"End the battle with honor! Is that surrender to the Chinese? I am a Spanish lieutenant general. I am the most trusted and outstanding general of Her Majesty the Queen. How can I betray the country like that bastard Father Jean!"
"Never surrender! Never!" Lieutenant General Luis roared, and his voice could be heard across the beach: "For God, for Spain, for the Queen!"
The military envoy was well prepared for Lieutenant General Louis' stubbornness. He said patiently: "I understand your mood, but you must think about these Spanish boys. Their parents and wives are still waiting for their return. Home, General, your most important responsibility now is to take them home, they are children of Spain and should not be buried on a distant beach!"
Hearing these words, many young soldiers cried softly. Patriotism could not change the reality that the entire Spanish colonial empire fell apart. After 1823, all of Latin America declared independence and no longer belonged to Spain.
The vastness of this lost territory far exceeds that of the small Philippines. You must know that after the Mexican Revolution, the entire Philippines was just a subsidiary territory of Mexico. This Far East colony was not managed by the mainland but by Mexico. Therefore, Spanish officers The soldiers have a very clear understanding of reality. The empire where the sun never sets is getting further and further away.
Some soldiers even sang softly songs about missing the girl and their mother. The entire battle at the landing site came to a halt at this moment. Everyone stopped fighting because there was something more important than fighting waiting for them - to return alive. Home.
The evening breeze blew across the beach. Lieutenant General Louis was pacing emotionally. The military envoy knew that Lieutenant General Louis had been shaken. He said loudly: "The battle you should continue is meaningless, except for the four who participated in the battle today." In addition to the infantry battalion, the Chinese will have two more infantry battalions coming for reinforcements tomorrow, and six artillery companies will also come. You can't let the soldiers on the landing site evacuate!"
Not only were the soldiers on the landing site unable to evacuate, but many small boats did not land all day. Now under the moonlight, they rowed hard, trying to get closer to the Spanish ship, but many of the small boats had been washed away by the waves. The Spanish ships were unable to accommodate these small boats in the dark, and more often violent collisions occurred in the darkness.
This will be a great tragedy. Lieutenant General Louis felt that this was the most tragic moment in his life. He shouted loudly: "For the queen, for God, for Spain, I can't do this!"
"But you saved the lives of countless young people!" the military envoy said excitedly: "You can't watch them die. As soon as daybreak, the battle will be over!"
"Yes! As soon as day breaks, Spanish rule in the Philippines will end!" Lieutenant General Louis shouted: "For Spain, for God, and for the Queen, I must do this!"
"You made a wise choice!" The military envoy complimented: "History will prove you are right!"
With these words, many officers and soldiers lying on the sand stood up, and they celebrated this wise decision with applause. But Lieutenant General Lewis told the military envoy that he had no intention of surrendering: "You are wrong, I do not intend to surrender to the Chinese!"
"Don't you care about the lives of these soldiers?"
"What I want to do is. End the battle with honor. We cannot surrender to the Chinese!"
Ending the battle with honor and surrendering are actually one thing, but Lieutenant General Louis made them two completely different things. However, the military envoy knew that his responsibility was to communicate well with Lieutenant General Louis and listen to all his opinions: "Then Lieutenant General, what do you mean?"
"The Spanish landing force led by me suffered a sudden attack by superior enemy forces under extremely unfavorable circumstances, causing the landing to be frustrated. However, the heroic officers and soldiers ignored Father Jean's betrayal and resolutely fought to the death with the enemy. In the end, The battle was delayed until after nightfall. The Chinese admired the bravery and courage of the Spanish officers and soldiers and decided that both sides would end the battle with honor."
The officers and soldiers all breathed a sigh of relief, and the military envoy did not understand what Lieutenant General Louis was thinking. He just nodded repeatedly, but Lieutenant General Louis suddenly changed the subject. He said loudly: "The only way to end the battle with honor is Form. This Spanish army accepts employment from the Chinese in an organized manner, retains the original military flags, uniforms, accessories, officers, organization and all honors, and serves the Chinese in the battle against the pagans. We will never treat Christians and us The Spanish comrades fired a bullet, never!"
He roared again, and the military envoy finally understood that what Lieutenant General Lewis called surrender, or ending the battle with honor, was just that. In fact, it was surrender, but it just had a nice name: "I will Relay all opinions to Governor Lin Mengchu, weI believe he also hopes to end this battle with honor. "
The Spaniards were very happy with such excuses, and the officers and soldiers were full of satisfaction with Lieutenant General Luis who brought them ashore. There has always been a tradition of mercenaries in the Spanish region, and it is a perfect form to resolve the battle honorably due to the situation. So they all had stars in their eyes.
"Stop firing, stop firing, I am the envoy of General Lin Mengchu, and I am back with the Spanish conditions!"
In the middle of the night, the military envoy once again returned to the Hong Army's front. He brought the conditions offered by Lieutenant General Lewis, and a sentence he specifically relayed to Lin Mengchu: "If you kindly agree to the above conditions, When the sun rises tomorrow, peace will return to the Philippines once again."
Lin Mengchu smiled: "He is a funny man. What he said is right. I agree!"
The Spaniards still maintain a large force throughout the Philippine Islands. Their total force is about 40,000, including 20,000 Spanish soldiers. Today, there are at least only 2,000 Spanish soldiers on land.
But the Sino-Spanish War is over, and it is time to strive for more benefits at the negotiation table. After this defeat, the Spaniards have lost their best mobile troops, best officers, best soldiers, and numbers. Astonishing supplies and coal, even if we continue to increase troops in the Philippines and launch the next all-out offensive, that is something that can only be considered next year.
However, the Chinese have no interest in continuing to fight in the Philippines. After all, the Spaniards are not strong enough to defend but more than capable of attacking. Especially since their total number of troops exceeds that of the garrison in the Philippines, and they also occupy the advantage on the sea. If it drags on, There may be some changes, and more importantly, the current strategic focus is to win decisiveness outside the customs, and the Philippines cannot obtain too many resources from the country.
"I agree with Lieutenant General Luis. There is no need for the two great powers China and Spain to keep fighting pointlessly. I am willing to hire his Spanish troops at a reasonable price. It would be better if the Spanish navy can be hired. Together, we can fight against the southern ones. Infidels fight.¡±
This is just an excuse. Historically, the Muslims in the southern islands of the Philippines have always been a huge trouble in the eyes of the Spaniards. However, since the steam warships appeared in the Philippines in 1848, the entire war situation has turned into a full-scale offensive. Although by one **Five years of fighting against the southern Moros continued, but during the American rule, the last resistance of the southern Moros was quickly and completely quelled, and the entire southern Philippines was indeed converted.
What Lin Mengchu is jealous of now is the batch of steam warships in the hands of the Spaniards. This batch of steam warships can be said to be equipment ordered by the Spaniards in Europe at no expense. They are more advanced than any steam warship in the hands of the Hong Army. If such a If the Steam Team appears on the Far East coast, it may be able to turn the tide of the war.
The military envoy once again ventured across the battle line and handed Lin Mengchu's reply to Lieutenant General Lewis: "Your Excellency, Governor Lin Mengchu, has agreed to all your conditions. He agreed to hire you and all Spanish officers and soldiers, including Filipino natives, to maintain The original benefits remain unchanged, and military pay, military uniforms and other items are paid on a monthly basis. The standard can be either Chinese or Spanish. As for the distinguished Lieutenant General Louis, you can keep your self-defense weapons and all personal belongings, and can Own a villa"
The military envoy listed the specific treatment of Lieutenant General Louis in detail. Lieutenant General Louis nodded repeatedly: "Very good, very good. This is a distinguished Chinese general. I think of Saladin during the Crusades"
From then on, the two commanders in this battle began a history of complimenting each other. Lieutenant General Louis called Lin Mengchu "the most outstanding among China's senior commanders", while Lin Mengchu called Lieutenant General Louis "Pizarro". The greatest Spanish general since then had a perfect charisma that Pizarro did not possess.¡±
After daybreak, the Spanish officers and soldiers who could still stand stood up. They lined up and walked out of the beach, supported their injured comrades, and shouted towards the squadron opposite: "We need doctors!"
"Breakfast, breakfast, I've been hungry all day!"
"Also, I need a new military uniform, Chinese style is also fine!"
They stated their conditions without any scruples, as if they were not the losers in this battle, but a group of victors.
In fact, this was an out-and-out defeat. According to Spanish statistics afterwards, a total of 1,842 soldiers were lost. They either died in battle, were blown away by the waves, or were swept away by the waves. In addition to the prisoners, the remaining officers and soldiers were exhausted and demoralized, and had to rest for a month or two to restore their original morale.
And Lin Mengchu claimed that they were looking for someone on the battlefield.??Six hundred and forty-seven Spanish corpses were taken, and nine hundred and forty-two enemy soldiers were captured, more than half of whom were wounded. In addition, a large number of enemy soldiers were drowned.
??The end of this battle marks the end of the Sino-Spanish War, and the next problem is the Russians! (To be continued)
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