When Valdes saw the Chinese at the top of the castle dragging the artillery up the hill to the east, he knew that the fall of San Salvatore was only a matter of time.

In these days, he actually knew for a long time that the attack on them was not the pirates who colluded with the Dutch East India Company, but the squadron.

When three plywood galleons flying the flag of the Dutch East India Company appeared outside Chicken Coop Harbor with a large number of ships, Waldes, as the colonial governor of Chicken Coop Harbor, his first reaction was that the Dutch wanted to do something to them.

As an officer with extensive experience in the struggle for colonies, Waldes naturally knew that their purpose in seizing chicken coops and fresh water was to cut off the shipping routes between the Netherlands and Japan; The second was to recruit Chinese merchants to trade in order to weaken the trade share of the Dutch East India Company, which occupied southern Taiwan, with the Ming Dynasty.

Therefore, it was clear from the beginning that the Dutch would definitely attack the two fortresses they had built, Chicken Coop and Tamsui, to eliminate their threat to the northern shipping lanes of Taiwan.

It's just that he didn't think that these Dutch would pull the power of the Chinese government against them. Because this is so unexpected, these Chinese have always regarded them as barbarians, outsiders, and have never heard of the existence of an overseas country as an equal.

In the nearly 100 years of their arrival in Asia, Europeans have been able to maintain formal trade with this rich country of the East, except for the undignified Portuguese, who have not heard of anyone who has been able to fulfill the simplest of demands.

It is important to know that the cause of the great discovery of the sea was to find a trade route from the sea to Eastern China.

Moreover, although this country is as rich as the legend, it has always disliked to interfere in affairs outside its borders, otherwise they would not be able to easily take root in China's periphery.

The only thing the Chinese government is willing to join forces with these barbarians is probably to exterminate the Chinese pirates who have escaped from the Chinese coast. But Spain is not a Chinese pirate, and Taiwan has never been considered Chinese territory.

As a result, the Chinese government's alliance with the Dutch East India Company made Waddleston feel like a great enemy. Because as long as the Chinese government is willing, not only Taiwan, but even the Philippines will not be able to stop the tide of the squadron, not to mention the Dutch people making trouble on the side.

Although the Spaniards arrived in the Philippines much earlier than the Dutch, the main purpose of Spain's overseas colonies was to pursue precious metal deposits at the lowest level.

The Philippines did not find as rich gold and silver mines as the Americas, and apart from being able to obtain Chinese goods here, it was of little significance to Spain.

However, the Spanish merchant ships traveled thousands of miles to bring back Chinese goods, not for entrepot trade, but for the enjoyment of the Spanish aristocracy.

Since the discovery of gold and silver mines in the Americas, Spain has become the richest country in Europe, and the price of goods in the country has increased nearly four times. Selling goods brought back from overseas to the Spaniards is the most cost-effective business.

This is why the Viceroy of Manila was not directly under domestic jurisdiction, but a colony subordinate to the Vice-King of New Spain.

The only requirement of the Spanish kingdom for the governor of Manila was to purchase the Chinese specialties needed in the country. After the Dutch rebellion, Spain, whose treasury was gradually empty, began to consciously control the scale of Manila's trade, so that more gold and silver mined in Mexico and Peru could be shipped back home to pay the soldiers.

It is precisely because Manila's position in Spain is so awkward that the Spaniards value it both and do not value it. The reason for valuing it is that from Manila you can get all kinds of Chinese goods that the Spaniards can only dream of.

The reason for not paying attention to it was that Spain had only one purpose in expanding its overseas colonies, which was to increase the wealth of the kingdom, but the continuous supply of Chinese goods in Manila became a place where Spain's wealth was lost.

For one reason or another, nearly a hundred years after the discovery of the Philippines, the number of Spanish immigrants in the Philippines did not exceed 5,000.

The Spanish colonizers in Manila, who separated the sea from Manila, have not even figured out the country's population and local size.

Although a few decades ago, the Spanish colonizers, who had just conquered the Philippines with a population of nearly one million, had drawn up a plan to conquer China, believing that only 25,000 soldiers were needed, of which more than 10,000 were Spaniards, and the rest were Japanese or local indigenous soldiers; 12 warships; 200,000 pesos. to conquer China.

Today, however, Spaniards, who finally have a vague impression of China, such as Valdes, believe that the plan was too rash.

But while he disagreed with the plan, he also disagreed with the pessimism of some in the Manila colony that China was unconquerable.

Born at the height of Spain's heyday, Valdes never doubted that Spain would be able to conquer any place and any people in the world in the same way that it had conquered the Americas. It doesn't matter whether Spain has the ability to do so, but whether the Spaniards want to do it or not.

During his nearly 20 years of colonial career, from New Spain to the Philippines, Valdes had a little more sense of reality than his compatriots, in addition to the ambition that was common to Spanish colonists.

After the squadron dragged the cannon up the hill and condescendingly aimed at the city of San Salvador, Valdes began to think about how to get Manila and his men to admit a decent defeat.

Although the defeat by the Chinese made him a little frustrated, it did not make him despair, and in the observation of these days of fighting, he had already found that the training, organization and weapons of the Chinese soldiers were very backward.

The main reason for his failure was that the number of the squadron was too large, and the damned Dutch East India Company assisted the Chinese in blocking the port.

The war to open up a colony was never easy, so the defeat of this war was not unacceptable for the kingdom. But for him personally, it is a great stain.

If he can't save some face for the kingdom in this war, then when he returns to Manila, he may be left out in the cold by the Governor.

After a short period of thought, the Spanish military commander in Taiwan, Vades, called his lieutenant and gave orders.

When Xu Xinsu and Guo Qing stood on the top of the hill and condescendingly observed the city of San Salvador with binoculars, Xu Xinsu finally relaxed and said to Guo Qing beside him: "Next, are we going to let people surrender to the Spaniards in the city?"

I don't think the Spaniards were so stupid that they would have to resist when they saw these four cannons. If they are willing to surrender, then His Majesty's mission can be completed sooner. ”

Guo Qing put down his binoculars and observed the surrounding environment, where a group of soldiers from the Sihai Battalion and several Dutch gunners were looking for a suitable location on the hill to build an artillery position. A group of aborigines repairs the breached Spanish fortress below them.

Farther down the hill, a large group of aborigines were dividing up the spoils they had found in and around the hill.

For the indigenous people, who are short of these materials, whether it is weapons or ordinary daily necessities, it is a good asset.

Conflicts often erupted between these indigenous people over how to distribute the supplies, but these conflicts were quickly queated by the reprimands of the elders of the neighboring villages.

"At this point, the surrender of the Spaniards was only a matter of time, so why should we take the initiative. Xia Guan heard that those Dongfan elders couldn't wait to propose to the adults, hoping to hand over the houses on the east side of the hill to them first, is it true? Guo Qing suddenly changed the topic and said.

For these aboriginal elders who were afraid of their return, Xu Xinsu was also quite unhappy. Although he admits that these natives have such a small credit in the process of capturing the hill fort, but now that the Spaniards have not surrendered, they are in a hurry to ask for the spoils, is it too utilitarian.

However, for the sake of the food sent by these aborigines and the aboriginal warriors who kept gathering, Xu Xinsu did not quarrel with these elders.

Seeing that Xu Xinsu's face suddenly became gloomy, Guo Qing couldn't help but say again: "The castle of the Spaniards is very distinctive, but it is not finished after all.

If, according to His Majesty's wishes, the peace between us and the Spaniards is not so secure in the future. In that case, why not take this castle and practice the siege techniques first, and see how the Spaniards defend it. ”

The corners of Xu Xinsu's mouth twitched and said: "There are so many dead and injured people in attacking this small fort, how many people will be killed and injured in attacking that big fort?" If the casualties of the Sihai Battalion are too large, I am afraid that General Dong will not give up after he returns. ”

Guo Qing pouted at the bottom of the mountain and said, "Since those Dongfan asked to take all the land after the war, they always have to make some efforts."

Why don't you tell them that we don't have enough people to attack head-on? Therefore, it was planned to build a large city on this hill and trap the Spaniards in the city for a long-term plan. I think those elders will jump out on their own and take the initiative to take on the siege..."

Guo Qing suddenly closed his mouth, Xu Xinsu looked into his eyes in some surprise, and happened to see a man in a black robe walking out of the castle holding a white flag, obviously wanting to negotiate with him.

Xu Xinsu and Guo Qing went down the mountain with different thoughts, and ordered someone to bring over the missionary who claimed to represent the military governor of San Salvador, Vades, who came to negotiate peace.

Although the missionary was very humble to the two men, he surprised them with what he brought.

Whether it was Xu Xinsu or Guo Qing, they all thought that the so-called peace talks of the Spaniards were just surrender, although they still had some other ideas in their hearts, but since the other party had already wanted to surrender, they were also going to give up the calculations in their hearts.

But the content of the peace talks brought by the missionary made the two men both annoyed and relieved, and they were even exempted from finding a reason to refuse, and the terms of the peace talks of the Spaniards were the best reason for refusal.

According to the missionary, Valdes first condemned the Ming officials, in collusion with the despicable Dutch, to shamelessly attack the colonies of the Kingdom of Spain, which maintained friendly relations with the Ming Dynasty, and they would protest to the Ming Emperor for this.

Second, as the highest Spanish military governor on the island of Taiwan, Valdes was unwilling to continue the war, which led to the breakdown of relations between the kingdom and the Ming Dynasty. Therefore, he suggested that the two sides cease fighting, each report to its own government, and then send emissaries to resolve the issue peacefully.

Of course, this article was directly vetoed by Xu Xinsu, and it will not take more than half a month to travel from Taiwan to the capital, but it will take at least two years to return to Spain from Taiwan. Isn't this a delaying tactic?

Hearing that Xu Xinsu had rejected the first plan, the missionary proposed a second plan. In order to maintain the friendship between the kingdom and the Ming Dynasty, he was willing to hand over this place to the Ming Dynasty.

But the city of San Salvatore is the wealth of the kingdom, so the Ming should pay for this castle. Valdes promised that he would leave the island by boat with the Spaniards on the island as soon as the Ming officials gave him a symbolic amount of silver.