The sun is like fire, the flag is hunting, and the voices are boiling.

Commander Sandoval, who had been appointed by Cortés as commander of the garrison in Puerto de la Cruz, trembled over the wooden fence, which had not even been stripped of its bark, and leaned his head to the edge of the battlement, watching the menacing enemy forces outside with binoculars.

It's okay not to look at it, but under this look, poor Sandoval felt his soul fly away for a while, and cold sweat was pouring out.

My God! Do you need to put up so many troops against such a small broken fortress as ours?

-- Outside this wooden fortress, which was completed less than a year ago and was only a few hundred feet in circumference, at this time the black ground was crowded with Spanish soldiers and Indian warriors of all races, covering the plains and beaches in the field of vision, with a total strength of about 30,000 men!

The earth-shattering war drums rumbled outside the city, perhaps due to their absolute superiority in troops, and the morale of the samurai of the allied Indian army was generally high and high.

Looking from the distance from the walled city, I saw that they had bright feathers on their heads, their faces painted with all kinds of oil paint, they beat their shields from time to time, let out an excited battle cry, and the watermelon knives, rubber tapping knives, and wood-chopping axes in their hands flashed with a dazzling cold light -- under the wanton dumping of the traversers and the generosity of the noble chiefs, the 30,000 Indian troops gathered here had already completed the initial ironization.

What's worse is that the enemy also mixed in with many Spanish soldiers like the defenders, and they proudly carried the insignia and banner of the Spanish royal family and the governor of Cuba. In the distance, several Spanish galleons were roaming in the sea, and the muzzles of the black holes pointed directly at the wooden fence of the port of Veracruz, which obviously could not be Sandoval's reinforcements.

The piers and bridges on the beach had all been forced to abandon at this time, and the defenders trapped in the stockade were surrounded by enemies on all sides, outnumbered, and unable to fly.

Everything is already clear, there are only more than a hundred people left to defend the port of Veracruz, and this time it is definitely doomed.

How did things get to this point?

Sandoval rubbed his temples with a tangled face, and couldn't help but start a faint memory.

To tell the truth, according to the information he received at the seaside, the expedition commanded by Lord Cortés was originally very successful, not only subduing several Indian tribes, but also successfully connecting with the Chinese envoy in October last year.

After that, Cortés sent back a large number of priceless silks, porcelain, spices and tea from the front, so that some cowards who had refused to leave the port of Veracruz and go deep into the interior suddenly saw their eyes light up and dazzled, and they regretted their previous wrong choice, and dozens of people even hurried to chase after them, wanting to make a fortune with Cortés.

Then, in early December, Sandoval's side finally ran into a little trouble - 4,000 Aztec troops had somehow fled inland and tried to attack the port of Veracruz.

However, the courage of these Aztecs is commendable, and they have obtained a batch of steel knives and axes from nowhere in terms of weapons and equipment, but their tactical level is quite clumsy. Under the heavy artillery bombardment of the Spanish expeditionary force, the exhausted and unstable Aztec army was quickly overwhelmed by Sandoval and had to flee into the distance.

However, although the Aztec army was temporarily repulsed, it did not withdraw and still posed a threat to the port of Veracruz.

So, while Sandoval managed to recruit the Confederate Indian army with the booty, he sent people to ask for help from his allies, the Tlaxcalas.

Who knew that at this juncture, an earth-shattering thunderbolt struck down - Diego, the governor of Cuba. The second Spanish expeditionary force sent by Velázquez, led by the veteran Navaes, suddenly landed in the village of Semboyar, not far away, and came to crusade against Cortés' "gang"! …,

And the first target that Navarez will attack is obviously Veracruz, which is close at hand!

Commander Sandoval was now in the air - compared to his own rabble, Navarez's army represented the authentic government of the Kingdom of Spain, and had the absolute upper hand in both prestige and force.

Moreover, Cortés' expedition was recruited on the island of Cuba, and many of the families were under the rule of the Cuban governor. If Navaez threatens the lives of their loved ones, there is no guarantee that these people will not defect!

The bad news was not over, and Sandoval received the bad news that the Chinese envoy and the army of the Tlaxcalans had also come to the village of Semboyar to meet with Navarez, thus exposing Cortés's true colors as wanted criminals and liars in the Kingdom of Spain!

Come on, there are no more allies to count on.

By the time a few days earlier, when the Totonac warriors who had allied themselves with the Spaniards and fought alongside Puerto Veracruz had sneaked away in the middle of the night, Sandoval had a vague sense that the tide was turning.

But he calculated that after Navaez's army landed on the shore, he would have to rest for a while before launching the next military operation, and he should still have time to ask Cortés for help - although even if Cortés received the letter for help, he probably wouldn't be able to bring back many reinforcements, because there were less than 200 people on his side, but he could have a backbone, right?

Not long after the messenger for help was dispatched, and before he received a reply, the port of Veracruz was suddenly surrounded by water!

Looking at the vast army in sight, Sandoval couldn't help but regret that he had gotten on Cortés' thief ship - and if he didn't get it right, he would be charged with treason, hanged to the gallows and executed in great shame, and even his family in his homeland......

Alas, the matter has come to this point, and it is useless to regret it, so you can only take one step at a time.

Sandoval's eyes flashed with a fierce color, and he took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Immediately, he turned around and drew his Toledo sword, and shouted to the more than 100 subordinates who were also trapped in the stockade: "...... The enemy is coming! All ready to fight! ”

Then he heard a burst of grumbling.

“…… Sir, are you really going to fight to the death in this hellish place?! ”

A young soldier with a pale face shuddered when he heard this, "...... We have only a hundred or so men, but there are thousands of enemies, and there are warships on the sea -- this broken stockade will not last even two or three days! ”

“…… That's right, sir! You want to die for Cortez, I don't object to that, but can you please not drag me to die?! ”

Another middle-aged soldier also angrily raised his long-handled axe, "...... I still have a wife and children on the island of Cuba! ”

“…… Yes, yes! Cortés fooled us into making a fortune together, but he never said that he would rebel together and fight with the royal army! ”

A squire who had joined the gang halfway through Havana also exclaimed angrily: "...... I have absolutely nothing to say about the Indians, but if I go to fight the regular army of the kingdom, I will not accompany me! Our family is also a knight, and our ancestors have never been a thief! ”

“…… Damn it! Don't say that this battle can't be won at all, as long as we fight, we will become traitors, what should our families in our hometown do? ”

“…… This time it was really unlucky, I didn't know until now that you were actually using a scrapped power of attorney to trick people everywhere to get on the ship! ”

“…… It's over, Lao Tzu is really cursed by Satan this time, so he will get on your thief ship! ”…,

……

As soon as someone got up, the more than 100 people in the stockade soon started to make a fuss, all of them glaring at Sandoval without awe with all kinds of eyes mixed with despair and indignation, as if the reason why everyone had fallen into this situation today was because of the harm to the guy in front of them.

Sandoval was also a headache for this situation: Cortés' expedition into the interior of Mexico had taken most of his cronies with him, while the troops who remained in Puerto Veracruz were basically half-way, unreliable, and lackluster in their guts. It was not a big problem for them to print the natives, but it was very difficult to order them against the crusading army of their homeland.

“…… Shut up! When did I say I was going to fight to the death? The reason why you want to fight is not for your sake? ”

Sandoval glanced around the group fiercely and roared loudly, "...... Cowardly fools! Use your brains! Even if you want to surrender, you must also show your strength before you can negotiate terms with the other party! Otherwise, Navaez will despise us even more and less as human beings! What awaits us after surrender is exile, hard labor or even gallows! On the contrary, only by first hurting them, and making Navaez feel jealous that the price of exterminating us is too high, will he swear to pardon our crimes, and perhaps allow us to keep even a small portion of the Oriental specialties obtained from this expedition! In that case, your expedition to Mexico will not be in vain! ”

Although Sandoval is Cortés's cronies and sworn friends, and is very trusted and valued by Cortés, in this desperate situation, Sandoval can only take care of himself first - otherwise, if he continues to force these rabble in the stockade to death, God knows if these people will suddenly burst out and cut off their own heads and sacrifice them to Navaez in order to survive in order to beg for mercy and forgiveness!

“…… However, once the fight really broke out and killed people, so that the two sides had a blood feud, would Navaez still be willing to surrender? Someone stood up and asked.

“…… Idiot! Navaez wouldn't let his Spanish army take the lead as soon as he came up! He's sure to get the Confederates to charge the first wave! Sandoval immediately turned and glared at him, spitting on the ground, "...... As long as we can beat the first batch of Indians rushing up to the ground, and then immediately send people out to sue for peace, I believe Navaez should know how to weigh the pros and cons! ”

After listening to Sandoval's reprimand, the expedition members suddenly realized. Most of them were still a little weak-legged, but they were still in full swing to prepare for the battle—the crossbowmen began to shake their handles, wound their crossbows, and put sharp arrows into the butter-coated grooves; The gunners were busy cleaning the chambers, loading gunpowder, and carrying shells; The infantrymen were armoured, spears raised, and ready behind wooden fences.

And Commander Sandoval, after assigning the defense tasks of each team, also put on his helmet and armor, and then stood behind the battlement of the fence, quietly waiting for the battle to break out.

However, although he made what he thought was the most correct judgment based on his own experience, the facts that followed were not as he expected......