Some people say that the shape of Ceylon Island is like an emerald pendant. Indeed, Ceylon Island is oval in shape and indeed looks like a piece of emerald.
Its terrain distribution is also very strange. There are mountains in the middle and plains around it, showing a medium-high terrain with low surroundings. The raised peaks in the middle run through the island, and the surrounding rivers flow from the high mountains to the sea, showing a radial shape. From this point of view, it looks like a piece of land.
The green leaves are like green leaves. The mountains are like the main stems of the leaves, and the rivers are like the veins of the leaves.
Because of this terrain, the road from Colombo Port to the northwest of the island actually has no choice but to travel on the plains between the mountains and the sea. The island is not highly developed, with few inhabited places, and is still a wilderness.
Therefore, there is no smooth and developed road system.
For Ceylonese, the best way to reach the populated areas around the island is to take a boat and walk along the coast by water, which is much more convenient and faster than walking on land.
But for Munilla and others, there is only one way to leave the Port of Kulumbo, and that is to go overland to the northwest coast. There is no other shortcut. And they can only follow the road between the mountains and the coast.
In the wild wilderness, you can walk on the roads trodden by local people.
A few days ago, Munilla and others fled the Port of Colombo. Hundreds of expatriates followed, and some strong servants and local women were also taken away. Munilla did not regard this action as an escape, but
It was regarded as a retreat. Therefore, he would naturally take away whatever he could.
If he didn't want to cause unnecessary trouble, Munilla even decided to burn down the buildings, military camps, churches and other buildings where they lived. He didn't want to leave anything to the people of the Ming Dynasty. But when he thought about it, what would happen if he did that?
If the plan to evacuate was discovered, not only the people of Ceylon would find out that they had been deceived, but the soldiers and horses of the Ming Dynasty would also take action. Therefore, they did not do this.
Since they were carrying a large amount of supplies, women and children, and whether there were enough vehicles to allow everyone to move quickly, Munilla and others only walked more than 70 miles on the first day of the evacuation. This made Munilla a little worried.
.
If this speed is maintained, it will take at least seven or eight days to reach the target point for evacuation: Mannar Island on the west coast of Ceylon. Only by reaching Mannar Island as soon as possible can ships from Guri Port on the other side of the strait quickly
Transport them to the opposite side of Pampon Island. This is the shortest distance between the Indian mainland and the island of Ceylon. It is also the fastest evacuation route.
The raven has been released, and Mr. Alfonso in Guri Port will receive the news in a few days. He will definitely send a ship to pick him up. This time he may be angry, or he may threaten to kill himself, but it is better than dying in Coulombo Port.
Good.
Moreover, not only did he bring Lord Alfonso first-hand information about the enemy, and he knew the strength and firepower of its warships. Moreover, he also had something to save his life. That was the large amount of looted property and the local girls.
And strong slaves. If you offer these things, Alfonso will definitely not be cruel to him.
Not to mention, this evacuation also saved a large number of troops and people. I can use this reason to justify myself.
However, the speed of this journey was too slow, which really made people anxious and worried. On the first night, Munilla chose a hillside with dangerous terrain to camp, and sent a musketry team to be on duty at night, as if facing a powerful enemy. He sent a cavalry team back to investigate Cullen
The movement in Po Port. I spent the night in fear. Fortunately, nothing happened.
Early the next morning, Munilla urged everyone to get on the road, hoping to leave the Port of Coulombo as far as possible.
However, bad luck continues. The hurricane a few days ago caused floods, and the water in several rivers on the road surged. The uneven road was even more rugged. Several large vehicles were broken, and people had to use manpower to carry their belongings.
.After a day of tossing and going like this, I only walked fifty miles.
The situation did not improve on the third day. At the end of the day, we only walked sixty miles. Even if Munilla rode a horse and whipped him with a whip, it was of no avail. Because he had to walk on his feet and in such road conditions, this was actually already
The limits of their march.
But the good news is that for three days, the cavalry in the rear has been conducting reconnaissance and found no sign of the Ming army pursuing them. Munilla believed that the Ming army was probably engaged in a fierce battle with the Ceylonese. They had already taken care of it.
Don't come up to catch up with yourself.
After that, they walked hard all the way. On the way, more than a dozen Ceylonese women fell ill and could not walk. Munilla did not hesitate to abandon them in the wilderness. You know, abandoning these sick people in such a wilderness
Here, they are bound to die, but this is certainly not within Munilla's consideration and will not give him any hesitation.
On the fourth, fifth, and sixth days, as they got closer and closer to the west coast, Munilla's mood became more and more relaxed. It was obvious that the threat from the Ming Dynasty was no longer the number one threat facing him at this moment.
What he needs to consider now may be how to communicate with Alfonso, keep his position in the army, and preferably find a place to be the governor and get back the money he gave away.
On the evening of the seventh day, Fo Lang's soldiers and horses arrived at the bank of a large lake. This lake is called Giant Lake, which is a famous lake on the west coast of Ceylon Island and a landmark. Arriving at Giant Lake,
This means that we are less than fifty miles away from the coast. It also means that this journey is finally reaching its end.
After days of marching, walking on rugged mountain roads in barren mountains, enduring the heat and mosquitoes, worry and anxiety, it was really soothing to come to this smooth as a mirror, clear and sparkling lake.
Many people were eager to stay and camp here, but Munilla ordered to continue moving forward. Because Munilla believed that rushing to the seaside as soon as possible and boarding the ship to leave Ceylon as soon as possible would be to escape the unknown danger as soon as possible.
But other people following the march were unwilling. They all asked to camp here because they were too tired and embarrassed. They were almost to the seaside, and the Ming Dynasty people were not chasing them, so why should they be so cautious anymore.
Captain Santos presented his proposal to Munilla.
"Lord Munilla, the Giant Lake is only a day's journey from the coast, which means we will be able to evacuate here soon. I don't know if the corresponding ship has arrived. I think it is better for us to camp at the Giant Lake and send out the cavalry.
Go to the coast and meet us
Has the big ship arrived? If we wait for the ship at the beach, if we wait for a few days, won't we run out of fresh water? There is enough water here for everyone to take a rest. Once the ship arrives, we can immediately
Setting off and boarding the ship will kill two birds with one stone."
Munilla frowned and thought about it for a while, then looked at a group of people sitting on the ground refusing to leave, so she had no choice but to agree.
Indeed, Santos is right. The receiving ship may not be waiting for you. If you are delayed on the coast for a few days, everyone will go crazy. If you want to board the ship, why not wait here. At the same time, you can avoid this group of people.
People are noisy.
However, although Munilla agreed to this suggestion, he was still very cautious. He ordered the team to go around the lake to the west bank and found an open space on the west bank of the lake to camp. This way, it was more than ten miles closer to the coast.
The terrain is flat and open, which is conducive to preventing emergencies.
Not only that, they also made everyone work hard to look at the trees and build musketeers' shooting fortifications on both sides of the camp. They also ordered people to build several two-foot-high wooden lookout towers to ensure control of the surrounding vision. There is the Giant Lake as a
Barriers, fortifications were set up on both sides, and watchtowers were installed to control the view. It was basically foolproof.
Although everyone thought that it was unnecessary for him to do this, Munilla insisted on it. He threatened them that if they did not do as he said, he would cancel the order to camp here and rush to the coast overnight.
Everyone cursed and worked hard until midnight before setting up camp. Tired and exhausted, they fell down to sleep by the lake and didn't care about anything.
Of course Munilla was also very tired, but even so, he personally led the cavalry for a patrol along the lake shore. He was really cautious and cautious. Although this move was ridiculed by everyone as a torment and a fear of death, Mu Nilia
Nilia knew that this was the most dangerous time. For some reason, he always had an indescribable feeling, as if he was being secretly watched by some wild beast.
However, his worries were obviously unnecessary. The night passed without anything bad happening. The next morning, everyone got up one after another. They washed, cooked, cleaned and rested by the Giant Lake. The journey in the past few days was extremely hard, and now it was all
A time when everyone is at ease.
At noon, people suddenly discovered that there was a big problem in this camp, which was unbearable. That is, it was an open area with no shade from trees. When the sun shone down, the tent was as hot as a steamer.
Anyone with experience knows that the high temperature after a hurricane is the most terrifying. The hurricane rain cleans up the dust in the air, and the sunlight shines through, which is the most intense sunlight.
Everyone was scorching under the sun, with no place to hide, and it was almost scorching everyone.
Munilla also discovered this problem, but he had no choice but to sit under the tent and endure the high temperature.
By noon, the high temperature was unbearable. More than a dozen Franco soldiers couldn't bear it any longer. They took off their clothes, rushed into the lake and started swimming happily. This reminded everyone that everyone in the entire camp was
They rushed towards the lake like crazy. Soldiers, horses, and accompanying people. Men and women rushed to the lake desperately to enjoy the coolness of the lake.
Munilla shouted an order, ordering Santos to go and stop. This kind of behavior is not allowed. The soldiers took off their clothes and weapons and went into the water. What should they do if they are attacked by the enemy? This is what Munilla is worried about.
Santos didn't listen to his orders this time. He quickly took off his clothes and said to Munilla: "My Lord Munilla, I can't stand it anymore. If you are willing to bask in the sun here, I will
There's no way. But I suggest you go into the water to cool down. Don't worry about those non-existent enemies. If everyone dies from the heat, that's the real danger. I'm going to swim in the lake. If you want to punish me
, just punish him. It’s better to be punished than to die in cold weather.”
The bare-legged Santos ran away, screaming into the lake, causing a splash.
Munilla jumped angrily. Only less than half of the people in the entire camp were still holding on. Munilla sighed and finally waved his hand. The soldiers who stared at him with expectation cheered and put their weapons in the hands.
Clothes were thrown all over the floor and he ran towards the lake.
Munilla himself walked to the lake, stretched out his hand to fish for the cool water, and finally couldn't bear it anymore and began to take off his clothes and get into the water.
Everyone was enjoying the coolness in the lake. The danger came at this moment.
A Ceylonese girl was the first to discover a group of cavalry rushing out of the woods on the north side of the lake. The Ceylonese girl’s wet hair stuck to her face, she opened her mouth and let out a scream, looking like she was running from hell.
The female ghost came out.
The screams quickly attracted the attention of others, and they also discovered the cavalry rushing from the north. Their armor and swords shone dazzlingly in the sun, and the dust kicked up by the horses' hooves rose up, as if they were stepping on
Rolling dust came.
"kill!"
"kill!"
The shouts rang out, and everyone in the lake stared blankly at the galloping cavalry, their eyes filled with disbelief.
When the Fo Langji people were most undefended, the Ming cavalry, led by Huo Shijian, charged out at the most suitable time and place.