Chapter 1665 Attacking Manila (15)

"The Haihan people...should have arrived at the East City Gate, right?"

After saying this, Francis stood up slowly and did not look at Gonzalo's body lying on the stretcher. He asked Gonzalo to direct the blocking battle in the east of the city, and asked Gonzalo to at least block it no matter what.

The Haihan Army fought for more than a day, but unexpectedly, in just half a day, Gonzalo was already killed in the battle, and his body was thrown out from the upstairs of the command post by the Haihan Army as a demonstration.

Francis is not optimistic about how long the city defense troops under the command of Gonzalo can last. So far, he has not been able to regroup the troops deployed in the east of the city. The Haihan Army, which has no resistance in the city, is next.

Francis could probably predict what he would do. According to the defenses he deployed at the East City Gate beforehand, it would be difficult to hold off the Haihan Army for long, and he would probably lose control of the East City Gate before dark.

None of the officers around Francis dared to answer the question. Gonzalo's death in battle has shown the current situation of the war. They do not want to be sent by Francis to the east gate to fight to the death with the Haihan Army. If the main force of the Haihan Army has entered the city, then

The resistance measures at this time were actually somewhat futile. Everyone knew this, but no one dared to say it in front of Francis.

As the city defense commander of Manila, it was naturally impossible for Francis to surrender to the Haihan Army at this time unless Governor Aragones had made a clear decision.

"Get your horses ready! Go to the Governor's Palace!" Francis decided to see Aragones again to see if his boss had any intention of changing his mind, so that he could at least save some troops.

When Francis saw Gonzalo on the stretcher, the battle report from the east of the city was delivered to the Governor's Palace almost at the same time, so when he arrived at the Governor's Palace, Aragones had actually learned about the current battle situation. The two of them

After the meeting, their faces were very ugly. Faced with the current predicament, neither Aragones nor Francis has a good solution, and they themselves know this very well. If the current situation continues to develop

, the defenders were completely defeated in the past two days.

"Mr. Francis, is there anything else you can do to change the situation?" Aragones asked hoarsely. He put his hands on the table and his eyes were bloodshot. From the day the Haihan Army attacked the south of the city, he

He had hardly slept. Although he was unwilling to admit it, the fact was that the Manila authorities headed by him were gradually losing control of the city under attacks from opponents. His position as the Governor of the Philippines would probably be affected by this incident.

The war came to an end.

"My Lord Governor, I think you should know very well that the outcome of defeat is unavoidable. What we need to consider now is how to save more interests and face for the kingdom, rather than defeating the Haihan people." Francis paused and then said

: "Unless God appears, then maybe we can still defeat the enemy."

Francis finally swallowed some of his words and did not say them out. He issued a secret pass last night and released a convoy out of the city, and this convoy carried Aragones' family and belongings. Of course, this

Naturally, not many people would know about the convoy's trip. Otherwise, if the people in the city knew that the governor's family had fled, turmoil would inevitably occur.

Since Aragones himself knew that nothing could be done and arranged in advance for his family to flee the city with their belongings, what else could Francis say? To be honest, if he let his soldiers fight against the Haihan people at this time, Francis would

It already feels a bit worthless. Apart from dying in vain like Gonzalo, it is actually difficult to make any changes to the current situation. So now he hopes that Aragones will completely give up those unrealistic ideas.

, face reality well.

"You mean...let me negotiate peace with the Haihan people?" Aragones narrowed his eyes, stared at his men and asked sternly: "Mr. Francis, do you know the consequences of doing this?"

"You know, doing this will end the war immediately." Francis responded calmly: "Isn't this exactly what we want?"

"No! You don't understand!" Aragones raised his voice: "Peace? When this news is spread back to the country, our behavior will only be interpreted as surrender! We who have brought shame to the kingdom will be regarded as sinners, waiting for our return

When we arrive in Manila, we will be hanged on the gallows and take responsibility for the failure of this war! And our families will also be implicated and will be exiled to those barbaric areas that don’t even have place names... We can’t do this!”

"Sir Governor, if we fight to the end with the Haihan people, we may not even have the chance to return home." Francis continued to advise: "Losing to the Haihan people is not the most terrible thing. The terrible thing is that we all died in Manila.

At that time, we will not even have a chance to defend ourselves in China. If we can return to China alive, we will at least have a chance to turn around. Besides, we have more than one colony in the Philippines, Manila City, and there is still a place to stay when we leave here, so we can think of another way.

Slowly explain it to the country."

Aragones moved his head forward, closer to Francis: "Have your spine been broken by the Haihan people and you can't straighten your back?"

Francis did not get angry because of his boss's malicious speculation. He just shook his head and said: "I just don't think it is necessary to continue the fight, but if you want to insist, then let's fight to the death together in the city!"

Hearing the words "fight to the death", Aragones's face looked a little uncertain. Staying in the city and fighting to the death with the Haihan people was certainly not what he wanted in his heart. If given a choice, who wouldn't want to live a good life?

What? Just from his standpoint, he cannot easily show his attitude of giving up the city of Manila in front of his subordinates. Otherwise, if the military morale is lost, everything will be lost.

But in fact, he arranged for his family members to leave the city secretly the day before yesterday, which already chilled Francis's heart. Even if he stated that he would fight to the death, Francis might not believe him. However, due to his duty as a soldier, Francis could not call a truce on his own and negotiate a peace.

, after all, you still have to obey the orders of Governor Aragones.

"If you were a Haihan, would you be willing to accept the enemy's application for a truce at this time?" Aragones asked.

"It depends on what kind of truce conditions the other side can come up with." Francis had to admit that, in a situation where the Haihan Army already had a clear advantage, they might not be willing to truce to give the defenders breathing time and a chance to redeploy.

As long as they continue their current offensive, the defenders will not be able to hold out for a few more days. If it is just a truce, it will not mean much to the Haihan people.

"Let all the people in the city be free to leave and promise not to pursue, and we will cease the war. What do you think?" Aragones continued to seek Francis's opinion, seeming to have completely forgotten his previous unwillingness to negotiate peace.

"They may not agree, but they can give it a try." Francis knew that it was not easy for the Governor to make such a concession. As long as he had the idea of ​​​​negotiation, the conditions could be negotiated slowly. It is better to negotiate than not to negotiate.

good.

"Okay, then you can arrange this matter." Aragones slowly sat back on the chair behind his desk and said with a tired look: "For the people of Manila, I am personally willing to pay some price."

Francis remained calm in response to the Governor's coy attitude, bowed slightly in response, and then strode out of his study. Aragones leaned against the back of the chair, his face immersed in the shadows, unable to see

Find out whether his expression is relaxed or angry.

Francis walked out of the Governor's Palace, got on his horse, and returned to the garrison headquarters. Then he immediately wrote a message and had it delivered to the south of the city to the Haihan people. Seeing the messenger leaving on horseback, Francis sighed heavily.

In his tone, he had not shown the slightest emotion in front of Aragones before, but now he was a little sad. Regardless of whether the Haihan people accepted the peace talks or not, he knew that he would lose the city soon.

About twenty minutes later, Takahashi Minami received the letter from the Spanish. After he called a translator to explain the content of the letter, he knew that he could not make the decision, so he quickly ordered someone to send the letter outside the city.

, handed it over to Qian Tiandun for review.

However, after delivering the message, the battle in the city commanded by Takahashi Nan did not stop. After capturing the enemy command post in the east of the city, the special operations battalion quickly disintegrated the Spanish defenders who intercepted them in that area of ​​the city.

Rapidly advancing to the vicinity of the East City Gate. After about twenty minutes of fighting with the armed personnel guarding the area, the special operations battalion successfully seized control of the East City Gate.

At four o'clock in the afternoon, after clearing the city gate passage blocked by rubble, the East City Gate was finally reopened, allowing the Nanhai Special Operations Brigade, which had been waiting outside the city for two days, to enter the city. Later, an artillery battery would also enter the city through this passage.

The route enters Manila City, and the heavy weapons they carry will be used to attack the last few strongholds in the city.

After entering the city, Roger received the news from the radio that the Spaniards requested an armistice. He was so anxious that he quickly called back to the headquarters and asked that the matter be postponed for at least one more day, otherwise his troops would have to wait until they entered the city.

There will be nothing to do, and you will continue to be a spectator in the final battle.

Roger's request was mixed with too much selfishness, so naturally it would not be considered by the command. Of course, no one would criticize Roger's approach. After all, the South China Sea Special Warfare Brigade came all the way from Star Island and ended up fighting.

After fighting for so many days, it was not their turn to fight a tough battle. As a commander, Roger would naturally be a little dissatisfied, and it was reasonable to want to seize the opportunity to gain credit.

In the headquarters in the south of the city, almost all General Haihan except Roger were present, and a meeting was being held to discuss how to deal with the Spanish's request for an armistice.

"Old Qian, what do you think about this matter?" The first person Yan Chujie asked for advice was Qian Tiandun. After all, the main force fighting in the city now is Qian Tiandun's direct troops. Whether he agrees or rejects this matter, he must

You have to ask his opinion first.

Qian Tiandun said slowly: "If you look at the direction of the war, I don't agree with the armistice. We have already captured the east and south city gates, opened up the road into the city, and cleared the remaining defenders in the city.

It will only happen within a few days. A truce will not do much good for us, but it will give the Spaniards more time to mobilize their troops and rearrange their plans. If you don’t want to cause trouble, I suggest rejecting their request."

"But are the Spaniards planning to hand over the city of Manila directly to us? You see, the letter says that we are asking us to let the people in the city leave freely. Doesn't this mean abandoning the city?" Wang Tom took over and said: "If

You can take this city without fighting, so why bother?"

Tom Wang had nothing to do in the past two days. The Marines had stayed out of the battle, and the fleet could not directly participate in the siege of Manila. He simply went ashore and came to the headquarters to follow the progress of the siege.

"The enemy's statements should not be taken lightly." Harugong shook his head and said: "When they say they want to withdraw, there may be various situations that prevent the people in the city from evacuating. This will delay the evacuation for a few more days. The Spaniards

Maybe we'll find some chance. I think it's better not to give them this chance."

Yan Chujie said: "Of course there is no problem in fighting. We also have enough combat material reserves to complete the combat missions in the city. But we also need to consider the damage caused to the city by the war and the post-war recovery and reconstruction work, because it is likely that it will take several days

After that, this city will belong to us, and it is certainly impossible for all the people in this city to leave. After the Spaniards leave, the people who remain will become our citizens in the future, and we must also consider the future

The issue of resettlement of these people.”

"Lao Yan, do you still want to cease the war?" Qian Tiandun asked.

"Put it aside for now. I think we can talk to the other party first. If we can't reach an agreement, then we can fight." Yan Chujie said confidently: "Whether you sharpen your knife or chop wood!"

"If the other party delays the negotiation and talks for several days without reaching a conclusion, what should we do?" Harugong asked.

"This is easy to handle. Don't give them too much time." Wang Tom suggested: "Let's start talking today after dark. If we still can't reach an agreement by dawn tomorrow, then we can continue fighting tomorrow."

Limited to the objective conditions of this era, even the powerful Haihan Army generally does not carry out large-scale combat operations at night, so it basically has to stop after dark, and this time is used to negotiate with the other party.

If they make contact, the normal battle process will not be delayed. Wang Tom's suggestion was immediately approved by everyone. At that time, Yan Chujie dictated the content of the reply and asked the translator to copy it into Spanish, and then sent it back to the city and handed it over to the Spanish courier.

Go north of the city to recover.
Chapter completed!