Dragon Sea Empire

A burst of drums came from the direction of the manor, bugles sounded, and officers shouted passwords loudly.

Yin Feng and the others immediately lay on the ground, not daring to move. This place is too close to the manor, less than one li.If there was not a small river between the dense forest, the Pampanga Auxiliary might have searched this area.

Soon, a well-equipped Spanish infantry company lined up in three columns, walked out of the manor and headed north.The soldiers in armor, with serious and fanatical expressions, walked forward with confidence.The colonists' militiamen also lined up in a column and set off in neat formation with high morale.Subsequently, several carts carrying ammunition and other supplies also drove out of the gate of the manor under the protection of the native auxiliary army.

This team passed by Yin Feng and others, and the Pangbangya auxiliary soldiers on the two wings even passed 10 steps away from Yin Feng.regardless

Regardless of the position, Yin Feng has to admit that the Spanish army in front of him is indeed a strong army.

From the end of the 15th century to the middle of the 17th century, Spain was a European military power.For quite a long period of time, whether on land or at sea, Spain's military strength was at the forefront of Europe.Spain's influence on Europe and the world has lasted for more than a century in terms of military system, way of governing the army, strategy and tactics.The Spanish army is dominated by infantry, and the status of infantry is higher than that of other arms, and the salary is also higher than that of other arms.The infantry regiment adopted by the Spanish army is also the forerunner of the modern infantry regiment.

The Spanish Infantry was a tactical unit of about 3000 men.Each regiment has 12 companies, and each company has about 250 people.In the mid-sixteenth century, companies had equal numbers of pikemen and arquebuses.A company has 1 captain, 1 second lieutenant, 10 non-commissioned officer, and 8 squad leaders.The head of the infantry regiment is a colonel, with a major, an adjutant, and several staff officers.The regimental commander had a guard of 13 spearmen.There are 3 chaplains in each regiment.The medical personnel include one physician, one physician and one physician.At the beginning, each infantry regiment consisted of several columns of varying numbers, eventually standardized to 100 columns.The formation of infantry regiments composed of spearmen and arquebuses is the famous "Spanish phalanx".The Spanish phalanx was quite influential and soon became a model for European countries to emulate, lasting for more than [-] years.

It is strange that Spain can maintain its military superiority for more than 100 years, but there are almost no famous generals handed down from generation to generation.In fact, after the Spanish army formed a perfect system, it became very inflexible. All actions were determined by regulations and systems, and it was not easy for generals to display their personal qualities.However, the military training of the Spanish army was meticulous, and the recruit training system was very perfect; the rewards were not stingy, and a group of soldiers with fanatical professional soldier spirit were created. They had high morale, high self-confidence and team spirit in the war.With a fanatical sense of military honor and well-trained Spanish soldiers, they became the best soldiers in Europe at that time.They take pride in being professional soldiers.This was fundamentally different from mercenaries in other European countries at that time.Therefore, the Spanish army can defeat any army under the same conditions.

Of course, in the Spanish infantry, arquebuses and pikemen are the main arms.In the era when firearms had not yet replaced cold weapons, spears were still extremely lethal weapons. At the end of the 15th century, Spain supported Naples in the war with France. The Spanish general Gonzalo de Cordoba was the first to use trenches to save troops. Gunners provide reliable protection and solve a long-standing problem in infantry warfare.

In the 16s, the Spaniards invented the Mushtec musket - a heavy arquebus.The caliber of the gun is within 20 mm, the gun weighs 23-8 kg, and the range can reach 10 meters.This kind of gun is fired on a wooden fork, which has a greater lethality and can penetrate the armor of the enemy.However, this gun was complicated to operate and was replaced by an improved heavy smoothbore gun at the end of the 250th century.

The current Spanish army is mainly equipped with relatively light arquebus guns. In addition, the spearmen are mainly undertaken by Pampanga auxiliary soldiers.

Yin Feng observed the Spanish army carefully, and found that the colonial militiamen's weapons were quite messy. It seemed that many muskets were not military standard weapons, and there were also veterans holding heavy muskets with wooden frames, and some with several long guns.A situation that made him feel very complicated appeared: several Chinese Christians were also walking in the middle of the team, talking to the Spanish officer while walking.These should be the Chinese translators of the Spanish army, working hard for the Spaniards who slaughtered the Chinese.

At this time, Major Cutray said softly, "This is a Spaniard's long sword." He pointed forward with his eyes.It was a young noble officer, riding on a horse, holding a long sword with a gauntlet on the front of the handle, commanding the troops to move forward.

Kutley said in a whisper: "This officer is a captain at such a young age. He should be born in a noble family, otherwise he would not have this kind of long sword. The style of this long sword with a cage handle is at least 100 years ago, and it must be his. A family weapon. By the way, this is the coat of arms of the Aguna family in Madrid..."

"If I hadn't met him here, I would have fought him," he said in an odd tone.

Yin Feng looked at him suspiciously, but the major refused to say anything more, and kept staring at the young noble officer with hatred.

……

In the evening, Mai Xiaoliu and Ma Jialuo led 10 sailors, four servants of the Zeng family who could swim carried Zeng Jingshan, and several servants of Li Dan's family accompanied Li Lihua, and marched to the north bank of the Bashi River again under the darkness of night; The waterway retreated to the ship Xinxing, and then Xinxing immediately went to the coast of Badangan to join the Fuxing, waiting for the arrival of Yin Feng and others.

Major Coutere insisted on staying with Yin Feng because he was familiar with the terrain and was proficient in the tactics of the Spaniards.

Yin Feng took Major Kutley, Lin Xiao and several Zeng family buddies, plus 50 sailors, a total of 60 people, carrying 60 light matchlock guns, and enough ammunition for the musket to fire 30 times, and followed the Spanish army Stealthily set off.In fact, there are only 52 people who can operate these Siamese Portuguese light matchlock guns, including Yin Feng.The remaining 8 people were all buddies and servants of Zeng's family, and they voluntarily stayed to rescue Zeng Yue-this young and kind shopkeeper is still very popular.

That night, the Spanish army camped near the Church of Tondo, sent out sentries and scouts from Pampanga as far as the Monastery of Del Monta five miles away, obviously absorbing the fact that Captain Gaspar was attacked in Binondo Lessons.

This caused a lot of trouble for Yin Feng's team. In order to avoid the Spanish sentries, they had to hide in the forest on the edge of the swamp and endured the torment of mosquito bites in the middle of the night.After living at sea for many years, the sailors eat well and carry out physical training every day. They are in good health and can withstand the fatigue of long journeys and staying up late.Those guys and servants couldn't do it anymore. In the morning, they were all pale, and they couldn't hold on any longer, and they all dozed off.Yin Feng had no choice but to let the sailors eat some big biscuits for breakfast.Coutere sent two of the smartest sailors out to scout, and brought back some water by the way.

Not long after, a small sailor who went out to reconnaissance came back quickly. "Captain, a group of people is coming! It's the Tang people who have shaved their hair!"

"Are there no Spaniards?" Yin Feng asked quickly.

"No, there is a Tang man wearing a Western monk's black robe in the team, which is very strange."

Yin Feng looked at Lin Xiao and felt very strange: the Spanish army is just around the corner, how could there be Chinese Christians here at this time?He became curious, led a dozen people in full armor, bent over through the forest, and came to a small stream at the edge of the swamp, and heard the noise of people in front of them.

About a dozen people were collecting water by the stream, and there was a short, thin middle-aged man standing alone, wearing a western-style tuxedo, looking up at the sky, his face full of worry, and heaving a sigh.This is the current chief executive of Balian Chinese, Huang Kang.

Following the order of the Governor of Manila, he came to the Tondo Swamp yesterday, where the Chinese gathered, in an attempt to make a last effort to maintain peace, calling on the Chinese to disband and return to Balian.He couldn't even persuade his own son, whose eldest son Huang Da (Anthony) had become the leader of the Chinese Christians gathered here to participate in the uprising.Zhangzhou, Chaozhou and Quanzhou Chinese bigwigs, leaders of various guilds in turn persuaded him to join the uprising, and wanted to publicly recommend him as the leader of all rebellion against the Tang people.After all, Huang Kang's prestige in Balian was won by his fairness and selflessness.

"My lord, please stay here! There is no leader here, each family has its own leader, and people from all walks of life combine themselves without belonging to each other. Only you can lead us all. Stay and fight against the Ganla people!"

Seeing that the crowd was furious and the conflict between the Chinese and the Spaniards could no longer be reconciled, Huang Kang tried his best to persuade them all night, but to no avail.

"Although there are a large number of Tang people, the Qiangla people have excellent weapons and sharp firearms. Their city walls are tall and strong. The cannons, muskets, and bows fired from above will make it impossible for us to get close. We are unarmed and no one knows how to fight. At most We have done pirate work, and we will suffer if we fight against these people who are used to fighting and have sharp firearms: Back then, Lin Feng had such a strong army, wouldn’t he be able to attack Manila? And once the war started, the whole Luzon There will be reinforcements from all over the place, and the natives will help them, but you will not have anyone to help you. Without food and weapons, you cannot persist here for a long time! Negotiate with the Ganla people Let's negotiate..."

Some Chinese leaders stood up and shouted: "My lord, the Ganba people have already made a move, so why are you negotiating!"

"Look at the brothers around you, sir! Many of us have already died, and the killing has already begun. The Ganla people will never negotiate with us. The governor's order is to let us go back to work, but Not to negotiate!"

"Right, right, right! No, let us leave our wealth and life in the hands of these unfaithful Guanla people and Japanese pirates as before. We are not willing! No! Never!"

And when Huang Kang faced many Chinese people who had lost their fathers, brothers and nephews, and listened to their angry questions, he felt powerless and powerless, so he could only repeat empty words of comfort.

This morning, he rejected everyone's recommendation, left the Tondo camp with a heavy heart, and went back to report to Governor Pedro.

"Father! People in Ganguanla won't believe you anymore! The war has already started, do you want to go back?" Huang Da persuaded his father to stay at the entrance of the passage paved with grass and trees for the last time.

Huang Kang smiled bitterly, turned around and walked towards Manila without saying a word.After walking a few steps, he turned his head back with a surprisingly calm face: "Da'er, please pray to God to bless you. I don't know now, should I be called Batista or Huang Kang." He didn't turn his head On the road again, Huang Da looked at his back and sighed.

Huang Kang’s Christian name is Juan Battista de Villa, which was given when he was baptized by Father Salazar, the first Archbishop of Manila. Diego de Villa, Huang Kang is his godson.

When Yin Feng saw him, he was on his way back to Manila.As soon as he returned, he was arrested by Governor Pedro and thrown into prison on charges of inciting rebellion.Although Yin Feng sympathizes with this tragic figure suffering between China and the West, he can only let him go now—this is Huang Kang's fate: abandoned by the motherland, suspected by the Spanish colonists, and finally killed.

"boom!"

"boom!"

There was the sound of cannon rolling in the northern air, and then intermittent musket fire.It was coming from the direction of the Monastery del Monta, north of the Tondo Church.

Yin Feng returned to the ambush site, and the two sailors who went out to investigate came back and rushed to report to him: "Captain, the Ganla people set off in the morning and marched northward. Now, the native troops staying in the church are also It's rushing over."

Half an hour later, Yin Feng and others stood above a hill and saw the high stone wall of the Del Monte Monastery and the dense smoke around it. Hundreds of muskets were firing intensively and frequently.

Countless Chinese are flocking around the monastery.