Inca Elegy (Novel) "The Fall of the Inca Empire" (Volume 2) by Zhang Baotong
Alvarado and Almagro stood in the middle of the two armies, arguing like two enraged bulls fighting for territory. Almagro said sternly, "I am intercepting you here today just to tell you that this is our territory. Please go back from where you came from."
Alvarado laughed loudly and said, "Maybe not? We lost our troops and narrowly escaped death. Will we go back empty-handed? Isn't your idea too childish and ridiculous?"
Almagro knew very well that the army in front of him had an absolute advantage in terms of numbers and weapons. If a fight broke out, it would be very detrimental to him. Therefore, he thought about it and asked, "Then what do you want? "At least get what we deserve," Alvarado said.
When Almagro heard this, he said, "In this case, can we sit down and have a good talk?" Seeing that the other party wanted to make peace, Alvarado said, "Of course." Almagro Said, "Then please come over, sir." Alvarado said, "No, I won't go to your side. Let's go to the middle area between the two armies." Almagro said, "Okay." He dismounted and walked towards the middle area between the two armies. At this time, Alvarado had also dismounted and arrived at the designated location.
Almagro first shook hands with the other party, and then said rudely, "Sir, you bringing such a large group of soldiers here is a serious violation of our sovereignty and territory." But Alvarado said Said, "Aren't you also violating the sovereignty and territory of the Indians?"
This remark made Almagro feel unhappy, but he said, "I am working for the King of Spain." Alvarado said, "It is better to say that I am doing it to get promoted and get rich."
Almagro said, "Say whatever you want, but you should not lead troops to invade our territory." Alvarado said, "This is not your territory, but the territory of the Indians. If you can occupy it, we will What can't be occupied?" Almagro said, "These places have been occupied by us, you can go to other places." Alvarado said, "We don't know which places have been occupied and which places are still occupied." It’s not occupied. Now that we’re here, we won’t leave lightly.”
Almagro said, "Then what do you want to get before you withdraw from here?" Alvarado said, "I haven't thought about this issue yet, but it can be considered." He thought for a while and said, " At least we have to get what we paid and all the investment." Almagro said, "How much does it cost?" Alvardo said, "About one or two hundred thousand gold pesos." Almagro heard this , said, "Are you asking for a high price?"
Alvarado said, "That's it, I've lost a lot." As he said that, he made a quotation for twelve large sailing ships and five hundred soldiers, as well as their equipment and weapons. But his offer was immediately rejected by Almagro. Almagro said, "Your quotation is three to four times higher than the actual price. Therefore, I think I can only give you fifty thousand gold pesos at most." When Alvarado heard the price, he said, "The price you mentioned was a few years ago. Now the price of recruiting soldiers and purchasing guns and horses is much more expensive." Almagro said, "How expensive can it be? Don't think I don't understand the market."
While the two leaders were arguing endlessly, the soldiers on both sides had gathered together. They shook hands and hugged each other like meeting old friends in a foreign land, asking questions and talking about each other, and they were extremely affectionate.
The soldiers on Almagro's side asked each other, "Are your hands and feet injured?" Alvarado's soldiers couldn't help but burst into tears and said, "These were all frostbitten while marching on the snowfields in the mountains." Then he continued. , the new soldier described the nightmare experience to the other party in detail. Finally, he said, this experience makes me tremble with fear when I think about it. More than 120 of our soldiers and more than 2,000 Indians froze to death on the snowfields, and one of my biological brothers also stayed here forever. In the snow, vultures were fed. "As he said that, the new soldier burst into tears.
Almagro's soldiers comforted him and said, "Don't be sad. After suffering, good luck will come." After that, he took out a pack of vicuña jerky and stuffed it into the soldier's hand. The soldier ate a piece of jerky and said, "It's delicious. What kind of meat is this?" The veteran said to the recruit, "This is llama jerky, an Indian specialty. We have plenty of it." The recruit asked the veteran, "Where do you live?" the veteran said, "We all live in Cusco, which is the capital of this country." The recruit asked, "How is it there?" The veteran said, "There is gold everywhere, and women are everywhere. You can say It’s a paradise for us Spaniards.”
The recruit asked, "Do you have a lot of gold and women?" The veteran said, "That's right, each of us has a lot of gold. Women, you can have as much as you want. I have two in the house now. There are more than ten women, all young and beautiful. They were all princesses and virgins of the Inca Empire in the past." The recruit's eyes turned red when he heard this, and he said in a surprised tone, "Then you are too rich and happy." The veteran said. Said, "Some people are richer than me. Some families have one or two hundred women." The recruit was speechless in surprise, "That's more than the concubines of foreign emperors!" The veteran said, "As long as When you arrive in Cusco, you are almost like an emperor." The recruit said, "Then I want to work with you, okay?" The veteran said, "Of course, we in Cusco are recruiting and attracting The Spaniards came to live, and there are many houses there that are empty, waiting for people like you to settle." The recruit said, "Then I'm going to go with you." The veteran said, "Very good, you can come to us Come to the cavalry team." But the veteran said, "Does this require the consent of your commander?" The recruit said, "No, I have the right to choose." So the veteran introduced the recruit to his companions.
Perhaps it was because the negotiations between the two leaders were difficult. Even when the sun was shining, they were still arguing and refusing to give in to each other. As a result, the two had no choice but to make an appointment to continue talking in the afternoon on the terms proposed by both parties.
The two sides quickly set up tents on the plain and began to make fires for cooking. Although there were more people on Alvarado's side, almost all the soldiers ran to the other side's tent. Therefore, although there are several tents set up here, the tents are almost empty. As for the more than twenty tents set up in Almagro, almost every tent was filled with soldiers. Everyone ate and drank together, chatted and gambled together. It was very lively, just like family reunions.
The negotiations between the two leaders also moved to Almagro's tent in the afternoon. Sitting there were a lieutenant and clerk from both sides. The focus of the negotiations is still the issue of money. At this time, Almagro made a new request, that is, the fifty thousand gold pesos negotiated in the morning could be increased to one hundred thousand gold pesos, but all Alvarado's personnel, equipment, ammunition, including 12 ships, etc. Everything must belong to them, and after receiving one hundred thousand gold pesos, Alvarado must immediately leave the country alone and return to Guatemala.
Transferring all personnel and equipment to the other party was something Alvarado had never thought of. However, he knew very well that whether he agreed or disagreed with this, the soldiers would definitely not follow him anymore. Because what he brought to the soldiers was a disaster, but the other side had gold and women. And these are what soldiers eagerly desire and risk their lives to pursue. Therefore, judging from the current phenomenon of soldiers turning their backs on him and defecting to each other, he knew that his control and command over the soldiers was weakening. Therefore, he felt that he could not refuse the conditions proposed to him by Almagro.
He thought about it for a long time and decided to make some more efforts on the asking price. So, he said, "Although one hundred thousand gold pesos sounds like a large amount, it is still out of proportion compared to my contribution and investment." But Almagro said, "Don't take advantage and be good. I The money given to you can be said to be far more than three times what you invested and paid. In order to solve the problem in a peaceful way and avoid war, the sacrifice I made can be said to be completely at any cost." Moreover, he also He said in a firm tone, "This is the final price. If you don't agree, I won't talk to you anymore. Let's just lay out the situation here. It's up to you to fight or grind, and I can accompany you."
Almagro's words were obviously threatening. Because he knew that almost all of Alvarado's soldiers had gone to his barracks and asked to follow them to Cusco. Therefore, if the battlefield was set up again, there would be almost no people on Alvarado's side. Because of this, he dared to put forward such conditions.
Listening to Almagro's words, Alvarado knew in his heart that even if he refused to agree to this condition, it was no longer up to him. He sighed deeply and said to Almagro, "It seems that I have no choice but to accept this amount, even though it will cause me to suffer heavy losses." In fact, one hundred thousand gold pesos is indeed a lot of money. A huge amount. With this huge amount, what else could he not be satisfied with? So, on the surface, he muttered that he had suffered a loss, but in his heart he was still quite satisfied, and immediately signed his name on the document.
