Manila.
Lieutenant Colonel Juan did not lose the two hundred pesos the next day.
Because it rained heavily from morning till night the next day, both sides took shelter from the rain and did not fight for the whole day.
But what is meant to come will come.
On the morning of the third day, the weather cleared up and the overseas Chinese youths flocked to the shooting platform early, ready to face the attack of the Pampanga people in a new day.
The people of Pampanga also gathered at the riverside early, carrying the newly built bamboo rafts yesterday, ready to attack more waves while the weather is cool...
Just as the two sides were ready to start fighting, suddenly a Mexican soldier ran up to the Pampanga leader, Condo, and whispered something to him.
Kendo was overjoyed when he heard this and immediately ordered a withdrawal.
The overseas Chinese inside the fence were completely confused, wondering why these foreigners had retreated again? Could it be that fighting a war was just like working for them, fishing for three days and resting for two days?
As they stared at each other, they suddenly heard a loud rumbling noise coming from the stone castle in the distance. Ximen Qing, who was smoking a cigarette and looking around with a telescope, heard the noise and his face changed drastically. He shouted, "Artillery fire! Get down quickly!"
The Marines also reacted and used their hands and feet to drive the Chinese overseas under the fence.
Before the overseas Chinese could figure out what was going on, they saw a huge shell hit the fence wall with a sharp whistling sound.
The cannonballs were so powerful that the wooden fence was as fragile as paper and shattered instantly. Several unlucky overseas Chinese were among them and were instantly crushed to pieces! The overseas Chinese nearby were also broken and several had their heads cut off, and they fell to the ground screaming.
"What are you standing there for? Get down! Get down!" As Ximen Qing roared at the top of his lungs, the overseas Chinese, as if awakened from a dream, hurriedly retreated down the fence like a tide and hid in the trench behind.
The rumbling sound of artillery continued, and one shell after another landed accurately on the fence, destroying the defense line that the overseas Chinese had used to resist the indigenous attacks the day before.
Ximen Qing still stood firm on the fence, watching the Pampanga people on the other side, guarding against any chance of a sneak attack.
Chen Yongquan also insisted on staying by his side and refused to leave no matter how hard he tried to chase him away.
"You are really a newborn calf that is not afraid of a tiger." Ximen Qing smiled approvingly and handed him a cigarette as a sign of recognition as a man.
"You are praising yourself." Chen Yongquan did not respond. He hated the smell of cigarettes, but his eyes fell on the Longqing rifle in Ximen Qing's hand.
Ximen Qing smiled knowingly, handed him the rifle and said, "Do you understand why they want to move you out of the city and require you to live in the stream?"
"Is it to make it easier for them to fire artillery?" Chen Yongquan held the rifle as if it were a treasure. He had long been coveting the guns used by Ximen Qing and his men.
"That's right." Ximen Qing nodded.
"But their artillery is too accurate, isn't it? Do the shells have eyes?" Chen Yongquan exclaimed in amazement as he looked at the fence that had become a sieve.
"This is not surprising." Ximen Qing blew out a string of smoke rings and said, "When we were in the police academy, we had a coastal defense course, which taught this. As long as we accurately calibrate the range area in advance, we can shoot wherever we want."
"It turns out that these beasts have planned everything step by step!" Chen Yongquan said with a surge of hatred: "Sooner or later, we will kill all the red-haired guys without leaving a single one alive."
"It's good to be angry, but don't let it cloud your mind." Ximen Qing smiled faintly and said, "In fact, the reason why I didn't go down is that I know it's safe in this position. Because this is the blind spot of the artillery..."
As he spoke, he frowned, flicked his cigarette butt far into the river and said, "The foreigners are here again!"
Chen Yongquan clenched his gun and looked up, and sure enough, he saw the Pampanga people taking advantage of the artillery fire to cross the river on rafts.
Ximen Qing no longer paid any attention to him. He turned around and jumped off the shooting platform, shouting to his men in the trench: "Retreat to the second line of defense!"
The Marines then kicked and chased the retreating Chinese youths along the trenches to the rear.
Then he took a big step and barely jumped to the other side of the trench. Then he rolled into a half-man-high sandbag bunker and ordered the overseas Chinese youth hiding behind the bunker: "You will become the front line, be as brave as the brothers in front!"
"Understood!" The young men clenched the javelins in their hands and responded loudly.
I don’t know if it was because they were frightened by the artillery fire or because the village wall was destroyed, but their voices lost their previous momentum and were faintly filled with fear...
"Don't be afraid, our parents, wives and children are behind us! What if you are afraid of them?!" Ximen Qing took the Longqing style handed over by his men and aimed at the Bangbangya people who were coming ashore and rushing into the stream.
He fired a shot, blowing open the skull of a Pampangan, then threw the musket to his men and took over another loaded musket.
"I still say that. We have more people and fortifications. Why should we be afraid of them?" Ximen Qing shot another native and shouted, "The enemy will die, and we'll be done with it!"
Under his and the Marines' encouragement, the overseas Chinese on the second line of defense finally calmed down.
"Follow my orders!" The Marine in charge of commanding them shouted and put the whistle hanging around his neck in his mouth.
"Beep!" A whistle sounded, and everyone turned sideways and held the javelin on their shoulders, following the movements they had intensively trained yesterday.
"Beep!" The second whistle sounded and everyone took three steps back.
"Beep!" The third whistle sounded, and everyone rushed forward together!
"Beep!" The fourth whistle sounded, and people pushed the ground with their right feet, exerted force with their hips, and threw the javelins in their hands!
Considering that there was only one day for training, the Marines could only teach them the simplest techniques, but it was enough to make their javelin shooting significantly better than the day before!
Amid the sound of whizzing wind, javelins flew swiftly towards the Pampanga people who rushed into the fence.
At such a close distance, the javelin thrown in the right way was extremely powerful, even able to penetrate the rattan shields of the Pampangans or tie them up like a string of candied haws.
Amid the sound of sharp weapons piercing flesh, the people of Pampanga fell to the ground screaming in agony.
But the Pampanga people were very brave, and they broke into the camp, their morale was high, and they didn't care how many people died. They faced the rain of spears and shot at the Chinese with javelins.
Moreover, they were skilled in this art, and their throwing accuracy was much better than that of the overseas Chinese. Although the sandbags blocked most of the darts, there were still overseas Chinese youths who were hit by the spears and fell down.
The companions behind quickly carried the fallen wounded on a bamboo stretcher to the Chen family mansion in the center of the stream.
The large yard was soon filled with the wounded on stretchers.
Faced with the sudden increase in the number of wounded, the doctor sent by Jiangnan Hospital to the Luzon Trading Company could only command the overseas Chinese doctors, veterinarians, butchers, midwives, prostitutes... all those who had something to do with the human body to come together to stop the bleeding, bandage, apply medicine, amputate... or provide end-of-life care for the wounded.
Looking at the blood all over the ground in the front yard of the Chen family, the scene like a slaughterhouse, and listening to the tragic wails, Lin Afa, who was in charge of this area, finally couldn't bear it anymore, rushed out the door, and lay on the ground vomiting.
After he finished vomiting, someone handed him a water bag.
Lin Ah Fa looked up and saw that it was Huang San Lao Zhang. He took the drink and took two gulps, then sat down on the ground, muttering nervously, "I told you, you shouldn't provoke the red-haired master. It's better to let those foreigners rob you than to be in hell like this..."
"Alas..." Huang Sanlaozhang sighed and said, "What's the point of saying all this? Just endure it. You will be free when you die..."
After saying this, he walked away with the water truck that was delivering water to the front line.
"Is there really no hope?" Lin Afa was in despair, his nose bubbling as he said, "I don't want to die yet..."
~~
In the end, the overseas Chinese paid a much heavier price than the first day and held on for the third day.
Not only did Lieutenant Colonel Juan keep his two hundred pesos, but he also won another two hundred.
Holding the heavy money bag, he showed great respect to the brave overseas Chinese and said, "Sir, if the people of Ming Dynasty were as fearless as they are, then our dream of conquering Ming Dynasty might just be a luxury forever."
"Humph, what nonsense!" Colonel Salcido, who had already lost 200 pesos in a row, finally lost control of his anger and cursed: "These faithless Ming people are all cowards!"
"It turns out that they are not," Lieutenant Colonel Juan said calmly.
"No, they are." Governor Sander suddenly spoke up, his expression gloomy, "It's only because we are pushing too hard that they see no hope, so they fight desperately in despair!"
"Your Excellency is right!" Colonel Goyt's eyes lit up and he said, "Why do we treat noble captives well and allow them to pay ransom in exchange for their freedom on the European battlefield? It is to weaken the enemy commanders' will to resist, so that they will not resist stubbornly in desperate situations, but surrender when the situation becomes unfavorable!"
"That's right." Governor Sander smiled sinisterly and said, "This is what we lack. We can't push them too hard. And we can't generalize them. For example, the rich among them will definitely be weaker. The businessmen among them will also be more flexible and willing to pay the ransom in exchange for freedom."
"It just so happens that Your Excellency does not intend to kill them all, and is merciful enough to leave half of the Ming people." Colonel Salsido also smiled and said, "Then give them a chance to survive. Of course... only half of them can enjoy it."
"The scene will surely be exciting." Colonel Goyte asked impatiently, "Will it start tomorrow?"
"No rush. Their current casualties are still at an acceptable level." Governor Sander said, "Let them bleed for a few more days and become more desperate. Only then will they value our proposal."
After a pause, he smiled at Sarsido and said, "Let our little black friend bleed a little more, so that he won't have any objections to us then."
"Your Excellency is wise." Colonel Salsido flattered him in a Western way, saying, "Your soul must have been kissed by an angel."
~~
Then there was heavy rain on the fourth day and a hard fight on the fifth day.
Heavy rain on the sixth day, bloody battle on the seventh day!
The overseas Chinese showed extremely strong endurance in the series of bloody battles.
Two thousand people have been killed or seriously injured...
The bodies of the dead had to be thrown into the river to avoid causing epidemics.
Everyone was filled with great sorrow. Besides the approaching tenth day, the only thing that kept them going was the desire to avenge their loved ones.
On the eighth day, it didn't rain, but the Pampangans unexpectedly delayed their attack...
ps. It’s gone tonight.