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Chapter 576 Respect for cannon fodder
What mosquitoes are afraid of are most likely to be afraid of humans too. When a series of explosions erupted from the field artillery position and smoke billowed out, the area near the breach in Fort Santiago became a hell on earth.

Faced with intensive fire from twenty field guns, the southwest third of the castle's walls, squares, towers, and windows were no longer suitable for humans to approach. There's no guarantee that a smoking iron ball will come flying at high speed. If it doesn't get hit directly to death, it will be blown into pieces by the flying iron pieces.

There is a reason why artillery has been called the god of land warfare for a long time. At this time, bows, arrows, muskets, and armor were all useless, and even hiding behind city walls was not safe.

Some cannonballs will explode in mid-air, and what will be splashed around is not iron pieces, but sticky black liquid, which instantly turns into blazing flames, and even stones will not be spared.

"Dududu...dududu..." After ten rounds of shelling, when no moving objects could be seen with telescopes near the city wall, Zhu Qianhu asked the messenger to blow the brass horn.

"Kill people and steal things! Ten shares are all yours!" Hearing the sound of the brass horn, the Annan mercenaries who were ambushing in the woods ran out first and rushed toward the gap in the city wall with daggers and shields. Zhu Qianhu took the lead in shouting slogans and making gestures with his hands crossed.

"Please calm down. Every detail of this battle will be recorded and presented to His Majesty. There are some things that can be done but cannot be said, do you understand?" The deputy chief of staff was originally content to avoid mosquito bites in the smoke, but when he heard thousands of Hu immediately lost his composure after shouting and leaned over to whisper a reminder.

"You know what the heck, Your Majesty didn't say anything about reducing the casualties of mercenaries. Who would sacrifice their lives without giving them benefits? Why don't you go teach them a lesson and see if anyone can understand? Your Majesty won't nag like you. Woolen cloth.

Just record it and write it down. As I said, if your majesty were here, he would definitely be more heroic than me. Even that city would have to be completely washed. Do you understand what you are saying? I'll teach you to be a good boy. Didn't your Majesty ask for the number of prisoners? There was no mention of treating the Spaniards and indigenous people well, or even protecting Chinese businessmen.

As a frontline commander, you should not speculate without authorization. It is enough to complete the tasks assigned by His Majesty 100%. If we don't kill 70% of the people in this broken place, how will we manage it in the future? Do you have what it takes to get the locals to do what they say? Is it possible that we still have to station heavy troops here waiting to suppress the rebellion?

Go, go, step aside. If anything happens, knock down the castle. Jiang Baihu and Chen Baihu led the team up, asking the soldiers to wake up, and kill those who were unsure before getting closer! Liu Baihu, the field artillery moved forward 200 meters, aiming at both sides of the castle and ready to fire at any time! "

Not to mention it was okay, but this was a hornet's nest. Zhu Qianhu seemed to have endured it for a long time and couldn't bear it anymore. He sprayed the deputy chief of staff all over his face with strong resentment. Then he pulled the person away with his hands and moved the command post forward with the guards and several households.

"That seems to be the truth... It's a bit of an inside show. Why didn't I see it before?" The deputy chief of staff was left standing alone on the empty artillery position, thinking hard with his hands behind his back and his head lowered, nodding as he thought.

In fact, both of them thought wrongly. The emperor did not give an order not to kill more people, but he also did not say that he would allow it. It's not that he forgot, but he didn't know exactly whether or how many should be killed.

The situation on the battlefield is changing rapidly. If the emperor comes to the front line in person, he will make the most favorable judgment based on the situation at that time. It's a pity that he is thousands of miles away, and relying on imagination to formulate rules and regulations for frontline commanders is equivalent to putting invisible shackles on him, which is very unfavorable for on-the-spot performance.

As a frontline commander, familiarity with military books is nonsense. Making correct judgments in a short time based on various situations and resolutely executing them are the most critical qualities. Taking away this point may turn victory into defeat and genius into mediocrity. As for how many people were killed, that was not the goal of the war, winning was. It is certainly good not to kill anyone, but it cannot be said to be bad if they kill them all. As long as the set goals are accomplished, it's a good job.

Of course, the emperor would not openly encourage the random killing of prisoners and civilians. Everything you do has a purpose and a cost, including killing. If you just like to kill people without considering the cost, then you are not crazy. This kind of commander is definitely not suitable.

Zhu Qianhu's adaptability is very strong. It is the established strategy of the staff to let the Annan mercenaries take the lead in charging to bite the hard bones. He agrees with it very much. However, the effect of a charge that does not give benefits and a charge that is full of wealth will definitely be different.

The cost of hiring Annan's army to fight in the war will most likely not be distributed to every soldier. They are also sons and daughters. Who would risk their lives just for the sake of their boss's words? But if they were allowed to rob at will, their mentality would definitely be different.

The Spanish armor, jewelry, weapons, including clothes, shoes and hats are all wealth in the eyes of the Annan soldiers. You can make a fortune by rushing in and cutting people down. Even veterans and timid people should have to show their skills at this time. Let’s really give it a try.

Annan's soldiers really worked hard, so that the Marine Guardsmen who followed could relax, and they fulfilled His Majesty's instructions, not only to win but not to suffer too much loss!

The Annan soldiers were really trying their best. Whenever they saw someone wearing different clothes than themselves and the Ming Navy, they would cut them down without asking. If they cut them down, they would take off their clothes. They wanted to open their stomachs to see if there were any stones.

As for the smoke coming from the matchlock gun on the opposite side, screw it, the damn bird will not die for eternity. Whoever holds the gun will be killed first. This kind of gun is the most valuable to take back. Lord Ruan can't get the muskets used by the Ming army, so he can make do with those of the Xifan people.

Three hundred Spanish defenders versus one thousand Annamite soldiers, if protected by city walls and moats, would be victorious even without artillery assistance. Without field artillery fire, relying on the remaining city walls and fortress defenses, the winning rate would still be high.

But without the protection of the city wall, without the assistance of artillery, and being bombarded by hundreds of artillery shells, the balance of victory and defeat suddenly tilted to the other side. Facing the Annan mercenaries who were not afraid of death, the Spanish soldiers' matchlock guns could only be fired once, with no chance to reload.

The spearmen responsible for protection did their best to block the front, but there were too many enemies, and it was impossible to form a formation in the castle. Small-scale group fights were everywhere. Annan mercenaries armed with shields and daggers quickly took advantage. .

The most hateful thing was that they were followed by many musketeers, standing a hundred or ten meters away and firing cold shots. Their marksmanship was particularly accurate, and they received the most shots wherever the resistance was fiercest.

Shooting from towers and walls? No, there are a lot of enemy cannons outside the fortress, and they are looking for high places to shoot. I don’t know how the enemy commander managed to see the overall situation. Many Spanish soldiers only had time to fire one round of bullets before the artillery shells chased them.

(End of this chapter)