Chapter 820 Forced by the situation

As an old colonial empire in this era, Spain has fought countless small and large battles with local indigenous people all over the world. Most of the time, Spain can rely on its advanced military system, tactical arrangements and weapons and equipment to gain an overwhelming advantage. Although

Occasionally, it would be besieged due to its inferior military strength, but it was rare for the indigenous people to capture the Spanish colonial stronghold. Even other European countries that competed with Spain in global colonial affairs would find it difficult to win over the Spanish.

good.

But the emergence of Haihan is obviously a special case. This force that descended from the sky has a complete military system, advanced weapons manufacturing capabilities, and increasingly exposed colonial ambitions. It is definitely not an opponent that can be taken lightly. Of course, first of all

The Portuguese and Dutch who were dealing with Haihan in Spain did not make this fact public. As a result, the Spanish colonists in Taipei underestimated the threat posed by Haihan this time.

Before Mingge City even launched effective resistance, it was forced by the opponent's various tactics to abandon the city and surrender.

If the Spaniards could have an in-depth understanding of the Haihan people's true strength and recent movements some time in advance, then Alcalazo and others would definitely be aware of their dangerous situation and make corresponding combat preparations in advance to prevent the Haihan people from taking the initiative. Regardless.

Whether it was Tamsui River Estuary or Jilong Port, if we could start preparations one month in advance, we would not be so passive on the battlefield today.

But it was a pity that when they realized this, the Haihan people had already brought their fleet and siege artillery to the city, leaving them no time to prepare for the war. The strength that the Haihan people showed during the battle had already

They were about to feel desperate. Under the blockade of the Haihan fleet, Fernandez and his sailboat at sea were obviously unable to do much. As a last resort, Alcarazo could only immediately summon several senior officers in the city.

Ask them for next steps.

"Gentlemen, we must now find a way to prevent the Haihan people from deploying artillery positions outside the city. I believe you have all seen that these Eastern barbarians actually have siege artillery! If these weapons are not used to scare people, they

, then I'm afraid we are about to face a big trouble. Now that the retreat routes on land and sea have been cut off by the enemy, everyone should think carefully about what other ways to retreat from the enemy. The time left for us to fight back is already gone.

Not much more!" Although Alcarazo usually doesn't have a good opinion of these officers, this is the time when they need to fight for their lives, so he has to lower his attitude and ask the officers to think again as pleasantly as possible.

way.

"Sir, we should be more realistic. The problem now is not how to repel the enemy, but how to inflict as many casualties as possible on the enemy before the city is broken - if we really intend to coexist and die with the city of El Salvador." He continued.

The person in charge was Captain Ross, who was in charge of commanding the artillery, an old officer who was nearly fifty years old. He had fought for the Spanish army on the European battlefield for several years, until he was seriously injured once. After recovering from the injury, he could not continue to charge into battle. Finally,

He chose to come to the Far East to serve the colonial authorities. After all, the salary he could get here was much higher than his wounded soldier's pension, and he could barely maintain a decent life.

Veterans like Ross have no fear of war. For them, being shrouded in horse leather is the most normal fate. If Alcarazo decides to resist to the end and live and die with the city of El Salvador, then he will indeed do it without hesitation.

With such an order, he led his men to fight until the last moment. Of course, he also knew that some things were not as simple as whether to fight or not. As a soldier, he knew what he should and should not interfere with, so Alcala

Even though I asked him for his opinion, he didn't say anything completely, leaving some room for maneuver.

"Do you think it's impossible for us to hold this castle?" Although Alcarazo was mentally prepared before asking the question, it was still a little difficult to accept it when he heard the military people say it so bluntly. Although he was also very

You want to defeat the invading Haihan people, but if you have to pay the price of death, and even after paying such a price, it still cannot change the outcome of Spain's defeat, then maybe you really need to consider whether it is worth it.

"Sir, to be honest... this army is different from the Eastern armies we have encountered before. The weapons and tactics they use are unprecedented. Perhaps a strong city like Manila can resist them.

offensive, but with the conditions in Salvador City, it is really difficult to stop their artillery fire." Ross paused, but decided to express his thoughts: "The most ideal result is that we may be able to cause them some damage before the city is broken.

About a hundred people were killed or injured, but it is hard to say whether these Easterners would execute the prisoners of war after the city was broken."

Alcarazo swallowed silently. He did not want to bury his life on a desert island in the Far East. Even if the Manila authorities could later recognize him for his military exploits, he thought about how his family would have to face the situation of having no one in charge in the future.

, he retreated unconsciously.

At this time, he couldn't help but think of the city of Santo Domingo that had fallen before. Gusman, who gave up resistance and surrendered at the last moment, not only saved his own life, but also saved the lives of the troops and people in the city. This

On the one hand, Gesman made the "right" choice, but on the other hand, it also shows that the Haihan Army did not have the intention of exterminating the Spaniards. Their purpose in launching the war seemed to be just to drive the Spaniards out of this area.

——Just as they claimed, this area will be brought under Haihan's rule.

Like Gersman, Alcarazo also couldn't understand why Hihan valued this area so much. The Spaniards have been here for seven years, and until now they have not been able to fully achieve self-sufficiency. To a certain extent, they have to

Relying on supplies regularly sent from Manila. If it were not for the trade between Spain and North Korea, Japan, Ryukyu and other countries, it would be able to subsidize some of the daily operating expenses of the Taipei colony. If it were not for the strategic containment of the Dutch,

, the Manila authorities may have already ordered the dismantling of the Taipei Colonial Zone.

But Alcarazo was not stupid when he was appointed as the chief executive here. Since Haihan can quietly develop such a strong military strength in just a few years, it means that this group of people will never do it.

A waste of time in a worthless place. If this place is really as barren as he thinks, then what is the purpose of the Haihan people to launch a war to seize regional control? The only thing he can't figure out is the key to this. He believes that as long as

Many things can be easily solved by figuring out Haihan's true intentions.

It is a pity that the Haihan people did not intend to leave much room for negotiation. According to Gesman, the only negotiation condition that the Haihan people accepted was to surrender and give up any claim to the ownership of this area. This means that Alcala

There is almost no room for bargaining between Suo and the opponent, unless the defenders can use their own strength to make the Haihan people compromise to a certain extent, but now it seems that it is very difficult to do this. The weak resistance of the defense lines outside the city has proved that both sides

Due to the disparity in strength, even if this position is moved inside and outside the city walls of Salvador, there still seems to be no hope of reversing the situation.

Ross can be regarded as the most senior local military officer, and his views can basically represent the attitude of the military - the military is not optimistic about the outcome of this war, but still leaves the final choice to Alcarazo to make the decision

.

"I think we should...well, take a little more time to think carefully." Alcarazo hesitated again and again, but in the end he did not say the word "surrender."

Surrendering is easy, but the blame for defeat is difficult to bear. The city of Santo Domingo chose to surrender. After all, the number of local garrison troops was too small and the city defense strength was not strong enough. It was an excusable move. In addition, the lives of the entire city were saved.

With the Jilong Port as an escape route, Gesman's responsibility is not big. However, Salvador City is already the last Spanish colonial stronghold on Taiwan Island. There is no way to retreat. If you surrender, you can only return directly to Luzon.

The city of Manila on the island. That means that Spain's management in these six or seven years has completely failed, and everything has returned to the original starting point - no, not even as good as before. After all, when the Spaniards set foot in Taipei, this area

But there is no such powerful weapon as Haihan.

Even if surrender can save the lives of the Spaniards here, it may not make the authorities give up pursuing responsibility after returning to Manila. If the top brass attributes the fall of the Taipei colony to Alcarazo's poor response and faulty command, then he will be in trouble for the rest of his life.

Don't even think about having an easy life.

Alcarazo kept thinking about it until midnight, but could not make up his mind to make a decision. It was not until dawn that he couldn't resist the sleepiness and fell into a deep sleep. Early the next morning, he was awakened by the rumble of cannons coming from outside the city.

"What happened? The Haihan people started to attack the city?" Alcarazo stood up in a hurry and asked loudly.

The guard didn't know what was going on outside, so Alcarazo could only ask him to go find out the news. After a while, the guard came back and reported that it was the Haihan people who were testing artillery outside the city, and no formal siege operation was launched.

"Test the gun?" Alcarazo could only smile bitterly when he heard this answer. Obviously, the artillery of the Haihan Army has been deployed, and the purpose of the test gun is to calibrate the range and target. When the test gun is over, it will probably be the Haihan Army.

It's time for the army to launch an siege.

At this time, Alcarazo naturally could no longer sleep peacefully. He quickly got up and dressed himself up, put on a set of light helmets he had brought from China all the way, and then rode to the city wall to supervise the battle.

"Sir, the situation may be worse than we expected yesterday." Captain Ross reported to him with a gloomy face: "The Haihan people deployed about twenty artillery pieces outside the city, including four giant cannons, which are probably used for

Bombard our city gates and vulnerable areas of the city wall. Although we have blocked the city gate, when the Haihan people tested the artillery just now, they targeted the front city wall."

Ross pointed to the city head as he spoke: "They had already hit the battlements when they tested the cannon, and the shells easily opened a big gap in the city head..."

As he spoke, Alcarazo had already seen the cannonball Ross mentioned. It was like a big watermelon, and it should be a forty or fifty-pound cannonball. One can imagine the power of this thing. If it were an adobe city wall, it wouldn't take more than a few rounds.

It can create a collapse effect. Although the city of El Salvador is wrapped with wall bricks on the outer layer of the adobe city wall, the relatively thin battlements will definitely not be able to withstand the bombardment of such a huge cannon.

Alcarazo was still calm, and after seeing the cannonballs, he took the initiative to ask Ross if he could go up to the top of the city to see what was going on outside.

Ross responded: "It's no problem to go up, but please don't expose your body at the crenel. According to Mr. Gesman, the Haihan people seem to have mastered some special skills that can make the musket hit the target at a longer distance. The garrison

Captain Lopez of Santo Domingo City accidentally leaned out of the crenellation and was shot dead from a distance by the Haihans who took the opportunity to shoot him with a musket."

Alcarazo forced a smile and said: "Thank you for the reminder, Captain Ross, I will be careful."

After reaching the city wall, Alcarazo followed Ross's command and hunched over his body, trying to avoid appearing directly in the enemy's sight. One of the crenellations on the city wall had only the ruins of the battlement left.

There is even a pool of blood that has not completely dried up. It seems that when the Haihan cannonball hit this place, the damage caused was not just the battlements.

Alcarazo did not ask what happened to the unlucky guy. He chose another crenel about five or six meters away from the place where he was hit, and carefully looked out.

Without using a telescope, Alcarazo could see the artillery emplacements distributed in an arc outside the city, about 300 meters away from the city wall. The city defense artillery had such a long range, but its hit rate was pitifully low.

The Haihan people actually hit the battlements during the test of the artillery. It is obvious that their artillery has a very high hit rate and does not suffer any loss in range.

"If we don't care about the consumption of ammunition, can our artillery compete with theirs?" Alcarazo asked Ross with a sense of luck.

"Of course we can." Ross gave him an affirmative answer. But before Alcalazo could become happy, Ross added: "But we will probably lose miserably. Even if we use up all the ammunition in the city, it won't be possible."

Able to destroy these artillery emplacements outside the city."
Chapter completed!