At sunset, Itzcuauhtzin climbed onto the roof of the palace and shouted this proclamation: "Mexicanos Tlatelolcas!
Your king, the lord Motecuhzoma, has sent me to speak for him. Mexicanos, hear me, for these are his words to you: 'Wemust not fight them. We are not their equals in battle. Put down your shields and arrows.'
"He tells you this because it is the aged who will suffer most, and they deserve your pity. The humblest classes will also suffer, and so will the innocent children who still crawl on all fours, who still sleep in their cradles.
"Therefore your king says: 'We are not strong enough to defeat them. Stop fighting, and return to your homes.' Mexicanos, they have put your king in chains; his feet are bound with chains."
When Itzcuauhtzin had finished speaking, there was a great uproar among the people. They shouted insults at him in their fury, and cried: "Who is Motecuhzoma to give us orders? We are no longer his slaves! " They shouted war cries and fired arrows at the rooftop. The Spaniards quickly hid Motecuhzoma and ltzcuauhtzin behind their shields so that the arrows would not find them.
The Mexicans were enraged because the attack on the captains had been so treacherous: their warriors had been killed without the slightest warning. Now they refused to go away or to put down their arms.