It has been more than a month since Robert led his troops to attack the city of Dhaka.
Ramsay, who was at the rear, had been nervously paying attention to the situation on the battlefield.
I originally thought that this arrogant and famous general would be able to make great achievements soon after he came over.
However, things backfired, not only did they make no progress, but they also suffered heavy losses.
Almost half of the soldiers killed or injured in the servant army were human lives. Although the population here is large, it costs money to recruit the servant army.
Servant soldiers also need pensions if they die in battle. Otherwise, wouldn’t the local family members of servant soldiers want to rebel?
In order to supplement the servant army on the front line, Ramsay had to urgently transfer 50,000 servant troops from Bombay.
Ramsay no longer dared to calculate how much money this war would cost.
The capital invested by the colony alone has reached 20 million pounds, and the savings of the colony for many years have been wiped out.
Ramsay also knew that due to the increase in taxes, the conflicts between the various princely states and the colonial authorities intensified.
A boycott of paper-cased ammunition broke out among the servants, and word of it reached Ramsay's ears.
Ramsay did not agree with Robert's simple treatment. In Ramsay's view, this approach could not completely eradicate the problem.
If Ramsay were there, he would not handle it as simply as Robert did. He would stand on the perspective of the servant army and handle it in their way.
Robert didn't know much about the slave armies in these colonies.
They are also living people, not animals or machines that can be driven by others.
Since you want to use them, you need to understand their thoughts and their needs.
One of the methods the British always used to colonize India was to leverage their own strength.
First, use the contradiction between the Communists and the Hindus to divide and rule.
Then let the two monitor each other.
The second is to use the deep-rooted caste system in India to use the power of high-caste people to suppress those of low-caste people.
They learned from the failure of the Portuguese colonization of India and did not try to convert all the people here into Christians.
The rulers here have changed a lot, but the changes in religious culture have always been very small. Each ruler has inherited the local religion, or at most developed it.
The British are pragmatists and they know exactly what they want.
As for the reason why this incident broke out, Ramsey did not delve into it, but he knew that it was definitely not discovered by the soldiers themselves.
For this reason, he specially sent a number of inspectors to the servant army stations in various places to see if there were any such rumors in those places.
The inspectors had just been dispatched when bad news came back.
To the southwest the Tamils rebelled.
Of course, the Tamil rebellion is not news. In fact, they have been in a state of rebellion.
But this time it's different.
The Tamils set out from their hometown of Salem and overcame the blockade set up by the British army in just two days.
Usually, they had to pay a huge price every time they conquered a small fortress.
There was even a small fortress stationed with dozens of servants that could hold back thousands of Tamil rebels.
But this time, these small fortresses did not play their due role.
The Tamils had an artifact for attacking forts.
There was no sign of their attack this time. Using the cover of night, the Tamil rebels reached the bottom of the fort.
Use the prepared explosive packs to blow up the gate of the fortress, and then charge in with all the strength of the rebels hiding in the distance.
This time Pwikili sent multiple teams to launch a surprise attack on the British blockade fortress at the same time.
Such a fast attack made it difficult for these fortresses to pass on the message.
The fortress blockade carefully constructed by the British collapsed in an instant.
Tens of thousands of Tamils attacked in all directions like tigers escaping from their cages.
In the Tamil villages where the blockade was located, when they saw Puwekili's team, they all lined up to welcome them.
Those Tamil nobles who acted as the lackeys of the British were pulled out and purged by the rebels.
In recent times, the British have stepped up their raids on places, and these colonial scoundrels have intensified their raids on the people.
The local Tamils are naturally dissatisfied. Now that the rebels are coming to drive away the British, everyone naturally welcomes them with both hands.
Not only that, Puwili eliminated the managers supported by the British, confiscated their wealth, and distributed part of their land to the locals.
This also allowed Puwili to win the hearts of the people, and many locals joined the ranks of the rebels and fought with the rebels towards Chennai.
Purvekili took Vellore with a main force of 30,000 men in half a day, and then reached the outside of Chennai in one day.
At this time, there was only a small coastal patrol fleet in Chennai Port.
This patrol fleet consists of three frigates and four steam gunboats.
In addition, 500 British troops and 3,000 indigenous servant troops were stationed in the city, and most of these servant troops were composed of Tamils.
Because the Tamil rebels raided too quickly.
Therefore, the port of Chennai only knew half a day in advance that Tamil was coming.
In the past, the Tamils were rarely able to reach Chennai. Usually the forts on the outskirts of the jungle were blocked by the garrisoned troops.
This time, the soldiers in the front-line fortress were wiped out before they could issue an early warning.
Mainly because this time the Tamils replaced a large number of muskets, which surprised the defenders.
In the past, most of them charged with cold weapons or simple flintlock guns.
The 30,000 people brought by Puwekili this time had at least 10,000 rifled guns.
They also captured a large number of guns from the fortresses and cities they had previously conquered.
Not only that, some of the Tamil servants belonging to the British whom they had captured before now surrendered their allegiance to Puwekili.
So as he fought all the way, Puwekili's strength became stronger and stronger like a snowball.
Not only that, he also seized a large amount of property.
Now he wants people and money.
The goal that Zhang Deshuai told him to win Chennai in ten days seems to be really achievable.
By then, with the arms provided by Zhang Deshuai, it will be possible to hold on to Chennai or retreat to Vellore.
Tamil resistance has never looked better.
Puwili concentrated his soldiers in one direction to attack Chennai.
This city was later expanded by the colonists on the basis of the original castle and did not have external walls, which made it easier for attacks.
British and vassal troops set up barricades and dug trenches at the entrance to the city.
Then they hid behind the breastworks to block the enemies outside.
Puwili has been able to fight against the British for so many years without being destroyed, which shows that he still has certain military capabilities.
He also knew the tactics of the British very well. The British only relied on their superiority in weapons and strict formations to achieve victory again and again in wars with the natives.
Now that they have rifled guns, they also imitate the British and shoot from a distance.
They took advantage of their numerical advantage and organized their most elite musketeers into five rows to fire in sections.
The British army and its servants on the opposite side were beaten until they could not lift their heads. The British army only relied on its own artillery.
Pwikili would not stand there waiting for the British to bombard it.
Although Puwekili's men had not received new guns for a long time and their shooting proficiency was not as good as that of the British army, they were still able to form intensive fire suppression due to their large number of people.
While the musketeers were shooting, the remaining troops, under the cover of the musketeers, rushed forward from both sides.
The British troops were suppressed by fire and unable to effectively block the enemy, allowing the Tamils to rush into the position.
The next step is to bully the few with more.
With a violent attack, the defense line organized by the British army was taken down.
Tamil warriors poured into Chennai and rushed to every corner of the city.
Those noble natives who relied on the British suffered.
They are all objects of hatred among Tamil people.
Some local nobles fled into the seaside castle, while most of the British boarded the cruising fleet from the port.
The fleet launched a bombardment against the Tamils in the city.
However, when Puwili led his men to capture the fort in the port, the small fleet could only escape.
The nobles in the castle did not hold out for long. Because of its age and disrepair, the castle did not have its original protective capabilities.
The British officials in charge of Chennai could only follow the fleet to issue early warnings to cities in the north and south directions. It was hoped that they would have sufficient time to prepare themselves.
After occupying Chennai, Purvekili did not harm the poor Tamils in the city, but carried out bloody looting and liquidation of the rich in the city.
The soldiers who besieged the city were released, and Pwikili gained a lot of wealth.
Next, Puwili divided his troops to launch attacks in the north and south directions along the coastline.
To the south, they captured Pondicherry; to the north, they captured Nellore.
At the same time, Puweili also actively contacted the surrounding princely states to resist British rule.
Originally, the British had the weakest control over the feudal states in the south.
Suddenly, the entire south was in flames of war.
In many places, British garrisons were successfully driven out.
At this time, Zhang Deshuai appeared in Chennai again as agreed. This time he brought four ships of arms.
Powkili was much more generous this time and bought them all in one go, paying with real money.
India has always had a large reserve of precious metals. This time Pulwili looted the nobles who had taken refuge with the British and gained a lot.
"Congratulations, big boss, oh, no, it should be said that you are the king of the Tamil people." Zhang Deshuai said with a smile.
"Hahaha, we would like to thank Mr. Zhang for his help in our Tamil people's resistance cause. You are our Tamil people's eternal friend." Puwekili had already put on a gorgeous dress at this time.
On his head he also wore a crown set with sapphires.
Just a few days ago, Purvekili was crowned king in Chennai under the auspices of a Tamil Brahmin priest.
They claimed to establish the Tamil Kingdom.
"Mr. Zhang, I have one more thing to ask you, sir." Puweili stopped smiling and said in a low voice.
"Your Majesty, please speak." Zhang Deshuai nodded in response.
"Mr. Zhang, do you think we should put the capital in Chennai or in Salem?" Puwekili asked. On this issue, Puwekili's men were divided into two groups.
Some people advocate staying in Chennai, which is a holy land for Tamils, is very prosperous, and has a more comfortable climate.
There are also some people who feel that Salem is the base camp of their resistance army, and it is easier to defend and harder to attack, making it safer.
Puwekili was so confused by the quarrel between the two groups that he remembered that Mr. Zhang was not only full of wisdom, but also very knowledgeable about the Indian region.
Pwikili was eager to get good advice from him.
Zhang Deshuai knew that Puweili would definitely ask himself this question.
Coastal cities like Chennai and Pondicherry are very prosperous, but they are not easy to defend.
It's okay for the Tamil sailing boats to play a role as pirates, but they definitely can't compete with the British warships.
"Your Majesty the King, it is best to put your capital in Salem, and I suggest that His Majesty the King move all the craftsmen and workshops in these cities by the sea to Salem. As for these ports, of course you must keep them in your hands first.
, they can bring wealth to His Majesty the King, and the British may not have time to take care of this place now."
"Oh, Mr. Zhang, do you know any new news?" Puweili asked anxiously.
"Yes, Your Majesty the King, the good news is that the northern states have also united to resist the British."
ps: Post it earlier today, Tuesday, please give me your monthly pass.