Inca Elegy (Novel) "The Fall of the Inca Empire" (Volume 2) by Zhang Baotong
At dawn on the morning of June 26, the loud sound of bugles resounded in the sky outside Cusco. After Hernando gathered the troops, he made a pre-war mobilization to the soldiers and said that those who killed the enemy would be heavily rewarded. After saying that, he asked Gonzalo and Alvarado to command the infantry to cross the river. Since the river was neither deep nor wide, the soldiers crossed it easily.
However, as soon as the soldiers crossed the river, Orgones' six small cannons poured shells on the swampy ground. The soldiers panicked and fled in all directions. See this chaotic scene. Gonzalo and Alvarado personally carried long swords to promote the battle, forcing the soldiers to rush forward. In this way, the soldiers began to rush towards the dry land in front of them in an orderly manner. Among them, the matchlock team commanded by Gonzalo first seized a high ground. They were all well-trained gunners recruited from Santo Domingo and equipped with new double-shot large-caliber chain-loaded matchlock guns. The firepower is very vicious.
They occupied the high ground and began to fire fiercely at the pikemen commanded by Orgones, routing the pikemen to pieces and hiding in all directions. And it also restrained and deterred the cavalry on the side to a certain extent.
Originally, Almagro's cavalry had a certain advantage over Hernando's cavalry. However, due to the firepower support of the matchlock team, Hernando's cavalry quickly crossed the river and began to combine the two teams. The cavalry formed a column across the swamp and rushed towards Almagro's position. And Orgonez also gathered the cavalry on both sides into a column and rushed towards Hernando's cavalry. As a result, the cavalry of the two armies fought together.
Orgones was a true knight, and fighting on horseback was his specialty. Holding a spear in one hand and a sword in the other, he rushed into the enemy formation first. At this time, he saw a man in front of him who looked very much like Hernando, so he galloped over and stabbed the man in the heart with a single blow with the spear in his hand. Then, he saw another knight coming towards him, so he raised his sword and struck the knight under his horse. Then, he fought with another cavalryman and knocked him off his horse with three blows. As he fought harder and harder, a bullet hit him in the head, penetrated his helmet and injured his forehead. He immediately fell off his horse.
This could be said to be a fatal blow to the commander. Although his mind was still clear, his eyes were already in darkness. But he still held the sword in his hand, climbed up from the ground, struggled and said, "Can anyone accept my surrender?" Someone immediately responded loudly, "Yes, let me accept you." So Orgo Ness handed the sword in his hand to one of the opponent's cavalry. I saw the cavalryman taking the sword handed over by Orgones, then pointing the sword at Orgones's abdomen and stabbing it hard. Only a scream was heard, and Orgones fell in a pool of blood.
As soon as the commander died, Almagro's cavalry immediately lost their fighting spirit and scattered in all directions. Orgonez's deputy, Pedro de Lema, immediately blocked the retreating cavalry and shouted, "The king is with Almagro." Encouraged by his spirit, the cavalrymen then He picked himself up again and continued to fight. At this time, he saw his old enemy Hernando in front of him, so he rode up to fight.
So the two knights fought with spears in hand. In less than three or four rounds, Hernando stabbed Delema in the thigh with a spear. Delema also slightly stabbed Hernando's arm with a spear. Delema immediately fell off his horse and fell among the bodies scattered with blood on the ground. The battle was raging, and when Lema fell from his horse, Almagro's soldiers scattered in all directions and fled towards Cusco. Hernando directed the soldiers to pursue them all the way.
Although Dema did not die on the battlefield, he was placed as a wounded soldier in the barracks of a friend of Cuscu. However, a soldier named Samaniego attacked him. This man had been punished by him for disobedience. This man walked into the room where Lema lived alone, stood in front of his bed, scolded him for the insults he had suffered in the past, and threatened to use Lema's blood to wash away the shame of the past! Lema tried his best to assure him that when he regained his health, he would definitely fulfill his wish. But the scoundrel cried out, "Now is the time," and thrust his sword into Lema's chest.
The legend of this impending battle has spread throughout the country. Large groups of Indians have been coming from Cusco and nearby areas since yesterday afternoon to watch the battle. The surrounding mountains and rocky highlands were crowded with large groups of nobles, watching from a high position the Spanish dog-eat-dog battle. Because no matter which side wins, defeat will fall on their enemies. Therefore, no matter who wins or loses, they will be happy and excited. Spanish women and children also flocked out of Cusco with greater concern to watch with their own eyes this desperate struggle. This was a battle for dominance in which brothers crossed the wall and relatives turned against each other.
Because one side fled in panic and the other side was desperate to leave, all the troops rushed to Cusco, and the battlefield was abandoned. When they saw the defeated army fleeing desperately in the direction of Cusco, the victors were chasing after them. The Indians immediately rushed to the battlefield where corpses were strewn, and robbed the clothes and belongings of the dead. Perhaps out of their immense hatred for the Spaniards, they stripped off all the clothes of the deceased, leaving the deceased naked in the wilderness. Then, along with the Spaniards, they flocked to the capital city of Cusco to watch the excitement.
It is strange that these natives did not rely on their numbers to attack the victors when they were exhausted. However, these ragtag Indians were leaderless and demoralized by their recent defeat; while the Spaniards, although temporarily weakened by the fighting, had at Cuzco a stronger force than ever before. the power of.
Almagro himself was too weak to ride on his horse for a long time. He could only lean on the bridge and watch the battle from a nearby high ground. He was absorbed in the outcome of the battle. He felt that he Your honor, your destiny, and life itself all hang in one fell swoop. With indescribable anguish he saw his loyal followers felled by their adversaries after a arduous struggle. It wasn't until he believed that everything was over that he mounted a mule and fled back to the fortress in Cusco to hide temporarily. The enemy quickly pursued him there, captured him, and carried him triumphantly to the capital. Here, although very ill, he was still shackled and imprisoned in the same room in the stone building where he had imprisoned the Pizarro brothers.
After Almagro was captured, he was imprisoned in the prison where the Inca king Manco was originally imprisoned. The prison was located in the Temple of the Sun where Hernando, Gonzalo and others were previously imprisoned. In order to retaliate against the marshal of the Chilean army, Hernando also had him handcuffed and shackled.
Knowing that Almagro was seriously ill, Hernando came to the Temple of the Sun the morning after the battle to see Almagro. He entered the gate of the Temple of the Sun, and the guarding soldier opened the second door for him, and then he entered the cell where Almagro was held.
"Hello, my dear old friend," Hernando said sarcastically to Almagro.
Almagro was lying on a small bed, looking weak and seriously ill. He said coldly, "I want to see the Marquis of Pizarro as soon as possible."
This Spanish adventurer and conqueror who was born in 1475 is now 65 years old. Due to decades of battles and adventures, he has been injured many times and has long been blind in one eye. Therefore, Hernando always calls him "One-eyed". General". Especially the recent expedition to Chile. After experiencing that nightmare expedition and adventure, his body suddenly collapsed. He could no longer ride a horse for a whole day on the road and march like before. As we get older and our health deteriorates, we start to suffer from various diseases. Recently, he has been ill several times, and his health is getting worse day by day. As a result, eating and resting were affected, let alone marching and fighting. Originally, he had fallen ill before the battle, but in order to watch the battle, he still rode a small donkey and stood on the top of a mountain under the protection of guards. However, this fiasco made him completely desperate and felt that his time on earth was running out.
Hernando said to him, "Mr. Marquis is busy right now. I think he will definitely come over to see you as soon as he has time."
Almagro said in a pleading tone, "I can't survive. I can't live for a few days. But I want to see him and have something to say to him."
Hernando comforted him and said, "Don't be so pessimistic, my dear friend. I will do my best to take good care of you." After saying that, he called a military doctor to diagnose Almagro. The military doctor was a Spaniard in his 40s. He asked Almagro about the situation, diagnosed him for a while, and then said to Almagro and Hernando, "This general's condition is very serious. , must be taken good care of, otherwise, the condition will continue to worsen and life may be in danger."
Hernando listened and continued to say to Almagro in a comforting tone, "Please give General Almagro a good rest. As soon as Mr. Marquis comes to Cusco, I will release you immediately." Then, Then he said to the infantry lieutenant guarding the cell, "You have to think of some way to ensure General Almagro's health. If there is a problem, I will ask you."
With that, he left the cell and returned to an office and bedroom in the Palace of the Virgin. Originally he lived in the big house where the Incas held celebrations, but that big house was burned down when Orgones led his soldiers to besiege Cusco, so he could only find a place in the Palace of the Virgin. The room is occupied first. He asked a second lieutenant in charge of food to be found and said to him, "You can find a way to send some vicuña meat and potatoes to the Temple of the Sun, saying that this is to increase nutrition for Almagro. He It looks like he is about to die, and we must do whatever it takes to make his condition improve as soon as possible."
The second lieutenant in charge of the food said, "I understand, Mr. Captain."
After the second lieutenant in charge of food left, Hernando called Skoda over again and said to him, "You think of some ways to mobilize the soldiers to accuse Almagro in various ways. The more profound and deadly the exposure to him, the more Well, we are going to completely ruin his reputation through this accusation and prosecution against him.”
Skoda said, "Yes, Mr. Captain."
