"We captured twenty-eight Greek officers and more than thirty Greek sailors; there were also forty black sailors and more than fifty native Tagalog sailors. The ports have all been controlled by us. The following fleets The infantry is landing at the dock." Ye Hua calmly reported to Yin Feng: "We sank 4 two-masted warships and 1 three-masted warship. 20 people were killed and more than 40 people were injured. In addition, there were There are three merchant ships from Folangji, two merchant ships from the Japanese, and three merchant ships from Fujian. What should we do with them?"
Yin Feng stood on the top floor of Fort Santiago. He used a telescope to observe the movement in the direction of Manila City. He said slowly: "Seize them all first to avoid leaking the news. Check the Japanese ships. If they are not the Zhusin ships of the shogunate, confiscate them all."
He said to himself: "Why hasn't there been any movement? How can you be so calm?"
Ye Hua curiously looked in the direction of Manila City. This Spanish colonial center was standing silently under the blood-red light of the setting sun. Its tall walls surrounding the city were the result of the joint efforts of Spanish designers and Chinese craftsmen.
Yin Feng put down the telescope and sighed: "Tomorrow depends on tomorrow. Three years of hard work. All the efforts in the past three years are just for tomorrow."
"Ship owner, do you think the Greeks will definitely attack if they are involved?" Ye Hua asked.
"Definitely. They look down upon our combat capabilities. Moreover, the Greeks are unprepared for war and have no ability to stand still and wait for reinforcements to fight for a long time. They will definitely want to decide the outcome in a battle. I hope they do this..."
Yin Feng walked to the other end of the tower and looked at the escort soldiers who were still busy on the dock: "If we can win tomorrow's battle, then our company will truly have a firm foothold in this era of great navigation."
"The Age of Discovery." Ye Hua was stunned for a moment and then blurted out: "Shipowner, are you referring to the era of global voyages mentioned by those Western instructors?"
Yin Feng looked at Ye Hua and laughed: "Do you want to go see the outside world?"
"The outside world, Captain, is this world really like what you wrote in your book? Is it ten times larger than the Eastern and Western oceans combined? Is there really the golden island legendary by Western instructors?" Ye Hua's performance at this time .Just like those curious babies who are exposed to the outside world for the first time. It is completely different from his usual calm and stoic appearance.
Yin Feng nodded: "Of course it is true. There are countless stone buildings in Europe, the homeland of the Westerners. They are all taller than the churches in our Taiwan port. When this war is over, I will let you take the newly built ocean-going ship. Go travel around the world.”
Yan Siqi appeared at the door of the tower at this time. He reported loudly: "Report to the captain. There are Japanese ships trying to escape. They also injured our brothers who went on board to inspect... We have arrested the Japanese on the two ships."
"You're welcome. Confiscate everything on the ship and the ship. They are really desperate. Throw all the troublesome Japanese into the water prison. Let them sober up." Yin Feng said angrily: "Can't they see that? .Are we Chinese already controlling everything here?"
The city of Manila is now in a state of gloom and mist. The panicked businessmen packed up their gold and silver and planned to flee; the Spanish colonial estate owners and various landowners abandoned their property and fled into Manila. The missionaries were running around to bring Tondo to the city. , indigenous believers from all over Binondo gathered in the Royal City. There are now 500 Spanish regular troops and 1,500 indigenous auxiliary soldiers in the Royal City. There are also nearly a hundred colonial militias from various parts of the colony. They are rushing to the Royal City one after another.
Commander-in-Chief Don Fernando sent a large number of envoys to various parts of the Philippines to collect reinforcements. He ordered the troops in the southern region that suppressed the Muslims in Mindanao to abandon their forts and return to Manila; at the same time, he also ordered Captain Billagon, who suppressed the mountain tribes in the northern mountains, to return to Manila immediately. He even sent people to the Cebu base to ask for reinforcements. Regardless of the fact that there were only 80 Spanish troops in Cebu and could not be deployed to support Manila.
Moreover, Don Fernando didn’t know yet that the Cebu base had been surrounded by a sudden large number of Chinese pirate ships from Southeast Asia and was no longer able to protect itself.
The old general Chen Di came to the top of Fort Santiago. The first thing he asked was Yin Feng: "Why don't you march to the city of Manila immediately? Just now I heard Ji Zai reported that the Greeks sent rescue envoys and asked all the troops on the island to march towards Manila. The city is concentrated.”
Yin Feng handed Chen Di the telescope. Chen Di looked at this magical thing curiously. Yin Feng said with a smile: "I just want all the related people in Luzon to gather here..." He pointed to the city of Manila and said : "When they are all concentrated, I will attack. We will decide the outcome in a battle under the city. We will annihilate their main force at once. We have come across thousands of miles and the sea. The logistics pressure is very high. It is impossible to raise food on the spot; this The crops in Luzon have failed in the past two years. We must fight quickly. Attacking the Manila Fort will inevitably take a long time and cause huge casualties. I don't want that."
"You're not afraid of getting involved. The Rats are defending the city and won't fight with you. What should you do?"
Yin Feng nodded and said: "I'm worried about this too. But we got information before the war: last year's crops failed and there was a shortage of food in Manila. This is one. The other is: the Greeks have been across the world for more than a hundred years. To ourselves They are very confident in their military force. Many of us in the China Company have been defeated by them. Therefore, they must also hope to solve us in a single battle in the field. Holding on to the fortified city will make them starve to death."
"Besides, I have decided that there is no way to attack the city again after three days. All our cannons have not been moved off the ship. And it will take some time to push the heavy siege artillery to the bottom of Manila." Yin Feng turned to the busy dock. Point the direction to Chen Di.
"Our siege cannon weighs a thousand kilograms. It took some effort to move it onto the ship. We also relied on the help of donkeys and oxen. But here, we have to rely entirely on the manpower of our soldiers. Alas, there is no way."
However, all thirty light field guns of the infantry artillery battalion have been moved off the ship. The brothers of the artillery battalion are now busy assembling field artillery carriages around the castle.
Mai Xiaoliu, who was in charge of intelligence, and An Xiaosi, the local intelligence chief, followed Yin Feng's orders and dispatched a large number of escort members to implement battlefield vigilance within a five-mile radius of the landing site. They conducted battlefield intelligence cover-up and escort work for the Spaniards. Infantry units are divided into units of 10. They are guided by a local native or by a spy agent stationed in Manila by the company. They patrol and conduct investigations within a ten-mile radius centered on the mouth of the Pasig River. The Chinese Company's sentinel team They even went to the city of Manila and took advantage of the darkness to attack several checkpoints outside the city. Governor Aguna had to order the dismantling of all the checkpoints stationed by the scattered Spanish regular troops and concentrated all the personnel inside the city.
The biggest shortcoming of the Chinese company's army is that it does not have cavalry. Otherwise, the work of reconnaissance and battlefield cover would be more efficient. There is a shortage of horses in coastal areas such as Fujian and Taiwan. And for thousands of miles across the sea, the transportation of horses is simply a nightmare. Therefore, the Chinese company escort team There are no cavalry in the establishment.
But now Yin Feng has a fine Andalusian horse to mount. It is the horse of Gonzalo, the Spanish commander of Fort Santiago.
Within three days, the entire expeditionary force of the convoy landed. All 6 siege 36-pound cannons landed ashore (two of which were self-made cast iron cannons). There were also 50 cannons of various types. In the past few days, Yin Feng was confused. and lure the enemy. An auxiliary force composed of foreign mercenaries and villagers was sent to conduct a small-scale exploratory attack on the city of Manila.
The undisciplined mercenaries and the auxiliary troops who were only equipped with matchlocks, spears, and machetes were repulsed under intensive artillery fire from the Galli Fort in the west of Manila City before they could even approach the city wall. The Spanish army also took the opportunity to pursue pursuit for a while out of the city. It stopped only after being shelled by the Chinese. This made Governor Aguna, Don Fernando and others even more convinced that although the Chinese were effectively organized, their weapons, equipment, strategies and tactics were still much worse than the Spanish.
"We can't go out of the city to attack the enemy yet." Lieutenant Colonel Azquita, who had just returned from southern Luzon, was arranging the newly recruited Pampanga auxiliary soldiers. At this moment, he was summoned by the Governor for a meeting to discuss the battle plan.
Governor Aguna frowned: "Why. Lieutenant Colonel. Although the enemy has some cannons and adventurer mercenaries to help, it is still far behind our Spanish regular army. We don't need to be overwhelmed by their numbers. Scared."
Veteran Lieutenant Colonel Azquita shook his head and said: "It's not a matter of numbers. I just think that the army that can completely annihilate our fleet in a naval battle should not be so bad in a land battle. The courage of their soldiers is commendable. I observed from the city wall They were able to advance slowly in formation. However, they lacked tactical training and were poorly equipped with weapons. Only one third had matchlocks..."
"Then why do you think we can't go out of the city to hunt down these damn infidels?" Don Fernando asked angrily.
"They came all the way to the Philippines, captured Fort Santiago with a surprise attack, defeated our naval fleet, and successfully landed. But their siege performance was so poor. Don't you think it's suspicious?" Lieutenant Colonel Azquita looked down upon Tang. Fernando. Originally, he always thought that the position of commander-in-chief of the colonial army was his. However, Governor Aguna made this politician, who was not a professional soldier, the commander-in-chief. Lieutenant Colonel Azquita was involved in the physiological man rebellion three years ago in Manila. He made great contributions in the massacre. However, the position of Commander-in-Chief fell into the hands of others, which made him very dissatisfied with the Governor-General. Now he thinks that he is the only professional soldier here. So he said very bluntly: "My lords, can you I don’t know. Physiological people are originally a cunning people. Mr. Governor, didn’t your nephew die in the swamp three years ago because he was deceived by the physiological people?”
Governor Aguna's face changed drastically. He groaned and stopped making a sound. Everyone knew that this matter was the most distressing thing for the Governor. His brother blamed him for not protecting the child, so he broke off relations with him. Therefore, the senior officials of the colony were Normally, no one dares to mention his nephew in front of the governor.
There were also some mid-level officers present. Father Benavidez, the Bishop of Manila, was watching. The conference room was in the Governor's Office. The noon sun was shining through the window on everyone present. Everyone looked at the Governor's livid face.
No one dared to speak. Suddenly, a messenger broke through the door and broke the dull air: "Report to the Governor. Captain Velasco's troops have arrived at the north gate."