Wind Rises in North America 1625

Chapter 262: Waves Rising (Part )

The sound of artillery fire at sea gradually stopped, and the entire port fell into deathly silence, as if the battle just now had never happened.

The air was filled with gunpowder and the smell of burning. The sea breeze blew gently, but it could not blow away the tension in people's hearts.

All eyes turned to the bustling Panama City.

In the pitch-black night, the flames rising from the city illuminated half the sky red, and the deafening shouts and screams were intertwined.

Everyone's heart was gripped, as if they could feel the chaos and despair in the city.

Several small pirate boats were wandering on the sea, and two large ships were anchored a few hundred meters away from the shore, with small boats being lowered one by one.

Through the faint moonlight, one could see the armed soldiers on the ship climbing down the rope ladder on the side of the ship quickly like ants.

After each small boat was filled with soldiers, the rowing sailors quickly untied the ropes of the small boats and rowed hard towards the shore.

The oars blades cut through the water, making a slight "splashing" sound, which was particularly clear in the quiet night.

More than ten minutes later, the boat ran aground on the beach. Luo Congnan jumped off the boat, splashing water.

He gripped the long knife tightly in his hand, leaned against the side of the boat, and looked vigilantly at the shore for a while to see if the splashing sound had attracted the Spaniards.

It was pitch black on the shore and nothing could be seen, which made people feel uneasy.

When a person dies, his eggs are exposed to the sky. What’s there to be afraid of?
Luo Congnan held his long sword high up, waded through the knee-deep water, and quickly reached the shore.

The sea water soaked his trouser legs, but he didn't care. He had only one thought in his mind: rush ashore quickly and avoid being attacked by the Western barbarians on the beach.

Soon, the number of soldiers landing exceeded 120, including more than 40 armed sailors from two English pirate ships.

Under the organization of Lieutenant Mu Dahai of the New China Marine Corps, all the armed personnel simply lined up in two columns and then groped their way in the dark to encircle the Spanish artillery batteries hundreds of meters away.

Considering the extremely poor visibility in the dark and the difficulty in loading musket ammunition, more than half of the armed personnel were holding cold weapons such as daggers, axes and spears, preparing to launch a night attack on the Spaniards.

More than a hundred people groped their way forward for five or six minutes and had already approached to a position less than 200 meters from the artillery position. They could see a few faint lights and the faint sounds of conversation among the Spanish defenders.

Apparently, they were unaware of the impending danger.

Mu Dahai ordered the troops to stop advancing, rest for three minutes, and make final battle deployment.

"Our target is the coastal artillery. We need to disarm them and take control of the artillery as soon as possible." He gathered several team leaders together, put their heads together, and whispered to them.

"There may be a small number of garrisons inside the Spanish fort. Once you, the English, rush into the fort, do not hesitate. If you encounter resistance, kill them all without giving the Spanish any time to react."

"The Third Squadron of the Shixing Militia sneaked up to the side of the enemy fortress, waiting for the opportunity to break in and seize the fortress."

"Our Marine platoon will form a line between the Spanish fort and the artillery battery to block any Spanish soldiers who may appear to support the battery."

"After Panama City is attacked by our allies, the Spanish will certainly withdraw a large number of troops to rescue it, causing the problem of dispersed forces here. We must act quickly and not hesitate or shrink back."

"I repeat, our primary goal is not to completely annihilate the defenders here, but to disarm the forts and then control the port so that our warships can dock and provide fire support."

"If the Spaniards give up resistance and flee after being attacked, there is no need to chase them."

"Okay, now everyone, let's take action immediately!"
-

Major Juarez stood on the tower of Fort San Jose, looking towards Panama City with a concerned look on his face.

More than 200 reinforcements had left for more than 20 minutes, but the situation in the city seemed to have not improved. Instead, the flames were more intense, the shouts were louder, and no one knew how many pirates had entered the city.

In fact, Panama City was not as well defended as imagined, and there were not many available troops. After being attacked by pirates at night, the situation suddenly became serious.

The entire Panama City has a population of more than 2,000, but there are only more than 500 adult men (including mixed-race people), and the rest are the elderly, the weak, women and children.

In addition, there were two to three thousand black slaves and Indian laborers in the city. Although these black slaves and Indians could be organized to serve as a defensive force when attacked by pirates, the Spanish did not trust them very much and even worried that these people would turn against them and kill them.

As for the garrisoned colonial troops, their number was only a pitiful two hundred or so, far from enough to cover the entire Panama City defense system.

Five days ago, in order to escort the gold and silver transferred from Peru, the Panama garrison also dispatched 100 soldiers and more than 500 Indian laborers to cross the isthmus plank road and head to Porto Bello on the Atlantic side, which made the defense of Panama City even more empty.

No one expected that the pirates would take advantage of this opportunity to suddenly attack Panama City, and even successfully sneak ashore and break into the city by making a feint to the east and attacking in the west.

Looking at the situation, it seems that there are quite a lot of pirates, turning the entire city into a mess. Even with the rescue of more than 200 reinforcements, the situation still could not be restored.

Oh, damn pirates!
Major Juarez slammed his palm against the battlement, his worry even greater than before.

"Bang! Bang!"

Suddenly, two crisp gunshots were heard from the direction of the artillery position, followed by sharp shouts.

"Huh?..." Major Juarez's expression froze and he turned his head to look in the direction of the artillery position.

Against the backdrop of several flames, countless figures were rushing towards the artillery batteries, like ghosts in the dark night, revealing their sinister fangs.

The port batteries are basically semi-open gun positions, with heavy artillery mounted on four-wheeled iron frames. There is a low rock wall in front, but there is no cover behind them and no protection. They rely entirely on the protection of Fort San Jose.

The gunners in the fort obviously did not anticipate that a group of pirates would attack from the side and rear. After more than ten garrison soldiers fired a shot, they ran directly towards Fort San Jose, ignoring the cannons that were regarded as defensive weapons.

After occupying one gun position after another, the pirates took torches and threw them directly into the bunkers where gunpowder barrels and cannonballs were stored, then turned around and hid far away, hidden in the darkness.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!..."

Deafening explosions continued to sound, precious cannons were lifted high up, and then slammed heavily to the ground. The entire artillery position was immediately engulfed in flames and smoke.

Major Juarez was furious and ordered the soldiers who remained in the fort to shoot at the pirates. He also instructed the artillery on the city wall to load grapeshot and cover the entire fort with fire.

At this time, his inner anxiety had turned into a little panic.

How many pirates came?
Why were they able to launch a massive attack from the flank and rear of Panama City while organizing another wave of armed forces to land at the port?

Could it be that the pirates from the Caribbean have come to Panama City to hunt in the wild?

In the pitch-black night, it seemed that the enemy was everywhere, and the soldiers in Fort San Jose fired their guns and cannons outside in vain in an attempt to stop their attack.

Under the city wall, the soldiers who escaped from the artillery position cried and cursed loudly, demanding that the defenders open the city gate and let them in so that they could get safe shelter.

Major Juarez clenched his fists, his nails digging deep into his palms.

He knew that tonight would probably be a long night, and the fate of Panama City might be rewritten on this night.

"Squeak..." The gate of Fort San Jose was slowly opened, and the defeated soldiers who escaped from the artillery position rushed inside, fearing that if they escaped too slowly, they would be killed by the pirates behind them.

"Who allowed the city gate to be opened?" Major Juarez looked down, his face suddenly changed, and shouted sternly.

"Major..." Several soldiers beside him were frightened by their commander's ferocious face and shook their heads blankly.

Who opened the city gate?
It must be some "busybody" who couldn't bear to see his companions outside the city being slaughtered by pirates, so he tried to let them in to avoid the danger outside, while also thinking of increasing the defense of Fort San Jose.

But he ignored the pirates' determination and courage, and would follow these defeated soldiers and take advantage of the situation to break into the fortress.

"Charge them!" As a burst of shouts rang out, countless black shadows rushed out from the night and rushed over following the fleeing soldiers entering the city.

“…It’s over!”

Major Juarez said to himself, and without any hesitation, he turned around and went down the city wall, then ran towards the other gate of Fort San Jose.

(End of this chapter)