Chapter 820 Forced by the situation
As a veteran 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 has been able to gain an overwhelming advantage by relying on its advanced military system, tactical arrangements, and weapons and equipment. Although they were occasionally besieged due to their inferior military strength, it was rare for the natives to capture a Spanish colonial stronghold. Even other European countries that competed with Spain in global colonization found it difficult to get good results from the Spanish.
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, the Portuguese and the Dutch, who had dealt with Haihan before Spain, did not make this fact public. As a result, the Spanish colonists in Taipei underestimated the threat posed by Haihan this time. Being restrained, the city of Santo Domingo even chose to abandon the city and surrender under the pressure of the opponent's various tactics before it even launched effective resistance.
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 to attack. 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 approached the city with their fleet and siege artillery, leaving them no time to prepare for war. The strength displayed by the Haihan people during the battle was almost making them despair. Under the blockade of the Haihan fleet, Fernandez and his sailboat at sea were obviously unable to contribute much. As a last resort, Alcarazo could only immediately summon several senior officers in the city to consult them on the next step. Strategy.
"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, , 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 methods can be used to retreat from the enemy. The time left for us to fight back is already over. Not much more!" Although Alcarazo usually doesn't have a good attitude towards these officers, this is the time when he needs to let them fight, 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 man in charge was Captain Ross, an old officer in his fifties who was in charge of commanding the artillery. He fought for the Spanish army on the European battlefield for several years, until he was seriously injured once and could not continue to fight in battle after recovering from the injury. In the end, he chose to come to the Far East to work for the colonial authorities. After all, the salary he could get here was better than what he could get. The wounded soldier's retirement pension is much higher, which is barely enough to maintain a decent and decent life.
Veterans like Ross have no fear of war. Being shrouded in horse leather is the most normal fate for them. 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 ask about, so when Alcarázo asked for his opinion, he did not completely explain what he said. Saying no leaves a certain amount of room for maneuver.
"Do you think it's impossible for us to hold this castle?" Although Alcarazo had been 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 also wants to defeat the invading Haihan people, but if he has to pay the price of death, and even after paying such a price, it still can't change the outcome of Spain's defeat, then maybe he really has 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 inflict damage on them before the city is broken. About a hundred people were killed, but it is hard to say whether these Easterners would execute the prisoners of war after the city was broken."
Alcarazor swallowed silently, he did not want to bury his life on a desert island in the Far East. Even if the Manila authorities were able to posthumously recognize his military exploits later, thinking about the situation that his family would have to face without a leader in the future, he unconsciously backed down.
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 would be brought under Haihan's rule.
Like Gersman, Alcarazo wondered why Heyhan valued the 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 still have to rely on supplies regularly sent from Manila. If the trade between Spain and North Korea, Japan, Ryukyu and other countries was not still a little profitable, which could 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 would have ordered the withdrawal long ago. The Taipei Colonial Zone was cut off.
But Alcarazo was not stupid in being appointed as the chief executive here. Since Haihan was able to quietly develop such a strong military strength in just a few years, it shows that this group of people will never do it. A useless waste of time. If this place is really as barren as they think, then what is the purpose of the Haihan people not hesitate to launch a war to seize control of the area? The only thing he couldn't figure out was the key to it. He believed that as long as he figured out Haihan's true intentions, many things could be solved.
Unfortunately, the Haihan people did not intend to leave much room for negotiation. According to Gesman, the only negotiation condition the Haihan people accepted was to surrender and give up any claim to the ownership of this area. This means that Alcalazo has almost no room for bargaining with 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, and the defense line outside the city The weak resistance has proved the disparity in strength between the two sides. Even if this position is moved inside and outside the 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. .
"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, and in addition, the lives of the entire city were saved. With Jilong Port as an escape route, Gesman did not have to bear much responsibility. However, the city of Salvador is already the last Spanish colonial stronghold on Taiwan Island. There is no way to retreat. If it surrenders, it can only return directly to the city of Manila on Luzon 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, it is not even as good as before. After all, when the Spaniards set foot in the Taipei area, this area was not as powerful as Haihan. armed.
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 higher-ups attributed the fall of Taipei Colony to Alcarazo's poor response and faulty command, then he would not be able to live a comfortable life for the rest of his life. Alcarazo kept thinking about it until midnight, but could not make up his mind to make a decision. It was not until almost dawn that he could not 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? Have the Haihan people begun 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 guards came back and reported that the Haihan people were testing artillery outside the city and did not launch a formal siege operation.
"Test the cannon?" 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 artillery test is over, it will probably be time for the Haihan 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 top of the city as he spoke: "They had already hit the battlements when they tested the cannon, and the shells easily opened a big gap in the top of the city..."
As he spoke, Alcarazo had already seen the cannonball Ross was talking about. It was like a big watermelon and should have weighed forty or fifty pounds. The power of this thing can be imagined. If it is an adobe city wall, it can collapse in just a few shots. Although the city of El Salvador is wrapped with wall bricks on the outer layer of the adobe city wall, the thinner battlements will definitely not be able to withstand this kind of damage. The bombardment of giant artillery.
Alcarazo was still calm. After seeing the shells, 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: "There is no problem in going 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 muskets hit the target at a longer distance. The garrison Captain Lopez of Santo Domingo City accidentally leaned out of the crenel and was shot by the Haihans from a distance 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, trying to avoid appearing directly in the enemy's sight as much as possible. At one of the crenellations on the city wall, only the remains of the battlements were left, and there was even a pool of blood that had not completely dried up next to it. It seemed that when the Haihan cannonball hit this place, the damage caused was not just the battlements alone.
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 arc-shaped gun emplacements outside the city, all about 300 meters away from the city wall. The range of city defense artillery is so far, but the hit rate is 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." Ross gave him an affirmative answer. But before Alcarazo could get happy, Ross added: "But we will probably lose miserably. Even if we use up all the ammunition in the city, we may not be able to destroy these gun emplacements outside the city."
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(End of chapter)