Total War: Restoration of the Ming Dynasty in Luzon

Chapter 44 Persuading to Surrender

This scene caught the attention of many people, sparking much discussion.

Meanwhile, various military camps and Allied positions also began to publicly distribute rewards.

Boxes of silver coins, bundles of cloth, bags of spices, and other valuables were carried to the open ground. The Ming army maintained strict discipline and collected the goods according to the merit book, in an orderly manner.

The situation was much more chaotic on the side of the native allied forces. The soldiers who had received real benefits were all smiles, showing off their share of the loot and completely forgetting the unpleasantness of the previous day.

It is worth noting that those tribes that restrained their subordinates from engaging in piracy after entering the city, or even took the initiative to stop looting, received significantly larger shares, and were even publicly commended by Ming military officers.

Tribes found to have engaged in serious plundering, such as the Igorod tribes, seemed to be deliberately forgotten, and were only ordered to return the looted property.

Magbanu and other key leaders spent almost the entire night gathering together to discuss countermeasures.

At dawn, they received a banquet invitation personally delivered by Lieutenant Chen, written in respectful language, along with a clear notice that "voluntary return of looted property and punishment of the ringleaders could mitigate the penalty."

This invitation and notification made them instantly understand the intentions of the Ming army commander.

"He's offering a knife and honey at the same time." After Magbanu had his men see Lieutenant Chen off, he said to the crowd in a deep voice, "This banquet is mostly for negotiation. The so-called voluntary return and punishment... are forcing us to take sides and make a statement. Those who took less or didn't have time to act are probably already laughing to themselves."

"So, are we going to hand it over or not? Are we going to punish them or not?" a hot-tempered leader grumbled. "If we hand it over, where will we put our face? What will our men think?"

"If we don't hand over the goods and aren't punished, we might not even get what is rightfully ours," another more rational chieftain analyzed. "Look outside, the Ming army's reinforcements are increasing, and even large ships are coming. There's no benefit in fighting the Ming people head-on."

In the morning, they received news that three more Ming gunboats had entered the port, which made them realize that the gap between them and the Ming army was even greater.

Magbanu finally made his decision. He knew that if he broke with the Ming army, his side would only face certain death. After the Ming army broke through the city, they could still transfer so many soldiers and warships from who-knows-where. They might still have people hiding somewhere.

He could only swallow his anger for the time being, ordering all the looted property to be returned and apologizing to the Chinese who had been robbed, in order to gain the satisfaction of the Ming army commander.

When other tribes saw that even Magbanu had chosen to yield, they lost their courage and could only swallow their anger and make the same choice as Magbanu.

Meanwhile, a letter of surrender written by the captured senator was also sent to the Cavite fortress by the released Spanish soldiers in a small boat.

As the small boat entered the port of the fortress, the entire fortress shook. No one could believe their ears. Manila had bastion-like walls, and Fort Zeelandia, which was smaller than it, could hold out for months under the siege of the Ming army. How could it fall after only half a month against the Ming army, which was weaker than that of the emperor?

Immediately, the officers, realizing what was happening, started arguing about whether to comply with the surrender letter and surrender to the Chinese rebels in Manila.

They were undoubtedly unwilling to surrender to the rebels so easily, but soon, a soldier, sweating profusely, rushed into the meeting room and reported to the officers in a trembling voice:

"Something terrible has happened! Enemy warships have appeared at sea!"

"What?!"

Everyone was startled and quickly left the conference room, climbed the sea defense fort, and looked out to sea.

Upon seeing this, their expressions changed drastically. Sure enough, three warships, resembling sea fortresses, were anchored on the sea. These warships all flew battle flags with the character "朙" written on them, and their gun ports were all open, with the dark muzzles of their cannons pointed at the fortresses, displaying a clear posture of intimidation.

"How could the Ming people possess these warships? Could they have been provided to them by the Dutch or the British?!" a naval lieutenant exclaimed in surprise.

Indeed, those three warships were clearly of European style, and it was almost impossible for them to appear in the army of an Eastern country, unless...

Everyone, including Colonel Mendoza, the fortress's supreme commander, considered the latter possibility.

"Damn Dutchmen!" the colonel cursed through gritted teeth, already convinced that the Dutch were behind it all.

After all, apart from the Dutch, with whom they frequently clashed, no one dared to oppose the Spanish Kingdom in the Far East.

"Colonel, what should we do?" the artillery commander asked. "The fortress has enough food for two more months, ammunition, and water. We have sturdy stone walls and gun emplacements, and the soldiers... at least most of them will fight to the end."

His tone carried the inherent pride of a soldier, but also a hint of barely perceptible wavering.

The accompanying priest made the sign of the cross and whispered, "God will protect loyal soldiers. But we are also responsible for the lives of our soldiers and the civilians who have taken refuge in the fortress. The letter says that the Ming commander promised that if we surrender, we will be allowed to take our personal belongings and leave the Philippines safely by boat... This may be a way out given by God."

"A path to survival? Or a path to shame?" another radical officer retorted. "Surrender to the infidels? Abandon the fortress entrusted to us by His Majesty the King? This would be an indelible disgrace for the Kingdom of Spain in the Far East! I would rather die here!"

"Die in battle? And then?" Colonel Mendoza turned around upon hearing this, his gaze sweeping over the crowd, his face showing obvious exhaustion: "Manila has fallen, and the entire administrative and military center of Luzon has collapsed."

Even if we can hold out here for months, or even a year, what's the point? Where will reinforcements come from? Mexico? Peru? Or faraway Spain? By the time they arrive, we'll probably be nothing but bones, while the Ming have already established a foothold in the Philippines.

These words silenced those who, like the officer, harbored thoughts of resistance. The colonel sighed and continued:

"With the fall of Manila, our supply lines have been cut off. The Ming people have warships that can blockade the bay, and their army can launch an attack directly from Manila. We may be able to inflict casualties on them, but our eventual fall is inevitable."

A deathly silence fell over the room. The officers' faces were a mixture of resentment, anger, fear, and helplessness in the face of reality.

Most of them were veterans who had served in the colonies for many years. They were well aware of the isolation in the Far East and the slim chance of reinforcements. With the governor's suicide and the fall of the capital, the significance of their resistance, both legally and in terms of morale, had been greatly diminished.