Chapter 2983

The Calbon Market, located in the port area of ​​Cebu Port, is one of the main local commodity distribution centers. There are tea and porcelain produced in Northeast Asia, as well as various silverware and tableware from Europe, as well as items from the American colonies across the Pacific.

Shipped sugar, tobacco and leather.

However, since some businessmen secretly sold white sugar and cigarettes produced in Haihan to Cebu, similar products in the Americas have not been so easy to sell. After all, at the same price, the quality of the two is really different.

Although Han was Spain's enemy in the Western Pacific, no one would have trouble with the money in their pockets.

Locally produced spices and other commodities will also be brought to the Calbon market for sale, and then transported to distant Europe by maritime merchants, and sold to the Spanish domestic market at ten times the price.

In the past ten years or so, the Kalbon Market has not only provided a large amount of daily necessities to the local people, but has also been one of the most stable sources of income for the colonial authorities. If Haihan had not disrupted the situation and allowed the Kalbon Market to develop freely,

Then this place has every opportunity to become the trade center of the entire Philippine Islands.

But the reality is cruel. Today's Kalbang Market has been deserted and turned into a temporary camp for the Haihan Army. And a large number of goods in the warehouse that have not had time to be transported have all become the spoils of the Haihan Army's operation.

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At this time, a large number of senior officers including Commander Yu Tiezhu of the Fourth Army Division and Commander Jiao Fei of the Navy gathered in a warehouse in the market. The reason why they appeared here was not to count the loot in the warehouse, but to

Waiting to confirm the results of multiple consecutive torture sessions.

The previous operations carried out by the Haihan Army in Masbate Island, Panay Island, Samar Island and other places were so smooth that everyone relaxed their vigilance, thinking that Cebu would also be captured, but unexpectedly they were kicked

Kicked on the iron plate, he suffered a lot of casualties during the attack on Cebu.

In addition to the reasons for underestimating the enemy, the generals believe that there are two other reasons that cannot be ignored. One is that there were obvious omissions and deviations in the collection of military intelligence on Cebu Island before the war, and they failed to grasp the secret transformation of Cebu by the colonial authorities.

There is a large amount of information on armed fortresses, and there is also a lack of proper understanding of the deployment and tactics of the defenders.

Second, the opponent was uncharacteristically stubborn. There must be a deep-seated reason behind this, which made the Spaniards decide to sacrifice so many lives to fight for control of Cebu.

It is no longer possible to obtain more information from Haihan's own intelligence channels, so the only solution for now is to find a solution from the prisoners.

Although the local administrators of Cebu have not yet been captured, many prisoners have been captured in the past few days. The Military Intelligence Agency has identified some officials and has been working overtime to torture these people to extract confessions.

Although the warehouse that served as a temporary torture chamber was filled with the pungent smell of blood, no one cared about such a trivial matter. During this period, staggering prisoners of war were constantly being escorted in, and some were unlucky enough to die during the torture process.

The ghost was dragged out.

The officers responsible for taking notes came in and out, constantly summarizing the newly obtained information to the generals. As more and more prisoners confessed, the entire situation became clearer and clearer.

"I asked why the Spaniards were suddenly willing to go all out. It turns out it was for money!" Yu Tiezhu sighed angrily after reading a transcript.

Jiao Fei took the transcript he handed over, looked at it briefly, nodded and said: "It's similar to our previous guess. There is indeed something here that they are unwilling to give up!"

According to the information confessed by the prisoners, the Spanish colonial authorities discovered a huge copper mine in the mountains forty miles west of Cebu Port last year. Although it has not been officially mined, the colonial authorities are already making relevant preparations. Not surprisingly, three

In five years, this copper mine will become one of Cebu's main large-scale industries and sources of income.

As for Haihan's military operation going south to attack Cebu, the colonial authorities believed that the purpose was to occupy this mineral deposit, so as to completely cut off the possibility of Spain accumulating wealth through developing copper mines, developing armaments, and counterattacking Luzon Island.

If the purpose of the Haihan Army is really this, then it will be impossible for them to seize control, plunder, and then voluntarily withdraw their troops as they did in the previous attacks on Cebu. Once Haihan implements a long-term occupation of Cebu,

Naturally, the colonial authorities' plan to develop copper mines could not be realized.

For the colonial authorities, this copper mine was the last chance to make a comeback. If it were handed over, Spain would completely lose control of this area. So no matter what, it had to fight Haihan.

Needless to say, if you win, after driving away the Haihan army, you will buy valuable development time for the local area and accumulate greater military strength. Even if you lose, you can at least fight Haihan to the detriment of both sides and delay the opponent from continuing southward.

The pace of expansion.

Of course, judging from the current battle situation, although the Haihan Army has suffered a lot of casualties, it is far from reaching the point where "both sides suffer", and its ability to continue fighting has not been affected.

On the other hand, Spain, as the defensive side, has paid thousands of casualties in the local battles and lost control of most of the city. Although it has not given up resistance, it is basically impossible to prevent Haihan from occupying Cebu.

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Yu Tiezhu called the signal corps, and then began to issue instructions: "Make a telegram record. There may be a large copper mine forty miles west of Cebu Port. Please verify it with the Mining Department of the Ministry of Industry. Send it back to Sanya as soon as possible."

The signal soldier took the order and left after taking note of it.

Jiao Fei heard everything and said to Tiezhu: "The Spaniards have not mined this copper mine yet, and we have only just received the news. Can the Mining Department far away in Sanya know about it?"

Yu Tiezhu smiled and said: "Old Jiao, you don't know how powerful the Mining Department's magical powers are. As long as there are large mines, they can predict things. Mr. Tian Ye Youtian of the Mining Department, as long as he opens his mouth

, saying that wherever there are mines, treasures can be dug out! In the past 20 years or so, our country has opened countless mines overseas, and this method has always been successful!"

Jiao Fei said suspiciously: "What you say makes sense. There are so many mines opened in Luzon Island, and it seems that they can find the veins without much effort. Then you said that the superiors sent us to attack Cebu, would that be okay?

Is it...that the superiors have already grasped the situation of this copper mine in advance?"

Yu Tiezhu said: "That's not impossible. If you think about it, after so many years, the Spaniards have been fighting sooner or later. The Spaniards are preparing to mine this mine, and the superiors have decided to occupy Cebu. This timing is too coincidental.

But no matter what, we must win this battle!"

Yu Tiezhu was one of the first people to join the Haihan Army in Yulin Fishing Village. He had seen various "miracles" performed by the Travelers. For him, the abilities of the Travelers were the same as those of gods, and they could control things thousands of miles away.

Geographical mineral veins are inherently reasonable.

The copper mine in Cebu is of great significance and has far-reaching influence, so naturally the Spaniards cannot take advantage of it. As for why the superiors did not clarify this layer of reasons before taking action, Yu Tiezhu knew that his qualifications were limited, and he did not dare to continue messing around.

Make guesses.
Chapter completed!