Hagrid's heart was poured with cold water. He couldn't imagine what kind of problems would arise next. If the Chinese reinforcements were allowed to break through the blockade and enter the Mindoro waters, it would be difficult to intercept them. .
After all, it is simply impossible to find the Chinese fleet in the sea with only telescopes and observations: "Quick, we must move fast and step up! We must not let the Chinese go. fleet!"
But before searching the Chinese transport fleet, they still need to deal with the problems of these British ships. In history, the Dutch once forcibly intercepted British merchant ships for inspection, which led to the Anglo-Dutch War. Now they can The state of war forced an inspection. Although the British cooperated very well, as soon as the search was completed, the British shipowners turned their backs.
They demanded that the Spaniards compensate them for their losses, and protested that the British ships had already flown the national flag and should not be intercepted and inspected by the Spaniards. These issues troubled Hegli.
What's even more terrible is that there is no trace of this huge convoy that can carry at least one marine regiment. He had to order the entire fleet to disperse and use all means to search for this convoy. Therefore, he even announced: "Who can If you block the Chinese transport convoy, you will receive a heavy reward!"
However, they traveled around Manila for three days and three nights, and even bombarded a French cargo ship, causing one death and five injuries to the sailors on board. However, they did not find the legendary transport group at all. For this reason, the Spaniards even risked entering. Near the Port of Manila. There was a brief exchange of fire with the Chinese armed steamships and fortress artillery.
In the end, nothing was found. The Spaniards had to consider the anger and revenge of the French. They believed that the French government would definitely send a bill demanding compensation. Napoleon III was not a weak figure who could be bullied.
Heigli still risked his life and led his flagship to Manila many times, and obtained some sporadic intelligence from small boats sent by some Catholic guerrillas. At least one thing is certain, the Chinese motorized infantry regiment is not in Manila at all.
Not in Manila
Hagrid had already understood: "They didn't board the ship in Manila at all, they went to other ports!"
For an island country like the Philippines, besides Manila, there are too many ports that can be used. Heigli had to pray: "I hope other troops can block the Chinese fleet."
***
In fact, two fast sailing ships have now approached Mindoro Island. Ye Huaizhi looked at all directions with vigilant eyes, hoping that there would be no trace of enemy ships.
? Just as Hagrid guessed. His troops walked more than 100 kilometers overnight and then boarded ships at other ports. Two sailboats disguised as fishing boats loaded up his troops and quickly sailed to Mindoro.
Although we encountered a lot of wind, waves, sailboats, and even Spanish patrol boats along the way, the French flag displayed on it made everyone pass by in such a vast ocean. It is very difficult to deliberately search for such two ships.
Now that we are not far from Mindoro Island, the entire army knows nothing about the situation on the island. What is even more worrying is the serious shortage of troops due to the use of sailing ships for transportation. Therefore, the two ships only carried a reinforced infantry company, led by the regiment leader Ye Huaizhi himself.
There are a total of 220 soldiers, without a single artillery piece. In addition to carrying 60 rounds of ammunition and three days of dry food after landing, each soldier carries almost no supplies, and even only one combat baggage. With fifteen hundred rounds of ammunition, this can be said to be an extremely risky battle.
"With such a small force, we may not be able to fight on land, and instead we will be surrounded by the Spaniards" An officer said in Ye Huaizhi's ear: "There are at least two thousand enemies!"
"No problem!" Ye Huaizhi firmly believed in his judgment: "We have 220 of the best soldiers, and a brave assault on the back of the Spaniards will be enough."
"But¡¡"
"As long as we land on land!" Ye Huaizhi said: "What I'm worried about is what will go wrong during the last part of the journey"
Just as he was talking, the top of the sail already shouted: "There is a boat there is a boat"
"A Spanish patrol ship?" Ye Huaizhi suddenly became nervous: "Don't let anything happen. Our ship is not even equipped with a single artillery piece!"
"calm down!"
News quickly came from the observation post on the top of the sail: "It seems to be a Spanish ship?"
"Can you fight against heavily armed enemies with a Mini rifle?" Ye Huaizhi gritted his teeth and took a breath: "You have to get closer to fight! Pay attention to concealment!"
This is the biggest adventure of his military career, and he does not want to become the protagonist of tragedy.
Fortunately, a few minutes later, good news came from the top of the sail: "It is not a warship, and it is not equipped with artillery!"
That would be easy. Even if it is an enemy transport ship, with two hundred and twenty heroic men, it should be able to capture it. The two ships passed by, and soon the two sailboats docked in a small harbor. : "Prepare the kayaks, prepare the kayaks, within an hour, all combatants must land!"
Only investing 220 soldiers was the result of Ye Huaizhi's efforts in front of Lin Mengchu. He believed that it was of little significance for the whole regiment to move to Mindoro Island. As long as the defenders could persist in fighting, he led one or two companies ashore, and the Spanish Even if the will to fight does not collapse, it will suffer a great setback. It is extremely unwise to risk an entire infantry regiment at sea.
But the moment he looked at the beach, he felt a deep sense of weakness. He felt that his troops were indeed too small, with only 220 soldiers! The only hope is to successfully rendezvous with the defenders. Otherwise, with the 60 rounds of ammunition carried by the soldiers and the 1,500 rounds of ammunition in the combat luggage, it will be difficult to continue fighting.
Facts have proved that his pessimism is justified. The entire landing operation lasted two and a half hours before it came to an end. Fortunately, there were no Spaniards nearby, but the company commander could not find the platoon leader, the platoon leader could not find the squad leader, and the squad leader could not find his own Superiors, the landing organization was still in chaos, but fortunately they had taken control of the landing point, and Ye Huaizhi took the combat map immediately.
The Spaniards must have received news of their landing, or a powerful Spanish force is on its way to the landing site. Their soldiers have been on land and sea for several days and are quite tired, but now there is no time to rest at all. They must Speeded up.
"The troops are moving closer to the friendly forces. I lead the vanguard platoon at the front, with bayonets attached, ready for hand-to-hand combat at any time."
Ye Huaizhi issued a clear order. He personally took it and walked in the vanguard platoon, ready for an encounter with the Spaniards at any time.
He has fought several battles with real Spanish native troops and knows their details: "Use bullets, use bayonets, and use our fists to beat the Spaniards hard!"
The entire reinforced company moved south in battle formation. A few minutes later, gunshots were heard. Ye Huaizhi can be said to be a strong fighter among the rising stars of the Hong Army. He told his soldiers: "I will lead you to continue moving forward, even if the front is There are ten thousand Spaniards, and I will still lead you through their ranks."
However, the gunfire soon stopped. Within half a minute, the scout came over with a few people and said in surprise: "They are friendly troops, comrades from the Mindoro garrison!"
"Ye Huaizhi!"
Ye Huaizhi reported his name. He knew clearly that among the entire Philippine army, whether it was the navy or the army, as long as he reported his name, the other party would definitely know it.
"Commander Ye, it would be great if you came, we were still worried!"
Sure enough, the name Ye Huaizhi had been heard countless times by these officers. A second lieutenant officer who led them said: "Great, great! Captain Ye personally led the team up!"
¡°Where are the Spaniards?¡±
"The Spaniards?" The second lieutenant gave an unexpected answer: "They have already withdrawn."
"what happened?"
The young second lieutenant quickly replied: "They attacked the island for four days and once invaded the provincial capital of Mindoro, but we fought them back with bayonets. The Spaniards left a total of seventy corpses, and we also The casualties were considerable"
"It's a feint!"
Ye Huaizhi quickly judged the Spaniard's purpose: "How is the situation of the troops?"
"Including the lightly wounded, the combat strength is less than two-thirds." The second lieutenant introduced the specific situation: "The Spaniards had all evacuated the day before yesterday."
Ye Huaizhi soon figured out the specific process. The Spaniards' attack this time was obviously intended to grab a handful and leave. But the problem was that since they had such a speculative mentality, their offensive will was not determined enough. Although the troops on land exceeded Two thousand people were mobilized, but most of the attacks only mobilized seven or eight hundred people, and the results were evenly matched with the defenders.
In particular, the battle in the provincial capital dampened the spirit of the Spaniards. Not counting the corpses and wounded taken away, there were more than 70 Spanish corpses left in the provincial capital alone. After a few days, the Spanish People have paid at least three or fourThey suffered huge losses, so they could not gain anything but were shattered. They also suspected that friendly forces from the Hong Army might arrive at any time, so they withdrew in a hurry.
But the second lieutenant analyzed: "The enemy's target is probably Luzon Island, especially southern Luzon!"
That has always been the most active area for Catholic guerrillas, and the Hong Army¡¯s troops there were insufficient. However, Ye Huaizhi felt relaxed: "Southern Luzon? That will be easy to handle!" (To be continued)
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