I

  Chapter 744 741【Inexplicable battle】

  The Ottoman capital is already next to Greece, so it is naturally impossible to go there immediately, and you have to take a boat in the Mediterranean Sea.

  The next stop of the mission is the port city of Sohar.

  Hundreds of years later, this place belonged to Oman, but now it belongs to Jabrid.

  When the Jabrid dynasty was in its heyday, it was able to control the entire Arabian coast, including the UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, and parts of Saudi Arabia and Oman.

Before the fall of the   dynasty, three brothers ruled Oman, the north bank of Oman, Bahrain and surrounding areas respectively. At this time, the Portuguese came, their ships were strong and powerful, and they were invincible, and a dynasty quickly disintegrated.

   Now split into many tribes, one of the branches of the royal family continues to rule a small number of areas. The main land is only the United Arab Emirates and the northwest coast of Oman.

  The navy that once dominated the Arabian coast has also degenerated into pirates of all sizes with the collapse of the dynasty.

  At this moment, Oman King Saeed I is recruiting these pirates by virtue of his prestige.

   Last year, off the coast of Muscat, Oman fought a war with Portugal. Two Oman warships were captured by Portugal, and more than a dozen were severely damaged. Saif I was determined to develop the navy, and recruiting nearby pirates was naturally a shortcut.

  The Chinese fleet sailed out of the Strait of Hormuz, and a group of pirates watched from afar, jealous but did not dare to act.

   "Are these pirates, or which country's navy?"

  Fan Chao held up the binoculars, always feeling that the other party's intentions were wrong.

  But it may be overthinking. If it is a certain country's navy, it is normal to be on guard in the open sea.

  Fan Chao put away the binoculars and said to the adjutant: "Sign out the semaphore, let the ships get ready, and fire immediately if there is any abnormality!"

  The fleet of envoys continued to advance, and the pirate ships retreated farther and farther, and finally retreated to Sohar Port, which was the target of the Chinese mission.

  The pirates were also very surprised. This is a pirate's lair. Could it be that the other party is coming to destroy themselves?

  The pirate ships fled the port in a swarm, and some pirates disembarked and ran to the city to report to the ruler.

  The ruler is called Zaid ibn Zamir, a descendant of the Jabrid dynasty. Those pirates outside can be said to be his navy, or it can be said that it has nothing to do with it.

  Hearing that a fleet was coming, Zaid shouted in fright: "Call all the troops, send people immediately, and call the warriors of all tribes here!"

  There are only 300 cavalry in this city, and the rest are all infantry, and there are not even musketeers.

   About 40 minutes later, the port tax collector came to report: "Master, there is a fleet of envoys from China outside, and they request to come to the city to visit the master."

At the same time, there was also an Arab businessman who explained to Zayed: "China is located in the far east, and it is a very powerful country. The silk worn by the Persian nobles came from there. They just came from Persia. It is said that he was warmly received by the emperor, and he is a trustworthy messenger of peace."

   "I see, let the Chinese envoys enter the city." Zaid finally felt relieved.

After the merchants and tax collectors left, the pirate leader who fled into the city suddenly said: "If the silk comes from China, then there are countless treasures on these ships. You can lure their army to the city and capture the leader of the army. , forcing those ships to surrender.”

   Such a bold and bad idea, Zaid was actually moved.

  The core ruling area of ​​this guy is only a port city, and there are several surrounding tribes. The rest of the territory only obeys him in name, and usually has to partner with pirates to make money.

   In a word, poor and crazy!

  Lu Tianxiang and Zhang Ruifeng brought 2,000 soldiers ashore. When they entered the city, they were only allowed to bring half of them in.

  The pirates seemed weird at first, and the members of the mission were always on guard, but now they feel very strange.

   Zheng Dayong, the commander of the emperor's personal guard, had already served as the head of the regiment in the north before being transferred back to Nanjing. At this moment, he frowned and said, "We have two thousand soldiers going ashore. Either let us all enter the city, or like the Persian emperor, only allow us to bring two or three hundred soldiers into the city. No more, no less, let us bring a thousand soldiers in, Divide our army in two. What is this trying to do?"

  Shi Lang said: "Divide and annihilate them."

  Zhang Ruifeng hesitated, looked at Lu Tianxiang: "Your Majesty, do you want to enter the city?"

  Lu Tianxiang did not answer immediately, but asked Zheng Dayong: "Commander Zheng is a warrior on the battlefield, what advice can you say?"

Zheng Dayong said: "If you want to enter the city, you must first send people back to the ship to report the news. Let the fleet prepare for the battle. Those unknown ships at sea may attack at any time. Send another thousand navy ashore, and stay outside the city. The troops will support it together. The empress and Ambassador Zhang stay outside the city to prevent accidents, and I will lead people in to find out the situation. If there is any change in the city, immediately let the warship bombard the city wall, and the empress can command the army to attack the city."

"This is too risky. What if the enemy has firecrackers and the troops entering are ambushed by firearms? Why not go back to the ship immediately and send only a few envoys to the city to negotiate. In this small state, a few envoys are enough." After Lu Tianxiang went to sea, she couldn't let go and chose the safest way.

  On the contrary, Zhang Ruifeng, who seemed calm, was eager to make a great contribution, and said: "I have agreed to enter the city, if I give up halfway, wouldn't it be a loss of face to the Celestial Dynasty? How about this, the empress will stay outside the city to support, and I will bring the soldiers into the city to check."

  Lu Tianxiang feels that he doesn't understand military affairs and diplomacy, so he should listen more to the opinions of the audience. She turned her head to look at the civil and military people, and found that they were all eager to try, so she had to swallow her objections.

  The army of the Datong imperial court has always been invincible, which has caused the civil and military officials to all feel proud, and they don't take this small country in their eyes at all.

  Lu Tianxiang, who seems to be the most redundant, is actually the most normal one, because she is worried that she will make mistakes, so she always remembers to act cautiously.

   Two thousand soldiers, one divided into two.

  One thousand emperors' personal guards, all in armor, ready to enter the city. A thousand naval soldiers stayed outside the city to respond at any time.

   While sending people back to the ship, several guards rode around the city to observe. They didn't bring many war horses, but they bought some in India on the way, and now there are thirty-two horses in total.

  Although they are all arrogant soldiers, when they really want to take risks, they are fully prepared.

   Not long after, the sentinel came back halfway and reported the news: "There are only two forts in this city, all of which are aimed at the port. Entering the city from the front, the troops entering the city will not be bombarded, but the troops outside the city should move their positions."

  Another sentry cavalry said: "There are several miles outside the city, and the terrain is unobstructed. It is difficult to set up ambushes. If there are ambushes, they must be inside the city."

  After all the preparations were done, Zhang Ruifeng entered the city with his head held high and a thousand soldiers in full armor.

  There is only one earthen city here, and it is very dilapidated, and some of the city walls have cracked.

  Although Zhang Ruifeng was apprehensive, he was extremely excited. If the chief of this place doesn't open his eyes and really does black hands, he can lead the army to destroy the country and achieve Ban Dingyuan's unworldly feat!

  Looking at them entering the city, Lu Tianxiang felt that something was going to go wrong, but she didn't know how to stop it.

  Zayd put on a suit of chain armor and was standing on the wall of the earthen city at the moment. Three hundred guards in plate armor, two hundred guards in firearms, and five hundred guards in heavy armor. The almost luxuriously equipped troops made the Arabian chief terrified, and at the same time greedy enough to make his eyes red.

  As long as these troops are lured into the city, they will ambush them and kill them by surprise.

   After eating the troops entering the city, let the cavalry go to attack the troops outside the city. Even if he couldn't force the warships at sea to surrender, and snatched so many armors and weapons, it would still be enough for him to form a powerful army, conquer the entire Arabian Peninsula, and restore the glory of his ancestors a hundred years ago.

  The gate of the city was opened, and the local officials tremblingly led Zhang Ruifeng into the city.

   Zhang Ruifeng glanced at the official's expression, and he knew it, and said with a sneer, "Put down your armor."

   Zheng Da raised his hand and pulled the helmet, which was like a hard hat, and immediately lowered the retractable armor to protect his neck. The rest of the soldiers followed suit.

  One party has evil intentions and wants to set up an ambush.

  One party went deep into the tiger's den, intending to bloom from the city and directly occupy the earth city.

  Going forward to a certain intersection, the officials who guided them forward suddenly slipped away.

   Zheng Dayong saw this and shouted: "Stop moving forward, line up!"

   "Shut up!"

  Arrows rained down all around, and archers were ambushed everywhere on the roofs of the surrounding houses.

  From the southeast direction, many infantrymen with scimitars and spears rushed forward. The sound of rumbling horseshoes sounded from the west, and hundreds of Arab cavalry rushed straight to the flank of the Datong Army.

  The ordinary army, suddenly ambushed and encountered enemies in three directions, may have already fled towards the north where there are no enemies.

  Zayd had this idea, and even knew that there was a shortage of three in the encirclement. In his opinion, the Datong Army would be defeated, and no matter how good the equipment was, it would not be able to withstand an ambush.

  But the Datong Army had been mentally prepared for a long time, allowing the rain of arrows to shoot at them, clanging non-stop, and they were all blocked by the armor.

  On the periphery of the formation, all guards with heavy armor and spears stood, all raising their spears in unison.

  In contrast, these Arab infantry were so poor that they could only wear leather armor, and some didn't even have leather armor. A group of infantry from the south came, facing the hedgehog-like spear formation, they were already terrified before they fought.

   Lance vs. Lance.

  The Datong Army cooperated tacitly, and the Arab soldiers fought on their own. Not to mention, the Arab soldiers' spears could not pierce the armor of the Datong army at all. And the Datong army stabbed out with a single shot, it can be said that the shot pierced the flesh and blood.

  At the moment of the battle, the Arab soldiers showed signs of collapse.

  Zayd personally led the cavalry and rushed towards the flank of the Datong Army. He believed in the power of the cavalry, and the enemies in front of him were all infantry, and they must have been scared to break up and run away.

   But in the face of the cavalry charge, the Datong army stood still, all raising their spears and waiting in place.

   "Bang bang bang!"

  The firecracker guards hiding in the formation finally opened fire.

  What the hell?

  Although Zaid didn’t have a musketeer, he knew what happened to the arquebus. Such a dense formation was still hidden in the army formation, and it was impossible for the arquebus to fire. Moreover, he just observed that the enemy's musketeers did not place matchlocks at all.

  A matchlock gun does need enough space, but a flintlock gun does not.

  The Arab cavalry in the front row suddenly turned on their backs.

   After finally getting close, the horse automatically chose to brake in the face of Lin Li's spears. A smart horse is also afraid of death, and it is impossible to go straight to the spear or bayonet. This is also the main reason why the infantry's hollow formation can deal with the cavalry.

"kill!"

  Three hundred guards in plate armor crossed the spear array with their warhammers in hand.

  The Arab infantry, who was almost collapsed, stabbed at these monsters subconsciously. Some plate armored guards were stabbed down, and they tried to get up with great difficulty. They seemed to be in a mess, but they were not injured.

   More plate armored guards stepped forward among countless spears, wielding war hammers, one by one.

   "Run!"

   Seeing that the situation was not good, Zaid led his troops and cavalry to flee, turned around and ran in the narrow street. He couldn't even take care of his wife and children, the enemies in front of him were too terrifying, so he had better escape the city with the cavalry first.

   There is no need for support from friendly troops outside the city. The Datong army that entered the city has already won a decisive victory.

  Zayd led the cavalry around to the south and galloped out from the south gate.

  At this moment, one thousand naval soldiers were outside the east city, and one thousand navy soldiers were outside the west city, and sentries were set up on all sides to observe the situation.

"woo woo woo woo!"

  The sentinels in the north blow their horns.

  Lu Tianxiang was shocked immediately, raised his knife and shouted: "Follow me to kill the enemy!"

  The imperial concubine, with only twenty cavalry, even went to chase and kill more than two hundred Arab cavalry.

  (end of this chapter)