Chapter 63

On July 6, after suffering dozens of casualties, the Spaniards finally completed the construction of the river crossing and began to cross the river in large numbers. First came the infantry, followed by the cavalry, and finally the artillery. A total of 1,600 Spanish soldiers crossed the Big Fish River and began to set up camp on the north bank. At this point, the穿越者 (Traversers) had almost completely stopped their incessant harassment tactics, withdrawing all their forces to defend the fort. Even the cavalry, which had been so prominent recently, had temporarily disappeared.

The Spaniards now faced a daunting situation. The enemy had retreated into the well-fortified castle, and without heavy siege artillery, they were somewhat powerless against this tough nut to crack.

Dingyuan Fort was initially designed and built primarily to defend against local indigenous attacks. The original fort was small and had a simple structure. Later, considering the threat from the Spaniards, the Executive Committee, on the suggestion of Xiao Bailang, carried out additional construction and renovations at the original site of Dingyuan Fort. The newly built brick walls were over 3 meters thick, and the city walls were no longer straight but featured many angular designs to reduce the area of dead zones. Additionally, some new protruding sections on the walls provided a lot of flanking fire support for the main walls. Overall, Dingyuan Fort was a fairly solid small fortress, and capturing it would require a significant cost.

The Spaniards' river crossing site was bustling with activity. Captain Torres, now acting as an engineer, was directing a large number of soldiers to transport heavy artillery across the river. These were 4-pound and 6-pound field guns, which were not very useful in a siege but were essential for field battles. Although Captain Torres doubted whether the Tartars would engage them in a field battle.

The true heavy siege artillery would have to come from the navy. At the strong request of Lieutenant Antonio Carlos, the overall commander of the campaign and the commander of the special task force, Diego Garcia, finally agreed to dismantle some of the ship's guns from the heavily damaged "Inquisitor" to support the front-line army. Of course, these ship guns were extremely heavy and very difficult to transport. Luojia was not close to Dingyuan Fort; even a light infantry march would take one or two days, let alone dragging heavy naval guns. To this end, the Spaniards reduced their draft horses for transporting logistics by half to drag these naval guns, and even so, they could only drag 2-4 guns at a time.

After six field guns were safely transported across the river, Captain Torres threw himself into endless construction work. He was responsible for building the river crossing defense facilities, artillery positions, and the fortifications for the upcoming heavy naval guns. Captain Torres noticed that the Tartars had some abandoned brick kilns and lime kilns outside the city, but unfortunately, they were severely damaged and could not be reused. Regretfully, Captain Torres ordered his men to dismantle these buildings, and the materials obtained were used to build their own camp.

Starting on July 7, the weather gradually worsened. The winter in the eastern region was always so unpleasant, and the continuous rain and snow added countless difficulties for the Spaniards working on construction. For the logistics units transporting supplies, this was a true disaster.

Lieutenant Fernando leaned against a cart loaded with blankets. He had caught a severe cold the night before and was feeling dizzy and unable to walk, so he had to lie in the cart. By the morning, his condition had slightly improved, which made him feel somewhat relieved. In this era, a cold could be fatal. Although he felt better, he still could not walk. Lying in the cart with nothing to do, he took out a stack of paper from his bag and began to write in his diary, a daily habit of his.

"July 8, light rain. After a day of rain, the road has become quite slippery and muddy. Some sections are very bad, and a slight misstep can cause the wheels to get stuck, making it impossible to move. In the afternoon, an ammunition cart got stuck in a mud pit, tipped over, and the barrels of gunpowder rolled all over the ground. My excellent deputy, Lieutenant Marco from Valladolid, spent two hours directing the soldiers to get the cart back on the road."

"July 9, light snow. Perhaps God is testing our patience and willpower. At noon, the axle of a cart transporting grain broke. The repairmen told me that due to a lack of materials, the cart could not be fixed in the short term. I had to order the abandonment of the cart loaded with 100 bags of wheat. Perhaps we can try to recover it when we return."

"July 10, moderate snow. The snow is getting heavier, but my cold has miraculously improved. I can now walk and help Lieutenant Marco with his heavy workload. Marco has been exhausted over the past two days. When I was unable to work, he took on all the responsibilities and handled everything in an orderly manner. Even I could not have done better. He is a good young man and has a bright future."

Lieutenant Fernando finished writing the last letter on the paper, put the entire stack of papers into his leather bag, and jumped off the cart, shouting, "Alright, boys, if you've rested enough, let's get moving. We are less than a day's journey from the front-line camp. Everyone, stay alert. The wind and snow are getting worse. Let's try to cover as much ground as possible before nightfall and find a sheltered place to spend the night. Marco, go and urge the convoy!"

"Yes, sir!" Marco bowed in response. Just as he was about to turn around, his body suddenly stiffened, and he pointed forward, his lips trembling, "C... Cossacks!"

Fernando shuddered at the news, turned around, and immediately felt every hair on his body stand on end, followed by a shiver.

About 500 meters away to the west, on a low hill, about a hundred cavalrymen in dark blue uniforms and black-brimmed hats rode down the hill and began to accelerate on the flat ground. They brandished their bright sabers, forming a loose formation and charging resolutely toward the convoy.

"Prepare for battle!" Lieutenant Fernando finally reacted, "Marco, form a circle with the carts! Forget it, there's no time. Damn Tartars, they came too fast! Everyone, take cover behind the carts! Pike men, raise your pikes! Musketeers, fire at will!"

The entire convoy, which had been resting, immediately fell into chaos. The pike men rushed to the weapons storage area to retrieve their pikes. Due to the slippery ground and the collision of people, many pike men fell to the ground. Some pike men who had retrieved their weapons, under the command of officers, tried to separate the surrounding crowd and form a line in front of the carts, but their movements were hindered by the three-meter-long pikes, and they were pushed around by the crowd.

"Fire!" The sound of hooves grew louder, and the Cossack cavalry had entered the range of the matchlock muskets. Lieutenant Fernando loudly ordered the musketeers to fire.

"Damn! The priming powder was blown away!" "God, the match is out!" "No good, the priming powder is wet!" After Fernando's order, only a few matchlock muskets fired, creating only a few small splashes in the wave of Cossack cavalry.

"Bang! Bang!" The Cossack cavalry, each armed with a 1633 flintlock pistol, opened fire. Since they did not need a match, and the priming powder was well-protected by the pan cover, about 60% of their pistols fired, and a large number of Spaniards fell. After firing, the cavalry quickly put their pistols into their saddlebags and swung their sabers, hacking down the Spaniards behind the carts.

Due to the sudden attack, the Spanish formation was somewhat chaotic. After the Cossack cavalry charged into the crowd, the last organized resistance of the Spaniards disappeared, and everyone was fighting individually. Some brave Spanish pike men, led by Lieutenant Marco, thrust their sharp pikes at the Cossack cavalry, and the musketeers threw away their heavy matchlock muskets and drew their light swords to fight. However, their efforts could not change the overall situation. After a round of pistol fire, Lieutenant Marco and some brave Spanish soldiers were killed, and the last courage of the Spaniards was extinguished.

Many Spanish soldiers threw down their weapons and tried to surrender, but the Cossacks responded with their sabers. The Spaniards broke down, and many turned to flee, only to be caught and cut down by the Cossack cavalry. The number of standing Spanish soldiers on the battlefield decreased, and finally, only Lieutenant Fernando and about seven pike men were still holding out.

The cavalry regiment commander, Xu Yu, who had a light wound, led a group of cavalry to surround them. His saber was still dripping blood; the Spanish soldier he had just cut down was the first person he had ever killed. At that moment, he felt an uncontrollable excitement, and his right hand, gripping the saber, was white from the strain.

"Send them to their deaths!" Xu Yu said coldly, "We can't carry prisoners this time. Take what you can from the carts, and destroy the rest. Leave nothing for the Spaniards!"

Following his order, a volley of pistol shots rang out, and the last Spanish warriors fell!

Lieutenant Fernando spat blood and fell on the grass, the blood from his mouth staining the snow red.

"Devil! Infidels... Devil! Assumption... Little Juan..." Lieutenant Fernando murmured weakly, his eyes growing increasingly unfocused. It was not until a Cossack cavalryman's sharp saber pierced his heart that he finally stopped his unconscious murmuring. His eyes wide open, he gazed at the northern sky, in the direction of Assumption.

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