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Chapter 573: Small medicine cures serious illness

"Your Excellency, Commander, don't blame yourself too much. God will forgive us if he sees all this. Please see, those should be their main fleets. You and your soldiers have fought for Spain to the last moment, without damaging the Legion and Family honor."

The clerk picked up the quill and carefully recorded every bit of the battle on the parchment. He had expected to lower the sails and surrender. After the five black sailboats completed an incredible U-turn, the battle situation had actually completely turned towards the other side.

However, out of professional habit, he still wanted to comfort Captain Steer with a few words, but as soon as he raised his head, the reason came to his lips. A large shadow of sails appeared at the entrance of the bay. Since the mast watchman was seriously injured, at this time Both sides have reached a distance visible to the naked eye at the height of the deck.

The one slightly closer is black. It is obvious that the reinforcements of the black-sailed battleship have arrived. There are more gray-white ships a little further away. If nothing else, those are the ships transporting soldiers to land for operations.

In comparison, even if the Philippines is a 1000-ton Spanish galleon with three gun decks and equipped with more than a hundred guns, the outcome will not change much.

"No, we won't necessarily lose. It's just a pity that we can't send someone to deliver a message to Colonel Juan."

Captain Steer turned his head to look, and after a moment he actually smiled. Judging from the number of sailing gear, there are no more than 30 ships together with the later black sailing ships. In other words, the number of soldiers carried will not exceed 6000, or even less.

If you want to attack the city of Manila with 6000 men, even if the defenders completely lose control of the sea, it is still an impossible task. This is no longer a walled city with only wooden fences. Its walls are not only tall but also strong, made entirely of volcanic rocks.

Dozens of large-caliber long cannons, hundreds of small-caliber revolving cannons, and hundreds of matchlock guns were arranged on it. As long as the city has constant food and fresh water, it will be difficult for another 6000 people to conquer it.

The only way is to send heavy troops to block the east and south directions of Manila City, and then cut off the sea channel to prevent any food from entering the city. Only if the siege lasts for more than half a year can there be hope. This is still the most ideal situation, and if we include the harassment and difficulties of local indigenous people, it will be even more difficult.

"Notify the blockade fleet, drive all the prisoners to the island, and scuttle all the ships. First go to the river mouth to make tentative signs of entry, and carefully observe the movements on both sides. Let the landing fleet enter the harbor to choose an anchor position and prepare for landing. After lunch start!"

Seeing the two Spanish sailing ships choosing to lower their sails and surrender, Huang Nanping felt no emotion in his heart and did not care who the prisoners on board were. He commanded the main fleet to pass them by and sail straight to the east side of the bay.

"Clang, clang, clang... A small sailboat was found at 25 degrees, with one person, heading 270!" Just when the main fleet had just sailed to the middle of the bay, the alarm bell on the mast was sounded by the lookout, and what followed was Report on enemy situation.

"Let Ship No. 10 go over and take a look. No matter who is on the sailboat, they will be detained first and the ship will be scuttled."

Huang Nanping raised his binoculars and scanned to the left and front, but saw nothing. This shows how small the sailboat is. However, out of caution, a warship was sent over to check. There should be no trace of any ship in the waters near the landing site. Even if a wooden basin floated there, it would have to be scuttled!

With the arrival of the landing fleet, the coastline on the east side of Manila Bay suddenly became lively. The armed cargo ship of the Maritime Yamen not only carried the Land War Guards and Annan mercenaries, but also towed many small wooden boats behind it. The soldiers gathered around on the deck to have a hasty lunch, immediately packed up their equipment, and quietly waited for the signal to attack. When the two signal flares rose from the flagship and were carried by parachutes to float in the wind, the soldiers jumped up and climbed down the side of the ship along the rope net in a prearranged order.

There were twelve people in each boat, paddling towards the beach through the tide. On the outside is a semicircular defense circle composed of ten black sailing ships, which prohibits all floating objects from approaching.

The Pasig River originates from Bay Lake in southern Luzon. It was originally a volcanic crater, but after siltation, a huge lake was formed, covering an area of ​​nearly a thousand square kilometers. During the rainy season, water flows together with sediment into Bay Lake, and then flows into Manila Bay through the Pasig River, also bringing a large amount of sediment to the estuary.

Over time, both sides of the Pasig River mouth turned into thick silt flats, stretching for tens of kilometers and one or two kilometers wide. Except for shellfish, birds, and crustaceans, no large animals or humans can enter, including vessel.

However, the sea water will be slightly deeper during the high tide in the middle of each month. If you choose the right time, such as when the tide is highest at noon, you can barely paddle a small wooden boat close to the woods on the shore. However, it is only close, and there is still nearly 500 meters of silt flat land that is inaccessible.

Since it was impassable, the Spaniards regarded it as a natural chasm. There are no defensive measures arranged to the west of Manila City. Even the number of artillery and garrison on the city wall are much less than those on the other three sides.

If there was a weak spot in the city of Manila's defense, it was to the west. Of course, in the eyes of most people, the strongest defense direction in Manila is also to the west, but it is not people who are responsible for defense, but nature.

It's a pity that some people like to take the unconventional path and go wherever it's impossible. This is where the word miracle comes from. Finding possibility in the impossible and achieving success is a miracle.

There were about 300 people in the first group of people who paddled boats to the beach. Their rattan hats and leather armors showed their identity as Annan mercenaries.

When the boat ran aground on the beach as expected, these soldiers who also came from the tropics put down their oars in a hurry, and each took out a long wooden board with an upturned end from the boat, and inserted it into the base installed at the front. A T-shaped round wooden stick.

Put this strange device on the mud, step on it with one foot, hold the cross handle of the wooden stick with both hands, and push hard on the mud with the other foot. It is like stepping on half a pair of large skis and sliding on the unwalkable mud flat. It stood up slightly faster than a normal walking speed.

In less than two cups of tea, most of the more than 300 people crossed the tidal flat and climbed into the woods on the shore. There are also a few people who may be unskilled in their movements and overturn the car halfway. Most of them can get up again and continue to move forward on the wooden board. Only a few people are stuck in the mud and cannot extricate themselves.

At this time, the mercenaries who came ashore tied several wooden boards with ropes. The sailors on the small boat pulled the wooden boards back along the ropes and dragged them on the sea back to the big ship. It was economical that this thing could be reused.

A few small boats were left, and the sailors stepped on the planks to rescue the mercenaries trapped in the mire. Although the scene was messy, it was not too stagnant. Even if it made some noise, it was drowned by the sound of the waves.

(End of this chapter)