If the situation were extremely critical and the military strength was really insufficient, Zhu Hongyu would not arrange for the old, weak, women and children to do only these things.
When a critical moment comes, not to mention women and the elderly, even children have to step in!
Because this is a life and death war!
Because if the Liberation Army is defeated in this battle, no one in the entire camp will survive!
Even the entire Chinese population in Luzon will be massacred by the Spaniards again!
…
On the other side, the artillery in the downstream fort has cooled down and is ready to fire.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The three artillery pieces were loaded with shotgun shells and opened fire with full force.
Dense pellets were fired at the Spanish musket array.
Puff! Puff! Puff!
This is the sound made by a shotgun piercing the human body.
A large area of the Spanish musketeer array was cleared in an instant.
The Spanish musketeers, who were struggling to support themselves, collapsed the moment they heard the cannon fire of the Liberation Army!
They dropped their weapons, turned around and fled with panic and despair on their faces.
The artillery of the Liberation Army was like the straw that broke the camel's back!
The rumble of cannons directly caused the morale of the Spanish musketeers to collapse!
The Spanish musketeers had just collapsed, and the Pampanga people who had been forced onto the battlefield also collapsed.
The army was defeated in an instant!
The entire river valley was full of broken soldiers who were trying to escape.
There is no difference between Pampanga people, Spanish people, indigenous people, mixed-race white people, and white people at this time!
People were crowded together, blocking the already narrow road, and no one could escape.
From time to time, someone would be pushed to the ground and then trampled to pulp by thousands of feet!
Finally, someone couldn't bear it anymore and swung the knife!
On the battlefield, the Spaniards and Pampanga people who collapsed and fled became a mess, and screams, wails, and curses continued to sound.
The fratricide has begun!
The sound of the knife cutting into the flesh and blood, and the cry of a person dying, are extremely harsh.
People kept falling to the civil strife, and the chaos on the battlefield became even worse.
After firing two more rounds of shotgun shells, the artillery of the Liberation Army switched from shotshells to solid shells and opened fire on the Spanish and Pampanga people who were in a mess on the battlefield.
Solid cannonballs flew randomly among the crowd, taking away limbs and broken arms wherever they passed!
The continuous shelling was like adding a basin of cold water to hot oil, which greatly aggravated the chaos.
…
In the chaos, the Spanish attack on the lower bastion failed.
The attacking troops were met with disgrace and quickly withdrew like an ebbing tide.
The Liberation Army gunners in the downstream bastion fort turned their guns and aimed at the Igorots who were attacking the camp.
Boom! Boom!
The sound of cannons rang out one after another, and the cannonballs flew towards the Igorot array as if they were free of charge.
The upper and lower bastions, as well as the forts on the camp walls, opened fire at the same time, forming a crossfire encircling three sides.
The Igorots who were attacking the Liberation Army camp were attacked in turn!
The casualties are getting heavier and heavier!
A person next to Black Lizard couldn't help but suggest to him.
"Chief, let's retreat, we can't hold on any longer!"
"The Spaniards can no longer bear the casualties and retreat, we can't continue!!"
The black lizard's eyes were red and it roared loudly.
"We have offended the Chinese severely this time. If we cannot eliminate them this time, what should we do if the Chinese take revenge when the Spaniards retreat?"
The man continued to argue.
"If we want to guard against Chinese retaliation, we should conserve our strength!"
"If there are not many casualties among the warriors in the tribe and our strength is still there, the Chinese will be wary of our strength and may not dare to retaliate against our sneak attack."
"But if we suffer heavy casualties under this city, and all the warriors in the tribe die, leaving only a few women, children, the elderly and the weak, then our tribe will face not only the revenge of the Chinese!"
This man's words seemed to move Black Lizard, and he gritted his teeth and said.
"Withdraw, withdraw now!"
Although the Giant Wood Tribe and other tribes are all Igorots, what is followed in this mountain forest is the naked law of the jungle.
If the Giant Tree Tribe suffers heavy losses, other tribes will never let go of this great opportunity to annex the Giant Tree Tribe!
Following the Black Lizard's order, the Igrotes led by the Giant Wood Tribe also began to withdraw from the battlefield.
The Liberation Army achieved another victory, and the camp and the bastions upstream and downstream were quickly drowned out by bursts of cheers.
"Wan Sheng!"
"Wan Sheng!"
"The Restoration Army will be victorious, the general will be victorious, and the Ming Dynasty will be victorious!"
"..."
Zhu Hongyu stood at the top of the city, with a resolute face and angular cheeks.
The breastplate on his body reflects the blazing sunlight, his body is tall and straight, and his back is as straight as a spear.
Just standing there, it felt like I could carry the whole world on my shoulders.
Eyes focused on him. Zhu Hongyu was not nervous, he just raised his right hand and shouted loudly.
"The Ming Dynasty will be victorious!"
Everyone responded in unison.
"The general is victorious!!!"
Zhu Hongyu shouted again.
"The Liberation Army is victorious!"
Everyone responded in unison.
"Drive out the Tartars and restore China; rebuild the Ming Dynasty and revive China!!"
The Liberation Army won another victory, and the morale of the entire army was boiling like boiling water.
…
Spanish camp!
The morale of the victorious Liberation Army was boiling like boiling oil, but the morale of the Spaniards, who failed to attack again, was extremely low.
Throughout the camp, Spanish musketeers looking downcast and depressed could be seen everywhere.
The wails and screams of the wounded continued one after another.
It also greatly affected the morale of the Spanish!
This was only the situation in the Spanish camp. In the Pampanga camp next door, the atmosphere was even worse.
If the Spaniards were simply demoralized, then the Pampanga people were almost desperate.
There were even many Pampanga natives who looked at the Spaniards with eyes filled with hatred.
The atmosphere is very wrong!
Colonel Robin was very keenly aware of this. In order to avoid any accidents, he directly ordered a meeting.
After the tribal leaders of the Pampanga people and the Igorot people arrived, Robin stood up and spoke.
"The failure of several consecutive attacks was due to a problem with my command. I should not have ordered a reckless attack on the rebel defenses!"
"I will conduct a self-examination on this, and when I return to Manila, I will submit my resignation to the Governor."
"I will be fully responsible for this defeat!"
"Of course, the Governor-General will not sit back and watch the rebels continue to grow, and will continue to mobilize troops to encircle and suppress them until the rebels are completely wiped out."
"Before the reinforcements from the Governor's Mansion arrive, I need everyone to work together to surround the rebels in the valley to prevent the rebels from continuing to grow."
Robin took the responsibility for the defeat on himself, hoping to use this method to resolve the rift between Pampanga and the Governor's Palace.
To prevent the Pampanga people who suffered heavy losses in this battle from leaving the Governor's Palace, the tense situation in Manila became even worse!