Chapter 1663 Attacking Manila (13)
"Open the door!" Sun Zhen gritted his teeth and gave the order. Just now, two of his men fell in a sneak attack, and the attackers were hiding in this house with a brown-red exterior on the street.
As soon as he finished speaking, a strong man appeared behind him. Sun Zhen was no less tall than his body. He was holding a black cylindrical thing in his hand. This was a door-breaking hammer that was issued just before the war started and was used by troops entering the city in street fighting. It looked inconspicuous, but it weighed fifty or sixty kilograms. The principle of this thing is the same as that of a battering ram. It also uses physical principles to break the door latch to achieve the effect of breaking the door.
The strong man went to the door to indicate his position, then grabbed the handle at the middle and rear of the door-breaking hammer with both hands, raised it high and then swung it out, smashing into the door in front of him. Then a "click" was heard, the door opened, and a group of soldiers who had been impatient for a long time immediately poured into the house.
For Sun Zhen, the street fighting in urban Manila is undoubtedly a new experience. Few of the combat missions he has performed in the past few years have encountered such difficult environments. The streets, which are only two or three meters wide, are lined with small buildings of two to three stories, densely packed throughout the city. The Spanish defenders dispersed and huddled in these houses, attacking with muskets, bows and arrows and even thrown short spears. Launched a sniper attack on the Haihan army entering the city.
These people often only attack once at a location. Regardless of whether they succeed or not, they will immediately evacuate and move to the next attack point. They use their familiarity with the local environment to hide in Tibet. However, it is difficult for the Haihan Army located in narrow streets to launch an effective attack on them. The counterattack had to be dispersed, and the houses on both sides of the street were cleared one by one. But in this way, they will inevitably have to fight the enemy in a narrow space indoors. The Haihan Army's weapon advantage will be greatly reduced, and the speed of advancement will be far less than that of the earlier confrontation outside the city.
But Sun Zhen had no better way to do this. The order he received was to open the route from the South Gate to the East Gate as soon as possible, and to assist the Nanhai Special Operations Brigade outside the city to seize control of the East Gate. However, as of now Judging from the situation, we have to go through another fierce battle before reaching the east gate.
The Haihan soldiers who poured into the house did not encounter any resistance. After searching the rooms upstairs and downstairs, they only found the owner's family of seven, a couple and four children. and an old nanny who was both a cook and a nanny. Although this family is all Spanish, it is obvious that they are not the armed men that the Haihan Army wants to arrest.
Sun Zhen entered the room and took a look at the family. Several children subconsciously retreated behind their parents. Although they did not know the identity of the visitor, they could feel the invisible murderous intention oppressing them. Their nature of seeking advantages and avoiding disadvantages made them feel It would be safer to stay away from this big oriental man.
"Did you find any weapons in this house?" Sun Zhenfa asked.
"No, the person who attacked us just slipped out of the back door before breaking down the door." The sergeant responsible for leading the team to search the house responded immediately.
Sun Zhen had no intention of venting his anger on these innocent civilians. He waved his hands impatiently and said: "Take them all away and send them to a prisoner-of-war camp. Remember to ask the translator to confirm their identities."< br>
Of course, before the Haihan Army attacked the city, they had expected that a large number of prisoners would be taken into custody after the city was broken. The number could reach thousands, so they also made corresponding arrangements in advance. However, the blasting effect of the city wall in the south of the city was not ideal. The troops entering the city came up on ladders from outside the city. It was not easy to escort a large number of prisoners from the city to the outside. Gao Qiaonan could only circle a piece of land in the south of the city and surround several intersections with some wooden fences that the Spaniards had not had time to put to use. It was considered a temporary prison place.
The appearance of Europeans is obviously different from that of Easterners, and they are also the primary targets for detention. Regardless of whether these people have resisted the Haihan army with force during the war, all men, women, and children must be taken into custody as prisoners, and their status will be considered after the war. Decide where it will go. Given the situation in Manila, some valuable people will inevitably be captured. If these people want to regain their freedom, they will definitely have to pay a ransom fee first. This is also the main goal of the Haihan military after the war. One of the sources of profit.
Sun Zhen also feels quite troubled by the current way of fighting. The complexity of the environment is secondary. He really doesn't like too many civilians on the battlefield. This is not because of any kindness, but just for people waiting. The existence prevents him from using all the power in his hands when fighting. Moreover, the headquarters has clear instructions. During the battle, although anyone who tries to resist can be killed without any reason, innocent civilians cannot be killed indiscriminately.
These two instructions seem a bit contradictory, but Sun Zhen can also understand the generals' painstaking efforts. Haihan crossed the entire South China Sea to attack this seaport city, and he did not intend to just grab a handful and run away. After driving away the original ruler, Haihan will definitely take over the city and add it and the surrounding areas to his own territory. If too many civilians are killed during the siege, the post-war pacification work will be very troublesome, and immigrants may even have to be moved in from other places to fill the gap.
As for the nationality issue of these local people, Sun Zhen doesn't need to worry about it. Haihan is an immigrant country mainly composed of Han people, but in recent years, some immigrants from South Asia, West Asia and even further afield have obtained Haihan nationality. If the people living here are willing to stay and take Haihan nationality after the war, then the country must be happy to receive these people as war dividends.
At this time, someone came to report that there was suspected enemy activity in the adjacent house in front. Sun Zhen became interested as soon as he heard it. He led the team out of the back door, went around to the side of the house, and then let the door-breaking hammer come forward to operate. He himself drew his saber in his hand. The space in the room is narrow, and when people rush in, it is easy to accidentally injure one of your own by firing a gun. The saber he carried was tailor-made, with blood grooves on the blade and a row of sharp serrations on the back. Although the handle was only one foot or two inches long inside, it was made of fine steel and was quite heavy. This knife has drunk a lot of human blood on battlefields in various places, and it can be regarded as Sun Zhen's most convenient personal weapon.
Almost at the same time that the door was smashed open, Sun Zhen had already rushed into the house by breaking the door panel. As expected, there were seven or eight Spanish men in the house. He probably did not expect that the Haihan Army came so quickly. He was frozen in place without reacting.
Sun Zhen didn't dare to stop. He raised his leg and kicked the man in front of him on the chest, sending him flying backwards and knocking over the other person behind him. Only then did everyone in the room react and plan to swarm forward to deal with this opponent.
Sun Zhen didn't stop after kicking one person over. Then he stabbed the side of the neck of the person closest to him with a knife. Blood spurted out immediately. Sun Zhen pulled out the knife, turned around and slashed at the person who was rushing behind him. The man subconsciously raised his hand to block, but was struck by the powerful and heavy knife on his forearm. Although the arm was not completely split into two pieces, the arm bones were broken. The man immediately screamed and stepped back. go.
At this time, the first enemy who used the weapon finally made his first move, striking Sun Zhen's head with a knife. Sun Zhen didn't care about chasing the Spaniard who had lost his arm, so he raised his hand and waved his sword to block the head-on attack.
The soldiers who followed Sun Zhen into the house used rifles with bayonets. For the infantry, they were basically used as short spears. It was easy to deal with the Spaniards in the house, and they were brought down again in two or three strokes. After a few people were forced into a corner, the remaining three saw no way to escape, so they took the initiative to throw down their weapons and surrender. "Tie him alive first, go find the translator, and have a quick trial!" Sun Zhen carefully avoided the pool of blood on the ground and gave the order to his men. The guy who had been stabbed in the neck by him just now had a large pool of blood on the floor. Although his body still twitched from time to time, he was dead at first sight. Sun Zhen didn't care about this man's life or death, he just didn't want the blood on the floor to make the soles of his shoes sticky.
But now that he has been captured alive, Sun Zhen must get some useful information from them, especially the enemy's deployment in this urban area. Only after understanding this can he make targeted tactical adjustments.
Not long after, a Portuguese man who could speak Spanish and Chinese arrived. After Sun Zhen briefly communicated with him, he asked him to interrogate the three people quickly. The Portuguese came over and asked a few questions, but the three people refused to answer, and one of them even spat in disdain.
When Sun Zhen saw this, he didn't say much. He strode over, grabbed the hair of the spitting Spaniard, and dragged him to the side. Then he took out his saber and wiped the man's neck directly, just like killing a chicken.
"Tell them that if they don't cooperate, they will die, just like him." Sun Zhen pointed the knife at the unlucky guy on the floor, and said to the stunned Portuguese translator: "Whoever speaks later will die!"
The Portuguese swallowed his saliva and quickly conveyed Sun Zhen's meaning to the two survivors. This time they did not need anyone to urge them. The death of their companion had given them the best warning. The two rushed to confess. I am afraid that if I fall behind, I will be killed by this murderous demon.
Soon Sun Zhen got the information he needed. The Spanish army deployed thousands of people in the area between the east gate and the south gate, with the intention of delaying the Haihan army's attack. Their main tactic, as Sun Zhen saw, was to use private houses as bunkers to intercept and kill the Haihan army advancing eastwards layer by layer. As for the location of its headquarters, it was located in an official residence in the east of the city.
Sun Zhen immediately asked someone to get a map of the city and asked the two prisoners to point out the location of the official residence on the map. Both of them looked pale after looking at the map, because the map almost detailed the streets and main buildings in the city, including the official residence.
After getting the information he wanted, Sun Zhen immediately began to plan his next move. There are still about two streets away from his current location to the official residence, but if he follows the current route, he will probably have to struggle with the Spaniards for several hours to reach his destination, maybe by nightfall. Still haven't achieved their goals. After carefully reading the map, he decided to find another way to bypass the Spanish defense area and directly attack the enemy's headquarters.
Naturally, there is a huge risk in doing so. If the intelligence confessed by the two men is wrong and there is an ambush by the Spanish army on the route he chooses, he may very well be surrounded by the other party. Even if the information provided by the other party is accurate and he successfully reaches his destination, if the process of attacking the enemy's headquarters is not smooth, he may also be put in danger.
However, Sun Zhen has always been known for his bravery in combat, and he didn't pay much attention to the risk. He immediately gathered his team and announced the decision to his several sergeants. Then he ordered the two prisoners to be escorted to the rear, and informed Takahashi Minami of the battle situation here and his decision.
After Sun Zhen issued the order, he led a platoon under his command, quietly changed the marching direction, moved to the north of the city, bypassed the enemy's defense area, and then tried to turn to the east of the city.
At this time, most civilians in the war zone in the city had fled their homes, and people with status had fled into the castle in the north of the city, which was the last hope of the Spanish. And now the three city gates still under the control of the defenders have been closed. They cannot leave the city and can only stay as far away from the war zone as possible.
As expected, there were no ambushes on the route Sun Zhen chose, and there were not even a few living people. Even the people who stayed at home and did not flee, did not dare to look out rashly even if they heard the noise outside. It wasn't until his group had turned to the east of the city, perhaps only a hundred meters away from their destination, that they bumped into two Spanish cavalrymen who were probably carrying orders.
The two people who came on horseback were surprised when they saw a group of Haihan soldiers suddenly appearing on the street. In their understanding, this place should still be under their own control, so how could such a sudden appearance appear? There are many Haihan soldiers. The two men were not slow to respond. They immediately reined in the reins, turned the horses' heads, prepared to escape from the street, and warned the rear.
And Sun Zhen didn't hesitate at all. When the two men reined in, he had already given the order: "Kill them all!"
After several gunshots, the two men were shot and fell down from their horses. Sun Zhen knew that the sound of gunshots would definitely alert the enemy. Killing these two men only bought a little buffer time, so he immediately ordered to advance quickly. A group of people strode forward, and after passing an intersection, they saw their destination.
This official residence is the residence of Manila Fleet Commander Juan Luis in the city. It has a large front garden, which became Sun Zhen's evidence for identifying his destination.
"This is the place, rush in!" Sun Zhen took the lead and sprinted towards the official residence.
(End of chapter)