As time went by, the officials split into two distinct factions.
On one side are the Runaways, who aim to escape to the American Viceroyalty as soon as possible.
On the other side are the die-hards, whose top priority is to hold on to Madrid and severely inflict heavy losses on the yellow-skinned monkey.
The former would be destroying themselves by attacking the latter. As long as they could reach America, the empire could make a comeback.
But following the example of the Roman Empire back then, although the city of Rome was occupied by barbarians, it was only temporary after all.
The latter criticized the former for throwing himself into a trap, and voluntarily abandoning the capital was the beginning of the empire's demise.
After Constantinople, the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire, was captured, it has not been recovered until now.
Seeing that the food reserves were getting less and less and the yellow-skinned monkeys' trenches outside the city were digging deeper and deeper, Carlos II became more and more anxious.
He wanted to retreat from the enemy through negotiation, but he had no money in his pocket, let alone 10 million silver coins, and he couldn't even come up with two million at the moment.
Secondly, the greedy yellow-skinned monkey did not agree with the price that was too low. Without the sky-high price of 100 million silver coins, the two parties could not reach an agreement at all.
If Carlos II was really rich, he would have expanded his army to prepare for war, and he would not even have enough troops to defend Madrid.
"My dear friends, the food stored in the city is getting less and less. If reinforcements have not arrived in another three months, I am afraid that without the yellow-skinned monkeys attacking the city, the imperial troops will surrender without a fight. Is there any good strategy?"
Carlos II couldn't wait until three months later. I was afraid that in another two months, the food in the city would be exhausted.
If you don't think of a way, you will be captured by the yellow-skinned monkey.
I heard that I would be arrested and sent to the Eastern world to work as a miner. What a terrifying profession this is!
"Your Majesty, I think it would be better to break out and go to La Coruna!"
Marquis Bonifaz did not want to be captured. He had led an army to attack the yellow-skinned monkey army outside the city.
This is considered a grudge. Once captured, he might be burned alive by the furious yellow-skinned monkey general.
For both others and himself, he wanted to leave Madrid as soon as possible, go with His Majesty the King, and have the power to protect him.
"Your Majesty, I think what the Marquis said is reasonable. After Count Benavidez lost Barcelona, he did not lead his troops back to Madrid. He probably went to La Coruna or other nearby ports. The French army is now besieging Salvador. Saragossa, I don’t know how long the imperial defenders can hold on. Once Saragossa is lost and the French army continues to advance westward, our retreat to La Coruna will be cut off. Your Majesty must make a decision quickly!"
Viscount Mancilla had already tasted the powerful firepower of the yellow-skinned monkey when he led the cavalry troops to attack.
Obviously, Madrid has no choice but to break out after they run out of food, so it would be better to break out immediately while there is still food left.
At least I can run in good weather, and I can't wait until I have to leave.
"...I wonder what other beloved ladies think about it?"
There were still many ministers who supported the defense, but now they saw that the situation was not good and all of them stopped talking.
Even if someone wants to surrender to the yellow-skinned monkey, he will repeatedly consider the price of surrender.
This is not something you can achieve by surrendering. I heard that all the property of those who resisted was confiscated by the yellow-skinned monkeys.
For this situation in Madrid, I'm afraid it won't be much better than other places. At most, one life can be saved.
If you clean up and leave home, how different is it from working as a miner to make money to support yourself?
"Since there are no objections, I have decided to choose a day in the near future to transfer to La Coruna, and then take a boat to the Viceroyalty of the Americas."
Carlos II did not want to sit still and wait for death. As for his father's coffin...
Then I'm sorry, just burn it to ashes first, and then take the ashes to America.
The kings of previous dynasties were treated in the same way. In short, they cannot fall into the hands of the yellow-skinned monkey.
More importantly, where the dead king and the reigning king are, it means where the center of gravity of the empire is.
America is a vast land with abundant resources, and both the Viceroyalty of New Spain and the Viceroyalty of Peru are good places to stay.
After the servants packed their belongings, Carlos II issued the order to break out to the northwest on the evening of April 20th.
The specific breakout time is one o'clock in the morning. Seven thousand cavalry will open the way, followed by ten thousand infantry. In the middle, the carriage columns of His Majesty the King, ministers and wealthy businessmen must be protected.
Fifty thousand Min soldiers and their families will follow if they can, and if they can't keep up, they will run away. Anyway, everyone will eventually meet up at many ports in the northwest of the mainland.
As long as the yellow-skinned monkeys and French warships have not blocked those ports, the chance of success in escaping to America is very high.
You can also go to the Apennine Peninsula, but going eastward at this time will undoubtedly be a trap...
"Quick! Fill the trench with bags!"
Each war horse carried two large bags filled with soil, which was used to fill the trenches.
Seven thousand cavalrymen with 14,000 bags can definitely fill their way out alive.
If this is not enough, there are many bags on the carriage behind you, which can be used to load soil.
"No! It's Xiyi!"
"So many?"
"You're going to run! Shoot the signal quickly!"
"Boom! Boom! Boom..."
In the silent night, the gong sounded suddenly, and Zheng Jun soldiers who were sleeping nearby were immediately awakened.
Upon hearing the sentry's call, they immediately picked up their weapons and started shooting at the other side of the trench.
Under the cover of the illumination bombs that continued to sound like cannons, the night was already bright.
You can clearly see the other side of the trench, showing an immeasurable number of people and horses, densely packed, and very scary to see.
"fire!"
"Boom boom boom boom..."
When Xiyi takes the initiative to leave the city, whether it is bronze cannons, Folang machines or mortars, they will all come in handy.
Under the order of Marquis Bonifaz, the Western artillery that secretly approached the established position quickly began to fight back.
After being discovered by the yellow-skinned monkey, the Western Army's actions became reckless.
They planned to move quickly to the other side of the trench through no less than ten temporarily paved roads.
But this is just their subjective thinking, the actual situation is another matter.
In addition to trenches, Zheng Jun also dug a large number of horse traps around the trenches.
If you can trap a horse's leg, you can naturally trap a carriage's wheel.
You can't see it at all without moonlight at night. During the day, if you look around, it's really a big pit surrounded by small pits...
"Damn yellow-skinned monkey!"
Many cavalrymen discovered this situation after their horses stumbled and unfortunately fell to the ground, and they couldn't help but cursed.
If this is the case, how can our side break out of the encirclement as soon as possible?
This is not just a matter of walking through the pit, there are bullets and artillery shells flying around all the time.
Viscount Mancilla frowned immediately when he saw this. Just passing through the trench, within half an hour, he had killed and injured thousands of people.
At this rate of advancement, especially if the yellow-skinned monkey discovers it, there will be more and more enemy troops on the opposite side, which means that only a small number of troops may be able to successfully break through.
But as long as His Majesty the King can leave Madrid, others can break out from other directions.
"Report~! Commander, the main force of the Western Yi is breaking out to the northwest!"
"Yeah! Got it! Let's explore again!"
Zheng Chenggong had previously ordered the two nearby brigades to send one thousand infantry reinforcements each, and divided the three thousand cavalry in his own hands into two thousand to rush for reinforcements.
It doesn't matter if they can't be stopped in the middle of the night. They can still be chased during the day. He doesn't believe that Xiyi can disappear instantly after breaking through.
This is good, because once the main force of the Western Yi forces in the city breaks through, it means that there are not many defenders left, and we can save the losses of siege.
The victory over the city of Madrid without any blood was considered as a sign that the previous efforts were not in vain.
"Pa bang bang..."
Although the main force that began to block the Xiyi cavalry was the Zheng Army infantry, and the force was in a weak position.
However, due to the installation of revolvers and magazine-type rifles, the firepower is not inferior to the opponent.
If you are far away, you can shoot, and when the target rushes towards you, you can throw grenades.
Although the Western cavalry had thick plate armor to protect their torsos, their limbs and heads were very vulnerable to bullets.
If the war horse is injured or killed directly, and the cavalry becomes infantry, it is a direct loss of half of the hope.
After the previous confrontation, this loss was no longer a big deal in the eyes of Marquis Bonifaz.
The only goal of tonight's breakout is to protect His Majesty the King from leaving Madrid. As long as this task can be completed, it is worth losing more troops.
"Throw bombs to kill those yellow-skinned monkeys!"
Seeing the opponent throwing bombs one after another, Viscount Mancilla asked the infantry to carry out retaliatory measures.
It counts as many as it kills. On a battlefield with poor visibility like this, it has long been too late to count the results of one's own battles.
However, the damage caused by the grenades thrown by the Western Army was very limited, because the Zheng Army soldiers were hiding in the trenches.
The trench in front was used to block the Xiyi breakout, and the trench in the back was where Zheng Army soldiers hid and fought.
Unless you can throw the grenade directly into the trench, it will just make a sound.
Because of the difference in gunpowder formula and purification process, the grenades used by Zheng Jun were significantly more powerful than the opponent's grenades with the same charge.
Especially in an environment where the target is exposed and the concentration is extremely high, the lethality of the grenades thrown by Zheng Jun doubled.
However, this still cannot stop the Western Army from making a strong breakthrough. Once a gap is opened in the opponent's defense line, the troops behind will squeeze forward desperately.
The number of Xiyi soldiers and Pingmin who passed through the gap was so large that even the Zheng army soldiers could not hit them with revolvers.
Two thousand Zheng Army cavalry also arrived at the designated position, but due to poor visibility, it was difficult to complete the blocking task with infantry.
In response to the yellow-skinned monkey's tactics and weapons, Marquis Bonifaz asked people to carry a large number of smoking tools.
When the time comes to break out, light these things to make the battlefield more chaotic, so that your side can take the opportunity to escape.
Both Carlos II and his queen broke out on horseback, rather than riding in a carriage.
It is obviously not wise to ride in a carriage at this time. If the mount is injured, it can be replaced immediately.
If the carriage gets stuck in a pit, it will be very troublesome to replace it.
Besides, the target is very large and can easily be hit by artillery shells.
Fortunately, with good luck, two hours later, the disguised Carlos II and the Queen had already thrown away their pursuers.
There are less than 500 troops left, but as long as they can successfully reach Valladolid, they can take away at least 5,000 defenders there.
Although he was a little embarrassed, he managed to escape without being caught by the yellow-skinned monkey.
Thinking about what happened just now, Carlos II was still a little scared.
The younger brother Carlos Jr. was completely frightened, but the Queen Mother Anna looked relieved and couldn't help comforting her son.
But because his jaw is too big and his tongue is not too small, little Carlos is drooling constantly, so the maid can only wipe it with a silk handkerchief...
"Your Majesty, we can't stop yet. The cavalry reported that the pursuers of the yellow-skinned monkeys are coming!"
"Okay! Keep going and head as far as you can towards Valladolid!"
Carlos II didn't want to be caught by the yellow-skinned monkey after leaving Madrid. No matter how hard and tired he was, he had to work hard to escape north.
After being frightened, the group arrived in Valladolid in less than ten days.
There have been no traces of the French army near the city, but the defenders said that the French army had just captured Zaragoza.
Next, the only strategic towns in the north and northwest are Bilbao and here.
Maybe the French army had divided into two groups and rushed towards these two locations at the same time.
Carlos II only rested for one day in Valladolid before deciding to leave for A Coruña immediately.
Now we have to race against time with the yellow-skinned monkeys and the French army. If you are slow, you may never be able to go again...
After capturing Zaragoza, Turena decided to divide his troops into three groups.
Attack Logrono all the way north, with the final goal being Bilbao.
Head east over Mount Villa and attack Valladolid.
Going all the way south, it is best to reach Hadarak, which is the strategic dividing line between France and the Ming Empire.
All people and property in the northern area belonged to France, while the southern area, including Madrid, belonged to the Ming Empire Zheng Chenggong.
This plan is not a loss for France, because Barcelona and Zaragoza are both wealthy cities and have made a lot of loot.
It's just that Turena himself is not interested in these things. He has already earned enough silver coins and has a pile of them at home.
He cares more about doing something meaningful for the king and France, especially something that will go down in history...
"Your Majesty, come aboard!"
"Oh~! Okay!"
"This is the soil from Madrid that was brought here!"
"Thank you, dear!"
Carlos II was overjoyed when he heard that no French or Yellow-skinned Monkey warships had appeared in the waters near La Coruna, indicating that his hope of escaping to America had greatly increased.
Fortunately, Carlos II, who had just arrived here two days ago, ordered his entourage to board the ship immediately.
Whether it's a warship or an armed merchant ship, everyone who can leave must leave together to avoid being sunk or even captured by enemy ships if they run too slowly.
There is no shortage of food and livestock in the American Viceroyalty. The important thing is to bring money, craftsmen, and soldiers there.
As long as we have these three things, we can quickly organize manpower and expand our strength when we get there.
The first batch of twenty-seven ships set sail, and three days later there were about fifty ships that could arrive at nearby ports to load people and supplies.
Marquis Bonifaz has sent people to notify the garrison at various ports in the northwest, requesting them to board ships and evacuate to American territories as soon as possible.
If there is no ship, just gather at the big port and wait for people to leave in batches...
