Centeno arrived soon afterwards at Arequipa, and in less than two days Carvajal arrived there in pursuit. As the vessel procured by Ribadeneyra was not come to that part of the coast, and Centeno had not even received notice of its capture, he determined to dismiss his followers, now reduced to eighty men, that they might endeavour to escape separately, being utterly unable to make head against the enemy who was fast approaching. Centeno, accompanied only by two friends, withdrew, into the mountains, where he remained concealed in a cave till the arrival of the licentiate Gasca, being all the time supplied with provisions by a friendly cacique. On arriving at the coast of Arequipa, Carvajal was informed that Centeno and his people were dispersed; and hearing that Lope de Mendoza was at no great distance with eight or ten of the royalists, he detached one of his officers with twenty mounted musqueteers in pursuit. Mendoza however fled with so much diligence, that although followed for more than eighty leagues, his pursuers were unable to overtake him, and were at last obliged to return. Mendoza continued his retreat beyond the ridge of the Andes, into the eastern plain of the Rio Plata, where we must leave him for the present to continue the narrative of events in Peru.

Soon after the arrival of Carvajal in Arequipa, the ship which, had been seized by Ribadeneyra appeared on the coast, and Carvajal was informed by some of the soldiers of Centeno who remained at Arequipa of the intention of this vessel, and of the signal which had been agreed, upon between Centeno and Ribadeneyra. Wishing to gain possession of the vessel, Carvajal concealed twenty musqueteers near the coast, and made the appointed signal. Ribadeneyra at first believed that the signal was made by order of Centeno and sent the boat on shore; but having some suspicions of the actual state of affairs, he directed the people in the boat to be extremely cautious against surprize before venturing on shore. They accordingly, refused to land, unless Centeno himself made his appearance; and as this of course could not be complied with, they returned to the ship, with which Ribadeneyra immediately set sail for Nicaragua. As no part of the late force under Centeno remained in the field, Carvajal resolved to take up his residence for some time in the city of La Plata, as he was informed that Centeno and his friends had concealed a large quantity of treasure at that place, and that he might both endeavour to discover that deposit, and might draw as large a sum as possible from the rich mines in that neighbourhood. Carvajal was willing to communicate to Gonzalo a portion of the wealth he expected to acquire in that district, for defraying the expences of the war; but he proposed especially to enrich himself on this occasion, being exceedingly covetous, as has been already remarked. He accordingly went to La Plata, which submitted without resistance, and remained there for a considerable time amassing wealth, till obliged to take the field against Mendoza.

Lope de Mendoza, as already mentioned, made his escape from Arequipa with a small number of followers, and was pursued for a long way. He for some time followed the line of the coast, and after he had eluded the pursuit of the party sent after him by Carvajal, he and his companions resolved so endeavour to penetrate into the government of Diego de Roias on the Rio Plata, as all the country of Peru had universally submitted to the domination of Gonzalo. For this purpose Mendoza followed the same route which Centeno had formerly taken when retreating from Alfonso de Toro; both because he thought his enemies would not pursue him by that road and because the Indians belonging to Centeno and himself dwelt in that part of the country, and he expected to procure provisions and other assistance from them. While travelling across these deserts, Mendoza met with Gabriel Bermudez, who had accompanied Diego de Roias on his expedition into the country on the Rio Plata. From this person Mendoza was informed of the events which had occurred to the expedition under De Roias, of which the following is an abstract:

Diego de Roias, Philip Gutierrez and Pedro de Heredia, who went upon this expedition, had to fight their way among hostile Indians, in the course of which De Roias was slain. After his death, violent disputes arose between Francisco de Mendoza who succeeded in the command and the other officers engaged in the expedition, in the course of which Gutierrez was cashiered and banished. They continued after this to prosecute their discoveries all the way to the Rio Plata, receiving information that great riches were to be found in some districts in the neighbourhood, in which there were certain Spaniards who had penetrated into the country by ascending the Rio Plata from the Atlantic, and had formed establishments in the interior. In prosecuting the exploration, of that great river, they had fallen in with some forts which were built by Sebastian Gabota; and reported many other surprizing and wonderful things which they had seen in that country. In the course of their proceedings, Francisco de Mendoza was assassinated by Pedro Heredia, owing to which violent disputes had taken place among them, by which and the smallness of their force they had been rendered unable to proceed in conquering the country, so that at length they had come to the resolution of returning into Peru, that his majesty or the viceroy of that kingdom might nominate a new commander. They were likewise persuaded, when the riches of the country in which they had been came to be known, that they would be able to procure a considerable accession of new adventurers, so as to enable them to atchieve the conquest.

In the course of their expedition they asserted that they had penetrated six hundred leagues to the eastwards of La Plata, through a champaign country of very easy access, and tolerably abounding in provisions and water. Bermudez added, that within a very few days they had learnt, from some Indians who occasionally traded into the province of Las Charcas, of the revolt which had taken place in Peru, but had been unable to procure information respecting the causes of this insurrection or as to who were chiefly engaged in it; for which reason he had been sent on before to inquire into these circumstances, and had received orders from the captains and other principal persons in the expedition, to offer their services to the party that acted for the royal interests, in which cause they might be of material importance, as they had a considerable number of excellent horses and plenty of arms. After the conclusion of this narrative, Mendoza gave Bermudez an account of all the late events in Peru; on which, in, virtue of the commission with which he had been entrusted, Bermudez promised in the name of all his companions to march against the lieutenant-general.

Lope Mendoza and Bermudez went after this to meet the troops which were returning from the Rio Plata, which were at no great distance. When they were informed of the situation of affairs in Peru, they received Lope with every demonstration of respect, and confirmed the offers of assistance which Bermudez had already made in their name, declaring their resolution to devote themselves heartily to the service of the king. Lope de Mendoza gave them hearty commendations for their loyalty, and represented to them how honourable and praiseworthy it was to exert their utmost endeavours in the cause of their lawful sovereign; assuring them that they might all depend upon being amply provided for, when the country was restored to obedience. Lope de Mendoza was unanimously received as their chief, and conducted them to the village of Pocona, about forty leagues to the north-east of La Plata; whence he sent some confidential persons to certain secret places where he and Centeno had hidden above a thousand marks of silver under ground. On recovering this treasure, he proposed to divide it among those persons who had so nobly offered to follow his orders; but most of them refused his preferred bounty, either because they were already sufficiently rich, or because hitherto the soldiers who had been engaged in the wars of Peru had been unused to any regular pay, and only accepted money to answer their immediate wants, and to provide themselves with horses and arms. Even the lowest soldier, in those days expected, when the enterprizes of their leaders succeeded, to be rewarded for his services in repartitions or advantageous establishments in the country, by which they flattered themselves to acquire riches, so great was the reputation of the richness of Peru. By means of these men from the Rio Plata, Lope Mendoza found himself unexpectedly at the head of an hundred and fifty well mounted cavalry; all excellently armed and equipped for service. It was a great misfortune to the royal cause, that Centeno was now concealed, instead of having retreated into the interior along with Mendoza as he had done formerly; as if he had now been at the head of the royalists, with this important reinforcement, affairs might have taken a better turn than they actually did.