I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 850: Do the Ming people dare to take the initiative to attack?
At around seven in the morning, Gujarat Sultan Muzaffar Shah III sent people to invite Bijapur Sultan Ali Adil Shah I, Ahmednagar Sultan Murtaza, and Calicut Zamorin Surit VII to the big tent.

Muzaffar Shah III was fat, with a small sphere-like head and face and a large sphere-like torso. His entire body was made up of two large and small spheres stacked together, with limbs.

He was wearing gorgeous clothes made of silk from the Ming Dynasty and cotton from India, with patterns woven in gold and silver threads all over his clothes.

The palm-wide belt is made of rhinoceros skin and embellished with various gems, blue, red, green, white, and black, dazzling.

Two short swords were inserted into the belt. The handles and scabbards were made of inlaid gold and inlaid with various gems. They looked more like works of art than weapons.

His head was wrapped in a piece of cloth, also adorned with gems, and he had a majestic long beard, which he combed irritably with his hands.

He has black circles around his eyes and looks like a colorful panda.

Last night he was worried about the missing artillery and 60,000 soldiers and horses. He couldn't sleep all night and had dark circles under his eyes. Early in the morning, he gathered the three yawning and sleepy sultans and princes.

"Damn it, our artillery has not been found yet. Is that bastard Itimad Khan a spy sent by Akbar to cause trouble on purpose?"

Muzaffar Shah III's complaint left Adil Shah I, Murtaza and Surit VII looking at each other, not knowing how to respond.

India has been a loose sand since ancient times and a paradise for "warriors".

From the second century BC to the present day, thousands of conquerors, wielding sabers, have poured from the Khyber Pass to the Indus and Ganges basins, and the Deccan Plateau.

The retainers and soldiers brought by these conquerors included Sakas, Kushans, Huns, Hephthalites, Gujaras, Parthians, and Greeks before the 6th century AD.

After they settled in India, they merged with the local residents to form a unique ethnic group, gathering in clan tribes, with all the people serving as soldiers and maintaining a martial tradition.

They call themselves Rajputs, which means they are descendants of royal family.

The approximate distribution areas are: Saka Rajputs in the lower reaches of the Indus River; Hephthalite (or White Hun) Rajputs in the middle reaches of the Indus River; Kushan Rajputs in the upper reaches of the Five Rivers.

They abandoned their previous religion and embraced Hinduism instead, belonging to the Kshatriya class and complementing the worshipping Brahmins.

The Brahmins used God's will to prove that the Rajputs originated from an ancient Indian lineage, a royal family, a hero, or the descendants of mythological gods (such as the fire god Agni), namely the so-called solar and fire lineages.

The Rajputs protected the lofty and superior status of the Brahmins and established many kingdoms, more numerous than the anthills on the ground.

After the seventh century, Muslim conquerors from Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and other countries slaughtered people all over India and established sultanates of various sizes.

Some of the Rajputs surrendered and became the Sultan's lackeys; some insisted on independence and competed with the Sultan for power.

Itimad Khan was a great Rajput chieftain in the Gujarat region, and had been at war with Muzaffar Shah III for many years.

Two years ago, under the mediation of Delhi Sultan Akbar, the two sides sat down for peace talks and demarcated their respective territories. Itimad Khan recognized Muzaffar Shah III as the Sultan and nominal monarch.

Muzaffar Shah III appointed Itimad Khan as a prince and recognized his autonomy, and the two sides lived in harmony for two or three years.

Adil Shah I, Murtaza and Surit VII were well aware that Raitimad Khan had joined the anti-Ming alliance and that Muzaffar Shah III had no good intentions.

I can't let my troops fight to the death with the Ming people in the front and suffer heavy losses while you, Itimad Khan, hide in the back and reap the benefits.

I, Muzaffar Shah III, am not so stupid that I must bring you, Itmad Khan, in and make you the vanguard.

Anyway, we must all suffer together. I cannot be the only one to suffer loss while you preserve your strength.

Everyone knows this little trick.

But Itimad Khan was no pushover. He brought 50,000 men with him, generously handed over 30,000 of them, and then took 20,000 elite troops and asked to stay in a "safe" location.

Where is the safest place?

Of course it is the artillery unit. These are powerful weapons that the sultans and princes bought with real money. They are very valuable.

Muzaffar Shah III became the leader of the anti-Ming alliance, but he could not go too far in some things and had to demonstrate his own vision.

Since Itimad Khan handed over 30,000 troops to him for command, Muzaffar Shah III assigned him to the artillery team.

It’s safe now!

However, the artillery unit moved slowly, fell behind, and eventually lost contact inexplicably.

Could it be that Itimad Khan ran away with more than a hundred artillery pieces?

Adil Shah I, Murtaza and Surit VII were grumbling in their hearts, but they were not in a hurry, because among the more than one hundred cannons, Muzaffar Shah III had the largest number.

The artillery pieces that the other three brought out were just to make up the numbers.

But Itimad Khan's thoughts need to be carefully considered.

The anti-Ming alliance was brought about by Delhi Sultan Akbar, who sent envoys to broker, encourage and present a large number of weapons and military equipment.

Among the one thousand war elephants, two hundred were donated by Akbar.

Itimad Khan had previously been a thorn in Akbar's side in the Gujarat region, specifically used to muddy the waters in the western part of India.

Now Itimad Khan is afraid of fighting and has even run away with the artillery. Is he doing this in accordance with Akbar's instructions and trying to trick everyone?
The four sultans of the anti-Ming alliance were most afraid of being betrayed by Akbar.

This loser has always wanted to revive his ancestors' legacy and unify India.

The ambition is so big that even a blind person can see it.

"Report!"

Just when several people were suspicious, someone reported outside the tent.

"Come in."

"Your Excellency the Sultan, the artillery has sent an urgent message."

The beloved artillery team had received news, and Muzaffar Shah III took over the documents immediately.

After reading it, a smile appeared on his face. "It's okay. When the artillery team was crossing the Lafayette River, the river suddenly overflowed. To be on the safe side, they crossed the river 70 miles upstream."

Adil Shah I and the other three sultans breathed a sigh of relief after hearing this, as if everything was fine.

Our great India has its own national conditions.

They seldom repair canals and other water conservancy facilities and rely entirely on the weather for their livelihood. Therefore, when it rains in the middle and upper reaches, the water level in the lower reaches will rise sharply and floods will occur.

"The artillery will join us in three days.

During these three days, we will defend our camp and not engage in battle with the Ming Kingdom." Muzaffar Shah III made a decision, then turned to Surit VII and said, "Your Highness Surit, what do the Arabs and Persians say?"

Surit VII was the Zamorin of Calicut.

Zamorin, derived from Malayalam, one of the common languages ​​in southern India, means the one who rules the sea and the mountains. Surit VII belonged to the Annai group, who were of Shudra origin.

The Shudras were the indigenous people of India, and became the conquered after the arrival of northwestern conquerors.

Some of them were smart and could please their masters, and thus became land tenants.

They leased land from Brahmins and Kshatriyas, and then sublet it to other Shudras, Dalits and tribal slaves, making a profit from the difference.

A few hundred years later, these Shudras who made a profit from the price difference gradually became powerful, occupied a large tract of land along the Malabar Coast, and established the Kingdom of Calicut.

The kingdom's royal family called themselves Nair, which roughly means temple managers.

You see, although I am born a Shudra, I manage a temple for a Brahmin, and the level is immediately different!
Among the dozens or hundreds of states in India, the monarchs were either Muslim sultans or Kshatriyas. When Surlit VII sat with the three sultans, it felt like a husky sitting among a pack of wolfhounds.

"Your Highness Muzaffar Shah, the Kunjali family has communicated with the Arabs and Persians. They are currently gathering a fleet and will not be able to come south to support us for a while."

The Calicut region is named after its famous port, Calicut, also known as Kozhikode, which is an important port in western India. However, it is now occupied by the Ming people and renamed Zhengling. This is also an important reason why Surit VII joined the anti-Ming alliance.

The Kunjali family is a "powerful family" in the Calicut region.

Their ancestors were Arab merchants who lived here and intermarried with local Indian people. They have mixed Arab and Indian blood.

They inherited their ancestral business and were good at business. They once controlled the commerce of the Calicut Port, as well as the cotton and printed cloth business in the Calicut area, and maintained close relations with the Arab and Persian merchant groups in Oman, Basra and Abbas.

There were many such families in ports like Diu, Daman, Surat, Goa and Cochi.

The local sultans and princes accepted their monetary tributes and acquiesced in their right to trade.

Since the arrival of the Portuguese, the good days of these families have come to an end.

The Portuguese occupied many ports in the west, including Calicut, and started exclusive trade with them.

The Kunjali family joined forces with families in other port cities in western India, persuaded the sultans of Gujarat, Bijasthan and other western countries, and united with Arab merchants to recruit pirates in the Arabian Sea, forming a fleet to go to war with the newly arrived Portuguese off the coast of Diu Port.

Unfortunately, the coalition failed and the Portuguese became the overlord of this sea area. The Kunjali family, along with other families, changed their ways and cooperated with the Portuguese to continue doing business.

But the secret struggle has never stopped.

Now he has broken into the Ming Dynasty again.

If Portugal is just a lone wolf, then the Ming Dynasty is a tiger.

The "ill-fated" Kunjali family, together with other mixed-race merchant families, once again united with the sultans and princes on the west coast to fight hard, and at the same time contacted the Arab and Persian merchant groups to regain their glory.

After hearing Surit VII's answer, Muzaffar Shah III looked surprised.

“These damned Arab and Persian merchants, when it comes to making money, they rush forward and run faster than anyone else, fearing that they will miss out on their benefits.

Now when we ask them to contribute, they keep making excuses.

Once we defeat the Ming people, drive out these bandits, and restore order, they will come to negotiate with us again, but the price will not be the same as before."

Muzaffar Shah III's tone was somewhat indignant, and his words were full of their local characteristics and confidence.

At this moment, he completely forgot about the food chain.

At that time, the Indian, Arab and Persian coalition forces were pressed down by Portugal at sea. And Portugal was pressed down by Ming at sea.

Muzaffar Shah III had forgotten that the Portuguese had only dozens of ships and thousands of men, but they were able to defeat them. Now the Ming Dynasty had hundreds of ships and tens of thousands of men, and was much stronger than the Portuguese.

"Your Highness Muzaffar Shah, without the naval support of Arabia and Persia, it will be difficult for us to defeat the Ming navy."

Adil Shah I said worriedly.

In recent years, the Ming Navy has been like a group of farmers, plowing the fields and weeding diligently along the east and west coastlines of India. The Indian states no longer have navies, let alone larger seagoing ships, leaving only some offshore fishing boats.

Murtaza and Surit VII also looked at Muzaffar Shah III with concern.

Their leader said calmly: "No matter how powerful the Ming navy is, they can't reach the shore.

On land, we have elite cavalry, powerful war elephants, and countless soldiers. We will drown these damned Ming people like a mountain torrent."

That’s right, what India has no shortage of is soldiers.

There are Muslim cavalry, local war elephants, and countless young and strong people.

In the eyes of Muzaffar Shah III, these young and strong men were like ants. He could have as many as he wanted, one hundred thousand, two hundred thousand, or three hundred thousand.

After gathering together, give them a knife and a gun, and serve your Sultan in accordance with the will of God!
Muzaffar Shah III continued to express his opinion: "The Ming people are so ignorant of the danger that they landed from the sea, abandoned their powerful navy, and actually wanted to fight us on land.

This is the will of God, granting us victory!"

The other three sultans nodded one after another, saying that the leader was right, well said!

"Report!"

Someone else reported outside the tent.

"what's up?"

"The Ming army is forming a line and attacking us, and they are only ten miles away from our front camp."

"What! The Ming Kingdom has only 20,000 people, yet they dare to take the initiative to attack our 300,000-strong army. How arrogant!"

Muzaffar Shah III roared angrily, he felt insulted!
He now has 160,000 soldiers and horses, and there are more than 100,000 young and strong civilians transporting food behind them. These people will become soldiers once they take up swords and guns.

With an army of 300,000 and a thousand invincible war elephants, it would have been fine if I had not taken the initiative to start a war with the Ming people, but they actually dared to challenge me!
You really don't take the noble Sultan of Gujarat, conqueror of western India, Muzaffar Shah III seriously!
Angry!

Muzaffar Shah III was angry!

"Send the order immediately, all troops move out!

We must teach the arrogant and ignorant Ming people a lesson, and let them know that they can dominate the ocean, but no matter how big and ferocious whales and sharks are, they are no match for elephants and lions on land!"

Two hours later, at half past nine, the morning mist gradually dissipated.

In the southern wilderness of Nausari, the mountains and plains are covered with azure blue, forming square formations.

In front of them were hundreds of red flags, bright as fire, with the Chinese character "Ming" (Ming) circled around them. They were like sparks floating on the azure ocean, as if they would burn the entire earth in the next moment.

(End of this chapter)