CHAPTER XLVI

    How the President Vaca de Castro quitted Popayán, to go to the city of Quito.

WE recounted in former chapters how, while the Licentiate Vaca de Castro was in the city of Popayán, Lorenzo de Aldana brought news of the death of the Marquis Pizarro in the city of Lima at the hands of the men of Chile, and how, when this was known to Vaca de Castro, he wrote to the Adelantado Don Sebastián de Belalcázar, who was then at Cali, desiring him not to go to the city of Cartago, nor to Anzerma for the present. Vaca de Castro was very anxious to know for certain if the news was true. At this juncture¹ one Ordas, and Juan de Valdivieso, citizens of Cuzco, arrived, who, jointly² with Diego Maldonado and other settlers in Peru, had embarked³ at Panamá for that Realm. When they had reached the coast of Peru they received the news of the Marquis's death; and, as the Judge had landed at the port of Buenaventura, they gave up their voyage further southwards, and went inland to[158] Quito to find him. Thence they went on to Pasto, and, together with Villalba, they proceeded to Popayán, where they found Vaca de Castro, and related to him what was going on; how Don Diego had assumed the r?le of governor of the realm; how he had sent one of his captains, named García de Alvarado, to range the coast, and even to get the Judge himself into his clutches in order to detain or kill him; how he had taken and killed Alonso de Cabrera and others, and had captured and carried back the Licentiate García de León a prisoner. When Vaca de Castro heard this news he became quite convinced that the Marquis had been murdered, and that Don Diego was set up as Governor. He wrote again to Belalcázar therefore, explaining that the Marquis had been murdered, and that Don Diego had shamelessly and insolently⁴ got himself installed as Governor, and had been so received at Lima. Vaca de Castro called upon Belalcázar, who had always been a faithful servant of his Majesty⁵ and was the King's Governor and Captain-General, to collect as many men and arms as possible and march to Popayán, where the Judge awaited him.

People allege⁶ that when Belalcázar read this letter from Vaca de Castro, he was much worried, and that it was more from fear than from goodwill⁷ that he obeyed the summons. This seems likely, because he always showed himself lukewarm in whatever things occurred, and in the letters he sent to the cities nearest the coast he wrote that he was going back because he could not do otherwise, but would soon return. He had another reason for wishing to go down stream but not up, which was that according to positive news received at Cali, Captain Jorge Robledo, the founder⁸ of those towns and cities, with all those who had been his followers⁹ before, had espoused¹⁰ the royalist cause, and the Adelantado was anxious to arrest him. However, Belalcázar replied to the Licentiate that he would be happy[159] to come to Popayán at once and do what might be required of him, and that he would bring as many men as he could, although he then had very few in the city. He got ready as best he was able, and set out for the city of Popayán, accompanied by some of his servants and friends, and other inhabitants of Cali. At Popayán he was received by the President Vaca de Castro.

Having assembled the principal people who were there, the Licentiate Vaca de Castro displayed a Royal Cedula of his Majesty, whereby it was decreed that if the Marquis Pizarro should die during Vaca de Castro's voyage to Peru, or after his arrival there, he, Vaca de Castro, was empowered to take over the government of the provinces and be his Majesty's Governor there, with the same full powers as those granted to the Marquis. When they had seen the Cedula there was some argument as to what had best be done to take the control from Don Diego, who held it against the royal will. There were some who advised that Vaca de Castro should go back to Buenaventura and thence to Panamá, where he might assemble a fleet and a large force with which to go in strength against the men of Chile and punish them for the crime they had committed in putting the Marquis to death and seizing the country. Lorenzo de Aldana was not of this opinion. He maintained that Vaca de Castro should take the road and enter Peru with all possible despatch¹¹; for although Don Diego had assumed the name of Governor, there were in Peru so many loyal subjects of his Majesty that they would not fail for any reason to enlist¹² themselves in his service. To go to Panamá would cause much mischief¹³, and would be of no use. After they had argued about what should be done, Vaca de Castro decided¹⁴ to go on to Quito, and ordered Belalcázar to go with him to Peru. While preparations were being made for the journey many copies were made of the royal Cedula of his Majesty, and despatched by[160] messengers to all parts that the President's coming might be known, as well as the will of his Majesty to the effect that in the event of the death of the Marquis, Vaca de Castro was to be Governor. Then, with the following he had, Vaca de Castro set out for Quito, taking with him Lorenzo de Aldana, who he expected would be very useful. Continuing the journey they came to Villaviciosa de Pasto, where they found several persons willing to go with the President to serve his Majesty.

Then, when the messengers sent by Vaca de Castro from Popayán arrived at Quito, and the royal Cedula of the King our master was seen there, the Captain Pedro de Puelles, who was lieutenant¹⁵ there, and the alcaldes assembled in council; and they acknowledged Vaca de Castro as Governor, sending messengers to inform him, and offering to go with him until he should have carried out all that his Majesty had ordered. When the Governor Vaca de Castro learnt that he had been acknowledged at Quito he rejoiced at this good beginning, and pressed on with all speed to arrive there.

1 juncture   

n.时刻，关键时刻，紧要关头

参考例句：

• The project is situated at the juncture of the new and old urban districts.该项目位于新老城区交界处。
• It is very difficult at this juncture to predict the company's future.此时很难预料公司的前景。

2 jointly   

ad.联合地，共同地

参考例句：

• Tenants are jointly and severally liable for payment of the rent. 租金由承租人共同且分别承担。
• She owns the house jointly with her husband. 她和丈夫共同拥有这所房子。

3 embarked   

乘船( embark的过去式和过去分词 )； 装载； 从事

参考例句：

• We stood on the pier and watched as they embarked. 我们站在突码头上目送他们登船。
• She embarked on a discourse about the town's origins. 她开始讲本市的起源。

4 insolently   

adv.自豪地，自傲地

参考例句：

• No does not respect, speak insolently,satire, etc for TT management team member. 不得发表对TT管理层人员不尊重、出言不逊、讽刺等等的帖子。 来自互联网
• He had replied insolently to his superiors. 他傲慢地回答了他上司的问题。 来自互联网

5 majesty   

n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权

参考例句：

• The king had unspeakable majesty.国王有无法形容的威严。
• Your Majesty must make up your mind quickly!尊贵的陛下，您必须赶快做出决定！

6 allege   

vt.宣称，申述，主张，断言

参考例句：

• The newspaper reporters allege that the man was murdered but they have given no proof.新闻记者们宣称这个男人是被谋杀的，但他们没提出证据。
• Students occasionally allege illness as the reason for absence.学生时不时会称病缺课。

7 goodwill   

n.善意，亲善，信誉，声誉

参考例句：

• His heart is full of goodwill to all men.他心里对所有人都充满着爱心。
• We paid ￡10,000 for the shop,and ￡2000 for its goodwill.我们用一万英镑买下了这家商店，两千英镑买下了它的信誉。

8 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

9 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。

10 espoused   

v.（决定）支持，拥护（目标、主张等）( espouse的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• They espoused the notion of equal opportunity for all in education. 他们赞同在教育方面人人机会均等的观念。
• The ideas she espoused were incomprehensible to me. 她所支持的意见令我难以理解。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 despatch   

n./v.(dispatch)派遣；发送；n.急件；新闻报道

参考例句：

• The despatch of the task force is purely a contingency measure.派出特遣部队纯粹是应急之举。
• He rushed the despatch through to headquarters.他把急件赶送到总部。

12 enlist   

vt.谋取(支持等)，赢得；征募；vi.入伍

参考例句：

• They come here to enlist men for the army.他们来这儿是为了召兵。
• The conference will make further efforts to enlist the support of the international community for their just struggle. 会议必将进一步动员国际社会，支持他们的正义斗争。

13 mischief   

n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹

参考例句：

• Nobody took notice of the mischief of the matter. 没有人注意到这件事情所带来的危害。
• He seems to intend mischief.看来他想捣蛋。

14 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

15 lieutenant   

n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员

参考例句：

• He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
• He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。