klisemfg Chapter 478: 1 Unification (9)
Chapter 478: 1 Unification (9)
Chapter 478: Unification (IX) Zheng Chenggong’s threatening words were immediately translated by the garrison and sent to Governor Manlik’s residence.
After seeing the whole thing, Manlik was so frightened that he quickly climbed to a high place. Seeing that there was no movement in Zheng’s army camp, he calmed down a little.
Manlik was a little confused as to why the Zheng army suddenly became so tough. Seeing many defenders looking at him, Manlik pretended to be calm and said, "The Manila Castle is extremely strong. Commander Ed is on the way with reinforcements. The pirates' words are just exaggerations."
After saying this, Manlik hurried down the tower and sent another envoy to ask Zheng Chenggong again, saying that as long as the Zheng family was willing to withdraw their troops and negotiate peace, any conditions could be discussed.
Zheng Chenggong had only one condition: those who surrendered would be spared.
Faced with Zheng Chenggong's tough conditions, Manlik held out for another two days. The Zheng family had been besieging the fort for more than two months. Although the supplies in the fort could last for another two months, without reinforcements, it could only delay the time of death.
Seeing that the defenders did not make any move, Zheng Chenggong decided to launch a test attack. As soon as Zheng's army moved, Manlik panicked, fearing that Zheng Chenggong's words of slaughtering the entire city were true, so he immediately sent people down to the city to discuss the details of surrender.
In this regard, Manrique's conditions were very simple. He required all Spaniards in Manila to evacuate, and the Zheng family must guarantee their lives and safety. At the same time, their weapons could not be confiscated, and the Spaniards' wealth could not be plundered.
All the generals of Zheng's army agreed to this condition, except Zheng Chenggong, who refused, saying: "Since I have already surrendered, why discuss conditions!"
Chen Yaoce advised: "Your Majesty, the bastion is strong. If we forcefully attack, the soldiers will suffer heavy losses. Now that the Western Barbarians are willing to abandon the bastion and leave, why don't you go with the flow?"
Zheng Chenggong said coldly: "The Western barbarians have repeatedly attacked us and slaughtered our people wantonly. Now that they are defeated, they want to retreat unscathed. How can such an easy thing happen in the world?"
Chen Bin suggested: "If the prince is not happy, why not pretend to agree? When the Western Barbarians leave the city and lose the protection of the fortress, it will be easy to send troops to surround and kill them."
Upon hearing this, all the generals agreed, saying that war is all about deception and that all is fair in war.
To be honest, Zheng Chenggong had read a lot of military books and led troops in many attacks. Although most of them were naval battles, he also knew that all is fair in war. However, there was still some scholar's spirit left in his heart. In his opinion, this kind of behavior was like accepting a surrender and then regretting and killing the surrendered soldiers.
With Zheng Chenggong's proud character, how could he leave such a stain on his body? Therefore, Zheng Chenggong decisively rejected Manlik's conditions.
Zheng Chenggong gave Manlik the latest conditions, requiring the defenders to hand over all their guns and not take any property with them. They could only leave Manila wearing only one piece of clothing and on a small boat.
This condition was obviously unacceptable to Manlik. It was not that Manlik was obsessed with money and had to take the money away, but that Zheng Chenggong wanted to take away the most important firearms.
Manrique also had a rough understanding of the war in the East. Although he thought the number of troops was exaggerated, the frequent killing of prisoners made Manrique dare not pin his fate entirely on Zheng Chenggong's personal character. What's more, Manrique had just issued an order to massacre the Han people. Under such circumstances, the trust between the two sides was extremely low.
After receiving Manlik's clear rejection of the terms and his doubts about Zheng Chenggong's credibility, Zheng Chenggong was furious and ordered: "This barbarian has no repentance and dares to question my integrity! Pass on my order, no false surrender is allowed, even if they want to surrender, it shall not be accepted!"
This order was circulated throughout the army, and the morale of the soldiers was shaken. Everyone knew that this battle was inevitable and the Western Barbarians would never sit idly by and wait for death.
Seeing that Zheng's army had not responded yet, Manlik in the fort sent another messenger and interpreter to ask Zheng Chenggong.
As a result, Zheng Chenggong ordered the envoy and the interpreter to be tied up and beheaded outside the city before they even met Zheng Chenggong, as a show of toughness.
The two sides were deadlocked for another five days. Manlik could not wait any longer and was ready to lower the conditions again. The defenders did not have to carry any property and handed over Manila intact to the Zheng family, but only had to carry guns.
This time, the messenger waved a white flag and raised his hands high. He tremblingly climbed down the fort. Just as he walked in front of the Zheng family's trench, before he could say a word, he was aimed at by dozens of muskets. There was a crackling sound and the deafening gunfire. The two people sent by Manlik fell in front of Manlik.
Seeing this, Manrique's heart went cold. He understood Zheng Chenggong's determination. There was no chance for them to surrender at this time. This was to force them to make a last stand. In this situation, Manrique realized that there was no other way except to break through, and he was determined to fight to the death.
Manrique armed all the Spaniards, but even so, there were only 1,600 regular troops and the rest of the merchants, craftsmen, etc., a total of no more than 2,400 people. Manrique was determined to lead these people to break through the siege, first go to the south of Manila, and then wait for an opportunity to board a ship and escape to Batavia.
Two days later in the morning, Manlik led all the defenders, each carrying five days of dry food, and gathered on the south side of the fortress.
At this critical moment, Manrique also knew that breaking out would be extremely difficult, but he had no choice. The Zheng army had four trenches to lock the city, so Manrique searched the wooden boards in the fort and got more than 60 boards. Manrique ordered his men to carry the wooden boards and open the gate of the fort to escape while it was still light.
However, just after crossing the second trench, the Zheng army's sentinels discovered their movements, and then the shrill shouts caused the Zheng army camp to become noisy in an instant.
Manlik's face turned dark, but without hesitation, he immediately ordered his men to speed up. At this time, a team of about a hundred soldiers of the Zheng army, armed with knives, were rushing from the left.
Manlik immediately ordered a company to form three rows and aim at Zheng's army, while the rest continued to break out forward.
Suddenly, there was a burst of gunfire. After three consecutive rounds of shooting, more than half of the Zheng army's more than a hundred soldiers were killed, and the rest were too frightened to move forward.
But in just a moment, Zheng's large force had surrounded him from three sides, and was even trying to encircle Manlik from behind, while there was a trench in front of Manlik.
Zheng Chenggong put down his telescope and shouted, "Don't let any of the Western barbarians escape. Encircle them immediately!"
The four trenches of Zheng army were all connected to each other. Manlik thought that as long as he crossed the four trenches, he could escape, but in fact, he had already lost from the moment he walked out of the fortress gate. The method of locking the city was not so easy to break.
With enemies on all sides, Spain's advantage in firearms could not be brought into play at all. The two sides soon came into close combat, with firearms being used at close range, and the scene was extremely tragic.
Manlik saw one soldier after another falling in front of him. Even if some soldiers were too panicked and dropped their weapons, they were still killed on the ground. Looking at the densely packed Zheng army in front of him, not only in front of him, but also on all sides, Manlik knew that it was impossible for him to escape again.
Manlik shouted: "We are willing to surrender, we ask for fair treatment, I am the Governor of Manila, I want to see the honorable King!"
(This book has finally reached over one million words. One million words. It’s not too much to ask for a love letter╭(╯e╰)╮)