1635 Han style rises again

Chapter 933 The Fall
Sarnnad (about 1677 km west of Ahmedabad) on 1rd January 23 at 10:[-] AM.

On the open field, nearly a thousand war horses were scattered here and there, grazing the grass leisurely with their heads down, or gulping down the fine grains held by their masters.There are even cavalrymen who cherish their war horses, holding a brush to comb the mane of their beloved horses to soothe their fatigue.

"Da da..." There was a crisp sound of horse hoofs, and two sentry horses came from a distance at a fast speed.

The resting cavalry watched their companions quickly pass the guard post and headed straight for the headquarters, their hearts trembled.

It seems that the sentry has found out the situation of the Mughal cavalry, and the troops are about to end their temporary rest and re-enter the fighting state.

After hearing the report from the sentry, Fu Xiuwen, the commander of the cavalry of the Qi State and Lieutenant Colonel Linghui (Lieutenant Colonel), immediately took out a map from his pocket, spread it on the ground, and watched it carefully.

"Did our assault troops occupying Ahmedabad go out of the city to pursue them?"

"Sir, my assault force in the city did not leave the city!"

"Are you sure the Mughals didn't disperse and flee?"

"Sir, no! The Mughal cavalry are all heading northeast along the Sabarmati River." The sentry had an excited expression on his face, "their number is less than three thousand, and they seem to be It is also at the end of its strength."

"Sir, when the Mughals saw that Ahmedabad was captured by our assault troops, their morale must have been lost. They didn't even dare to launch a tentative attack, so they walked around the city directly." The commander of the third cavalry battalion, Xuan Lieutenant Jie (Major) Fan Jichuan showed an excited expression, "Now, the Mughals have been running for five days, and they have hardly received any supplies on the way. They must have been exhausted and unable to fight again. The humble officer suggested that our cavalry immediately Let’s set off, grit your teeth and catch up, maybe you will be able to capture the emperor of the Mughal Empire and establish an invincible merit.”

"Sir, Battalion Commander Fan is right." Xiong Lianshan, commander of the first cavalry battalion and Lieutenant Xuanjie, was also eager to try, "If our cavalry can capture the enemy chieftain in this battle, we will definitely be able to show off in front of all the troops in the army. face. Don’t be told that we cavalry are just a group of shepherds on horseback and herding sheep!”

"Are you willing to muster up your courage and not be afraid of sacrifice, and follow me to fight the Mughal cavalry again?" Fu Xiuwen raised his eyes and glanced at the cavalry officers who surrounded him.

"Humble post!" All the officers agreed in unison.

"Mou Renjie!" Fu Xiuwen turned to look at a black-clothed guard officer accompanying the army.

"I'm humble."

"The Mughals have bypassed the city of Ahmedabad and fled northeast along the Sabarmati River. In view of this situation, how can our army intercept them in the shortest possible time?"

"Sir!" Mou Renjie stretched out his right hand and pointed to the map of Gujrat on the ground, "The Mughals are going to flee northeast along the Sabarmati River. In Gandhinagar, it is necessary to rest for a while to slow down the horsepower. That small city is about 25 kilometers away from Ahmedabad. If our department starts from here, it will go straight to Gandhinagar. It is more than ten kilometers, and the horses are constantly changing along the way, so they should be able to arrive before them.... At worst, they can be overtaken there."

"Very good!" Fu Xiuwen showed a satisfied smile, then straightened his face, and ordered solemnly: "Blow the assembly number and get ready to go."

"Yes, sir!"

"...Go to two messengers and inform the assault troops in Ahmedabad, and tell them that if you want to establish immortality, you should not guard the city."

"Sir, there is no need...to inform them."

"Don't be greedy for merit." Fu Xiuwen smiled, "With our five hundred cavalry, we may not be able to eat the thousands of Mughal cavalry. You know, their emperor is still in the army."
-
Noon, twelve thirty, Adaraj (about 20 km northeast of Ahmedabad).

Aurangzeb took the kettle from the guard and poured it into his mouth, making his dry throat moist and cool.

"Your Majesty, let's eat something." The head guard took out a piece of slightly blackened jerky and handed it to His Majesty the Emperor.

"Where is this place?" Aurangzeb couldn't help frowning, but he still reached out and took the piece of dried meat.

"Going back to Your Majesty, there is a village not far away, which the locals call Adaraj." The chief guard said, "If you drive one hour further, you will arrive at the small town of Gandhinagar.... Perhaps, there is no attack With the raids of the Qi army, we can obtain some necessary supplies."

"The Qi people... didn't come after them."

"No." The chief guard shook his head and said, "Presumably the limit distance they have raided and plundered in the past few days should be the city of Ahmedabad."

When Aurangzeb heard the words, his face was instantly filled with gloom.

Since he led [-] cavalry to withdraw from Jamnagar, he has been indescribably embarrassed and aggrieved along the way.The large and small towns along the way were all destroyed by the Qi army, and it was tantamount to a difficult task to obtain some supplies.When they arrived at Vanganel, they were followed and attacked by more than [-] Qi cavalry.

This is not so much a retreat as a hasty escape.

Even decades ago, when Yu Kandahar was defeated by Persia and Yu Balihe was severely injured by Uzbeks, Aurangzeb was not as panicked as he is today.At that time, what the empire lost was only more than ten thousand troops and tens of millions of rupees in military expenditure.

But now, 15 troops have been cut off from all logistical supplies in Jamnagar City, and life and death are hanging by a thread.Even the [-] cavalry he led personally lost most of them during the flight for several days, which can be described as extremely embarrassing.

Although, when he evacuated Jamnagar City, he had vowed to Saman Gudos that after returning to Delhi, he would recruit hundreds of thousands of troops again, and then attack Qi, and he would definitely drive them into the sea. To maintain the prestige of the empire and restore his emperor's dignity.

But in fact, if the 15 army is really defeated and all ink is in the hands of Qi, then the Mughal Empire will be unable to fight again for at least half a year.The troops stationed in the provinces need to be mobilized, the necessary military expenses need to be raised, and various equipment and supplies need to be collected from multiple sources. All of this takes too much time and energy.

What is even more frightening is that the disastrous defeat of the imperial army is likely to trigger various chain reactions. The big Maratha people might show up one after another to challenge the majesty of the empire.

Oh, and the kingdoms of Bijapur and Kokanda in the south will surely be happy to see the imperial army being severely damaged by Qi, causing the entire Mughal Empire to encounter a serious military crisis.

"Adil, order the troops to stop resting and strive to arrive at Gandhinagar in the afternoon." Aurangzeb took a deep breath, turned his head and told the cavalry commander.

"I obey, Your Majesty." Adil immediately put on his helmet, then got on his horse, and ran towards the cavalry scattered by the river.
-
At noon, one o'clock, the small town of Gandhinagar (about 25 kilometers northeast of Ahmedabad).
"The troops rested for 15 minutes to prepare for the arrival of the Mughal cavalry."

Gandhinagar is a small city with more than [-] residents. It has no walls and is surrounded by simple wooden fences.

When the residents of the city saw the Qi cavalry attacking, they were extremely flustered. The women screamed, the children cried, and the men roared, creating a commotion.

Before it was too late, a few Mughals who looked like local officials stepped out of the town in fear and asked the soldiers of the Qi State the purpose of coming here.

In the past few months, the entire Gujrat region has been completely in chaos.First, the Qi people attacked Ahmedabad and defeated the Gujarat local army, causing hundreds of thousands of refugees to be displaced. Many of them fled to inland areas via Gandhinagar.Immediately afterwards, the empire's 15 troops came from Delhi in mighty force, and drove the Qi army all the way to the northwest.

Unexpectedly, in less than a month, the Qi people came back again, and heard that they had once again captured the weakly defended city of Ahmedabad, causing panic among the local residents.

Fortunately, more than 100 cavalry from the Qi State suddenly attacked. Not to mention that there is no army stationed in this small town, even the extra strong and strong peasants cannot gather [-] people.Because, in order to attack the landing troops of the Qi State, the imperial army dispatched a large number of civilians to the city to transport supplies.

The cavalry commander Fu Xiuwen immediately informed the local Mughal officials who came to negotiate that the Qi army would take over the defense of the entire town. In order to ensure unnecessary casualties, he sternly warned the other party that all residents must stay at home and not go out, let alone do anything. Pointless resistance.After the Qi State completes its military mission, it will evacuate this place and restore the peace and tranquility of the town.

Fu Xiuwen decided to set up an ambush before the Mughal cavalry arrived in the town, killing the Mughal cavalry in large numbers, so as to achieve the goal of annihilating the Mughal cavalry or capturing their emperor.

Although all kinds of information show that the Mughals may have been exhausted after several days of long-distance fleeing, and coupled with the lack of decent supplies along the way, their combat effectiveness has been very suspicious, even almost non-existent.

But Fu Xiuwen still didn't dare to be careless. Based on the principle of being lenient in anticipating the enemy, he hoped to lure the Mughal cavalry into the town first, arrange them carefully, and then launch them suddenly to inflict heavy damage on the enemy.

----------

Noon, one fifty.

"Your Majesty, the front door is the small town of Gandhinagar."

The tense look on Adil's face, the commander of the cavalry, slowed down a little. Seeing the unusually quiet atmosphere of the town and the unspoiled traces, it seems that the Qi army has not yet arrived here.This means that the nearly [-] cavalry under their command will receive some rare supplies, and they can breathe a sigh of relief.

"Send a few people to check the situation?" Aurangzeb lightly raised the reins and stopped the horse in place.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

The three cavalry quickly rode their horses and rushed towards the small town, and disappeared in the small town in an instant.

About a quarter of an hour later, a cavalryman rushed out of the town and arrived in front of the emperor with a somewhat surprised expression on his face.

"Your Majesty, the residents of the small town reported that hundreds of cavalrymen from the Qi State had killed there just now. But after a short rest, the other party abandoned the city and headed northwest, where they are unknown."

"...Huh?" Aurangzeb heard the words, with a look of surprise on his face, and then looked inquiringly at his chief guard and several cavalry generals.

"Your Majesty, I will lead hundreds of cavalry to the northwest to investigate the movement of the Qi army." Adil also looked puzzled. Since the Qi army arrived here ahead of time, why didn't the town be completely destroyed and sent to the imperial cavalry? It is really unpredictable to launch an attack, but then abandon the city instead.

Aurangzeb pondered for a while, nodded slowly, and said softly: "Adil, be careful when you go here. If you encounter the Qi cavalry and are unable to fight against it, quickly retreat here."

"..." Adil tightened his armor, led more than [-] cavalry, and rode to the northwest.But not too far away, my heart suddenly throbbed, and I couldn't help turning my head to look at the unusually peaceful town, feeling a bad premonition.

Aurangzeb set up dozens of cavalry sentries within a few miles of the town to prevent the Qi army from attacking suddenly.Then, under the protection of more than a hundred personal guards and more than two thousand cavalry, they slowly entered the town.
-
Noon, two thirty.

"Your Majesty, please drink tea." The chief guard held a cup of hot tea and respectfully handed it to His Majesty the Emperor.

Seeing that the teacup is full of residues, soaked in hot water, there is no special fragrance of tea leaves, and there is even a musty smell.Aurangzeb smiled wryly, thinking that such a poor town does not have any high-end tea, and the owner of this family must have specially whipped up some tea for his majesty's visit, and dedicated it to him.

I took a sip lightly, and there was a strong smell of staleness, and some tea leaves flowed into my mouth along with the tea.As a result, His Majesty the Emperor had to spit on the ground a few times to spit out the broken tea foam in his mouth.

With a soft sigh, Aurangzeb sat on the soft couch, ready to close his eyes and rest for a while.

After several days of horseback riding, the inner thighs have long been worn out, and a little bit of sweat can make people feel excruciatingly painful.

"It's so noisy outside, what's going on?" Aurangzeb was shocked when he faintly heard many people shouting and screaming in the town, and immediately sat up straight.

"Return to Your Majesty." A guard heard the emperor's question and immediately entered the room to report: "There were several fires in the town, which should be caused by the soldiers' carelessness in lighting fires and cooking."

"Go, let the soldiers be quieter." Aurangzeb glared at the guards in front of him. The noise was probably not just lighting up the house while cooking, but probably the officers and soldiers were bullying the residents of the town. Looting property, that's why there was such a big commotion.

However, in order to ensure the morale of the officers and soldiers, the emperor did not want to strictly enforce military discipline at this time.After all, all the way back to Delhi still needs the support of these cavalry.

After the guard bowed down to salute, he hurried out of the house and ran towards the town, preparing to teach those cavalry officers and soldiers who offended His Majesty a lesson.

However, the hustle and bustle in the small town did not weaken at all, but louder noises erupted, screams, roars, and curses.The fireworks that rose from several places burned more and more vigorously, and gradually connected together, sweeping towards the entire town.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!..."

Suddenly there was a burst of musket fire, and Aurangzeb was so startled that he quickly stepped out of the house and walked towards the gate of the yard.

"Your Majesty, the Qi army is attacking!" The head of the guard, Imad Wasim, showed a terrified look on his face, "Please mount your horse immediately, and I will escort your majesty out of the city safely."

The sound of muskets, shouts, and fighting continued to ring out all around, and they rushed towards the small courtyard where the emperor stayed.There is no doubt that the Qi army must have set up an ambush in the small town in advance, hiding in hidden places, waiting for the imperial cavalry to relax and launch a sudden attack.

No one knew how many Qi soldiers were ambushed in this small town, but they looked at the fireworks rising everywhere, the sound of gunfire from time to time, and the imperial cavalry in extreme panic.Aurangzeb knew that the small town could not stay any longer, and had to leave the city immediately, and then continue to "turn in" to the northeast to avoid the pursuit of the Qi army.

More than 50 loyal guards, surrounded by His Majesty the Emperor, galloped out of the town along the narrow street.

"Boo! Hah! Hah!  …"

Seeing that he was about to rush out of the dilapidated village gate, suddenly there were bursts of sharp whistling sounds ahead, and Aurangzeb subconsciously looked up at the sky.

I saw rockets flying across the sky with streaks of orange-red tail flames, and then slammed down on them.

With the violent explosion, the crowd of Mughal cavalry was "blast apart" in an instant, and the horses neighed and jumped, trying to get rid of the owner on the horseback and quickly escape from this dangerous area.

"Your Majesty has fallen off the horse!"

"Protect Your Majesty!"

"His Majesty……"

Just when the Mughal cavalry was in chaos, on the field hundreds of meters to the north of the town, more than 300 Qi cavalry in blue and black military uniforms and black breastplates lined up in a tight cavalry charge , slowly forced over.

(End of this chapter)