Chapter 3052
The weather in San Diego Bay today is very good, and there is even a rare warm winter sun in recent times. However, for the Spaniards living here, their mood at this time is like falling into an ice cellar, and their whole bodies are cold.
This is because not long ago, a huge Haihan fleet sailed into San Diego Bay, swaggering past everyone's eyes, and then sailed into the Haihan Port in the southeast that had just been built and put into use.
This fleet is almost entirely composed of naval ships, which makes the Spanish side, which is already at a disadvantage in terms of the number of warships, even worse. If nothing unexpected happens, the strength of the Haihan Army stationed in San Diego Bay will at least double. This is definitely the biggest bad news in the near future.
As we all know, the Haihan people never do anything in vain. They sent so many people all the way, so of course it is impossible to send them here specially for vacation.
When the Haihan fleet entered the bay, it did not fire a single shot, nor did it deliberately approach the Spanish port. It seemed that its attitude was quite peaceful. But everyone can feel that this is just a deliberate restraint by the Haihan people. San Diego Bay is not far away from war.
"Gentlemen, in view of the current situation, I hereby announce that the San Diego Colony will enter the first level of combat readiness from now on! We need to concentrate all available manpower, build fortifications, and prepare to fight! I emphasize again, everyone who can still move, We must all mobilize immediately! If a war breaks out, we will fight Haihan to the last Spaniard!”
The local chief executive, Aragones, announced the decision to his civil and military officials, but his impassioned speech failed to arouse their emotions. Instead, everyone suddenly became noisy.
"Sir, I think you need to think carefully. It is not a wise choice to challenge Haihan!"
"Sir, the Haihan people did not launch an offensive against us immediately, which shows that there is still room for maneuver in the situation, and war is not the only way out."
"Sir, our army is not strong enough and we should ask for reinforcements from the south again. Without reinforcements, we cannot win!"
Everyone except him seemed to have the same opinion, that is, they did not agree to go to war with Haihan. And the reasons given by everyone seemed quite reasonable. After all, the strength of the two sides was very different. If they took the initiative to start a war, they would probably attract a military attack from Haihan.
When Aragones heard these objections, his head almost exploded with rage. This group of people are so afraid of fighting that this battle cannot be fought at all.
Aragones is not new to dealing with the Haihans. He is very aware of how terrifying this opponent is. If measures are not taken as soon as possible, it will really only be a matter of time before San Diego Bay is lost.
The story between Aragones and Haihan can be traced back to more than 20 years ago. He was just a teenager at the time, and his father, Aragones Sr., was the then Governor-General of the Philippines.
In 1637, Haihan sent troops to attack the Manila area. Although the old Aragones tried his best to resist, he was ultimately defeated because of the huge difference in strength.
After the city of Manila was broken, old Aragones failed to escape and was captured by the Haihan army. He became the highest-ranking prisoner captured by Haihan in that war.
But later, the old Aragones thought of some ways and paid a large ransom to Haihan and regained his freedom.
You can escape the death penalty, but you can't avoid the punishment of living. Manila was lost in his hands, so the corresponding responsibility must naturally be borne by him. After receiving news of the defeat in Spain, the king ordered the dismissal of the old Aragones from his position and appointed a new governor.
A few years later, seeing that there was no hope of counterattacking Luzon, the old Aragones took a boat and moved his family to America. Spain established many colonies in Central America and the Caribbean, providing plenty of opportunities for adventurers of all kinds.
Aragones inherited his father's business and continued to engage in colonial business activities. By chance, he learned that there was a natural bay with extremely favorable conditions in the north. The local area happened to lack a local official with experience in colonial construction, so he took the initiative to take the job.
But what he never expected was that thousands of miles away from the Philippine Islands, he still couldn't avoid the ghostly Haihan people. In just a few months, two groups of Haihan people arrived in San Diego Bay, and it seemed that they had no intention of leaving.
According to Haihan's acting style, the next step should be to find an excuse to start a war with Spain, and then send troops to occupy the areas that originally belonged to Spain.
Could it be that the story that happened in Luzon more than 20 years ago will be repeated again in San Diego Bay on the other side of the ocean?
Aragones finally managed to make some achievements in San Diego Bay. He only wanted to turn this bay into a century-old foundation for his family. It is not impossible to seek to establish an overseas principality here in the future.
But the appearance of the Haihan people has disrupted his plan. If no measures are taken, this place may soon become the property of the Haihan people.
Aragones is not afraid of fighting Haihan. If possible, he even wants to take this opportunity to settle old and new grudges together.
But it is a pity that the civil and military officials under him obviously lacked the courage to fight. As soon as they heard that war was going to start, they began to find excuses to evade.
Aragones also knows the reason. News of Spain's another defeat in the South China Sea has recently reached San Diego Bay. This time it is said that the defeat was even more complete than twenty years ago. In the armistice treaty signed after the war, Spain had ceded a vast area including Mindanao and completely withdrew from the Philippine Islands.
Spain's century-old colonial history here has come to an end. This is definitely one of the most significant losses in recent years.
Haihan also used this war to show his attitude that he would not coexist peacefully with Spain. The armistice treaty clearly states that the relevant armistice agreement only takes effect in the Philippine Islands.
This also means that if the two sides collide again elsewhere in the world, such as San Diego Bay, then there will be no armistice agreement at all.
It is precisely because of this that the Haihan people in San Diego Bay may start a war at any time without being restricted by any diplomatic treaty, so these officials under Aragones are so afraid, lest they be involved.
Aragones wanted to drive away all these courageous losers, but he knew that if he did so, no one would be available, and the two local colonial settlements would immediately be paralyzed.
For the current plan, it seems that the only way to go is to ask for reinforcements. But the problem is that the nearest garrison base is more than 3,000 miles away in Mexico, and it would take half a month at the fastest to get there. The local situation was so tense and war could break out at any time. He really had no idea whether he could hold out until reinforcements arrived.
You have to find a way to buy a little more buffer time.
(End of chapter)