Wind Rises in North America 1625

Chapter 517 The Flames of War (Part 5)

The last rays of the setting sun had not yet completely faded, but on the vast plains outside Guadalajara, the officers and soldiers of the Xinhua Task Force were busy as industrious ants.

Instead of rushing to attack the city, they began constructing a sturdy temporary camp under the orders of officers at all levels, strictly following the army manual.

Despite being utterly exhausted, the officers and soldiers could not immediately lie down and rest. In particular, the more than one thousand militiamen from the Yongning Bay settlement who had come with them were busy unloading supplies, building camps and outer defense facilities as quickly as possible under the supervision of their officers.

In less than two hours, a shallow trench encircling the camp was completed, and the excavated soil was piled up on the inside of the trench to form a low breast wall.

The infantrymen sharpened the bottoms of the felled logs and drove them into the ground to form sturdy piles, creating a dense wooden fence behind the trench.

In several corners of the camp, gun emplacements made of sandbags were quickly constructed, and several light field guns were pushed into position, their dark muzzles pointing menacingly toward the city of Guadalajara.

A five-meter-high watchtower was also erected, with the observer on top holding binoculars, vigilantly watching any movement inside or outside the city.

The entire camp was built in an orderly manner, highlighting the army's high level of discipline and professionalism, which contrasted sharply with the chaos inside the city.

After the initial shock and chaos, the Spanish garrison inside the city gradually regained some composure.

Colonial officials, wealthy merchants, farmers, and church representatives gathered in the provincial governor's mansion. After a heated and anxious debate, they finally reached what they considered a rather "brave" decision: they could not stand idly by and watch the invading Xinhua army establish its forward positions securely outside the city. They had to launch a probing attack while the army was still establishing itself, hoping to create a miracle.

Even if we can't defeat the Xinhua Army, we can at least dampen their spirits and boost the morale of the entire city's residents.

Soon, the city gate was secretly pushed open a crack.

A mixed force of about six hundred people, consisting of white militiamen, a small number of mixed-race overseers, and a large number of Indian servants who had been temporarily conscripted and were armed with crude weapons, poured out in a chaotic manner.

Carrying various weapons and flags, and encouraged by officers and priests, they shouted "For the King!" and "For God!" and launched an attack on the still-unfinished camp of the Xinhua Army in a disorganized but impressive skirmish line.

But their attack was met with a fierce counterattack from the Xinhua Army, with dense volleys of gunfire and fierce artillery fire rushing towards the charging crowd.

The soldiers stood behind the rammed earth breastwork, leisurely firing volley after volley. The powerful shells also plowed through the Spanish ranks, leaving bloody trails. The charging troops seemed to have crashed into an invisible wall, and instantly men and horses fell, with those at the forefront falling in droves.

Screams and gasps immediately replaced the previous frenzied shouts.

The white militia performed no better than the Indian servants who collapsed first. After firing a few chaotic rounds of shots, seeing their comrades falling to the ground, they turned and fled without hesitation, even throwing away their muskets along the way, and frantically ran back to the city.

This futile attack ended abruptly in just over ten minutes.

The Spanish left nearly a hundred corpses and wounded soldiers on the open field in front of the camp. The survivors scrambled back into the city, and the heavy city gates were once again tightly closed, shutting out their initial courage and wishful thinking.

The daytime defeat did not completely sober up the city's defenders.

As night fell, they made an even more foolish decision: a night raid.

In the dead of night, the moonlight was obscured by drifting clouds, and the earth was shrouded in darkness.

More people were armed. The militiamen who had survived the daytime, along with many untrained civilians and Indian servants, were incited by promises of rewards and religious fanaticism. They took all sorts of weapons and silently opened the city gates again, sneaking towards the Xinhua Army camp that was flickering with scattered lights.

The Spanish hoped to use the cover of darkness to approach the camp and launch a surprise attack.

However, they seriously underestimated the vigilance of the new Chinese army and the completeness of its defense system.

The two trenches dug around the camp became an insurmountable barrier for them.

The tripwires and bells placed in front of the first trench sounded the alarm early on.

Immediately afterwards, countless torches were lit and thrown out of the camp, exposing the stealthy attackers to the light.

Urgent and powerful commands rang out again in the camp, and the soldiers on duty quickly took their positions.

As the densely packed raiders charged through the first trench, howling, and attempted to climb the breastwork in front of the second trench, they were met with even fiercer and more concentrated firepower than during the day.

The flashes of gunfire continued uninterrupted under the night sky, and shrapnel rained down amidst the roar of artillery, killing rows of Spaniards in front of the trenches.

The attackers were utterly desperate: to advance lay deep trenches and a hail of bullets; to retreat lay darkness and the trampling of their comrades. Their bravery and fervor quickly faded under the heavy blows of blood and fire, turning into endless fear and cowardice.

The battle, or rather the massacre, lasted less than an hour.

The Spanish, leaving behind far more corpses and groaning wounded than during the day, fled back into the city in a sorry state.

Two consecutive disastrous defeats, especially the complete failure of the night raid, not only depleted the already limited manpower but also utterly crushed the already low morale of the defending troops.

Fear and despair spread like a plague throughout Guadalajara.

On April 30, a light drizzle halted the Xinhua Army's planned attack on the city, forcing them to continue holding their camp and waiting for the weather to improve.

On May 1st, at 1:00 PM, the weather was fine and sunny, a perfect day for a fierce battle.

More than 3,000 officers and soldiers of the Xinhua Army marched out of their camp and lined up on the west side of Guadalajara.

The Spanish artillery fire broke the silence on the battlefield. After a few flashes of light, several iron balls whistled through the air and slammed into the front of the Xinhua Army.

However, yesterday's light rain made the ground unusually soft, so the shells bounced only lightly twice after landing before sinking weakly into the mud, splashing up a muddy mess.

Several operations staff officers calmly held up their binoculars, carefully observing the location of each artillery flash, and quickly marked it in their notebooks with charcoal pencils.

"Near the right side of the city wall, there is a long-barreled cannon with a sighting of 465 meters."

"On the left side of the wooden palisade, there are two six-pounder cannons, with a sighting of 450 meters."

"Straight ahead, on the prism, there is a four-pounder cannon, with a scale of 450 meters..."

This detailed record, which marked the location and distance of the enemy artillery, was quickly delivered to the artillery company commander.

The young officer, his face covered in gunpowder, grinned, revealing his stained yellow teeth: "Hey, brothers, let's show these Spanish gentlemen the true power of artillery!"

He waved his command flag, his hoarse voice piercing the battlefield: "Company-wide calibration, load live ammunition!"

Eight marine guns simultaneously adjusted their firing angles, and the experienced gunners worked in perfect harmony, loading, tamping, and aiming, each action clean and efficient.

"put!"

As the command flag was lowered, a deafening volley of fire tore through the sky, and cannonballs whistled as they crashed into the city walls.

After three salvos, two cannons in the city were overturned, and broken gun carriages and human bodies were thrown into the air.

The Spanish counterattack became chaotic and desperate.

A lucky iron ball struck the No. 3 gun position, scattering wood chips and metal fragments everywhere.

The young main gunner was killed instantly, and two other gunners were seriously wounded and fell to the ground, letting out piercing screams.

The medics immediately rushed forward, braving the artillery fire to drag them away from the position and provide them with emergency treatment.

The remaining gunners remained unmoved, continuing to silently clear the gun positions and load ammunition.

By four o'clock in the afternoon, when the fiery sun began to set in the west, the artillery fire in the city had become pitifully sparse.

At least six Spanish cannons were destroyed, the counterattack grew weaker and weaker, while the artillery fire of the new Chinese army remained accurate and deadly.

The marked gun positions were subjected to more than three rounds of concentrated fire, with rubble and timber constantly flying and rolling down the city walls, and the panicked shouts of the defenders could be heard from time to time.

The artillery company commander observed through his binoculars for a while, then grinned and said, "Brothers, give it your all! Let's knock all these annoying firecrackers down within half an hour!"

He turned to the messenger officer and said, "Tell the commander-in-chief to ensure the infantry brothers safely storm into the city before sunset!"
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(End of this chapter)