Inca Elegy (Novel) "The Fall of the Inca Empire" (Volume 2) by Zhang Baotong
After dawn the next day, the Indian soldiers dispersed from the abandoned granary in Guamanga, and the seven Spanish soldiers followed Paul along the north mountain road to Vilcabamba.
There is no royal road to Vilcabamba, only small roads and mountain roads. The path was relatively wide at first, but as soon as you walked out of the outskirts of the town of Guamanga, it was a path up the mountain. The path winds up and down in the mountains like a sheep intestine. But the scenery beside the path is peaceful, beautiful and fresh. The peaks are connected one after another, and the mountains are connected one after another, layer upon layer, boundless.
In the winter morning, the wind calmed down and the trees stopped, and there was no sound. The sun's light shone dimly on the mountains, making people not feel cold. Paul led the Spaniards quickly over the mountains and ridges, in a hurry. It wasn't until noon that the sky started to get cloudy and the wind started to blow loudly, as if it was going to rain.
Paul took people to a small village. The village is very small, with only two low farmhouses on the side of a half-dry, half-mud path. The two farmhouses were apparently occupied by the same family. There is a field of crops in front of the farmhouse. But it was winter, and there was only a barren patch of hay growing in the field. Two goats are grazing in the field. Paul came to the door of the hut and saw that the door of the hut was open, so he shouted twice into the house, but there was no one in the house. The other room was obviously a sheepfold, and a foul smell could be smelled from a distance. So Paul asked everyone to sit on the stones in front of the door to rest and wait.
After waiting for a while, no one came back. By this time, everyone was already very tired and had not eaten anything since morning, so they were very hungry. When people are hungry, they naturally feel unable to walk. At this time, Flores said to Paul, "I don't think we should wait any longer. Let's kill and roast these two sheep."
Paul immediately waved his hand and said, "No, if we do this, we may be killed by the people here."
Flores said, "What's the matter? You are the younger brother of the Inca King Manco. Don't you Incas respect and worship the Inca King very much?"
Paul said, "Even the Inca King would not dare to steal other people's sheep and kill them to eat. How could the Inca King be crowded and loved by the people?"
It was not until almost afternoon that I saw an old man returning from a distance with a young woman. Their clothes were in rags and they were shivering in the mountain wind. I saw Paul coming to the door with a large group of white people, and these white people also had long swords or javelins in their hands. They were immediately frightened.
Paul came over immediately and explained to the old man, "We all came to seek refuge with the Inca King. We have walked all the way from Guamanga. We are tired and hungry. Please bring us something to eat."
As soon as the old man heard that they had come to seek refuge with the Inca King, not only was he no longer afraid, but he also enthusiastically gave everyone small stools to sit on, and then asked the young woman to hurry up and cook for everyone.
The young woman made some dry biscuits with cornmeal for everyone, and fried some vegetables with potatoes, and placed them on the stone table in front of the hut for everyone to eat. Everyone finished the several pieces of flatbread and potato dishes in a matter of seconds. However, everyone felt that they were not full yet and wanted the young woman to cook more. The young woman said that there was no food at home, so she had to go far away to borrow some food. Upon hearing this, Paul said to everyone, "Okay, let's hurry up." So, everyone left the small village and continued walking deeper into the mountains.
Around dusk, Paul led seven Spaniards up from a deep valley to a mountain front. The mountain pass is blocked by several piles of rocks, and there is only a narrow passage in the middle of the piles of rocks. Someone stood on the pile of rocks and shouted to them, "Where do you come from?"
Paul immediately shouted, "I am Paul, the younger brother of Manco, the Inca king. I came from Guamanca and brought them to join the Inca king."
The people above saw Paul and the others clearly and asked, "How come you brought all the white Spanish people?"
Paul said, "Yes, they are all white Spanish people, but they were defeated by the Spanish governor's army. They wanted to come to the Inca King and help the Inca King fight the Spaniards."
The people above shouted in a commanding tone, "Just wait, let me report to the Inca King."
Paul said, "Okay, let's wait." Then he asked everyone to sit on the grass by the roadside and wait.
After waiting for about half an hour, I heard the sound of horse hooves running quickly. Then, someone shouted, "The king has an order, please come up alone, Prince Paul."
Paul asked the Spaniards to wait and walked towards the top of the mountain alone. After passing the stone gate, I saw more than thirty guards of the Inca king standing on the top of the mountain. They were all riding horses, holding long swords and spears, guarding the stone gate. On the top of the mountain is an endless forest. There is a small open space on the edge of the forest, which is covered with two houses and a breeding shed. There are also two horses kept in the breeding shed.
Tubakri, the captain of the guard, took Paul to one of the huts. There was an oil lamp burning in the room. Under the oil lamp sat Inca King Manco, with General Mokwa standing next to him. Paul had been away from the Inca King Manco for four or five years. He was sent by the Inca King to break into Almagro and served as the leader of the Indian auxiliary army. Whenever the Spaniards had any important events or information, Paul would send someone to deliver a message to Manco.
We haven't seen each other for several years, and the Inca king looks much older. The most significant change is that his handsome face is less heroic and heroic, and more thoughtful and sad. He is obviously not yet thirty years old, and there are already a few grooves on his forehead. He is still wearing the Inca King's splendid robes, the big cloak that symbolizes the Inca King's might and dignity, and the red Bola crown that symbolizes the Inca King on his head. It's just that these robes and cloaks are a little tattered, and the crown is also a little faded. However, over the years, he has been staying in this remote and dense forest, thinking all the time that one day, when the Spanish are unprepared, they will stage another nationwide riot and uprising and drive those white Spanish people out of the country.
However, he also knew that this dream might never come true. Because tens of thousands of princes and nobles have almost died in the wars in the past few years. They are the most loyal and effective assistants of the Inca King. Without them, the Inca King will lose the ability to contact the people and gather the people to fight against the Spanish. The reliance and bond for people to fight. In addition, the Spaniards have adopted the method of establishing extensive residential areas, established armed forces in residential areas, and built solid and solid buildings to resist the intrusions and attacks of the Incas, so that they did not dare to attack rashly. Because this kind of intrusion and attack would not only fail to take advantage, but would also cause unnecessary casualties and even lead to long-distance pursuit by the Spanish cavalry. The most terrible thing is that these Spanish residential areas are located on the country's traffic arteries, which just blocks their access to the mountains. Therefore, in the past few years, the Inca king could only live in the remote and dense forest of Vilcabamba with his nearly a thousand soldiers.
Although it is relatively remote and safe, it is surrounded by high mountains and deep valleys, inaccessible and deserted. Not to mention recruiting soldiers and collecting food and grass, even if you walk for most of the day, you won't see a village or even a person. Therefore, he could only let nearly a thousand soldiers go home temporarily, wait for the opportunity, and stay in the forest with only about 200 escort troops.
When the Inca King Manco heard that Paul had brought some Spaniards to join him, he couldn't help but feel happy. He rode horseback and led his guards to the edge of the forest to greet them.
Just now, he stood on the top of the mountain and looked down, saw the Spanish soldiers brought by Paul, and asked Paul and the others to come up quickly. However, General Mokwa said to Manco, "Your Majesty, no. The Spanish are very vicious and cunning. We must first find out their intentions here."
Manco felt that Mokwa's words made sense, so he first called Paul for questioning.
Paul knelt on the ground, knelt down and said, "Greetings to your Majesty."
Manco said, "My brother, get up quickly."
Paul stood up and sat on the small stool in front of the king, and began to carefully describe the fight between Almagro and Governor Baca de Castro's armies and Almagro's defeat. He said to the Inca King in a tone of voice, "These soldiers are all soldiers in Almagro's army. Some of them also participated in the riot to assassinate Marquis Pizarro. Once they are arrested, they will be sent to the gallows. Therefore, They have no way to go and want to take refuge with the king. If the king agrees, they can be kept. If the king does not agree, kill them."
Manco said, "The Spanish whites will use us Incas to print the Canucks. Why can't we use the Spanish whites to fight the Spanish whites? We always suffer losses when fighting the Spanish, but if we use the Spanish to fight the Spanish, we will not be able to benefit. ?"
Mokwa reminded from the side, "However, the Spaniards are different from us Incas. We Incas are honest and honest, but the Spaniards are very cunning. Although the Spaniards will fight each other dog-eat-dog, but when it comes to dealing with us , whether it is Pizarro or Almagro, they are completely consistent. Therefore, please do not take it lightly and be negligent."
After the Inca King Manco led his people to retreat to the Vilcabamba Forest, Mokwa has been following the Inca King and is the most trusted and capable adviser and assistant around the Inca King. Not only did he have the task of protecting the Inca King, but he also often led troops to attack Spanish settlements or residential areas. After these years of fighting and training, he has become a very experienced general. He didn't understand Paul bringing the Spaniards here, but what worried him most was that the Inca King Manco actually wanted to use these Spaniards. So, he wanted to dissuade the Inca king.
Paul said, "But they are neither Pizarro nor Almagro. They are just soldiers with no way to escape. If they don't hide with us, once they are caught by the governor, they will be sent to the gallows." .”
Manco thought for a while and then said, "We provide them with shelter, provide them with food and shelter, and treat them as friends. How can they not be grateful to us? Besides, there are only a few of them, and there are more than two hundred of us. Are you afraid they will riot?"
Mokwa said, "The Spaniards will only be our enemies, not our friends. Therefore, we must kill these Spaniards and must not bring wolves into the house and raise tigers."
Manco showed dissatisfaction with Mokwa's words and said, "They came to us because they had no other way to go. If we kill them, who will trust us and seek refuge with us again in the future?"
Seeing King Inca's words, Mokwa knew that King Inca was a little angry, so he hurriedly said, "If you want to keep them, you can't let them live with the king, and the king shouldn't stay alone with them. Just in case of any eventuality.”
Manco said, "Then place them over there at the Inca barracks. No one happens to live in those big houses."
By this time, it was getting dark. The Inca king, Paul and Mokva came out of the hut, and some Inca soldiers were lighting them up with torches. Paul stood on the top of the mountain and shouted to the Spanish soldiers below, "Flores, the king has an order to come up quickly."
Flores responded and led everyone through the stone gate and up to the top of the mountain. Manco shook hands with the Spanish soldiers one by one. After shaking hands, Manco said to the Spanish soldiers, "Welcome to you. From now on, this will be your home."
A Spanish soldier held the Inca King's hand tightly and said, "Are you the Inca King? I finally see you."
But Flores said to King Inca, "King Inca, I have seen you."
The Inca king said, "Really?"
Flores said, "It was a few years ago that General Orgonez led a large force to attack you from behind the Tambo Palace. Lieutenant Garcia led 50 of our cavalry to ambush in front of the palace. Late at night, you led When hundreds of soldiers broke out from the front gate of the palace, I saw you riding on a horse with a spear in your hand. At that time, we wanted to capture you alive, but your soldiers struggled to protect you and the princess from breaking out. Later, we have been We chased you and the princess, but you and the princess still ran away, and we only captured the two horses you were riding."
After hearing this, the king just said "Oh" and said, "You have been walking for a day and you are tired and hungry. I have asked the cafeteria to prepare meals for you. Let's go there together." With that, the Inca King crossed After getting on their horses, the other guards also got on their horses, holding torches and protecting the Inca Dynasty as they walked deep into the forest. Paul and the Spanish soldiers followed the king on foot.
