Forty-eight years of Qianlong

Chapter 699 War in South Asia ([-])

While Ding Guofeng was in contact with Mysore, he selected an officer with the best eloquence and a relatively calm personality from among the Mysore soldiers who were being trained as an envoy, and gathered fifty entourages and guards of honor for him. He bought a bunch of gifts and went to the kingdom of Maratha, Thanjavur, to win over the new sultan.

The guy who served as the envoy was called Madhu Sultan Raju, who came from the famous Kshatriya family in Mysore.Don't look at the usual training is not very good, but Mandarin is very smooth.This guy was very excited when he learned of his mission, and he patted his chest and said that he would definitely complete the mission.Ding Guofeng didn't dare to be careless. The unreliable and self-confident characteristics of the Indians in another time and space really impressed him, so he arranged a few officers and soldiers of the Special Operations Battalion who could understand Tamil to accompany them.

It is not far from Pazayarai to the capital of Thanjavur, Tanjoul City. Go south by sea for 60 kilometers, then change to a riverboat and go west for 70 kilometers from the mouth of the Kolidam River, and then go 15 kilometers by land. To, the whole process only takes three days.

Because the two places are so close, the Thanjavur side knew that a group of Orientals had come from the south of the local administration more than half a year ago, but because the other side's territory was too small, they didn't take it to heart at all.

Later, Beihai Town and Mysore launched military cooperation, and Ama Singh was extremely dissatisfied when he heard about it.You must know that during the Second Anglo-Malaysian War nine years ago, Mysore’s army invaded Thanjavur for half a year, looting the population wantonly; the Tipu Sultan was even kidnapped from Thanjavur The loss of [-] children is almost the loss of a generation.The tension between the two sides has grown.

Fortunately, Ding Guofeng prepared a lot of gifts for this trip, including silk and porcelain that Indians like most, and he also said that he would purchase [-] pounds of sesame seeds locally.Ama Singh was a little surprised after hearing the news, so he changed his mind and decided to meet in person.

As Zhao Xin said, life is not easy for Ama Singh, who has just succeeded in usurping the throne, especially financially.

Since 1775, Thanjavur has become a vassal of the British East India Company. At the same time, it has allied itself with the Carnatic Sultanate of Hyderabad, received its military asylum, and paid huge protection fees every year.In the previous war against Mysore, they suffered double blackmail from the British and the Carnatic Sultanate, and they were overwhelmed by sending troops and money.

But the problem is that Thanjavur can only sell rice, sesame, beans and other crops. Apart from occasionally supplying food to the British army in Madras, there is no foreign trade.Now that group of Orientals actually wanted to purchase [-] pounds of sesame seeds, which greatly delighted the local landlords and businessmen.

At the same time, the special warfare battalion brought by him from Bacheng was also dispatched.Under the surveillance of drones, they first cleared the British sentries outside the city and on the city wall one by one, and then they entered the local government governor's mansion, and captured Colonel Braithwaite who was sleeping soundly.

"It turns out that they did what happened in Paris! This is a long-planned conspiracy! They came to India, went to Europe, and refused to reach a friendly agreement with us. It was a conspiracy from beginning to end!"

On October 10, Tipu Sultan, who had assembled his army in Bangalore, led 11 troops to attack the Salem area in the east that had just been ceded to the British. Transport routes.Without the material assistance from Beihai Town, he would not be able to win this war anyway.

"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, Princess Charlotte, and Mrs. Elizabeth are all recuperating in Beihai Town. He authorized me to manage all affairs of French India."

Let's just say that during the "Battle of Buxar", the company's indigenous mercenaries in the Patna area had a desire to rebel because they were owed military salaries.Although the rebellion was suppressed, several leading native mercenaries were also tied to the muzzle and bombarded to death, which also opened the first mutiny in the history of the company's army.

Braithwaite's jaw almost fell on the table, his heart was like ten thousand beasts galloping past, and finally he concluded that his "far away" mission was a big joke.

In the process, although the British in Madras gave orders, Ama Singh in Thanjavur was thunderous and rainy, and sent more than 3000 people five kilometers away from Pajayarai. Went back in a circle.

At this point in the matter, Beihai Town has completely turned against the British, and there is no need to worry about it anymore.On October 10, Ding Guofeng ordered a regiment of servants to attack Nagapatinam in the south, which was controlled by the British, and asked Guo Xuexian to lead a fleet to provide artillery support from the sea.The defenders in the castle were powerless to fight back against the naval guns of the North Navy. In just half a day, the northeast corner and the north wall of the castle were severely damaged, and several gaps were blown out.

The other party introduced himself and said that he was the former governor Leclerc. This time, he was ordered by His Royal Highness Prince Louis Charles, with the assistance of the Northern Navy, to recover the occupied local governance and restore the legal rule of the Bourbon dynasty.

Ama Singh is certainly happy to see the results.Although he doesn't produce cotton here, is that a problem?The Deccan Plateau is the best place to grow cotton, and it can be harvested in three months.

Colonel Clement, the commander of the French army, saw that the reinforcements from the Northern Navy had not yet come, and knew that he could not count on it, so he proposed to the British army to ask for a 24-hour ceasefire to negotiate the terms of surrender.Colonel Braithwaite, the commander of the British army, only allowed until [-]:[-] the next morning. During this period, the earthwork construction outside the city would continue. Clement, who was isolated and helpless, had to accept the conditions.

Not to mention the French in the city, the British spies outside the city were also dumbfounded when they saw it.

During the subsequent interview, Ama Singh was quite surprised when he learned from Madhu that the Northern Navy’s record of dealing with the Dutch in Java.He still knows the Dutch, who have always been entrenched on the island of Ceylon across the sea; although they are not as powerful as the British now, they were also the former maritime overlord.

After that, the British took the order written by Colonel Clement and sent people to inform the French colonies of Kaleka, Yanan, Mahé and Kindernagar to surrender.

Time has entered December in a blink of an eye, and Hyderabad and Maratha are still building up troops. At this time, insufficient military expenditure has become the biggest problem facing the British East India Company.From Cornwallis' point of view, if he wanted to go to war with Beihai Town and Mysore at the same time, he would have to gather a huge force of no less than 12 people. However, such a large number of indigenous troops would require an astronomical amount of military expenditure.

Although both the Mumbai Governor's Palace and the battered Madras Governor's Palace are paying attention to the movements of the Mysore army, they are unable to fight alone.While Cornwallis mobilized troops from Bengal, he could only wait for Maratha in the north and Hyderabad in the east to send troops quickly.But the problem is that it takes time to assemble the troops, and it is too late now anyway.

The servant army who had already fought against the Dutch stepped up to build a ring fortification while the British army was busy lining up.When the British army started to attack, dozens of mortars smashed over.During the period, although the British army sent a large number of cavalry to surround it from the flanks, they were killed under the cover of more than a dozen machine guns from the special operations battalion, and the blood flowed like a river.During the two-hour battle, more than 2000 British soldiers were killed and injured, and more than 2000 native soldiers who were scared to pee simply surrendered with a white flag.

Cornwallis roared, his voice shook the governor's mansion, and everyone was stunned. What happened to the always kind-spoken governor?
Well, Beihai Town's attack on the Temple Tower has since become known to the world.Half a year later, when the news reached Europe, the royal families of various countries were shocked.The Duke of Anjou, who was in exile in Brussels and had been regarded as the heir, and a group of royalists were even more ecstatic.

When the local French who governed the city walked out of the house in shock, they were surprised to find that the flag flying on the castle was actually a golden irises flag on a white background representing the French Bourbon dynasty.

At [-]:[-] in the morning, when the sky was at its darkest, with a roar on the sea in the distance, a bright flame rose from the locally governed port, and then, the North Navy artillery outside the city also launched an attack .

Later, Madhu put forward a condition on behalf of Beihai Township that made Ama Singh quite tempted, that is, Beihai Township was willing to purchase no less than 20 pounds of long-staple cotton from Thanjavur every year, and ensure that the other party's throne was stable and peaceful. The country is independent; and the price is that no matter what happens to the British in the future, Thanjavur will not be able to send troops.

Two minutes after the Northern Navy artillery left, rumbling explosions sounded on the local governance walls, startling both the British and French inside and outside the city.When he learned that all 2 16-pound guns had been blown up and that all the members of the Northern Navy had disappeared, Colonel Clement cursed angrily.

At this time, the British had only taken over the Salem area for more than a year, and their rule was not stable.Moreover, the person in charge of the area is only a captain, and the number of troops is seriously insufficient.

The more than 2000 servants in charge of the pursuit have been chasing [-] kilometers north of the local administration, and fought a hastily assembled British on the second day.

A few days later, Colonel Braithwaite was sent back to Madras by a small boat with a handwritten letter bearing the seal of Louis XVI's ring.Cornwallis knew at this time that the British army had been defeated, and the duck that had reached its mouth flew away. However, when he saw the content and seal on the letter, he stood there for a moment with a look of astonishment on his face, and then suddenly realized.

Knowing that they were about to surrender, the French army in the city had no fighting spirit anymore. They immediately opened the wine cellar and got drunk.And while these people were sleeping soundly at night, the 16 artillerymen of the Northern Navy first gathered the remaining "shrapnel shells", then filled the barrels of 12 [-]-pounder guns with explosives, and ignited them. After a long fuse, they climbed down from the southwest wall and retreated to Paza Yalai with the support of the special warfare battalion outside the city.

Oh mon dieu!who am I?where am I?

Robespierre, who was in charge of power, was almost blown away, but what appeared in his mind was not Deng Fei, who spoke fluent French, but the tall staff officer who had talked with him before. Officer, he concluded that this person is the mastermind.It's just that he hadn't been jumping for a few days at that time, and the bloody guillotine was already beckoning to him.

When the time came on September 9, the artillery supported by Madras was in place, and the British built two more forts in the northeast corner of the city ahead of time, bombarding the French day and night.In the southeast direction of the local governance, the two regiments that were originally responsible for the feint attack mission also increased their siege efforts.

At the same time, the three thousand servants who had just disembarked for two hours followed the path that the special warfare battalion had reconnaissed and planned, and entered the attack position one by one, followed by hundreds of 12-pound guns and dozens of guns. 80 mm caliber mortar.

Facing the questioning from the people from Madras, the generals who have been instructed by Ama Singh said plausibly that you can't even beat 1 people, and our thousands of people are not enough to put people's teeth between them!The British hopped their feet in anger, but there was nothing they could do.

In fact, the problem of military expenditure has plagued the British East India Company from the beginning to the end. With the expansion of the scale of the war, the cost of military salaries and weapons and equipment procurement has become increasingly high.In recent years, the company's army needs tens of millions of pounds every year to maintain expenses, but neither the British government nor the British East India Company has spent a large amount of military expenditure.

As for Colonel Braithwaite, who was captured by the special operations battalion, he was taken to the living room of the Governor's Mansion after dawn, where a middle-aged French nobleman wearing a silver wig and gorgeous clothes was waiting for him.

"You? May I ask who are you?"

It was too late, and the awakened British army fled around like headless chickens under the artillery fire. The first to collapse were the native mercenaries, followed by the Scottish soldiers in tweed kilts.The British army in the city tried to organize a counterattack, but they couldn't find their commander!
It was all messed up, and the British army, which had always lined up to fight in an upright manner, had never fought such a battle.Who the hell is this?How shameless!

The fact that he was very displeased with the Lutheran church for sheltering his nephew in Madras meant that the British could always find an excuse to oust him from the Sultan's throne.

So when the troops of the "Tiger of Mysore" entered the Salem area and arrived at the first stop, Krishnagiri, the local people immediately declared their defection and expressed their allegiance to it.

Whether it is European officers and soldiers who hope to be well paid, or Indian indigenous mercenaries who are struggling to survive, the desire for war is essentially a response to economic demands.Under the trend of interests, these officers and soldiers will also abandon the sense of discipline and honor that regular soldiers have; if they cannot meet their remuneration requirements, they will respond to their leaders in an extremely rude way.Against this backdrop, military spending will only increase year by year.

Furthermore, the financial problems within the army were exacerbated by the corruption of the British East India Company over the years.The corruption of employees at all levels embezzled a large amount of wealth, resulting in their debt problems being unresolved for a long time, and the salaries of the troops they belonged to were also affected and mutiny was inevitable.

At 6 o'clock in the morning, the local governance was taken back by the Beihai Navy.One of the British naval blockade fleet in the port was bombed and sank, and the rest surrendered.

In this siege, the British army killed 988 people and injured 631 people. The loss was very serious, which was equivalent to two regiments being disabled; the French casualties were only more than 40 people.After that, the British captured 600 drunk French soldiers and more than 1000 indigenous soldiers in the city, as well as guns of different calibers and a large amount of ammunition.

On October 10, Cornwallis, who was in charge of the battle in Madras, finally breathed a sigh of relief after hearing the news, thinking that everything was fine, and finally he could sleep peacefully.Unexpectedly, that night, Ding Guofeng, who had been preparing for a long time, sent a report to the Guo Xuexian fleet cruising in the northeast of Ceylon, ordering them to launch an attack on the British fleet anchored in the local governance port at 3:[-] in the morning.

The defenders in the castle saw that they could not keep guard, so they went out of the city to attack on the night of October 10, and suffered heavy losses.The retreating officers held a council of war and felt that the battle could not be fought any longer, so the white flag was raised the next day.The Northern Navy then took over the city and expelled all the British after a few days, sending them all back to Madras.

On September 9, the French finally couldn't resist. The 27-pounder guns and 24 12-pounder guns all fell into silence. The only ones still fighting back were the six 12-pounder guns operated by the North Navy Artillery, but the shells were about to hit. Empty.

"Sorry, attacking local governance is my order."

At dawn the next day, the British army, who had been worried all night, knew what had happened in the city.Braithwaite was also shocked by the actions of the Northern Navy, but he still ordered the army to enter the local government immediately to take over the city.However, after the British army entered the city, it was discovered dumbfoundingly that the French garrison was so drunk that they couldn't even participate in the surrender ceremony.

As a result, the unlucky vassal states had to pay huge "military subsidies" again.Speaking of which, this thing was invented by the French, but it was carried forward by the British.

The essence of military subsidy is actually protection money.By using military advantages as a political bargaining chip, they forced the maharajas of Indian states to sign an unequal treaty, handing over diplomatic and military power, and at the same time providing corresponding material and financial resources to support the company's indigenous mercenary troops.

Take the most unlucky Awad region as an example, they have to pay protection fees of 750 million rupees to the company every year.Even when they couldn't pay, the company actually sent troops to detain the old Nawab's princess and demand repayment of the debt.

In order to win Beihai Town, Cornwallis bit the bullet and embezzled 100 million pounds that the company used for trade expenses. At the same time, the amount of military subsidies was increased by [-]%.

(End of this chapter)