Chapter 1667 Attacking Manila (Seventeen)

Simang was obviously happy to see the negotiations between the two parties finally break down. From the Portuguese's point of view, he wanted the two families to fight to the death. Of course, if he could completely expel the Spaniards from the Philippine Islands and even the Far East,

region, that would be the best. It took Portugal decades to gradually lay out several supply ports in the Far East. If it had not embraced Haihan, these colonies would probably have been annexed by Spain sooner or later.

fate.

Now that Haihan has taken action against the Spaniards, he has invisibly done Portugal a big favor. If he were not afraid that the Haihan people would be overly concerned, Simang really wanted to take this opportunity to fan the flames and let the Haihan people push the city of Manila down in one go.

But after following Haihan's army for so many days, Simang also knows that Haihan's real purpose is to occupy Manila Bay and even the entire Luzon Island. Control of these areas is what Haihan wants. As for attacking the Spanish

It was just a matter of convenience, and it was not entirely necessary to send troops to Manila to start a war with Spain.

Why would Haihan want to seize these places from the Spanish? Simang believed that this was an inevitable measure for colonial countries to expand abroad. Who would not be tempted after seeing a natural harbor like Manila Bay? What’s more, there is a Spanish-operated building here.

It has been a seaport city for more than half a century. As long as the city is not completely destroyed by war and the local permanent population is retained, it can be quickly put back into use without too many twists and turns after being seized. Moreover, the area around Manila Bay has already formed

Many towns have been built, and the cultivated farmland stretches for hundreds of miles. By using this place as a colony for secondary development, Haihan can save a lot of money and time.

Of course, if the Spaniards cannot hold on any longer and surrender directly, Haihan will be able to save even more money and time, but in that case the Spaniards' strength will inevitably be preserved, which is nothing to Portugal.

Good news. So when he saw Francis leaving with a dark face, Simon actually felt a little bit gloating about his misfortune.

Qian Tiandun saw the Portuguese's overflowing excitement, but he did not explain the other side's small thoughts. The Portuguese wanted to use Haihan's military power to kill people with a knife, but Haihan also wanted to use the Portuguese to check and balance.

The Netherlands and Spain, and through Portuguese trade channels, gradually established connections between Haihan, Central and Western Asia and the further European continent. Everyone just performed their duties and got what they needed in this transaction. Really

As for who took advantage of whom, it may not be so clear-cut.

At this time, the eastern and southern city gates of Manila City were in the hands of Haihan, and about one-third of the city was controlled by Haihan. Although the Spanish defenders still occupied more than half of the city area, this was only

It's just a superficial appearance. Once the war starts again, the occupied areas of both sides will immediately change.

Although the two city gates in the north and west are still in the hands of the defenders, outside the west gate is the Manila Port. As long as the Haihan Fleet tightens its pockets a little, it will be difficult for any ship in the entire Manila Port to leave safely during the day, so the existence of the west gate is just

It is better than nothing. At most, it is to allow people to leave the city and then flee north along the coastline. Not far from the north gate is the Pasig River. If a large number of people flock out of the city, there will not be enough transportation capacity to allow them to cross safely in a short period of time.

Cross the Pasig River.

After nightfall, the Spanish army made no further attempts to launch a counterattack into the areas occupied by Haihan, and Haihan's side also remained tacitly silent and did not take advantage of the darkness to launch a surprise attack on the central and northern areas of the city.

Qian Tiandun did not want to add operational risks to his troops, so there was no harm in waiting one more night. Roger, on the other hand, led his troops to garrison at the East Gate, and also handed over to him the headquarters of the artillery units that would enter the city from the East Gate.

Although it is not stated clearly, this arrangement is actually an invisible compensation for the Nanhai Special Warfare Group. After all, they did not get any military exploits in the previous operations, so this unit was specially transferred all the way from Xingdao.

, we can't just let them come to Manila for a tour and then go back. If we don't make arrangements, the war will be over.

The Marine Corps is still stationed near the coastline southwest of Manila to intercept enemies who may escape south through the west gate. Of course, no one with a clear mind will probably choose such an escape route.

, but the command headquarters was worried that the defenders of the Manila Port Coast Defense Battery would still make some unnecessary death struggles, so they still deployed marines here to prevent some uncontrollable situations.

Wang Tom naturally still has many complaints about this arrangement, but the generals in the headquarters have known him for many years and know his true thoughts, and will not take his complaints too seriously. This siege must be an army attack.

As the main force, we can no longer let the navy steal the limelight.

Qian Tiandun climbed over the ruins of the south gate and entered the city after nightfall. It was not that he was worried about Gao Qiaonan's command, but the combat environment in Manila was relatively complicated, and the attitude of the Spaniards had been wavering.

There will be another move to request an armistice. Qian Tiandun personally sits on the front line so that he can respond in time.

For Haihan, the attack arrangement for the next day is actually relatively simple, and there is no need to rush forward. He only needs to advance steadily based on the current occupied area, gradually reduce the scope of activity of the Spanish defenders, and then use artillery to attack and clear out the enemy.

The city can be completed within a day or two. If the defenders still want to use the previous tactics of using private houses to intercept layers of interceptions, it will not be so easy at this time. After all, the Haihan Army has already entered the city with two combat troops.

, the troops are much more abundant than the day before, and they are fully capable of surrounding the entire neighborhood and then cleaning it.

The only thing you need to be careful about is that the opponent adopts some unconventional or even extreme defensive tactics, such as setting fires in the city, poisoning, inciting people to riot, planting explosives in important locations, etc. The possibility of these methods appearing is not high, but it is still

It is necessary to guard against it. In fact, there is no particularly effective way to deal with these dirty tricks. Generally, the only way to implement strict martial law in the occupied area is to prohibit people from traveling. Cutting off the channels for information dissemination is the most effective way.

.

The most capable special operations battalion in the army and the Nanhai Special Operations Brigade have already assembled in the city. If it were not for environmental restrictions, the Army's other ace force, the Cavalry Battalion, would also participate. For the Haihan Army, everything will happen in tomorrow's war.

We have it, we just need the east wind.

The Spaniards at the other end of the city are obviously not in such a relaxed mood. They cannot predict what kind of offensive they will encounter tomorrow, and they are not sure whether they can survive this attack. Aragones

After listening to Francis's negotiation report, he was naturally very frustrated, but he had nothing to say about it. The Haihan people's conditions were indeed too rude and harsh. Giving up the city of Manila would be no different from surrendering directly. They would definitely not be able to communicate with the country.

Let alone Francis, even if he went to negotiate, it would be impossible for him to agree.

As for whether they can withstand the next offensive of the Haihan Army, they both already know very well. The chance of their own comeback is very slim. The remaining suspense is just to see how long the battle can be dragged out. Aragorn

Nass even had a vague idea of ​​backing down, but he knew that Francis would probably not agree with this approach. If he brought it up at this time, Francis would probably look down on him on the spot - at this juncture, he, his subordinate,

I will no longer worry about the relationship between superiors and subordinates.

However, if Aragones just wants to save his life, he does not need to rely too much on the protection provided by Francis. He has a private armed force of a hundred people under him, which is only loyal to him personally. If the war is unfavorable tomorrow, then he can completely rely on it.

This private army protected him and escaped from the city through the north gate. As for whether Francis would defend the city or choose to save his life, Aragones couldn't care so much. When the disaster came, they would fly away and survive the current situation first.

In the early morning of the next day, the Haihan army divided into two groups, the special operations battalion set out from the south of the city, and the Nanhai special operations brigade set out from the east of the city. The two forces dispatched a total of more than 2,000 people and advanced toward the center of Manila separately. The artillery units entering the city

They were acting together with Roger's troops. If the defenders encountered temporary fortifications such as barricades erected on the streets of the city, the artillery troops would come to deal with them.

The Spaniards, who were unable to cope with the situation, finally continued their previous tactics, hoping that the sparrow tactic of shooting one shot and changing places would continue to slow down the advancement of Haihan's army. But it was a pity that this tactic was suppressed by Haihan's troops.

The results were not ideal, but two to three hundred people were quickly lost.

Only an hour after the battle began, the defenders had already retreated and vacated a large area in the center of the city. Takahashi Minami commanded the troops to advance outside the cathedral without much effort.

Gao Qiaonan finally met here the Father Blanco whom Ran Tianlu mentioned. He took the initiative to take Gao Qiaonan into the church, allowing Gao Qiaonan to see with his own eyes the wounded and many homeless people being treated in the church.

"Your Excellency, Commander, no one in the church has the ability to fight against your army. I hope you can show mercy and allow these people to live." Father Blanc made a request to Takahashi Minami very bluntly:

"They are not enemies of your country and should not be involved in this war."

After listening to the translation, Takahashi Minami responded: "Although your request is reasonable, I must say that whether these people can survive will ultimately be determined by the laws of our country. It is not a verbal transaction between you and me.

.I can promise to temporarily let these people avoid the limelight in the church, but you must also promise me that this church can only be entered but not exited. If someone commits a crime, you will also be jointly and severally responsible. If you can do it, then keep it safe.

The peace of these people in the church is down."

Takahashi Minami has no intention of killing indiscriminately, but he must guard against the possibility of someone gathering to make trouble. Father Blanco wants to turn the church into a shelter to provide protection for his friends first and block the bloody disaster in front of him.

In his opinion, this was a benevolent act by the church, but in the eyes of Hai Hanjun, it was a potential safety hazard. If Qian Tiandun hadn't specifically told him not to use violence against the city's cathedral the night before, Gao Qiaonan might have

He didn't even bother to pay attention to Father Blanco's request.

For this reason, Gao Qiaonan left two hundred people deployed at the traffic arteries around the church to ensure that this place is always under the effective supervision of Haihan. The subtext is of course that if something happens here, the Haihan Army will also have sufficient strength.

Suppress them with force as soon as possible.

The Castle District located in the north of the city is a fortress built by the Spanish when they settled here. It is also the political center of the Manila region. Almost all official institutions, including the Governor's Palace, are concentrated in this city-within-a-city, and the six-meter-high stone city wall

It is probably the last resort in this city.

Takahashi Minami was delayed for about half an hour because he was dealing with the church in the center of the city. However, his troops were not affected by this. They arrived outside the castle first before the Nanhai Special Warfare Brigade. However, due to the lack of defenses, they

With heavy firepower, the special operations battalion can only besiege this place for the time being and wait for the artillery troops to attack from the east.

At ten o'clock in the morning, the special operations battalion waited until the anxious artillery troops finally arrived at the frontline battle zone with weapons. After setting up four cannons at the castle gate, they fired several rounds of cannons without explanation. The gate of this castle had no

Like the South City Gate, it was completely blocked from the inside and was reduced to a pile of wood slag in a few blows. The defenders in the castle basically had no intention of fighting. Seeing that the situation was over, many people put down their weapons and surrendered to Haihan.

Takahashi Minami led the people into the Governor's Palace, only to find that the place was empty and there was no sign of Aragones at all. Then he led the team to the residence of Francis, the commander of the city defense, but also found nothing.

This result disappointed Takahashi Minami. If the enemy's senior officials were not captured, the success in conquering Manila would be greatly compromised.

Manila is not a big city, nor is it a small city. It is indeed not easy to extract one or two people from the city in the current chaos, not to mention it is not clear whether these two high-ranking officials have escaped.

The city.

"Arrest the servants in their residence first, and start the interrogation immediately. Before noon, I want to know the whereabouts of these two people!" Takahashi Minami immediately assigned the task. As for the interrogation, there are Portuguese people acting as translators, so there should not be too much trouble.

A big problem. Of course, he did not forget to send the news back to the south of the city immediately so that Qian Tiandun could understand the battle situation on the front line.

"Run away? Even Francis ran away?" Qian Tiandun was quite surprised by this. He thought that the Spanish officer was quite brave, but he ran away before the last moment. It seems that it is exactly what Simang said.

, it is impossible to sit down and have a drink with that person.
Chapter completed!