Delgado would not let his guard down at such a time, so he shook his head and said, "My lord, I don't understand what you mean. ”

"Alright, Delgado, you don't have to continue to pretend to be innocent!" Gusman said impatiently, "It's okay to fool a rough person like López with your tricks, I'm not an idiot who can't see the situation clearly!"

Delgado thought for a moment and responded: "If Lord Gusman really wants to talk to the Haihan people outside the city, then the villain is willing to deliver a message for the adults to go out of the city." ”

"Listen, I ask the Haihan people to guarantee that I can leave here safely and decently, and that my personal belongings cannot be withheld. Gusman said viciously, "If they can't do it, then I'll have to let the defenders in the city fight to the end!"

All Gusman did was to get out safely and be able to take the property that belonged to him intact. As for the fate of the rest of the city, Gusman didn't care so much. Of course, the Spaniards still had to survive as much as possible, so that they might be able to make up a reason to ask the Manila authorities for credit afterwards. The casualties were so severe that it was difficult for Gusman to account for his return to Manila.

Delgado knew that Gusman was only hardened for the time being, how could he really have the courage to fight the Haihan people. Even if López hadn't had an accident, he would inevitably be discouraged when he saw the siege artillery outside the city. Although Delgado is only a semi-professional soldier, he can also see that the gap in strength between the two sides is not only reflected in the will to fight, but also in the gap in weapons and equipment and combat methods.

Gusman quickly reconvened the officers of the city's defenders and informed them of the current situation - the city of Santo Domingo was besieged, the call for help had failed, and it was impossible to engage the enemy in a head-on battle, and it was only a matter of time before it fell.

Naturally, this view of Gusman aroused doubts among the officers, and many people thought that with the help of the city defense, it was still possible to try to hold it for a few more days. At this time, Gusman could only sacrifice Delgado's useful tool again: "Delgado, you tell them what you saw outside the city. ”

"Siege artillery, siege cannons with thick and long barrels!" Delgado knew very well what he had to say now to break the will of these soldiers to fight: "And there is more than one! They used field artillery to attack the city before, probably just to test the range of our city artillery guns, so that the siege artillery that would be transported later could be deployed to the right position. ”

"Is that a real cannon?" In fact, some people in the city had already observed the large artillery in the distance, but they thought that it might be a camouflage made by the Haihan army with a thick tree trunk, just a prop to scare the defenders. But if this thing is a real thing, then the situation on the battlefield is completely different, many of these soldiers have participated in the European battlefield, and they also know how much protection the so-called walls of Santo Domingo can be. If you want to rely on this adobe wall to block the bombardment of the siege artillery, it is more useful to pray to God that the cannonballs will not hit you.

After receiving an affirmative answer from Delgado's mouth, almost everyone felt a deep sense of despair. They traveled thousands of miles from Europe to this remote island in the Far East, but they did not come here specifically to serve their country, and the enemy outside the city was not natives with bamboo spears, and they could easily defeat them with the advantage of fortifications and weapons. In front of the Haihan army, armed to the teeth, the Spaniards felt that they were the natives with bamboo spears.

Seeing that the opposition had disappeared, Gusman continued: "Gentlemen, I think we should calm down and deal with the current situation, Captain López has used his life to warn us that we cannot fight hard against a strong enemy outside the city. If we all die here, it will be a great loss for the interests of the Kingdom of Spain in the Far East. All of you here are talents who are one in a hundred miles or one in a thousand miles, and they should not bury their precious lives on this remote island. I think we should be realistic, evacuate here in a dignified manner, and when we are ready in the future, we will come back to avenge Captain López!"

"Master Gusman is right, it won't help us all to die here, it's better to save our strength for the future. ”

"I just don't know if the enemy outside the city will kill us and not let us go?"

"I heard that the Haihan people are not thirsty for killing, and the Dutch were defeated last year, but now they are not staying well in the south? ”

"However, our ships have been sunk, and we will have to take the land route to Chicken Coop Harbor......

After Gesman made a statement, everyone immediately discussed, but at this time, no one objected to Gesman's proposition, but began to discuss the matter after the surrender, and they didn't want to fight with the Haihan Army anymore.

After some discussion, Gusman offered to let Delgado, who could speak Chinese, act as a negotiator to negotiate with the Han army outside the city. There was no objection to this proposal, as the participants were all Spaniards, and there was no way to communicate verbally with the enemy outside the city, and the conversation was in vain.

"Delgado, I now appoint you as my temporary guard officer, and you will negotiate on behalf of the city of Santo Domingo with the enemy forces outside the city. My request is to protect the lives and property of all those in the city as much as possible. Gusman gave the order as if he were the savior of Santo Domingo.

"My lord, I will do everything in my power to accomplish this task. Delgado stood up and bowed, but he did not feel any joy in his heart about this promotion, because he knew that Gusman had suspected that he had secretly colluded with the Haihan, and that he could not give him any trust in the future, and that this temporary appointment was just a little sweetness that Gusman had given in order to get out smoothly. Once he gets out safely, Gusman will probably start to figure out how to get rid of himself who knows too much of the inside story. While completing the tasks assigned by Minami Takahashi, Delgado also had to think about how to arrange his own way out.

That afternoon, Delgado slipped down the wall again with a rope. Originally, as a negotiating envoy, he should have gone out through the castle gate, but on the day when the Haihan army came to the city, López had the city gate sealed with stones from the inside, so that the wooden gate would not be destroyed by the opponent's artillery. At this time, it was difficult to clear the stones piled up at the city gate, and Delgado had to choose the abnormal passage of the city wall to get out of the city.

With a white flag in his hand, Delgado slowly walked in the direction of Haihan's position. Compared with the last time he went out of the city in the dark, this time he was much calmer. The Haihan people had won the battle early on, so they were reluctant to invest too much in the siege war, so they instigated such a very targeted action, and Delgado knew that the Haihan people were now waiting for news from their side to determine whether the last step was a peaceful settlement or an armed siege.

"You can come out and negotiate with us on behalf of the people in the city, presumably things are going well?" Takahashi Minami went straight to the point after meeting Delgado.

"López is dead, Gusman has decided to surrender to you, and the villain is out to negotiate terms. Delgado didn't dare to go around in circles with Takahashi, and immediately briefly explained the situation in the city and his intentions.

López's death was expected by Minami Takahashi, in this environment that lacks advanced medical conditions, **** being shot basically means seeing God. Even if López hadn't been killed on the spot, it wouldn't have been too long. Takahashi's uncertainty was mainly due to Guersman's attitude, and one of Delgado's roles was to ensure that there were no surprises.

"Did you convince Gusman?" asked Minami Takahashi.

Delgado said in his heart that I not only persuaded Gusman but also killed López, but in front of Takahashi Minami, he didn't dare to boast about Haikou, but only humbly replied: "Actually, Gusman doesn't want to fight your army, and it is more important for him to save his life than to protect this city." ”

Takahashi Minami nodded, and did not comment on Gesman's approach, but in his heart, he thought that sure enough, the civil officials in the world were ordinary cowards, and they would first consider suing for peace when they encountered a war. Fortunately, this Gusman is a greedy person who is afraid of death, otherwise although the Haihan army will definitely be able to take the city of Santo Domingo, the price it needs to pay will be much greater.

"What are the conditions for Gusman?" Takahashi continued.

"He needs your army to be able to guarantee the safety of the Spaniards in the city, as well as their property. Delgado honestly relayed Guersman's request.

"People can go, but money has to be discussed, gold, silver and jewelry and other valuable things have to be left behind, which are all trophies of the Haihan army. As for the altars, jars, and other household goods, they can take them with them. Takahashi shook his head slightly, indicating that he had a different opinion on this proposal. I think that when he followed Qian Tiandun to pursue the southern rebels in southern Annam, he received a lot of cities that took the initiative to surrender, but he never told the losers about any conditions, not to mention that the wealth looted in this city was also an income that could not be ignored for the Haihan military. In the past few years, the military has been able to rely on the oil and water it has fished from the occupied areas in previous battles. Although the Executive Committee is also aware of the tricks involved, it has always turned a blind eye and will not take the initiative to intervene, and the military will operate it on its own.

Delgado said to himself that if these worthless things are still worth declaring to you, he had to take another step back: "Gusman demands that at least his personal property be safely transported out of here, otherwise he will not surrender." ”

"Does this dead money fan want to die with his money?" Takahashi Minami showed a mocking smile on his face: "Okay, but I ask that his personal luggage cannot exceed five wooden boxes, and if there is any excess, we will directly confiscate it." ”

"I'll take your orders back, and I think Gusman, who is in a hurry to get out of here, should compromise. Delgado bowed.

"What about you? What are you going to do with the Spaniards to Chicken Coop Harbor?" Takahashi Minami's question did not end, and continued to ask a more personal question.

Delgado shook his head and said, "Gusman thinks that I have colluded with your army, and even if I follow the large army back to Chicken Coop Harbor, it will not be able to change my situation. I know too much about Gusman, and I'm afraid I'll be worried about my life if I go to Chicken Coop Harbor. ”

"That's right......" Takahashi Minami can also understand Delgado's scruples, after letting go of Gusman, an insider, Delgado has basically lost the opportunity to work under the Spaniards, and even his life safety is not guaranteed.

"Before Nagersmann goes out of the city and surrenders, you come out first, and we will take you hostage to ensure that the evacuation of the Spaniards can be carried out in a safe and orderly manner. Takahashi Minami was afraid that he wouldn't understand, so he quickly added: "When you are done as a hostage, you don't have to go back." ”

"General Xie take it in!" This Delgado can not only speak Chinese, but even understands the etiquette of kneeling, even if he kneels down and kowtows to Takahashi Minami a few times.

"It's a little late today, I'll give them a night to pack up their belongings, and tomorrow morning, let Gusman go out of the city and surrender, otherwise we'll attack the city directly. Takahashi Nan waved his hand and said, "You go back and wait for your good news tomorrow." ”

"Five boxes? How is that enough!" After hearing the news brought back by Delgado, Gusman suddenly burst into a rage: "My silver coins have to be filled with seven boxes, what trick are the Haihan people going to do! Delgado, you run again tomorrow, let them think about it!"

"My lord, I'm afraid the Haihan people won't think about any other plan. "They have set a deadline, and tomorrow after the sun rises, if we have not surrendered, they will directly attack the city and will no longer accept any application for a truce," Delgado said weakly. ”

"These damn guys are so dragging?" Gusman gritted his teeth in anger, if it was really according to the Haihan people's proposal, then there was no way for Gusman to take away all the little private money that he had accumulated during his few years here.

"My lord, I suggest you follow their arrangement. Delgado hung his head and said: "The commander of Haihan has emphasized several times that they will not accept other conditions, and if they can't negotiate, they will see you on the battlefield tomorrow." ”

Gusman weighed the pros and cons before finally reluctantly saying, "Okay, just do what they say." Do you think there's anything missing?"

"My lord, as a guarantor, when you leave tomorrow, I will be detained by the Haihan Army until you all leave. Delgado explained: "The Haihan said that if there was any abnormality in the retreat of our army, they would suppress it. And the first one who was unlucky was me as a hostage. ”