Zhang Dingguo's local work was approaching the blasting tactics and constantly eroding the outer defensive fortresses, but this move was no longer effective after approaching Santiago Castle.

When using earthwork to attack the outermost fortress, from a distance, you can't see the figures of the attacking party. Howitzers in the city have also tried artillery fire, but the attackers are working in far away tunnels. They can't even think of shooting shells into the tunnels. How many shells will they have to be smashed? The Japanese have no endless shells. So, they can see their opponents drilling into the outer fortress like groundhogs and then blowing up the fortress. The cannons in the city are hardly helpful.[]

However, when Zhang Dingguo eroded all the way and wanted to take down the last two fortresses as well, the attack hit the iron plate. The last two fortresses were only 800 meters away from the city wall, and there were traffic trenches between the fortresses connected to each other. On the periphery of the two fortresses, there was another trench. Only by capturing this trench can the fortress be destroyed by dirt work and blasting.

Zhang Dingguo's men launched an attack on this defense line from two directions. Although they also used earthwork, this time it was different. At such a close distance, the city wall had a wide view, and the mortars fired continuously from a high place, "boom, boom", and exploded into a piece, and blasted bombs kept falling near the earth ditch and exploded. The most terrifying thing was the Japanese shrapnel shells, which were simply a nightmare for the chargers. Even if they hid in the ditch, the high-speed projectiles scattered in the air would fly into the earth ditch and chase their souls to death. The artillery fire on the Japanese city wall and the machine gun fire in the fortress completely suppressed the attacking fire and ruthlessly harvested the life of the chargers.

The Japanese army in the trenches used various light weapons to defend their positions. The firepower of machine guns, submachine guns and rifles woven into a rain of bullets, sprinkling at attackers who lacked the experience of charging, causing heavy casualties and injuries to attackers. Occasionally, a charger approached the Japanese trenches and would be knocked down by the Japanese grenades and submachine guns. In front of the Japanese defense line, no matter how Zhang Dingguo's subordinates charged, there was no progress except for dropping the bodies.

Originally, Zhang Dingguo had the idea of ​​capturing Santiago Castle in one fell swoop. Now, he saw that seven or eight hundred people died in the position in one hour. If he wanted to continue like this, the team would be destroyed before he could reach the wall. It seems that what Han Lingfang, a scholar, said something. It would be better to capture the castle of the Birth Lord in one fell swoop. It would be too young to fight such a battle. In this way, Zhang Dingguo had to calm down and no longer order a strong attack. He just surrounded the castle of the Birth Lord in a row and wait for reinforcements.

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The sound of gunfire had stopped, and Zhang Xianzhong's bandits' attack that seemed fierce was over. On the city wall, Takayama Okamura and Masaki Takao put down their telescopes and watched the smoke slowly dissipate, both of them felt unsatisfied.

Takayuki Okamura said:

"Takaojun, how do you think of Zhang's bandits?"

Masaki Takao obviously had a contemptuous attitude towards his opponent and sneered:

"Zhang's bandits are basically tactical thinking in the era of cold weapons. Of course, it's not exactly the case. With their inappropriate fighting style, it's like capturing this castle? It's ridiculous! After an attack just now, I saw that they were killed or injured at least one thousand. It was said to be a scattered formation. Can that be called a scattered formation? Hehe, it's almost like queuing to die. Okamura Jun, don't you think so!"

Okamura is not as optimistic as Takao, and said:

"Okamura, their offensive two days ago should not be underestimated! If they really used rocket launchers to open the way and slammed the rocket launchers in one direction, under the dense rocket launchers, our army's defense would probably not be so indestructible, right?"

Takao smiled and said:

"Kun Okamura, don't forget that we just hope that they will attack like this. The supply of these Ming bandits is absolutely limited. Why do they no longer use the tactic of rocket launchers to destroy bunkers? The only explanation is that the shells are limited. The supply of our army is absolutely unlimited compared to their bandits. Nika took a look and found that most of these bandits were even cold weapons. Our army's tactics are to use solid fortifications and city defense to consume them with superior firepower. It is best to make them continue to increase their troops to attack the city. Our army can take advantage of the momentum to land in their rear, and then attack on both sides until the bandits are driven into the sea to feed the fish."

Okamura naturally knew that the tactic formulated this time was to use Manila as bait and catch Zhang Xianzhong to take the bait. As long as Zhang Xianzhong took the bait and stationed his troops under the strong city, he would definitely not be able to defeat him for a long time. At that time, the veteran generals were exhausted and their troops were dispersed, and they were not far from failure. Although there were only 4,000 soldiers and horses in Manila, they were all regular Japanese troops. Of course, three thousand Japanese troops were wearing Japanese civilian clothes, so there were only 1,000 regular Japanese troops, and it seemed that the others were Japanese militias. In fact,

The other Japanese troops just hid on nearby islands, and could reinforce Manila at any time through the sea or attack any other important places. Moreover, what makes people more confident is that at least twenty large wooden ships in Japan were equipped with steam power and would transport more than 4,000 reinforcements. It can be said that the so-called withdrawal drama of this time is a big trap. The purpose of this move is to exterminate the Zhang bandits. Even if Zhang Xianzhong's troops cannot be wiped out completely, they can at least make them unable to recover.

But Okamura is still a little worried:

"Kun Takaowei, I don't think that these bandits can be underestimated. Using the method of digging trenches in the earthwork industry to get close to blasting, this is at least an advanced tactic! The tactic of digging trenches on both sides of the front and back is said to be the tactics that Caesar used to use, and it seems to have a bit of a circular defense. If you really fight trench warfare, our army's advantage may not be that great. Kun Takaowei, I can't help but remind you that these bandits are all good farmers, but Chinese migrant workers are world-famous, so you can't underestimate them! Wanli Long

The city was built by migrant workers from China, and the Grand Canal was dug by migrant workers from China. I heard that the successful explosion of China's atomic bomb was also due to the Chinese migrant workers. When I saw the deep and wide trenches they dug, I would think of the Korean War. Even Americans would suffer great losses in front of the tunnels dug by Chinese volunteers who were born in peasants. If you want to talk about unlimited supplies, the Americans in the Korean War could be considered truly unlimited supplies. In that way, they also suffered losses from migrant workers from China, so I would like to ask Gaowei to be more cautious!"

Takao was a little annoyed. Okamura was thinking something in her mind. She looked down on such a coward in her heart and said angrily:

"Kun Okamura, are you trying to say that these bandits from peasants can dig a pit to get the great Japanese Imperial Army into it? Kun Okamura, in my opinion, you are all soldiers because of the Korean War!"

When Okamura heard this, he thought that he was indeed a little too worried. The Great Japanese Imperial Army would soon increase its troops to 12,000 in Luzon. These troops have been rigorously trained for at least four months and are equipped with all new firearms. It is unimaginable that a group of bandits could block the 2,000 Great Japanese Imperial Army, not to mention the powerful Japanese navy as a backing. So Okamura hurriedly said:

"It seems that I am a little overwhelmed. Takao-kun, don't be influenced by me just now. Compared with the Great Japanese Imperial Army, these bandits are simply scumbags. What's more, the Spanish want to beat them up!"

"That's right. Okamura-kun and the Spanish must be obediently used as gunmen by us. Haha! Tell me, just our Japanese Imperial Army is enough to kill all the bandits Zhang Xianzhong. In fact, it doesn't matter whether there are Spanish people to help. Hehe, I hope that we won't kill all the bandits Zhang at once, so that our new recruits can come to Luzon to train troops. In this way, our new recruits can accumulate practical experience. Okamura-kun agrees with my statement?"

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At this time, the Spaniards were marching their troops northward. Valvet was also skeptical about the Japanese withdrawal and handing over to Manila, so he ordered Raquel to lead a unit of the army to approach Manila and keep in touch with the Japanese at any time. Once the Japanese army really withdraws, they can take action.

Balvet then received news that Zhang Xianzhong's subordinates surrounded Manila, and was considering whether to instigate a attack on Zhang Xianzhong. The envoy sent by Zhang Xianzhong arrived.

The people who came were Shi Liyan and Zeng Shu. Zhang Xianzhong was also very thoughtful about the relationship between the Spanish and Japanese. In the end, Shi Liyan took the initiative to ask for his order and went directly to Cebu.

Balvet wanted to see what Zhang Xianzhong meant. Although he no longer allowed Qin Zhiyong to be a military adviser, he had to worry about the Ming Dynasty. There were many questions about whether Zhang Xianzhong had anything to do with the Ming Dynasty. Therefore, he asked:

"You two come here, what do you mean? You Ming people seem to have always had the habit of being lobbyists. As legendary lobbyists, I don't mind seeing it. If you have any words, you might as well say it."

When Shi Liyan heard this, the Spanish exposes his purpose at once. He has also heard that the Spanish killed Chinese indiscriminately, so he would not have died under the Spanish. But now, he has to bite the bullet and say:

"Your Excellency General, I am hereby General Zhang Xianzhong's order to pay homage to you. You are here because my general respects you very much. My general wants to ask you to protect you. This is the gift list of my general, and I will express my feelings!"

After saying that, he handed the gift list respectfully.

Balvit looked at the gift list in his hand and sighed in his heart, Zhang Xianzhong is really willing to invest in capital, the value of this gift list is more than one million taels of silver. Well, Zhang Xianzhong is quite big in his hand. Balvit said solemnly:

"Please tell your General Zhang that I dare not accept his great gift. General Zhang invaded me, Luzon, and it was obviously an enemy of me. What he said to ask us to protect him is a lie! Please tell General Zhang that if he chooses to withdraw from Luzon now, I, Spain, can be forgiven. If he leaves Luzon, it will be regarded as a war against me. My Spain will fight resolutely until he and his subordinates are expelled from Luzon."

After hearing this, Shi Liyan suddenly felt relieved. When he heard this, he heard this, he was a harsh and timid word. He was no longer so nervous and said:

"General, we have no intention of making things difficult for the general. General Zhang has no place to gain a foothold in the Ming Dynasty and has no choice but to come to Luzon. General Zhang's idea was to buy a piece of land in Luzon, which was governed by General Zhang, or rent a piece of land to make a living. As long as the merciful general agrees, we will unite and drive away the Japanese together, and then General General sells or rents a piece of land for us. General Zhang is willing to obey the general's order."

Shi Liyan continued:

"God General, now the Japanese have taken Manila. Do you really believe that the Japanese can take the initiative to give up Manila? You must not forget how the Japanese treat Spanish civilians in Manila. Just talk about how they treat Spanish ladies. They are simply a bunch of beasts. Can you believe their lies? If, I mean, if, if our General Zhang's army is withdrawn, will General think there is a chance to retake Manila!"

After hearing this, Balvet felt aroused his heart. Shi Liyan continued:

"Our General Zhang said that as long as we defeat the Japanese, our army can be used as mercenaries in Spain and obey the command of the General. Even if we go to Europe to participate in the war, it is not impossible. Please consider it!"

After hearing this, Balvitt's eyes shone. It was really tempting. Of course, things were not that simple, so we had to weigh them carefully.
Chapter completed!