The infantry formation, which was already on the verge of collapse, was stopped by the cavalry, and the Spanish musketeers finally lost the courage to continue fighting. They scattered and fled to all corners of the battlefield. The cavalry battalion dispersed in platoon units and pursued the fleeing Spaniards. The heavy arquebuses in the hands of the Spanish musketeers were now completely burned sticks, and the flow of fleeing people and panicked mood made them have no courage to stop and reload and shoot, and they shamefully gave their backs to the pursuing cavalry.

Lan Guo breathed a sigh of relief, and the phalanx of musketeers of the Spaniards on the opposite side finally collapsed. The feeling of being shot in line was not so pleasant, and Lan Guo, who was dressed in well-guarded full-body armor, was a little uncontrollable to retreat at some point, let alone the recruits from Germany and Poland who wore only a thin military uniform.

I really don't know how they survived, it was really a group of numb war animals, Lan Guo secretly spitted. At this time, the forward commander gave the order: Array! Half of the left (right) turns and attacks the spearmen of the Spaniards.

The casualties of the two flintlock pistols on the left and right were not too great in the previous fire, and the vast majority of the platoons still maintained their combat effectiveness at this time, and the casualties of the officers and non-commissioned officers were even more negligible due to their thorough protection. They directed the soldiers as they began to march in formation, the drummers continued to play the "Victory Belongs to the Army March," and the American Eagle flag was still flying high. Lan Guo was a little amazed at the good fortune of these flag-bearers and drummers, who had not suffered any casualties in the previous fire and artillery bombardment. I thought that their chances of survival were negative, but now I suddenly found that they didn't even have a trace of gunsmoke on their faces.

The Spanish spearmen were also in a state of semi-collapse by this time, the soldiers in front were still fighting, but the soldiers behind had begun to turn and flee, throwing their spears all over the ground, and then galloping backwards with all their might.

"Raise your gun... Aim... Ready, put! Lan Guo's hand was now back in his saber, and as the brass whistle sounded, a puff of black smoke rose above the queue, and the Spanish spearmen fell screaming. At this time, they could no longer care about anything else, and everyone began to turn and flee, even the officers joined the fleeing crowd.

Faced with the chaotic and crowded flow of enemies, the spearmen, who had been fighting for a long time, excitedly plunged their spears from their backs into the bodies of these enemies who could no longer resist. Some of the clever Spanish spearmen threw away their weapons and fell to their knees, but the red-eyed Charuas did not accept surrender at all, and mercilessly plunged their sharp spears into the throats of the poor men who were on their knees.

"Reload! Free Fire! Zhu Liang gave the musketeers the last order, and the overall situation of this battle was decided. All that remained was to kill and capture as many Spanish soldiers as possible, so that they could no longer resist. What else could the Spaniards do with the Spaniards, who lost their army? Perhaps we can only put an end to this rash war.

An hour later, there were no more Spaniards on the battlefield. At the time of departure, only a few dozen of the more than 650 Spanish warriors fled into the hills to the south, and most of the rest were wiped out or captured. More than two hundred dejected Spanish captives sat shivering in the cold wind, surrounded by spear-wielding Charua spearmen watching over them. These Spaniards had lost their confidence and the will to fight, and they were as pitiful as a flock of lambs to the slaughter.

Captain Torres, covered in mud, sat in the cold mud with a face full of shame, he had no idea at all, he no longer wanted to make a career, he no longer wanted to get ahead, he just wanted to go back to Buenos Aires, to go back to his nest and lick his wounds quietly. In the last stage of the battle, when the gauchos were unable to advance, it was he who led the Peruvian cavalry, the rear, to launch a decisive assault on the cavalry battalion. After this short assault failed, Captain Torres, who had survived his horse, was captured by the cavalry battalion. Having died once, his mood changed considerably, and he felt that he was extremely weak at this moment, and he was bent on ending the war that he did not want to recall for the rest of his life, and returning to Buenos Aires quietly.

A pair of long, mud-stained cowhide boots stopped in front of Captain Torres. Captain Torres looked up blankly, and the first thing that caught his eye was a pair of dark blue military pants with red trim in the seam of the trousers, and then a blue military uniform, a white canvas armed belt, a cowhide belt, an ammunition bag, a pistol holster, a saber, a red-bottom epaulettes, and a large black-brimmed cap......

Rango stood in front of Captain Torres, looking at the prisoner with scrutinizing eyes. Seeing that the other party raised his head, he asked in English: "Spanish Army Captain Juan Cruz Torres?" ”

Torres looked at him blankly and did not speak.

Lan Guo was stunned, and then said to an army sergeant behind him: "Then he must understand French, ask him in French." ”

Hearing this, the Swiss sergeant immediately said to Captain Torres in French: "Captain Juan Cruz Torres, as the victorious Lieutenant of the Blue Fruit Army, graciously announces to you that we can now grant you your freedom at once, on the condition that you bring back this letter addressed to Major Antonio Carlos, do you accept such conditions?" I have to take the liberty of reminding you that if you don't want to spend your life in a dangerous mine, you'd better accept this task. ”

Captain Torres' eyes lit up, and he said in a hoarse voice, "Yes, I would be happy to be your messenger. ”

……

Major Antonio Carlos looked at the letter in his hand, written in scribbled French, which was not very long, and the meaning was simple, that is, to demand that Antonio Carlos immediately lead the remnants of the 400 or so Spanish troops on the north shore to surrender unconditionally, in exchange for ensuring that their lives and personal property were not infringed upon by the generals.

Major Carlos never felt the pain and humiliation at this moment. Yesterday, after discovering that the Tatar army had entered the area on the south bank of the bridge, Major Carlos immediately selected the main force to cross the river overnight, preparing to repel the Tatar force and then immediately break out. He had even ordered his artillerymen to destroy the eight naval guns outside the walls of Dingyuan Fort, making them useless to the Tatars.

Although he had expected that the breakout might not go too smoothly, he did not expect that his hand-picked 650 soldiers would be defeated so quickly. Major Carlos watched the entire battle in the barracks, and in less than two hours from the beginning to the end of the battle, his troops had been wiped out, and what was even more tragic was that they had not done much damage to the Tatars.

What a memorable and heart-wrenching fiasco! The reasons for the defeat can be said to be manifold, such as the low morale of the soldiers due to the lack of supplies, the weak will to fight, the backward equipment of the soldiers caused by many years of pampered colonial life, the extreme lack of flintlock pistols and high-quality artillery, the backwardness of the tactical thinking of the cavalry, ignorance of the real situation of the enemy, and so on. From the high inspectors and governors, to the provincial and municipal magistrates and rank and file officers below, from the navy to the army, the kingdom has made too many mistakes. The combination of these mistakes led to a glorious victory for the Tatars, leaving them with bitter fruits of defeat.

Well, let's face it! Major Carlos took a deep breath, nearly 200 of the more than 400 officers and soldiers left behind in the camp on the north shore were still sick, plus the unreliable gauchos who had returned from defeat, this group of old and weak and sick people could not stop even a round of attacks from the Tatars. Things have come to this point where it is unrealistic to seek a decent surrender. The Tatars guaranteed the safety of the lives and personal property of all surrendered personnel, and the conditions on which the officers were allowed to keep their swords were lenient enough. If they refused this offer, the Tatars might have been able to break through their impregnable camp with a little effort. And, more crucially, the soldiers no longer have the desire to continue fighting. After a series of nightmarish defeats, the only thing these soldiers from La Plata had on their minds was to get out of this cold, damned, desperate place as soon as possible and return to the warmth of their homes in La Plata to reunite with their families.

"Captain Torres, go and announce the order of unconditional surrender to the soldiers on my behalf. There is no need to continue fighting, the Tatars will not kill us, God is with us. Major Antonio Carlos said weakly to Captain Torres, who was standing in front of him.

Captain Torres gave a silent salute and turned to leave.

At 12 noon sharp, July 20, Major Antonio Carlos, the Supreme Commander of the Spanish Expeditionary Force in La Plata, announced his unconditional surrender. Under his orders, the 412 officers and men of the Spanish Army and 75 gaucho cavalrymen who were still in the barracks surrendered their weapons, armor and horses, and then marched out of the barracks in a procession to be guarded by the victors. In addition, about 50 gaucho cavalry, unwilling to surrender, rushed out of the barracks and fled towards the vast steppe to the northwest. What awaits them will be harsh winters and attacks by the savage Chalua natives, and the chances of their safe return to La Plata are not high.

The news of the surrender of the Spanish Army spread everywhere as soon as possible. The populace was ecstatic that the shadow of war that had been on their heads for nearly half a year had finally been cut off a large chunk, and a complete truce was just around the corner.

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