1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 817 Motivation
"What the hell are these flamboyant bastards trying to do!" Alcarazo put down the binoculars in his hand, and couldn't help cursing: "Aren't the damn Haihan people looking for trouble with the Dutch at this time? Why? Are they going to be here?"

None of the officers he had accepted could answer Alcarazor's questions.Although they also knew that the Haihan people had set up a large-scale military base on Penghu Island not far from here, they never thought that the other party would take such a direct provocative move and send a fleet to block their door .

Of course, Alcarazor did not foolishly let his ship stay in the port, but immediately ordered the only three armed sailboats in the area to leave the port and go to sea.Of course, Alcarazor didn't let them go to sea to escape, but they were active in the nearby waters. If the Haihan people tried to launch an attack on the city of Salvador on Sheliao Island, then these three armed sailboats could at least play some role in harassment. effect.

Seeing that it was getting late, the Haihan people's fleet showed no signs of leaving. Instead, they continued to move slowly from west to east, and finally chose a small harbor just a thousand kilometers west of Jilong Port to dock. The Waimushan Fishing Port of later generations.This place is backed by mountains and facing the sea, so there is no need to worry about sneak attacks from land.The fleet only left two slightly larger warships to continue cruising outside the harbor, and it seemed that they did not pay attention to the Spanish stronghold that was close at hand.

"Simply defiant! Signal, let our ship get closer!" Alcarazo ordered angrily.

"My lord, do you want to start a war with the Haihan people?" the subordinate asked cautiously.

"What war? Are you stupid? Haven't you seen how many ships the Haihan people have come?" Alcarazzo scolded, "They didn't do it directly, maybe they were waiting for us to give them this excuse! Tell us People, don't open fire, send someone over to find out why they are here. Perhaps, they are just passing by here..."

Alcarazo himself didn't believe such a reason. If he was just passing by, did he need to open his guns to show his force?To dock overnight in such a sensitive area without warning is not so much a provocation, but Alcarazo thinks it is more like an adjustment before the war.

Although Salvador City has both naval and military forces, Alcarazor knows very well that the strength of the garrison here is not as strong as it seems.It may be enough to deal with the primitive aborigines in the nearby mountains, but it is difficult for the city of Salvador to sustain a full-scale war with an evenly matched opponent for too long.Almost all of the combat supplies here come from irregular supplies from Manila, and there are not many stocks, and many of them were seized by Alcarazo and his officers in the name of training and consumption, and were quietly sold to Ryukyu, Japan and other places for profit. self-interest.If there is a fight, the defenders will run out of ammunition and food in at most two or three days.

In addition, the local blacksmith responsible for maintaining weapons and equipment also mysteriously disappeared before, which will also affect the army's continuous combat capability to a certain extent.There were originally five armed sailboats stationed locally, but two of them have recently returned to the Manila shipyard for repair and maintenance, and their combat capabilities at sea have also been greatly reduced.Although it is difficult to connect these things with the foreign enemies that are appearing now, Alcarazor still has a strange feeling about it, thinking that the timing of the Haihan fleet's appearance is too coincidental.But before Alcarazo could figure out the twists and turns, he heard another piece of news that made him hard to accept.

Gusman, governor of Santo Domingo, together with hundreds of local garrisons and immigrant people, are heading towards Jilong Port by land and are expected to arrive before midnight tonight.Gesman hoped that Alcarazor would prepare boats and food in advance so that the team, which had trekked in the wild for two days, could rest as soon as possible after arriving at their destination.

According to the courier, the reason why this fleeing team was forced to abandon Santo Domingo was because the Haihan people launched an "irresistible" offensive to the local area.Captain Lopez, the supreme commander stationed in Santo Domingo, was also killed in battle with the enemy.In order to save the lives of the Spaniards in the city, Gusman, the Tamsui chief, finally chose to hold peace talks with Haihan, and asked the Haihan people to let them go on the condition of evacuating the area.Of course, under Gusman's instruction, the messenger would never take the initiative to mention all kinds of weird events that happened in the city in the past few days.Especially the matter related to Delgado has become an indescribable taboo.

After Alcarazo asked carefully, he found out that the Haihan people had quietly surrounded the city of Santo Domingo a few days ago, and then launched a continuous bombardment. It took only three days to make it difficult for the defenders in the city to parry. Negotiate peace and abandon the city.Obviously, the Haihan people were not satisfied after capturing the city of Santo Domingo, but immediately turned their guns to the city of Salvador in Jilonggang.Judging from the time mentioned by the messenger, the Haihan people even had enough energy to rest for a day in the local area before setting off for Jilong Port, which happened to arrive one after the other with the team that had withdrawn from the Danshui River.

"The time calculation is really accurate!" Alcarazo couldn't help sighing.In his opinion, this is undoubtedly a manifestation of the Haihan people's careful planning and careful planning.

In fact, when Takahashi Nan let Gesman and the others go, he didn't intend to seize the time to attack Jilonggang. It will not have much impact on Haihan's offensive plan.There are indeed some elements of coincidence in the arrival time of this one after the other.Of course, this explanation certainly cannot convince Alcarazo.

Fortunately, the coast of Jilonggang is very close to Sheliao Island, not even a mile away. Even with a small boat, the hundreds of people from Santo Domingo City will not need too long to return to the island. Alcarazor was not difficult to arrange.

However, Gusman's team hadn't arrived yet, and the representatives sent to negotiate with the Haihan people came back first.This task was carried out by Alcarazo's distant cousin Fernandez, who also served as the commander of the local naval forces.

The news brought back by Fernandez was very frustrating. The Haihan people clearly expressed their attitude - they came here to recover the territory belonging to Haihan, and the Spaniards who occupied this area must surrender and evacuate here as soon as possible, otherwise they will die. There will be war.

"How could this land belong to Haihan! It was us, the navigators of the Kingdom of Spain who discovered this place first! These shameless people actually want to use such a poor excuse to drive us away!" Alcarazo's reaction was the same as before Gesman's reaction when he heard Takahashi Minami's theory was almost unacceptable.

"They have about eight to ten armed sailboats equipped with much more artillery than our ships. If we go to war, we are likely to suffer." Although Fernandez said it in a more tactful manner, Alcarazo can still make it clear Hear the powerlessness in his words.

Alcarazo thought for a while, but decided not to make a conclusion. He patted Fernandez on the shoulder and said, "Then let's wait a little longer. Gusman fought the Haihan people in Danshui. We should listen to his opinion."

Sure enough, Gusman arrived at the coastline at midnight, and then changed to a fishing boat and returned to Salvador City on Sheliao Island.After two days and nights of marching in the jungle, Gusman's appearance at this time can only be described as embarrassment. Alcarazo secretly laughed when he saw the disheveled appearance.However, he still took care of Gesman's emotions. He asked someone to fetch water to wash his face, and changed into clean clothes before starting the formal meeting.

"What happened in Santo Domingo?" Alcarazo asked straight to the point: "I heard that there was a fierce exchange of fire in Santo Domingo. What is the combat effectiveness of the Haihan people?"

"Well...they are really terrible enemies!" Gesman had already figured out his words on the road, and now he began to tell according to his own script: "Although we found out when they just arrived at the mouth of the Danshui River. situation, but because we have no surface armed ships, there is no way to prevent them from sailing into the Danshui River to complete the landing. I ordered Captain Lopez to set up several lines of defense on land, but the Haihan people have very good weapons and equipment, and the number of artillery is also relatively large. There are more of us, so we can only fight and retreat, and return to the castle to defend. During the period, I also tried to send a messenger to ask for help, but the encirclement set by the Haihan people is very tight, and our messenger has no way to break through. Get out. In two days, we used up all the ammunition reserves, and we can't continue fighting with them."

Gesman stopped here and wiped the corners of his eyes emotionally: "Captain Lopez has always insisted on commanding operations on the city wall, but unfortunately he was hit by stray bullets outside the city on the third day of the battle and died. For To save the lives of the Spaniards in the city as much as possible, I ordered peace talks with the Haihan people. Gentlemen, I think my actions should be regarded as sinners of the Kingdom of Spain.”

"No, no, Mr. Gusman, you didn't do anything wrong. If I were in your environment at that time, I would probably make the same choice." Alcarazzo was very knowledgeable and did not let this matter Accusing Gusman of his surrender, he took the initiative to smooth things over for him: "I think our soldiers must have killed many enemies and avenged Captain Lopez."

"Of course, our fighters are very brave, and I'm proud of their performance!" Gesman answered very naturally, without any sign of guilt: "During the battle, we killed at least dozens of soldiers. Although the enemy did not win the final victory, we have already told them through our performance on the battlefield that the Kingdom of Spain is not an opponent that can be easily defeated!"

Gusman was not worried that his exaggeration would be exposed soon, because he also knew that Alcarazor would not ask the soldiers one by one about the details of the combat process.As for the few officers who know the ins and outs, he has also reached an offensive and defensive alliance with them in the past two days.Anyway, let's get this big lie done together. Not only will we not have to bear the responsibility for the defeat, but we will also have the opportunity to ask for credit from the higher authorities. No one involved will take the initiative to expose this illusion.

Of course, if Jilonggang is also unable to withstand the pressure and beat the Haihan people who are chasing after them, then maybe Gesman will have to bring Alcarazzo to perform the same trick again.

"Mr. Gesman, do you know the real reason why the Haihan people took the initiative to attack us?" Fernandez asked.

When he talked about this, Gesman was also furious: "These guys claim that Formosa is their inherent territory in Haihan, it's crazy! But I can't figure out why they want to fight us, Neither here nor the Tamsui Estuary have any resources, nor can they be regarded as strategically important places, why would they not hesitate to launch a war to seize control of this place?"

"There must be some reason we don't know yet." Alcarazo was also puzzled by this: "Aside from being used as a transit supply point for us to go to Ryukyu and Japan for trade, there is nothing too special about this place." Great significance. The Haihan people have already built a base in Penghu, and it is not very meaningful to seize this place. Besides, there is not much land here for reclamation, but the coastal area near Penghu is more suitable for development. Fields and plantations are right."

Even if Alcarazo wanted to break his head, he never imagined that Haihan could not wait to launch this war because he knew that there were gold mines underground here.Of course, if the truth had been known, the Manila authorities might have sent ten times as many troops to garrison here.But in any case, the theory of inherent territory that Haihan advertised was nonsense in the eyes of these Spaniards.Obviously, the Haihan people didn't want to reveal their real motives, they just made up an excuse, and in the end they still planned to take the Spanish stronghold by force.

If you can't beat your opponent in Santo Domingo, you can still retreat to Jilonggang, which is nothing more than reducing the radius of the activity area by dozens of miles.But if they can't beat the opponent here, the Spaniards really can only abandon Taiwan Island and return to the place where they came.And this step of retreat means that the Spanish sphere of influence will be retracted thousands of kilometers south, which is probably difficult for the Manila authorities to accept.So even if Alcarazo can clearly feel the strength of the Haihan people, he can't be a turtle like Gusman did in Santo Domingo.

"Gentlemen, it seems that we have to prepare for war overnight." Alcarazor announced solemnly: "For the glory of the Kingdom of Spain, we must fight these oriental barbarians to the end!"

(End of this chapter)