In the heavy rain, the Port of Manila was in two different worlds. The solid masonry buildings had experienced too many typhoons and were more stable after being repaired. £0,
The Philippines, like most of its colonies in the world, did not send too many troops. In 1866, the total number of Spanish regular troops in Luzon was less than two thousand, and a Spanish regular army of less than 300 was stationed in the Port of Manila. Their duty was to guard the Port of Manila. The Governor's Office told them that three days ago, a Chinese fleet arrived near the Philippines and asked them to tighten their defenses.
Not long after receiving the order, the typhoon came, and the regular army hid in the strong fortress according to the old rules and began to have fun. The Spanish army firmly believed that no one would carry out military operations in this weather, not the Spaniards, not the Chinese.
Before the Spaniards seized Luzon, the European countries that arrived in Southeast Asia had a consensus that Luzon was an overseas province of the Ming Empire. The Spaniards seized Luzon for two hundred years, and the Chinese never moved to recapture Luzon. The Spaniards had long believed that Luzon would never be attacked by the Chinese.
The port was busy, and everyone had to go out to patrol on weekdays, blackmail according to the rules, and filial piety to their superiors. During the typhoon, all of this could be avoided, and everyone rested comfortably in the strong fortress. The superiors were happy in their mansions, and the soldiers were happy in the fortress, which complemented each other.
The Spaniards were a passionate and unrestrained people, so there were musicians playing in the fortress, and there were dancers performing on the stage. Some prostitutes were in the house, which was the privilege of the prostitutes with Spanish blood. The prostitutes of Luzon local origin were lying on the table in the hall, and the soldiers lined up next to them. The soldiers were not idle during the waiting time. They sat in a circle and gambled.
The smell of wine, the smell of smoke, the sound of music, cheers, moans, and curses filled the fortress with human desire. If the doors and windows were not closed to block the wind and rain, the passion would have spewed out of the fortress and flooded the port.
The thick door of the fortress suddenly opened, and it was the same literal opening. The violent explosion opened a huge hole in the door, and broken wood and iron pieces rushed into the hall of the fortress. There was also a trace of moist but fresh wind that followed the explosion into the hall.
After a few moments, black objects flew into the fortress from the big hole one after another, landing in the midst of those who were frightened out of their wits. Days of indulgence had made these Spaniards dull, and they had indeed not seen the grenades developed by China. Those iron fellows that were emitting white smoke exploded one by one, and the fortress was immediately filled with ghostly wails and wolf howls.
The Liberation Army's attack was much easier than expected. After overcoming the harsh wind and rain, they arrived at the port of Luzon. The troops found that there was no one defending the port at all. The scout ran back to the starting position, knee-deep in water. Before he could say anything, his comrade handed him a water bottle. The investigator took a sip. It was ginger soup with brown sugar. As the red soup and ginger soup entered his stomach, the investigator immediately felt a warmth spreading from his stomach to his cold limbs. He shuddered and felt refreshed. His attention was also focused.
"There are no enemy defenses. It seems like they are all hiding in those strongholds," the scout said.
Such good luck surprised the commander. As long as the enemy defended a little, the Liberation Army's attack would encounter problems. It was understandable that the enemy did not have any defenses, but such good luck was really surprising. Could there be ghosts? This thought came to the commander's mind. However, he turned his head and looked at the tired and even dispirited soldiers. It was really difficult for the troops to carry out more physically exhausting tactics. The commander made up his mind. He ordered, "All troops, attack the key points. End the battle quickly!"
The Liberation Army had long been prepared, and the target of the attack was extremely clear. Lighthouse? Watchtower? The fortress of the Spanish garrison? The troops all drank the ginger soup in the thermos. Before the heat disappeared in their bodies, the troops launched their attack.
The Spanish fortress was the fastest to be captured. When the troops arrived at the gate of the fortress, there was not even a guard at the gate. They blew open the gate and threw in a bunch of grenades. The series of explosions had just ended. The Liberation Army charged into the messy hall.
As soon as they entered, everyone was a little dizzy by the dirty air mixed with all kinds of smells. But this little trouble could not stop the Liberation Army. Most of the enemies were injured, and the Liberation Army could go up and shoot them one by one. There were also a few guys who were close to the inside, so they were not injured. At this time, they understood that the enemy had arrived. Their first reaction was to pull up their pants and run straight for the stairs. The Liberation Army could be said to be well-trained for this kind of reaction. Naturally, a few three-man squads started firing at them. The bullets whistled and knocked these guys down from behind. They let go of their pants and rolled down the stairs.
There was also a small officer who was not ordinary. In a moment of desperation, he pulled out his command knife and rushed over. A three-man team began to shoot three meters away from the officer. The huge impact of the bullets pushed the guy back a few steps. Blood gushed out of his chest and mouth. After a few twitches, the Spanish officer died.
It was already evening, and the sky outside was as dark as night. The Liberation Army did not stop after occupying the key points of the Port of Manila. The troops dragged their tired bodies to light bright lights on the lighthouse. An hour later, a group of black warships approached the Port of Manila and headed straight for the port.
At ten o 'clock in the evening, the warships finally docked in the Port of Manila. Surrounded by the bay, the wind and waves were much smaller. At twelve o 'clock in the evening, the first warship finally stopped at the dock.
On September 7, the Spanish governor woke up in the morning and found that the rain had stopped for the time being. According to experience, the rain would completely stop in the next day or two. The direct impact of the typhoon would end, and the rich could breathe a sigh of relief. They would start to repair the houses damaged in the typhoon. This was a good day for the craftsmen to make money. As for the houses of those poor people … The noble masters had no reason to care so much. What they cared about was how many beautiful girls they could buy cheaply from the poor.
As for the declaration of war from China received a few days ago, the Spanish governor also felt a little worried. What he was most worried about was the news of the Spanish fleet. The governor stretched out in bed. After he got up, he would order someone to go to the Port of Manila to inquire. There was still a considerable distance from the port in City M. During the typhoon, the information was interrupted, and it would take two days for the news to travel back and forth.
After the governor got up and sat down at the dining table, he had just eaten a piece of bacon when he felt the entire Governor's Mansion shake, and then the rumbling sound of artillery came into the gorgeous dining room. With the fork in his hand still holding the bacon, the Spanish governor looked outside in surprise. What was going on? Was there a gunpowder depot that exploded just after the typhoon? The governor felt that it shouldn't be!
Soon, the governor felt that something was wrong. If it was a gunpowder depot that exploded, it would only explode a few times before stopping. The sound of explosions came one after another, and it was as if a fleet was mercilessly shelling City M.
The China fleet was indeed shelling City M. The heavy rain brought by the typhoon caused the Bashi River to surge, and the 5,100-ton battleship did not dare to take risks. The 3,100-ton cruiser and more than 1,600-ton destroyers and frigates sailed from the Bay of Luzon (City M Bay) into the Bashi River, went upstream to the side of City M, and began to fire fiercely at the city on the side of the Spanish Governor's Mansion.
After a day of rest, 2,500 of the 5,000 troops were engaged in the landing operation. Before the shelling began, the political commissars gave a speech. "If these Spanish cities are destroyed, then they will be destroyed. New cities can be built. There will be no more City M in the future. This has been China's Luzon since ancient times, and it will only be called this name in the future. Comrades, destroy the Spanish bandits with artillery and completely erase them from the map! "
The Bashi River was not as bumpy as the sea, and the army finally recovered their spirits. At the same time as the shelling, landing boats carrying troops and equipment began to land, ready to launch a ground attack on Luzon after the shelling ended.
On September 19, Nanjing received intelligence. Three groups of landing troops set off from Taiwan and had captured the main island of Luzon in the north of Luzon. The Spanish troops in the north of Luzon were completely annihilated, the Spanish governor surrendered, and the civil and military officials, including the governor's mansion, were about to be transported to Nanjing for trial.
Foreign Minister Zuo Zhidan asked the Spanish governor at the meeting what the result would be. Vézé replied coldly, "They will all be hanged. How to deal with England and France, I will have to trouble you. These two countries will have to make some noise. "
On September 22, the Spanish governor's mansion was sent to court in China. On September 29, the judge sentenced all the captured members of the Spanish governor's mansion to death for killing Chinese citizens.
On September 30, the British and French ministers received the news. The news was announced in a notice posted on the board in front of the Supreme Court in China early in the morning of the 30th. The British and French ministers hurriedly went to find Zuo Zhidan, but the door was closed. The office staff said that the foreign minister had gone out and did not know where.
This made the British and French ministers anxious. This kind of execution was unimaginable in Europe. Everyone was fighting for colonies. After capturing the senior personnel of the other side, they might also be executed, but they were killed secretly, or let these people "die naturally" in prison. Such a merciless public execution would completely tear apart all pretense of cordiality. It would cause the two countries to fall into a state of absolute hostility.
They were right. This was Vézé's attitude. Europe was too far away. With the level of technological development, Vézé might not be able to reach Western Europe even if he died. Completely offending Spain was not a problem at all. This kind of execution was actually to give a domestic statement that China had no fear of warring European countries, let alone forgiveness. Since China wanted to become a modern nation-state, this kind of announcement was inevitable and even more necessary.
Outside Nanjing on a sunny autumn day, tens of thousands of people watched the execution. Spain's invasion and massacre of China's overseas provinces in the Ming Dynasty had long been widely known. The propaganda team led by Zuo Zongtang had widely publicized the Spanish deception and killings of the Chinese in Luzon over the past hundreds of years. So when the people of the Spanish Governor's Office were dragged to the execution ground, tens of thousands of Chinese people roared together.
"Kill these Spanish devils!"
"Hang them! Hang them! "
The roars of tens of thousands of people converged into a strong aura, and the foreign embassies who tried to come to see the situation felt a strong pressure. If it weren't for the armed police guards, the Chinese people would have rushed over and harmed these foreigners. Even with the protection of the armed police, the angry eyes of the crowd made the embassies feel fear from the bottom of their hearts.
Later, it was recorded that the Spanish governor was the first to be dragged to the gallows. When he was hung high, his body instinctively twisted and struggled, and the crowd cheered. When the members of the Spanish Governor's Office who were waiting to be hanged saw the governor's feces and urine rolling down his trousers after his death, although they didn't die at the time, they were still scared.
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