1635 Han style rises again

Chapter 928
October 1676, 12, Surat.

Zhou Maoshen, deputy director of the Operations Department of the Qi State Navy, commander-in-chief of the expeditionary fleet, and General Zhen Guo (Lieutenant General) looked at the Englishman in front of him expressionlessly, and protested loudly, growing impatient in his heart.

"General, he wants us to give them a full and clear explanation on the sinking of the English merchant ship a month ago." An interpreter from an Indian trading company said in a low voice: "Otherwise, they will reserve the right to pursue the matter further. "

"Full and clear explanation?" Zhou Maoshen blinked his eyes and sneered: "Didn't you explain it to them? It was caused by a mistaken attack by the sons of our navy. In addition, our Qi State is in a state of war with the Mughal Empire. It has already been declared that the entire Indian region, including the surrounding waters, is a battlefield, and all ships are prohibited from sailing. Oh, yes, you ask him, what are the two English merchant ships doing when they see our warship? Full of all kinds of contraband?... I really have some doubts whether the English are secretly funding the Mughals' war operations."

"..." Calvin Phillips, the senior manager of the British East India Company in Surat, blushed and looked extremely angry when he heard Zhou Maoshen's words conveyed by the interpreter on the other side. He is an extremely honest gentleman, and all the trades he engages in are in compliance with the regulations, and there are no prohibited matters. Moreover, the Indian region is not a legal and valid territory under the jurisdiction of your country, and you have no right to be rude to the free-navigating English merchant ships Rough interception and inspection."

"In this war, our England is completely a neutral third party, and we will not have any biased choices or attitudes. But your warships of Qi State violated the basic trade principles and the code of conduct between countries, and brazenly attacked The sinking of a merchant ship in England. On behalf of the East India Company, and moreover, on behalf of the Kingdom of England, I lodge the most severe protest against you. You Qi must make an apology to us based on this, and pay compensation for all losses caused .Moreover, the perpetrators of this attack must be severely punished!"

"...Although the Indian region is not an effective territory under the jurisdiction of our Qi State, during our war with the Mughal Empire, we have the necessity and the right to blockade the entire waters around India. Any ship that violates our Qi State's blockade ban , may be identified as the means of transportation employed by the Mughal Empire, and should be inspected by our naval ships." Zhou Maoshen said with a look of concern: "And since your English merchant ships did not follow our Qi Navy inspection instructions, you forcibly Escape will naturally be recognized as an enemy ship by our naval warships, and necessary force measures will be taken to stop them. As for the serious consequences, you, the English, should bear it yourself!"

"Your Excellency General..." Phillips' complexion suddenly sank, "I am very sorry for what you said. I will truthfully report this matter to our Minister of England in Qi, and present it to His Majesty the King and the Parliament. .You will bear all the consequences for the above actions.”

A month ago, near the waters of Daman, two warships of the State of Qi intercepted a convoy of six large and small ships, heading south in a meandering manner.

When the warship of the State of Qi asked all ships to stop for inspection, the three smaller Malay ships lowered their sails very cooperatively and dropped anchor, waiting for the inspection of the State of Qi.

However, the other three larger European three-masted sailing ships ignored the warnings of the Qi warships and continued to sail south on their own.

The two warships of the State of Qi immediately fired guns to give a substantial warning, and soon stopped a French merchant ship.Seeing this, the other two merchant ships under the British East India Company spread their sails and accelerated their escape.

This behavior really annoyed the Qi warship.So he abandoned the other ships, looked for the direction where the British merchant ship was fleeing, and chased after it.

I don’t know whether it was because the British merchant ships resisted too tenaciously, which made Qi’s navy officers and soldiers feel unhappy, or because it was so dark in the evening that it was impossible to tell whether the British had raised their flags to surrender. He ruthlessly sank it.

According to the description of more than a dozen surviving British sailors, the warships of the State of Qi seemed to be conducting artillery drills. Chain bombs, grape bombs, solid shells, flowering shells, and even rockets frantically poured firepower on the British merchant ships.When the masts of the British merchant ships were broken, the sails were burned, the decks were washed, and they no longer had any power, they continued to bombard the British merchant ships in an attempt to kill them.

What kind of interception and inspection was this? It was clearly a Chiguoguo murder, a frantic killing of more than 70 sailors on the ship.

After the merchant ship was sunk, only 11 sailors were finally rescued because of the dark sky, and the rest sank forever at the bottom of the Indian Ocean, sleeping with the sea.

The British know that the Qi State Navy is killing chickens and scaring monkeys. They are trying to use this cruel method to warn merchants and merchant ships from all countries and regions that they must abide by the Qi State's trade blockade ban and must not trade or carry any illegal goods. The goods of the Gul people, in order to cut off the foreign trade of the Mughal Empire, and achieve the purpose of weakening their economic strength.

The British East India Company's business office in Surat was shocked when it heard of the incident.The people of Qi acted resolutely, struck fiercely, and dealt with it unscrupulously, which made all the British people shocked.

Now, in the face of the questioning and protests from the British East India Company, the people of Qi are still acting extremely tough, not to mention offering apologies and compensation, but instead accusing them that the British did not obey the Qi blockade ban and resist the inspection of the Qi navy. Take full responsibility for this incident.

You Qi people are too domineering!
"General, why don't you make up for the British so that they don't go to the mainland and affect the relationship between Qi and Britain?" Beside suggested in a low voice.

Everyone lives outside, which is quite difficult. Originally, because of the war, the normal business of others was affected, but our Qi State Navy beat their merchant ships to the bottom of the sea, and fifty or sixty sailors died. It's so pitiful to look at.

"Where is the army now?" Zhou Mao took a deep look at Zhuo Yuanzheng and ignored him. Instead, he turned to look at an intelligence officer in the room and asked about the movement of the army.

"Reporting to the commander, a week ago, after the army attacked Surendra Nagar, the troops were divided into two groups, all the way to Rajkot, a city in the central part of the Kathiawa Peninsula, and all the way to the seaport on the east side of the peninsula, Baonagar." The intelligence staff officer reported loudly.

"The army guys are going to have fun and wreak havoc in the entire Gujrat region before the Mughal army comes!" Zhou Mao sneered deeply, "You know, the Mughal Empire The emperor has already marched on his own, assembled an army of 15, and killed it from Jaipur. The army is still so leisurely and peaceful to attack places, without any rest."

"Commander, most of the army wants to seek some benefits for the more than 2 coalition officers and soldiers under its command." The intelligence staff officer had a look of envy on his face. Destroy the local people's livelihood and economy on the Kathiawa Peninsula in order to create difficulties in supplying the incoming Mughal army and provide strong conditions for the subsequent strategic decisive battle."

"Don't they worry, the Mughal army didn't go after them, but went straight to Surat and drove us into the sea?"

"..." The intelligence staff officer hesitated for a moment, and said bravely: "Commander, with the temperament of the emperor of the Mughal Empire, he will definitely gather heavy troops to besiege and kill the more than 2 coalition troops, and inflict heavy damage on me to save me. The prestige of their Mughal Empire, in this way, can force our country to fight again and achieve the ultimate goal of peace. And Surat City is not their main target. If our army is defeated, the city Naturally, the port city cannot be defended, and will be successfully recovered by them."

"..." Zhou Maoshen heard the words, smiled wryly, and said with a little resentment: "The army's appetite is really too big. With 15 people, it is hard to beat the Mughal army of [-]. In the end, I hope that a good tooth will not be destroyed." It's broken!"
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Amreli, December 12.

Holding a musket in his arms, Zhou Changbao looked enviously at the officers and soldiers of the [-]rd Qi Cavalry Battalion galloping across the vast field. They wore navy blue cloaks, majestic big caps, shiny riding boots, and a pair of The bright saber, let people look at it, can't help but rush forward.

"Little boy, are you 16 years old?" Gao Ju, a cavalry officer, immediately looked at the immature-looking guards of Anfeng Fort (now Cochin City, Southwest India) under the Indian Trading Company.

"Sir, I turned 16 in March this year." Zhou Changbao stood at attention, straightened his waist, and replied loudly.

"It's a crime!" The officer shook his head and sighed: "The goddamn Indian trading company even brought such a small child to form a guard team."

"Sir, I have killed people." Zhou Changbao said a little unconvinced: "In February last year, our Anfeng Fort Guards led the Cochin Self-Defense Forces and the Kozhikode Self-Defense Forces to fight against the Kingdom of Mysore. Those native states In front of us, they are not vulnerable. As long as we fire a few rounds of volleys, they will frighten the shit and run around."

"I think you are too young to be on the battlefield so early!" The officer got off his horse and rubbed Zhou Changbao's head. It’s not good to live in peace.”

"Sir, I like to carry guns and fight, and I like to conquer those barbarians."

"..." The officer was stunned when he heard the words, "You...you fucking like fighting, conquering barbarians, and...killing people?"

"...Mmm." Zhou Changbao tightened the musket in his arms, then nodded emphatically.

Zhou Changbao was born in Anfengbao of Qi and Indian mixed race. His father was a guard of a trading company and his mother was a local Cochin woman.However, according to the civil law of Qi State and the principle of following the paternal line, he can be regarded as a decent Qi State person, and he also enjoys superior treatment locally.

As a colony, although Indian trading companies established a number of primary schools and middle schools in Anfeng, Yongning (now Alleppey, a coastal city in southwestern India), and Xinyang (Kelung, a coastal city in southwestern India today), they taught native-born students of the state of Qi The children and local children have basic knowledge, but due to the lack of teachers, the education level and quality of education can only be said to be so-so. According to the minimum regulations of the local education department, they can only barely read and write.

In accordance with the principle of giving priority to the people of Qi, apart from the coastal strongholds directly occupied by Indian trading companies, the people's livelihood, economy and key management positions of the surrounding vassal kingdoms are also under the control of the people of Qi.

In order to deter the local area, consolidate and maintain the local colonial rule, the Indian trading company also imitated the local village soldier system, and all the people under its jurisdiction, young and strong men who have reached the age of [-], were included in the training of the village soldiers, and cooperated with the guards hired by the trading company. The army and the self-defense forces of various states conquered the surrounding "barbarians" and opened up trade markets.

This time, the Qi State attacked the Mughal Empire, and the Bangladesh Trading Company and the Indian Trading Company dispatched a total of more than [-] guards, township soldiers, and vassal state self-defense forces from their jurisdictions to fight against the Mughal Empire together with the Qi State Army. son empire.

Zhou Changbao and his Anfeng Guards were shipped to the west side of Cambay Bay after the Surat offensive and defensive battle, and they cooperated with a part of the coalition forces to jointly attack the city of Baonagar.

After easily capturing the city, the coalition forces spent two days looting and destroying the city, burning all stored food, and then marched west.Along the way, it was like bandits crossing the border. All the supplies were taken away or destroyed, creating a large refugee area.

That's right, the coalition forces are carrying out a certain degree of fortification and clearing of the vast battlefield on the Kathiawa Peninsula, and then lead the 15 troops of the Mughal Empire here to take advantage of their logistical supply difficulties. All together, the emperor of the Mughal Empire was captured alive.

"Boy, 15 Mughal troops are here, are you afraid?"

The cavalry officer watched Zhou Changbao carefully ride his horse around a small circle, with a nervous and excited expression on his face. He couldn't help thinking of his two younger brothers who were still studying in Hanzhou, and felt a little soft in his heart.

"There is nothing to be afraid of." Zhou Changbao said nonchalantly: "We are in Anfeng, Xinyang, and the Qiulong Kingdom in the south. We often defeat the Tubang army ten times as large as mine, and make them run away. Now, you people from Even if the native military troops come to India in person, even if they can’t fight a hundred against one, it shouldn’t be difficult to defeat the Mughal Empire’s army several times over!”

"...Damn it, I found out that all of you guards of the trading company and township soldiers are more confident than us, extremely publicized, and don't have the slightest fear of the Mughals." The cavalry officer listened, He was startled for a moment, then laughed and cursed: "Little bastard, on the battlefield, swords and guns have no eyes, when the time comes, be smarter, don't lose your life!"

(End of this chapter)