Chapter 1654 Attack on Manila (4)
Although Ran Tianlu is from the Ministry of Security, he is only a professionally trained civilian employee and is not a field killer who specializes in violent tasks such as assassinations and kidnappings. He has real ideas about how to quietly bring down dozens of Spanish soldiers. There is no feasible solution. But when he looked at Fang Peng's words, it didn't look like he was joking with him, so he continued to ask: "Since Mr. Peng said so firmly, is there any sure way?"
Fang Peng responded: "I don't dare to claim that it is safe. If you want to do something in the merchant house, there must be risks. I just heard that the Spaniards asked us to prepare all the supplies we need during the camp, which naturally includes food. In my opinion, you can do some tricks in the food and use extraordinary means to defeat the Spaniards. This way there will be no conflict with the Spaniards and the noise will be small. The shopkeeper may consider it.”
"What do you mean... put the Mongolian sweat medicine?" Ran Tianlu understood what Fang Peng's method was as soon as he heard it. This method is nothing new in the world. Ran Tianlu has also heard that most people open black shops to rob money. He used this method to murder hotel guests, but he had never actually come into contact with this kind of thing. It is said that the Ministry of Security's field team also has drugs with similar functions, but the problem is that the Ministry of Security has not deployed a field team here in Manila, so this method may not be useful.
Unless Fang Peng has something ready-made.
Ran Tianlu suddenly had some doubts about the identity of this Fang Peng. This person was sent directly from the Guangzhou headquarters of Golden Shield Escort. He was considered a very safe official recommendation. Apart from knowing that he had served in the Haihan Army for three years, there was no other information. . However, after Fang Peng came to Chaosheng Merchant Store, he arranged the security work in an orderly manner, and he was also very low-key. Ran Tianlu hardly had to worry about this aspect, so he didn't pay so much attention to Fang Peng's existence.
But the idea put forward by Fang Peng at this time was beyond the scope of a guard chief's duties. After all, his job duty was to protect the safety of people and property in the store, not to actively engage in combat with other armed forces. Especially now that the two countries are at war, in a small place like Chaosheng Commercial Store, these little people have no time to protect themselves. How can they still have the courage to intervene in the war? Either this is a bold move, or he has other agendas.
Fang Peng was employed by an organization with a Haihan background like Golden Shield Guards, and he himself had served in the Haihan Army. What could he have planned? The only thing Ran Tianlu could think of was that this person might still have some secret relationship with the military, such as being affiliated with the Military Intelligence Bureau of the Ministry of National Defense. If this is the case, it can well explain why he took the initiative to attack the Spaniards.
Fang Peng nodded calmly and said: "Administering medicine is naturally the safest way. Add it to the food when eating. It will take effect in a quarter of an hour and it will be effective if kept. If the shopkeeper thinks it is feasible, I will go and get the medicine here. Find a horse in the yard and show it to the shopkeeper.”
Ran Tianlu couldn't help but swallowed. If he wanted to paralyze a horse, how much dose would be enough? But then again, if a horse can be brought down, then a man who eats it will definitely not be able to run away.
However, although Fang Peng seemed confident about the matter, Ran Tianlu refused to agree immediately. The reason is simple. If it happens, who gets the credit? Especially if Fang Peng really has a secret identity in the military, wouldn't he have nothing to do with his achievements?
"Let me think about this matter again." Ran Tianlu decided to delay it for a while to see how Fang Peng would react.
Sure enough, Fang Peng didn't have as many twists and turns as Ran Tianlu, so he immediately urged: "The Spaniards will come over later, and the shopkeeper needs to make a decision quickly. Shopkeeper, if this matter is completed, wait for the Haihan army In terms of merit, there is a reward for you.”
Ran Tianlu thought, "Does I just want an ordinary reward?" But with a smile on his face, he greeted back: "Master Peng, please come out for a moment. I need to discuss some details with you."
When Fang Peng saw that Ran Tianlu's tone had relaxed, he immediately followed him out of the house and into the patio. Ran Tianlu lowered his voice and said: "Master Peng, the risks of this transaction are really not small. Tell the truth, how sure are you that you can handle it well if you do it?"
Fang Peng stretched out his hand and said: "50% yes!"
"Only 50%?" Ran Tianlu was a little disappointed with his statement. Hearing him swear so confidently just now, he thought he was at least 70-80% sure.
Fang Peng's eyes widened and he said: "Fifty percent is not low. If I hadn't been concerned about the safety of Chaosheng Commercial Store, I would have taken the 20% with my brothers!"
Ran Tianlu said: "Master Peng is so proactive. Could it be that this job can be exchanged for great achievements from the Haihan people?"
Fang Peng stared at Ran Tianlu and did not answer his question, but instead persuaded Ran Tianlu: "Shopkeeper, I know that you often deal with Spanish people and have a good relationship with the priest in the city, but Hai Hanjun is here If you don't recognize these relationships, if you want to keep the peace of Chaosheng Commercial Inn, just listen to me, turn to Haihan as soon as possible, and get some decent greeting gifts, so that your life will be easier in the future, otherwise, Haihan's leaders will think so. You are on the same side as the Spaniards. Even if we let you live, it will be difficult for this business store to open again in the future!”
Ran Tianlu was even more convinced of Fang Peng's position now. The other party obviously believed that it was true that he was usually close to the Spaniards, and his words already had a threatening tone. However, Fang Peng obviously didn't know the true ownership of Chaosheng Commercial Inn, let alone Ran Tianlu's true identity, so he came up with this persuasion.
Ran Tianlu smiled and said: "Thank you, Mr. Peng, for your advice. I think otherwise, you will be the one to take action. When the Haihan army arrives, I will come forward to offer these Spaniards to ask for credit from the Haihan people. Naturally, you will be indispensable." A credit.”
Fang Peng did not doubt him, and felt that as long as he persuaded Ran Tianlu, the matter would be done, so he immediately agreed to the arrangement mentioned by Ran Tianlu. So the two returned to the house, and Fang Peng began to assign tasks to the guards, and also handed over to Ran Tianlu to take charge of some specific matters - after all, when it came to dealing with Spanish people, the entire Chaosheng Merchant Inn only spoke Spanish. Ran Tianlu is the best at it.
While Fang Peng and others were busy making preparations, a group of soldiers transferred by Francis to garrison here had already arrived. Ran Tianlu opened the door in advance to greet them, but he soon discovered that not all the visitors were Spanish soldiers, but there were only a dozen Spaniards in total, and the others were made up of local indigenous people, Han Chinese and some mixed-race people. This actually made Ran Tianlu, who was originally very nervous, relax a little. He knew that these non-Hispanic soldiers were far behind in military quality and should be relatively easy to deal with.
These Spaniards include an infantry second lieutenant and four subordinates, four artillerymen, and two Spanish cavalry. This personnel configuration is equivalent to playing a commanding role. Speaking of which, Francis sent a total of sixty people, including three branches of the army, which can be regarded as a small but well-organized force.
After the Spanish army entered the business inn, they immediately asked all personnel to assemble, and Ran Tianlu counted the number of people and reported to him. During the roll call, the Spanish officer leading the team had already divided out several people to guard the entrances and exits of the store. Judging from this action alone, he is quite experienced.
Ran Tianlu felt a little relieved when he saw that Fang Peng's expression was as usual. He and Fang Peng only discussed a general framework for how to proceed next, and specific measures still had to be adapted to the situation. If they fail to deal with the Spanish soldiers in the merchant house before the war starts tomorrow, then they may have to give up their original plan. The Spanish officer leading the team was named Bro. Although his military rank was not high, he could be considered a veteran with several years of military experience. After sending people to guard the entrance and exit of the store, he announced to everyone that from now on, no one could enter or leave the store, and all actions must be under his command.
Burrow first transported the artillery he brought to the south gate of the merchant house and set it up. As soon as he opened the door, it faced the official road in the south of the city, which was very suitable for a surprise attack. Bro walked around the store, and then ordered the construction of a defense line focusing on the south gate. He transported all the more than 400 bags of rice stored in the store to the south gate of the store, and built fortifications to completely protect the south gate. Block it, leaving only the gun emplacement in the middle. Then they moved out various wooden boxes from the warehouse, set up racks under the walls on both sides of the south gate, and let the infantry go up to test the height to ensure that the musketeers could put their weapons on the wall and shoot outward.
Fang Peng walked slowly to Ran Tianlu and whispered: "Look, they are going to do something big here. If we don't take action first, then this place will be bombarded by the Haihan Army!"
Ran Tianlu agreed with him. The ambush set by the Spaniards may not cause serious damage to the Haihan army, but it will definitely trigger a terrible retaliation. Only a few senior generals in the Haihan Army knew that there was such a special Chaosheng Trading Post outside Manila, and the frontline troops may not know about it. When the time comes, artillery is set up and fired at the merchant houses, and they are beaten as if they were Spanish. That is also very likely to happen.
Ran Tianlu took a deep breath, calmed down, and then responded: "I have ordered the kitchen to prepare midnight snacks, you can do whatever you want. Master Peng, if things fail..."
"If you fail, I will protect you from here and go south to join the Han people." Fang Peng was extremely confident in his arrangement. Before Ran Tianlu could finish his words, he had already revealed his planned escape route.
According to Fang Peng's suggestion, the late-night snack prepared in the kitchen was a large pot of seafood porridge, so that the medicine he prepared could be dissolved in it. In addition, braised food, cold dishes, barbecue, etc. are also prepared. The content is quite rich. The aroma of the food spreads from the kitchen to the construction site at the south gate of the commercial inn. Without Ran Tianlu’s introduction, the Spaniards have already smelled this tempting food. smell. Many people simply stopped what they were doing and started asking when the food would be distributed.
"It seems that you have carried out our orders very well." Second Lieutenant Burro patted Ran Tianlu's shoulder hard and expressed appreciation for his initiative to prepare food: "Then we will eat first, and then continue. Dawn The renovation here must be completed beforehand!”
"As you wish." Ran Tianlu agreed respectfully, and then ordered the kitchen to send the food here.
Although Bro was wary when he entered the store, perhaps it was because Ran Tianlu and others were too cooperative, or perhaps he was a little tired from working until midnight, so he lacked sufficient vigilance to the food prepared by the store. . Seeing that everyone was already eating, he also took a bowl of porridge and poured it into his mouth.
When he was halfway through the bowl, Bro suddenly felt something was wrong. Why was the store owner looking at him longingly? He immediately said to Ran Tianlu: "You don't have to be so reserved. Since there is enough food, you and your people can eat it too." A little.”
Ran Tianlu responded quickly: "Then let's wait until the adults finish eating first."
"Scoop a bowl of porridge for him!" Bro couldn't stand Ran Tianlu's mother-in-law appearance, so he even ordered his orderly to give Ran Tianlu a bowl.
Ran Tianlu didn't dare not to answer it, and suddenly he had a huge headache. He knew that there was medicine in the porridge, and if he didn't take it, it might arouse Bro's suspicion, but what if he fell down and fell unconscious after taking it?
"What's wrong? Why don't you eat?" Seeing that Ran Tianlu was holding the bowl without moving, Bro stopped eating and asked him.
"I'm... Actually, I'm quite full after dinner. I don't feel hungry at this time." Ran Tianlu responded with a strong smile, but the cold sweat on his back had soaked through his clothes bit by bit.
"You guy... really don't know how to enjoy food!" Bro shook his head impatiently, pointed at another Spanish soldier next to him and said: "Give it to him, he can probably eat ten more bowls!"
The surrounding Spanish soldiers burst into laughter when they heard this. Ran Tianlu took the opportunity to hand the bowl to the Spanish pot-bellied man, and he breathed a sigh of relief.
At this time, a soldier suddenly came over and reported to Bro that he had just seen the two Spanish cavalry fainting on the ground beside the stable for some reason.
"They dare to get drunk at this time. I think they don't know how powerful military law is!" Bro was immediately furious when he heard this. He put down his porridge bowl and stood up, waiting to see the condition of the two cavalrymen. , but felt that my mind was dizzy and I couldn't stand up.
Before he could figure out what was going on, he saw his colleagues around him staggering around and falling to the ground one by one. Then he felt his feet slip and he fell to the ground. In a daze, he could still hear Ran Tianlu's voice, but it was in Chinese, and he couldn't understand the meaning.
Ran Tianlu was actually asking Fang Peng at this time: "Didn't you say that it takes a quarter of an hour for the medicine to take effect? How come these Spaniards fell down so quickly?"
Fang Peng responded: "These Spaniards are in strong health. I am worried that the effect of the medicine is not strong enough and it will cause complications if it goes on for a long time, so I specially increased the dose to make them attack faster."
(End of chapter)