1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 813 Seizing Power
So the reserve soldier Delgado and his little friends transformed into the temporary guard of Santo Domingo Governor Gusman.This small group of soldiers surrounded Gesman and rushed to the headquarters of the defenders in the city.However, the weapons they are equipped with are not the spears and waist knives of the reserve army, but the serious Spanish matchlock guns.

As Gesman, naturally no one would come forward to stop him, but the soldiers here looked at Delgado in a somewhat unfriendly way.The smart people among them have probably already connected Lopez's shooting with Delgado's rescue plan. After all, if it wasn't for Delgado's instigation, how could Lopez appear on the top of the city at risk? lot.Of course, as for how the enemy gunmen ambushing outside the city seized this opportunity to hit Lopez accurately from a distance, no one can figure out the mystery.Even Delgado, who participated in it, did not know exactly how the Haihan Army realized this seemingly impossible assassination plan.

But a discerning person saw that Delgado appeared next to Gusman, even if he thought about it with his butt, he knew that the entanglement in the middle was not that simple. As the city lord of Brother City, no one is willing to take the initiative to offend him.Although many people stared at Delgado with fire in their eyes, no one came forward to trouble him. Even if there were one or two stunned young people who planned to do this, they were already restrained by the mature and prudent people around them.

"Who is in charge here?" Gesman came to the small courtyard of the headquarters and asked loudly, "Come out and see me!"

"My lord, there is no one in charge here for the time being." The people in the courtyard were silent for a while, and finally someone stood up and responded.

Gesman saw that this person was Lopez's guard captain Giroud, who was also a die-hard fighter like Lopez, and immediately asked: "How is Captain Lopez injured now? I want to see him right away!" "

"The captain is in the rescue right now, maybe you should wait here before going in." Giroud stood in the way of entering the house and didn't intend to get out of the way.

"Captain Giroud, you don't want me to see the captain. What do you mean? Do you want to take this opportunity to seize the captain's command?" Gesman was also prepared for this. Since someone refused to cooperate, then He immediately launched an attack without hesitation. At this time, it is often more important to seize the opportunity than to grasp the truth.

"My lord, I don't have such an idea, but I suspect that the assassination of Captain Lopez is related to certain people..." Giroud stared fiercely at Delgado next to Gusman, as if he wanted to swallow him alive generally.As a witness to the whole incident, Giroud believed that Delgado was the main person responsible for Lopez's assassination, and it is likely that he deliberately arranged this opportunity for the Haihan people outside the city to do it.

Delgado didn't show the slightest fear, and directly met him with his eyes.He knew that if he flinched at this time, the timid and suspicious Gesman would probably turn his back on him again immediately and give up cooperating with him.At that time, not only will the goal of seizing power not be achieved, but it may be treated as a murderer by Lopez's fans.

Although Gesman is usually a coward, he did not back down at critical moments. According to his prior agreement with Delgado, when encountering such a resistance situation, he should take a tougher attitude.Gesman lowered his face and said: "That's right, if Delgado hadn't informed me in time, I can hardly imagine that someone in the city would collude with the Haihan people and attack Captain Lopez!"

Before Giroud understood, Gesman raised his finger and said to him: "You are Captain Lopez's confidant, you know his behavior and habits best, and you also know his style of commanding operations. Can the Haihan people keep silent? He set up a blockade outside the city and was able to seize the opportunity to assassinate Captain Lopez. Isn’t this because someone close to him betrayed the information? After the incident, you prevented me from visiting Captain Lopez’s injury, are you afraid? The captain will tell some truth that will expose you completely?"

"My lord, you are spitting blood. I have never done anything to betray the captain, but this Delgado..." Only then did Giroud realize that he was listed as a suspect by Gesman, and he hurried to defend himself.However, one move is slow, and Gesman has already seized the opportunity, so how can he give him a chance to justify and get away.

"You want to put this responsibility on Delgado? He is just a soldier in the reserve army. He usually works in the plantations outside the city, and only changes his identity to serve in the military during wartime. You want to say that he is such a semi-professional soldier. , can you get access to military secrets and sell them to the Haihan people?" Gesman didn't wait for Giroud to finish, he interrupted him and snatched the conversation: "I heard that Delgado was sent out of the city to break out and ask for help. , and you suggested it to Captain Lopez? I didn’t expect you to be so scheming, and you have planned to frame Delgado from the very beginning!"

"My lord, it is this Delgado who said that there are enemy leaders outside the city, and Captain Lopez appeared in the dangerous area and was assassinated! He should be responsible for the assassination of Captain Lopez!" Seeing that the situation is not good, Giroud hurriedly To shirk responsibility, he can't bear the blame of colluding with the enemy and betraying his boss.

"The reasoning is good, but it's too late. If it wasn't for Delgado who sneaked out to report to me when he saw the situation was not good, you would have arrested him and executed him for this crime, right?" Gesman shook his head and said. : "Girou, you really let me down!"

Before Giroud could refute a few words, Gesman waved his hand and said: "Arrest this guy! I'm going to send him to a military court in Manila!"

It was this opportunity that Delgado was waiting for. He and several other guards around Gusman rushed forward, knocked Giroud to the ground who still hadn't fully understood the situation, stuffed his mouth with a rag, and then tied him up with a rope.But the soldiers under Giroud looked at me and I looked at you, but no one came forward to stop the actions of Delgado and others.Because after Gusman's accusation that sounded reasonable just now, they really don't know whether their boss is loyal or traitor.If you stand up and sing against Gusman, you will probably be dealt with as Giroud's accomplice immediately.

Although the moment is not a good time to be frightened, Gesman feels that he is in a very good mood. At this moment, he has even forgotten that there are powerful enemies around outside the city.Being able to make one of the leaders of the local garrison deflate in front of him, Gesman felt that the comfort of being in control of the overall situation could not be better.

"Who else?" Gesman looked around the people in the courtyard, his eyes were bloodshot.He really wanted to see the expressions on the faces of these people at this time, especially those guys who usually regarded him as transparent, but now they didn't dare to look at him at all.

"A group of cowards! No wonder they can't beat the enemy army outside the city!" Gesman muttered a few words in a low voice, and waved to Delgado: "You go in with me."

Delgado nodded and handed Giroud to his companions.He touched the dagger at his waist, and then followed Gesman into the emergency room that was temporarily remodeled by the headquarters.

From the place where you entered the door, you can see bloodstains on the ground that have dried up and haven't had time to wipe off. Some of them have been stepped on by the latecomers, and they look shocking on the light-colored stone floor.Gusman couldn't help frowning, because he really didn't like the smell of blood in the air.If it wasn't forced by the situation, he would never have taken the initiative to walk into such a place.

The staffing of Santo Domingo City has always been relatively simple, and naturally there is no specialized military doctor. There is only one doctor in the city, and he treats everything in internal and external medicine, and he is not good at anything.At this time, the barefoot doctor was standing next to the first-aid platform made of two wooden tables, looking helplessly at Lopez lying on the platform.The ground next to the rescue table was covered with blood-stained cotton cloths and several pots of bloody water used to clean the wound. The smell of blood was much stronger than that of the outer room. Two assistants were cleaning up the medical waste in the room.

Lopez was lying naked on the rescue table with his upper body naked. He had a gunshot wound on his right chest and right shoulder and was bandaged with a large piece of cotton cloth, but most of them were soaked in blood.Gesman frowned and leaned over, and saw that Lopez's face was as white as paper, and his lips were livid, obviously showing signs of excessive blood loss.Delgado also cautiously moved to the side, trying to determine the severity of Lopez's injury.

"Is Captain Lopez's injury okay?" Gesman asked the doctor carelessly.

The doctor is a Spaniard, but his status in the city is low, and he dare not show the slightest airs to Gusman. He replied tremblingly: "My lord, Captain Lopez's injury... I'm afraid I'm not very optimistic..."

"What do you mean?" Gusman asked narrowing his eyes.

"My lord, the gunshot wound on the captain's shoulder is alright. It's just an ordinary flesh wound. It won't hurt if the bleeding stops. But the bullet in the chest... the bullet was very deep, stuck in his lung, and there is no way to remove it. Coming out...I'm afraid...it will be difficult..."

"You mean Captain Lopez's life can't be saved?" Gusman raised his voice, but there was no sadness in his tone.

The doctor looked at Lopez who was in shock on the rescue platform with some embarrassment. He didn't answer Gesman's question directly, but nodded silently.

Gesman took a deep breath, calmed down his excited mood, and then told the doctor: "You wait at the door, I want to have a few words with Captain Lopez alone."

The doctor didn't dare to ask more questions, and retreated obediently. Although there was another Delgado staying in the room, he seemed to have not seen the existence of this person at all.

"What now? Are we here waiting for him to come to his senses?" Gersman asked Delgado.

Delgado knew that it was not Gesman asking for his own opinion, but that he wanted to shirk certain responsibilities.Delgado adjusted his breathing, took a piece of blood-stained cotton cloth from the rescue table, and said to Gesman, "My lord, please move away."

Gesman didn't respond, but turned around slowly according to his words.He knew what Delgado was up to, but he had to act like he didn't know.

Delgado stepped forward, gave Lopez a blank look, and then covered his mouth and nose with a cotton cloth.Perhaps feeling the threat of death, Lopez, who was in shock, opened his eyes suddenly, stared at Delgado's face, and subconsciously grabbed Delgado's wrist with both hands.But he was too seriously injured, his hands were completely weak, and he couldn't shake Delgado, who was putting his weight on his face.

"Captain, if you don't die, most people in the city will have to be buried with you. I'm sorry, I can only send you to see God!" Delgado murmured, wondering if Lopez was in this state? He could hear what he said clearly, but he put more effort into his hands.

After a while, Lopez, who was seriously injured, stopped struggling. Delgado slowly let go of his hand, took away the cotton cloth, first sniffed, then touched the side of his neck, and finally pushed away Lopez's eyelids to see After a while, he turned around and reported to Gusman: "My lord, Captain Lopez has been summoned by the Lord because of his serious injuries."

"This is really regrettable news!" Gesman shook his head pretending to be regretful: "He is the pillar of our city of Santo Domingo!"

Delgado had no interest in appreciating Gusman's acting skills, so he lowered his head and replied, "I'll call the doctor in."

After the doctor came in, Gesman said to him: "Captain Lopez seems to have fainted again, please check his condition."

The doctor leaned over to check, and he had already wiped off the blood on Lopez's face just now, but now his face was covered with blood, his face was ferocious, his hands were shaking with fright, and he bowed his body and replied, "My lord, Captain Lopez... ...the wound is fatal!"

"Are you sure?" Gersman asked, raising his voice.

"Sure, sure!" The doctor is actually very clear about what happened just now, but he can only ask for self-preservation before saying: "The villain can see very clearly that the captain did die because of his serious injuries and blood loss."

"Then please announce this fact to the soldiers outside, and don't let them have any bad misunderstandings!" Gesman's tone became cold again: "Remember, your wording must be true and credible, Santo Mingo City can't have any internal troubles now!"

"Yes, yes, the villain understands!" The doctor quickly responded, and raised his hand to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead.If he can pass this test and leave Santo Domingo alive, the doctor's first thing to do is to go back to Manila, no matter how high the salary is, he won't stay here any longer.

Lopez was dead, and he was arrested for accepting the number one general. At this time, no one in the city could hinder Gusman's monopoly.After sending the soldiers away, Gesman asked Delgado: "I think you must have a way to contact the Haihan army outside the city, right?"

(End of this chapter)