Chapter 2990
Perhaps the defense line built by the Haihan Army outside Cebu City during this period has a confusing effect. It seems that the Haihan Army will temporarily take a defensive position on Cebu Island and will not choose to take the initiative to clear the entire island. The vigilance of the Spanish It has obviously dropped a lot. When the Haihan Army was approaching two or three miles from its station, it still did not notice the danger.
Of course, this is also thanks to the elites who carried out the reconnaissance mission. They cleared the Spanish outposts deployed on the periphery of the station in advance, making it impossible to warn in advance.
The Haihan army participating in the operation was divided into three, and formed a trend of surrounding the temporary station in the valley from the east, south and north.
Zheng Agui slowly pushed aside the branches in front of him and saw clearly the scene of the station down the hillside.
Along the small river that runs through the valley, there are about seventy or eighty houses scattered around, all of which are crude wooden shacks. Some farmland has indeed been reclaimed near the settlement, but it seems that it is currently abandoned.
There is a herd of goats grazing in the farmland, happily munching on the weeds that have grown up after being abandoned.
This is not surprising, after all, there are no traditional food crops to grow at this time of year, and most of the young people are probably being dragged off to fight, and there is not enough labor to maintain farming.
Raising livestock and poultry is probably the most trouble-free agricultural production project at present, and it can provide a considerable amount of meat for the people here.
There was a group of women washing clothes by the river, and some untroubled children were running around and playing. Although the living conditions here are obviously not as good as those in Cebu City, it doesn't look like it's unbearable. The mountains are beautiful, the water is fresh, and the air is fresh. If it weren't for the war, this would be a leisurely rural scene.
Of course, the Haihan Army did not come to see the scenery. After each unit entered the predetermined position, they attacked separately according to the instructions, appeared in the nearby mountains and forests, and carried out encirclement operations against the settlements in the valley.
The first people to notice the appearance of the Haihan Army were women and children. The peasant women who were doing laundry dropped their clothes, hurriedly picked up their children, and rushed home to avoid the coming war.
Several men on duty outside the settlement immediately fired their guns upon seeing this. Their random firing was not necessarily to prevent the Haihan army from approaching, but it also served as a warning.
Sure enough, after hearing the gunfire, many men poured out of each house, holding a variety of weapons, ranging from muskets to kitchen knives.
However, the resisters who had not yet figured out the situation on the battlefield were immediately attacked from three directions. Faced with such crossfire, they did not even have time to organize a decent line of defense before they were knocked down by intensive fire.
Several horses rushed out of the stable, but their direction was not to charge towards the Haihan Army, but to gallop westward to break through. Naturally, this also attracted concentrated fire attacks. Some people fell off their horses and fell to the ground, but there were also a few lucky ones who ducked down and rushed out of the range of the Haihan Army.
Zheng Agui didn't pay attention to those who were fleeing on horseback. He kept aiming at the direction he was going and advancing slowly.
A Spaniard carrying an ax rushed out of the house and tried to quickly approach the leader Zheng Agui. But such a brutal charge could not avoid the multiple muzzles that were aimed at him. He was shot and fell to the ground after only ten steps.
The soldiers shouted Spanish phrases to persuade them to surrender. This was a trick that was temporarily arranged by the Military Intelligence Bureau before departure. Although it may not really persuade the opponent to surrender, it can at least disturb his mind and affect his will to resist. However, soon some resisters saw that there was no hope of breaking through and they were at a clear disadvantage in terms of strength, so they actually laid down their weapons and surrendered.
Of course, there are some stubborn resisters who are still trying to use their arms as a chariot. Under siege, these people finally had to hide in the church in the settlement.
Although it is said to be a church, it is actually similar to other shacks. The only difference is that there is a conspicuous cross on the roof.
But the church was not their refuge. In order to shorten the fighting time as much as possible, the Haihan Army did not intend to persuade them to surrender again, or risk a charge into the church.
They chose the simplest and most direct solution and set fire to the church.
At this time, those who still wanted to rush out of the church to save their lives had no chance to surrender. What greeted them outside the church was only a barrage of bullets.
About forty resisters died in the fire, the last group of people who fought to the end in the valley settlement.
In the end, more than 300 people chose to surrender. Although their lives were temporarily saved, they may not be able to leave Cebu Island alive.
Those who choose to flee into the mountains and continue to engage in resistance activities are basically die-hard elements. Spending time and energy to reform their thoughts may not be effective. Letting them regain their freedom will face great risks. The only option is to be thrown into hard labor camps and drained. Their labor is the most worry-free solution.
Although the way to solve this battle was very simple and effective, the thick smoke generated by the church fire could not help but become a warning signal. Even from a distance of twenty miles, it was not difficult to find that something had happened in the valley settlement.
The headquarters left a company here to clean the battlefield and take prisoners. After a short rest, the rest of the troops would immediately rush to the next attack target.
During the search of this settlement, it was found that there were still many wounded people here. They were obviously the unlucky ones who were injured during the sneak attack on the Haihan defense line a few days ago.
A few lightly injured people who were still able to move around on their own and whose injuries were expected to recover were taken as prisoners to Cebu City. As for those wounded who have lost mobility and are seriously injured and need Haihan to invest medical resources for treatment, then they are sorry, and execution on the spot will be the end of their lives.
And there are no large grain reserves here as we thought before the war. Most of the granaries are corn and potatoes, which are crops brought to the Philippine Islands by the Spaniards in the last century. The several granaries put together only have a total of three to four thousand kilograms of grain, and the next harvest period will have to wait until at least the rainy season next year. Even if the Haihan Army does not come, life will not be easy for these Spaniards.
As for the whereabouts of the Governor of Cebu, which the command is most concerned about, there is still no real information available from here. According to the prisoners' accounts, the governor briefly stayed here for two days after the war in Cebu, but left soon after. No one knows whether he went to another temporary base or whether he had left Cebu by boat from some coast.
Zheng Agui took his men to the company quartermaster to replenish ammunition. In fact, they didn't fire much in the battle just now. The entire team only fired a total of more than 20 shots. However, the quartermaster would not verify this. As long as these soldiers could carry it, the quartermaster would not mind giving them more ammunition.
(End of chapter)