Time is tight and the task is heavy! From the moment the Zamboanga plan was formulated, the pace of war has been set. There is no war of words with Spain. The head of state has started a war of words, and Xiao Hexin has already begun to use force.
According to the Spaniards' thinking, even if a war breaks out in such an unexpected conflict, it will take three or four months.
The two sides first protested and then negotiated and defended. You said your reasons and I said mine. Manila was aggrieved enough. After all, the weapons and ammunition smuggled in Luzon were not fake.
You Chinese people smuggle large quantities of ammunition and infiltrate armed personnel... Don't say that those are gangsters. If gangsters can massacre a tribe in the rainforest in seven days, why do they need regular troops?
These Chinese gangs must have the support of Chinese forces behind them. God knows how many spies you have trained?
All the Chinese businessmen in the Philippines are colluding with you, Xiao Letian. They don’t pay taxes to my Spanish uncle, but they secretly raise huge sums of money to build illegal armed forces. Do you think we don’t know?
We misunderstood the Dragon Fish, but we stopped it because intelligence showed that there were smuggled guns on the ship?
If you don't have any secrets in your mind, why are you charging? What are you trying to do secretly? Doesn’t this force us to fire?
The Spaniards also have grievances, and there are many more!
The two sides are at war with each other, telegrams are exchanged between Europe and Asia, and other countries are conducting diplomatic mediation. Even if mediation fails in the end, war will still have to begin, which will take two months.
And war cannot be fought just by fighting. You have to prepare materials and ammunition, and you have to assemble the army, right? Even if the Chinese take advantage of the location, this will still take more than a month.
Therefore, in the judgment of the Spanish, the war cannot start for three months, and there is still plenty of time!
Governor Botila's statement of defense was finally delivered to Madeira through the inefficient telegraph system. Seeing the governor's detailed report, General Juan Prim finally found a life-saving straw, and he quickly made public the governor's statement of defense. , to refute what the Chinese did in the Philippines.
In General Prim's mind, now that I have evidence, you Chinese won't be so arrogant, right? After all, this world is dominated by Europeans, who do you think you are?
However, the Spaniards underestimated the determination of the Chinese. Just when they were still trying to win back the battle on the battlefield of public opinion, the land of the Philippines was already in flames.
The Arowana incident broke out, and the entire Chinese nation was angry. How could the Chinese in the Philippines show weakness? These descendants of the Chinese who have the most experience of oppression seized this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and finally launched an uprising.
"...The Westerners are cruel and regard us Chinese as fish and meat. Three hundred years of blood feud must be avenged! The emperor and the sky are above, and the earth is below. The Dragon Lice Association, Wuyi Nanquan Hall, and the Minjiang Pai Gang... hereby swear an oath to break the door. , rise up together and form the Luzon First Rebel Army!"
"Drink this bowl of blood wine! The First Army is established!"
The three largest Chinese gangs in the Philippines and Dagupan united in an uprising. They gathered 2,500 gang members and launched a fierce attack on the local garrison.
"...Chinese brothers and sisters in San Juan! Dagupan's brothers have revolted. They have formed the Luzon First Rebel Army. How can we fall behind!"
"...Fuzhou Lion Dance Hall, San Dao Hui, Honghua Nantang...drinking this bowl of blood wine together, the Luzon Second Rebel Army has become an army!"
In San Juan, an important town in northern Luzon Island, more than 2,000 local Chinese gang members formed the Luzon Second Rebel Army. The formed army raided the San Juan Police Headquarters on the same day, killing 120 Spanish police officers and more than 380 indigenous police officers.
Suddenly, there were flames all over Luzon. Dagupan, San Juan, Ilagan, Santa Ana... the four northernmost cities in the Philippines, four teams were formed overnight, claiming to be rebels with the goal of liberating the entire Luzon. slogans and launched a military struggle.
Spain's three-hundred-year rule in the Philippines has encountered a real threat this time. The previous riots were all petty disturbances, but this time they faced a real revolution that was organized, planned, had foreign aid, and had faith. !
The heavy rain was coming, and the Spanish military camp in Dagupan was shrouded in an atmosphere of fear. In their eyes, this beautiful port city full of tropical style had become a hell at this moment.
The Spanish battalion commander stood in the rain and looked at the completely crazy urban area. His hands were shaking. The busy street that used to be full of life has now become a hell of killing.
Bars, Western restaurants, casinos and brothels that were favorites of soldiers were all now in ruins!
The Chinese uprising was too sudden, and too bloody and violent. As soon as the two sides exchanged fire, these Spanish colonists knew that something was wrong.
Due to the ongoing turmoil in Spain and the Queen's corruption and incompetence that triggered the Glorious Revolution, Spain's national power has basically not developed in the past ten years.
During the Austro-Prussian War, breech-loaded needle rifles had begun to become popular. During the Franco-Prussian War, breech-loaded Krupp steel cannons showed their prowess. In this era of technological explosion, the Spaniards have become museum exhibits.
Even the local army has not completed the change of uniforms. How can we still expect the troops of these colonies?
There were only a thousand regular Spanish troops and two thousand trained indigenous soldiers guarding Dagupan, and what they had to face were 2,500 Chinese rebels armed to the teeth.
The Spencer, which the Chinese replaced and removed, became the most popular weapon in the Battle of Luzon. The shortcomings of low accuracy and short range are not important. What is important is the rate of fire and rear loading.
Such a baby had an overwhelming advantage as soon as it came on the scene, and the regular soldiers with front-loaded miniguns suddenly encountered a one-sided massacre.
On the spacious street, the two sides met each other without saying a word and drew their guns at each other. Spencer's powerful firepower instantly defeated the thin formation of the Spanish army. The soldiers screaming on the ground quickly collapsed their morale, often after a confrontation. The streets were full of broken soldiers.
The Spanish mayor was really at his wits' end. On the city hall building, he saw with his own eyes the sky-shattering scene. Hundreds of Chinese troops were followed by thousands of Chinese armed with cold weapons.
These Chinese who were as docile as Mianyang in the past have all turned into tigers. Men, women, old and children all took to the streets. Under the organization of many men in black, they were armed with parang knives, iron rakes, spears... and even many children behind their backs. Bamboo baskets were filled with stones to provide ammunition to those around them.
They were killing people like crazy. More than 2,000 rebels led more than 30,000 Chinese people to riot throughout the city. When they saw the lone foreign soldiers and natives, they went up to besiege them.
All foreign and indigenous shops were smashed and searched one by one!
"Damn it, I don't want to stay here and die, let's set sail immediately, I'm going to Manila!"
At the most critical moment, Mayor Dagupan escaped, even without the troops!
