Chapter 815 Surrender
After hearing this, Gesman squinted his eyes and looked at Delgado for a long time, and finally said slowly: "It seems that you will no longer serve the Kingdom of Spain, right? Delgado...or you already have someone else Have you chosen a spare Chinese name?”
"Sir, this is good for both of us. After all, we don't want to lose our lives here, right?" Perhaps because the matter has been settled, Delgado is no longer like before. So humbly facing Gesman, his tone also had a hint of toughness.
After hearing this, Gesman was not angry, but asked him another question: "Delgado, besides leaving your life, what other benefits did the Haihan people promise you? Money or land? You Do you think they can fulfill their promises to you? ”
"They didn't promise me any benefits, but maybe this will give me the opportunity to do something I've always wanted to do." Delgado stared at Gesman's face and said, "Sir, I'm different from you. Money Land is not a necessity for me. You can’t give me what I want.”
Gesman really didn't understand what Delgado meant now, but the two parties were about to part ways, and he didn't want to get to the bottom of it on such insignificant details. Now being able to leave this place of right and wrong safely is Gesman's first priority. As for Delgado's future whereabouts and even life and death, Gesman is not that interested in continuing to pay attention.
The defenders in the city spent the night clearing the stones blocking the passage at the city gate. As soon as it got dark the next day, the city gate opened a crack. Delgado walked out of the city alone and walked to Haihan's position. After a while, a bonfire was lit outside the Haihan position. This was a signal agreed by both parties, indicating that the defenders in the city could leave the city and surrender.
Sun Zhen's platoon was also fortunate enough to be tasked with surrendering. Under the leadership of the officer, they jogged all the way and lined up outside the gate of Santo Domingo. As part of the surrender ceremony, they were required to receive weapons and equipment from the defenders at the city gate. Of course, taking this opportunity to show off your strength to your opponents is also a necessary method.
Takahashi Nan originally wanted to come forward in person to accept the surrender, but his officers advised him not to come forward. Firstly, for safety reasons and to avoid the Spanish's desperate behavior. Secondly, in such a small fortress, if the battalion commander was required to come forward, Accepting surrender would not elevate the enemy's identity in disguise. Gao Qiaonan will come forward to accept surrender here. What will happen to the city of El Salvador in Jilong Port in the future?
Takahashi Minami thought it made sense, so he directly assigned one of his company commanders to take charge of the matter, while he himself sat at the rear to observe the situation. If the Spaniards were not so honest, Takahashi Minami wouldn't mind killing a bunch of heads here to establish his prestige.
Gersmann, surrounded by his personal guards, was the first to walk out of the castle gate. It is worth mentioning that after Gesman took control of the city, the private guards who had defected to the military took the initiative to return to his side and wait for orders. And Gesman acted as if nothing had happened and re-accepted his guards. After all, the people Delgado brought to him were all Luzon natives, so they could only do some dirty work. It's definitely not okay to act as a front, and Gesman can't afford to lose that face.
After taking the sword presented by Gesman, the company commander in charge of the surrender ceremony casually looked at it and handed it to the soldiers behind him, and then said to Gesman: "Ask your people to put the weapons over there. Well, it's the open space on the right, and then line up to leave. You can choose to leave here by water or land, but you have to bring your own transportation. In addition, all livestock are not allowed to be taken away from this place, including but not limited to chickens and ducks. Goose, pigs, cattle and sheep, as well as mules and horses. We will randomly check the belongings of people leaving the city, and if there are any contraband or other dangerous items that we identify, they will be detained. Please tell your people these precautions. Violate our regulations when leaving the city, otherwise we will not be able to guarantee your personal safety.”
After listening to the translation, Gesman felt that the other party was extremely arrogant and rude, but from his current position he was indeed unable to effectively fight against it. Looking at the Haihan soldiers with live ammunition next to them and the black muzzles on the distant position, Gesman felt that the grievance he was feeling was bearable. At least he had successfully saved his life... No, it should be said that he had successfully saved his life. He had to save the lives of all the people in the city. This was a real achievement. As long as he could return to Jilong Port, no one could take it away.
After receiving the order, the Spanish soldiers formed a single file and slowly walked out of the city. One by one, they threw their weapons and armor in the designated area. Even a dagger could not be taken out of the blockade area.
However, a small discordant note soon appeared in the surrendering team. The shackled Spanish officer Giroud was pushed out of the city gate by several people, and the voice coming from his mouth was eye-catching. But because the content of what he yelled at was in Spanish, the Haihan soldiers couldn't understand what he was cursing.
"Tell him to shut up!" Gesman was so angry when he saw this scene that he had already arrived at this field. Giroud still didn't restrain himself. If he hadn't planned to take him back and hand him over to a military court for trial, so that he could Taking the blame for the fall of Santo Domingo and Lopez's death in battle, Gesman probably would have ordered him to be hanged yesterday.
However, the Haihan people were one step faster. Two soldiers rushed over to stop Jirou, then turned the butts of their rifles and hit him hard twice on the stomach, causing him to bend down and moan in pain. The soldiers of the special operations battalion did not have a good impression of these Western ghosts with deep eyes and high noses. To Haihan, they were all enemies and competitors - this was naturally affected by Haihan's propaganda strategy. Letting these Spaniards leave safely is already a rare act of mercy for the special operations battalion. If there are still people who disobey the arrangements during this process, of course they will inevitably suffer.
Gesman's lips moved slightly after seeing this scene, but in the end he still said nothing. Now that you have chosen to surrender, it will be difficult to resist again. Whether you are a soldier or an officer, you may not have much courage left to resist at this time.
The disarmed Spaniards were not able to leave safely right away. They also had to undergo a body search. In addition to some personal belongings, metal items were detained, even an iron pot. None are allowed to be taken away. The only exception was Gersmann, who was allowed to take away five boxes without inspection, while the others were ransacked until not a single copper was left.
Despite this, Gao Qiaonan is not optimistic about the benefits that the special operations battalion can obtain here. After all, the daily basic consumption of Santo Domingo City has to rely on the supplies of Jilong Port to a large extent, and it is impossible to talk about it at all. There's nothing to be said about it. There is probably nothing of value in this city except scrap copper and iron that can be recycled into furnaces. Of course, you can pick and choose from the weapons handed over by the Spaniards. Although they cannot be used to equip the militia army, there should be no problem in selling them to the Ming army in Fujian and Guangdong at a discount. Although the performance of these weapons is not as good as Haihan's foreign trade version, they are still relatively advanced equipment for the Ming army.
After all the armed men surrendered their weapons, they were followed by real local immigrants, but there were very few Spaniards among them. Most of them were Nanyang natives like Delgado who were born in Luzon, and there were also a few Han Chinese and people of ancestry. Unknown mixed-race descent. As with the previous standards, they are also prohibited from taking away metal objects. Whether they are farm tools or kitchen knives, they are all among the seized items. For these people living at the bottom of society, this is also a huge loss. But compared to the Spaniards, they were also less able to resist Haihan's repressive measures. The entire surrender process lasted a little more than an hour. Although there were several small-scale conflicts during the period, due to the timely and effective handling measures of the soldiers, no major troubles were caused. On the other hand, the guys who caused trouble in the few conflicts were basically beaten up. After suppressing a few thorns, there were no more troubles in the second half of the surrender.
"As a representative of the Kingdom of Spain, I must ask you to explain the reasons for this undeclared war." Before setting off, Gesman still asked Haihan's side, and he finally got to see Haihan. Takahashi Minami, the supreme commander of this operation.
"This island..." Gao Qiaonan pointed to the land at his feet: "We Haihan call it Taiwan Island, you call it Formosa, but on Haihan's map, this island belonged to Haihan a long time ago. territory. You are invaders, and it is a normal action for Haihan as a master to drive you away.”
"This is impossible. This is just an undeveloped primitive island. There is no trace of the rule of a civilized country at all!" Although Gesman is afraid of death, he is not willing to be fooled by the other party with such a low-level excuse—— If this report was reported back to Manila, the big shots would definitely think that they were making up the reasons for their defeat.
"I'm just telling you this fact now. I'm not arguing with you about whether you accept it or not." Takahashi Minami sat silently. After listening to the translator, he didn't look at Gesman at all: "Do you believe it or not?" If you don’t believe it, it has nothing to do with me. If you feel dissatisfied, you are welcome to come back with your troops. But next time we meet on the battlefield, it may not be possible to resolve it peacefully like today.”
After hearing this, Gesman almost spit out his blood. When did the Kingdom of Spain, which was so lofty in Europe and even the world, fall to the point of being humiliated by such a nobody?
Gesman took a deep breath, suppressed the anger in his heart, and said to Takahashi Minami with a serious face: "Sir, you are provoking a full-scale war! I don't think you and your tribe can withstand this. Serious consequences! ”
Takahashi Nan patiently listened to the translation, and sneered: "Severe consequences? How serious can it be? Let your troops withdraw from the European battlefield, float on the sea for a year, and come to the Far East to attack us? Just because A colonial stronghold with only a few hundred people? Will the senior officials in Manila think that your reason for war is valid? ”
Gesman's face was ashen. He did not expect that this stocky Haihan officer would know so much information about Spain. It seemed that the other party was really prepared and had even considered the possible consequences of starting a war. . The verbal threat he had just made seemed pale and weak in an instant, and it had become a laughing stock in the other party's mouth.
These insights of Gao Qiaonan naturally came from Qian Tiandun. After daily training, Qian Tiandun would teach him some world military knowledge and talk about the current chaotic situation on the European battlefield. As for the Western countries that Haihan came into contact with, such as Portugal, the Netherlands, and Spain, their national conditions and military characteristics were the focus of Qian Tiandun's explanation. This knowledge is indeed not of much use in normal times, but at this time, faced with Gesman's threat, Takahashi Minami's few casual words became a powerful counterattack.
Gao Qiaonan put away his smile and said in a deep voice: "I would like to advise you to leave this place as soon as possible. Whether it is here or the Jilong Port in the north, it is our Haihan land!"
"This is impossible!" Gesman shook his head decisively and refused: "If you continue to attack Jilong Port, then we will only see the truth on the battlefield."
"It's just what I want." Takahashi Nan also refused to give in: "I also feel that our army has not demonstrated its due combat level here at all. I hope that when we meet again in the future, your army will not surrender so easily!"
Gao Qiaonan was not afraid of exposing Haihan's strategic intentions in advance, because he knew very well that the Spaniards in Jilong Port had no way to seek help from Manila in the south in time. After blocking the local sea channel, some naval combat vessels have been transferred to the direction of Jilong Port and monitored the local sea channel. By the time these people from Santo Domingo City return to Jilong Port, Haihan's warships will probably have completed the blockade of the local waters. Even if the Spaniards could take advantage of the opportunity and send a ship south to call the police for help, and wait until Manila figured out what happened before organizing reinforcements to go north, the war would have been over for a month or two. If the Spaniards can still recapture Jilong Port from the special operations battalion by then, then Gao Qiaonan might as well just hang himself.
Even if the Spaniards in Jilong Port prepared for war in advance, in Takahashi Nan's view, it was just meaningless resistance. Delgado has provided Haihan with a lot of military deployment information about Jilong Port. Combined with the information previously obtained from the young blacksmith Jose, Jilong Port has no secrets for Haihan. Both Qian Tiandun and Gao Qiaonan were commanders who hoped to promote troop training through actual combat, so they did not intend to repeat the practice at Tamsui Hekou in Jilong Port.
(End of chapter)