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Chapter 1392 Crushing the Ganges Fleet
The inland river fleet of the Mughal Empire appeared at the mouth of the Ganges. A fleet of as many as 300 large and small merchant ships, fishing boats, and arsonists planned to turn from the mouth of the Ganges to the Hooghly River, a tributary, and then surround Calcutta Castle from the river.

Shah Jahan has completely gone all out, and sent all the inland ships to besiege. You must know that the East India Company only had 4 to 5 large ships on the Hooghly River, while the Mughal Empire used more than 300 large and small ships!

Even so, the Mughal Empire, fearful of its own defeat, placed its hopes in arson ships piled high with dry wood and gunpowder.The shipbuilding levels of the two sides have differed by more than one generation. The Mughal Empire did not even have a navy, and could only use inland river transport ships, coastal fishing boats, and merchant ships for transporting military supplies.

When the mighty inland river fleet had just left the Henghe Estuary, they happened to run into a support ship from Malacca.

Boom!The fifty-gun sail battleship Daehan cut through the wind and waves, the waves were split by the bow, and white waves splashed to both sides!
Two sailing frigates followed closely behind, and two troop carriers further behind.

"Fleet suspected to be the Mughal Empire!" shouted the sailor holding a telescope to observe.

"Report the number of enemy ships!"

"About 200 to 300 ships, most of which are small ships with little combat effectiveness!"

"Shoot them away!"

Without any further hesitation, the Daehan led the two frigates and pounced on them like wolves seeing a flock of sheep!

The artillery on the warship roared, white smoke filled the air, and the solid shells smashed into the Mughal fleet like meteors!The Mughal inland river fleet is no better than ocean-going ships. Most of them have almost no defense, and can be easily destroyed by solid shells!

Chen Bangyan, who went to Malacca City to ask for help, was on the Daehan, and he witnessed this battle of great disparity in strength.

Three galleons equipped with 12-pound and 24-pound guns hoisted 300 inland river vessels of the Mughal Empire to fight at the mouth of the Ganges!
Unexpectedly, the commander of the Mughal Empire, who did not expect to meet the Nanyang Fleet ships at the mouth of the Ganges, was in a hurry to command the fleet. All the ships were in a mess and were at a loss.

The only arson ship that can cause effective damage to galleons has nowhere to attack without advance preparation, and the direction of the wind and ocean currents is wrong. It can only pray that it will not be hit by shells.

The huddled inland river fleet had to flee back to the lower reaches of the Ganges after being sunk by artillery over a dozen ships. On the way to escape, many small boats were hit and sunk by their own big boats.

"Their ships on the Ganges actually want to enter the Bay of Bengal. It seems that they intend to enter the Hooghly River and encircle Calcutta by water. It means that the emperor's [-] troops have arrived near Calcutta, and we must hurry to Calcutta." Chen Bangyan Seeing that the fleet was dispersed at the mouth of the Henghe River, it was easy to judge the opponent's intentions.

It is difficult for such a group of large and small ships to sail in the ocean, and they can only stick to the coastline. The intention is probably to stick to the coastline and enter the Hooghly River to fight.

It's just that the inland river fleet was driven back by three large sailboats before they could leave...

"Give up the pursuit and continue to Calcutta." The captain of the Daehan chased for a while, and sank several slow-moving ships, showing no interest in pursuing along the Ganges.

Bullying this kind of inland river boat with little combat effectiveness does not give him much sense of accomplishment, and it will delay time.

After the three galleons and the two troop carriers dispersed the opposing river fleet, they continued westward to enter the mouth of the Hooghly River.And there are still many native soldiers who fell into the water on the sea, struggling or hugging driftwood...

Seeing that the terrifying sailing warships did not follow, the inland river fleet dispersed by strong ships and guns regrouped in the lower reaches of the Ganges.

The commander of the Mughal Empire wiped the cold sweat from his forehead with lingering fear. He had never fought against a galleon equipped with a large number of artillery. He was frightened by the firepower of the galleon. His transport ships, fishing boats, and merchant ships were not opponent!
"It's terrible. The enemy has come with ships with huge firepower. Even if we enter the Hooghly River this time, it will be difficult to pose a threat to their fleet. Arson ships may not be easy to use. What should we do?" The commander hesitated.

If you continue to advance towards the Hooghly River, the combination of the opponent's terrifying three galleons and several ships of the East India Company is enough to block the river with artillery. Arson is very difficult.

The opponent's commander might be on guard against the tactics of setting fire to the ship. If the arson was unsuccessful, he would probably be hunted down by the opponent's big ship again.

And retreat is not feasible. The emperor has ordered them to go to the Hooghly River to destroy the ships of the East India Company and completely block the Hooghly River. As a result, they were beaten by three large enemy ships at the mouth of the Ganges and fled back with their tails between their legs. Will the angry emperor execute him?

After struggling for a while, he decided to move on to the Hooghly River.

The Ganges fleet left the mouth of the Ganges again, but this time they were cautious and rescued their companions who were still floating on the mouth of the Ganges.

About 20 ships were lost under the artillery attack, and more than a dozen ships ran aground intentionally or unintentionally while fleeing. The size of the Ganges fleet has shrunk by more than one-tenth.

Although the fleet is mighty due to its large number, they all know in their hearts how heavy their fleet is, and they are no match for the other big ship at all.

Had the Mughal Empire had had a strong navy, they would not have been harassed by the Portuguese for decades but still unable to drive them away.

The Ganges fleet sailed towards the Hooghly River at a slow speed with the complicated mood of not wanting to fight but the fate of the king. They began to procrastinate, and the last trace of luck dissipated with the unbalanced battle at the mouth of the Ganges.

On the other side, the Daehan, two frigates, and two troop carriers were entering the Hooghly River at full speed.

After learning of the siege of Calcutta Fort, the No. 12 Corps of the Nanyang Fleet Daehan Formation and No. [-] Corps left behind in Malacca City immediately called for support.

It can be said that Calcutta mobilized the whole body. The Nanyang Fleet temporarily stopped attacking smuggling ships, pirate ships, and indigenous kingdoms. Troops come to Calcutta!

When they came to the Calcutta Fort, the bastion was still safe, and the Mughal emperor's army was still in Plassey, not far from Calcutta, waiting for the Ganges fleet to cut off the Calcutta Castle from the water before launching a storm from land.

(End of this chapter)