Chapter 41 Chapter Forty

Successively, two bolts of lightning tore through the gray-white sky in the valley.Bursts of thunder echoed among the cliffs like forged ridges. After the thunder, Pedo Martin de Montgomery's dog barked into the sky, making it seem like it had seen an Indian who was dying to kill him.Successive lightning and thunder made the dog restless. This is a Nepalese hunting dog, tall enough to rival a calf. Its hair is as white as fresh milk, and its eyes are dark and uncertain, just like its The master, a square-jawed sailor, joined the expedition at the same time as Benacasa.There is a reason behind his joining that Jia Boye does not know, that is, Meng Ge often participates in overseas expeditions.Would he wish to be the first to reach for the treasure?

Jia Boye couldn't help looking at them, him and the shepherd dog, with disgust. They set off first as scouts, but only a quarter of a kilometer ahead of the massive expedition led by Pizarro.After several twists and turns, they climbed to the top of the mountain and shook off the dense fog that had accumulated on the river surface and obscured their sight. However, they also lost the shadow of the trailing column heading towards Cajamar. "One hundred and eighty crew and fifty-seven horses", Pizarro always likes to emphasize repeatedly, not so much to remind those who went to explore that rich and powerful country with him, he repeats this strange number again and again, Rather, it was to distinguish themselves from those who joined from station to station along the way: hundreds of mestizo or African slaves from the Canyonlands, and especially thousands of Indians, including Taran and Chimush, who refused to pay Tributes were given to the king, so whole villages were burned to the ground. These people had their own reasons for hating the Incas, and they tried their best to avenge their shame.

The mountain road suddenly narrowed, sometimes going up the ridge, sometimes clinging to the edge of a steep cliff, the narrow road barely accommodates humans and beasts walking side by side. The little scouting party had gone a long way on foot.They arched their necks, shaded their foreheads with the brims of their high helmets to keep out the rain, and held their horses with a bridle thrown over their shoulders. The horses were tired and impatient.Food had been scarce for weeks and they were skinny, and the girths of their saddles had worn all the fur off them.For several days in a row, they crossed several high mountain passes, endured the morning frost and dew, and braved the wind and cold to climb up.For another few days, they stayed in the sweltering valley, and carnivorous bats almost as big as owl eagles clung to them and gnawed on their buttocks and backs...

However, at this time, the storm washed the winding path of the cliff covered with small shrubs into a turbulent flow of yellow sand, which flowed down the rock surface that was made into steps, forming dangerous small waterfalls, making the stone steps slippery. And dangerous.The rainwater flows through the sandy land beside the road, taking away the sand, leaving a row of puddles, and after being trampled by the horseshoes, it disappears silently from the ground. The thunder in front had just finished, and the second bolt of lightning pierced the clouds, like a fiery snake, scurrying on the top of the high mountain in the sky, as if eager to destroy the mountain and the cliff.

The horse staggered, stopped, its nose twitched, its ears pricked up and flapped continuously.Jia Boye, with gloves on, tightened the reins while his companion gently stroked the horse's neck. Just then, annoyed by the storm, Menger's dog started barking loudly.After turning around on the spot a few times, it rushed up to Meng Ge who was leading the way, lay across the middle of the road, arched its waist, panting angrily.Then it barks into the distance again, into the valley that disappears behind the rain, its protruding eyes never so confused. "Stupid dog, shut up!" the Greek Bedo scolded angrily, and turned to Sai Batian, Jia Boye and Meng Ge, "Watch your horses, or you will be killed by this stupid dog!"

Grinning its teeth in the torrential rain, showing its sharp canine teeth, the hound stood still and kicked the mud with both feet, staining its clean fur.Then, screaming, he charged into the crowd and slid over the calf of Bedo's Andalusian stallion, so frightened that he jumped away that he slammed into a stone on the side of the road. Staggering forward, it fell to the bottom of the valley lightly like a raindrop. "My God, Munger!" cried the Greek, his beard soaked with sweat and plump as a sponge. "Take care of that stupid dog of yours! Or he'll throw us all off the cliff sooner or later!"

Walking at the end of the line, despite wearing a leather jacket from shoulders to hips, Fat Menger's cotton jacket was clearly soaked with sweat.He tugged at a horse, a poor beast extorted from the relics of a patient with terminal Peruvian tumors.Now, the half-robbed horse was apparently seriously ill.Several wounds on its body that had been bitten by poisonous snakes recurred again, and yellow pus flowed out, so thick that even rainwater could not melt it.It was not breathing well, dragging its swollen lips and protruding eyeballs due to fever, and followed the team forward. As soon as Munger called it, the hound rushed at him with all its teeth and paws, terrifying the horse that stood by.It screamed, shook its head, tried to grab something, then reared up in protest at the barking dog.The reins slipped from Meng's stiff hands, and the latter nearly got kicked by the horse's hooves.But at this moment, the few patches of grass stepped on by the horse's front feet slipped silently.

Pulled by its weight, it swayed from side to side, making Menger scream in terror.The poor horse stepped on the ground, fell to one side, and hit the big stone on the side of the road with its flat belly.It kicked hard with its front foot, but the more it kicked, the more it slid down.After that, it screamed in panic and fell to the bottom of the valley. Under the panicked eyes of these pioneers, the horse seemed to roll for a moment in the air.Finally, it hit its rear end on a small bush and fell on its back.With its nose forward, it fell on a pile of small stones, and the heavy weight crushed the stones until they creaked.It died instantly due to a broken neck, but the body continued to roll into a pond 60 meters away.

"God bless." The Greek shook his head and sighed. Everyone looked at the horse intently, as if expecting it to stand up again. "Look!" Bedou yelled again. With his eyes still in shock, Menger shrugged his shoulders heavily. "Well," he replied with forced composure, "it's already dying, and it won't last long at all." Everyone could hear him pretending to be chic.Sai Batian sneered lightly and said: "Good things come fast and go fast!" Meng Ge raised his head and said displeasedly: "You nigger, you..." But before he could finish cursing, Jia Boye pointed to the bottom of the valley and said:

"Look! Look at those people!" Under the rain-stained bushes, about twenty Indians hid in the grass behind the rocks, ready to move.Driven by curiosity, they completely forgot their own safety, and approached the horse's body step by step, surrounding it. When he saw them, the burly collie fell silent for a moment before barking.The Indians below stood motionless, raising their bronzed faces to look at the Spaniards.Because the distance is still far, they don't think there is anything to be afraid of.When one of them finally stretched out his hand to stroke the horse's fur, the Greek Bedo rolled his tongue and tapped his tongue, and started walking again:

"Of course they're watching us! Or what do you think? And around the clock. They're counting your nose hairs one by one while you're sleeping. They're clinging like flies. And we, we happen to Fall into that jar of honey they use to seduce people!" In the afternoon, everyone was exhausted. They had been nervous all day because of the erratic Indians. At this time, they could only drag their tired bodies and minds through the mountain pass. Fortunately the rain stopped as they descended a narrow valley.As far as the eye can see, verdant farmland winds on strips of wavy terraces, and the earth walls of each terrace have been carefully constructed to form a fan-shaped landscape along the riverbed.After the storm, there is no cloud in the sky, and the sky is blue enough to rival the ocean. After two hours, they finally arrived at a populated village with about sixty houses, all situated around a large square.And on the square platform higher than other buildings, there is a wide but low pyramid overlooking the earth. It looks like a small step in front of the king's throne built for a giant. The walls of the pyramid are flat. The stones on the wall are so densely packed that even the tip of a knife cannot be inserted. On the last flight of steps stands a small temple where the Indians hold special pagan ceremonies.They burned coca leaves inside, and even some of the most precious and beautiful fabrics they thought, screamed loudly in a dialect that no one could understand, and then turned their arms to the sky, and indulged in religious prayers, such as praising the sun, the moon, etc. or unnamed objects, etc. If there is a large amount of gold, silver, pottery and even jade hidden in this village, it must be hidden there! As always, kids were running to see the bearded gringos.They hid behind bushes or low tree trunks, quietly peeking at the horses and the swords that opened their eyes.As for the adults, they are usually more discreet, either staying at their door or in the courtyard with heightened vigilance, always standing behind their chief. But this time, when Jia Boye and the Greek rode side by side on horseback, deliberately exposing their long swords and placing their short knives on the front bridge of the saddle, and walking all the way to the platform of the square, they found that the square was crowded with people.Under the steps in front of the temple, there are two sedan chairs covered with canopies. The body of the sedan chairs is covered with gold leaf and a piece of gingham cloth interwoven with blue and yellow feathers. Jia Boye heard Meng Ge shouting behind him: "Wow! Isn't that our great Guisunzi ambassador!" In fact, the Indian king's envoy, Sicanshala, the noble and hateful giant with the earrings who had come to Karjas to meet their governor, was surrounded by a small company of Indian soldiers, a few llamas, and a few servants. Get down, stand in front of the villagers and wait for their presence. He was dressed much brighter than when we first met.A bright red shawl embroidered with beautiful geometric patterns covered her calves.His upper body was clad in a rare robe of shiny silk embellished with checkered patterns in green, yellow, or blue, and on his chest was a breastplate of gold and silver.The forehead and thick strands of hair are hidden under a leather armor with a row of short yellow and blue feathers.On his left wrist he wears a bracelet embroidered with the same fabric as the robe, and in his right hand holds a long spear tipped with a bronze block. He smiled straight at them as they rode cautiously up. "Is this unexpected encounter good or bad?" the Greek murmured to Jia Boye. "We'd better stay on the horse until the governor arrives," answered the latter. "He's laughing," said Sebatian, raising his voice, deliberately placing the musket barrel in front of his elbow. "I don't like the way they smile." "Then, just keep laughing," Meng said sarcastically, "showing your unique white teeth, maybe they will think you are a cannibal!" The expressions on the faces of the villagers surrounding the Indian prince were tense, obviously respecting and fearing them.However, the further he walked, Jia Boye discovered that it was not them that the villagers were afraid of, but Ambassador Xi Kanshara.As for the latter himself, the proud smile on his face was more hostile than the honor due to being invited as a guest! When they rode to the side of the square, the Indian prince also came forward.He had only one person with him, someone they had never seen before.He is younger and thinner than Sikanshara, with a slender face, and there is a certain passion in his eyes when he looks at people.Like Sikanshara, he wore some aristocratic jewellery: several grotesque earrings pierced their pendant lobes, but his golden earrings were smaller than those of the ambassador.In addition, his dress is not as gorgeous as that of the ambassador. The number of decorative feathers on the armor is less, and the breastplate is also more plain; Domineering, eye-catching. Just as the ambassador threw an unintelligible sentence at them, from the entrance of the village came the sound of children running and screaming. Everything happened too fast. After the dog barked loudly, it kept turning in place.Meng Ge casually whistled for it to come over.After jumping briskly for a few times, it unexpectedly rushed towards the children. The children were frightened and at a loss, and stayed where they were, not daring to move. At the same time as the Indian crowd was screaming, Jia Boye had already whipped the horse's abdomen with spurs. He flashed his long sword and scolded, but the dog didn't appreciate it.Bedo then also screamed insults at the dog from behind his back.But the dog ran across the square with teeth and claws, and jumped on one child, while the others ran away in fright. Blood gushed out from the child's thigh. Jia Boye was half lying on the horse's neck, holding a long sword in his hand, and doing an S-shaped circle on the spot.However, at the last moment, he finally raised his arms high.The dog continued to clung to the child, and easily toppled him to the ground like a rag, turning his back on the sword. Jia Boye circled around the dog on his horse. After the dog got dizzy, it temporarily let go of the prey in its mouth so that it could bite again.Suddenly, the screams stopped abruptly, and the child fell into a pool of blood. Now there is only the barking sound of the mad dog, which is the last bit of life Jia Boye left for it.The chest of the beast was pierced by the long sword, and the blade even penetrated into the ground.Jia Boye took advantage of the victory and pursued the attack, and pulled out the sharp blade viciously.Kneeling on the ground with one foot, he chopped off the dog's head with a single knife, and the dog's head rolled down, dripping with blood. The Nepalese setter finally opened its mouth and released the bitten and bruised toddler. "Prince Guyappa said that Jia Boye was a brave man and warrior." As night fell, candles were lit around the village.They sat around the brightly lit and noisy Huajiayuk. The team led by Mr. Francisco arrived in the village within an hour. They either set up cotton tents or gathered under the eaves everywhere. Invited to be a guest in the mansion of the village chief. Now, with their round bellies full of roast mutton, stone-fried tortillas, and a strange kind of round root thing, white, sweet and hard, and endless beer, they were big. A real treat. The first to speak was the young prince next to Ambassador Sicanshala, and then the voice of the interpreter Martinilo, who spoke Castilian, sounded a little hissing. , like some flames leaping and swirling on a brazier. "Prince Guyapa thanked Mr. Jia Boye for subduing the mad dog that killed the child..." This afternoon, when Sebatian helped Jaber Ye, who was leaning over to look at the body of the child killed by the dog, the Greek Bedo supported Meng Ge, who lost his horse and dog in one day and was so frightened that he lost his mind from head to toe. The two looked at each other, with helplessness in their eyes. The villagers rushed to the child's body, with tears in their eyes and choked up crying.The Indian princes did not yell at each other, but watched Jia Boye and Meng Ge's quarrel quietly with indifferent curiosity. Suddenly young Guappa stepped forward.He opened his palm, fixed his eyes on Jia Boye, and said something to him that the other party didn't understand.Now, the young man stood up again, repeated the action just now with the utmost seriousness, opened his palms, and said: "Prince Guyappa said that maybe Mr. Jia Boye and him will become brothers in the underworld." After an awkward look at the governor, it was Jia Boye's turn to stand up.As at Toledo, he bowed respectfully and paid the Indians sincere respect.At this time, there was a burst of bitter laughter from behind him. "My dear brother," said Enando Pizarro, laughing, pointing to Jia Boye with his gloved finger, "this man is no longer an illegitimate child, my dear Jia Boye has found a warm home It's..." All the Spaniards laughed out loud, while the other two Indian princes frowned. "Shut up, Enando," said Don Francisco dryly, interrupting all the laughter. "Don't make people laugh! Martinilo, ask these princes about their king Atahualpa." While the Indian prince was answering, Jia Boye sat back on his seat, his face was flushed red, and he really wanted to slap Anando.Captain Su Tuo pulled his sleeve and whispered to him: "Don't pay attention to that idiot Enando, Jia Boye. Don't bother with him. He just likes to talk. Your silence is his biggest fatal injury. But, in the future, you must be defensive. Meng Ge will not give up Angry, he is as ignorant as the dog you killed. I can assure you, he will find a chance to take revenge on you!" Mr. Francisco stared wide-eyed, and everyone was terrified and silent, but Martinilo bowed several times to the Indian prince who was proud of the audience: "He said: The Son of the Sun has ended his war against his brother Huascar, because the latter wanted to destroy the Quadrilateral Empire. Although thousands of soldiers were sacrificed during the period, he finally won. The prodigal son and bad brother Huascar Now a prisoner. One day, Atahualpa, the one and only king, will burn him to ashes." "Glad to hear the news," Mr. Francisco replied impassively. "Glad to know that your king is a brave warrior." "Prince Sikanshara said: The only king, Atahualpa, is the most valiant warrior in the world, because he is the son of the sun. One of his strategies to defeat the madman Huaskar was to use a sword that burned for three days and three nights. The line of fire that burned through the two mountains blocked all the opponent's army inside, choking Huascal and his soldiers so that they could not breathe, and then lost their fighting power. Although they begged Atahualpa to let them live, the only few people around the king The captain insisted that they be burned like the weeds they trod underfoot. The only king, Atahualpa, has always treated people with kindness and kindness. He was honored to be in Ka Receive foreigners on the Hamar grassland. Kahalmar is about two days away from here, and he hopes that the other party will arrive as soon as possible, because he has already prepared banquets and accommodation for them." After hearing these words, all the Spaniards fell silent.If it needs to be stressed, Ambassador Sikanshara's attitude, especially the contemptuous curl of his lips, attests to the menacing tinge of his words. Jia Boye searched for the eyes of this young Indian nobleman, hoping to get a glimpse of it.It's a pity that Gu Yapa has no expression on his face and refuses people thousands of miles away. "I sincerely congratulate your lord on his victory," said Doge Pizarro in a voice of extraordinary tenderness. "I am convinced that he must be a great and gallant prince. But I hope he will also understand that our magistrate is greater than he." , because the land under his jurisdiction is larger than that of your country. His servants and soldiers are countless, including myself, and the small group of officers around me. We have subdued several people like King Atahualpa Wise Prince... Besides, there is an even greater King of our land, who rules over a kingdom on earth as large as the sky, not only over the sun, moon, and stars, but over men, flowers, and animals. Our strength is given by him, and that is why our armies need not be numerous. By the blessing of our God-King, in battle, any one of us will have as strong a body as twenty or thirty common men. ...Please tell your Majesty that we will visit Cajamar in the next few days. If he is willing to treat him with courtesy, I will be happy to be his friend. But if he wishes to go to war, I will also attack Those who are against me, my country, and the God I believe in attack him as much." The look of contempt no longer appeared on Sikanshara's face.His face was sullen and hostile.The young Guapa stood up and whispered something quickly into Martinilo's ear, which the latter did not translate.After that, he glanced at Jia Boye again. He put away his friendly attitude, and his eyes showed that he was ready to fight to the end, and he was confident. Jia Boye stared straight at him.He managed to force a smile, or what could only be described as a grotesque expression of convulsions.He murmured something that the other party couldn't understand: "I'm not afraid." But in fact, he was not so sure in his heart.