While contacting Mysore, Ding Guofeng selected an officer with the best eloquence and a relatively calm personality from the Mysore soldiers who were undergoing training to serve as the envoy. He also gathered fifty followers and honor guards for him, and brought him with him.
He bought a bunch of gifts and went to the Maratha Kingdom of Thanjavur to win over the new Sultan.
The guy who served as the envoy was named Madhu Sultan Raju, who came from the famous Kshatriya family in Mysore. Despite his poor training, he learned Mandarin very well. This guy was greatly surprised when he learned about his mission.
Excited, he patted his chest to express that he would complete the task. Ding Guofeng did not dare to be careless. The unreliable and mysterious self-confidence of Indians in another time and space really impressed him, so he arranged for a few more people who knew Tamil
Officers and soldiers of the special operations battalion travel together.
It’s not far from Pazayarai to Tanjore, the capital of Thanjavur. You can walk 60 kilometers south by sea, then change to a river boat and walk 70 kilometers west from the mouth of the Kolidam River, and then walk another 15 kilometers by land.
It only takes three days to arrive.
Because the two places are so close, Thanjavur knew more than half a year ago that a group of Orientals had come to the south of the local administration, but because the other party's territory was too small, they didn't take it seriously at all.
Later, Beihai Town and Mysore launched military cooperation, and Amar Singh was extremely dissatisfied when he heard about it. You must know that during the second Anglo-Mysore War nine years ago, Mysore's army invaded Thanjavur for half a year.
For a long time, they robbed the population wantonly; Tipu Sultan even kidnapped 20,000 children from Thanjavur, almost missing a generation. The feud between the two sides became serious.
Fortunately, Ding Guofeng had prepared a lot of gifts for the trip, including Indians' favorite silk fabrics and porcelain, and he also said that he would purchase 50,000 pounds of sesame seeds locally. After hearing the news, Amar Singh was a little surprised and changed his mind.
I made up my mind and decided to meet him in person.
As Zhao Xin said, Amar Singh, who had just succeeded in usurping the throne, was not having an easy time, especially financially, he was already in a quagmire.
Since 1775, Thanjavur has become a vassal of the British East India Company. At the same time, it has also formed an alliance with the Carnatic Sultanate of Hyderabad. It is protected by its military and has to pay huge protection fees every year. In the past, it was against Mai
During Sol's war, they suffered double extortion from the British and the Carnatic Sultanate. They sent troops and money, and were really overwhelmed.
But the problem is that the only crops Thanjavur can get are rice, sesame, beans and other crops. Apart from occasionally supplying food to the British army in Madras, there is no foreign trade. Now those Easterners actually want to purchase 50,000 yuan.
Pounds of sesame seeds made the local landowners and businessmen extremely happy.
During the subsequent interview, Amar Singh was quite surprised when he learned from Madhu about the North Korean Navy's record of defeating the Dutch in Java. He still knew about the Dutch, who had been entrenched on the island of Ceylon across the sea.
;Although it is not as powerful as the British now, it was still the maritime overlord in the past.
Madhu later proposed a condition on behalf of Beihai Town that Amar Singh was very excited about. That is, Beihai Town was willing to purchase no less than 200,000 pounds of long-staple cotton from Thanjavur every year and ensure that the other party's throne was stable.
and national independence; and the price is that no matter what happens to the British in the future, Thanjavur will not be able to send troops.
Of course Amar Singh is happy to see this happen. Although he does not grow cotton here, is that a big deal? The Deccan Plateau is the best cotton planting area, and you can harvest a wave of cotton after three months of planting.
In fact, he was very dissatisfied with the Lutheran Church for sheltering his nephew in Madras, which meant that the British could always find an excuse for him to oust the Sultan from the throne.
On September 23, the artillery supported by Madras was in place. The British built two more forts in the northeast corner of the city in advance, and bombarded the French day and night. In the southeast direction of local governance,
The two regiments originally responsible for the feint attack also increased their siege efforts.
On September 27, the French finally could no longer resist. The 24-pound guns and 12 12-pound guns all fell silent. The only ones still fighting back were the six 12-pound guns operated by the North Korean Navy's artillery, but the shells were also firing quickly.
Empty.
When the French commander Colonel Clement saw that reinforcements from the Northern Navy had not yet arrived, he knew that he could not count on them, so he proposed to the British army a ceasefire for 24 hours to negotiate surrender terms. The British commander Colonel Braithwaite only allowed
By eight o'clock the next morning, during which earthworks outside the city would continue, Clement, who was isolated and helpless, had to accept the conditions.
After learning that they were about to surrender, the French troops in the city no longer had the will to fight. They immediately opened the wine cellar and got drunk. And while these people were sleeping soundly at night, thirty artillerymen from the Northern Navy led the way.
The remaining "shrapnel" was concentrated, and then the barrels of 16 12-pound cannons were filled with explosives. After lighting the long fuse, they climbed down from the southwest city wall and started special operations outside the city.
The battalion's support moved down to Pazayaray.
Two minutes after the Northern Navy artillery left, a rumbling explosion sounded on the local governance wall, startling both the British and the French inside and outside the city. When they learned that all 16 12-pound cannons had been blown up, and the Northern Navy
All the people disappeared, and Colonel Clement cursed angrily.
At dawn the next day, the British army, who had been on tenterhooks all night, realized what had happened in the city. Braithwaite was also alarmed by the Northern Navy's inflicting trouble, but he still ordered the army to immediately enter the local area to take over the city. However, when the British
After the army entered the city, they were dumbfounded to find that the French garrison was so drunk that they could not even participate in the surrender ceremony.
The British army suffered 988 casualties and 631 wounded during this siege. The losses were so severe that two regiments were crippled. The French suffered only more than 40 casualties. The British captured 600 drunken men in the city.
French soldiers and more than a thousand indigenous soldiers, as well as guns of different calibers and a large amount of ammunition.
Later, the British took the order written by Colonel Clement and sent people to notify the French colonies of Kaleka, Yanam, Mahé and Jinder Nagar to surrender.
On October 3, Cornwallis, who was in Madras supervising the war, finally breathed a sigh of relief after hearing the news, thinking that everything was fine and he could finally have a peaceful sleep. Unexpectedly, that night, Ding Guofeng, who had been preparing for a long time, came to the rescue.
The Guo Xuexian fleet in northeastern Ceylon sent a message, ordering them to launch an attack on the British fleet anchored in the local governance port at 3:15 in the morning.
At the same time, the special operations battalion he brought from Bacheng was also dispatched. Under the surveillance of drones, they first cleared out the British sentries outside the city and on the city walls one by one, and then moved into the local governor.
At the house, Colonel Braithwaite, who was sleeping soundly, came to catch a turtle in an urn.
At the same time, the three thousand servants who had just disembarked two hours ago entered the attack position one by one along the path that the special operations battalion had scouted and planned, followed closely by hundreds of 12-pound guns and dozens of
80 mm caliber mortar.
At 3:15 in the morning, when it was darkest, with a roar on the sea in the distance, a bright fire rose up in the locally managed port. Immediately afterwards, the artillery of the Northern Navy outside the city also launched an attack.
.
It was too late. The awakened British troops fled like headless flies under the artillery fire. The first to collapse were the indigenous mercenaries, followed by the Scottish soldiers wearing tweed plaid skirts. The British troops in the city tried to organize a counterattack.
But they can't find their commander!
Everything is in chaos. The British army, which has always lined up to fight in an upright manner, has never fought such a battle. Who the hell is this? It is so shameless!
By 6 o'clock in the morning, local governance was taken back by the Northern Navy. One of the British naval blockade fleets in the port was bombed and sunk, and the rest surrendered.
The more than 2,000 servants responsible for the pursuit pursued them fifteen kilometers north of the local government, and fought a battle with the hastily assembled British the next day.
The servant army, which had already fought against the Dutch, stepped up its efforts to build a ring of fortifications while the British army was busy lining up. When the British army began to attack, dozens of mortars smashed into them. During this period, the British army
Although a large number of cavalry were sent to surround them from the flanks, under the cover of more than a dozen machine guns from the special operations battalion, they were killed in rivers of blood. In the two-hour battle, more than 2,000 British troops were killed and wounded, and more than 2,000 British troops were killed and injured.
More than two thousand frightened native soldiers simply waved white flags and surrendered.
When the local Frenchman who governed the city walked out of his house in shock, he was surprised to find that what was flying on the castle was a white-backed golden iris flag representing the French Bourbon dynasty.
Oh mon dieu! Who am I? Where am I?
Not to mention the French in the city, the British spies outside the city were stunned after seeing it.
As for Colonel Braithwaite, who was captured by the special operations battalion, he was taken to the living room of the Government House after dawn, where a middle-aged French nobleman wearing a silver wig and gorgeous clothes was waiting for him.
"I'm sorry, but it was my order to attack local governance."
"You? Who are you?"
The other party introduced himself and said that he was the former Governor-General Leclerc. This time he was under the order of His Royal Highness Crown Prince Louis, with the assistance of the Northern Navy, to take back the occupied local governance and restore the legitimate rule of the Bourbon Dynasty.
"Currently, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, Princess Charlotte, and Lady Elizabeth are all recuperating in Beihai Town. He has authorized me to be responsible for managing all affairs in French India."
Braithwaite's chin almost hit the table, and his mind felt like ten thousand mythical beasts rushing past. In the end, he concluded that his "far away" mission was a big joke.
A few days later, Colonel Braithwaite carried an autographed letter with the ring seal of Louis XVI, and was sent back to Madras by a boat in despair. Cornwallis already knew that the British army was defeated.
The duck that reached his mouth actually flew away. However, when he saw the content and seal on the letter, he stood stunned for a moment, and then suddenly realized what was going on.
"It turns out that what happened in Paris was done by them! This was a conspiracy that had been planned for a long time! They came to India and Europe and refused to reach a friendly agreement with us. It was a conspiracy from beginning to end!"
Cornwallis roared, and his voice shook the Governor's Mansion. Everyone who heard it was stunned. What happened to the always kind-hearted Governor?
Well, the attack on the Temple Tower in Beihai Town has since become known to the world. When the news spread to Europe half a year later, the royal families of various countries were shocked. The Duke of Anjou and a group of royalists were in exile in Brussels and had been regarded as the heir.
The man was even more ecstatic. He immediately organized a group to find a ship and prepared to send people to the east to contact him.
It was Robespierre who had the power and was about to be furious, but what came to his mind was not Deng Fei, who spoke fluent French, but the tall staff officer who had talked with him.
Officer, he concluded that this person was the mastermind. However, he could not survive for a few days at that time, and the bloody guillotine was already waving to him.
On October 11, Tipu Sultan, who had completed the army assembly in Bangalore, personally led 20,000 troops to dispatch. The target of the attack was the Salem area in the east that had just been ceded to the British. This move was intended to open up supplies for Mysore and local governance.
Transport routes.
At this time, the British had only taken over the Salem area for more than a year, and their rule was not stable. Moreover, the person in charge of the area was only a captain, and there was a serious shortage of troops.
So when the troops of the "Tiger of Mysore" entered the Salem area and arrived at their first stop, Krishnagiri, the local people immediately declared their defection and expressed their allegiance to them.
Although both the Bombay Governor's Palace and the anxious Madras Governor's Palace were paying attention to the movements of the Mysore army, they were unable to fight alone. While Cornwallis mobilized troops from Bengal, he could only wait for the Marathas in the north.
Tower and Hyderabad in the east rushed to send troops. But the problem is that it takes time to assemble the troops, and now it is too late anyway.
This chapter is not over, please click on the next page to continue reading! At this point, Beihai Town has completely turned against the British, and there is no need to worry about anything anymore. On October 15, Ding Guofeng ordered a regiment of servants to attack
The British controlled Nagapattinam in the south, and asked Guo Xuexian to lead a fleet to provide artillery support from the sea. The defenders in the castle were unable to fight back against the naval guns of the Northern Navy. In just half a day, the northeast corner of the castle and
The north wall was severely damaged and several gaps were blown out.
Seeing that they could no longer guard the castle, the defenders went out for a sneak attack on the night of October 18, and suffered heavy losses. The officers who retreated held a military meeting and felt that the battle could no longer be fought, so they raised the alarm the next day.
A white flag was hoisted. The Northern Navy then took over the city and within a few days expelled all the British, sending them all back to Madras.
During this process, despite the orders from the British in Madras, Amar Singh of Thanjavur did not respond and sent more than 3,000 people five kilometers away from Pazayarai.
After a round trip, we went back.
Faced with the questioning from the people from Madras, the general who had been instructed by Amar Singh to lead the army said plausibly, you can't even defeat ten thousand people, and our thousands of people are not enough to put a gap in people's teeth! The British
I was so angry that I jumped to my feet, but there was nothing I could do.
Time has entered December in a blink of an eye. Hyderabad and Maratha are still gathering troops. At this time, insufficient military expenditure has become the biggest problem facing the British East India Company. In Cornwallis's view, it wants to make peace with Beihai Town.
If Mysore starts a war at the same time, a huge force of no less than 50,000 people will have to be assembled. However, the corresponding military expenses for such a large number of indigenous troops will also be astronomical.
In fact, the issue of military expenditure has troubled the British East India Company from beginning to end. As the scale of the war expanded, the cost of military pay and weapons and equipment procurement became increasingly high. In recent years, the company's army has required tens of millions of pounds every year to maintain expenses.
However, neither the British government nor the British East India Company spent large amounts of money on military expenditures.
Furthermore, the corruption of the British East India Company for many years has aggravated the financial problems within the army. Corruption of employees at all levels has embezzled a large amount of wealth, resulting in its debt problem not being solved for a long time, and the salaries of its troops were also affected. Mutiny also
It is inevitable.
Let’s say that during the “Battle of Buxar”, the indigenous mercenaries of the company in the Patna area had a desire to rebel because their military pay was in arrears. Although the rebellion was suppressed, several of the leading indigenous mercenaries were also tied up.
They were blasted alive from the muzzle, which also started the first mutiny in the history of the company's army.
Whether they are European officers and soldiers hoping for good treatment or Indian indigenous mercenaries struggling to survive, their desire for war is essentially a reflection of economic demands. Under the trend of interests, these officers and soldiers will also abandon the discipline possessed by regular soldiers.
and a sense of honor; if their remuneration requirements are not met, they will respond to their leaders in extremely brutal ways. Against this background, military spending will only increase year by year.
So the unlucky vassal states had to pay huge "military subsidies" again. Speaking of which, this thing was invented by the French, but it was promoted by the British.
The essence of military subsidies is actually protection fees. By using military advantages as political bargaining chips, the princes of Indian states were forced to sign an unequal treaty, handing over diplomatic and military power, and at the same time providing corresponding material and financial resources to support the company.
of indigenous mercenary troops.
Take the most unlucky Awadh region as an example. They have to pay 7.5 million rupees in protection fees to the company every year. Even when they couldn't afford it, the company actually sent troops to detain the old Nawab's princess to demand the return of the debt.
In order to win the Beihai Town, Cornwallis bit the bullet and embezzled one million pounds that the company used for trade expenditures, and at the same time increased the amount of military subsidies by 50%. The princes of the vassal princes in the Deccan region suddenly cried out.