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Chapter 1338: Bloody Battle of Panama City 2
"The navy plans to send small boats into the harbor overnight and burn all the ships in front of the dock. Tomorrow morning, the governor will continue to attack the city from the east, and I will lead the fleet to attack the dock. We will attack from both sides!"

After being scolded, Settle returned to normal and focused on tomorrow's battle. But he was a navy, not professional in attacking cities and plundering strongholds, and didn't know where to start. He could only look for a breakthrough from his own perspective.

"These ships are still useful, and most of the people on board are not soldiers. There is no need to kill them all." Du Wenhuan rejected this suggestion without hesitation.

In the battle plan drawn up by the General Staff, Lima was not the most important city, but Panama City was the key. It was said that the emperor wanted to build the largest military base in the Americas here, covering both the army and the navy.

If you want to gain a foothold and continue to develop in an unfamiliar area, you need to be strategic when attacking. You must be clear about who are the enemies that can be eliminated and who are the future partners that can be won over.

Otherwise, even if we conquered the city, if all the people were killed and fled, who would come to build and pay taxes? Relying entirely on immigrants from the Ming Dynasty would not only be costly and time-consuming, but it would also be unknown whether they could adapt to the local climate, which was not cost-effective.

"Then... I'm afraid field artillery alone won't be able to blow up the city wall, and naval guns can't reach it. What should we do?" The navy can make suggestions on how to land, but it is not easy for the navy to interfere too much in how to attack the city, so Settle cannot stick to his own opinion.

But the walls of Panama were all built with large stones, with average height but great thickness. The army's small-caliber field artillery was obviously not enough for this material, and if the soldiers' lives were used to build the walls, the one and a half guards accompanying them would probably suffer heavy losses.

"Your Majesty has already made arrangements. The answer is on those cargo ships!" Compared with the anxious Settle, Du Wenhuan, the person mainly responsible for the siege, seemed very calm. He pointed to the troop ships anchored in the anchorage, as if he was confident.

"Cargo ship... I am stupid, please tell me clearly, Governor!"

Without even looking, Settle knew how many cargo ships were anchored in the anchorage, and could even tell their Chinese names and approximate parameters one by one. However, using cargo ships to attack a city was really high-tech, and he had never heard of it before. Could it be another new invention of the emperor?

"It's not a cargo ship, it's the people on board. Think about it carefully." Du Wenhuan seemed to be deliberately keeping the secret, only providing clues but not giving answers.

"...Japanese Engineers! The governor wants to use them as vanguards and cannon fodder?" Following this clue, Settle soon thought of a solution, but he was not sure.

此次跟随舰队东征的共有5个卫、30000多兵力，其中第25、26、27卫分别来自华中和华南都司，另外两个卫是朝鲜和日本的新军。

The 26th Guard and half of the Korean New Army Guard stayed in the Port of Guayaquil, the 25th Guard and the remaining half of the Korean New Army Guard followed Gao Budong to Lima City, and the 27th Guard and the Japanese New Army Guard came to attack Panama City.

Both of these armies from Korea and Japan were trained and commanded by Ming officers in accordance with Ming military regulations, but most of their personnel and funding came from the Korean and Japanese courts.
In fact, they were all pure combat personnel, but they were habitually called engineer guards. Because their training equipment level and combat experience were far lower than those of the Ming Army and Marine Corps, they could only do some of the work of engineers after they arrived, such as building camps, cleaning battlefields, guarding prisoners, etc.

But no matter what, they are friendly troops. Letting friendly troops serve as cannon fodder is unethical and may even cause trouble for the court. Setel really can't make up his mind whether to do this.

"Let me ask you a question. If they cannot increase their combat power by joining the Eastern Expedition, why would they take the time and effort to travel across the ocean?"

"It should be used to drag the two countries into the war, so that they can no longer remain immune and sit on the sidelines to watch the fight." Settle had thought about this question and had a more reliable answer, and a consensus was reached within the navy.

"Of course, there is no free advantage in the world. If you want to be protected, you have to work hard. It's reasonable. But there is another meaning that you don't see. Let them stand in the front at the critical moment to reduce our losses. There is no doubt that this is what His Majesty said in person. The training costs, maintenance costs and pension costs of the Ming Army soldiers are much higher than those of North Korea and Japan. It is not cost-effective to use them to fight head-on.

They are not only cannon fodder, but also very useful in getting along with the locals. Let them do any work that is hated, and send them back to their country after a year or two. The grievances will be settled with the debts, and the hatred will be written off with the departure of the people, and it has little to do with the Ming army. "

Settle's answer was correct, but not comprehensive. Young and middle-aged generals did not have many opportunities to come into contact with decision-making at the grand strategic level, so it was normal that they could not think of it. Du Wenhuan did not keep him in suspense and told him everything.

"... cunning and sly... oh no, shrewd and calculating!" If Du Wenhuan hadn't said it, Settle really wouldn't have thought of it. Now that he knows, it's hard to agree with everything, mainly because the means are too unethical.

But he couldn't think of a method that was not bad and effective, so he could only accept it. At the same time, his impression of the emperor had improved again, and he accidentally said half a sentence.

"Cannon fodder is different from cannon fodder. Besides, have you asked them if they are willing? Du asked this when he stayed in Japan, and the answer was completely unexpected. Most Japanese soldiers and officers were willing, and they had to give benefits to their superiors before they could join the expeditionary force.

You don't have to guess why. Two words: money! Korean and Japanese soldiers hardly received any salary in their own countries. They were considered elite if they had enough food, clothes and weapons.

When we came out, we were given two sets of military uniforms, blankets, shoes, hats, small clothes, and socks. We were provided with enough dry food and canned food every day, and meat and vegetables every other day. If we were sick, we had someone to treat us. If we were injured, we had medicine to treat us. If we were disabled or died, we had a pension.

You are all used to such days and think it is normal. It is wrong if you cannot achieve it. But when Du was young, the treatment of the Ming border troops was similar to theirs, and the garrison troops were even worse.

If someone had provided money, pensions, and food and clothing, let alone the Eastern Expedition, it would have been a life-threatening situation to conquer the world, and there would have been a long queue of people who signed up. As many as they wanted, all of them were young and strong men between 16 and 40.

It doesn't need to be much, just half a year's salary, the old and young in the family can have enough food for several years. If you are lucky enough to survive, you can buy land, build a house and marry a wife when you go home, giving your family a chance to change their fate.

Who would refuse such an offer? If the Chinese literacy rate in other countries were not so low, there would be cheaper sources of soldiers to recruit. The poorer the place, the less valuable human life is.

If they go out and fight for their lives, they have a chance to bring back their salaries; if they stay at home, they may die from illness, injury, hunger, or a natural disaster, and they won't get a penny.

Without mentioning the distant past, let's just talk about the black slaves here. They were caught by Europeans and sent to ships, and then pulled over and sold. They probably won't have a chance to go home in this life. Working hard can earn them enough food and clothing, but living like animals all day long, unable to do anything, is no different from being dead?

And it was a waste of life, with nothing to gain. If they were given a chance to choose, I dare not say all of them, there would probably be many who would rather serve as soldiers and fight in the war than be animals on the plantation!"

Hearing the disrespect for the emperor in Settle's tone, Du Wenhuan had to stand up and speak a fair word. Most of these soldiers from Korea and Japan signed up voluntarily, and they knew in advance where they would go, who they would fight against, and what tasks they would undertake.

(End of this chapter)