I started with the Shinsengumi in Bakumatsu

Chapter 187 Taking Manila

The Governor's Palace in Manila is a strong fortress. All Spanish troops in Manila have retreated into the Governor's Palace to defend themselves. The Spanish soldiers hid behind the city wall or at the entrance of the fortress and shot at the approaching Japanese soldiers outside.

The weapons used by Spanish soldiers were front-loaded flintlock rifles, which had a relatively slow rate of fire and had to rely on artillery to supplement their firepower.

In addition, there is only one road from the port to the Governor's Palace, so the soldiers of the 101st Division can only rely on residential areas to slowly approach the Governor's Palace.

"Boom!"

Just as the infantry division was slowly advancing, the Fuso's front and rear main guns bombarded the Governor's Mansion. Two huge projectiles hit the wall of the Governor's Mansion, causing vibrations and a large number of stone fragments falling down.

The leading regiment of the 101st Infantry Division immediately stopped advancing and waited for orders.

The division commander Kotaro Anzai immediately issued an order to stop all troops from advancing, and at the same time sent soldiers back to inquire about the situation in the rear.

The failure of these two cannons made the 101st Division confused. Even Cerrado in the Governor's Palace was confused. This was the first time he saw cannons several kilometers away.

Cerrado was a little frightened and angry. He felt the huge noise and hurriedly sent someone to find out the news.
  On the tower of the Governor's Palace, Spanish soldiers shook the dust off their hats.

"Bah bah bah..."

The officer spit out the dust in his mouth and shouted hurriedly: "Quick, get back to your position."

"Bang bang bang..."

Countless bullets hit the wall and splashed some dust. The soldiers quickly loaded their flintlock guns and then shot at the Japanese soldiers on the street below.

"Boom!"

In less than two minutes, there was another round of shelling.

The officer shouted: "Be careful!"

"Boom!"

This time the city wall withstood the second round of shelling, and cracks appeared in one place.

The soldiers nearby were startled and shouted quickly: "Sir, there is a crack here!"

A nearby officer had already run over, his eyes panicked, and his tone still tough: "It's not a big problem, the city wall is fine, keep fighting, hurry!"

"Bang bang bang..."

The soldiers could only obey the officers' orders and shoot outside.

The Japanese soldiers on the street were using the buildings on the street to advance. They leaned against the corner and aimed at the Governor's Palace above to shoot.

Most of the bullets hit the city wall, and the Japanese army advanced very slowly.

The leader of the sharp knife group in front said impatiently: "Speed ​​up!"

The staff officer on the side reminded: "Master, a strong attack will increase casualties!"

Captain Jian Dao roared angrily: "Idiot, go and pull up our cannons and machine guns."

"Boom boom boom..."

The artillery in the Governor's Palace was firing again, and most of the shells hit the houses on the street. Several wooden houses were destroyed in one shot, and the soldiers hiding there also suffered casualties.

The officer at the front could only order: "You will be bombed even if you hide here. Move forward as fast as you can, and you'll be fine if you rush under the city wall!"

The soldiers roared angrily and rushed forward with weapons in hand. Some soldiers pulled bolts and loaded bullets to shoot at the Governor's Mansion.

After the Sharp Knife Regiment advanced more than a hundred meters, artillery and machine guns finally came from behind.

The artillerymen were looking for artillery positions. The enemy of the machine gun company directly pushed the hand-cranked Gatling machine gun onto the street and aimed it at the Government House. Another soldier took the magazine from the soldier behind and inserted it into the machine gun.

"Da da da…"

Several Gatling guns fired at the same time, hitting the wall with rocks and gravel flying. Some Spanish soldiers were shot and screamed, while other soldiers were too frightened to raise their heads and fire.

The Spanish officer immediately beat and cursed, urging his soldiers to fight back.

The artillery officer immediately shouted: "Aim those weapons and shoot them!"

The Spanish artillery immediately began to adjust the muzzle.

On the street in the distance, the artillery regiment of the Japanese 101st Division had set up its position, and dozens of field guns were aimed at the Governor's Mansion.

The artillery regiment commander took a look through the binoculars and shouted: "Hit the enemy's artillery first, are you ready?"

The staff officer immediately replied: "Master, the Second Battalion is ready."

"fire!"

"Boom boom boom..."

Eighteen seventy-millimeter field guns aimed at the artillery position of the Governor's Palace and fired.

The Spanish artillery was still adjusting and did not notice the bombardment at all. Eighteen shells fell, causing vibrations on the top of the city and raising a large cloud of dust.

"Oh!"

A muzzleloader gun fell directly from the city wall dozens of meters high onto the street, making a big hole.

The commander of the leading army saw at a glance that his own artillery was beginning to support him. He shouted excitedly: "Wait until the artillery fire is over before charging. Remember, this time we must rush to the city!"

As soon as he finished speaking, dozens of artillery shells of different sizes hit the Governor's Mansion with only a few dozen seconds between them.

"Boom boom boom..."

The sound of fierce artillery fire became the only sound on the battlefield. The Spaniards hid in the Governor's Palace and shivered. They just felt that the end of the world was coming.

Even Cerrado, who was hiding in the core, felt that the entire fortress was shaking as it was being ravaged by Japanese artillery.

He said in a panic: "How long can our fortress last?"

Others covered their ears and no longer knew how to reply.

"boom…"

His door was pushed open, and an officer with his head covered and a mess all over his body rushed in and shouted: "Your Majesty the Governor, the enemy's artillery fire has been too fierce, and there has been a gap in our city wall!"

"What!" Upon hearing this, Cerrado's eyes suddenly darkened and his body was crumbling. It had only been less than half a day since the defense of the Governor's Mansion could no longer hold up.

"How long can we hold on if we retreat to other corridors?"

Cerrado asked reluctantly. The officer replied: "Your Majesty the Governor, we still have about a thousand soldiers left. The enemy's number is ten times ours, and their weapons are more powerful."

As soon as Cerrado heard this, he understood what the other party meant. Due to their absolute disadvantage, they had no chance.

The officer reminded again: "Your Majesty the Governor, give the order, the enemy is about to launch a more violent attack."

Cerrado stood up and opened his mouth, then sat down a little slumpedly, unable to open his mouth for a while.

However, at this moment, the cannon outside was silent.

The officer listened carefully, his face changed drastically, and he shouted: "Mr. Governor, the enemy has launched a general attack. If we don't make a decision, it will be too late!"

"Mr. Governor, there is no chance. Let us surrender!"

"No matter how stubborn you are, it's useless."

"Mr. Governor, we can surrender first, wait for the French army to attack the Japanese army, and then we can find an opportunity to rise again!"

Cerrado took a look and saw that the majority wanted to surrender. The remaining people did not say anything about continuing to resist. Perhaps they were just too embarrassed to speak.

"Alas, surrender, the Spaniards can do no more and pay the price."

The officer immediately raised the white flag and ran out like the wind, shouting: "The Governor has given the order, we surrender!"

The order reached the city wall like the wind. The Spanish soldiers rushed to fly the white flag, and the white flag was quickly erected on the city top.

The commander of the leading army looked at the white flag on the top of the city and was stunned for a moment, then shouted excitedly: "The enemy has surrendered!"

The Japanese army stopped attacking and stayed where they were. The gate of the Governor's Palace quickly opened, and the Spanish soldiers came out with their weapons raised. They then threw their guns on the road on the left and stood on the right.

Kotaro Anzai led a group of officers to the Spanish army and waved: "Collect the weapons and send a battalion to guard these prisoners."

The group walked directly into the city, and Cerrado came forward with several officers and officials to offer everything Manila had to offer.

Cerrado walked up to Kotaro Anzhai with a pile of information and said: "General, I am Governor Cerrado. Here are Manila's revenue books, maps, and information on people, merchants, merchant ships, and stored goods.

Now, I leave all this to the general, and ask the general to treat us prisoners preferentially in accordance with European rules. "

Kotaro Anzai waved people to take away the information and said unceremoniously: "What European rules? From now on, there are only Japanese rules in Manila. Stay with your soldiers."

He ignored Cerrado, pushed the man away, and walked into the Governor's Palace.

Cerrado only felt humiliated and wanted to get angry, but the Japanese soldiers on both sides had already stepped forward to restrain him and pulled him away. No matter how hard he struggled, it was to no avail.

An official couldn't help but cursed a few times. The Japanese soldier didn't know what the words were, but he knew they were not good words. He punched the official in the stomach and shouted: "Baga, leave quickly!"

Cerrado and the others immediately became quiet and followed them obediently.

In less than a day, Manila was controlled by the four main divisions of the Japanese army. Ryoma Sakamoto also led people ashore into the Governor's Palace to join forces with the four division commanders.

Sakamoto Ryoma took out an order and said: "Everyone, the navy will leave Manila next, and the defense here will be left to you. The French army will launch an attack here soon, and you must prepare your defenses during this period." preparation, do you understand?"

"understand!"

Sakamoto Ryoma continued: "Now appoint Kotaro Anzhai as the commander of Manila defense, responsible for everything in Manila. If Manila is lost, you guys don't have to go back to Japan. You should commit suicide earlier."

Kotaro Anzai stepped forward and said: "Sakamoto-sama, please rest assured, I will definitely defend Manila until every soldier is killed!"

Ryoma Sakamoto handed the letter of appointment to Kotaro Anzhai and left the Governor's Mansion. He had to supervise the transport ship to unload the supplies, and then return to the Nanhai Port for supplies.

Kotaro Anzhai looked at the other three division commanders and said, "Everyone, you should now understand our mission, so I won't talk nonsense.

In the next time, without the help of the navy, we will encounter the situation today. The French fleet will bombard our fortress at sea.

The Spaniards have few troops and can only huddle in the fortress. But the current situation is that our troops far exceed the Spanish troops, so I plan to set up a defense line around the port. We must first stop the enemy's troops from landing! "

Kotaro Anzai did not mention placing mines at the port. Although placing mines could prevent the French fleet from entering the port, it also blocked the road out of the port.

Therefore, the four of them made a tacit agreement not to mention setting up minefields at the port.

The commander of the 201st Division, Oda Takatada, suggested: "Since we want to set up a defense line around the port, we can repair the Spanish forts, deploy our howitzers, and attack approaching French warships when necessary."

Kotaro Anzai nodded and said: "This is a good suggestion. We should make protective preparations when the time comes to prevent French warships from attacking the fort first."

Xiong Chaoye of the 301st Division also suggested: "Although our army has taken control of Manila, Spain has been here for more than three hundred years. I'm afraid some people will be restless. I think we should clean up the forces in the city first."

Kotaro Anzhai smiled and said: "This is easy. There are our people in Manila. They should come to us."

The division staff officer of the 101st Division shouted at the door: "Report, Your Excellency, Division Commander, there are three people outside the Governor's Palace who claim to be one of our own, and they need to see Your Excellency, Division Commander."

Kotaro Anzhai nodded and said, "Bring them here."

A few minutes later, Carlos Naito, Zheng Zhiqiang and Ferdinand Marcos walked into the conference room.

Carlos Naito quickly stepped forward and saluted: "Greetings to you generals, I am Naito Muneyoshi. I have accepted orders from the Prime Minister in Kyoto to collect intelligence and recruit people in Manila. Now I am here to resume my duties."

Not to be outdone, Zheng Zhiqiang and Marcos rushed to tell their achievements during this period.

Kotaro Anzhai's attitude toward Zheng Zhiqiang and Marcos was average, but his attitude towards Carlos Naito was a bit better.

"Naito Muneyoshi, it's much smoother after changing his name. Carlos and all that are really nondescript."

Naito Muneyoshi did not feel dissatisfied, but instead said with a smile: "What Mr. Master said is that if I hadn't still had to work for the Prime Minister in Manila, I would have changed my name long ago. After changing my name, I feel comfortable all over."

Kotaro Anzai smiled and said: "Let's not talk about this. We have more important things to do. Our army has taken Manila. The next main task is to screen. We must eradicate all forces that favor the Spanish. !”

Naito Muneyoshi was overjoyed and said hurriedly: "Master, please rest assured. Because I understand Japanese, I have close contacts with the Spanish. I know all those people who have close relations with Spain."

Oda Takatada glanced at Naito Muneyoshi thoughtfully, and said in a warning tone: "Naito Muneyoshi, this matter is to quickly stabilize Manila. Don't cause trouble in the city and affect innocent people. If it affects the Prime Minister's plan, , even if you have ten heads, it won’t be enough to cut him off.”

Naito Muneyoshi's heart tightened, and he glanced at Zheng Zhiqiang and Marcos who were gloating about their misfortune. He quickly put away his careful thoughts and said, "My lord, please rest assured that I will work for the Prime Minister wholeheartedly and will never delay important events."

Kotaro Anzhai comforted him: "Well, as long as you know it, hand over the list immediately, and then go and deal with them. If you do this well, I will take credit for you."

The three of them excitedly took over the task and walked out of the conference room.

Daxiong Chaoye asked: "Aren't you going to send someone to supervise it?"

Oda Takatada shook his head and said: "There is no need to do anything unnecessary. If they are smart, they will show us the list."

Kotaro Anzhai smiled and said nothing.

(End of this chapter)