1635 Han style rises again

Junagadh, January 1677, 1.
General Guangwei (Major General) Ren Maoyong, the commander-in-chief of the coalition landing force, read a piece of information in his hand, squeezed it into a ball vigorously, and then leaned over to look at the map of Gujarat on the table.

"From here to Rajkot, is there any river obstruction?" Holding a wooden ruler, he carefully measured several distances, and then estimated the marching speed. Ren Maoyong turned his head to report to a black-clothed guard stationed in India. the staff asked.

"Return to the general. Although there are several small rivers from this place to Rajkot, they all run north-south and should not pose any obstacles to our army. If there are enough camels and animals, we can quickly pass baggage vehicles and various rivers. Artillery." The black-clothed Wei Renyong captain (lieutenant) replied respectfully: "In addition, this season is the dry season in Gujarat, and the probability of rain during this period will be very low."

"Then, you must be familiar with the terrain here?" Ren Maoyong stared at the black-clothed guard with burning eyes.

"Back to the general, I have spent two and a half years traveling the entire Gujrat area and drawing this detailed map." The black-clothed guard said solemnly: "As for the terrain here, although I don't know it well , but the basic situation is deeply engraved in the humble mind."

"Okay!" Ren Maoyong nodded with satisfaction, "If you win this battle, you will be the first!"

"I don't dare to take the first place in a lowly position. For my Daqi, for Your Majesty, I will do my best and die!"

"What's your name?"

"Mou Renjie, a low-ranking officer." The black-clothed guard was overjoyed. Since the general asked his name, it was natural that he really wanted to give him credit.I have worked hard in the Mughal Empire for three years, and it seems that I want to take advantage of this war to be rewarded for my meritorious service and soar into the sky.

"Fu Xiuwen!"

"Humble post here." A rough and rough officer (Lieutenant Colonel) promised loudly.

"Since you landed in the Mughal territory, you cavalry have not done any serious work. Apart from chasing and killing the remnants of the enemy, you just do some work of sentry and scouting." Ren Maoyong looked at the cavalry officer in front of him with a half-smile, "Now, It's time for you cavalry to show off your skills, but don't be ashamed to show your shame."

"Commander, please give me instructions!" Fu Xiuwen said in a deep voice.

Fu Xiuwen is a proper second-generation cavalry, whose father is Fu Jinbiao, the founder of the Qi cavalry.He has been in the cavalry environment since he was a child, and when he became an adult, he also became a cavalry soldier as he wished. It has been 17 years and he has gradually grown into a mid-level officer.Hearing the commander-in-chief making fun of the cavalry, he felt a little bit dissatisfied.

However, when it comes to the record of the cavalry, it is quite embarrassing. In the 40 years since the army was formed, it has hardly encountered a major battle.Even when participating in the battle against Qinglu on the mainland, they often undertake auxiliary tasks such as search, investigation, and information delivery.As for the various modes of traditional cavalry combat, such as interception, outflanking, pursuit, reinforcements, and formation of hedges, they have never been done at all.

However, in the Nanyang region, limited by the unique rainforest terrain and landform, there is no cavalry that can play a combat role, and they still undertake some dispensable missions of sentry and information transmission.

On the mainland of Hanzhou, cavalry was used for geographical exploration and inland exploration.Even, in some important gold and silver mining areas, they will be used as local guards and patrols.

Of course, sometimes, the cavalry is also used by the army as a background board for infantry drills, and as an imaginary enemy for infantry to resist cavalry attacks.

In the 24th year of Qianwu (1666), due to the killing of envoys, the Qi State gathered troops to conquer Egypt. Considering the long distance and inconvenient transportation of horses, not only did not use cavalry, but instead went to India and borrowed 500 yuan from the Maratha people. Many cavalry went with the army.

At this time, the cavalry officers and soldiers were reduced to everyone's jokes, thinking that there was no need for this arm to exist at all, and it was still under the army's jurisdiction.It is better for such unusable troops to be directly transferred to the police system of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, or directly assigned to the local township military organization.

At present, the cavalry of the entire Qi State is organized into four battalions, with more than 4 officers and soldiers.Each cavalry battalion has 2 cavalry companies, each cavalry company has 2 cavalry platoons, each cavalry platoon has 15 cavalry squads, each cavalry squad has 240 people, and the entire cavalry battalion has 40 combatants. And prepare 280 soldiers, a total of 300 people, nearly [-] horses.The main equipment is saber, lance and several light army guns.

This time when the war between the Qi State and the Mughals broke out, several cavalry officers, including Fu Xiuwen, tried their best to get two cavalry battalions to participate in the war with great difficulty.For this reason, the cavalry unit, from the commander to the ordinary soldier, and even the horses and weapons, are all carefully selected, full of energy, and want to reflect their value on the battlefield.

"This attack on Rajkot cut off the Mughals' logistical supplies, and we paid attention to a quick word." Ren Maoyong said seriously: "At present, we have captured and collected more than [-] war horses of various colors, which can be used for five A mixed battalion of officers and soldiers rode on and rushed to Rajkot quickly. The more than [-] cavalry in your department, in addition to undertaking the task of covering the assault force's rapid entry into the city, also covered the entire battlefield, attacked and killed Mughal sentries, and A series of difficult tasks such as attacking the Mughal logistics supply convoy from behind. Can your cavalry do this?"

"I will never give up my humble job!" Fu Xiuwen said firmly: "As long as there is only one person left in our cavalry unit, we will resolutely complete the various combat tasks assigned by the general command."

"Okay!" Ren Maoyong looked at Fu Xiuwen with satisfaction, "Your Majesty has just said that you can raise troops for a thousand days and use them for a short time. In this war, use your outstanding performance to prove the important value of your cavalry!"

"Obey, General!" Fu Xiuwen gave Ren Maoyong a military salute with a solemn expression.
-
Jamnagar, January 1.

"Take down Mansabdar who leads the team immediately and behead him for public display!"

Seeing the retreating Mughal army like a tide, Emperor Aurangzeb's face was livid, furious, and ordered ruthlessly.

More than [-] troops have surrounded the small seaside city of Jamnagar, and launched continuous attacks on the city, but they failed to enter the city as they wished.There were several times when the city defenses were crumbling and the Mughal army broke into the city wall, but they were all repulsed by the Qi army with fierce artillery fire.

During the seven-day offensive and defensive battle, the Mughal army suffered nearly 500 casualties, and Mansabdar, who commanded more than [-] people, also lost a dozen of them, and the morale of the entire army was also drained.

The Qi people's artillery fire was too fierce. When the troops launched an attack, countless projectiles continued to hit at a charging distance of 500 meters, plowing out terrifying bloody paths for the advancing Mughal army array, leaving Severed limbs flew up, and blood mist sprayed.

The shrill screams, terrified screams, helpless groans, vicious curses... and the continuous sound of rumbling artillery caused a great shock to all the attacking Mughal soldiers, and often Before reaching the city wall, he couldn't restrain the fear in his heart, turned his head and fled backward.

This battle is over!

When the army had just arrived in this small city, the artillerymen of our own side tried to put out all the artillery and bombarded the Qi army at the head of the city.But within a day, the artillery who had been relied on by the Mughal army was given a classic artillery "teaching lesson" by the Qi army.

The artillerymen of the Qi army seemed to be training for target shooting. At the beginning, they only carried out point-to-point firepower removal one by one. The first round was tested, and the second round was corrected. By the time of the third or fourth round, they were already very close to the Mughals. The position of the army's artillery is changed, and even if you are lucky, you can hit it accurately with a few shells.

By [-] o'clock in the afternoon, more than ten artillery pieces of the Mughal army had been destroyed, and the valuable hired gunners also suffered heavy casualties, with more than [-] casualties.Upon seeing this, His Majesty the Emperor immediately ordered the artillery to withdraw from the battlefield in order to preserve their strength.

Seeing that the artillery of the Mughal army was about to slip away, the Qi army stopped playing target training, and directly fired two rounds of artillery salvos. The dense rain of bullets instantly covered the artillery positions of the Mughal army, destroying the artillery again. Seven or eight guns killed hundreds of artillerymen and auxiliary servants, making the Mughal army artillery almost lose their combat effectiveness.

In the subsequent offensive process, the Mughal army had to continue to launch the traditional ant-attached siege mode without any artillery cover and with endless force advantages.

When countless brave Mughal soldiers managed to avoid the attack of shells all the way and attacked the city, they saw the thin and low city wall in front of them, and there were still several gaps, but they were only covered by giant trees and stones. , couldn't help but be inexplicably excited, but before the numerous ladders were erected on the top of the city, and the warm cheers hadn't stopped, they were shot by a neat row of guns from the top of the city, which was severely blocked.

The Qi army fired round after round of guns at the top of the city in a leisurely manner, killing all the Mughal troops who rushed forward under the city. In just half a quarter of an hour, the Mughal troops left hundreds of corpses, and finally had to Turned around and fled back to the battle.

In the past few days, the Mughal army has thought of countless ways to attack the city, covering vehicles, digging tunnels, setting fire and smoke on all sides, night raids, and even once considered diverting the water source of a nearby small river. , Flooded Qi army.

But no matter what method the Mughal army uses, they will always send their army to the front of the city in the end, and start a hand-to-hand offensive and defensive battle with the Qi army.

But the Qi army's strategy to deal with it was so simple and rude, that is, relying on their fierce firepower, they completely abused the Mughal soldiers who attacked them.Even though several Mughal troops broke into the city, they were all shot and killed in the city facing the protective walls, horse refusals, and fire barriers that the Qi army had already arranged.

This seemingly weakly defended small city, under the siege of more than [-] troops, seems to be a meat grinder that constantly devours human lives. No matter how many Mughal troops attack the city, they are finally smashed to pieces .

"Your Majesty, although the Qi army in the city is small in number, their firepower is extremely fierce. Whether it is artillery or muskets, they are far superior to the imperial army. Therefore, it is not the best strategy to attack the city." A general looked at the furious emperor, Gritting his teeth, he said boldly.

"..." Aurangzeb glared at the general, and asked in a deep voice, "Tell me your suggestion?"

"Your Majesty, the city is isolated by the sea, and the city is not big, so the Qi army must not have many supplies. But our army has as many as 14 people, and the Qi army can implement a siege strategy. When the Qi army is short of food and ammunition, It will definitely collapse without a fight and be defeated by our imperial army."

Aurangzeb heard the words, but did not respond. Instead, he looked up at the small city in the distance and fell into a terrible silence.

"The army stopped attacking, and we will take a rest for a day." After a while, Aurangzeb turned his horse's head and ordered coldly, then lightly knocked on the horse's belly, and walked back.

"Your Majesty is wise!" Hearing this, the tense heartstrings of the gathered Mughal generals immediately relaxed.
-
On January 1, Gondar (about 13 kilometers southwest of Rajkot).

In the Mughal Empire, there were no main roads in the standard sense of Qi, not to mention cement roads or coal-bituminous roads, there were not many side roads that were finely leveled and then paved with gravel.Even if there are decent "arterial roads" that can pass vehicles, they are mostly located in Delhi, Agra, and the core areas of the Punjab and Rajput empires.

The roads which are considered the best in the Gujrat area are also very uneven without any gravel, miscellaneous materials, and there are causeways across small ravines and small streams from time to time when the road needs to cross larger ones. When there is a river, there is usually a ferry.After driving for dozens of kilometers on such unpaved roads or roads that have not been repaired, the wheels of the vehicles have to be replaced frequently, making it impossible for the Qi army's marching team to speed up.

Due to the dry season of three to four months every year, there is almost no rain. The rammed earth on the road is turned into powder due to continuous rolling and friction. Vehicles pass by, and strong winds blow, creating a cloud of smoke and dust.

During the reign of Akbar, many "trunk roads" were also built and maintained, trees were planted on both sides of the roads, and walled salai (inns, post houses or hotels) were built for travellers.

Some salais are very large, like a fortress, with rooms made of many beautiful stones.However, during the march of Qi's army, it was found that these salais were destroyed and damaged without exception, and there were many fallen corpses among them.It is estimated that the Qi cavalry and "Dragon Cavalry" were on the way to attack Rajkot a few days ago. In order to ensure the suddenness of the attack, they slaughtered all the Mughals they encountered along the way.

I have to complain that compared to building a large number of roads, post stations, and other transportation facilities, the Mughals are more keen to spend a lot of money and manpower on religious and personal buildings.In order to mobilize the army, Shah Jahan spent 10 rupees to build the Ravi Canal, but in order to strengthen the main belief of the True God, he spent 100 million rupees to build a majestic True Temple in Daulatabad. Extremely extravagant, invested 600 million rupees to build a palace in Delhi (that is, the Red Fort).

Not to mention, in order to express his "devotion" and "love", Shah Jahan built a huge Taj Mahal for his wife, which took 22 years and cost 6000 million rupees.

If the money is used to build bridges and pave roads, it is estimated that the territory of the Mughal Empire has already been fully covered by the extensive transportation network.

"Report to the commander-in-chief, our assault force suddenly launched a surprise attack on Rajkot city at noon yesterday, annihilating more than [-] Mughal troops, occupying the city, and seizing countless food and supplies." A cavalry who reported the letter He reported to Ren Maoyong with joy on his face.

"Where is the cavalry now?" Ren Maoyong was determined and asked with a smile.

"After chasing and killing the remnants of the enemy to Paddari, more than [-] cavalry units have turned around and rushed to the northeast, preparing to intercept the Mughal supply convoy."

"Hehe..." Ren Maoyong squinted his eyes and looked towards the front of the team, "In this way, we will cut off the food supply of the Mughal army. In this battle, our army has already won by five points!"