The next morning, Governor Sander and his senior officers returned to the tower where they had been the previous night. They enjoyed breakfast in the gentle morning breeze while overlooking the two armies facing each other on the banks of the Pasig River.

In fact, Spaniards usually sleep until noon and eat breakfast and lunch together. But the hot weather in Luzon has changed their daily habits.

Because only the early morning is comfortable. After a while, the sun rises, shining brightly on the sea, and the damp ground is hot, and the whole of Manila will become a steamer. By then, not only will nothing taste good, but the head will also be hot and groggy, and it will not be better until dusk.

So they had to develop the habit of getting up early.

Governor Sander sat in the best view seat, drinking tamarind-infused yogurt, watching the two sides with great interest as they set up their positions. He smiled and said to everyone, "This reminds me of the bullfighting performances in my country."

"It's like the Running of the Bulls." The officers ate bacon and chewed buttered toast, watching the grand performance with a great appetite.

"Let's begin, gentlemen!" The crisp sound of gunfire rang out, and Governor Sander said with a smile: "Why don't we take a gamble and see who will win today?"

All the officers naturally gave way to the Pampanga man, except for Lieutenant Colonel Juan who said, "I guess it will be hard to tell who will win today."

"Can those cowardly Ming people really withstand our fierce black friends?" Colonel Salsito said somewhat unhappily.

"Yes, the Ming people are the best craftsmen and merchants, but they lack courage and cannot be warriors." Colonel Goyte also argued with Lieutenant Colonel Juan: "So I bet one hundred pesos that friend Xiao Hei can enter the stream before sunset!"

"I'll give you a hundred pesos." Of course, Salsido wanted to support his subordinates even more.

"Okay, I'll take the bet!" Lieutenant Colonel Juan said calmly.

~~

Still on the east bank of the stream.

Teams of naked Pampanga people, carrying bamboo rafts built overnight, rushed to the riverside, howling.

They threw the raft into the river and paddled hard with bamboo poles to the opposite side of the stream.

The east bank is not the main river channel, and the narrowest part is less than 20 meters wide. Kenwan still chose to attack from this side.

Along the river on the island stood a row of three or four meter high, uneven fences. They were built by overseas Chinese for safety reasons, and last night, under Ximen Qing's command, they temporarily reinforced the fences with wood from the inside, and added a circle of shooting platforms with door panels, bamboo ladders, and hemp ropes.

The young and strong men who were selected and reorganized, led by the Marines, stood on the shooting platform inside the fence with javelins in their hands.

Although many people had exchanged fire with the Pampanga people last night, it was dark at that time and they could not see the enemy at all. Now they could clearly see that dozens of rafts were all crowded with black naked men. Some of them were holding rattan shields, some holding javelins, and some paddling bamboo poles. The division of labor was very clear, and it was obvious that they were a tribe accustomed to fighting.

Seeing the sharp eyes and ferocious expressions of the foreigners, many young Chinese turned pale and had cramps in their calves. They began to sweat even before the sun came out.

"Don't be nervous. We are in a commanding position and have the fence as cover. We have all the advantages!" While the Marines were relieving the pressure on the young people, they aimed at the barbarians who were wielding machetes.

These foreigners didn't even have clothes to wear, so those who had machetes were definitely not ordinary people. And at such a long distance, why would they wave machetes? They could only be giving orders to their men.

The river was narrow, and the enemy soon came into range, so the Marines pulled the trigger one after another. With one round of shooting, half of the leaders on the rafts were killed.

Seeing this, the young men's morale was boosted and they threw the javelins in their hands with all their might.

All the muskets and ammunition were gathered together and supplied to the Marines, so they could only rely on these things to defend against the enemy.

This decision was correct. Although training musketeers was much easier than training archers, in the era of muzzle-loading muskets, there were still too many steps to operate a musket. In the cruel battlefield environment, even trained recruits would be flustered and make mistakes.

The javelin is better. You can throw it with your arm strength. It is simple and easy to use. Don't underestimate the javelin. Humans relied on it to defeat mammoths!

At such a close distance and in a commanding position, the overseas Chinese youths succeeded in throwing javelins like rain!

The number of rattan shields was limited, and the range they could protect was also limited. Many barbarians were hit by javelins and fell into the water screaming.

Under the combined attack of javelins and muskets, half of the bamboo rafts were destroyed before they could reach the shore...

Although the other half of the raft suffered heavy damage, it managed to reach the shore. The Pampangan people immediately jumped off the raft, screamed, and rushed under the wooden fence, climbing up flexibly with their hands and feet.

The young men on top hurriedly used their spears to poke down to stop them from coming up. Some overseas Chinese were also grabbed by the brutal foreigners and dragged down from the wall...

"Don't use javelins in close combat!" the Marines roared angrily, "Throw rocks and pour hot oil!"

The young men, as if awakened from a dream, quickly dropped the javelins in their hands, picked up the stones at their feet and threw them down!

Behind them were bamboo ladders, with densely packed fellow ants clinging to them, carrying stones, as well as boiling water and oil in bamboo tubes, to the shooting platform. This was the guarantee of lasting combat effectiveness!

Stones fell like raindrops, smashing the barbarians' heads and causing them to bleed.

Boiling water and boiling oil poured down, and amid the crackling sound, large patches of white and red appeared on the black skin of the foreigners...

The foreigners who were climbing the fence fell to the ground screaming.

The prisoners who were wielding machetes to chop down the fences were also burned and fled. Many people jumped into the river out of pain, and I don’t know how many drowned…

~~

As a result, the battle lasted until dusk, and the people of Pampanga were unable to break through the crumbling wooden fence.

Of course, they took a lunch break of about four or five hours in between... They had to take a lunch break because the sun was too strong during that time. Not to mention fighting, even standing in the sun for a while would result in heatstroke.

But even with just two battles, the Pampanga people still lost more than a thousand people...

Seeing that his men were exhausted, Kenwan, who was watching the battle on the other side of the river, had no choice but to order his troops to withdraw.

The overseas Chinese on the fence were also exhausted, but they cheered excitedly for today's victory!

Thanks to the Marines' good command, the Chinese lost only a few dozen people and injured 200. Many of them were in a state of panic, falling off the firing platform or shooting themselves in the foot.

Not many people were actually injured by the barbarians, and less than half were seriously injured...

This loss is just a drop in the bucket for the overseas Chinese, who have more than 15,000 young and middle-aged people. They can definitely afford it!

Now, they are full of confidence that they can hold out for ten days!

Chen Yongquan also ran to Tang Baolu and Ximen Qing and said shyly: "We were wrong about you! You are real heroes!"

"We're just getting started. There are still nine days left. Only those who can hold on are heroes." Tang Baolu took out a piece of orange candy from his pocket, handed it to Chen Yongquan and said, "Here, have a piece of candy to replenish your energy."

"Oh." Chen Yongquan ate it obediently this time. Damn, it's so sweet!

He excitedly said to Ximen Qing who was cleaning the barrel of his gun: "After we drive away the foreigners, we can drive away the red-haired devils as well!"

"Why don't you go to heaven?" Ximen Qing gave him a look and said, "I hope you still think so in a few days."

"Ah..." Chen Yongquan scratched his head and said, "Am I blindly optimistic?"

"Very blind." Tang Baolu said with a smile: "The real enemy has not yet appeared."

"You mean..." Chen Yongquan was not stupid. He turned to the south bank of the river, to the stone castle in the corner of the royal city. "Were they really the ones who ordered the foreigners?"

"What else?" Tang Baolu said with a smile, "We've been fighting here for a whole day, but there's no movement over there. Do you think they're in the same group?"

Chen Yongquan's face turned pale and he became completely silent.

The overseas Chinese were used to being submissive and had actually accepted that the Spaniards were the masters of this place. So even a passionate young man like Chen Yongquan who hated the Spaniards to the core still felt inexplicably terrified when he heard that the rulers wanted to punish them.

This rebellion in Pampanga is a completely different concept.

"They shouldn't... interfere, right?" Chen Yongquan shuddered and said, "Didn't the Nanhai Group warn them?"

"Before the other party learns a painful lesson, any warning will have little effect." Tang Baolu said calmly: "Aquan, remember, the truth is only within the range of the cannon. To deal with robbers, you can only use the language that the robbers understand."

"I see..." Chen Yongquan nodded as if he understood, but in fact he still didn't quite understand.

~~

On the castle tower.

Lieutenant Colonel Juan happily accepted the two hundred pesos. Two hundred silver coins, a huge profit!

The two colonels were naturally livid...

Although Governor Sander did not place the bet due to his status, he actually believed that the people of Pampanga would win today.

The result made him a little angry, but he remained calm and elegant on the surface and said, "Everyone, why don't you guess what the outcome of tomorrow's battle will be?"

"Then I'll still bet that the Ming people will win." Lieutenant Colonel Juan said in high spirits, "They have good teamwork, their courage is impressive, and they have an absolute advantage in numbers..."

He did not see Governor Sander's wink to the two colonels, so they gritted their teeth and bet on the Pampangan to win, still betting 100 pesos each.

After both parties had reached an agreement, Governor Sander said slowly, "Lieutenant Colonel, order your gunners to prepare for battle tomorrow!"

"Ah..." Lieutenant Colonel Juan's jaw almost dropped to the ground.

The two colonels had to suppress their laughter.

"Why, do you have doubts about the orders from the Governor?" Governor Sander said unhappily.

"Sir, if we join the war, it may trigger an all-out war with the South China Sea Group!" Lieutenant Colonel Juan indeed had a different opinion.

"That's something the Governor should consider," Governor Sander said sternly, "and you, Mr. Lieutenant Colonel, have to follow orders and destroy that damn fence for me!"

"As you command." Lieutenant Colonel Juan quickly put his hand on his chest and bowed. He lamented in his heart that he had to return the money before it was even warm...