Chapter 1665 Attacking Manila (15)
"The Haihan people...should have arrived at the East City Gate, right?"
After saying this, Francis stood up slowly and did not look at Gonzalo's body lying on the stretcher. He asked Gonzalo to direct the blocking battle in the east of the city, and asked Gonzalo to hold off the Haihan army for at least one day no matter what. However, he did not expect that in just half a day, Gonzalo had already died in the battle, and his body was still buried by the Haihan army. They were thrown out from the upstairs of the command post in a demonstration.
Francis is not optimistic about how long the garrison troops who have lost the command of Gonzalo can last. So far, he has not been able to regroup the troops deployed in the east of the city. Francis could probably predict what the Haihan Army would do next with no resistance in the city. According to the defense he deployed at the East City Gate beforehand, it would be difficult to hold off the Haihan Army for long, and he would probably lose control of the East City Gate before dark.
None of the officers around Francis dared to respond. Gonzalo's death in battle had already shown the current situation of the war, and they did not want to be sent by Francis to the East Gate to fight to the death with the Haihan Army. If the main force of the Haihan Army has entered the city, then the resistance measures at this time are actually somewhat futile. Everyone understands this truth, but no one dares to say it in front of Francis.
As the commander of Manila's city defense, Francis naturally could not take the initiative to surrender to Haihan's army at this time, unless Governor Aragones had made a clear decision.
"Prepare your horses! Go to the Governor's Palace!" Francis decided to see Aragones again to see if his boss had any intention of changing his mind, so that at least some troops could be saved.
When Francis saw Gonzalo on the stretcher, the battle report from the east of the city was delivered to the Governor's Palace almost at the same time, so when he arrived at the Governor's Palace, Aragones had actually learned about the current battle situation. Both people looked very ugly after meeting. Faced with the current predicament, neither Aragones nor Francis actually had a good solution, and they themselves knew this very well. If the current situation continues, the defenders will definitely be completely defeated in the past two days.
"Mr. Francis, is there anything else you can do to change the situation?" Aragones asked hoarsely. He put his hands on the table and his eyes were bloodshot. He had hardly slept since the day when the Haihan Army attacked the south of the city. Although he is unwilling to admit it, the fact is that the Manila authorities headed by him are gradually losing control of the city under the attack of their opponents. His position as the Governor of the Philippines may come to an end because of this war.
"My Lord Governor, I think you should be very clear that the outcome of defeat is unavoidable. What we need to consider now is how to save more interests and face for the kingdom, rather than defeating the Haihan people." Francis paused and then said : "Unless God appears, then maybe we can still defeat the enemy."
Francis finally swallowed some of his words and did not say them out. He issued a secret pass last night and let a convoy out of the city, and this convoy carried Aragones' family and belongings. Of course, not many people would know about this convoy's trip. Otherwise, if the people in the city knew that the governor's family had fled, there would inevitably be turmoil.
Since Aragones himself knew that nothing could be done and arranged in advance for his family to flee the city with their belongings, what else could Francis have to say. To be honest, Francis already felt that it was not worth it to let his soldiers fight against the Haihan people at this time. Apart from dying in vain like Gonzalo, it is actually difficult to change the current situation. So now he hopes that Aragones will completely give up those unrealistic ideas and face reality.
"You mean...let me negotiate peace with the Haihan people?" Aragones narrowed his eyes, stared at his men and asked sternly: "Mr. Francis, do you know the consequences of doing this?"
"I know, doing this will end the war immediately." Francis responded calmly: "Isn't this exactly what we want?"
"No! You don't understand!" Aragones raised his voice: "Negotiation? When this news is spread back to the country, our behavior will only be interpreted as surrender! We who have brought shame to the kingdom will be regarded as sinners. Wait until we return If we go to Manila, we will be hanged and we will take responsibility for the failure of this war! And our families will be implicated and exiled to those barbaric areas that don’t even have place names... We can’t do this!”
"Sir Governor, if we fight to the end with the Haihan people, we may not even have the chance to return home." Francis continued to persuade: "Losing to the Haihan people is not the most terrifying thing. The scary thing is that we all died in Manila. At that time, we will not even have a chance to defend ourselves in China. If we can return home alive, we will at least have a chance to turn around. Besides, we have more than one colony in the Philippines, and we still have a place to stay when we leave here, so we can think of another way. Explain to the country slowly.”
Aragones moved his head forward, closer to Francis: "Have your spine been broken by the Haihan people and you can't straighten your back?"
Francis did not get angry at his boss's malicious speculation. He just shook his head and said: "I just don't think it is necessary to continue the fight, but if you insist, let's fight to the death together in the city!"
Hearing the words "fight to the death", Aragones's face looked a little uncertain. Staying in the city and fighting to the death with the Haihan people was certainly not what he wanted in his heart. If given a choice, who wouldn't want to live a good life? Just standing in his position, he cannot easily show his attitude of giving up the city of Manila in front of his subordinates, otherwise if the military morale is lost, everything will be lost.
But in fact, he arranged for his family members to leave the city secretly the day before yesterday, which had already chilled Francis' heart. Even if he stated that he would fight to the death, Francis might not believe him. However, due to his duty as a soldier, Francis could not call for an armistice and negotiate a peace on his own. After all, he had to obey the orders of Governor Aragones.
"If you were a Haihan, would you be willing to accept the enemy's truce application at this time?" Aragones asked.
"It depends on what kind of truce conditions the other side can come up with." Francis had to admit that in a situation where the Haihan Army already had a clear advantage, it might not be willing to cease the war to give the defenders breathing time and a chance to redeploy. As long as they continue their current offensive, the defenders will not be able to hold out for a few more days. If it is just a truce, it will not mean much to the Haihan people.
"Let all the people in the city be free to leave and promise not to pursue, and we will cease the war. What do you think?" Aragones continued to seek Francis's opinion, seeming to have completely forgotten his previous unwillingness to negotiate peace.
"They may not agree, but they can give it a try." Francis knew that it was not easy for the Governor to make such a concession. As long as he had the idea of negotiation, the conditions could be negotiated slowly. It is better to negotiate than not to negotiate. good. "Okay, then you can arrange this matter." Aragones slowly sat back on the chair behind his desk and said with a tired look: "For the people of Manila, I am personally willing to pay some price."< br>
Regarding the Governor's pretentiousness, Francis remained calm, bowed slightly and then strode out of his study. Aragones leaned against the back of the chair, his face immersed in the shadows, and it was unclear whether his expression was relaxed or angry.
Francis walked out of the Governor's Palace, got on his horse, and returned to the garrison's headquarters. Then he immediately wrote a message and had it sent to the south of the city to the Haihan people. Seeing the messenger riding away, Francis sighed heavily. He had not shown the slightest emotion in front of Aragones before, but now he was a little sad. Regardless of whether the Haihan people accepted the peace talks or not, he knew that he would lose the city soon.
About twenty minutes later, Takahashi Minami received the letter from the Spanish. After he called a translator to explain the content of the letter, he knew that he could not make the decision, so he quickly ordered someone to send the letter outside the city. , handed it over to Qian Tiandun for review.
However, after delivering the message, the battle in the city commanded by Takahashi Nan did not stop. After capturing the enemy command post in the east of the city, the special operations battalion quickly disintegrated the Spanish defenders who intercepted them in that area of the city. Quickly advance to the vicinity of the East City Gate. After about twenty minutes of fighting with the armed personnel guarding the area, the special operations battalion successfully seized control of the East City Gate.
At four o'clock in the afternoon, after clearing the city gate passage blocked by rubble, the East City Gate finally reopened, allowing the Nanhai Special Operations Brigade, which had been waiting outside the city for two days, to enter the city. Later, an artillery company will enter Manila from this route, and the heavy weapons they carry will be used to attack the last few strongholds in the city.
After entering the city, Roger received the news from the radio that the Spaniards requested an armistice. He was so anxious that he quickly called back to the headquarters and asked that the matter be postponed for at least one more day, otherwise his troops would have to wait until they entered the city. There will be nothing to do and continue to be a spectator in the final battle.
Roger's request was mixed with too much selfishness, so naturally it would not be considered by the command. Of course, no one would blame Roger for what he did. After all, the South China Sea Special Operations Brigade came all the way from Xingdao, but after fighting for so many days, not even a tough battle came their turn. As Roger, The commander will naturally be a little dissatisfied, and it is reasonable to want to seize the opportunity to gain credit.
In the command center south of the city, almost all General Haihan, except Roger, were present and were having a meeting to discuss how to deal with the Spanish's request for an armistice.
"Old Qian, what do you think about this matter?" The first person Yan Chujie sought advice from was Qian Tiandun. After all, the main force fighting in the city now is Qian Tiandun's direct troops. Whether he agrees or rejects this matter, he must You have to ask his opinion first.
Qian Tiandun said slowly: "Looking at the direction of the war, I don't agree with the armistice. We have already captured the east and south city gates, opened up the road into the city, and cleared the remaining defenders in the city. It will only happen within a few days. A truce will not do much good for us, but it will give the Spaniards more time to deploy their troops and rearrange their plans. If they don't want to cause trouble, I suggest rejecting their request."
"But are the Spaniards planning to hand over the city of Manila directly to us? You see, the letter says that we are asking us to let the people in the city leave freely. Doesn't this mean abandoning the city?" Wang Tom took over and said: "What if We can take this city without fighting, so why bother?”
Tom Wang had nothing to do in the past two days. The Marines had stayed out of the battle, and the fleet could not directly participate in the siege of Manila. He simply went ashore and came to the headquarters to follow the progress of the siege.
"The enemy's statements should not be taken lightly." Harugong shook his head and said, "When they say they want to evacuate, there may be various situations that prevent the people in the city from evacuating. If it takes a few more days, the Spaniards Maybe there is a chance. I think it would be better not to give them this opportunity.”
Yan Chujie said: "Of course there is no problem in fighting. We also have enough combat material reserves to complete the combat missions in the city. But we also need to consider the damage caused to the city by the war and the post-war recovery and reconstruction work, because it is likely that it will take several days After that, this city will belong to us, and it is certainly impossible for all the people in this city to leave. After the Spaniards leave, the people who remain will become the citizens of our country. We must also consider the future. The issue of placement of these people.”
"Lao Yan, do you still want to cease the war?" Qian Tiandun asked.
"Put it aside for now. I think we can talk to the other party first. If we can't reach an agreement, then we can fight." Yan Chujie said confidently: "Whether you sharpen your knife or chop wood!"
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"If the other party delays the matter and talks for several days without reaching a result, what should we do?" Harugong asked.
"This is easy to handle. Don't give them too much time." Wang Tom suggested: "Let's start talking today after dark. If we still can't reach an agreement before dawn tomorrow, then we can continue fighting tomorrow."
Due to the objective conditions of this era, even the powerful Haihan Army generally does not carry out large-scale combat operations at night, so it basically has to stop after dark, and this time is used to negotiate with the other party. If there is contact, the normal combat process will not be delayed. Wang Tom's suggestion was immediately approved by everyone. At that moment, Yan Chujie dictated the content of the reply and asked the translator to copy it into Spanish. He then sent it back to the city and handed it over to the Spanish courier to take him back to the north of the city to resume his life.
(End of chapter)