Inca Elegy (Novel) "The Fall of the Inca Empire" (Volume 2) by Zhang Baotong
Almagro then led his troops against Alvarado. At this time, Alvarado had arrived in Abancay, which was only more than 100 kilometers away from the city of Cusco. Almagro took advantage of the rainy weather and sudden attack to annihilate all Alvarado's troops in one fell swoop and capture Alvarado alive. After annihilating Alvarado's men, Almagro was determined to regain the city of Lima, because the Cusco authorities had recognized that the city of Cusco is located exactly one degree and twenty minutes north of the equator and south of the Santiago River. Within a range of one thousand and one hundred kilometers, if this is the case, then Lima should be within this range. Because the city of Lima is located further north than Cusco. Almagro did this out of the same considerations as Pizarro, that is, the city of Lima, located on the edge of the ocean, can maintain close ties and relatively convenient transportation with the Spanish motherland and other coastal countries. But before he led his troops into Lima, he decided to send Orgonez to deal with the Inca army that threatened the city of Cusco.
October in Cusco is the beginning of spring. There was warm sunshine in the suburban fields, green grass, and blooming mountain flowers. Not long ago, the suburban hillside area where hundreds of thousands of Indian troops were camped, was now unusually calm and peaceful. In some places on the hillside fields, Indians can be seen busy in patches of cornfields. For Indians with an agricultural economy, there is nothing more important than planting in spring and harvesting in autumn, sowing crops.
As a general who had been fighting for many years, Almagro certainly knew that this was the best time to fight against Manco. Because most of the Indian soldiers were farmers in the areas around Cusco, it was impossible for them to abandon their farmland and follow the Inca King to protect him. Moreover, the Inca King's huge army also needs a large amount of food from the people. If good food is not grown now, not only the Indian army will have no food to eat in the coming year, but also the entire Indians will suffer from food shortages and disasters. Therefore, he decided to first send Orgones to lead three hundred cavalry to attack the Tambo Palace in the Yucai Valley to eliminate Manco and his entourage to resolve their threat to the city of Cusco.
However, at this time, the Inca King Manco and his beloved concubines Okoro and Sankara, accompanied by a large group of confidants and princes and protected by hundreds of guards, were walking on the paths of the royal garden at the foot of the Tambo Palace Mountain, admiring the scenery. The film is colorful, with all kinds of flowers in full bloom.
The midday sun was gentle and bright, and its brilliant golden light penetrated the moisture and mist in the mountains, illuminating the entire valley. Those flowers that are made of pure gold exude dazzling bright golden light in the sunlight. A fountain not far away continuously sprayed water surrounded by billowing hot air into the air. The water pours up and down, sometimes high and sometimes low. The surrounding hot air was floating in the air in large clumps, like large tracts of clouds and mist blown by the cool mountain breeze, very brisk and beautiful.
Looking towards the surrounding distant mountains and near valleys, against the backdrop of the mountains and ridges of Emei, the entire Youkai River Valley seems fresh and bright as if it had just been washed. The green grass stretches as far as the eye can see, and the winding river looks like a beautiful young woman clad in golden light, walking slowly towards this side. Looking at this beautiful and picturesque scenery, Manco stood at the edge of a garden and stared for a long time, filled with emotion.
This seemed to remind him of Motelli's beloved concubine again. Motelli is his cousin, with a gentle temperament and charming posture. She is his companion who grew up with him, because in many of his childhood memories, this lovely figure appears, but she is in front of him. He was killed by the Spaniards during the two-month battle. This not only made him feel like he had lost a lovely concubine or partner, but more importantly, he lost a lot of confidence in life and resistance. After hearing the news of Motelli's murder, he didn't leave the palace for almost a month. If it weren't for the two beloved concubines Okoro and Santala who repeatedly persuaded him to come out to relax, he would not have come out today. But no, he usually takes the princess and princes out to enjoy the flowers and scenery, and even bathe and play in the hot spring bath together. It is so happy and comfortable. However, now, the flowers are falling and blooming, and the scenery remains the same. But some people can no longer see this beautiful scenery. How could he not be moved by this scene?
At this moment, a prince ran up to him mysteriously and panicked, and whispered, "Your Majesty, what's wrong, I heard that Almagro sent his captain adjutant Orgonez with three hundred cavalry. He and two hundred infantry are going to attack the palace at night." When Manco heard this, he couldn't help being surprised and said, "Is that the officer who fought with us last time?" The prince said, "Exactly." Manco frowned. He frowned and said, "When will they arrive here?" The prince said, "I heard that they left Cusco at noon and could reach the river valley after dark." Manco immediately waved his hand and said, "Immediately Return to the palace."
Everyone was looking at the flowers and scenery with interest when they saw the Inca King Manco walking quickly towards the palace, so they followed him towards the palace. Many princes and guards followed King Manco up the steep steps in front of the palace to the entrance of the outer courtyard, and then entered the palace compound from the entrance of the outer courtyard.
Entering the palace meeting hall, Manco summoned the senior officials of Ayacucho, Uramaha, the commander of the Cusco siege force, and Mantaraka, the commander of the Arequipa siege force, and several other ministers to come over for discussion. After several princes, ministers and commanders knelt down respectfully, they sat on their chairs and waited for the king's words.
Perhaps it was because Kunzu’s army was defeated in Lima and almost completely annihilated. Princess Moteri was killed. Also, because of the recent battle with Orgones in the Yukai Valley, the few escort troops who were already there were killed or injured. Quite a few, so it made King Manco frustrated and upset, so he kept hiding in the palace and sighing, without bothering to recruit soldiers to expand his army and prepare for war.
Originally, he thought that Almagro was only thinking about capturing the city of Cusco, and that he regarded Pizarro as his main enemy instead of the Indians. Therefore, under normal circumstances, he would not bother him. He also relaxed his vigilance towards Almagro. But when he heard that Orgones was going to attack the palace with three hundred cavalry and two hundred infantry, he naturally felt a little panicked. Because he knew that there were currently less than 2,000 soldiers guarding the palace, and it would be almost impossible to defend against the attack of 500 Spanish cavalry and infantry. Last month, Hernando brought more than 80 Spanish soldiers to attack the palace, but at that time there were three to five thousand people guarding the palace, and there were still 20,000 to 30,000 troops besieging the city on the outskirts of Cusco. But now not only are there less than a thousand people guarding the palace, but the troops on the outskirts of Cusco have long since withdrawn and returned to the countryside to work on farming. Not to mention that it is the busy season in the fields, even in the slack season, it is impossible to recruit thousands or tens of thousands of people to protect the palace in just half a day.
So, he looked at everyone with a majestic look and said, "According to the spies' report, Almagro has sent Orgonez with 300 cavalry and 200 infantry to attack the palace tonight. What do you think? What to do?" When everyone heard this, they immediately became nervous. Because they knew that the defenders of the palace could not defend the palace at present, and they had to mobilize farmers and soldiers from hundreds of miles around. It would not be possible in less than a few days or more than ten days.
Mantalaka thought for a long time and said in a suggestive tone, "There is no time to recruit and mobilize the army now. If the king feels that the palace is difficult to defend, it is better to leave the palace temporarily and hide deep in the mountains and forests for a while. In the Urubamba Valley , the remote and steep Machu Picchu can be used by the king to stay temporarily for a long time." Several other princes also agreed with Mantaraca's suggestion and echoed the request to Manco to leave here quickly and take shelter for a while.
But Ulamaha expressed a different opinion and said, "If the king evacuates and the palace is occupied, the palace will definitely be burned by the Spaniards. The treasures in the palace will be looted by the Spaniards." Then he asked the steward, "The palace How many daggers and javelins are left in the palace?" the steward said. "Recently, the blacksmiths have been busy with farming, and the work of making daggers and javelins has stopped. However, there is still half a room of storage in the palace, which is enough to fight a few battles. Use it." So, he added, "I think we should not evacuate yet. As long as we don't leave the palace, with the steepness of the palace and sufficient arrows, it will not be difficult for me to defend the palace."
In fact, the Inca king did not want to leave the palace. He was not worried that the treasures in the palace would be robbed by the Spaniards, but that the Spaniards would burn the palace. Once the palace is burned down, he will no longer have a place to live. Although there was also a royal palace in the Urubamba Valley, it was too far away and remote, and it was also very far away from Cusco. It was not conducive for him to wait until the slack season to assemble his army and raise his troops to attack the city of Cusco again. Therefore, he said to everyone, "The analysis of Prince Ulamaha is also reasonable. When the Spaniards attack us at night, they will definitely think that we are not good at night fighting, or that we are asleep late at night. However, if we are well prepared and ready, If we give them a head-on attack, we can defend the palace and defeat them."
Originally, most of the princes said they wanted the Inca King to evacuate quickly. However, upon hearing this, they immediately gave up their opinions and just echoed, "Your Majesty is wise."
Seeing that everyone agreed to hold on to the palace, Manco said in a commanding tone, "I ordered the palace steward to distribute all arrows and javelins to the soldiers. Commander Ulamaha led a thousand soldiers to hold on to the front yard, Mantalaka Lead 500 soldiers to guard the backyard, and another 500 soldiers as a reserve force to reinforce the front or backyard at any time. I will personally command in the courtyard. Let the soldiers eat well before dark, and wait until dark , let the soldiers lurk quietly in the courtyard wall, just wait for the Spaniards to come, follow my command, and start shooting arrows and throwing javelins at the Spaniards." The two commanders said, "Yes, your Majesty."
After the meeting, generals from all walks of life began to gather soldiers for a mobilization meeting. The palace steward began to distribute arrows and javelins to the soldiers. The caterers in the canteen were also preparing dinner and spare dry food for the soldiers. The whole palace was busy. It was not until mid-afternoon that the soldiers returned to their houses and began to sleep, and the palace hall slowly became quiet.
