Inca Elegy (Novel) "The Fall of the Inca Empire" (Volume 2) by Zhang Baotong
Every cold and rainy day seems very long. Because it is so long, people look forward to it eagerly, waiting for the day when they can live in Cusco and enjoy the service of the Cajamarca gang soldiers. treatment. Cajamarca soldiers are the collective name for those soldiers who captured the Inca king in Plaza Tomas. Because they were led and protected by the Pizarro brothers, they were considered the most successful, richest and favored Spanish soldiers. Each of them had a lot of gold and silver, a lot of women and slaves, as well as mansions, shops, and large tracts of land. It can be said that all the dreams of adventurers have been realized in them, and they are the most envied people among Spanish soldiers.
In contrast, the soldiers of these Chilean gangs were not so lucky. Many of them followed Alvarado and narrowly escaped death across the thousands of miles of ice and snow plateau in the Eastern Cordillera, where 140 Spanish soldiers and almost 1,000 Indian soldiers fell on the snow and fed the vultures. Not long ago, they followed their commander, General Almagro, on the dangerous journey to conquer Chile, where they experienced an even more frightening and extremely terrifying nightmare. More than 120 Spaniards He and more than 2,000 Indian soldiers were frozen to death on the snowy plateau, becoming a meal for vultures.
Thinking of the enjoyment of the soldiers of the Cajamarca Gang and their own nightmare of a near-death life, they gritted their teeth with hatred, eager to attack the city of Cusco immediately and take away the gold and silver belongings of the Cajamarca Gang. All the female slaves were snatched away. However, their requests for battle every three days were rejected by their commander, which made their hopes and dreams feel increasingly dim and shattered.
These days, Almagro has been waiting for a reply from Lima, but there has been no reply from Lima. About half a month later, the soldier who delivered the letter came back with a letter from Marquis Pizarro. The letter said, "Dear General Almagro, my dear partner, I received your letter, but I cannot agree with your ideas. Whether Cusco belongs to you, listen to Hernando Municipal Government The committee is looking for ways to recruit professional navigators for identification. So, let’s not argue about this matter, let’s let the municipal committee decide. And the city of Lima was discovered by Hernando and the others, and it was at my expense It was built with huge manpower, financial and material resources. If you want to get something for nothing, it will definitely not work. If you use the king’s letter of appointment as an excuse and voucher to acquire Lima, then I have to say that the king did not You don’t know that I am building a seaport city and important base in Lima for the Spanish conquest, so you should stop thinking about Lima. Besides, Lima has no authority within the 270 leagues. Data can be used as evidence. So, I say Mr. Almagro, my partner, you are the governor of Chile and should stay in Chile. However, your failure to conquer Chile this time shows that you are unlucky. You can’t blame me. You can’t ask me for territory just because you failed to conquer Chile. Isn’t this too unfair? For example, if you succeed in conquering Chile, should I ask you for territory in Chile? Territory? So, since you have suffered failure and encountered difficulties, as a partner, I will naturally help you to overcome the difficulties and cheer up. But you cannot vent your failure emotions towards me, let alone towards me. I am asking for territory. After a while, when I am not so busy, I will go over to meet you, and we will discuss it together if there is anything else. Goodbye, my dear partner, Governor of Chile, Marshal Almague of the Spanish Expeditionary Force Mr. Luo. Your partner: Francisco Pizarro."
After Huelva finished his belief, the people in the house immediately went crazy. Captain Orgonez, Lieutenant Saavedra, Lieutenant Francis and others immediately became angry and began to curse the Marquis of Pizarro. They once again asked Almagro to order the attack on Cusco and indignantly asked Almagro to attack Cusco. Kecheng came over.
Moreover, they have already conducted reconnaissance and analysis on the city of Cusco. Because the Inca King Manco led an army of one to two hundred thousand people to attack the city of Cusco and set fire to most of the buildings and houses. Except for the Virgin Palace and a few princely courtyards, all other buildings and houses in the entire city were almost completely burned by the fire. Hernando and his brother Gonzalo both lived in a large indoor place built by the Incas for public entertainment. The place can accommodate dozens or even hundreds of people. The large house had a gate, which was guarded, and there were twenty or thirty Spanish soldiers living inside. In addition, other Spanish officers and soldiers also lived scattered in the Palace of the Virgin and other princely compounds. If the city of Cusco is attacked, the place where Hernando and Gonzalo live is the first focus that must be attacked. The Cusco garrison originally had only about 200 people and more than 4,000 Indian soldiers. However, after almost five months of attack, defense and fighting, there were not many Indian soldiers in the city, and there were only sixty or seventy Spaniards left. Although the Chilean gang suffered many casualties during the conquest of Chile, there were still four to five hundred Spaniards and several thousand Indians. If we attack Cusco, it can be said that it can be captured quickly and without any effort.
But Almagro still tried his best to persuade the officers and soldiers to abide by the agreement. He did not want to capture the city of Cusco by killing each other. Therefore, he had been trying his best to persuade the lieutenants around him to exercise restraint and also asked these lieutenants to exercise restraint. Do more of the work of the soldiers, and claimed that he would wait for the arrival of the Marquis of Pizarro to consult with him in detail.
However, he soon learned that Hernando was leading the soldiers to set up defenses in the city, and was also recruiting troops to expand his troops. The city council demanded that both parties not violate the agreement, but Hernando was breaking his promise. It was obvious that the agreement was just a temporary measure. This made him feel like he had been cheated. What surprised him even more was that Alonso de Alvarado was leading 250 cavalry and 250 infantry, equipped with the most advanced weapons and equipment at the time, and was working day and night to rescue Cusco. He had already arrived in the small town of Haoha. . Almagro is somewhat aware of Alvarado's unit. Not only do they have more cavalry and infantry than theirs, but the most important thing is that their weapons are advanced and they use new rifles. The matchlock was larger and fired much faster. He exclaimed loudly to his adjutant, Captain Orgones of the Cavalry, "We have been betrayed. The truce is a ruse to tie our hands until reinforcements arrive."
Almagro heard that Pizarro had sent three or four cavalry detachments of more than 100 people to Cusco to reinforce Cusco, but they were all defeated by Manco's general Mocva and several thousand Inca soldiers. An ambush was laid along the way and the entire army was wiped out. From then on, Pizarro never dared to send troops to reinforce Cusco. However, now that the Inca troops have long withdrawn from Cusco, Pizarro urgently sent such a large force to Cusco for reinforcements. It is obvious that this large force is coming for them.
Almagro immediately held a meeting of officers above the rank of lieutenant to discuss countermeasures. As soon as he announced the news and the intention of this troop to everyone, the venue immediately became lively. Francis said, "This force is entirely here to deal with us, and they occupy Lima. All troops from Panama and Spain will accept Pizarro's leadership. If this continues, it will become more and more disadvantageous for us. Therefore, it is better to seize the city of Cusco as soon as possible, and we will have a base to deal with them."
Saavedra also said, "Winter is here, the weather is getting colder and colder, and food is running out. If we don't capture the city of Cusco, let the soldiers live in warm and comfortable houses and have food for every meal." After enough food, it won’t be long before more and more soldiers get sick, and within a month or two, we won’t be able to hold on ourselves without them attacking us.”
Listening to the two lieutenants taking the lead in requesting to attack the city of Cusco, several other lieutenants also requested to attack Cusco and then destroy the army coming from Lima. Seeing that everyone was asking to attack the city of Cusco, cavalry captain Orgonez said to Almagro, "Commander, don't hesitate. If you wait until Alvarado brings the five hundred troops, When we arrive in Cusco, we will cry without tears. By then, let alone capture the city of Cusco, we may not even be able to stay in this valley outside Cusco."
Attack Cusco? This question had been pondering over and over in Almagro's mind countless times. But this time he decided he could no longer hesitate. It's not that he hesitated, but that Pizarro had pushed him to the edge of the cliff. If he hesitated again, he would be pushed into the cliff. So, he threw the cigarette to the ground and said fiercely, "Capture Cusco, the sooner the better. Then, destroy Alvarado's troops from Lima." The room immediately burst into warm applause.
The meeting immediately shifted to pre-war arrangements. Almagro first gave a detailed introduction to the officers of the rank of lieutenant-level officer about the personnel and garrison of the Cusco garrison. Then, he hung a map of the distribution of the Palace of the Virgin and the distribution of Hernando's residence. on the wall. The map clearly shows the residences and quarters of Hernando, Gonzalo and other Spanish soldiers, as well as the locations of sentry posts here and there. These are all things the spies have already inquired about. He appointed Saavedra to lead a squadron of infantry to attack the Palace of the Virgin, and Francis to lead a squadron of cavalry to occupy both sides of the central street with him to prevent the other party's surprise attack. Orgonez led an infantry squadron to attack the house where Hernando and Gonzalo lived, and to capture Hernando and Gonzalo alive. Then, he asked all the troops to get up at 1 o'clock at night, set out at 2 o'clock, march for two hours, and arrive at the Palace of the Virgin and the attack site in the center of Cusco before 4 o'clock in the morning. Then they surrounded the Palace of the Virgin and the attack site. A surprise attack was launched on the Cusco garrison before dawn.
In the late night and early morning of the next day, action began in the military camp. An hour later, about five hundred officers and soldiers had already eaten, and they were lining up neatly in front of the rows of dilapidated farmhouses in front of the village. The rain was still falling slowly, and the wind blew into the valley from the northern mountains in bursts. It whistled sharply in the valley, and then blew quickly towards the other side of the valley.
Almagro walked to the front of the army and spoke to the officers and soldiers, "All officers and soldiers, haven't you been looking forward to attacking the city of Cusco? Now, we are going to attack the city of Cusco. As long as we take Cusco We are the masters of Scotch City, so we don’t have to starve and freeze anymore. I hope everyone can be smart and brave, regard death as home, and fight this tough battle."
The officers and soldiers responded in unison with high spirits, "Capture Cusco and capture Pizarro alive."
Almagro said in a firm tone, "Very well, let's go."
The soldiers began to walk out of the valley and marched quickly along a mountain path toward Cusco. The rain kept falling, and it rained heavily for a while. However, the officers and soldiers had nothing to protect them from the wind and rain. Some soldiers covered themselves with Indian-style straw curtains, while others wore curtains made of pine branches. Some did not have any rain gear, and their thin clothes had long been soaked by the rain. But the soldiers were all in high spirits and excited. Because they were thinking that once they captured the city of Cusco, they would be the masters of the city, and they would have as much gold, silver, women, mansions and land as the soldiers of the Cajamarca Gang.
