Chapter 821 But it’s all about personnel

Judging from the general armed level of countries in the Far East at this time, the number of city defense artillery in Salvador City can definitely be regarded as a fortified city standard, which is more than enough to deal with ordinary wars. If an enemy of the Ming Army's level were to attack, El Salvador City would be at a military disadvantage.

, and would not worry about the other party being able to break through the city defenses. After all, there is an insurmountable gap between the two sides in terms of weapons and equipment. But with Haihan as the opponent, the strength comparison between the two sides suddenly changed, and Spain, which originally had the advantage, immediately became

This kind of psychological gap is really unacceptable for the weaker party.

Although Alcarazo also knew that Ross was telling the truth, he really couldn't explain it to his superiors after returning to Manila if he were to surrender like this. He hesitated for so long last night, but he had already thought clearly about it, no matter what

Well, at least there needs to be a fight. To put it bluntly, you will definitely have to show off your feelings after losing the battle, but if you don’t kill some people, how can you show off your feelings to the big shots in Manila?

"Captain Ross!" After returning to the city wall, Alcalazo issued combat instructions to Ross: "I order you to command the city defense troops and fight back during the enemy's siege. Although our ammunition reserves are already very limited, we must not

We cannot lose the glory of the Kingdom of Spain because of this!”

"Sir, what do you mean... do you want to fight to the death?" Ross still asked cautiously, after all, this may very well be related to the life safety of the entire city.

Alcarazo coughed dryly and lowered his voice: "Even if we can't defeat the Haihan people, we still have to lose with dignity."

Now Ross understood it, nodded and said, "Sir, I understand what you mean."

At ten o'clock in the morning, the Haihan artillery, headed by four siege guns, launched an attack without warning. With a huge roar, artillery shells flew from the artillery position outside the city to the city head. Gaoqiao Nan did not

He tried to implement measures such as persuading surrender before then. Deep down in his heart, he did not want the enemy to surrender, at least not before the war started, because this would not allow the special operations battalion to use actual combat to practice siege warfare tactics.

At the same time, he also wanted to see how powerful this large siege gun manufactured by the military industry department was. After all, it took a lot of trouble to transport this thing. If it was not used on the battlefield, it would

Qiaonan always feels a bit pity.

The heavy artillery shells hit the city wall with huge kinetic energy, causing debris from the outer wall bricks to fly everywhere. Although the city of Salvador has such an extra layer of protection compared to the city walls of Santo Domingo, it is only for 12 people.

Artillery shells weighing less than 1.5 pounds have an obvious defensive effect. As for the 48-pound heavy artillery used by Haihan in the siege, almost every shell that hits the city wall will destroy a large area of ​​wall bricks, leaving deep holes on the wall.

dent.

The defenders on the city wall felt this even more. Whenever a siege cannon shell hit the city wall under their feet, the vibration was like an earthquake. Although the gunners were still shivering and persisted.

counterattack, but their energy may have been focused more on how to save their lives in the artillery battle, rather than hitting the target outside the city as quickly as possible. Although the artillery on the city top was constantly firing shells, the falling

However, most of the targets were far away from the target and were not enough to pose a threat to the enemy forces outside the city.

Takahashi Minami's mood has basically relaxed at this time. He has been in battle for a long time, and he can naturally see that the Spanish counterattack is not strong, and it is even difficult to interfere with his own artillery operations. The impact of his own siege artillery seems to be more effective than

The predictions were better. After several rounds of shelling, visible damage has appeared on the front wall of Salvador City. The wooden city gates have also been beaten to pieces, revealing the layers used to block the passage.

stone.

Takahashi Nan doesn't have to worry about running out of ammunition. These four large-caliber siege guns are equipped with a total of 400 rounds of ammunition, which is enough to collapse the front wall. This does not include other caliber artillery.

If the Spaniards in the city intend to fight to the end, Takahashi Minami will not hesitate to use cannonballs to teach them the principles of life.

On this island surrounded by water, the Spaniards had no way to retreat. Although they still had three ships wandering back and forth on the nearby sea, under the close surveillance of the Haihan fleet, these three armed sailing ships did not dare to approach at all.

Sheliao Island, let alone assisting the people on the island to evacuate. If they are not careful, they may be outflanked by the Haihan fleet at sea, completely losing the chance to escape from the battlefield.

As for the Spanish reinforcements, there is no need to worry. Their nearest base is thousands of miles away. Even if they go south to report now, the war here will be over by the time the reinforcements arrive, and maybe the nearby mining areas will be gone.

Excavation has already begun. By then, Haihan, as the defender, will not be as embarrassed as the Spaniards now. We can teach them what real coastal defense artillery is.

The artillery battle continued until the afternoon. Two-thirds of the battlements on the front wall of Salvador City had been destroyed by artillery shells. This exposed several gun emplacements that originally relied on the battlements as bunkers, making it difficult to effectively avoid the attacks outside the city.

Artillery attack. In the artillery battle that lasted for nearly three hours, the defenders had lost twelve cannons and more than thirty gunners on the city. Their achievement was only to destroy one of the attackers' artillery, causing

There was also a tenfold difference in casualties. If the Haihan Army had not taken the initiative to cease fighting, the losses of the defenders might have further increased.

"Captain Ross, how long can we survive the current situation? Can we survive tomorrow?" Alcarazo, who looked tired in the city, asked Ross for advice again. Although he did not go directly to the city to supervise the battle today, he has been staying at the city.

He had never left the city wall and had a relatively intuitive understanding of the Haihan offensive and his own losses, but he still needed to seek the advice of professionals to avoid possible misjudgments of the current situation.

"Sir, we currently still have seven artillery pieces that can continue to fight, but the problem is that our ammunition inventory is really low. If we want to maintain today's firing frequency, then we will consume all the ammunition before the sun goes down tomorrow."

Ross explained the current situation to Alcarazo very directly. If he could sum it up in one word, it would be "tragic."

"It's okay if I can hold on for one more day. At least I can have an explanation..." Alcarazo breathed a sigh of relief. If the city is lost too quickly, it will appear that the defenders are too incompetent. As long as they can hold on for one or two more

Oh my God, I can at least make up a story like "the defenders fought bloody battles, and finally chose to conserve their strength when they were unable to defeat the enemy."

"Sir, this is just considering our own situation. If the enemy forces continue to concentrate their firepower on attacking the city walls and gate passages, we may not survive tomorrow noon." Ross did not give Alcalazo a chance to relax. He added this

The information made the governor of El Salvador frown again.

There is no doubt that after these two days of fighting, everyone has clearly understood the gap in strength between the two sides. It is only a matter of time before the city defense is breached by the Haihan Army. If you want to save your life and leave here honorably, choose a suitable one.

The timing of surrender is very important.

At the same time, in the Haihan camp, Takahashi Minami and his officers' judgment of the battle situation was surprisingly consistent with Ross's. The commander of the artillery unit believed that in half a day at most, the already severely damaged troops could be destroyed.

The front city wall is broken. As soon as the city wall falls down, the defenders will immediately be in a situation where there is no danger to defend. In other words, before sunset tomorrow, perhaps the Haihan Army can capture the last Spanish fortress in Taiwan. At this speed

Even faster than when attacking the city of Santo Domingo.

Of course, during the attack on the city of Santo Domingo, the siege artillery was not really used. The Haihan army used a clever strategy to force the defenders in the city to surrender, but it also spent more combat time.

In the attack on Salvador City, artillery superiority was used to suppress the opponent before landing. Siege artillery was put into the battlefield immediately after landing, further increasing Haihan's advantage in long-range strike firepower. In just two days, it has been basically established

This gave the Haihan Army the absolute advantage in this battle.

"Do you think the Spanish will surrender?" At the end of the discussion, Takahashi Minami asked this question to the officers.

Most officers believed that the Spaniards would surrender after confirming that they could not win. If they surrendered voluntarily, they would at least be able to negotiate terms, such as asking the Navy to ensure their safety. If they waited until the city was broken before surrendering, then they would only be able to surrender.

Now they can enjoy the treatment of prisoners of war. The defenders of Santo Domingo chose to surrender to the city very well. The Spaniards of El Salvador were probably not much better off. The blacksmith Jose once mentioned in his confession that the city of El Salvador was

The Spanish governor Alcarazo is a guy who is greedy for petty gains, and such people are often afraid of death at critical moments and prioritize protecting their own interests.

When it comes to Jose, I have to admit that his confession did provide a very practical reference for the Haihan Army's preparations, including the weak areas of the front wall of Salvador City, the gun emplacements on the wall, the number and performance of the artillery deployed, and even

Jose provided detailed information about the approximate lifespan of the artillery. In this way, when the Haihan Army launched its artillery offensive, the targets and methods used were more targeted. It is no wonder that the defenders

The city defense seemed to be vulnerable.

Of course, Alcarazo never dreamed that the most important military secrets in Salvador City were betrayed by Jose, the blacksmith who had been missing for many days. And this information also greatly accelerated the time for the Haihan Army to capture this place, otherwise it would have been the Hainan Army.

The Han army was clearly superior in strength, and it was unlikely that it could achieve the current results in just two days.

On the morning of the third day of the war, the defenders found in despair that the three armed sailing ships that could still be seen on the sea had disappeared. It seemed that they had escaped during the night. Although they knew that it would be wrong for these three ships to stay here.

It is useless to change the situation of the battle, and it is very likely that the Haihan army will attack from behind. However, the departure of these three ships is undoubtedly the last life-saving straw for the defenders, and their psychology gradually slides to the edge of collapse.

Takahashi Minami continued to use yesterday's tactics, using artillery to carry out long-range strikes. He was not in a hurry to invest infantry, and planned to blow the city wall open before letting the infantry enter the city to fight.

However, this plan was not implemented smoothly. After only an hour of artillery battle, a white flag was hoisted on top of the city to announce its surrender. Although this was good news for Haihan, it was not good news for those who gathered on the shore and waited.

For the soldiers of the two-day special operations camp, it was somewhat discouraging news. This meant that the soldiers seemed to be just making soy sauce during the attack on the city of El Salvador, and did not achieve any actual military exploits.

The veterans who had experienced several battles were fine, but the new recruits who entered the battlefield with enthusiasm were very disappointed with this situation.

Soon the city sent an envoy to come to the Haihan camp for peace talks. This envoy was not an unfamiliar face. He was Gesman who had just escaped from the city of Santo Domingo at the mouth of the Tamsui River a few days ago. As one of the few people in the city who was with Haihan,

Since he had direct dealings with the Han people and was a manager with sufficient authority to make decisions, Gesman was entrusted with the important task of going out of the city to negotiate the terms of the armistice.

With the experience of the previous contact, Gesman seemed to have become familiar with it. He cut directly to the topic and asked the navy to ensure the safety of the people in the city and not to detain anyone from the Spanish side for reasons such as prisoners of war.

personnel.

But this time the Haihan people were not as easy to deal with as before. Takahashi Nan smiled and rejected Gesman's proposal: "Several of your big ships have already run away. Even if they are all allowed, where can you go?"

?”

Gesman pretended to be calm and said: "There are some fishing boats on the nearby coast that we can commandeer."

Takahashi Nandao: "How about this, I'll arrange a boat for you. You first send people south to report the news, and let Manila send a boat to pick them up here. During this period, we will take care of the prisoners left here. What do you think?

Sample?"

Gesman is not a simple-minded guy. After hearing this, he naturally thought that Takahashi Minami's initiative might have a deeper meaning. However, he couldn't figure out what Takahashi Minami's starting point was for a while, so he nodded in agreement with Takahashi Ami.

After all, the reality is that the defenders can no longer evacuate here at once. They can only send people to go south on fishing boats to report the news, and then send ships from Manila to the north to pick them up. Although this process will take a lot of time, it is indeed the only feasible way at present.

But what Takahashi Minami said next made Gesman almost spit out a mouthful of blood.

"Considering that the cost of managing prisoners of war is high, we will charge a nominal fee for prisoner management. The standard is not high, just three thousand taels of silver per day!" Minami Takahashi said very relaxedly, as if it were three thousand taels.

Silver is just an inconspicuous small amount.
Chapter completed!