Inca Elegy (Novel) "The Fall of the Inca Empire" (Volume 2) by Zhang Baotong
However, when they returned to the place where the three Spaniards were tied up, Mokwa asked Manco, "Your Majesty, let's attack Calbis tonight. What will happen to these three Spaniards? I guess it won't take a while." , these three people will freeze to death." Manco said, "Yes, it will be easier for them to let them freeze to death like this. It is better to hang them alive now." Mokwa said , "Yes, they should be hung on the tree at the entrance of the town so that pedestrians passing by the town can see it." Manco said, "Okay, you will send someone to take them to the town later. Hang yourself over there at the end." Mokwa said, "Yes, my king."
Manco then followed Commander Mokwa with his entourage to a barracks at the top of the town. The military camp is located in an abandoned Inca Empire post station and granary. The inn was a temporary hotel for passing Inca nobles or princes. Therefore, there were only a dozen or so rooms that were not very large, and the area of each room was not very large either. At best, only a few dozen people can live inside. The granary is to ensure combat supplies and other daily items during large-scale army mobilization and war. Therefore, the area inside is very spacious and can accommodate at least nearly five to six hundred soldiers.
The Inca king led people into the granary. I saw that the ground in the entire granary was covered with soldiers' bedding and bedding. Perhaps because the soldiers wore less clothing and were afraid of the cold, most of the soldiers were still lying in bed. Because in this icy winter, this is almost their only way to stay warm.
When the soldiers saw the Inca king and the commander coming, they quickly got up and knelt down to salute. But Manco stood at the door, waved to the soldiers, and said loudly, "Soldiers, you have suffered, but when we defeat the Spaniards, I will promote you and make you rich, and give you houses, land, and women. . Let you live the life of princes and nobles." After hearing this, the soldiers immediately shouted excitedly, "Long live the king! Long live the king!"
Mokwa then said to the soldiers in an ordering tone, "Soldiers, we are going out to perform tasks tonight. I order all soldiers to stay in the house to sleep and rest throughout the day. Get up late at night to eat, and then start the night March in a hurry. When marching in a hurry at night, you must wear more clothes, but you cannot light torches or talk casually. Violators will be severely punished. Okay, you can have a good rest." The soldiers replied, "Yes, my lord, commander."
After leaving the granary where the soldiers camped, the Inca King came to the inn with his entourage. More than ten rooms in the inn have been converted into canteens. The catering staff is making breakfast for the soldiers. Because Indians only eat two meals a day, breakfast time is usually around nine o'clock, and dinner time is usually around four or five o'clock in the afternoon.
Everyone entered the canteen and saw the catering staff cooking corn porridge and baking tortillas for the soldiers. Other than that, there are no dishes. This is almost the most common and common meal for Indian soldiers. When the Inca King Manco saw this, he said to Mokwa, "Tonight the soldiers are marching out to fight, and we need to get some oily food for the soldiers." When Mokwa heard this, he frowned and said, " Not only is there no meat to eat right now, but we can only eat food for two or three days at most."
Manco said, "The soldiers don't wear much clothes. Before setting off at night, we need to find a way to get some llamas or alpacas to keep the soldiers warm. You send people to the nearby farmers' houses and tell them that I, the King of Inca, are temporarily paying homage to them." They borrowed it and will pay it back later with double the taste." Mokwa said, "Yes, my great king."
Originally, Inca King Manco wanted to visit other soldiers. However, these soldiers all lived in the compounds of some wealthy families or in the homes of farmers, which were relatively scattered and inconvenient, so the Inca King did not visit them.
After a while, it started to snow again, and King Inca returned to his residence accompanied by everyone. At this time, Okoro had already placed wine jars and glasses by the fire. When he saw him coming back, he brought a large glass of wine in front of him and said, "It's so cold outside, why did you stay out for so long? Manco took the glass and drank while replying, "I'm going to Bilkas tonight to carry out an attack. I want to visit the soldiers in the barracks." Okoro said, "What's there in Bilkas? Isn't it? How many mountains and a small town?" Manco said, "There is a big silver mine there. Hernando and Gonzalo hired five to six hundred people to mine there. I heard that there were thirty Spaniards there alone. Come on. So, I am going to lead the soldiers to carry out a raid tonight." When Okoro heard this, he said, "You can just let Mokwa lead the soldiers to fight this kind of battle. Why are you going there? Just in case. What happened to you? What should we do? What should the empire do?" However, Manco said, "This is our first battle after coming out of the mountain. It is very important. If we win, it will be an inspiration to the entire empire. If we lose, , our situation will be more difficult. Therefore, I want to go in person. This will also enhance my prestige in the minds of the troops and soldiers. Let the people of the entire empire know that this battle was fought by the Inca King Manco himself. "
After hearing this, Okoro looked at Manco for a long time with sincere and worried eyes, and said, "Since the king must go, then take me with you. If you are not by my side, I will always be worried." "Manco said with a smile, "There is nothing to worry about. We are going to carry out attacks, not to fight the Spaniards. There is nothing to worry about. It can be said that the Spaniards there don't know about us at all. When we arrive, we will probably be captured before they find us." After hearing this, Princess Okoro nodded.
At about ten o'clock in the evening, Mokwa rode over to greet Manco. Seeing that Okoro reluctantly held Manco's hand for a long time, Mokwa said, "For the sake of the king's safety, I would like to ask the king not to go. Your subordinate Mokwa promises to complete the mission satisfactorily." But Manco shook off Okoro's hand and said impatiently, "I told you not to worry, so don't worry. I will come back victorious." But Okoro still warned him again and again, " If the battle can be fought, fight it. If you can't fight it, come back as soon as possible. Don't take risks." Then he said to Mokwa, "You must do your best to protect the king. If anything happens to the king, I will ask you for it. People." Mokwa immediately replied, "Princess, please rest assured, I will definitely protect the king."
At this time, Manco stepped onto the war horse and said to Mokwa, "Let's go." Mokwa also climbed onto the war horse. He led the guards and followed Manco out of the compound. After walking far away, I saw Princess Okoro standing on the avenue at the courtyard gate looking worriedly towards this side.
When they arrived at the entrance of the town, they saw a large group of people lined up neatly, waiting for the arrival of the king. Inca King Manco walked to the middle of the army, waved his hand and said, "Soldiers, set off." Then, the large group of people began to walk towards the depths of the dark night.
The night is getting deeper and deeper, and there are scattered snowflakes in the sky. After crossing the mountain pass and entering the deep valleys of the mountains, the wind began to pick up significantly, and the cold whooshing wind went straight into the soldiers' clothes. The soldiers tied their waists with ropes, put their hands in their sleeves, hugged their weapons, and walked in the mountain stream channel where they could not see their fingers. However, when the soldiers climbed towards a mountain pass, they found that the wind here was even stronger, so strong that it could almost blow people from the top of the mountain into the deep valley next to it. Moreover, the slope up the mountain is very steep and very slippery because of the snow. Therefore, the soldiers not only have to brave the strong wind, but also have to take every step carefully. If they are not careful, they will slip and fall into the deep ravine on the side of the road.
Ever since the Inca King Manco went up the mountain, he had been protected and supported by Mokwa and several guards as he walked up to the top of the mountain. After crossing the pass, we walked all the way down to the foot of the mountain. At this time, the road became easier to walk, and he began to ride the horse again.
Perhaps it was because the road was rugged and dangerous along the way and it was dark all the way, so they walked almost all night for more than 60 kilometers. It was not until dawn that the large group of people finally arrived at the Bilkasi mining area. This is not so much a mining area as several mountains. The mining area was dark, and nothing could be seen except for a few peaks and a few rows of houses.
The large group of people stopped at the intersection in front of the mining area. The Inca king asked Mocva to call the spy over. The spy pointed to a tall and spacious two-story house in the middle of the mining area and said to the Inca king, "The houses in the mining area are all occupied by Indian miners, and only the two-story house is occupied by Spaniards. There are thirty of them in total. Come on, they're all equipped with matchlocks and swords."
The Inca king asked the spy, "Do they have a sentry?" The spy said, "They have a sentry standing guard at the entrance of the small building, but the sentry sometimes goes to sleep secretly."
Inca King Manco said to Mokwa, "First, take two hundred people and quietly approach the small building. Don't let them find out. When you enter the small building, I will lead a large group of soldiers to follow." Mokwa said, " Yes, my king." After saying that, he led a spear team composed of about two hundred elite soldiers and walked quietly and quickly along a path towards the small building.
At this time, the sky was already a little brighter, and through the bright light, a string of black shadows could be seen moving silently towards the mountain ridge. The string of black shadows stopped next to the small building, and then several black shadows were seen entering the building. After a while, many dark figures were seen entering the building.
After about ten minutes, I saw a torch lit on the dark small building, shaking continuously towards this direction. The Inca King thought that this must be a signal from Mokwa, but he led a large group of soldiers to rush to the ridge over there.
Sure enough, Mokwa's attack was successful. Wait for Manco to lead a large group of people to the small building. I saw Mokwa and his soldiers escorting the Spaniards wearing underwear and underwear out of the small building. They were all tied up and standing in a row.
Mokwa came to Manco and reported, "Your Majesty, all the Spaniards have been captured, thirty of them in total." Manco said, "Very good. Hang them all on the big tree." ." Mokwa said, "Yes, Your Majesty." Manco then said to a prince beside him, "Go and tell the soldiers to take away all the usable items and food."
The prince responded and led the soldiers into the small building.
After a while, soldiers came out of the small building. Some were carrying grain and dried meat, some were carrying Spanish clothes and military uniforms, and some were carrying Spanish guns and swords. Some even brought Spanish bedding and pillows.
Not far from the small building, next to a row of big trees beside the mountain ridge, the dying cries of the hanged people kept coming out. In order to obtain their underwear and underwear, these hanged people had been stripped naked by the Indian soldiers, and their entire naked bodies were hung on the big trees by ropes.
Before I knew it, it was already broad daylight. You can see that from time to time in the rows of dilapidated huts under the ridge, someone stretches their head and looks over here. Perhaps they were afraid that disaster would affect them, so they hid in the hut and did not dare to come out. The Inca king pointed to the shabby little houses and asked, "Who live in those houses?" The spy replied, "They are all Indian miners."
After winning the first battle, the soldiers seemed very excited and excited. They gathered together to talk and laugh and share their spoils. When Inca King Manco saw that the attack had been a complete success and that all the captured Spaniards had been hanged, he asked Mocva to assemble his troops and prepare to return to camp with various captured items.
