"Damn, it's the army of the Qianyuan Empire!"

The war had reached this point, and the commander of the Northern Legion, Agno, had finally figured out the identity and origin of this group of formidable enemy troops. ↖ Although Luzon is lonely above the ocean, it is not completely isolated. The occasional fleet, as well as the shipwrecked survivors, gave them a lot of information. And in these messages, without exception, they are told that there is a huge empire in the distant Eastern Continent.

If these enemies came from that country, Agno wouldn't be surprised. After all, the Qianyuan Empire had a population and land dozens of times that of Luzon, and it was not surprising that it was able to organize a strong army and a fleet of sailors.

What he wondered about was just why the other party suddenly became interested in Luzon.

After all, that sprawling country is at least a few thousand nautical miles away from Luzon. The royal family, which ruled that huge country, regarded itself as a foreign country, and did not pay attention to the islands outside the mainland at all.

However, now is not the time to pursue these issues. The anxiety and low morale in the tent, as well as the occasional groans of pain around them, reminded Agno that they were in a terrible situation. A large number of casualties have dampened the morale of the army, and also caused a shortage of wound medicine and bandages. Just a quarter of an hour ago, another boat broke through the blockade in the darkness of the night, and the news arrived, only the news made them even more desperate.

Cagayan, the commander of the naval division, had already tried to make a circle, avoiding the blockade of the enemy's naval division, landing from the far side to deliver supplies, and by the way, taking some of the soldiers back to Luzon. It's a pity that the enemy's sailors carried out careful precautions and patrols, and the already heavily damaged fleet lost more than a dozen ships again after an encounter, but it failed to achieve any purpose!

Cagayan will not be coming back for the foreseeable future.

This is undoubtedly a signal to abandon them completely.

The only thing that can barely be considered good news is. With so many dead and wounded, the camp had plenty of food to sustain them for an extra day or two—something that could only be ironed by Agno.

But there is nothing to be done!

Fight and fight, retreat and nowhere to escape, unless the enemy is willing to give up defending the city and take the initiative to fight them in the field. Even counterattacking one's own camp may bring a glimmer of opportunity. But the enemy would be so stupid, right?

The following day, Agno suspended his attack and sent his soldiers to shout and curse, hoping to provoke the enemy forces defending the city. To their disappointment, the enemy was as calm as a turtle and didn't pay any attention to it. On the contrary, after nightfall, he once again sent people to make a feint to attack the camp. Let the Luzon soldiers be tortured.

Over the course of a few days, the effect of fatigue is becoming more and more apparent. Many of the native soldiers in Luzon were suffering from a nervous breakdown under tremendous pressure and without adequate rest. Either completely collapsed, the spirit collapsed, or in a manic mania ushered in a self-destruction miè!

Either way, it was a disaster for Arnono and his soldiers.

Realizing that he had no other way to go, Agno made a desperate decision after gathering the officers of the various ministries. All the salaries were paid. The food was enough, and then the next day he gathered all his strength to fight a death battle with the Songjiang army. If you're lucky, you'll be able to break through. Then everyone will survive; If you fail, surrender all!

For the upper echelons of the decaying Duchy of Luzon, Agno did not have much affection and loyalty. The reason why he is willing to work hard is because he is one of them, and the war is actually to protect his interests. Now that more powerful forces have emerged, in order to save their lives and status, surrender is undoubtedly a choice to understand the current affairs.

Die?

Who would want to be buried in that decaying and aging principality?

After unifying opinions. Unsurprisingly, the upper echelons of the Luzon Army had few objections. There may be regret and a little shame in the hearts of some people, but more of a sigh of relief and a sense of relief that tomorrow after the first battle, no matter what the outcome, this war will be completely different from what was expected.

After a bleak night's rest. On the fourth day of the unfavorable battle, Agno mobilized his entire army in the morning and gave the order to fight to the death.

Amid the rapid drums of war, the troops with the lightest losses in the previous days took the lead in rushing to the front line.

This time, the Luzon launched an onslaught on an unprecedented scale. Every section of the city wall on the front and the gate that was repaired by the Songjiang army overnight were attacked by Luzon soldiers. Often the previous wave of soldiers was still fighting, and Agno had already organized a rotating team in front of the rear phalanx.

"The Luzon people are going to fight hard!"

Including He Shixiang, all the officers and men of the Songjiang Army felt this from the sudden increase in pressure. In addition to the heavy infantry, the light infantry under He Shixiang also participated in the defense. In addition to throwing a large number of thistles on the ground outside the city, the infantry archers of the Songjiang army also began to shoot the attacking Luzon soldiers with all their might. With a small stone thrower and a bed crossbow, they resisted the attack of the Luzon people without giving an inch.

The fierce fighting and the sound of gold and iron clashing echoed on this island that had been calm for thousands of years. The Ilogo, who were forced to stay in the house, were frightened by the horror of the war, and could only hide in the house, listening to the sounds coming from outside, while praying in their hearts that their army would win.

The city gates, which have been temporarily repaired, are obviously not comparable to the original fortification. Under the attack of the Luzonists, it was quickly re-broken. However, the Luzon soldiers who rushed in were once again confronted by the heavy infantry and staged the previous tragedy. The natives who attacked in the other sections of the city wall were not in much better condition. Although there were casualties on both sides, the casualties of the Songjiang army, which had the advantage in all aspects, were far smaller than those of the Luzonians, and it seemed that they could hold on indefinitely.

"This is by no means the strength of a large battalion!"

After half a day, seeing that Matsue's army calmly rotated between their attacks, Agno came to another desperate inference.

In the past few days of war, although the other side is defending the city, I am afraid that there are only 1,000 dead and wounded. Including the defenders at the head of the city, the heavy infantry, the archers, and the cavalry, there were already more than a large battalion. This means that the enemy is not only more combat-ready, but also far outnumbered by their previous intelligence and inference!

And this was almost the only confidence and hope that the Luzon soldiers had to win.

"It's impossible to win......"

When the soldiers who had completed the change of defense took over the defense and stopped the soldiers on their side in front of Tucheng again, the cavalry of the Songjiang Army saw the opportunity to succeed in a continuous counterattack. Agno looked up to the sky and sighed, and walked back to the Chinese military tent in despair. He no longer had the luxury of defeating the enemy, but began to think in despair and chagrin about the conditions he could fight for in surrender.

The ensuing development of the war did not surprise him.

The enemy had enough troops and a change of force to make the Luzon onslaught at any cost meaningless. At the end of the day, the Luzon army was still unable to achieve decisive results, except for more than 1,000 casualties and blood shedding. Yesterday, I finally recovered a little morale. It also fell sharply again.

The enemy's cavalry once again came to show off their might near their camp.

If this continues, the troops who are under pressure to the limit are only afraid that there is a possibility of mutiny.

This is by no means alarmist!

"Surrender."

Looking at the officers with earthy faces and two fewer than yesterday, Agno finally made up his mind.

………

A day later, 9,200 soldiers on Yanjian Island laid down their arms and surrendered to the Songjiang Army on the spot. Subsequently, the wounded soldiers were immediately treated by the Songjiang Army. As long as it is not the kind of serious injury that must die, almost all of them have been cleaned, bandaged and dressed.

This move. A certain amount of Cheng dù eased the hostility of the Luzon troops. Although the Matsue army was willing to accept their surrender, God knows what to do with them. Even if they return afterwards, slaughter on the spot and bury them, no one else can know. Now that they have spent a lot of money on the medicine to treat them, it proves that their fate will not be too bad.

After all, no one spends money on a dead person.

Compared with the apprehensive low-level soldiers, the senior officers of the Luzon army were much more down-to-earth. Although the Matsue Army, which had absolute superiority, demanded that they surrender unconditionally, they still gave certain guarantees in the end. These high-ranking officers. If you don't want to serve the Matsue Army, you can choose to leave all your belongings behind. Leaving the army empty-handed. If he was willing to serve the Songjiang Army, and was willing to take his family as a hostage, and sent a document to crusade against the Duchy of Luzon, then it was possible to retain his original position and even continue to command the army.

If he had contributed to the battle to overthrow the Duchy of Luzon in the future, the Songjiang army might have reused it and rewarded it with another reward!

Even the most undetermined officers were a little ashamed of the Matsue Army's request: to openly oppose the principality to which they were originally loyal. But just think that by doing so, you can preserve your rights and status. Even further, that bit of shame was immediately thrown out of the clouds.

Even Agno himself, after getting used to his new identity a little, couldn't wait to express his loyalty to He Shixiang. In the end, only two or three mid-ranking officers chose to leave the house. Returning to their hometown, almost all of the remaining officers defected to the Songjiang Army.

The generals of the Songjiang Army quickly obtained detailed and comprehensive information.

Before this, Chen Wu had already provided a lot of useful things. But when it comes to the details, it is naturally impossible to be clearer than these native officers. At this moment, after statistics and integration, the political, military, and major local forces of the Principality of Luzon are already well known to them.

This area is roughly equal to the principality of Songjiang + Ninghai, and it is divided into six major regions.

They are Lawag and Cebu in the west, Quezon Plains in the center, and Sulu, Medan and Davao in the east. Among them, the Quezon Plain in the central part is the largest and is also the place where the royal capital Manila is located, and it has a total of 30,000 troops of the Northern Army and the Royal Capital Army to suppress it.

Of course, after the First Battle of Yanji'an Island, the Northern Army has been removed. The more than 9,000 native soldiers who surrendered will be reorganized after they are dispersed. In the vast Quezon Plains, only the royal capital of Manila remains, with 15,000 people.

With the exception of the Quezon Plains in the center, North Luzon is divided into east and west.

To the west, in the two major districts of Laoag and Cebu, the Cebu Corps were stationed. The commander of the legion is the head of a faction of local powers. With the outstanding achievements of the Songjiang army, as long as some signals are revealed, the other party may not dare to attack the Songjiang army, but will ignore the orders of the royal capital and choose to support the army to protect itself.

Of the three eastern regions, the only Medan Regiment was removed along with the Northern Legion. Only the remnants of Cagayan's sailors rescued a small number of troops, but not enough to make any waves. As the news spreads, the three major regions in the east, especially Sulu and Davao, which are full of local factions, will fall into a state of anarchy and chaos.

This is actually beneficial to the Songjiang Army.

The Cebu Legion in the west was defending itself, and the three eastern regions were in chaos or even attacking each other, which meant that the royal capital Manila would not receive any reinforcements. According to the original plan, the Songjiang Army could make a long drive after landing on the island, first attacking Manila, and then gradually annexing and digesting the entire Luzon Island.

Even the Duchy of Luzon as a whole was no match for the Songjiang Army, and it was even more unlikely that the scattered and leaderless local forces would pose a mortal threat to the Songjiang Army - of course, it might bring a lot of trouble, but the result was doomed!

After deducing the changes after the Duchy of Luzon, He Shixiang and the officers of the Songjiang Army had confidence in their hearts.

After a short rest for two days, the Songjiang Army did not stay too long and quickly began the formal capture of Luzon. After all their weapons were collected, the surrendered Luzon soldiers were taken into custody by a wing of the Matsue Army and temporarily held on the island. The rest of the Songjiang Army and a 500-man native force, including Agno and other surrendered officers, began the landing with the assistance of Admiral Shi Liang and the Ninghai fleet.

Sixty nautical miles is not too easy for Ninghai Marine.

After organizing the boarding in the afternoon, the first troops arrived at the pier on the island of North Luzon just after dawn the next day. Knowing that there was already a vacuum in the north of the Quezon Plain and that there were no extra troops to threaten them, the Second Brigade of the First Division of the Songjiang Army, which had landed first, did not even wait for the second batch of troops to follow, and directly began to advance inland.

Under the guidance of Agno and other local troops, the Songjiang army followed as if it were marching on its own territory, and after half a day, it arrived at Carakron and occupied the small city as an outpost.

Having left half of the wing to maintain law and order, the troops continued their rapid march. After about a day and a half, they arrived at the northern city of the Quezon Plain, the original headquarters of the Northern Legion, and the northern barrier of Manila, the royal capital!

Compared to the manors and villages you see along the way, Mindola is a real city. With 200,000 civilians and at the same time a staggering amount of wealth and food.

Although the hundreds of native soldiers defending the city had learned of the unfavorable news of the war from Cagayan, under the blockade of the Songjiang army, no one knew what the situation on the island was. And after the Songjiang Army landed, it went straight here, and there was no time for the news to ferment and spread. So much so that after seeing the legion commander Agno personally come forward to ask for the opening of the city, the soldiers defending the city did not hesitate to open the city gate - or rather, even if the soldiers had doubts in their hearts, they did not dare to refuse in front of Agno's previous prestige.

The Songjiang army did not suffer a single soldier or casualties, and easily took over this almost undefended gateway city. (To be continued.) )