America 1881: Legend of the West

Chapter 581: The Science of Surrendering

For the first time, Rodriguez and his Spanish soldiers felt that this place was so unfamiliar.

At the camp on the edge of the jungle, Rodriguez sat on a wooden box.

He licked his chapped lips, then shook the mouth of the water bag he carried with him downwards.

Not a drop of water.

The commander angrily threw the water bag to the ground.

The adjutant on the side threw an oval yellow wild fruit.

Rodriguez took it.

"Egg yolk fruit?" He plated the fruit in his hand and looked at the adjutant.

"Yes." The adjutant sat down next to him, took out the dagger he carried with him, cut the wild fruit from the top with one knife, and then put it in his mouth to eat.

"It quenches your thirst and hunger. Eat it quickly." The adjutant said while eating. "In two days there will be no more wild fruits."

Upon hearing this, Rodriguez took another look at the soldiers around him.

Spanish soldiers in white military uniforms sat listlessly leaning against boxes or trees, with empty eyes and no fighting spirit.

They were hungry, tired, and thirsty.

Chen Jianqiu's troops were not in a hurry to attack them, but kept shrinking their survival range.

Fill a well today, move several camps forward one kilometer tomorrow, and then conduct a raid on Spanish soldiers looking for water and food.

"Are there any wells that have not been sealed?" Rodriguez still had a sense of luck.

"I think it would be more reliable for you to pray for rain."

Rodriguez could hear the adjutant's helplessness and dissatisfaction in his words.

This adjutant was originally Roberto's subordinate. Because he came from a poor background and could never urinate in the same pot as Roberto, he was sent out with some soldiers and was ordered to join the attack on the Marine Corps.

If he is dissatisfied, I am afraid that there may be problems with his own safety first.

"Do you think Roberto and the others will come to support us?" Rodriguez planned to have a heart-to-heart talk with this nominal "subordinate".

"Dear sir, should I say you are naive? Or should I say you are too optimistic." The adjutant stood up.

"The connection between us and Caimanera City has been completely cut off. Have you seen their liaison personnel come to find us or the people we sent to deliver the letter return?"

He walked among the soldiers.

"You and I have fought against the Chinese commander surnamed Chen. If Caimanera City had not fallen, would he have brought his main force to clear us out so unscrupulously?"

"Even if we take a step back, Caimanera City has not fallen yet, but our supply line has been completely cut off."

"The water is gone, and the food will soon be gone." The adjutant pointed to the soldiers who were in poor spirits, and his voice became louder, "Look at them, many of them are poor people who came from Spain to make a living!"

"You mean, we find a chance to break out and fight out?" Rodriguez said, not knowing whether he really didn't understand or pretended not to understand, "Should we break out to the north? Or to the west?"

The adjutant became even more excited:
"Rodriguez, I really don't understand, what are you still insisting on?"

"After leaving the jungle, do you think we will be a match for those on the opposite side?"

"The firepower on the other side is at least several times that of ours. I have never seen this kind of army! How many people died at their hands last time? Have you forgotten?"

Rodriguez was silent.

It seemed that he had no choice but to surrender.

But he also knew that if the city of Caimanera in the north was not broken and he surrendered like this, he would most likely be tried by a military court in Spain when he returned home.

Someone always has to pay for failure.

"Aren't you afraid of being tried when you return home?" Rodriguez asked the adjutant expressionlessly.

"To hell with the trial!" the adjutant roared, "I love Spain, but I'm not here to serve as cannon fodder for those bullshit governments!"

"I don't want to starve to death or die of thirst in this hellish place tomorrow! Let alone die in a foreign country!" the adjutant said.

This sentence is actually somewhat reactionary.

Cuba is still a Spanish colony at least so far, so the term "foreign land" either means that it does not recognize that it is a Spanish colony at all, or it is a tacit admission that the United States will win this war.

Would such a person be afraid of being tried by a military court?

Seeing Rodriguez's silence, the adjutant's next words were even more straightforward:
He approached the commander with a fierce expression on his face:

"Commander, if you are not willing, I will leave with my brothers, and I must be responsible for their lives!"

This is a naked threat!

Rodriguez's first reaction when he heard this was to take out his gun and kill the man in front of him.

But the adjutant stared at him closely, with no fear in his eyes.

He took another look at the haggard-looking soldiers.

Although they were listless due to hunger and thirst, they all raised their heads after hearing the adjutant's words, their eyes full of expectation.

These people have all fought against Chen Jianqiu's Chinese army, and they all feel an invincible despair.

There is no way to violate the will of the soldiers, otherwise it will cause a mutiny!
"The question is, who should we surrender to now? The Chinese-dominated force to the north of us, or the Marine Corps to the south."

Rodriguez looked hesitant.

"It is said that those Chinese troops will hand over surrendered soldiers to the rebels. That would be a disaster for us!"

The adjutant could not answer this question for him.

"Go and have a look at both sides first, and give me a message." Rodriguez thought for a long time and made a compromise plan, "Commit first and see what benefits they can give."

Finally, the adjutant went to Chen Jianqiu's side, while the other person was given the task of meeting Huntington's Marines. Three days later, in Caimanera City, in Roberto's former residence.

This official residence was built by the first Spanish governor of the city and was intended to be a one-to-one replica of his mansion in the Iberian Peninsula.

Whether it is the exterior or interior decoration, this mansion embodies a strong Spanish style.

Passionate and unrestrained yet tender.

But the governor-general didn't get a good end.

He was fired from his official position because he offended a certain royal family member in Spain on certain matters and died on the ship returning home.

His mansion was also washed away and used by Caimanera's successive city governors.

This is now Chen Jianqiu's temporary command post.

"Rodriguez is planning to surrender?" Chen Jianqiu was eating a pineapple.

Next to him stood a Spanish man who had been captured before as an interpreter.

On the table in front of him, there was a pot of pineapples soaked in salt water and skewered.

The adjutant looked at the pot of pineapples and kept swallowing his saliva.

Chen Jianqiu noticed his Adam's apple moving, and made a "please" gesture to him.

"Eat whatever you want and chat while you eat." Chen Jianqiu made an invitation.

The adjutant didn't hesitate and just picked up a string and stuffed it into his mouth.

While eating, he told Chen Jianqiu about Rodriguez's concerns.

"He was mainly afraid of being harassed by a military court when he returned home because of defeat. Another hope was not to be handed over to the rebels. Finally, he wanted to be decent and remain intact. We will not participate in the battle again and will wait until we are sent back home."

Chen Jianqiu listened quietly to the adjutant's words, put his hands behind his back, and said with a smile:
"When did I ever say I would accept your surrender?" he said word by word.

The adjutant was stunned.

The pineapple in his hand also stopped.

What does this mean? Is this Chinese man really planning to let the two thousand people trapped in the jungle die of thirst?
"Whether to surrender or not, and how to surrender, it is not up to you to decide." Chen Jianqiu said, "Unless you are valuable to me."

The Spaniard next to him translated his words truthfully.

When the adjutant heard this, he immediately threw the pineapple in his hand onto the table.

He was emotional, just as he had been with Rodriguez.

"Mr. Chen! I will never do anything that is treasonous to my country! Even if we are inferior to you in skills and lose to you, I will not pick up guns to fight with our compatriots."

Chen Jianqiu shook his finger:

"No, you don't need to be so painful. My request is very simple. I just want you to help me convey a message. That is, I hope all Spanish troops can only surrender to my troops. Otherwise, I can't guarantee your personal safety."

"As for Mr. Rodriguez, he has nothing to worry about. If he is ever tried by a military tribunal, I can testify against him, and so can you."

"You put up a tenacious resistance even when you were unable to get logistical supplies. It was not due to poor command or other reasons."

Chen Jianqiu looked at the adjutant.

"You will have the glory you deserve, and I will not hide that."

After hearing this, the adjutant felt as comfortable as if he had taken a hot bath.

"Mr. Chen, no problem."

After getting the answer he wanted, the adjutant hurried back.

On the other side, at Huntington's Marines, another messenger of Rodriguez also met Huntington.

He also tactfully expressed his surrender.

Huntington was overjoyed.

Although he didn't know which powerful man in the north was leading the troops that were attacking the enemies in the jungle together with him, causing these enemies to completely collapse and surrender.

Trapped in McCalla, he had almost no contact with the outside world.

Before that, the headquarters would give him some orders.

But later on, there were basically no orders at all, and the only thing they had to do was to hold on and wait for help, as if they were planning to let this disappointing team muddle along until the end of the war.

Huntington did not see the Spanish army's surrender to him as a serious problem.

Without their own Marines who had suffered so much at the front, how could the northern army possibly win!
It’s like two people beating up another person at the same time. The one who gets beaten back and gets black and blue is the most critical one and the one who should get the honor.

Huntington halted his attack and held camp at McCalla.

Then there is no more then.

Huntington did not wait until the end of the war to meet the Rodriguez people who were ready to surrender to him.

The Marines seemed to have been forgotten, "facing the sea and enjoying the blooming spring flowers" at Camp McCalla.

After receiving a reply from his adjutant, Rodriguez quickly made a decision.

Surrender to Chen Jianqiu!

As for those Marines, they'll die as far away as possible.

I will only surrender to an army that has defeated me.

Ma Run?

Stay where it's cool.

After all, no matter how bad his troops were, they had never lost to these people in the battle of Macala!
(End of this chapter)