"Col. Do you think Parafos will choose to order surrender?" Lieutenant Charles, who had been silent, walked over and asked softly.

"This is not important, my lieutenant." Desai leaned lazily on the back of the chair and yawned. If it were based on the natural inertia of history, Parafos should have finally chosen to surrender. The kind Marshal Rana had offered the best conditions, and Parafos had no capital to turn the tables. But Desai would not take it lightly. Even if Spain did not put down his weapons, he had already chosen the escape route for himself and the officers and soldiers. It was a sealed secret passage in the Cathedral of Our Lady.

According to the established plan, after successfully occupying the city hall building and capturing those heavyweight officials, Desai and his commando must still hold on for a while so that the soldiers and civilians in Zaragoza will see that the French flags of victory have been raised above the roof. It is still less than 6 o'clock, and it is still a while before dawn.

A few minutes ago, gunfire came from the checkpoint at the northwest corner of the Town Hall building. It was obvious that the Spanish discovered the abnormality and began to exchange fire with the French soldiers guarding there. The gunfire was not fierce, and the Spanish troops who were rushing to attack were quickly defeated. They ran around, shouting that the French were coming, or reorganizing the offensive, or reporting to other generals.

Soon after, the riots extended from several checkpoints to the distance, and countless people lit up torches or held candlesticks, ran out of the barracks, from homes, and from all over the place, and some people panicked, "What's wrong, what's wrong?" When they learned that the town hall building had been occupied by the French, their despair and helpless expressions covered most of the faces.

The French were not idle either. After defeating the first attack of the Spaniards, most of the soldiers at the three checkpoints were ordered to retreat to the Cathedral of Our Lady, leaving only two scattered soldiers everywhere to act as observers. The Cathedral of Our Lady is different from the City Hall, and there are no Spanish soldiers to defend it. Desay only sent more than 10 soldiers, led by Lieutenant Kerle, and successfully captured more than 20 priests and nuns.

Whether it is the Town Hall or the Cathedral of Our Lady, all exits leading to the outside, including the first floor door and windowsill, were completely blocked, leaving only shooting holes. The only thing that remains intact is the connection between the side doors of the Town Hall and the Cathedral of Our Lady, French soldiers dug up a large number of square tiles and piled them into two barricades to defend the lifeline of the Town Hall and the Cathedral of Our Lady. In addition, under the command of the officers, soldiers were asked to remove the seats, pianos, sofas, cabinets and wooden railings from the city hall, and piled them all on the front of the position, including the steps of the Town Hall building.

Just after 6 o'clock, the soldiers of Zaragoza who had gradually awakened from the chaos had gathered again under the leadership of the officers. A general was confirmed as a temporary commander and began to issue orders to the officers and soldiers. The Spanish, who had made a comeback, soon occupied three empty checkpoints. They opened the fence gate blocking the middle of the road and prepared for the next move.

Soon, a large number of soldiers shouted hysterically. They no longer obeyed the orders of their superiors. They held rifles and sabers and rushed directly to the city hall building. The officers began to be excited and refused the commander's order. It was obvious that the Spanish found hundreds of corpses who died at the bedside in several nearby barracks.

"What a group of damn idiots, why don't you think of negotiating first?" Desai stood on the balcony on the third floor with his hands behind his back, staring coldly at the Spanish soldiers flocking toward the opposite side of the square. At this time, the ink-black sky gradually turned dark blue, and the whole city began to emit hazy brightness, which was enough to expand the field of vision to a distance beyond the range of the smoothbore gun.

The ongoing battle is just a one-sided massacre.

Because of extreme anger, the Spanish soldiers lost their minds. 100 meters away, they had already fired bullets before the charge and no longer filled the ammunition. On the road of attack, everyone could only wave their weapons, their manic cry, their vicious curse, and their hatred eyes, becoming the "bullets" shot at the French by the Spanish. Unfortunately, they were not effective.

The French soldiers were ready. They made full use of the terrain in the building and spread out, either hiding behind the gate, leaning against the windowsill, and on the balcony on the second and third floors. Because they were well captured along the way, each soldier had 3 rifles or pistol weapons, and several non-commissioned officers were closely observing the direction of the enemy's march outside the building through the shooting hole. 80 meters away, the enemy arrived as scheduled, and the soldiers finally issued an order to shoot freely.

More than a hundred gun barrels quickly extended out of various shooting holes on the front of the city hall building. The gunshots sounded, white smoke came out, and dozens of Spanish soldiers fell to the ground. Others ignored the casualties of their companions and continued to run forward without hesitation. The veterans still thought in their minds that it took the French to replace ammunition, at least about 15 to 20 seconds. During this time, it was enough to support themselves to run to the steps of the city hall to seek a hidden location.

However, the veterans immediately found that they were wrong. They were surprised to see that after only 2 seconds, the shooting holes stretched out the same number of gun barrels as before. Fresh sounds of fried beans sounded again, and the people in the front rows fell to the ground one after another, silently or groaned in pain. The surviving veterans found that things became uncontrollable, and they began to wander and slow down. The same scene happened again after a few seconds. Several veterans stopped. When there was no more companions around them, they had already woken up and gradually retreated backwards, and then turned around and fled.

This move naturally caused others to follow suit. Soon, the Spaniards were defeated on the whole line, and all the survivors had evacuated from the battlefield except for the few uninformed soldiers in the front row. The remaining unlucky guys wanted to find shelter under the obstacles on the steps, but were killed by guns from the second and third floors of the city hall. The Spanish's first unsuccessful siege ended here. In addition to leaving behind corpses and wounded people everywhere, they only consumed hundreds of ammunition from the French.

When there were no more Spanish soldiers standing in the square, the gunshots stopped. Several French soldiers wanted to continue shooting and killing the injured Spanish, but were immediately stopped by Lieutenant Charles. Soon, a non-commissioned officer who knew Spanish shouted on the balcony on the second floor: No more than 20 Spanish people who were allowed to carry any weapons to come to the square to treat the wounded and carry the bodies. The French will keep their promises and ensure the safety of all rescuers.

Desai stood on the side of the windowsill on the third floor and witnessed the entire battle process. The result was expected. I believe that the Spaniards who calmed down would make a comeback. At that time, the soldiers were under great pressure. Unlike now, they killed hundreds of enemies without any harm.

In the first round of attacks, the Cathedral of Our Lady of Pilar was not affected at all, or in other words, the Spanish had not noticed that the holy land in their hearts was also occupied by the French. The church still preserves the stone pillars of the Virgin Mary in 40 AD. In Spanish, the pillars are called "Pilar", which is the origin of the name of the church.

Initially, St. Jacob built a small chapel here. Later, the small chapel was expanded into a cathedral by Constantine the Great. However, the cathedral was destroyed during the Moorish reign. However, the stone pillar of the Virgin Mary was secretly preserved by the Christians of Zaragoza. It was not until Alfonso I occupied Zaragoza that the worship of the Virgin Mary was restored and a church that was imitated in Roman style was rebuilt. However, the church was burned by a fire in the 15th century.

The current Cathedral of Our Lady was rebuilt around the 17th century. It is magnificent, fresh and elegant. It combines the style of an Islamic mosque and a Christian church and shows a unique style. Inside the church, 11 tall circular domes are majestic and staggered, interpreting the entire church into a dreamy space, creating a kind of paradise and holy beauty. It is the essence of the entire church and has won the praise of everyone.

From the initial simple stone chamber to the towering Baroque palace today, the "jade pillars" decorated with gold foil and surrounded by brocade have always been the focus of people's respect. It is this legendary story in the history of Christianity that, as the most respected protector of the Spanish, Virgin Mary and St. James jointly support a thousand-year-old sky of faith.

"Enough, Lieutenant!" Major Delney brutally interrupted Lieutenant Kerle's chattering commentary. He was sent by Colonel Desay to supervise the secret passage, rather than to appreciate the monuments, review history, or the glorious history of the enemy.

Of course, the lieutenant knew the major’s purpose, but the task he was carrying was deviated. Candiola, perhaps his future father-in-law, could not find the entrance to another secret passage.

"You know, Major! In Zaragoza, Candiola is an unpopular Jew, and the interior of the Cathedral of Our Lady is not open to him again. Almost every 100 years, the Cathedral of Our Lady is rebuilt several times by devout believers who believe in the Virgin Mary. As for the entrance to the secret passages that the ancestors of Candiola have been passed down to this day, to be honest, it has been changed."

When Lieutenant Kerle saw the major's increasingly gloomy face, he immediately changed his words: "Don't worry, Major, please tell the leader of Desai, I must guarantee that I will find the entrance to the secret room within 1 hour. Absolutely guarantee!"

Major Delney nodded reluctantly and asked, "Can you 50 of you stick to the church?"

Lieutenant Kle immediately stated, "No problem, Major! Candiola told me that as long as we move the statue of Our Lady to the entrance of the gate so that the besiegers can see the statue of Our Lady is safe and sound, they will not take any violent actions. Our only combat mission is to stick to the side door connecting the town hall and the corridor."
Chapter completed!