Di Ming

Chapter 149 The Destruction of the Royal City

"Nanyang, here I come again," Zhu Yin thought to himself.

He was very familiar with Southeast Asia; he himself was the best guide.

But no matter how familiar I am with Southeast Asia, it doesn't feel like home.

"Pass on the order!" the ten-year-old general commanded in his childish voice, "Capture all the ships in the port!"

Zhu Yin immediately ordered the seizure of all warships and merchant ships in the port.

The few remaining small Spanish warships, without any sailors on board, were captured immediately.

Several local merchants were also captured.

Several merchant ships docked at the port and loading cargo were seized, along with their cargo.

Two of the merchant ships belonged to the Ming Dynasty.

These merchant ships carried popular goods such as porcelain, silk, tea, and spices.

The smuggling merchant ship came from the Ming Dynasty, carrying goods worth tens of thousands of taels of silver. The owners were actually nobles and members of the imperial family, such as the Mu family of Yunnan and the Gui Prince's Mansion of Guangxi.

The Daishan Army made another fortune just from the capture of these merchant ships.

The morale of the Daishan army was greatly boosted, and the next step was to attack Manila.

Manila is bordered by the bay to the west and the Pasi River to the east, and is divided into an inner city and an outer city.

The subdued indigenous people of Southeast Asia called it: Royal City!
The inner city is Santiago Castle, which is also the location of the Governor's Palace. Santiago Castle is tall and majestic, covering an area of ​​150 acres, and is built in a very ornate and exquisite manner.

In fact, it was precisely because the construction of the Governor's Palace, Santiago Castle, required a great deal of labor and financial resources that the construction of the outer city walls was delayed.

The outer city walls are very strong and solid, more than two zhang thick, and are entirely built of huge rocks.

However, because the city wall was not completed, it was less than 10 feet high, and the shortest section of the eastern wall was only half a foot high.

At this time, the outer city wall was less high than it was thick. Such a low wall offered very limited protection.

In the suburbs outside Manila, tens of thousands of indigenous people and Han Chinese live.

They were considered inferior by white people. They lived in the suburbs outside the city and could only come into the city to work. They could not stay overnight in the city and had to leave the city before dark.

Seeing the pirate warships approaching, most of the indigenous people and Han Chinese outside Manila were gloating, showing no fear and even some anticipation.

Zhu Yin observed that the Filipino natives of this period were all dark-skinned and short in stature, and both men and women mostly wore white skirts and white headscarves.

It turns out that most of the indigenous people at that time were Muslims who worshipped Qingzhen.

Luzon is not a unified country. Ironically, Luzon was unified by colonists, similar to India.

Today, Luzon is comprised of dozens of tribes and dozens of emirates, each governing itself. The so-called Sulu Sultanate is merely one of these united emirates.

Luzon's winters are mild and sunny, neither too hot nor too cold, with few pests and insects, making it very friendly to the Daishan Army from the north.

Zhu Yin pointed to Luzon Island and smiled at Ding Huogen, saying, "Brother Ding, if we fight in Southeast Asia again in the future, we'll come in winter, and we'll be right."

Ding Huogen laughed and said, "The commander is right. The time is in our favor. We are almost certain to win this battle."

Zhu Yin was a little disappointed that he didn't have a telescope. If he had one, he could have seen the situation inside the city clearly.

Telescopes haven't been invented yet; even foreigners don't have them.

We need to develop a telescope as soon as possible.

Zhu Yin pointed to the mouth of the Passi River, "The fleet will enter from the river mouth and attack the eastern section of the city wall, which is the shortest."

“It’s good,” Ding Huogen said hesitantly. “The river is wide enough, but what about its depth? What if the warships run aground…”

Zhu Yin shook his head: "Don't worry, the Passi River is very deep, there's no problem getting a large ship in."

Ding Huogen thought for a moment and said, "General, I believe that your five hundred soldiers should be arriving soon."

"We should bombard the western wall from the front to draw the defenders' attention. The commander's five hundred men can then attack the eastern section where the wall is the shortest."

Zhu Yin laughed and said, "Brother Ding, what a great idea! Then let's skip the Passi River and just bombard the city head-on!"

He was a person who readily accepted good advice, so since Ding Huogen's method was better, he naturally adopted it decisively.

After discussing it, Ding Huogen ordered that the captured native merchants be brought along.

“I won’t kill you,” Ding Huogen said to the ashen-faced native merchant. “Go ashore and tell the foreign governor to surrender within the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.”

"If he surrenders within the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, he will be spared. If he does not surrender, then any man taller than a cartwheel will be killed."

"If they surrender, I will return your ship!"

.........

Within the "royal city," where only white people could settle, the noble people were gripped by panic.

Pirates are coming!

Many people, in a panic, arrived at the inner city gate with their luggage and valuables, arguing with the guards and demanding entry into Santiago Castle.

They all knew very well that the outer city was no longer safe.

Among the crowd was a Spanish officer whose expression was particularly grim, as if he were seriously ill.

It was Guterres.

Nine days ago, he escaped Ithaca Island and returned to Manila to report the news, for which he was commended by the Governor.

In recognition of his extraordinary courage and wisdom, His Excellency the Governor, on behalf of the King, immediately conferred upon him the rank of Second Lieutenant.

He, the son of a Genoese shoemaker, suddenly became an imperial officer, achieving a leap in status!
Since becoming the esteemed Lieutenant Gutt, he felt that both the Mexican women in the taverns and the ladies in the castle were more welcoming to him.

Oh, this feels wonderful.

He was even somewhat grateful to the pirates. Without them, he might never have had the chance to be promoted.

Of course, he deserved it. Without Lieutenant Gutt, the governor wouldn't have known about Itt Island in time, and wouldn't have been able to send troops north to its aid.

But now, those pirates have taken advantage of the situation and attacked Manila!
He knew the Santiago all too well. Since it had fallen into the hands of those pirates, it meant that the attacking pirate fleet was indeed theirs!
My God!

You've played a huge joke on me.

If the governor and the people believe that I lied about military intelligence, or that my reports caused Manila to be left undefended, then I will be hanged!

"Lieutenant Gutt." The governor's chief bodyguard came out and gestured to Gutt, "His Excellency the governor wants to see you and has something to ask you."

The captain of the guards had a very indifferent expression, which seemed rather unfriendly.

It's going to happen!

Guter's pupils contracted, and a hint of panic appeared in his blue eyes.

But he was a man who had seen his share of storms, and he nodded nonchalantly, saying:
"Okay, buddy, I'll be right there. Let me go to the restroom."

The head guard frowned: "You'd better hurry, His Excellency is in a very bad mood."

Gutt felt a chill run down his spine. He sensed that the gazes of the people around him seemed somewhat unfriendly, unlike usual.

"I'll go see you right away!" Gutt said, then hurriedly squeezed through the crowd that might have ill intentions towards him and rushed back to his residence.

Without any hesitation, he took his military rank medals, savings, and clothes, and hurriedly left his residence, heading directly east out of the city.

He couldn't stay in Manila any longer, no matter what!

However, he was also unlucky. Not long after he left the city, he encountered a group of fully armed men.

The leader, wearing a mask, was one of the pirate leaders, most likely Lin Daoqian!
Upon seeing that he was white, the other party immediately captured him.

Lieutenant Gutt was taken prisoner again.

He didn't know that it was Qi Jiguang who had captured him.

Following the map, Qi Jiguang landed at Infanta, a hundred miles east of Manila, captured a guide, and infiltrated the Quezon Forest northeast of Manila.

It's less than ten miles from Manila!
Qi Jiguang captured Gu Te and immediately interrogated him about the true situation in the city.

Gu Te couldn't understand Chinese, but he knew what Qi Jiguang and the others wanted to ask. He used gestures to tell Qi Jiguang that there were only five hundred soldiers guarding the city.

They also expressed their willingness to lead the way to attack Manila's weakest point.

If only his life could be spared.

Qi Jiguang agreed!
So Gutt led Qi Jiguang’s five hundred elite soldiers along the forest path straight to the Cross Gate, the weakest point in Manila’s defenses.

Gu Te led Qi Jiguang and others into the cross gate, and as soon as they were allowed to leave, they immediately fled.

He's going to flee to Portuguese India!

Given his rank as a naval lieutenant, Portuguese India will surely treat him with the respect he deserves!

Perhaps the Portuguese Governor-General of India would even represent the King to commend his courage and wisdom and promote his own military rank.

Of course, if you are good at lying.

It seems that the son of this Genoese shoemaker has found the secret to rising through the ranks!
……

Just as Qi Jiguang was sneaking towards the Shizimen (Cross Gate), hundreds of soldiers were also dispatched to the West Gate to prevent pirates from invading.

The cannons on the west city wall, operated under the command of white soldiers, were prepared to bombard the pirate ships.

Unfortunately, the garrison numbered only 500, with just over 100 being white men, while the remaining 300-plus were Japanese soldiers and native troops.

With such a small force spread out over a two-mile-long city wall, their strength was extremely dispersed.

Moreover, the city wall was not completed and was less than ten feet high.

At the same time, an order was also sent out of the city, calling on the local natives and young Han Chinese men outside the city to come in and defend the city.

Anyone willing to participate in defending the city will receive a reward or a tax reduction.

However, Zhu Yin also sent men ashore to warn the natives and Han people that anyone who dared to enter the city to defend it would be beheaded after the city fell.

On the contrary, there are rewards for helping the army break through the city and kill foreigners!
The garrison was dumbfounded when they learned of Zhu Yin's bizarre move.

With the pirates doing this, how could they dare to let the natives and young Han Chinese men into the city to defend it?

These people entering the city might be colluding with pirates to breach the city walls!

Zhu Yin did not immediately open fire on the Spanish capital. He needed to give the foreigners time to send messengers to inform the northward-bound fleet. He wanted to always give the enemy hope.

One thing leads to another!
……

Inside Santiago Castle (the Governor's Palace), Governor Gomez is in a rage.

"What on earth is going on! Didn't Lin Daoqian's pirates occupy It Island? Why have they suddenly appeared in Manila!"

"Have we been deceived? Gentlemen, can any of you tell me?"

A group of high-ranking officials and business representatives from the colonial authorities, all with grim expressions, were speechless.

Nine days ago, a sailor named Gutt from the Santiago brought news that the great pirate Lin Daoqian's fleet had launched a surprise attack on Itte Island, resulting in the deaths of two hundred Imperial soldiers and the capture of three hundred.

This is timely and important intelligence.

The governor also awarded Gutt the rank of second lieutenant for this.

Then, on the same day, Brigadier General Juan, commander of the Manila fleet, was dispatched to lead the main fleet northward.

Unexpectedly, less than three days after General Juan's main force left Manila, Lin Daoqian's fleet suddenly appeared in Manila, where the forces were sparsely deployed!

If this wasn't a major blunder, then it must be an enemy's trick.

Even worse, the garrison in Manila now numbers only five hundred men, and the vast majority of its gunpowder has been taken away by the northward-bound fleet.

The city's remaining gunpowder reserves are unlikely to hold out for long.

Damn it! Wasn't it said that Lin Daoqian was finished and there were no more large-scale pirates in the East India?
"Where is Lieutenant Guterres?" Gomez asked grimly. "Why hasn't he come to see me yet! That damned Italian!"

"If he makes me make a wrong judgment, I'll hang him!"

Although Gomez was furious, his trembling hands revealed the fear in his heart.

He knew very well that Manila was in a difficult position to withstand a large-scale pirate attack at this time.

The indigenous people and Han Chinese were also unreliable. Even the Japanese were not necessarily reliable at this time.

"Gentlemen! What do we do now? If the pirates attack, how long can we hold them off? A day? Two days? Can we hold out until the northward fleet returns to reinforce them?"

As soon as the pirates arrived, he immediately sent someone to notify the northward-bound fleet.

However, the northward fleet had been gone for two days, and it would take five or six days or even longer to get back after receiving the news!
Can he hold out in Manila for such a long time?

The head guard said with a grim face, "Your Excellency, we don't know where Gutt has gone. Perhaps he knows his crimes and has gone into hiding."

"I'm going to hang him!" Gomez exclaimed, his face flushed with rage. "That damned Gutt! He tricked us, and I even promoted him to lieutenant!"

"He should be hanged!"

This Spanish nobleman no longer cared about his manners.

"Good heavens! I've written to Madrid several times, telling His Majesty the King how important the East is and urging him to send more troops to Luzon, but those blindly arrogant clowns have rejected my proposal!"

"So you've all seen it, even pirates dare to invade the empire's eastern territories!"

"Your Excellency," the council elder finally spoke, "the most urgent task is to negotiate with the pirates and buy as much time as possible. They want money and women, so we should try to satisfy their unreasonable demands."

“Pirates won’t occupy Manila, nor will they dare to oppose the Empire; all they want is benefits.”

He had barely finished speaking when the chief guard walked into the magnificent council chamber.

"Your Excellency, the pirates have sent men to demand our surrender. They've given us half an hour, threatening that if we don't surrender, every boy taller than a cartwheel will be killed after the city falls..."

Upon hearing this, everyone's faces turned pale.

Mongol!
They thought of the Mongols of yesteryear!
“We will never surrender to those monkey-like Eastern pirates!” Gomez clenched his fist. “Speaker, please go with Father Elta to negotiate with the pirates and see what they want.”

"The most feasible approach right now is to keep the pirates at bay, stalling for as long as possible. May the merciful Lord bless us..."

He stopped talking abruptly after saying this, his brows furrowing.

Everyone looked on with strange expressions and turned to look outside the door, as if there was some noise outside.

What's that sound outside? What happened?
Just as everyone was wondering what was going on, suddenly the sound of gunfire rang out from outside the castle.

very close.

"Ah—" The women and children in the castle screamed.

"What's going on!" The governor exclaimed as if stung by a scorpion, grabbing his musket. "Captain of the Guard!"

"Ah—" A scream rang out, seemingly from a guard protecting the castle.

Everyone's expression changed drastically.

The city's only five hundred garrison troops were all sent to the west city wall to confront the pirate warships.

Even the governor's guard was dispatched.

Only a dozen or so musketeers remained to guard Santiago Castle (the governor's residence).

Could it be that the Japanese soldiers or the native soldiers have rebelled?
"Your Excellency the Governor!"

A guard with an arrow stuck in his back staggered into the council hall, screaming in agony:
"The enemy suddenly appeared in the city and is attacking the governor's mansion. There are several hundred of them! They came in through the cross gate!"

Everyone was shocked; it turned out there was another enemy force coming from the land!

Gomez wasn't stupid; he could easily see that the pirate fleet was just drawing the defenders' attention, while the real attack was coming from the land.
No matter how sturdy the castle is, how can it possibly stop hundreds of pirates with only a dozen or so guards at the gate?
Oh my god! It's all over!

This enemy is as cunning as a devil, even more difficult to deal with than the Japanese!

Gomez's eyelids twitched. Before he could give the order, the sound of gunfire erupted again outside, accompanied by women's screams.

Immediately, the clanging of armor resounded like a tide, mixed with the bandits' rough shouts.

With a loud bang, the doors of the council hall were kicked open, and a large group of pirates, armed with muskets, spears, swords, and bows and arrows, surged in like wild bulls.

The pirate captain, surrounded by his entourage, was a tall man with a white beard.

The man held a bloodstained longsword, but wore a mask so his face was not visible.

But his powerful aura made Gomez and the others unable to muster the courage to resist.

With a "thud," the musket in Gomez's hand fell limply to the ground.

.........

The gunfire and shouts of battle coming from the direction of the Governor's Mansion had already alerted the five hundred soldiers guarding the west city wall.

what happened?

The pirate fleet is still outside and hasn't launched an attack yet, so why is the governor's mansion...?

Foreign soldiers, Japanese mercenaries, and local vassal soldiers were all thrown into disarray, unsure of which side to lead.

However, their predicament only lasted for a very short time.

Because the pirate fleet finally opened fire.

"Boom boom—"

The cannons on dozens of warships fired simultaneously, and amidst the earth-shattering roar, a large number of shells whistled towards the city walls.

The defending troops, completely on the defensive, had no time to retaliate.

The Santiago, a large warship that originally belonged to the Spanish Navy, and its cannons, which also belonged to Spain, poured thirty-six-pound heavy shells at their former owners.

The sturdy stone walls ironically amplified the destructive power of the cannonballs. The shells bounced off the stones, leaving a trail of blood and gore in their wake.

The shattered stone fragments flew out and hit the defenders' faces like arrows.

In the very first round, the defending troops suffered nearly a hundred casualties under the intense artillery fire of the Daishan army.

But the defenders' counterattack finally began. It must be said that these men were quite resilient; they did not collapse under these circumstances.

"Hold on! God bless us!"

"God favors Spain!"

"idiot!"

However, the two sides were several times outnumbered and outgunned, and the defending troops were completely outmatched in just one encounter.

Most of the defenders' shells landed in the sea, with only a few hitting the warships, causing casualties of more than a dozen men.

But it won't be so easy for Zhu Yin to break through the city.

If the fighting continues like this, it's inevitable that Manila will be captured, but the casualties will certainly be in the hundreds.

But Zhu Yin revealed a relieved smile.

Because the adoptive father had already stormed the governor's palace, once he had control of the high-ranking officials of the Spanish East Indies authorities, he could attack the defenders from the rear.

On the Daishan Army's warships, the atmosphere was both tense and enthusiastic, yet orderly. The effectiveness of their usual training was on full display.

The sail handling, repositioning, and ammunition loading were all executed with remarkable fluidity and coordination, demonstrating a high level of training.

Ding Huogen is truly skilled at training naval forces.

"Boom boom—" Soon, another round of bombardment began.

The defending soldiers howled and screamed again.

This time, before they could even retaliate, hundreds of Daishan soldiers appeared behind them.

Governor Gomez, dejected and distraught, raised the white flag and cried out in a panicked tone:

"Children! The battle is over! As the Governor-General of the Imperial East India, I order you to surrender for the sake of your precious lives!"

……

December 18th, the fifteenth year of the Wanli reign.

The Daishan Army captured Manila, known as the Royal City. They took two thousand four hundred prisoners, including Governor Gomez!

P.S.: I'll finish this task tomorrow, and I don't want to write any more. Thank you, goodnight! Please vote and review! I'm relying on votes and reviews to keep going right now.

(End of this chapter)