1635 Han style rises again

Chapter 924

September 1676, 9, Khulna, Bengal.

"what!"

A servant soldier from the Nanyang Tubang brandished a spear and slammed it over, pulling the local Bengali man to the ground and letting out a scream.The native servant soldier still refused to give up, stepped forward a few steps, raised his feet and kicked the opponent vigorously, making him roll all over the ground, without the power to resist.

Afterwards, the servant lowered his body, pulled a small burden from the Bengali man, and checked it carefully.

Standing under a big tree, Liao Jinzhu looked at dozens of fallen corpses in the distance, his face was pale, he was panting heavily, and he felt dizzy again and again.

This small town, called Jerami by the locals, was taken this morning by two companies of Shunguo Zuoying, one company of the Second Battalion of the Weiguo Shenhuo Army, and more than [-] subordinate Nanyang Tubang servants. of.

The town has almost no defense, only a simple wooden fence around it.When the two light land guns blasted several breaches in the wooden fence, the native servants rushed in waving spears and broadswords.The hundreds of Mughal troops garrisoned quickly gave up resistance. Except for a few dozen people who fled, the rest all knelt down and begged for surrender.

On September 9, the coalition landing force headed by Qi State captured Khulna, an important town on the west bank of the Pusur River.In order to annihilate the vitality of the Mughal army and create favorable conditions for later capture of Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, Qi decided to use this place as a preset battlefield to attract the Mughal army to aid.

Therefore, after spreading out the cavalry of the two battalions to detect the movement of the Mughal army, the coalition forces divided their troops into several groups to attack the surrounding area.In just a few days, several nearby towns such as Monla, Sadkila, Chenida, and Juvadanga were visited.

Compared with the more than [-] Qi army in the city of Khulna, the order of the entire city is relatively "orderly", and no large-scale looting and massacres have occurred, but the surrounding towns and villages within more than [-] kilometers have been attacked by various forces. The turmoil of the vassal states and the servants of the Nanyang land-states, all of a sudden, wars broke out.

The Bengal region is the entire Indian region, and it is also the largest cotton textile industry center of the Mughal Empire. Qi State took the lead in launching a military attack on the Mughal Empire in this area, and there was a desire to destroy and destroy the local cotton textile production.

Cotton, nettles, indigo, homemade cloth and other cotton raw materials accumulated in the local area were packed together with the seized gold, silver and other materials, and then shipped to Chittagong for temporary storage.Various cotton spinning machinery and tools were also damaged and destroyed.

Under the connivance of the commander of the Qi State, the armies of the vassal states and the vassal states of Nanyang state plundered the place wantonly, searched as much as possible, and enjoyed an unprecedented feast of looting.

The wealth and abundance of the Mughal Empire really surprised everyone.There is only a small town of Jerami with a population of less than 1 people. Liao Jinzhu's more than [-] coalition officers and soldiers have seized more than [-] taels of gold, more than [-] taels of silver, and countless other materials.

Moreover, when the Mughals faced the looting of the coalition officers and soldiers, they also behaved very submissively, taking whatever they asked for, and did not dare to resist at all.

Liao Jinzhu carried a short knife and a bulging bag. In the rain and fog, he followed his companions and walked towards the town step by step. In the wilderness, in the fields, and in the village community, there were scattered coalition officers and soldiers everywhere.

In the half-covered farmhouse, suppressed weeping and moaning sounded from time to time.There were also Nanyang native servants who came out of the house in disheveled clothes, with large and small bags in their hands, with obscene smiles on their faces.However, when they saw Shun Guo officers and soldiers, they greeted them flatteringly.

"Damn, if a cavalry from the Mughals rushes over, none of us will be able to run away." An officer of the Shunguo Left Battalion spat in the direction of the Nanyang native servants, and then put on a cushion feet, looked around.

"Mr. Du, since the general of the Qi State dared to let us have fun here, he must have sent scouts within a hundred miles around to investigate the movements of the Mughals at any time. If there are police, they will naturally notify us in advance. .” A soldier said with a smile.

"Damn, why is it still called Du Zong, Du Zong? Our Shun country has changed its military system according to the military model of Qi country, and we need to call Lao Tzu the company commander." The officer glared at the soldiers, "Don't think that there is Qi The national army is here, and the Mughals will not dare to fight over. You need to know that we are now in the enemy's territory, and we are not familiar with the place, so don't ask others to surprise us."

"Mr. Du... oh, company commander, look at those native servants, they are all like fucking hungry wolves, grabbing whatever they see, even their pots and pans. If we are slow That's right, the natives have snatched up all the good things!"

"When searching for things, you have to be careful of your own life. Who..., climb up to the watchtower and keep an eye on the surrounding situation at any time. If there is something wrong, immediately blow the horn to warn!"

"Yes, company commander!" Seeing the company commander pointing at himself, Liao Jinzhu hurriedly nodded in agreement.Although the military uniform on his body was already drenched by the rain, he wanted to go back to the temporary camp and change into dry clothes, but the military order was so high that he could only endure the discomfort and ran towards the watchtower on the west side of the town.

This season is the summer monsoon period in Bangladesh. Although the temperature is not high, the humidity is still very high, and the face and body always feel wet. Coupled with the rain, it is very uncomfortable, but Liao Jinzhu I dare not take off my clothes.Because, the liaison staff sent by Qi State warned all the officers and soldiers of Shun State that after landing, they should not expose their body parts at will to prevent mosquito bites, and they must not drink any water in the wild to avoid the breeding of malaria and various tropical diseases.

For the orders of the people of Qi, the officers and soldiers of Shun Kingdom naturally agreed with them very much and strictly followed them.No one else, because the northwestern region of Borneo, where Shun Country is located, also has a tropical rainforest climate. Every year, many people die from malaria and various tropical diseases.Although Qi State provided them with many life-saving cinchona cream and Artemisia annua, which also had certain effects, they were not useful for all patients, and more or less there would be some patients who were ineffective in treatment and suffered from pain. die.

Two years ago, Shun State sent troops to follow Qi State to conquer Japan, and the number of officers and soldiers who died of illness was more than the number of officers and soldiers who died in battle.And the Bangladesh region they are currently fighting in, whether it is climate, environment, or geographical conditions, is much worse than Japan.

In the past ten days, the coalition forces have successively captured Mengla, Khulna, and more than ten surrounding towns, all of which encountered very weak resistance.Moreover, it was the servants of the Nanyang native states who took the lead. The Qi army and the armies of the vassal states hardly suffered any casualties. Only a dozen or so unlucky ones either sprained their feet or tripped over obstacles when they landed. , fell out a few teeth.

However, in just a short period of ten days, more than 20 officers and soldiers died successively due to acclimatization, malaria, and other tropical diseases.Under such circumstances, the officers and soldiers of the coalition army should not take it seriously, and strictly follow the instructions of the military doctor of Qi State and the liaison staff of various ministries, and do a good job in various preventive work.

Liao Jinzhu sat in the watchtower, looking around from time to time, while opening the luggage on his back, sorting out the stolen property.There are more than a dozen Mughal silver and copper coins, a pair of golden bracelets and chains, a piece of beautiful silk and satin, and the rest are some odds and ends. It is estimated that it is worth more than 30 to [-] yuan. Zhou Yinyuan is worth three or four months' salary.

No wonder, when they set off from Shunguo, the officers and soldiers of the former battalion who had been to Japan all showed envious expressions.Co-authoring and fighting a war can still make so much extra money.

Thinking of this, Liao Jinzhu felt a little annoyed.If it wasn't for his strange blood-sickness disease, he could only be a drummer. He was in the last row of the team, and he couldn't follow his companions into the city at the first time, so that the "capture" of the battlefield was far more expensive than that of his companions. few.

Well, there are cavalry coming!
Suddenly, Liao Jinzhu saw two cavalrymen running from the northwest, heading towards the small town here.Immediately, he frantically stuffed the belongings on the board into his luggage, then untied the horn tied around his waist, puffed his cheeks, and blew vigorously.

"The commander-in-chief has orders. The whole army must be assembled and return to Khulna immediately!" After the two cavalry messengers rushed into the town, they shouted to several leading officers.

"What's the matter, the Mughals are calling?"

"..." The messenger shook his head, without saying anything, handed over the military order to a Qi State liaison staff officer accompanying the team, and then ran back the same way.

"Could it be time to set off again and go to another place in the Mughal Empire?" Liao Jinzhu murmured as he watched the two cavalry messengers gradually go away.
-
October 10, Rajgarh city.

Zhuo Yuan, the treasurer of the Qi State Indian Trading Company in Shanghai Fort, was staring coldly at the minister of the Maratha Kingdom in front of him, feeling extremely annoyed.

"The number of Mughal troops stationed in Surat City is less than 1, and the defense is extremely weak. As long as your Maratha Kingdom dispatches an army of [-] to [-], with the cooperation of our Qi State warships and armed merchant ships, it is inevitable that you will be attacked by land and sea. It can be conquered." Zhuo Yuanzheng took a deep breath, and said patiently: "In this way, your Maratha Kingdom will obtain a large amount of wealth from the most important foreign trade port city of the Mughals. , can greatly enrich your financial resources.”

"However, as far as we know, the Mughals bought dozens of powerful cannons and further improved the defense of the entire city in order to prevent you Qi from attacking the city of Surat from the sea." Rutu Raj Jawad shook his head and said: "In addition, the Mughals have deployed no less than [-] troops in other parts of Gujarat, including a powerful elephant army. Once there are police in Surat, these troops will Rescue can come at any time. Therefore, we are not sure of capturing this important city."

"Didn't you capture Surat City more than ten years ago?"

"Oh, that's different." Jawad said with a smile: "13 years ago (1663), when we were still weak, the Mughals obviously looked down on us. Therefore, our great majesty can Surat city was taken by surprise, when the Mughals were not alerted enough. But now, everything has changed dramatically. We Marats have established our own Kingdom, this is enough to attract the attention of the Mughals to us, and they will definitely pay the necessary attention and vigilance to us."

"Since you don't attack Surat, how about moving your troops to the northeast, threatening or attacking important cities such as Kendwa and Indore?" Zhuo Yuanzheng asked again unwillingly.

"To tell you the truth, the main force of our Maratha Kingdom's army is currently fighting against the Bijapur Kingdom, and it is still in a stalemate. It is really impossible to deploy more troops to attack the Mughals." Jawad said He said regretfully: "You also know that our strength is not very strong, and we can't fight on two fronts at all."

"You Maratha Kingdom should focus on the Mughals instead of betting your limited forces on the Bijapur Sultan Kingdom." Zhuo Yuanzheng couldn't hide his disappointment on his face, "Once The Mughals have freed their hands from the northwest, and they will definitely turn around and attack you."

"However, the Kingdom of Bijapur is right behind us. If we don't attack and weaken the Kingdom of Bijapur in advance when the Mughals are temporarily unable to go south, then they will definitely be in the midst of our battle with the Mughals. Then, launch a shameless sneak attack."

Since 1668, after the Maratha leader Chhatrapati Shivaji fled from Agra back to the Maratha Mountains, he restarted the war against the Mughal Empire.In just a few years, with the secret support of the Qi people, they captured a large area of ​​land including Pune, Nashik, and Aurangabad. Then in 1674, they established the Maratha Kingdom and established their capital Laqi. In Garh, Sivaji also used the title "Chhatrapati" (meaning independent king or king).

However, the cooperation between the Qi State and the Maratha people is not intimate and unreserved, but each defends against the other.The Maratha people saw Qi and other foreign forces establish their respective strongholds along the coast of India, trade with the Mughals, and all made a lot of money. They also gave birth to their own sea power and independently carried out foreign trade.

But the Qi people did not support this at all, not to mention helping the Maratha people train sailors, they would not even sell them a sailboat of more than [-] tons.He also constantly warned them that as a traditional land force, they should focus on developing and expanding their cavalry forces, happily fighting guerrillas in the Mughal Empire, and raiding Mughal cities and villages, that is the right way.

You said, you ride horses well, cut people, grab Mughal things, what kind of navy are you playing?That is too advanced, not suitable for you!

Furthermore, if you rely on geographical conditions and local advantages to vigorously develop maritime power and actively carry out foreign trade, if you are going to become big, how will Qi State hold you back?

The Maratha people felt both angry and helpless about the restrictions imposed by the Qi people.However, they are extremely dependent on the Qi people in terms of military supplies and foreign trade, so they dare not tear themselves apart rashly.

As for asking the Portuguese, the Dutch, or the British, under the intentional or unintentional blockade of the Qi people, they still can't get the help they deserve.Therefore, Chhatrapati-Sivaji of the Maratha Kingdom has always been worried about this.

A few months ago, the Maratha people were immediately excited when they heard that the Qi State had sent a huge expeditionary fleet to launch a war against the Mughal Empire on the grounds of trade disputes and unfair treatment.

For this reason, the Maratha people reorganized their army and assembled a large army, preparing to take advantage of the Qi-Mughal war to fish in troubled waters and take the opportunity to expand the power of the Maratha Kingdom.

However, before Qi’s expeditionary fleet reached the coast of India, their merchants and soldiers stationed in Shanghai Fort (now Mumbai) kept sending letters to the Maratha Kingdom, urging them to send troops to attack the Mughal Empire and disrupt the situation in the south.

The Marathas shirked this in every possible way, looking for various excuses, and resolutely refused to attack the major cities and important ports in the Mughal Empire.

Just kidding, we Maratha people are not a fool, although we are rough-tempered.If we fight the Mughals in full swing, after your Qi expeditionary fleet arrives, you can take advantage of the gap and choose the weakly defended coastal towns of the Mughal Empire to launch an attack, which is both cheap and beneficial.But we Marathas have to face the fortified city of the Mughals first.

That being the case, why don't our Maratha Kingdom preserve its strength first, and then pick up a ready-made bargain after the two powerful "collisions" of your Qi State and the Mughal Empire?
(End of this chapter)