release time:2023-12-02 03:19:45 source:Seven long and eight short nets author:{typename type="name"/}
The King then advanced to the camp of the Ydallcao and rested himself in his tent, but many of the captains spoke against his action in thus taking repose, saying that he ought rather to complete the destruction of all his enemies, and they would secure this for him; and that if he did not wish himself to do this he should at least command some of them to do it, and that it was not wise to cease from pursuit so long as daylight should last. To whom the King answered that many had died who were not to blame; that if the Ydallcao had done him wrong, he had already suffered enough; and moreover, that it did not seem to him good, since Rachol remained behind them to be taken, that they should go forward, but rather they should make themselves ready for its capture; for that the siege had to be conducted henceforth in a new and better manner. For the King was persuaded throughout that, since the Ydallcao had lost so many men and so much honour, and had lost indeed all his power, he would not wish to live any longer, and that he must be dead on the field. Which, however, was not so, seeing that the Ydallcao had not even entered into the fight, but had all the time remained under guard of Sefallarym[556] -- he who now calls himself Acadacao and is lord of Belgaum -- who, fearing the event, contrived by cunning that the Ydallcao should select him for his guard with all his troops, among whom he had four hundred cavalry; and when he saw how the soldiers fled, and how completely they had been defeated, he said to the Ydallcao, "Sire, if thou seekest to live follow me!" and the Ydallcao took refuge on an elephant and followed him, leaving his camp and all that he possessed. And as Acadacao wished him to travel by land,[557] he took no care to search for the ford, but skirting the range of hills on the south he went by that way.[558]
As it may be asked what became of the captain who sallied out of Rachol with the two hundred horsemen and elephants and foot-soldiers, I say that he ever kept himself advised of what passed in the field; and as soon as he learned that the Ydallcao was defeated he turned back to take refuge again in the citadel. But those within were not of a mind to receive him, there being a quarrel between him and another captain who was in the city; and he, seeing that they would not admit him, was forced to think how he could save himself, and he did so by passing the river by another ford farther down, and so saved himself. The belief of many was that he who was inside thought that he would now possess the city for his own, and that he would thereby become rich, and for that reason refused to receive the captain.
Of the spoil taken from the Moors, of how the King burned all the dead, and of what Christovao de Figueiredo did.
The King being thus in the camp, he commanded the spoil that remained of the Moors to be collected, and there were found five captains who were taken prisoners (those of highest rank were found amongst the dead); the chiefest of them was Salabatacao,[559] who was captain-general of all the troops of the Ydallcao He had taken for his guard in the battle five hundred Portuguese of the renegades who were with the Moors; and as soon as this Salabatacao saw that his army was defeated, he strove to collect and form a body of men, but could not do it because there was not one amongst them who thought of aught but to save himself. And thinking it worse to be conquered than to die, he threw himself amongst the King's troops, slaughtering them, and doing such wonderful deeds that ever after he and his Portuguese were remembered, so much were their terrible strokes feared, and the deeds they did; so that they let them pass on, and they penetrated so far amongst the troops that they found themselves close to the King's bodyguard. There the horse of Salabatacao was killed. In order to succour him the Portuguese did great deeds and killed so many men that they left a broad road behind them which no one dared to enter, and they fought so well that they got another horse for Salabatacao. As soon as he was on its back he seemed like nothing but a furious wolf amongst sheep; but since already they were all so exhausted, so wounded all over, and so encircled by the enemy (for they were attacked at every point), Salabatacao was at length overthrown, and his horse with him. And as the Portuguese who tried to succour him were all killed, not one escaping, and he himself was wounded in many places, he was taken prisoner.
The spoil was four thousand horses of Ormuz, and a hundred elephants, and four hundred heavy cannon, besides small ones; the number of gun-carriages for them was nine hundred, and there were many tents and pavilions. I take no account of the sumpter-horses and oxen and other beasts, for they were numberless, nor of the numbers of men and boys, nor yet of some women, whom the King ordered to be released.
Here the King stayed till all the dead had been burned, and the customary honours had been paid to them; and here he gave much alms for the souls of those who had been killed in battle on his side. These numbered sixteen thousand and odd. These things done, he turned again upon Rachol and pitched his camp as he had done before.
During this return of the King there came to meet him Christovao de Figueiredo,[560] who was at that time in the city of Bisnaga with horses, and he took with him twenty Portuguese musqueteers, he also himself having his musquet. The King took much pleasure in his company, glad that he should see the war and his great power; and he ordered some tents to be given to him of those taken from the Ydallcao, and commanded that he should be lodged close to his own quarters. One day Christovao de Figueiredo told the King that he wanted to go and see the city, but the King said that he should not set his heart upon that because he did not want any disaster to befall him. But Christovao de Figueiredo replied that the whole business of the Portuguese was war, and that this would be the greatest favour that he could do him, namely that His Highness should permit him to go and see the Moors. So the King gave him leave and sent some people with him. Christovao de Figueiredo went close to the trench before the walls, keeping himself as much concealed as possible, and seeing how fearlessly the Moors exposed themselves on the wall, began, with the musqueteers whom he had brought, to open fire on them in such a way that he slew many, the Moors being careless and free from fear, as men who up to then had never seen men killed with firearms nor with other such weapons. So they began to forsake the wall (at this point), and the king's troops found an opportunity of coming in safety to it, and they began to destroy much of the masonry; and so many people collected on this side that all the camp was put in commotion, saying that Christovao de Figueiredo had entered the city with his Portuguese. This was told to the King. Those in the city could not understand what was going on, nor how these people came to be in the King's service, until they recollected how on the day of the other fight the Portuguese had come, and then they considered themselves lost. For by the aid of those men the King's people came without fear to the wall, where already it was damaged in many places, because the city had its cannon so high up that these could do no injury to the men who were at the foot of the wall. The wall also was filled up inside with earth, and there were no cannon in the breaches. The people of the city whom up to that time they had killed had been supplied with stones which they had flung on the besiegers from the top of the wall, and with musquets and arrows, so that even if the King's men were able to reach the wall at all they were at least wounded; but as Christovao de Figueiredo with the Portuguese prevented the enemy from appearing at all on the wall, the Hindus were enabled to reach it at their ease.
Here you would have seen how the King's captains begged Christovao de Figueiredo to permit them one day to attack the Moors in his company, and he, in order to content the more honourable of them, went with them on those days. One day he divided his musqueteers into three companies and began to kill several amongst the Moors who showed themselves, insomuch that none durst be seen; and then the King's troops began, in these three divisions, to attack the wall with many pickaxes and crowbars,[561] and he sent to tell the rest that they should attack on their own account; and such was the result that the defenders of the city began to abandon the first line of fortification, and the women and children took refuge in the citadel. The captain of the city, seeing the dismay that had spread amongst his people, began to turn them back with encouraging words, and with some of them betook himself to that part of the wall which he saw was most severely pressed, begging them that they would come back to the wall and not be afraid. He was answered by some that at that point were those Franks[562] who were helping, and that as soon as any one showed himself he was a dead man; and he, wishing to see for himself where the Portuguese were, reached over with his body in front one of the embrasures and was killed with a musquet-shot that struck him in the middle of his forehead. It was said by the Moors that Christovao de Figueyredo had killed him, and they took notice of him (DERAO SYGNAES D ELLE). As soon as the captain was thus killed there was great lamentation in the city, and soon the wall was deserted, so that the men from the King's camp were left to do as they pleased with it; and they noticed the outcry that arose within and saw that there was no one defending the wall. They therefore retired to see what should happen, and left off fighting for that day.
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