Thanks to Nanyang Empire for the reward and support
After collecting more than 400 muskets from the Bolivian troops, more than a thousand Chinese cavalry turned around and headed back, passing an Indian village that had been attacked by Bolivian soldiers on the way.
The wooden fence used by the Indians for defense was completely destroyed, and hundreds of wounded people lay behind the fence. The Indians who were lucky enough to be uninjured walked back and forth to take care of the injured tribesmen.
The shock brought by more than a thousand Chinese cavalry was much greater than that of the four to five hundred Bolivian soldiers. The Indians behind the fence gathered vigilantly, preparing for the possible battle.
Li Mingyuan sent two cavalrymen to explain their intention to the armed Indians.
When the two Chinese cavalrymen approached the front of the Indian village, Bernardi, who led the young men of the tribe on alert, recognized the two Chinese cavalrymen. They were foreigners who had traded with the tribesmen yesterday.
Bernardi motioned to the tribesmen to put down their bows and arrows, not to be nervous, and sent two Chinese cavalry closer.
One of the two cavalrymen understood the Aymara language. He expressed the goodwill of the Chinese troops to the Indians behind the wooden fence and conveyed Li Mingyuan's intention to invite their chief to meet.
Bernardi asked the two cavalrymen to wait outside the fence. He ran behind and told the old patriarch the news.
"Do you believe they drove away the Bolivian soldiers?" After listening to Bernardi's introduction, the old patriarch asked with some suspicion.
"What they said must be true. I saw seven or eight carriages in front of the cavalry outside, which were piled with muskets,"
The old patriarch nodded slightly, mostly believing what the Chinese troops said.
When the Bolivian soldiers came to attack, they snatched the carriage that the Aymara people had placed outside the village. The carriage in the hands of the troops outside should be the trophy they snatched from the Bolivian soldiers.
"Bernardi, you go back and look after the clan members, and I'll go outside to meet their leader." The old clan leader ordered.
"Chief, let me go with you. With me by your side, I can protect your safety."
"No, if they want to harm us, they can send troops to attack the village without arresting me." The old patriarch waved his hand and refused.
What the old patriarch said makes sense. After the Indian village was attacked by Bolivian soldiers, the defensive fence and the young people in the tribe suffered serious losses. If the Chinese troops were hostile to them, they would only need one round of cavalry attack to occupy the Indian village. The remaining Indians would
It poses no threat to the Chinese cavalry.
After taking care of the affairs of the village, the old clan leader took two elders from the clan to meet with Li Mingyuan.
The old Indian chief walked up to Li Mingyuan with a wooden staff, bowed and saluted: "Friends from afar, thank you for saving my people. The Aymara people will always remember your kindness."
After listening to the interpreter, Li Mingyuan jumped off his horse and said with a smile: "Han people are a peace-loving nation. When faced with unfair things, we will not let it go."
Li Mingyuan's demeanor was gentle, and the Chinese cavalry around him did not show a domineering attitude. The old patriarch felt much more relaxed and no longer worried that the Chinese would be detrimental to them.
Li Mingyuan exchanged a few words with the old patriarch with the help of an interpreter, and then pointed to a carriage drive: "We came here today to make friends with the Aymara people. The muskets on the three carriages over there were given to the Aymara people by us."
A gift to attract people.”
There are about 150 muskets on the three carriages, equipped with enough ammunition, which can greatly enhance the defense capabilities of the Indian village.
Zhao Erlang acted as a translator and told the old patriarch what Li Mingyuan said. The old patriarch excitedly took Li Mingyuan's hand and babbled for several minutes. Without Zhao Erlang's translation, Li Mingyuan also knew that what the old Indian patriarch said were words of gratitude.
Li Mingyuan slowly let go of the old clan leader's hand and said with a smile: "These muskets already belong to the Aymara people. The clan leader can ask the warriors of the clan to transport them to the village."
The old patriarch looked excited and called to the two old Indians beside him. The two immediately walked back. Then the fence was removed, and more than a hundred Indians lined up neatly on both sides.
At this time, Zhao Erlang reminded him: "Your Majesty, they are welcoming you to the village as a guest."
In order to deal with the possible hostile behavior of the Bolivian army, Li Mingyuan made a special trip to the Aymara village to develop good relations with them as a potential ally in the future.
The Chinese troops contacted the Aymara people twice. This time they not only helped them drive away the invaders, but also gave them more than 150 muskets as gifts. A series of goodwill actions by the Chinese troops won them the
The friendship of the Aymara people is why they are wary and welcome Chinese troops into their villages.
Li Mingyuan had most of the cavalry stationed outside the village. He took more than a hundred cavalry and followed the old patriarch into the village.
The Aymara villages are built along the valley. At the narrowest point of the valley, a 70- to 80-meter fence was built as a fortification to isolate the villages in the valley from the outside.
Different from the traditional Chinese wooden buildings, the Aymara people's houses are made of clay and bricks. They are short round buildings with only one doorway. They resemble cave dwellings on the Loess Plateau of China.
Inside the doorway, Indian children in twos and threes showed their heads and stared curiously at the foreigners riding tall horses outside.
After asking the Indian chief next to him, Li Mingyuan learned from him that the building where the Indians lived was called Chuulpa, which could not only withstand the harsh weather on the plateau, but also serve as a burial chamber to cover up the dead.
However, with hundreds of years of European colonization, the Aymara people gradually gave up the practice of burying their dead in chulpa and turned to burials.
Walking to the center of the village, there were more than a hundred injured Indians sitting on the surrounding open space, and eighty or ninety corpses were placed next to them.
Li Mingyuan ordered the accompanying cavalry to dismount, slowed down and walked towards the injured Indian.
"Old chief, I have accompanying doctors in my army. I can ask them to help heal the injured Aymara people."
The injured Aymara man was simply treated and bandaged with herbs. Li Mingyuan couldn't stand it anymore and offered to let a Chinese doctor help with the treatment.
The old patriarch has never seen the effectiveness of Chinese doctors in curing diseases, but from the sophisticated weapons and equipment of the Chinese cavalry, it can be seen that the development of Chinese civilization is no worse than that of white people. The old patriarch has seen white doctors and missionaries, and their effectiveness in treating diseases is better than that of villages.
The priests there were much better, so in order to help the clan members recover faster, the old clan leader agreed to let a Chinese doctor treat the wounded.
Among the three Chinese doctors who set off with the army, one was an old doctor selected from the village of Ming Dynasty survivors. The two Chinese doctors did not understand the Aymara language. They first followed the old doctor to help the wounded clean their wounds, and then
After treating seven or eight wounded people, they dispersed and bandaged the wounds of other wounded people.
The old patriarch followed the doctor and asked a few questions to the injured Indian from time to time. After the wounded man responded and treated the wound, the discomfort was much relieved, and the old patriarch relaxed a little.
The Chinese doctor had been busy for more than an hour, bandaging and treating nearly half of the wounded. At this time, an eleven or twelve-year-old Indian boy suddenly ran up to the doctor and pointed to one side eagerly.
The doctor followed the boy to the edge of the clearing and saw an Indian with an injured right abdomen lying on the ground. His face was pale, and beads of sweat continued to fall from his forehead because of the pain.
The doctor quickly took off the medicine box he was carrying, took out the medicine to stop the bleeding, then threw away the rags on the wound, first cleaned the wound with medicine, and then carefully applied the medicine.
The situation of the Indian was not optimistic. After the wound was treated, the sweat on his head was still dripping, and his face became increasingly pale. The doctor helplessly shook his head to the inquiring old patriarch, indicating that the wounded man could not survive.
The wounded Indian realized that he was going to die, but he endured the severe pain and did not scream. Although he did not have much strength, he still raised his right hand, held the boy's hand with difficulty, and looked at himself with a look of reluctance.
's children.
The old patriarch lowered his head and whispered a few words to him. Then he slowly lowered his hand, a smile appeared on his lips, and then he slowly closed his eyes.
The Indian boy shook his father's hand and cried for a while, then shouted "Badu" (meaning death.)
His face returned to calmness, and he knelt in front of the corpse and prayed softly.
The Aymara people believe in the sun god Inti. They believe that there are two souls in the human body. Once a person dies, the first soul flies away and enters heaven.
The second soul gathers all the good and evil causes and effects of the body and stays near the place where the deceased lived.
Because of their serious injuries, a total of fifteen Indian wounded died one after another.
In the afternoon, the Indians held a traditional funeral for the deceased, and then buried the deceased at the place where they had fought in front of the village, letting their second souls protect the safety of the village.
