There were a number of things that Cortes & Co. had done in the capital city before he and some dozen others returned to the coast in order to address Panfilo de Narvaez. Cortes and Moctezuma talked about religion, they played a local form of dice. Cortes had messengers sent to instruct those on the coast, at Vera Cruz to melt down the iron from the ships and make great chains and gather those things to be then sent inland, so that ships could be built on the great lake of the Valley of Mexico. Cortes also meted out justice in the capital for those servants of Moctezuma who had killed those Spaniards on the coast. Already, in a few months, far from the desperate and uncertain days before the 'capture' of Moctezuma (however that actually happened), Cortes could witness himself as in control. And Diaz could testify to this as well. All three stories of very different attitude give a picture of a leader at ease, in charge of the present and yet, mindful of the future.
After the brief story in Diaz [ch xcv] where Moctezuma was captured but allowed to have visitors and leave the palace, the captains who killed the Spaniards on the coast were then brought. Diaz also has Moctezuma send for Cortes to come 'for judgement'. He questions them outside of the king's presence, but they confess to being ordered by Moctezuma to kill the Europeans that they found on the coast. Cortes orders for them to be burnt in front of the palace. The names that Diaz gives of those killed in this way were those of the chief 'Quetzalpopoca', referred to now as Cuauhpopoca, and also Coate and Quiavit. He then has Cortes explain that the king should suffer for this betrayal, but because he loves him so, he would rather suffer punishment himself. Moctezuma may have been angry but Cortes talked to him soothingly and they had some sort of emotional exchange, and the incident was allowed to pass. But the news went far and wide in New Spain, according to Diaz.
The story of the exchange of captains of Villa Rica on the coast, replacing Alonso de Grado with one Gonzalo de Sandoval, came next in ch xcvi. De Grado was brought to Mexico and was put into 'newly made stocks' for two days. It was Sandoval that Cortes had ordered to assemble the tools and metal needed to build a ship and chain, and he that sent them back.
They play a local game, like dice, but thrown at ingots with points given and taken away, called totoloque in ch xcvii. They are shown having a good time. A conversation about rank and bad manners among the Europeans is given by Orteguilla, the 'page' to the king. Bernal Diaz also tells of the time that he himself was addressed by the great Moctezuma and given a woman - doña Francisca - for him, on account of his 'noble temperament'. Diaz says he kissed the king's hands on account of this. This too was in the textual context of more stories about European guards (Pedro de Alvarado, Trujillo, Pero Lopez) having bad manners while around the king.
The great chains from the coast arrive, newly fashioned and Moctezuma was informed. In ch xcviii the 'brigantines' are built, and in ch xcix they are given a test and the local lords and Moctezuma given a ride on this new ship in the great Lake of the City. A hawk was captured and given to the Spaniards to see if they could tame it and make it hunt. All on the command of the king.
Elsewhere there were 'close relatives' of Moctezuma that came to know of his condition and apparently had decided to take matters into their own hands. They had risen up to take control where the king had failed to. But when the king heard of this he gave orders that the chief antagonist of these many, Cacamatzin, lord of Texcoco be captured and brought to him. This was done and he was confined to the brig in the lake. After a while, so were the other conspirators. [ch c]
Cortes then asked for and was given maps that had locations for 'gold mines' elsewhere in Mexico controlled lands. Guides were summoned and sent out and the precious ore collected from three separate places. [ch cii-ciii]
In Chapters civ-cvi they talk about money and tribute and gifts and more on allegiance, as in ci.
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in Bernal Díaz de Castillo: The True History of the Conquest of New Spain translated with an introduction and notes by Janet Burke and Ted Humphrey, Indianapolis, Hackett Publishing Co, Inc. 2012
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