1635 Han style rises again

On November 1676, 11, Hirabur (22 kilometers southeast of today's Ahmedabad city).

The Mughal Dynasty was actually a very powerful gunpowder dynasty, not a bumpkin who had never played with artillery.The founding emperor of the Mughal dynasty, Babur, was particularly good at using various firearms. His master Ali Kuli was a master of firearms at the level of an enemy of ten thousand people, and he made great contributions to the creation of the Mughal Empire.

The Mughal army used matchlock guns on a large scale even nearly a century earlier than the British army. Because of the ancestral family law, the British army did not popularize matchlock guns until 1592, while the Mughal army did not popularize matchlock guns in 1519. They have already used matchlock guns to teach the Afghan mountain people to "be human".

The Mughal Empire owned artillery factories such as Shimu. At this time, a heavy artillery team with more than 50 cannons and a light artillery team with more than 70 horse-drawn cannons were established.In addition, the Mughals also have rich reserves of saltpeter mines, which continuously supply gunpowder for the imperial army. Until now, the Mughals have been the main source of saltpeter for European countries.

However, the Mughal army has a fatal problem, that is "krypton gold".The Mughal Dynasty believed in the principle of "you can become stronger by charging money". During the more than 100 years of its heyday, it was the world's leading "krypton gold" player. Even Louis XIV, who claimed to be rich in the world, was far better than not on.

In order to enrich and strengthen the military, the Mughals introduced Turkic cavalry from Afghanistan and Central Asia, and artillery talents from Ottoman and even Portugal and the Netherlands. During the heyday of the Mughals, almost all artillery was in the hands of foreign mercenaries.

The source of this practice is its founding father, Babur, who hired Ali Kuli as an outsider, and also hired many musketeers and gunners from the Ottoman Empire.The Mughal dynasty used artillery made and operated by foreigners to knock down the castles of the Hindu princes one by one, and established the Mughal dynasty, so it regarded external artillerymen as a national policy.

Because the core ruling foundation of the entire Mughal dynasty is a large number of Persian and Turkic military leaders and civil officials, and these people are not good at firearms, so they can only hire talents from Ottoman and Europe.You must know that the salary standard of the Mughal army is the highest in the whole world, so it can naturally attract countless mercenaries to serve.

In addition to regular salary income, artillerymen of the Mughal army can also enjoy additional benefits from war auctions.Back then, when King Humayun returned and recaptured northern India, he bought an Ottoman gunner named Lumihan with a lot of money.

The Mughal princes shared the same fate as the early Ottoman princes, possessing enviable wealth on the one hand (Shah Jahan's four sons legally took eight per cent of the empire's income each year), and on the other. On the one hand, there will be a brutal battle of succession.Whenever the old king is seriously ill, the entire empire will fall into the shadow of civil war. When the princes are fighting civil wars, foreign artillerymen can use this to raise prices. Aurangzeb and the three brothers took advantage of their father Shah Jahan's serious illness. When they seized the position, they paid a lot of money to recruit European artillerymen under the opponent's command.

Although the kings and military leaders of the Mughal Empire all realized the role of artillery, they were too lazy to learn it. Instead, they directly spent money on training, relying entirely on the artillery technology and tactics mastered by foreign mercenaries. , bullying backward Hindu princes and surrounding tribal local armed forces.

However, in the entire Indian Ocean region, in terms of artillery performance and advanced technology, Qi ranks second, and no one dares to rank first.More than 40 years ago, when they first landed in Hanzhou and established their foundation, the people of Qi began to vigorously research and develop their own artillery technology on the basis of imitating European artillery.

In previous wars, Qi also defeated opponents one after another by virtue of its numerous and powerful artillery, creating the myth of the undefeated Qi army.

The artillery of the Mughal Empire, with mercenaries of various countries at its core, experienced for the first time what it means to be fired with thousands of artillery pieces and what is the flames of war when they confronted the Qi army from afar on this ancient land. At the same time, for the first time, I experienced the despair of being ravaged by the enemy's superior artillery.

From 18-pound heavy guns to 4-pound army light guns, from cast iron projectiles with huge kinetic energy to countless exploding bombs, and rockets that keep roaring, the entire Mughal The Erjun formation was shrouded in dense artillery smoke.

As the main firepower output of the Mughal army, the artillery positions received special care from the Qi army. More than ten heavy artillery continued to bombard the Mughal artillery fiercely.

The Qi people's shells were ruthless and accurate. In just half an hour, at least five artillery pieces were destroyed, and more than a hundred gunners were killed or injured.This made many European mercenaries who were firing artillery, terrified, and fled to the rear with their heads in their arms regardless of the restraint of the officers.

As for the Musketeers of the Mughal army, it was even more unbearable.Less than 300 meters away from the Qi army's position, not only was it violently bombarded by the opponent's artillery, but also faced cold gun attacks from hundreds of hunters, and the offensive situation was shaken accordingly.The Mughal officers and musketeer mercenaries who kept falling to the ground broke the hearts of all the soldiers, and immediately turned around and returned to the starting position.

After the governor of Gujarat, Muhammad Adil, dispatched [-] troops to rescue Surat in Chandrawati, he left all the military servicemen in the small town and led [-] soldiers to Ahmeda. Bud pounced.

The army rushed all the way, and successively "recovered" the small towns of Anand, Nadiad, Mahmudawad, etc., which were previously captured by the Qi army, and arrived at Hirabur, [-] kilometers southeast of Ahmedabad, early this morning. In a small town, I encountered the Qi army who had been waiting here for a long time.

Muhammad Adil saw that the number of Qi troops on the opposite side was less than [-], so he ordered the troops to deploy an array and take the initiative to attack the Qi army.

Although he felt a little strange that he didn't see the more than [-] cavalry who arrived here first, Adil still expressed great confidence in the upcoming battle.

With more than twice the force, not losing to the opponent's firepower, and still fighting in the territory of the empire, it may be supported by the nearby city of Ahmedabad at any time.No matter how you look at it, I have the advantage, and I am sure to win.

However, less than half an hour after the start of the battle, the whole situation took a turn for the worse. The Qi army suppressed the highly anticipated artillery of our side, and also defeated those mercenaries. There was a rare trend of collapse. The wolves rushed forward, swarming and fleeing to the rear.

The infantry array slowly advancing in front was repelled by the opponent's artillery and hunters before they approached the Qi army's position, and the formation was rolled backwards, throwing the entire army into extreme chaos.

Then, under Adil's astonishing eyes, the Qi army, whose number was far smaller than that of the Mughals, lined up neatly to the sound of drums and trumpets, and slowly launched a counterattack against them.

As the opponent's army gradually approached, the Mughal army array became more and more chaotic.Some officers and soldiers turned around and rushed towards the Qi army under the kicks, beatings and reprimands of the officers, while some officers and soldiers screamed and evaded from the constant shells, and crowded into a group.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!..."

"Bang! Bang! Bang!..."

The neat volleys of gun shots began to sound continuously, and the array of Qi troops moving forward alternately seemed to be like huge waves constantly surging, constantly beating and tearing the Mughal army.

Brave soldiers shouted "True God bless" and rushed towards the dense rain of bullets with their scimitars in their hands, while the cowardly and cowardly threw away their weapons and all the burdens on their bodies, and ran backwards.

The soldiers of the Qi army in the front row raised their guns mechanically, and after the officer's command knife swung vigorously, they subconsciously pulled the trigger, then immediately stopped and reloaded.The soldiers in the back row crossed the front row, picked up their muskets, and repeated all the operations their companions had just done.

When Adil, the leader of the Mughal army, turned his horse's head and fled backward under the protection of several guards, the entire Mughal army formation was completely in chaos.

A passionate horn sounded from behind, and then came a shout like a mountain roar and a tsunami, resounding through the four fields, and the sound of rumbling horseshoes changed from slow to fast, and quickly struck from the two wings behind.

In the endless wilderness, there are Mughal soldiers running wild everywhere. Banners, armor, luggage, artillery, and weapons are all discarded and scattered on the ground.

In the sky, a few vultures soared high in the sky, watching the grand human slaughter scene coldly, and then silently waiting for the silence after the noise.
-
December 12th, Delhi, Royal Palace (Red Fort).

Aurangzeb, the great "Alamgir (conqueror of the world)" of the Mughal Empire, stood tall, standing on the imperial steps, with an unusually gloomy face and falcon-like eyes, sweeping over a dozen ministers in the palace one by one .

All the ministers stood with their hands down, not daring to make eye contact with the furious emperor, and bowed their heads in silence.

In the past few days, one bad news after another has been coming in, causing the whole of Delhi to fall into an unspeakable sense of suffocation, making everyone feel the silent pressure.

First, half a month ago, there was news that the Sindh area was attacked by the Balochs.Countless towns and villages were plundered, and the local economy and people's livelihood were severely damaged by those bandits.The Baluchi people don't care about occupying territory at all, but adopt a mobile combat mode, frequently raiding those weakly defended towns.

The Mughal garrison stationed in the Sindh area seemed a little powerless because a large number of them were transferred to the vicinity of Delhi. They followed the Balochs in vain and watched them ravage towns and villages one after another.The opponent did not fight the Mughal army head-on at all, and left after touching it, with almost no trace to be found.

For this reason, the Governor of Sindh kept asking for help from Delhi, hoping that His Majesty the Emperor could send more troops to encircle and suppress the invading Baluchis and reduce the space for them to flee and plunder.

After hearing the news, His Majesty the Emperor was furious.Those Baluchi people live in the remote Baluchi area, and they have always been rebellious and rebellious. Ten years ago, they became independent and established the Karat Khanate.I thought that the poor mountains and bad waters would make it inconvenient to conquer and take time and effort, so I let them play with rocks, ride horses and graze, and fend for themselves.

Who would have thought that over the years, they would grow up gradually, so that now they dare to run down the mountain, raid the affluent Sindh area, and destroy the local people's livelihood and economy.

However, His Majesty suppressed his anger and did not send reinforcements to Xinde for the time being.His wise Majesty knows well that the strength of the Baluchi people alone is not enough to pose a threat to the mighty Mughal Empire.Their move must have been instigated by the people of Qi to disturb the situation in the northwest region in order to disperse the imperial military power.

As long as the imperial army defeats the incoming Qi State expeditionary fleet, the Balochs will naturally be alone and difficult to last.At that time, the army will be assembled to destroy their so-called Kalat Khanate, massacre its people, and never cause future troubles.

Just as His Majesty was gathering troops and preparing to gather a large army to attack and land the Qi army at the request of the governor of Gujarat, he received several defeat reports one after another yesterday.

The governor of Gujarat, Muhammad Adil, joined the Qi army in Shirabur, [-] kilometers southeast of Ahmedabad, and was defeated. More than [-] troops were almost wiped out. Adil only led less than [-] troops. First they were defeated at Balasinor, then crossed the Moshi River, and rushed to Zarod. Under the panic, they had no strength to fight any more.

Another defeat report showed that the city of Surat had also fallen into the hands of the Qi army, and it fell even earlier. When Adil sent [-] troops to Chandravati and returned to rescue, the Qi army had already fallen into the hands of the Qi army. Conquered the city of Surat.

Naturally, when the [-]-odd rescue Mughal army arrived in Surat, they were raided by the Qi army, and more than [-] were wiped out, and the rest were scattered in the wild, unable to fight again.

After the Qi army wiped out the main force of Gujarat commanded by Adil, it easily captured Ahmedabad and plundered for several days.Afterwards, the Qi army divided into several groups and ravaged the entire Gujarat area, besieging cities everywhere, as if entering a land without people.

Anyone with a discerning eye can see that if no large army is sent to aid Gujarat, at that time, the most prosperous foreign trade center and cotton textile center in this empire will be completely smashed by the Qi army, and countless wealth will also be looted by the other party. Millions of people became helpless refugees.

What is even more worrying is that the Maratha kingdom, which was gradually becoming a prairie fire, also took the opportunity to send troops to expand in the east and north directions, aggressively attacking and plundering the empty defenses of Gujarat and Malwa, making the entire country The situation in the southern region is facing collapse.

"Your Majesty, as your dearest son and loyal subject, I am willing to personally lead troops to Gujarat, wipe out all the Qi troops that landed in the empire, and bring the heads of their generals back to Delhi to present to Your Majesty In front of you." Muazzam (actually the third son of Aurangzeb, the two elder brothers above died early) knelt down on one knee in front of Aurangzeb and said solemnly.

Hearing the words, the officials in the palace first glanced at Mu'azam, then quickly looked up at the emperor, and then continued to remain silent.

"Qi State is not an ordinary small country. It needs to be treated with caution and not to underestimate the enemy." Aurangzeb waved his hand and said in a deep voice: "In the battle of Gujarat, more than 15 troops of the empire were completely defeated by Qi State. The entire territory was lost, comparable to the disastrous defeat in Kabul four years ago. From this point of view, Qi State is not only powerful at sea, but also powerful in land warfare. I want to supervise an army of [-], personally conquer Gujarat, and wipe out Qi Landing troops from the U.S. to revive the prestige of our Mughal Empire!"

Since Aurangzeb succeeded to the throne, it is not the first time that he has led an army to conquer in person.In order to conquer the resistance of the local tribes in Afghanistan, he left Delhi several times and went to the northwest front in person to lead the army to suppress the rebellion in order to restore the prestige of the empire and the emperor.

Now, the Qi State has aggressively invaded the territory of the empire, defeated the Gujarat Legion, and ravaged the place. For His Majesty the Emperor who pursues the ultimate martial arts, it is nothing less than the greatest humiliation and ruthless contempt.

Only by personally leading the army, wiping out the Qi army, and forcing the southern New World country to defeat and surrender, can he restore his great title of "Alamgir", and then restore the prestige of the Mughal Empire.