Chapter 812 Lobbyist
For the panic-stricken defenders in the city, Lopez's presence was the main spiritual motivation for them to maintain resistance. The fall of the flag of the war faction meant that the city's defense system had lost its backbone, and the city defense troops were almost instantly Caught in chaos. At this time, no one could tell whether Delgado's words were credible. Since the target was unknown, the gunners subconsciously chose to believe what he said, and hurriedly turned the muzzle of the gun to the direction he said and started shooting.
After Delgado misled the counterattack of the city defense artillery fire, he immediately took advantage of the chaos and slipped into the city. He now has two important tasks, one is to confirm Lopez's injury and life and death, and the other is to contact Gesman quickly and ask him to take over the command of the army as soon as possible and surrender to the Haihan Kaicheng.
The truth about Lopez's shooting cannot be hidden for too long. When the chaos in front of him passes, someone will associate it with Delgado. The timing of this incident was too coincidental. If Delgado didn't find the next protective umbrella quickly, the Lopez Guards who had regained their consciousness would probably cause trouble for him.
Delgado took advantage of the gunners to fire randomly outside the city, slipped down the city wall, and then got into an alley nearby. He is very familiar with this small world in the city, and he can feel Gesman's residence even with his eyes closed. Delgado now only hopes that Gesman will not be as stubborn as Lopez, otherwise he may be used as a sacrifice to stimulate the fighting spirit of the defenders.
Delgado quickly walked through the small city area and arrived outside Gesman's residence. Due to the tense war, all armed personnel were concentrated near the city wall defense line, even Gesman's guards were no exception. The guard post at the door, which was usually manned by a dedicated person, was now empty, which provided Delgado with considerable convenience.
Without any hesitation, Delgado walked up quickly and knocked on the door.
At this time, outside the city of Santo Domingo, Tang Zixing and his companions safely withdrew from the line of fire. Although the artillery fire on the city wall quickly counterattacked outside the city, the area hit was at least forty or fifty meters away from the position of Tang Zixing and others. It can only be said that there was no danger.
After returning to the rear camp, Takahashi Minami rushed over immediately to confirm the completion of the mission. For the Haihan side, if the defender commander is killed before the official siege, it will undoubtedly greatly reduce the difficulty of subsequent combat tasks. If Delgado in the city can make full use of this opportunity, it is even possible to directly force Spain People opened the city and surrendered. Of course, the premise of all this ideal situation is that the assassination operation by Tang Zixing and others achieved the expected results.
"At least one shot hit the right side of the chest." Three soldiers responsible for using telescopes for observation confirmed this result. One of them believed that another shot hit the target's arm, while the other two did not because of the observation angle. See this scene.
With the kinetic energy of the bullet fired from the Trinity sniper rifle, it was not a problem to penetrate a Spanish light helmet at a distance of two to three hundred meters, not to mention that the target person was not wearing armor at the time. If this shot really hit the body directly as the soldiers observed, it would be very painful even if it did not penetrate the body. With the level of surgery in this era, the chance of saving him can only be described as slim.
Judging from the slightly chaotic artillery counterattack at the top of the city, it can basically be confirmed that the garrison commander's injury prevented him from continuing to stick to his post. You must know that in the battle the day before, the defenders had been very wise not to use artillery to counterattack, so as to avoid prematurely exposing their strength. The messy artillery counterattack after the accident clearly showed a lack of unified command.
After Gao Qiaonan verbally praised Tang Zixing and others, he asked them to rest first. If Lopez really died, he would definitely have to take credit from the snipers alone after the war. However, to verify this result, we need to see how the defenders react next. Takahashi Minami only left one day for Delgado to move. Regardless of the progress of Delgado's rebellion in the city, Takahashi Minami will order a full-scale offensive by this time tomorrow.
Delgado met Gesman without much trouble. He had a feeling that the other party seemed to have expected his arrival, because Gesman's expression was very calm after seeing him, not at all like yesterday. Lopez's expression of surprise and disappointment when he saw him that night.
"Delgado, you should have been on the mountain road to Jilong Port at this time." Gesman stared at Delgado and said calmly: "I just heard artillery fire on the city wall. This must be related to Are you interested in coming back? Lopez is not such a loose person. How did you convince him?”
"Captain Lopez is injured, and his life or death is uncertain now. I am here to hope that Mr. Gesman can step forward and take over the command of the city to avoid more unnecessary casualties." Delgado said in as calm a tone as possible He knew the purpose of his visit, but avoided answering Gesman's questions.
"Injured?" Gesman's expression finally changed. This was indeed unexpected news for him. But whether the news is good or bad cannot be explained clearly in one or two sentences.
"Captain Lopez was shot by a gunman lurking outside the city while he was checking the enemy's situation on the city wall. His body was shot. Now he is no longer able to direct the battle." Delgado further explained.
"This is really sad news!" However, there was not even the slightest expression of sadness on Gesman's face. Instead, there was a hint of excitement in his eyes: "Delgado, why were you the first to run away?" Come inform me about this? What do you want from me?”
In fact, Gesman already knew last night that Delgado, who was sent to Jilong Port for help, had returned. Although his servant was too stupid to understand the battlefield situation, he was a good at inquiring about information. , while Delgado was still being questioned by Lopez, the servant had already sent the news to Gesman.
Delgado, who had high hopes, failed to break out. Gesman believed that this basically meant that the hope of asking for help from the city of San Salvador was extinct. Lopez, who is responsible for commanding the local army, is a die-hard war fighter. Gesman believes that he will probably lead the army in the city to fight to the end and fight to the death with the Haihan people.
Gesman didn't mind if Lopez and his men went to fight the enemies outside the city to the death, but he himself didn't want to die because of this meaningless war. Yes, in Gesman's opinion, this is a meaningless war. This place has neither a natural harbor nor rich natural resources. It is difficult to build a plantation, and you have to always be wary of the soil in the nearby mountains. People come out to make sneak attacks. After a few years of operation, not to mention the benefits, even maintaining the status quo is a bit difficult. He has suggested to the Manila authorities more than once to abandon this colonial stronghold that only invests money but has no returns. However, there has always been a lack of opportunity for the big shots to make up their minds, and the procrastination has turned into the current situation. This time the Haihan people launched a sudden attack, and Gesman finally saw the terrifying strength of this rising star that could make the Dutch suffer a silent loss. Gesman couldn't figure out why the Haihan people were interested in this place, but he believed that this was actually a logical opportunity to abandon their stronghold at the mouth of the Tamsui River. Of course, the premise is that Lopez also agrees with his point of view.
Will Lopez agree to an armistice and peace talks or even surrender and dedicate the city? Gersmann believed that this possibility was extremely slim, even lower than the possibility that he could lead the defenders to drive away the enemy forces outside the city. Unless Lopez is unable to continue commanding operations for some reason, it is unlikely that he will be expected to change his attitude and choose other solutions to face this war.
It was impossible for Gesman to directly revoke Lopez's command, because the armed forces in the city only obeyed Lopez's orders, and he, the chief executive, had never been able to interfere in military affairs. Therefore, after the war started, Gesman could only shrink into his residence and made no direct intervention in the ongoing war.
But the news brought by Delgado gave Gesman hope to change the situation. If Lopez is unable to exercise command, then naturally he, the chief executive, should take over. The only thing Gesman didn't quite understand was why Delgado was so concerned about this matter that he would take the initiative to come home to report to him after Lopez was injured. Without understanding this matter, Gesman still did not dare to express his attitude easily - God knows if this was some other trick played by the military.
Delgado licked his dry lips and did not answer Gesman's question directly. Instead, he said according to the method taught by Minami Takahashi the day before: "Sir Gesman, I am not telling you this news to seek for my own benefit." What good is it, but I hope that both the adults and the Spanish people in the city can survive this war safely.”
Seeing Gesman's suspicious expression and not responding, Delgado gritted his teeth and said: "Sir, this senseless war cannot continue! The Haihan people outside the city have prepared huge siege cannons. If the fight continues, I’m afraid we will all be buried with this castle because of Captain Lopez’s stubbornness!”
Gesman thought for a while and asked again: "Have you already met with the Haihan people after you left the city? They asked you to come back as a lobbyist to try to persuade us to surrender, right?"
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"Sir, if we all die here, it will not be an honor to the Kingdom of Spain, but it will be a great shame. Will the big shots in Manila shed tears for our deaths? Will they organize an army to come back to avenge us? ? No, they won't do that. They will just put all the blame on the people who died in the battle and let us little people bear the responsibility for the defeat!" Delgado became more and more excited as he spoke. I am convinced by this set of rhetoric concocted by the Haihan people.
"Sir, if you can leave here alive, you can at least bring back information about the Haihan people and let Manila know about the dangers of the Haihan people. This is far more valuable than dying in battle here!" Delgado did not forget to say at the end. Give Gesman a high-sounding reason. However, he never admitted that he had any contact or communication with the Haihan people. This was also to protect himself and not leave any excuse for Gesman to fall out.
Perhaps Delgado's persuasion worked, or perhaps Gesman himself had already considered this. This time Gesman did not hesitate for too long, then stood up and said: "The only problem now is that around me There is no group of reliable people, and if the military people are unwilling to cooperate, it will be a bit troublesome.”
Delgado understood and said: "The villain has seven or eight good friends in the city, all of whom are serving in the reserve army. If the adults don't mind, the villain can try to summon them to obey the adults' command."
"Seven or eight people? Is it a little less?" Gesman was still a little uneasy.
"Sir, these friends are all very skilled and can protect you. If anyone in the military objects, you only need to order the arrest and take down the leader, and the rest will be easy to deal with," Delgado said. I was already prepared and answered without hesitation.
"How long do you need to prepare?" Gesman thought about it and had nothing else to worry about. Changes will happen no matter how late the night is, and if it continues to be delayed, there is no telling whether there will be any new changes on the military side. If it is allowed The military recommended a replacement, and it would be troublesome for me to get involved, so I decided to take action as soon as possible.
"It's quick to find people, but we may need a little time to get some weapons." Delgado responded: "One hour should be enough."
"I have the weapons here, just find the people as soon as possible." Once the decision was made, Gesman had no patience to wait for it, and in turn actively urged Delgado to act as soon as possible.
After Delgado left Gesman's residence, he immediately sneaked back to his residence in the city. What he just told Gesman was not a boast. There was indeed a group of brothers who came from Luzon Island. Most of them were tribal hunters, so they were all incorporated into the local reserve army. Of course, due to their low status, no matter how capable they are, they are unlikely to be promoted to regular soldiers. When Delgado selected cannon fodder that day, he deliberately did not select these people, also out of friendship.
These people usually followed Delgado, and after hearing him explain the general situation, they expressed their willingness to act together with him. Anyway, they are the cannon fodder troops who will die earliest and fastest in a war. It is better to follow Delgado's arrangements and give it a try, at least they can save their own lives. As for their loyalty to the Spaniards, there is no obstacle to them. The reason why they choose to be loyal to the Spaniards is just because they are strong. But when a more powerful force appears in the outside world, they choose to belong to a stronger force. It is the wise decision.
(End of chapter)