Luzon is still very hot and humid at the end of September, with no sign that the rainy season will be over.

It was really hard to march in such weather under the scorching sun, especially after suffering a massacre-like defeat.

The two defeated phalanxes of Spaniards, carrying muskets and spears, retreated along the way they came with heavy steps.

Although the drummers were playing some inspiring music, the wailing sounds could still be heard.

The Mexican soldiers were whispering to each other. They had never seen or heard of the once-mighty Spanish being defeated like this...

The Spanish non-commissioned officers shouted at the soldiers, asking them to keep quiet and not talk while marching!

But the Spaniards themselves could not help but whisper to each other, worrying about their uncertain fate.

They knew very well that after today's defeat, their situation in Luzon was already very dangerous. They didn't know if they could hold out until the Viceroy's reinforcements arrived.

The priests were discussing in low voices whether they could try to negotiate peace with the Ming people.

"I heard that although the Ming people did not allow the Portuguese to approach Japan, they did not prohibit the Jesuits from preaching there..." They are 'noble' Dominican monks, not the same as the miscellaneous Jesuit monks.

This Spanish religious order, which called itself the Lord's watchdog, presided over the Inquisition all year round and was determined to travel the world to eradicate heresy and ignorance. The extreme religious fanaticism of the Spanish was largely due to them.

But obviously, their interests are not always in line with the Spanish.

Thinking of this, the priests looked at Rector Franco on horseback, wanting to hear what he meant. But they saw him looking up at the sky, suddenly showing an expression of realization, and muttering:

"Oh, right, those people call themselves 'Descendants of the Dragon'. That makes sense. They are the descendants of Satan. We have indeed encountered the devil's army..."

"..." The priests thought to themselves, okay, let's not say anything.

Suddenly, the sound of horse hooves interrupted everyone's wandering thoughts.

A scout cavalryman galloped over and reported to the colonel: "The pontoon bridge we built has been demolished! The Ming army is setting up positions on the other side of the river!"

After a pause, he swallowed hard and said, "And there are still a lot of cannons..."

"Ah..." There was a buzzing sound in the square formation, and the officers and soldiers hissed and gasped, their faces turning pale.

"Let's go and take a look." Colonel Sardo rode forward with a dark face.

The cavalry squad escorting him hurriedly caught up, and Lieutenant Colonel Gonzalez ordered: "Stop moving forward!"

Then he followed.

There was only ten miles between the two rivers, and the Spaniards had already reached the center, so Colonel Saldo and his party soon reached the river they had come from.

They dismounted from their horses and hid behind a hill. The floating bridge made of bamboo rafts on the river had indeed disappeared. Only a few cut ropes were left on the wooden piles on both sides...

Looking at the other side of the river, the Ming army had indeed set up an artillery position. Looking at the black muzzles of the guns, there were not many fewer than the previous one.

There were also thousands of musketeers in beautiful blue uniforms, white trousers, and black boots, lined up neatly behind the artillery positions, apparently to protect the former.

The colonel and Lieutenant Colonel Gonzalez withdrew their gazes and looked at each other, and saw fear in each other's eyes.

"Are they really devils? How could they move so many cannons in such a short time?" the colonel murmured.

"Could this be a trick?" Gonzalez frowned. This doesn't make sense...

As if in response to him, there was a loud bang from the other side of the river, and a shell whizzed down on the mound, splashing mud all over them.

Seeing that they were discovered by the enemy, the two men quickly mounted their horses and fled.

"What should we do?" the lieutenant colonel asked, pulling the reins of his horse after escaping to a safe distance.

"Change the route!" the colonel said without hesitation.

Even if Jesus were to come to us now, there would be no chance for the Spanish officers and soldiers to voluntarily endure a massacre like the one just now again.

The adjutant quickly took out the map from the copper document tube on his back.

The map showed that they were currently between two parallel small rivers, with the wide Pasig River to the south, as if they were trapped in a pocket.

Fortunately, the small river in front of us is very short, no more than 8 kilometers in total, and it merges into the Pasig River.

The lieutenant colonel used a length of rope to measure on the map and said, "Go five kilometers northeast and there is a ridge. This river originates from there. If you cross it, you will be back to Gilmore."

After a pause, he lowered his voice and said, "Or go directly north..."

"We still have to go back to Guillermo." The colonel rolled up the map, handed it to his adjutant, and said, "Those baptized monkeys have never been so important. Whether we can survive until the reinforcements from New Spain arrive depends entirely on them."

"You're right, Colonel." Gonzalez nodded, thinking that he was too narrow-minded.

~~

So the two men returned to the phalanx and ordered to turn northeast.

Before setting off, the colonel let the officers and soldiers rest and eat dry food. He also made some mobilization, making the officers and soldiers realize the current crisis. Only by bravely saving themselves can they survive!

The priests also sprinkled holy water on the square and announced that this was a test from the Lord to the new believers, and that as long as they remained steadfast, they would be saved.

Success sparked a 'convert frenzy' among Mexican soldiers.

Anyway, morale was finally boosted and the marching speed increased a lot. At about 2 o'clock in the afternoon, the long hill several dozen meters high came into sight.

"Once we cross that ridge, we can kick the Ming people from the side!" The non-commissioned officers shouted to encourage the soldiers.

"Ah!" The soldiers responded happily. If they could win back a round, this battle wouldn't be considered a failure.

Seeing this, the drummers beat the snare drums, preparing for another performance.

But he was interrupted by a burst of rapid horse hoofbeats, and it was still the scout cavalry who came to report:

"We have discovered the Ming Dynasty's artillery positions on the hillside ahead!"

"Here we go again..." The Spaniards were immediately poured with a basin of cold water and fell silent.

The colonel quickly ordered to stop advancing and went forward with Gonzalez to check again.

Sure enough, they discovered that there was a large artillery position on the north-south ridge ahead.

More than twenty artillery pieces were stationed on the ridge, blocking their only route.

It was obvious that they had to break through this artillery position whether to the north or to the east, otherwise they would be trapped in the pocket.

However, Colonel Sardo and Lieutenant Colonel did not back down this time. After discussing it, they returned to the phalanx.

The colonel gave another speech to the two thousand officers and soldiers: "There is indeed an artillery position ahead, but the situation is not as bad as the previous two times. First, the hills are very flat and cannot block our phalanx's advance like a river. Second, this time the artillery is far less than before, only about a dozen, and the caliber seems to be much smaller."

After a pause, he said with a little pride: "Obviously, the turn has worked. We have arrived at the weakest point in the enemy's defense line!"

Lieutenant Colonel Gonzalez couldn't help but secretly admire, this is the art of language. Obviously surrounded, but still able to speak so passionately.

But most of the officers and soldiers were simple-minded and obedient, so they believed the colonel's words very much, and their frustration was immediately swept away.

Then the colonel drew his thin sword and shouted, "This time, I will march with you! Let's crush the enemy in front of us and regain victory! Party big!"

"Down!" The officers and soldiers raised their spears and muskets and rekindled their fighting spirit.

Amid the sound of passionate military drums, the two phalanxes, one in front and one behind, followed the Burgundy Cross flag fluttering in the wind, and marched bravely towards the enemy artillery on the hillside.

~~

The big red cross on the flag is very eye-catching and is the best reference for optical rangefinders, allowing the coast guard surveyors on the slope to easily measure their distance.

"One thousand five hundred kilometers!"

Each artillery group immediately took their positions and prepared to fire.

The Spanish officer had sharp eyes and saw that the artillery on this artillery position were all small-caliber Xuande cannons.

The reason is simple: only this kind of lightweight artillery can be pulled by animals and pass through unpaved roads without the wheels getting stuck.

Just these twenty lightweight artillery pieces had already mobilized all the mules and horses of the Chinese, and even buffaloes were used. The Marines had gone through great pains to get them here.

Therefore, the Equipment Department only distributed this smallest caliber artillery as the Marine Corps' field artillery. It was not discrimination against the inferior people. It was really based on reality, really.

Each field artillery crew has eight members to take care of this little ancestor whose gun body alone weighs 800 kilograms.

A gunner was responsible for determining the firing angle using a quadrant and adjusting the muzzle using a sight, four gunners were responsible for loading and firing, and three gunners were responsible for carrying shells from the ammunition cart at the rear.

In fact, under the most difficult circumstances, a Xuande cannon can be fired by at least two gunners. The eight-man crew is used to increase the firing rate and to ensure output even when most of the gunners are sacrificed. It is also to train more gunners and prepare for the next step of military expansion.

The gunners, who had undergone rigorous training, quickly completed all preparations before shooting.

But the rangefinder had already reported "one thousand meters", and the artillery commander still did not give the order to fire.

Because the Xuande Cannon has a short range. The effective range of the Yongle Cannon is 1,500 meters. In the previous battle, the solid bullets fired by the Yongle Cannon within 500 meters could easily penetrate five rows of musketeers and knock down several rows of spearmen.

But the effective range of the Xuande Cannon was less than one thousand meters, and even if the shells were fired at a distance of two hundred meters, they could not penetrate the front musketeer company column...

The gap between grandson and grandfather is so huge.

So it was not until they reached 800 meters that the commander gave the order to fire.

Amid the roar of artillery fire, white smoke was still filling the air as twenty solid shells landed accurately in the direction of the Spanish army.

Half of them entered the formation and knocked down dozens of people immediately.

Because it didn't enter directly, the damage was not that great...

This boosted the morale of the Spanish. The officers drew their swords and shouted at the top of their lungs, "Keep in formation and move forward at full speed. They won't be able to fire many shots!"