Inca Elegy (Novel) "The Fall of the Inca Empire" (Volume 2) by Zhang Baotong
From the Gulf of Mexico through the Atlantic Ocean to Europe on the other side of the ocean was the most dangerous and difficult part of their voyage. This period will take at least two to three months. They followed the Gulf Stream across the sea, trying to avoid storms and typhoons as much as possible. Sometimes in order to avoid the storm, you need to stay on the edge of a certain island for several days. Sometimes when you encounter a storm, you have to find a place to hide quickly. Fortunately, the "Princess Maria" is large enough to withstand many thunderstorms and storms, and has been sailing safely and smoothly on the Atlantic Ocean.
During this period, Hernando has been trying his best to inquire about the situation and see if it is safe in the country. However, above the ocean, he could not get any news. Whenever a merchant ship arrived at a small island and stopped, he would get off the ship and try to meet an acquaintance, because the brothers did have many friends and acquaintances. However, after leaving the Gulf of Mexico, he never met a single friend or acquaintance.
When the merchant ship "Princess Maria" arrived in the Azores, they still had no definite news about the country. And this is the last stop on the way to Spain. From here it will take another week or two to sail and we will reach Spain. However, before receiving definite safety guarantees, Hernando decided to disembark and wait for news on the island. So, he asked the soldiers to unload dozens of large wooden boxes from the ship, and only sent two soldiers to take his letters back to China on the "Princess Maria" to contact his family.
The Azores is a beautiful archipelago with many places to visit, as well as many casinos, restaurants, hotels and brothels. Therefore, Hernando does not feel lonely here, and there are so many soldiers around him who have been following him.
He stayed on the archipelago for less than a month when the two soldiers who were sent to find out the news came back, and they also brought a cousin of his family with them. This cousin, named Faftila, stayed with Hernando during his last return to the country, and followed him to get to know many powerful nobles inside and outside the palace. These nobles are all close associates and relatives of the king, so they are naturally very well-informed. Hearing that Hernando had escorted a large amount of gold and silver back to the country, the cousin went to the friends of the palace nobles to inquire about the news, and then followed the two soldiers to the Azores Islands.
Faftila told his cousin Hernando the suggestions and opinions of those noble friends, and advised him that he should go to see the king in person, explain the situation to the king face to face, and ask for the king's forgiveness. Hernando felt that the persuasion of these noble friends was very reasonable, so he decided to adopt their advice and meet the king in person. Moreover, the cousin also told him that Almagro's returning soldiers often ran in groups to the palace or the court to complain about their marshal, demanding severe punishment for the Pizarro brothers and the death of Almagro. Magro's property and lands were returned to his son, Almagro the Younger. In particular, little Almagro's guardian, Diego Almarado, not only used his status as a knight to spread the word about the Pizarro brothers' misdeeds and heinous crimes, but also filed a lawsuit in the Spanish court, demanding that Pizarro be punished. The Luo brothers conducted rigorous interrogations and convictions. For this reason, he asked his cousin to be especially alert and careful.
Hernando knew very well that the king's attitude was the most important. As long as the king refused to punish him, he would be spared, and nothing would happen to him; if the king refused to forgive him, then he would fall. Bad luck, but he still believed in the charm of gold, which could completely make the king change his mind.
After making the decision, Hernando asked the soldiers to load the goods onto another merchant ship returning home. The merchant ship sailed on the ocean for about ten days and finally arrived at the port of Lisbon, Spain. Lisbon was Spain's largest port on the Atlantic Ocean at the time, where adventure and immigration ships to the New World set sail. Gold and wealth shipped from the New World were also unloaded here. Therefore, the port is very large and busy. Starting from Lima in July last year, it happened to go through a spring, summer, autumn and winter, until we finally arrived at the port of Lisbon in July of that year.
Only more than two years have passed since I last returned to China. However, the port has expanded several times, and the port as far as the eye can see is filled with sailing ships of all sizes. The waves of passengers coming in and out made him deeply aware of the tremendous changes that the conquest of the New World had brought to Spain. Yes, the port had become somewhat unrecognizable to him. He stood on the boat and looked around the port, sighing at the huge changes in front of him.
The merchant ship arrived in Lisbon around nine o'clock in the morning. The weather was sunny, but it was a bit hot in the hot summer. The boat stopped and people hurried to get off the boat. But Hernando is not in a hurry because they still have to wait to unload the goods.
However, before he could get off the boat, a member of the royal family and four police officers found him. The royal family asked him, "Are you the Honorable Mr. Hernando?"
Hernando thought it was his relatives who came to greet him, because he had already asked someone to take the letter home and ask them to drive a carriage to the port to pick him up. He nodded and said, "Yes."
The royal family handed him a warrant for his arrest. When he saw it, he couldn't help being surprised, and immediately knew that the king had sent someone to arrest him. However, he will find a way to get the king to let him go. So, he said, "I will go with you, but first I have to take out the goods I brought back from Peru. Some of the goods are specially given to the king and queen."
The member of the royal family said that he would not embarrass him and said to him, "No problem, we can accompany you."
They disembarked and waited at the port cargo office to unload the cargo. Here, Hernando saw one of his nephews parked in a long queue in front of the freight department with more than 20 carriages, and also brought more than 20 armed escorts. He called his cousin Faftila to him and said to him, "These boxes are full of gold and silver. After you transport these boxes home, you must hide them in the kiln at home." In order to protect these properties, the family’s guard team must be increased by ten more people. They must guard these gold and silver day and night.”
The cousin said, "Please don't worry, cousin."
The nephew asked Hernando worriedly, "Are they going to lock you up for a long time?"
Hernando said, "No, as soon as I see the king and give him the gold I brought, he will definitely let me go immediately."
The nephew said, "Then I'll be relieved."
After about two or three hours, the freight department finally delivered the goods they brought. Hernando asked the men brought by his nephew to load dozens of large wooden boxes on the carriage. The soldiers also took out their own goods. So, everyone will break up here, because they all have to go back to their homes.
Hernando said to the soldiers, "You have worked hard with me. Go home and have a good rest for two months. In mid-October, we will gather here again and return to Peru."
Everyone said, "Yes, Captain Hernando."
But a soldier said to Hernando, "Captain, I don't want to go back to Peru anymore. I already have so much gold, enough for me to live comfortably for a lifetime. So, I want to marry a young and beautiful woman." Spanish girl, buy a big house and live with her peacefully.”
Hernando said with some regret, "Are you satisfied with this little money? You haven't seen many people running from Spain to Peru, but why are you running back?"
The soldier said, "Everyone has his own ambitions."
Hernando could only nod and said, "Okay, I wish you a happy life."
After everyone broke up, Hernando asked his cousin and nephew to transport the goods home. Their hometown was in the Kingdom of Castile, and the capital of the Kingdom of Castile was Valladolid. This kingdom had not yet merged with Spain, but it occupied most of Spain. It was only after the 18th century that this kingdom merged with Spain and took Spain as its name. They had to pass through Valladolid on their way home.
Therefore, Hernando asked his cousin and nephew to escort the motorcade, and he took the royal family's carriage to the Palace of Valladolid. However, the palace is still hundreds of miles away in Valladolid. Valladolid is a city in western Spain and the capital of the province of Valladolid, located at the confluence of the Pizuega and Esgova rivers. It takes at least a week to take a horse-drawn carriage from Lisbon to the Royal Palace of Valladolid.
A convoy of dozens of carriages kept bumping along the wide roads in Spain. Hernando followed the convoy in a carriage belonging to the royal family. The convoy traveled day and night, stopping and going, and finally arrived in Valladolid one afternoon. In order to show the prestige of the Pizarro family and the huge wealth gained from the conquest of the Inca Empire, Hernando organized a very grand entry into the city on the street leading to the city, just like they marched into the city of Cusco. . Although they didn't have their own army like the march to Cusco, Hernando had money, and with money he could do many things he wanted to do.
At the front of the city entry ceremony is a bugle team composed of 100 trumpeters, followed by four square formations composed of 400 soldiers. The trumpet team blew a loud trumpet sound, which resounded throughout the city and attracted countless spectators to watch along the streets. The soldiers of the four square groups were armed with live ammunition and marched forward with neat and vigorous steps. Then, there were carriages carrying gold and silver decorated with colorful embroidery and flowers. The carriage of the royal family sitting in the front had its tarpaulin removed and was covered with colorful strips, red brocade and flowers. Dress up. Hernando and the royal family sat side by side on the carriage, waving to people along the street. Behind the carriage convoy were four square formations composed of four hundred soldiers. This formation can only be seen when the king holds a major celebration. Except for the king, no one has ever held such a grand and lively large-scale event.
The team participating in the city entrance ceremony entered the city from the outskirts of the city, and then came to the square in front of the palace. The marching team passed by the Palace Square and continued to march towards the north side of the street. At this time, the carriage Hernando was riding in and the carriage carrying goods came out of the team, drove through the Palace Square, and then came to the door of the Palace Hall.
