"It's the last moment! Everyone, men and women, old and weak, must contribute! For Spain! For Manila!"

In the city of Santiago, in the Cathedral of St. Augustine, the cries of the Governor of Lebando echoed incessantly. The hundreds of Spaniards gathered here were all Manilan dignitaries, all of them pale, many of the women were crying quietly, and the men were still trying to calm themselves and comfort them.

"Can't we surrender!? We are willing to leave Manila, and even willing to hand over all our property, the safety of our families is more important than anything else!"

"Your Excellency the Governor, we hope that you can communicate openly and honestly with the Chinese, and even Muslims will not accept such a deal."

The castle, once regarded as impregnable, is crumbling under the heavy siege artillery of the Chinese, and even in the megalithic Manila Cathedral, the vibration of the heavy artillery bombardment of the city wall is still clearly heard, shaking the ceiling of the church and constantly falling dust.

The state of mind of the dignitaries was normal, normal Governor Lebando was difficult to discern, and it was obvious that under the formidable bombardment of the cannon, the castle of Santiago could not hold out for long, and even Lebando himself had this idea earlier, but it had long been crushed by the will of the Archbishop of Aruso, which was even more impregnable than the castle of Santiago. "The Chinese are not Muslims, the Chinese are even more sinful unbelievers than them!"

Archbishop Aruso's voice rang out, causing Governor Lebando to breathe a sigh of relief.

"We have crossed the ocean and come to this beautiful land, not just for life, but for profit. We also have a noble ideal, every Spaniard, every one of God's people, who goes to every corner of the world, to spread the gospel of God. ”

"We have been working here for more than 100 years, and the inhabitants of the land have been religiously bathed in the glory of God."

"But those Chinese, from the very beginning, they rejected God's salvation. Even in exchange for the benefit of this world, while praying to the Lord, they secretly worship the tenant in their homes, which is ignorant and blasphemous. ”

"When Chinese bandits came across the sea and tried to rob us of the beautiful homeland that we had spent more than a hundred years building, how did the Chinese in Manila repay us who led the faith and sheltered life? They are in the league with the robbers! For more than 100 years, they have been! Even though they have been punished by our Lord and punished by the law, they have never changed! That's what they are! ”

"Some people will say that there are still Chinese standing with us in the defense line outside the castle. This is an illusion! When the Chinese bandits gain more and more the upper hand, they will definitely betray us! I've always been convinced of that. ”

The words of the archbishop were filled with sadness and pity, and they also led the hearts of the listeners to sink into the abyss.

"When you thoroughly understand the nature of the Chinese, do you still think that the Chinese will treat this war as an equal with us and treat this war with the laws of the civilized world? No, I have read the history of the Chinese, after the city is broken, they will slaughter every living person, rape all women, they have been living in a dark world, they have never understood the laws of civilization. ”

The archbishop finally said the most crucial part: "They will also treat those Chinese bandits who have been punished by the law in the past as victims, and inflict a hundredfold and a thousand times revenge on us, such a crime, even if it is exhausted by human imagination, it is difficult to describe it in words......" The church fell silent, the previous sobbing suddenly disappeared, and the brains of both men and women were already numb with fright. The archbishop's words are very straightforward, we killed so many Chinese before, and now we still expect them to accept the deal and dream! "We are not just going to protect Manila, we are going to protect the glory of our Lord. Even if it is death, it is martyrdom! Manila will be a city of saints, and our Lord will gladly lead us to the kingdom of heaven, Amen......"

The archbishop's concluding words were very powerful, and after praying with these men and women who had been desperate because of his words, he quietly withdrew, and the governor of Lebando followed, and asked again: "Your Excellency, this is not the Middle Ages, are you a little alarmist......

The governor naturally still had a glimmer of hope, but the archbishop asked rhetorically: "Won't the Chinese take revenge!?" ”

In terms of past history, after the Chinese broke the city, the possibility of slaughtering the city for revenge was almost more than ninety percent, but this was based on the fact that the Spaniards had resisted to the end. The archbishop incited the commoners to fight to the death, and the governor of Lebandu tasted a strange smell. To be promoted to the rank of archbishop, naturally it is not a fundamentalist with fanatical thoughts, and this position is simply a religious politician. ,

The archbishop smiled faintly, and a decisive light flashed in his eyes: "In your eyes, this is a battle of interests, and in my eyes, this is a battle of faith. ”

"The glory of our Lord is obscured in China itself and suppressed in Annam. In all of Asia, only the French are still in India, Burma and Siam are still struggling hard, and the rest of the world is either the pagans of the Dutch or the rebels of Britain. Manila is the last temple of our Lord in Asia. ”

"If we make a deal with the Chinese and leave Manila safely, the torch of our Lord's gospel, in Asia, at least in East Asia, will be completely extinguished."

He looked at Lebando with a penetrating depth of history: "How can we expect to receive benefits from others when we cannot lead them in their faith?" ”

"Are we Europa people able to sail the world, and to gather the wealth of the world in Europa, only by ships and merchants? No, it is the glory of our Lord that can dispel the ignorance of backward civilizations, so that other peoples and civilizations of the world will be willing to sacrifice their loyalty to us Europa and to our people of God. ”

Lei Bandu's eyes flashed, and his face quickly changed between red and white, and after a long time, he gasped and said in a low voice:

"You mean...... To make Manila a place of martyrdom, so that the Chinese become the public enemies of the civilized world!? ”

The archbishop smiled slightly: "Holy war, when those Chinese pirates build the Temple of Heaven, a new holy war is inevitable. In that case, let Manila be the prelude to this holy war. ”

With deep admiration and awe, the Governor of Lebando bowed to the archbishop, and at the same time his mind raced to compile a list of eyewitnesses who would survive to tell Europa and to the Holy See about the prologue of this holy war, and his own family would be at the top of the list, of course.

Under the guidance of Archbishop Aruso, the Spaniards in the castle of Santiago were refreshed, and they were no longer panicked, but despair and numbness. Everyone moved and began to dig trenches inside the castle and build the breastwork. The castle has more than a dozen churches and several barracks, all of which are made of huge stones. Connected by trenches, it was again a strong line of defense.

Frightened by the prospect of revenge for the slaughter of the "Chinese robbers" after breaking through the city, the civilians exerted their strength, the ladies lifted their long skirts and wielded their hoes, and the children organized themselves and dragged the rubble. Outside the city, the cannon roared, and inside the city was a peaceful scene of labor.

At this moment, the most frightened are the natives and Chinese, especially the Chinese, who are crowded to the east and north, relying on the cover of the city gates and city walls, and are still desperately defending.

The most die-hard Chinese, like that Zhang Wu, were dead in the previous battle of the defensive line, and the rest were the grass people who only knew how to follow the main stream, and the Chinese merchants who were closely attached to the Spaniards.

After the heavy cannon played the lamentation of the castle of Santiago in advance, the backbone of these Chinese people had already begun to waver, and then they got on the line with the people sent by Fan Sihai, and a conspiracy to sell the city and open the door suddenly took shape.

The gate of the castle of Santiago has long been blocked, and the door cannot be sold, but those Chinese businessmen feel that they can win the opportunity to enter the city, so they blend into the city, create chaos, and lead the LinkedIn army to break the city. Throughout the ages, this set of tactics has been extremely skilled in China.

They ignore the fact that the Spaniards, never really trusted them. And Jia Hao and the others already have a deep understanding of this, so they don't have much hope for their plan.

But things went beyond everyone's imagination, and before the Chinese merchants could start to act, the Spaniards made the first move. On the night of August 20, the east and south gates of the castle of Santiago were filled with gunfire and killing. Under the leadership of the Spaniards, the natives seized the ordnance of the Chinese in the defense line on the pretext of investigating the spies, and then claimed that they were planning a rebellion and went on a killing spree.

It was late at night, and it was difficult for the British and Chinese troops to react, and on the morning of the 21st, the defense line near the city gates on both sides was like a mountain of corpses, and it also sank into a mountain under the hearts of the British and Chinese officers and soldiers and the Chinese people in the Laofu battalion.

"Although they are traitors, they are always my Chinese people, and they were slaughtered like pigs and dogs by the Spaniards.

Most people are indignant, and even if these people deserve to be killed, it will not be your turn to kill the Spaniards! The few who still had schadenfreude in their hearts saw the black-haired, yellow-skinned, identical corpses piled up in hundreds and thousands, and the Spaniards in the distant city were gesturing with all kinds of contempt, and they felt the same way, and the hatred of these foreigners rushed to the highest point. ,

Fan Sihai blamed himself compassionately: "It's a step late......"

Jia Hao turned his head to look at Jia Yifan, who was busy with Jia Huaijing and Jia Huaiwei in the army, shook his head and said: "God allows people to be happy, and it depends on how people choose." ”

Guan Fengsheng came again, he didn't care much about the Chinese in Manila who were still playing for the Spaniards, but excitedly informed Jia Hao that the other two Fengyun cannons were also ready.

Jia Hao let out a sigh of relief, the "Fengyun No. 1" bombardment in the north has been bombarded for a few days, and the city wall has collapsed into many gaps, and almost all the fortresses and artillery on the city have been swept away. Now that No. 2 and No. 3 are ready, and the Spaniards have cleared the city gate defense by themselves, it is time for a general attack.

He said to Guan Fengsheng: "Uncle Guan is really hard, with this siege artillery, it seems that this castle can be taken at the end of the month." ”

Guan Fengsheng said with a smile: "Fourth brother is afraid that he is also anxious, with your news, he should be able to return north with peace of mind." ”

Just as he said this, a document was sent to Jia Hao, which was an edict written by Li Xian himself.

After reading it carefully a few times, closing his eyes and pondering for a long time, convinced that he had no misunderstanding, Jia Hao sighed: "It seems that I still have to deal with my own military heart." ”

Guan Fengsheng didn't want to snoop on the letters, so he just asked sideways: "Fourth brother, what kind of drudgery did you confess?" Jia Hao didn't hide it, and said straightforwardly: "The fourth brother also expected that the city was about to be broken, and he asked me to properly deal with those Spaniards after the city was broken." ”

Guan Fengsheng said disapprerovingly: "Properly dispose of it? This is a matter for the military doctor, dig a pit and bury it deeply, just put more oil and lime, and the fourth brother is really worried. ”

Jia Hao continued to smile bitterly, Guan Fengsheng is all in this state of mind, and the fourth brother's explanation is really difficult to do. But because of this, the fourth brother will let himself master the situation in Luzon, if it is only to capture Manila, Wu Ya is actually more competent.

"After all, this is after the breach, and if the Spaniards must resist to the end, it is their own choice."

Jia Hao thought so, waved his heart, and focused all his energy on the matter of breaking the city.

"It won't take that long, ten days at most!"

Clinton has changed from a pessimistic conservative to an optimistic radical, with such sharp siege artillery, or three, the Spaniards have no reinforcements, and the fall of the castle is only a blink of an eye.

Funan nostalgia, Li Shi nodded and said: "It's almost, it's not the end of this month, or the beginning of next month." ”

Wu Ya beside him let out a long sigh: "Manila is in hand, this Nanyang is finally in our hands." ”

Siniang is not an ignorant girl, and retorted: "The land of Srivijaya and Java in the south is still the land of the Dutch!" The fourth brother met with the princes here in Funan, and the Dutch only sent people from the East India Company to deal with the scene, and they were very dissatisfied with us! ”

Li Xian shook his head: "The Dutch are just waiting, and when the city of Manila is broken, the Dutch will no longer be able to sit still." But then, they have to run around. ”

Siniang's eyes lit up: "Are you going back?" ”

Li Xian twisted his beard, nodded with a smile, and said in his heart that of course he had to go back, but he couldn't go back to Guangzhou directly, the battlefield of Manila was about to stop, and the battlefield of Guangzhou would make a fuss again.

Still on the beach, Li Xian looked to the east, it seemed that Manila was in front of him, thinking of the smoke of the beacon fire under Manila, he was also excited, and he didn't know what kind of answer Jia Hao could give him.

(To be continued)