops led by Almagro, about two to three hundred men, were lined up on the plain to the north in a tight formation. The bugle was blown very loudly.
Alvarado had no choice but to bring his troops to the plains and line up in formation on the plains more than 200 meters away from the opponent. Many of them were still wrapped in gauze and bandaged, and their injuries had not yet healed, but they had a clear advantage in numbers and weapons. Therefore, they opened up their posture and prepared to counterattack and resist the attacks and impacts launched by the opponent at any time.
Many local Indians heard that two Spanish troops were facing each other on the mountain pass plain and were preparing for a decisive battle. They came from all directions and stood on the mountains in the distance to watch the Spanish cavalry attack and fight. .
The clear cold wind kept passing over the plains, and the barren weeds swayed in the wind. Because the cold wind was blowing, it was difficult to hear the shouts between the two sides, so Almagro led his troops forward to a place about fifty meters away from the opponent, and then shouted, "Inca Empire Why do you have the temerity to invade the territory that has been granted to us by the King of Spain?”
When Alvarado heard the shouting, he immediately replied, "The Inca Empire is an undeveloped area. Why do you say this is your territory? It should be said that whoever occupies this place will have its territory. Whoever occupies this place will have sovereignty here." ." Almagro said, "But this is the place occupied by General Pizarro and I, and the King of Spain has also sealed this land to General Pizarro and me, which means that it is only me and Pizarro. The general has sovereignty over this land.”
But Alvarado smiled scornfully and said, "Did the King of Spain really grant this land to you and General Pizarro? Why didn't I hear about it?" Almagro said, "I didn't hear about it, which means you Ignorant. If you don’t believe it, you can go with me to Cusco to meet General Pizarro, and he will show you the king’s documents.”
Alvarado shook his head and said, "It's not necessary. I won't follow you to Cusco, and I don't want to meet that General Pizarro." Almagro saw the young man in front of him The arrogant leader of the Spanish army was so arrogant and unreasonable that he asked, "Then tell me what you want to do?"
Alvarado said, "I want to go to Quito, please get out of the way." Almagro smiled, "Quito is the city we occupy, why are you going there? I can tell you, Quito It has been burned down by Luminawi and has become an empty city. You will not gain anything wherever you go. Besides, we will not let you go."
Alvarado asked, "What, what do you want to do? I don't want to tangle with you, but if you want to get in trouble with me, then I won't go around. Okay, you stopped us here today, What are you thinking about? Do you want to compete with us?"
