Back to Ming Dynasty with Industrial Revolution System

Chapter 1382 Promotion
"The enemy started to retreat. It seems that they are scared of being beaten." Qin Zuoming and other defenders saw the Bangladeshi Tubang army retreating slowly.

"How many people do you estimate you killed in the raid?" Chen Bangyan asked.

"Probably more than a hundred people, but the loss caused by their killing each other is even greater. They should only retreat temporarily, and they will not give up their determination to besiege us. We should collect food at this time to prepare for being besieged."

The offensive of the Bengal Tubang army was temporarily contained. Although Shashuja wanted to regain face, many Tubang princes and soldiers lost the courage to fight. The Calcutta bastion organized an effective attack.

"In view of your heroic performance, the three of you are temporarily promoted to low-level entrusted non-commissioned officers. After you officially report to the superiors, the military pay is twice that of ordinary soldiers, and each of you will lead a squad of soldiers."

Three Tubang soldiers stood in front of more than 400 surviving Tubang mercenaries, and were promoted by Qin Zuoming himself, making other Tubang mercenaries jealous.

They are people from the lower castes of Bangladesh, and there is hardly any promotion path to change their destiny locally, and they can even climb up to the direction of non-commissioned officers in the mercenary army!
These people are like seeds pressed down by a stone. The arrival of the new master made them see a crack. At least they can take a few people under their command as non-commissioned officers, and their military pay is much higher than the income of poor peasants.

Among the three was Ah San, whom Qin Zuoming was still optimistic about.

To become a servant soldier that he feels is qualified, in Qin Zuoming's view, the first requirement is to obey discipline, the second requirement is to understand Chinese, and other conditions such as caste are secondary.

"Come on, work hard, and you will have the opportunity to become senior non-commissioned officers and warrant officers in the future." Qin Zuoming said standing in front of them.

"For Great China!" The three Tubang soldiers who had been promoted to low-level non-commissioned officers chanted the indoctrinated slogan, tears welling up in their eyes.

Being able to mix from a poor peasant and a refugee of a low-level caste into a low-level military officer, they are already very satisfied with their current situation!
The other more than 400 native mercenaries were in a commotion. They also wanted to be valued by the new master and become a "superior" who could have subordinates.

Qin Zuoming watched with satisfaction the fighting spirit of the Indian native mercenaries.

Maybe the quality of this batch of soldiers is far inferior to the servant army recruited from Japan, but the strategy of one carrot and one stick can boost their morale and still have a certain combat effectiveness.

Moreover, these soldiers are very cheap and do not need pensions. Even if the salary of low-level non-commissioned officers is twice that of ordinary mercenaries, it is only one-fifth of the salary of ordinary Chinese soldiers.

"If we can foresee the vice king of Bangladesh besieging our bastion, we should recruit more mercenaries. If we give me another 2000 mercenaries, we can even defeat them head-on in the field." Qin Zuoming said.

After he discovered that this group of trained native mercenaries was more effective than the Mughal prince's army, his tactics became more aggressive.

Fort Calcutta was besieged by the Maharajah army, which meant that the business of the East India Company and Chinese merchants here was suspended due to the war, and every day they were besieged would result in a loss of one day.

If he could defeat the coalition forces of the Bengal princes in the field, Qin Zuoming would not hesitate to go out of the city to fight the opponent.

Qin Zuoming took advantage of this time to re-fortify Calcutta Fort, while Chen Bangyan took two boats along the river to collect grain.Even in the middle of a war, he could still buy food from nearby watersheds if he had the money.

Bastions are generally built by the river, and if there is no comprehensive blockade from land and water, basically it is impossible to siege them, and they can only attack by force.

The second prince, Shashuja, looked desperate. His decision to withdraw his troops for three miles made the Bengal princes lose their courage to fight.

Originally Shashuja planned to launch a strong attack on Calcutta Castle after three days of preparation, but the cowardly Bengal princes were still not ready to attack the city after dawdling for five days.

"Two days, I'll give you two more days. You must make preparations for the siege and obey my orders! If someone still refuses to make preparations for the siege after two days, he will be executed!" Shashuja said. Summon the princes of Bengal and urge them to get ready again.

The princes of the Bengal kingdoms all had a bitter face. They really didn't want to storm the strong fortress for the sake of Shashuja's ambition.

In particular, Qin Zuoming's heavy fog raid made them feel like soldiers, and they couldn't sleep peacefully every night.Hundreds of defenders took the initiative to fight against the city, causing more than 2000 casualties to the siege party!

"Your Highness, the other party just built a fort by the river to do business with our merchants. They obeyed the agreement and paid taxes to us, and they didn't show any intention of invading our territory. There is really no need for us to go to war." A prince said hesitantly.

"They obviously deployed a large number of troops and artillery in the fort. This time they can confront our army, which shows that they have the ability to interfere with our Bengal province. They are still accumulating strength. If we don't destroy their fort in time, they will More and more troops are appearing in Bangladesh!" Shashuja said in a deep voice.

After Qin Zuoming led the raiding team to a lesson, Sha Shuja was furious and also realized the threat of Calcutta Fort to him, the deputy king of Bangladesh!
He was entrusted to the wealthy province of Bengal, which was his base. Whether it was to regain lost face, or to get rid of the East India Company, which threatened the province of Bengal, he could not tolerate the existence of the Calcutta castle!

"Who is willing to be the vanguard to attack the castle of the East India Company?" Shashuja looked around at the many princes.

The Bengal princes all lowered their heads to avoid Shashuja's sight. They could not disobey the second prince's order, but they did not want to be cannon fodder to test the firepower of the fortress either.They are all feudal lords, with their own territories and soldiers. If they suffer heavy losses in the siege, they will not be tough in speaking among many princes in the future.

"Qasim, as the governor of the Bengal province, you have the obligation to lead the way. I order you and your son to lead 10000 people to use the excavation tunnel. Be sure to open a gap! I will hand over 10 bronze cannons to you!" Shashuja looked at the Governor of Bangladesh.

The governor of Bangladesh, Kasim, looked a little unhappy, but the second prince of the empire ordered him, and he had to give in: "The subordinates will try their best to surround them and drive them away, just like we drove the Portuguese from Bengal back then."

"Not to drive them away, but to capture and execute them all." Shashuja could not tolerate failure.

(End of this chapter)