Wanli Xinming

Chapter 388 Cologne
For Wang Jingyi, Manila King City was a dream at first.Whether it was the row upon row of stone houses on the street or the huge glass window in the store, she shuddered.However, the light of the dusk quickly subsided, and the streets began to be in chaos.

Like a frightened deer, Wang Jingyi ran for a while along the broad main road.Her grandfather told her to look for opportunities to be servants at the gates of wealthy people. Looking at the tall stone houses with spires in the distance, Wang Jingyi believed that there must be places where the wealthy lived.

But not.Many soldiers began to appear on the street, blocking the main road.Wang Jingyi didn't dare to go any further, she hurriedly got into an alley and squatted down in an inconspicuous corner.

The clothes of the people who passed by her and her predecessors were completely different from those of the Chinese in Binnandu District on the north bank of the Passi River. Even though they were talking to each other, they seemed to be in a hurry, and no one paid any attention to the little girl curled up there.

After a while, Wang Jingyi suddenly discovered a terrible problem: she didn't understand the language of the city, because she couldn't understand the words of anyone who passed by this alley.

This means that he cannot communicate with any of them.Although she had made enough preparations to face difficulties, this sudden discovery made her heart collapse.After all, they don't speak the language of the city, and even begging becomes very difficult.

As the sky became darker, the girl felt more and more helpless, and the invasion of hunger made her panic even more.The few bananas she brought with her have long been eaten, and there is only one dragon yuan that her grandfather extorted from Jiang Laoyazi - Wang Jingyi did not dare to take it out, because the chaos in the alley didn't seem to be peaceful.

Night fell slowly.Wang Jingyi, who was crying, suddenly felt a light covering her, and then heard a low voice: "Por qué lloras?" (Why are you crying?)

Wang Jingyi raised her head and saw a pair of high-heeled shoes, then tight socks, a straight sword hanging from the hem of a wide blouse, and a foreign devil with a high nose bridge and deep eyes under a wide brim. This person is probably in his 40s.

Not far behind him, a dark-skinned young man stood there, dressed like a servant, with a tin glass oil lamp in his hand.

The little girl stood up and shook her head in panic.The man frowned at first, then took the lantern from the servant's hand, put it beside Wang Jingyi's face, and looked at her carefully.

His brows widened quickly, a smile appeared on his face, and he said in Spanish, "Are you alone? Where are your family?"

Seeing that Wang Jingyi still didn't answer, he undid the sword from his waist, drew two large and one small three people on the ground, and pointed at the two adults with the scabbard.

Wang Jingyi understood, she pointed to the sky.

The smile on the face of the man with the sword increased.He stretched out his hand, took Wang Jingyi's arm, and motioned for her to follow him.

Wang Jingyi struggled hard, but did not break free.The man sensed her defense, but grabbed her harder.Immediately he said: "Don't shout, you will die." His other hand waved the sword in his hand.

Wang Jingyi still didn't understand what he said, but she suddenly felt blessed and put a flattering smile on her face - just like she met Old Duck Jiang yesterday.

Perhaps in this chaotic night, it may be more dangerous to stay in the streets than to follow this person.She stopped struggling and followed him silently.The servant didn't make a sound, just followed quietly.

Mr. Hernando Colon is the Attorney General of Manila.On the night of June [-], he felt that today was his lucky day.The wonderful girl made him an exciting and unforgettable night.It's a pity that this is a mixed race who doesn't understand Spanish, which slightly affects Cologne's mood.

On June [-]th, the morning of Wang Jingyi's first great trauma in her life, Mr. Cologne's mood changed completely because the artillery of the Ming army spoke.

On June [-], Wang Jingyi suffered the third great trauma.Mr. Colon's mood did not improve, because the fort in the port had been captured by the Ming army, and Manila fell into panic.

On June [-], Wang Jingyi was dying.Because the artillery shells of the Ming army had already hit the city of Manila, Cologne lost the mood to continue to play with her.He lay down under the oil lamp and wrote hard, ready to make his own proposals to the Governor.

On June [-], Colón, together with Father Lopez of the Manila Cathedral, proposed to surrender to the Ming army at the Governor's Palace, but was met with fierce opposition from the city defense officer of Moratti Fernando.

"Respected Mr. Don Hernando Colón Attorney General! The power of New Spain is limitless! Legazpi's prestige inspires all Spaniards in it, whether he is a soldier or a farmer, a priest or a craftsman! If, I mean, if Mr. Legazpi was alive, he'd shoot you in the head with a musket!"

"This is the most glorious land that God has promised us, and it must never fall into the hands of heretics. This is beyond doubt and certainty! The suggestion to surrender to the Chinese is shameful, damn it, you should go to hell!"

The chief prosecutor who was questioned looked at the excited red faces on the opposite side, but there was no expression on his dark face: "Of course I respect Mr. Legazpi, even though he has been called by the Lord for 15 years. Gentlemen , 15 years is but a generation. The honorable and loyal officers and soldiers led by Legazpi in the past, who exchanged bravery and hard work for fair rewards, have become what they are now!"

"Military salaries are received in the morning, the debts of the Chinese are paid at noon, and they lose everything again in the afternoon and owe another. There is not a night when they are not drunk, and in the early hours of the morning their clothes and shoes are gone! They gave up their teachings and sold them. took away their weapons, begged and stole—honorable Fernando City Defender, you don’t have to look at the icon of the Father, please look me in the eyes and answer, can they still fight now?”

"Ladies and gentlemen. The glorious New Spain has long lost its prestige in the eyes of the natives, and the Chinese even treat us as pitiful wretch. The artillery on the flagship of the Ming fleet is the sum of all the artillery in Manila, and they have occupied the fort! Your Excellency the Governor , in the name of the Father, for the sake of the women and children in this royal city, a decent surrender will not bring you shame. I personally and Father Lopez will testify for you in court martial that your decision was a last resort lift."

"You bastard!" Moratti Fernando, who had been exposed, couldn't bear it any longer. He twitched his lips and grabbed the saber at his waist with his trembling hands, as if he was going to give the Prosecutor of Cologne a white knife in a red knife and out.

With a loud bang, Santiago De Bella, the governor of the East of New Spain, the ruler of the Philippines, slammed his fist on the conference table.Moratti City Defense Officer and Cologne Attorney General shut up at the same time, and the meeting room's eyes focused on Santiago, who had gray hair.

Santiago got up and pointed to the Manila coat of arms awarded by Felipe on the wall behind him, and then said solemnly: "Gentlemen, our great monarch named Manila the 'City of Eternal Loyalty and Nobility', this city There will never be surrender and betrayal. Mr. Colon, please wait until I finish."

"The information I got earlier was that the negotiation between Daming's mission to Europe and His Majesty broke down, and New Mexico also reminded us to guard against warships from the East - now they have come. Maybe we now have less artillery and fewer soldiers than each other. , but when Legaspi took the city, there were even fewer people, he had only 230 people."

"Gentlemen, there are 670 Caucasians who can handle muskets and [-] indigenous soldiers in Wangcheng. Although the city has not been completed, the forts are all refurbished and equipped with cannons. If the Ming army wants to occupy this place, it must start from Parsi. When the estuary goes ashore, as long as the wooden plank road is demolished, the mud there will become their graveyard, gentlemen, even if we abandon our loyalty and courage, we have no reason to surrender."

(End of this chapter)