The defenders' numerical superiority and remaining courage were completely unable to gain the upper hand in the face of the Marines' artillery fire, especially the magazine-type rifles, let alone knock the Ming army from the top of the city.
Every moment someone was shot and screamed. They originally wanted to use their spears to directly stab the enemies who came to the city to death, but they didn't expect that the first group to be knocked to the ground were the spearmen.
In view of the stubbornness of these Westerners, the Marines would not be merciful. After landing in Spain, they used white phosphorus dummy bullets for the first time.
As long as it hits the target, the shot Xiyi will be so painful that he will roll on the ground, and his bones will be burned before he dies of pain.
We haven't used snake venom bullets yet because we are worried that the bodies of the poisoned people will contaminate water sources. White phosphorus bullets are enough to cope with the current battle.
In the first half-hour of fighting, more than a hundred marines faced off against more than 3,000 Western Yi defenders and minions.
In the next hour of fighting, more than a thousand marines defeated more than 5,000 defenders and soldiers, leaving their bodies lying on the streets.
The Spaniards thought that they had shown enough bravery and tenacity, but they did not expect that those short yellow-skinned monkeys were more terrifying than they imagined.
Even the most elite troops cannot withstand the opponent's attack. The so-called counterattack only temporarily holds the defense line in a stalemate. When the loss of troops is almost the same, they will fall into a passive situation of being beaten again.
This is still a good thing. Because the soil is too soft, the steam tank is stuck in it and cannot move, unable to provide support to the marines who boarded the city.
Otherwise, once a few tanks can drive into the city, the blow to the Spanish will be devastating, which hundreds of cavalry cannot stop.
"Boom...boom...boom...boom..."
Seeing that the gap could not be expanded, the Ming army adopted the method of directional exposure.
Several places that had been sprayed with water were selected, explosives were planted, and the rammed earth walls were detonated.
At this time, five three- to four-foot-wide gaps suddenly appeared in the west side of the city wall, which was equivalent to completely tearing apart the Xiyi defense line.
One thousand marines may not be able to defeat tens of thousands of Xiyi in the city immediately, but three to five thousand people can easily do this if they enter.
A large number of Ming troops poured in quickly from various blasted gaps like a flood, causing the already precarious defense line of the Western Army to disappear directly.
At this time, the remaining fighting spirit of the Xiyi no longer existed. Except for the 1,800 people who were still fighting in front, the others all chose to run away when they saw what happened.
The local commander even led his troops to break out from the north. As for Ju Min behind him, he was completely out of their consideration.
No one wanted to die, so they directly hung up the white flag and surrendered.
The Marines in this battle paid a price of nearly a thousand casualties, with nearly a hundred people killed in the battle, and the losses were considerable.
More than 5,000 Xiyi were killed, more than 30,000 were wounded, and more than 250,000 people in the city were captured and surrendered.
This means that the income of the miners alone can exceed one million silver coins, which is definitely a gratifying achievement.
After scraping the land, more than 3,000 carriages were filled with the property found in the city.
That's not all, even the steam tank has a carriage attached to the back to transport the loot.
It is estimated that it can fill ten large merchant ships, but someone has been sent to the seaside to report it to Fleet Commander Jiexuan.
This makes it easier to contact the French. As long as the items are relatively large and take up a lot of space, they can be sold to allies at a discount.
Things like copper candle moss, when brought back thousands of miles away, apart from having a show-off value, after being put on and lit with candles, they are not as bright as the new Ming Dynasty oil lamps.
As for furniture, tableware, porcelain, etc., there is no need to carry them. As long as the French like it, they can choose at will. They are definitely sold at friendly prices here.
What was packed was unopened silk cloth and the like. The finished clothes, shoes and hats in the store had long been taken by some guys.
This is not a violation of military regulations. Generally speaking, as long as it is not a bulk commodity or the property of a wealthy family, it is not a problem to put it in your pocket.
The famous Iberian ham and wine, in addition to honoring Jie Xuan and the generals of various ministries, have almost become the first choice of tooth-beating sacrifices for the officers.
That is to say, this thing is still edible. In the eyes of the Marines, other local foods cannot be sold in Daming, and they will definitely lose money.
Using flour to make bread and other things is a waste of food. How can steamed buns, dumplings, sesame seed cakes, and leek boxes be delicious?
Donkey meat is considered a rare delicacy even when it is roasted, let alone hot pot...
But everyone dared to do it and made hot pot directly in the pot using the ingredients on hand.
The slaughter of cattle is not allowed in China, but overseas there is no such scruple, and everyone can eat authentic beef hot pot.
Eating Xiyi's beef, drinking Xiyi's wine, and riding a horse after dinner, it's really a leisurely enjoyment in the busy schedule!
This is indeed a big city in Xiyi. Even ordinary soldiers have bulging pockets, let alone officers and generals.
This is by no means a boast, the veterans are all experts at scraping the land, from America to Europe, there is no ambiguity at all.
The most people have earned hundreds of silver coins, which is equivalent to four years' salary.
It is no problem to use this money to buy a house in your hometown after retirement. You can also receive a monthly pension, so you don’t have to worry about food and housing for your family.
Generally speaking, Marines retire at the age of forty-five.
Considering the difficulty of conquering Europe, a certain new emperor specially sent veterans there and extended the retirement age to fifty.
After all, everyone had followed Jiexuan and fought for the imperial court for many years. This was considered the fattest job and a sign of great favor from the emperor.
At worst, you can scrape fifty or sixty silver coins. If you work hard, it's not difficult to get hundreds of silver coins.
During the European expedition, all expeditionary officers and soldiers were paid as usual, but only their families were paid.
All expenses of the expeditionary force in the war zone will be taken care of by Jiexuan, so everyone does not need to worry about food and clothing.
As for the tooth-beating ceremony, that is not the business scope of a certain commander...
Before Jiexuan notified the French allies, many French businessmen had already arrived in Huelva by boat.
Because before the war started, both Turenne and D'Estrela notified their local businessmen and friends.
This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, but they can't count on the French army.
Soldiers are not rich, so how can they easily miss the opportunity when they finally get it?
On the contrary, it is impossible for the Ming army to transport all the loot back to the mainland, so the profit margin is very large.
No less than twenty French merchant ships have gathered on the seaside south of Huelva, and the merchants are all looking forward to it in the city.
When the Ming army's transport team arrived, French merchants swarmed in.
Chandeliers, wardrobes, dressing mosses, clothes, boots, tables and chairs, paintings, and even bundles of muskets and iron swords, as well as various types of artillery.
The captured armor of the Western Army is now scattered all over the floor like garbage.
A soldier's full set of armor costs five silver coins each, and an officer's will naturally be slightly more expensive.
It is also easy for French businessmen to communicate with sellers. Jiexuan employs a small number of disabled former French army soldiers who can speak Mandarin.
These people did not want to be laughed at when they returned with such honor, so they stayed in the Ming Dynasty, and Emperor Haojing also arranged a job for them.
This time it is considered a part-time job, and I can continue to work as an errand when I return. It will not delay my business at all, and I can still make money on the side.
Each product has a price according to its quality. The retail price is full price. If you buy five pieces together, you can enjoy a 10% discount and a 20% discount if you buy five pieces together. This is the highest discount because the original price is not set high.
There are actually many French nobles among the buyers. These people want to take advantage and even plan to buy some equipment for their losers. However, due to the lack of money, the second-hand goods in the hands of the Ming army have become their first choice.
Everyone happily picked out what they wanted, not caring about second-hand goods at all, let alone the blood stains left on the weapons and armor.
"Commander, what should the French do if they can't eat so much food? Transport it back to the mainland?"
"It must be shipped back, but not to the mainland, but to the Ottomans to sell!"
"Ah? This Ottoman is also willing to buy second-hand goods?"
"In this world, there are always more poor people than rich people!"
"...The commander is wise!"
The way to get money back quickly is to sell second-hand goods like this, not to mention furniture and furnishings, even ships and Jiexuan.
Zheng Shengying was determined not to want some badly damaged Western ships, so they could be sold to the French.
A 300-ton armed merchant ship, even a second-hand one, costs at least 3,000 silver coins.
The scrapped and defective products sold here in Jiexuan only cost one thousand silver coins, and they also come with several naval guns.
Pull it back or just bring the ship repairman over, put a few patches on it, give it some new paint, and then it will be a good ship.
What a bargain!
Our business is mutually beneficial!
All told, it only costs 1,500 silver coins. You can become a ship owner and run transportation, and you can earn tens of thousands of silver coins in a few years.
I believe many less wealthy French businessmen will be interested in this method of getting rich...
Therefore, Jie Xuan's strategy was to sell the loot that could be sold in Spain first.
Those that can't be sold will be shipped to the Ottomans. If it doesn't work, they can buy one and get one free. In short, they will not be shipped to the mainland.
Solve the problem on the spot, get the money back quickly, and then use the silver coins to purchase military supplies, such as vegetables and meat. This can form a virtuous cycle.
After everything is sorted out, the fleet will load up the marines and head north, first stationing at the Cherbourg or Calais base, and then depending on the specific situation%
Outside Madrid, Zheng Chenggong personally led seven brigades to fight against the Western troops who came from all over for support.
According to visual inspection, at least 30,000 Westerners have gathered outside Madrid. Including the original defenders, the total strength is no less than 50,000.
If there is further mobilization and the addition of Min soldiers, the number of soldiers available to fight will exceed 100,000.
Zheng Chenggong only has 35,000 men at his disposal. This is still too much. Excluding those who are sick and injured, as well as some logistics personnel, the maximum number that can fight is 30,000.
Zhengzhouying did have three brigades behind him, but to ensure the safety of his own supply lines, it was impossible to participate in the battle in Madrid.
Everything depends on Zheng Chenggong's troops to solve the problem on their own, so this time Zheng Chenggong plans to fight to decide.
They arrived outside Madrid before New Year's Day, but never took action.
Attacking the city directly would inevitably scatter the troops, so Zheng Chenggong decided to let his troops repair on the spot first, and then strike later.
Zheng Chenggong didn't believe that King Xiyi still stood still after King Ming's army came to the city.
Especially after hearing that after deliberation, Jiexuan had led his troops to attack the southern coastal areas of Spain.
This made Zheng Chenggong even more gratified. He knew the destructive power of the guy who exposed himself...
Half of America had been beaten to death by him back then, and this time would be no exception.
Zheng Chenggong didn't mind that Jiexuan came to his territory to grab food.
Now was the time when he wanted to get reinforcements. They came over on their own initiative, but it was too late for him to thank him!
The Zheng family has a great cause, and they don't need this little money. What's more, as long as they win the battle, there will be no competitors at sea in the future.
Once you control about 50% of the world's sea trade share, the annual profits will be unimaginable.
Jiexuan was scraping the land in the south, Zhengzhouying was in the east, Turenne was in the north, and Zhengzhouying and D'Estrela were on the sea.
Several groups of people were struggling together, and Zheng Chenggong didn't believe that the old king of Xiyi could endure it forever...
"Father!"
"I'm dying! Now I appoint you as the king of the Spanish Empire. I hope you can defeat those yellow-skinned monkeys! This is my wish, and it is the need of the entire empire. You face greater difficulties than me, So you must be stronger and braver than me. I don’t want to see the empire destroyed in your hands, and I don’t want to see the empire’s Zimin being bullied by those hateful yellow-skinned monkeys. Spain... was... by God... …shelter, forever…”
Before Philip IV could finish speaking, he was speechless.
"Father? Father!"
Balthasar Carlos, who was kneeling beside the bed, immediately fell into great grief. When the yellow-skinned monkeys came to attack the city, his father left him.
This means that like an angel descending to earth, he will lead tens of millions of brave and fearless Spanish soldiers to fight against the invasion of yellow-skinned monkeys.
After wiping away his tears and calming down his mood, Carlos was officially crowned king of the empire, surrounded by civil servants and generals.
Next, before burying his father, Carlos II wanted to show his father that he could perform miracles and repel those nasty yellow-skinned monkeys outside the city.
"What is our total strength in and around Madrid now?"
"About seventy thousand!"
"Um!"
"Your Majesty, plus the 50,000 soldiers who have been mobilized, we have 120,000, which is almost four times the number of those yellow-skinned monkeys!"
"This is not enough. This is my first battle after becoming the king. I must be extremely confident!"
"Otherwise, we will mobilize another 50,000 minions, for a total of 170,000, including 20,000 cavalry!"
"Okay! Let's do it! Madrid is the heart of the empire and cannot be threatened by yellow-skinned monkeys for a long time! Let the arsenal work around the clock to produce weapons. My soldiers cannot go into battle with cold weapons!"
"I understand, Your Majesty, please rest assured!"
"How long can the food in the city last?"
"I can still hold on for four more months!"
"Well! That should be enough!"
Afterwards, Charles II personally inspected the city's defenses and used binoculars to view the enemy troops camped three miles away.
