The Ming Dynasty did not revolutionize

Chapter 352 Reverse Scorched Earth Tactics
Before the war officially broke out on the front battlefield, the Ming Dynasty, Shun Kingdom, Russia and the Ottoman Empire had been in confrontation for four years.

The generals of the Ming Dynasty had long known about the deployment made by Shun State in the coastal areas of India.

After the war officially broke out, the Ming Dynasty directly sent troops to take over these destroyed coastal wildernesses, and at the same time confirmed on the spot the exact extent of the damage to Shun State.

Prepare for subsequent inland operations.

The command center of the Ming Dynasty's Indian war zone was located in Tianzhu New Port, which was located in the northeasternmost corner of the Ming Dynasty's ruling area before the war, near Chennai, the fourth largest city in India in Zhu Jianxuan's previous life.

Tianzhu New Port has a superior geographical location and is an important node on the Indian Ocean and Bay of Bengal shipping routes. It is already a very prosperous port.

After the Ming Dynasty began preparations for war against Shun State, it once again increased its investment and construction efforts here.

In the past four years, the engineering teams of the Ming Dynasty court have rapidly built larger ports, barracks, and warehouses.

Following the private merchants of the Ming Dynasty court, they have also been continuously investing here in the past few days, causing the port trade activities here to quickly surpass Mumbai.

On the third day after the war officially broke out, the initial takeover operation had been basically completed, and the staff department made a brief summary of the specific situations sent back by various parties.

In the command center of Tianzhu New Port, Liu Biao, the Governor of the Indian War Zone, invited Deputy Governor-General Anling Prince Zhu Jingcheng to hold a meeting with the main staff of the command center.

Distribute the summarized front-line situation and allow the command center to exchange ideas and opinions.

Li Anbang, the oldest staff officer, simply flipped through the report and couldn't help but express his feelings:

"This Shun country... the bandits really did everything they could, even blocking the waterway and filling the well with corpses. They didn't even think about confronting us head-on.

"Then we don't need to worry about anything anymore, right? Just use the latest poison bombs and let these thieves have a taste of the Ming Dynasty's methods."

The poison bombs that Li Anbang mentioned are various chemical and biological weapons, including various poison gas bombs, as well as various bacteria and virus bombs.

In comparison, Shun Country's method of using corpses to destroy water sources is the most primitive biological warfare.

Zhu Jingcheng looked at the generals on the scene and interrupted to make a suggestion:

“Our goal is to occupy India. Poison bombs are easy to use, but they are not easy to clean up later, right?

“It would be troublesome if our soldiers were poisoned during the occupation.

"Even if anti-poison measures are taken in a state of war, there may be toxins left after the war, and it will be dangerous for officials and civilians to live here in the future."

Another veteran staff officer, Cao Zhendong, couldn't help but speak up when he heard this:

“Your Highness is right. There may indeed be some remnants of the poison bomb, which will affect subsequent development and reclamation.

“But the problem is that the thieves themselves have already used similar tactics.

“Unless we can capture all the areas before they retreat, all the houses we take over will burn down and all the water sources will be contaminated.

“Instead of letting them destroy it and then having us repair it later, why not just do it ourselves?

"We flew planes deep inland to their rear core areas and dropped various poison bombs, and then used gasoline and incendiary bombs to burn their food and cities.

“When their population has suffered heavy casualties and the survivors have no food left, and the court institutions have collapsed, we will then attack inland.

“Starting from the port, we will lay a military railway leading to the inland, and then use the railway as a foundation to slowly advance inland.

"They gave us a scorched earth strategy, so we gave them a scorched earth strategy. We had rail and sea supplies, but they lost their homeland advantage.

"In the past few days, the General Staff has discussed this several times. If the Ming Dynasty wants to completely eliminate the rebels, the reverse scorched earth tactic is the safest."

Zhu Jingcheng subconsciously wanted to object to this suggestion:
“However, the poison bomb invented by our craftsmen is very different from the traditional livestock carcasses.

"Toxic bombs are much more difficult to clean up than corpses, and the key is that the residual poison is more lethal.

“India has a hot and humid climate, and if livestock carcasses are left to rot, they will turn into dry bones after a year or two.

“But those poisons…if the conditions are right, they can potentially remain for years.

"Especially bacteria and viruses, which may exist in livestock and wild animals for a long time..."

The princes of several other vassal states, who were also potential future vassal state monarchs, also spoke out in support of Zhu Jingcheng.

They all behaved in a very righteous manner, and seemed to be very kind and unwilling to commit more killings.

Looking at this situation, Cao Zhendong couldn't help but frown and remind them:
"Wouldn't it be better to have greater lethality? Judging from the strategic arrangements this time, His Majesty is not in a hurry to occupy Indian territory.

“Instead, we hope to proceed steadily and gain as complete control over this land as possible.

"From past practice, His Majesty does not want a population of foreign races, and India has the largest foreign population in the world.

"What the Ming Dynasty lacks the least is population; the Ming Dynasty only needs relatively fertile land.

"In this war, it is best for us to clear out as many foreigners in India as possible and reduce the population pressure in the entire Indian region.

“We can wait a few years after the war to reclaim Indian soil.

“I remember His Majesty once said that we in the Ming Dynasty did not go to Europe to alleviate poverty, nor did we go there to feed and clothe the Europeans.

“Now we are also not here to save Indians, we are here to seize and control Indian land.

“Your Highness’ future fiefdom will be in India. I hope your fiefdom will have enough population and I will also consider immigration from Ming or from the two countries.

"Instead of thinking about accepting the foreigners in India.

"I suggest that Your Highness consider His Majesty's attitude towards this matter..."

Zhu Jingcheng is actually very smart, so he instinctively rejects tactics of large-scale population killings and does not want to adopt a large-scale scorched earth strategy.

Zhu Jingcheng hopes that India can retain more people and materials, so that the feudal state subsequently allocated to him can also recover quickly.

Zhu Jingcheng didn't want to build a city and a country from scratch in the uninhabited wilderness like he did in Africa.

Zhu Jingcheng had done it once, and that way of development was really too hard.

Now that Cao Zhendong mentioned the attitude of the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Jingcheng immediately reacted and realized that he was a little confused just now.

If you go against the will of the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty for your own potential interests, you are seeking death.

Zhu Jingcheng quickly bowed to Cao Zhendong:
"Thank you General Cao for your advice. I was stupid. Now I know what to do..."

Cao Zhendong not only awakened Zhu Jingcheng, but also awakened other vassal generals.

There is nothing wrong with wanting to take advantage of the court's power to gain benefits for yourself.

But you cannot move in a direction that the emperor does not support, especially you cannot do things that the emperor dislikes.

If the emperor really found out, I would be dead.

As a result, the generals and staff officers on the scene quickly reached a consensus and began to support the implementation of a reverse scorched earth tactic against India.

This tactic was not thought of today.

During the years of continued confrontation, the General Staff had already discussed and formulated various strategic plans, and now they are being selectively implemented after the actual war.

Liu Biao, the Governor General of the Indian Theater, remained silent until the discussion was over before he spoke up and made the final decision:
"The great trend of the Ming Dynasty to rule the world has been established. Even if the rebels have all kinds of strategies and conspiracies, they can no longer resist this mighty force.

"We have made full preparations. As long as we proceed steadily and step by step, we can conquer the whole of India.

"If you intend to achieve extraordinary feats to gain fame, it may cause unnecessary losses instead, which is not what His Majesty wants to see.

"General Cao's words make sense. Let's discuss and arrange specific combat strategies based on this plan." For Liu Biao, in this war that is sure to win, becoming the governor of this war zone and the position of Duke is almost certain.

At the same time, it is impossible to make further progress anyway.

Unless he is originally the king of a vassal state of a foreign surname, it is impossible for a meritorious official of a foreign surname to be crowned king during his lifetime. At most, he can enjoy the treatment of a prince after his death.

At Liu Biao's current level, he no longer needs to use strange strategies to gain fame and fortune. Seeking stability is the best option.

In order to avoid arousing the emperor's suspicion, he should even act a little more cruelly and not leave too good a reputation in the local area or on the battlefield.

Therefore, Liu Biao also specifically emphasized the importance of taking steady steps, and at the same time supported the suggestions of his old boss Cao Zhendong.

Once the direction is determined, the subsequent tactics become simple. There are also ready-made plans, and only slight adjustments need to be made based on actual conditions.

The next mission of the Indian theater army is to destroy everything in India.

Build more temporary military airports in coastal areas suitable for building ports, and disperse and deploy aircraft and various bombs.

The destruction of the manpower and resources in India's interior regions began.

Liu Biao also gave up the idea of ​​storming several important ports that were still controlled by Shun State, such as the Port of Mumbai on the western coast of India.

They changed the siege to trenches and barbed wire, destroyed the water source of the river passing through the city, and used bombs and incendiary bombs dropped by airplanes to destroy the will and food supplies of the city defenders.

The defenders of port cities such as Mumbai could no longer hold out and were forced to surrender.

When the war in Tashkent and the Indian region officially began, the fighting in Europe and Arabia officially began at about the same time.

The intensity of the war on other battlefields was fierce from the beginning, far exceeding the scale of India and other regions.

Because the Indian battlefield is relatively isolated, specific tactics can be implemented relatively independently.

The situation in the European and Arab war zones is complicated, with many critical nodes and strategic locations that should be captured as quickly as possible to allow our own strategies and tactics to be more free.

First is the interior of the Persian Gulf.

Most of the coastline on the north and south sides of the Persian Gulf belonged to the Ming Dynasty, but there was a section in the middle occupied by the Ottoman Empire, which divided the Ming Dynasty's coastline into two sections.

The Mesopotamian region controlled by the Ottomans was the most suitable place for farming around the Persian Gulf, and could supply materials to the desolate southern coast of the Persian Gulf.

The Ottomans could also enter the Persian Gulf region through the Mesopotamian River Basin, which was something the Ming Dynasty did not want to see.

In particular, Zhu Jianxuan also knew that this area was rich in oil, so he listed it as a place that must be seized and controlled.

Therefore, after the frontal war officially broke out, the Ming army in the south and north of the Persian Gulf were dispatched at the same time, and attacked from the north and south with the support of the air force and navy.

The attacks came from the sky, on the ground, and on the sea. Terrible explosions and dense bullets occurred at the same time, and the Ottoman garrisons in the coastal areas of the Mesopotamian Valley were directly stunned.

The artillery batteries in the port and the city were directly overturned by the bombs falling from the sky. The defenders of the port were unable to raise their heads to fight under the suppression of machine guns and artillery.

The Ming army once again relied on its huge firepower advantage and the crushing power of the times to forcibly seize control of the ports and coastline.

The direct fighting lasted less than three days, and most of the time was spent on traveling and accepting surrender.

Some of the Ottoman defenders died in the chaos, some fled inland after the defeat, and most were taken prisoner before they could figure out the situation.

After the Ming army took control of the coastline, the engineering ships prepared in advance set out immediately to clear the waterways of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers under the protection of the army.

The two rivers in the Mesopotamian River Basin do not have large runoff and deep channels.

At the suggestion of Shunguo, the Ottomans also sank a large number of boulders at the lower reaches of the two rivers, forming a large number of reefs.

Now, any inland vessel of a certain size cannot sail into the two rivers normally.

Now we have to clear the river channel first before we can use it to transport materials. Otherwise we have to build railways and roads, but the efficiency will be too slow.

In the Mediterranean, in the southern border area of ​​the Ottoman Empire on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean, the army of the Arabian War Zone attacked from south to north along the coastline.

Following Shun's advice, the Ottomans implemented a scorched earth tactic in the lands south of the Anatolian Plateau, which they believed were extremely difficult to defend.

Abandon small coastal settlements and retain only larger port cities to maintain supply lines behind the cities.

Most residents moved to inland areas.

The Ming Dynasty's army in the eastern theater did not encounter much resistance here, nor did it rashly launch an attack on the Ottoman inland areas.

However, instead of preparing for a counter-scorched earth operation like India, the United States is concentrating its aircraft to carry out another more important mission.

Admiral Nelson of the Mediterranean Theater had a plan to directly attack the Ottoman capital, Istanbul.

For the generals of the Ming Dynasty, this plan was quite bold.

For the Ottomans, this was a level that was simply unimaginable.

The Ottomans knew that the Ming navy was very powerful, but Istanbul's location was too advantageous.

Istanbul is located on one side of the Bosphorus Strait, outside of which is the Sea of ​​Marmara and outside of which is the Dardanelles Strait.

Outside is the Aegean Sea, and outside that is the Mediterranean Sea.

If the Ming navy wanted to attack Istanbul, it had to first cross the Aegean Sea between the Anatolian Peninsula and Greece, and then pass through the Dardanelles and the Sea of ​​Marmara.

The key point is that all these places are surrounded by Ottoman territory.
In other words, although Istanbul is a coastal city, it is located in the inland hinterland of the Ottoman Empire, at least 800 kilometers away from the high seas outside.

The Ottomans did not believe that others could rush in all the way from the Mediterranean. The key was to maintain sufficient combat effectiveness when rushing to Istanbul.

The Ottomans had garrisons and forts on islands in the Aegean and around the Sea of ​​Marmara.

Especially the Dardanelles, which is more than 60 kilometers long and only a few kilometers wide, is now covered with artillery batteries on both sides.

The Ottomans could not imagine anything that could force its way into such a place.

According to normal thinking, even if the Ming Dynasty had a strong navy, it would first capture cities around the Aegean Sea, occupy the land on both sides of the Aegean Sea, and the islands closer to the Dardanelles.

Then, using these islands as bases, they continued their attack towards the inland coastline.

The Ottomans had enough time to organize more defenses or move the Sultan and court to another inland location.

However, Nelson looked at the Ming Dynasty's naval and air force organization and compared it with the Ottoman defense forces provided by the Western Factory, and felt it necessary to take action.

Because he felt that this plan really had a chance of success.

If we can really capture Istanbul directly, it will not only deal a huge blow to the enemy's morale, but more importantly, it will be able to directly open the passage to the Black Sea.

Then they could fight landing battles around the Black Sea, quickly cut off the Caucasus region, and join forces with the main force of the Ming Dynasty in the east.

You can also go north along the Dnieper River and join Napoleon's troops in the Eastern European theater.

The subsequent strategy for conquering the Ming Dynasty was suddenly revealed.

It can also divide the Ottoman Empire into two parts, allowing the Balkan region and the Anatolian Plateau to fight separately, facing the forces of the Balkans and the Arabian war zone respectively.

Tian Yiming, the governor of the Tianfang war zone, was also willing to give it a try.

Nelson is not considered old now, especially since his title has not reached its peak. Tian Yiming is younger than Zhu Jianxuan, and both of them have foreign backgrounds.

Neither of them has a peaceful character, and both are willing to take risks to earn unquestionable achievements.

(End of this chapter)