Inca Elegy (Novel) "The Fall of the Inca Empire" (Volume 2) by Zhang Baotong
The outside of Lima, like the outside of Cusco, has been besieged by tens of thousands of Indian troops led by Kunzu. After many attempts, the Indians not only failed to enter the city, but suffered heavy losses. Therefore, the Indians could only surround the city of Lima, and also burned down the houses and cut off food to trap the Spaniards. Spain also did not dare to engage in large-scale battles with the Indians due to insufficient troops, so it took strict defenses and waited for reinforcements.
It is now August, and more than five months have passed since the beginning of February when the siege of Cusco began. However, the Indian troops are still camping around the city. The siege has been delayed for an unprecedentedly long time, which shows that the Indians Determined to destroy these Spaniards. However, it was also very difficult for the Indians to support such a large army. The rich grain warehouses of the Inca kings throughout the ages did not play much role for them, because the Spanish gave these grains to them when they occupied the country. It was all squandered, or all wasted. Therefore, this time is not only very difficult for the Spaniards, but also very difficult for the Indians. But with each passing day, Spanish reinforcements came closer to Lima. Therefore, the Spaniards are waiting painfully for reinforcements.
After sending Alcantara away, Pizarro counted the days and waited for the arrival of reinforcements. During the day, he always took Captain Chavez and his secretary Antonio from time to time on horseback to the positions on the four streets to check and understand the war situation. Soldiers sent to the port came in and reported that there had been no ships entering or leaving the port all day. Pizarro sighed in frustration and nodded slightly, indicating that he understood.
At night, he often sat alone in his office smoking a cigarette, thinking about various questions: Alcantara has been gone for more than sixty days, why is there still no information about reinforcements? Did Alcantara and the others get into trouble at sea? Or was it attacked by Indians? Or are the governors jealous of him, hating him, and want to see his jokes?
He felt that the governors should not be jealous of him, nor should they hate him, nor should they laugh at his jokes, because he, Pizarro, had never harmed their interests, not to mention that Pizarro's safety was not only his personal safety. , but related to the interests of the entire Kingdom of Spain and the King. They had no reason not to lend him a helping hand. If so, not even King Charles would agree to them. Therefore, he felt that there was no need to worry.
So, are Alcantara and the others really in danger? This question was difficult to answer because he knew that anything dangerous could happen while sailing on the sea. However, judging from his various experiences, this possibility is relatively small. He is convinced of Alcantara's ability and loyalty, and the crew and navigators sent this time are the most experienced. They all have rich experience and experience in shipping routes to and from Panama, Guatemala and Spain. Unless there is an accident, it will usually be Nothing will happen.
So he thought that it usually takes more than ten days to get from Lima to Panama, one to two months to Guatemala and Mexico, and three months to Spain. Although Alcantara is still on its way to Mexico or Spain, at least the reinforcements sent by the Governor of Panama should have arrived long ago.
Just when he was puzzled, his daughter Francesca came into the door, lit the oil lamp, and shouted, "Father, it's time to eat. My mother and aunt are waiting for you." Pizarro and the princess There are one son and two daughters. These were the three children that Atahualpa asked Pizarro to take care of before he died. Therefore, Pizarro regarded these three children as his own. But the son named Don Francesca died in infancy, and a girl had grown up, and the girl named Francesca now turned out to be Kaya. She was already twelve or thirteen years old. She was not only beautiful, but also smart. Therefore, Pizarro loved this daughter very much.
Pizarro held his daughter in his arms, stroked her hair with his hands, and said, "I don't want to eat." But Francesca said in a commanding tone, "No, if you don't eat, my mother and I will not eat." Even aunts don't eat." Pizarro patted his daughter's little face lovingly and said, "Okay. I'll eat. I'll eat." Then he stood up from the chair and took his daughter's little hand to go out together. office.
Pizarro's home was built in a two-story garden courtyard not far from the square. Because the Indians were sieging the city, Pizarro evacuated his entire family to the top four floors of the municipal building. There are eight houses here, two of which are occupied by guards and secretaries, and the remaining six are occupied by himself, the princess, his concubine Tutula, his daughter and his maid. There is also a dining room and kitchen.
At this time, the princess and Tutula were sitting at the dining table, waiting for Pizarro. Seeing that Pizarro still had a gloomy look on his face, the two princesses were even more careful and respectful. They stood up and waited for Pizarro to sit down, and then they began to bring the food from the kitchen to this side.
On the table were tomatoes, potatoes and corn tortillas with polenta. When Pizarro saw this, he was unhappy and asked, "Why is it always the same food? Not even some llama meat and chili?" The princess immediately replied, "I don't know, the Indian army has captured the city." It's been a month of siege, and some people don't even have anything to eat. Where are the people selling meat and vegetables? I begged for these tomatoes and potatoes."
As soon as Pizarro heard this, he couldn't say anything anymore. While eating, he put more tomatoes and potatoes into his daughter's bowl, and then he picked up the rice bowl and ate it in big mouthfuls. .
After dinner, the night was already getting dark. He felt that he was really tired, so he asked Antonio to inform Chavez to take people to various garrison positions to check. Antonio advised, "There's no need, Marquis. You also know that the Indians don't have the habit of fighting at night. Besides, didn't you just patrol?" But when Pizarro heard this, he became a little angry and said, "Calling If you go, just go, no nonsense." Antonio rarely saw the Marquis lose his temper with him like this, so he hurried away on horseback. Pizarro then said to his guard, "Don't sleep too much. If anything happens, let me know immediately." The guard said, "Yes, Commander." After everything was arranged, he entered Tutu. In La's bedroom.
As soon as he entered Tutula's bedroom, he saw Tutula sitting on the bed waiting for him. He walked to the bed, lay down on the bed, and said, "I'm exhausted." Then he closed his eyes. Tutula sat by the bed, took off his shoes, socks, and clothes, and then hugged him with his warm body to sleep.
Not long after he fell asleep, the guard knocked on the door. Pizarro was surprised, whether the Indians were coming into the city. It stands to reason that Indians generally do not fight at night. Have they changed their habits and tactics? So, he immediately asked, "What's the matter, so urgent?" The guard shouted, "Volva is back."
Volva is a Spanish detective who has been sent by Pizarro these days to find out about reinforcements. However, there was no news for many days, so Pizarro didn't take him to heart anymore. Hearing what the guard said, without opening the door, he asked, "Does he have news about reinforcements? "Then, he heard Volva reply in an uncontrollably excited voice, "Panamanian reinforcements have arrived, with one hundred cavalry and two hundred infantry, as well as a large amount of ammunition and food."
Despite Volva's loud voice, Pizarro felt like he was in a dream. He opened his eyes wide and looked towards the window for a long time. When he saw the moon and stars flashing quietly in the sky, he felt that he was not in a dream, so he shouted to the door again. "Say it again." Volva said what he just said again.
Pizarro jumped up from the bed, stood on the ground, put on his clothes, and opened the door. At this time, Princess Tutula had already lit the oil lamp. Pizarro also opened the door. Seeing that Volva was dusty and covered with the coolness of the sea breeze, he asked, "How did you know?" Volva said, "They have arrived at the port of Callao. There are six large sailing ships in total. The leading officer is a Captain, his name is Pedro Diego. I asked Matthew to wait at the port to lead their team and unload their cargo, and then I will run back to report to you alone."
"Oh!" Pizarro hugged Volva tightly and shouted, "Lima is saved, Cusco is saved." Then he asked the soldier, "Where is Antonio?" the guard said , "Didn't you ask him to check the position with Chavez?" Pizarro patted his forehead and said, "By the way, you immediately take a few guards and ride to the four streets at the same time to bring Antonio and Chavez to me. Find him right away, quickly." The guard said, "Yes."
Pizarro was still getting dressed and asked Volva, "When did they arrive?" Volva said, "They arrived at about ten o'clock in the evening. At that time, Matthew and I were at a beach on the beach. Staying in the small stone house, Matthew was already sleeping. Suddenly, I saw a few beams of light shining towards the shore. I got up and looked over there. Oh dear, I saw six huge sailing boats looking for a dock. The sailboat was full of soldiers and horses. So I immediately shouted, 'Where are you from?' Someone over there said, 'We are from Panama.' I told them I We are here to greet you. Then, we will direct them to the shore."
Pizarro listened and kept saying, "Great, great, God is really blessing us. We are saved." After saying that, he said to Tutula, who was wrapped in felt and sitting beside the bed. Repeated, "Did you hear that, my baby? Panamanian reinforcements are coming. We are saved. The Indians like Kunzu are going to hell." Tutuola just smiled slightly and said, "May God bless us." master."
As soon as Pizarro and Volva entered the municipal office, Chavez and Antonio arrived. When they saw Pizarro, they held their hands together excitedly and said, "It's great. Our Panamanian reinforcements have arrived. From now on, we don't have to worry about Indian attacks anymore." Pizarro said, "Yes. Yes, when our reinforcements reach 500 people, let alone 700,000 to 80,000 Indians, even if there are 170,000 to 80,000 people, we will no longer be afraid of them."
Because in all the New World battles, the theory has been proved that as long as five hundred Spanish cavalry can defeat any number of Indians. Because the impact caused by five hundred cavalry is impossible for any number of Indians to withstand, because when the number of people reaches a certain level, no matter how many people there are, they will not have any substantial effect.
Then, Pizarro said to Chavez at once, "Captain, please immediately take Pietro's cavalry squad, and together with Volva, rush through the Indian barracks outside the southern suburbs of the city to pick up reinforcements and goods. Entering the city." Chavez immediately replied, "Yes."
As soon as Chavez left, Pizarro said to Antonio, "Immediately transfer the cavalry squads from East Street and South Street, and we will go outside the city to welcome the arrival of reinforcements." After receiving the order, Antonio went out building.
At this time, Pizarro said to the guard, "Go and gather all the families of the officers and soldiers, go to the barracks dormitories, and prepare accommodation and daily necessities for the reinforcements." The guard said, "Yes, sir."
The soldiers' families were originally in Spain, and the soldiers had several or even dozens of Inca women in Peru, so they didn't pay much attention to their wives and family members in the country. However, their family members believed that it was unreasonable for a husband and wife to live apart for a long time, so they all asked to come to Peru to reunite with their husbands. For this reason, the municipal government has also arranged better housing for them. But since the Indians attacked the city, the families of these officers and soldiers have moved to the barracks for safety.
After a while, Antonio came to report and said, "The cavalry teams from the two southeast streets have gathered in front of the building, waiting for the commander's orders." Pizarro stood up from his desk and said, "Okay, let's go now. Let's go." With that said, he left the building and came to the assembled cavalry team. A guard had brought the horse to him. He mounted his horse and said to Antonio, "Let's go."
