When the battle under the city of Rajmohar was in full swing, and soldiers from both sides were fighting in a mixture of blood and fire, Gao Shizhong's cavalry troops were like sneaking cheetahs, quietly continuing their mission. This time they planned to capture the big ones.
, the target was set at the most important logistical fulcrum of the Mughal Eastern Expedition - the military supplies warehouse outside Patna, the capital of Bihar.
Having followed Gao Pangshi for many years, Gao Shizhong knew that the outcome of a war not only depends on the fighting on the front line, but also often depends on who can have more sufficient and stable logistics supplies. Logistics supplies certainly include food, but it is not just about it.
on food.
As the rate of firearm equipment increases year by year, consumables such as gunpowder and projectiles have become more and more indispensable combat supplies. Once the supply is lost, the originally ferocious tiger army will instantly lose all power and become a pig to be slaughtered.
sheep.
Under the darkness of night, Gao Shizhong's eyes penetrated the ink-like night and locked on the dimly lit Mughal Army logistics camps a few miles ahead.
Gao Shizhong's Ministry has confirmed the intelligence. Dozens of warehouses in this camp contain at least half of the gunpowder, lead bullets, artillery shells needed for this Mughal Army's Eastern Expedition, and even many for military use.
The sabers, saddles, horseshoes and other military equipment replaced by the Chinese cavalry.
The reason why such an important munitions warehouse is not placed in Patna city, but is located outside the city, is precisely because there is too much gunpowder and it is too dangerous to store it in the city - especially considering that His Majesty Padishah is also in the city.
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"Brothers, what needs to be said has been said a long time ago. Now it is time for the Mughals to see our methods!" Gao Shizhong's voice was low and powerful, and his sword shone coldly in the moonlight.
The eyes of the cavalry were burning with the flames of battle, and they pursed their lips vigorously. Yes, what should be said has already been said: they have made a lot of achievements this time, but none of them has been big enough to change the trajectory of their lives.
, and this is the turning point in his military career - whether it's making his wife a wife, changing his name to a surname, or conferring land and titles, it all depends on tonight's big gamble!
In addition to the unique surname change of the Jinghua clan (giving the surname Gao), Gao Jingshi, as a minister, logically cannot grant them titles, lands, wives, and children, but this is not the case. Although Gao Jingshi himself would not do this due to etiquette and law,
Yes, but all "His Majesty the King" under Jinghua's control can be granted titles at will.
Within the Jinghua Nanjiang system, there are many high-ranking officials and generals who have been knighted by the puppet kings. However, in the past, due to high pragmatism, they were still the Marquis of Nanning in the Ming Dynasty, so the highest titles among these were earls, usually viscounts, and barons—the Ming Dynasty did not have them.
The two-level title of son and male does not mean that these kings must also abide by it.
The title itself is important, after all, it is a symbol of status, but for general generals and even soldiers, the more important thing is the grant of land.
As the number of immigrants from the Southern Xinjiang Peninsula, Nanyang Islands and other places increases, development becomes faster and faster. Many territories that were originally "wasted" by the local natives have shown development potential and are envied by countless people. Among them,
Receiving gifts by performing meritorious service for your employer is the safest and cheapest way to obtain them.
Even if it is not enough to obtain a title, being able to be awarded dozens or even hundreds of acres of fertile land to be developed for one battle achievement is a beautiful thing that ordinary soldiers would never dare to think about! As for the fact that these fields still need to be cultivated,
, that doesn’t matter, there is a complete system in the Jinghua system to allow these meritorious people to choose.
For example, they can choose to receive less land and use part of their credit in exchange for tenants. These tenants are divided into several types, the most "expensive" immigrants from the Ming Dynasty, who are basically by default to have excellent conduct and farm work skills; the second is through
"Naturalized household registration system" assessment and
They are recognized as naturalized natives; thirdly, they are prisoners of war who have special skills or are relatively young; thirdly, they are ordinary natives who have not yet been recognized as naturalized but are learning Chinese; and finally, they are those whose level of civilization is approximately equal to none.
It is extremely difficult for primitive people to communicate in daily life.
All in all, prices vary by category. For example, an immigrant from the Ming Dynasty can be exchanged for hundreds of primitive natives in the lowest level.
However, Gao Pragmatic also has strict regulations. No matter what level of tenant farmers are, they are "working hard but not selling themselves."
The contract period is set at thirty years. After thirty years, unless he is willing to renew the contract, he will automatically regain his freedom.
As for the Ming Dynasty immigrants, the "service" period is greatly shortened to only ten years. After ten years, the contract can be renewed or terminated according to their own wishes.
The reason for this arrangement seems to be deliberately to show that the "cost-effectiveness" of immigrants from Ming Dynasty is not high. Naturally, it is because Gao Pragmatic does not want immigrants from Ming Dynasty to be reduced to the bottom of society. He still hopes that they can leave after getting rid of the initial difficulties.
Come out, gradually accumulate family property, and in the future become at least the so-called "middle class" in later generations, and naturally become the backbone of Jinghua's rule in the local area.
Closer to home, the cavalry followed Gao Shizhong, and the horses moved forward slowly, then slowly accelerated, and finally turned into a black lightning, kicking and shocking the tranquility of the night. The sound of horse hooves was cleverly covered up by them at first, until they were about to
As they approached the camp, there was a tremor like an earthquake and tsunami, and the Mughal army sentries were horrified to find that a death-like cavalry team had appeared in front of them.
"Strike!" Gao Shizhong's sword pointed straight ahead. The cavalry were like arrows, skillfully transformed into a dozen units, and rushed into all directions of the Mughal army's logistics storage camp. Torches, rockets, pottery and oil cans.
It fell like raindrops and quickly turned the camp into a sea of fire. The soldiers and civilians of the Mughal army woke up from their dreams. Faced with the sudden attack, they were panicked and unable to organize any effective resistance.
This chapter is not over, please click on the next page to continue reading! Gao Shizhong and his cavalry were galloping through the camp. Their goal was not to kill any specific enemy, but to create chaos, ignite flammable objects, and destroy supplies.
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In the light of the fire, the tent where armor and weapons were stored was set on fire, and dozens of oil cans were smashed outside the warehouse where gunpowder pellets were stored. Dark kerosene flowed all over the ground, waiting to be ignited with long-range rockets before leaving...
...Amidst the cries and screams, the most important material warehouse of the Mughal Eastern Expedition Army suffered heavy damage in this sudden night attack.
Nearly a thousand cavalrymen cooperated with each other in a tacit understanding of the division of labor. They completed the sabotage task in less than a stick of incense, and finally gathered at the east gate of the camp. Gao Shizhong showed a cold smile and said viciously: "Archers with a weight of four stones or more must obey the order.
Arrow, light the fire and shoot a volley, show Jahangir and his fellows a brilliant fireworks!"
As about 300 heavy arrow cavalry archers bent their bows and fired rockets, the gunpowder warehouse a hundred steps away was ignited by kerosene. The fire quickly burned the wooden parts of the warehouse and approached the boxes of gunpowder inside. At the same time, Gao Shizhong
He led the cavalry under his command and turned around and ran away, not cherishing the horse power at all - now is not the time to cherish the horse. Who knows how powerful these gunpowder explosions are. If they are hit by the aftermath, it will not be a joke.
The continuous loud noises of "boom, boom, boom" woke up almost everyone in the city of Patna. Many confused people were wondering what was going on, or asked the person next to them if there was an earthquake, and then woke up and panicked.
He put on his clothes and ran outside. The whole city soon became a mess.
At this moment, Jahangir also climbed down from the exquisite silk sheets. At first, he thought that an earthquake was coming, and his face instantly turned pale. But as loud noises reached his ears, he finally realized what was going on.
He began to get angry and blame himself, knowing that he had made a serious mistake - he underestimated the tactical flexibility of the Southern Xinjiang Army and the audacity of Gao Shizhong's Ding Jingqi.
"Move troops, quickly mobilize troops to pursue them, mobilize troops to encircle and suppress them!" Jahangir's voice was filled with anger and panic. He issued an urgent order in an attempt to stabilize the situation.
However, when people are not mentally alert, they are most likely to act in groups, just as military camps are most afraid of roars. Now the entire city of Patna is in complete chaos.
Among the top military officials of the Mughal Empire, General Aziz Kokar, whose status was second only to Man Singh, was also not trusted by Jahangir. Recently, Padishah had been keeping him by his side for various reasons. At this moment
He was also in the city of Patna. He was also awakened by the explosion, but he immediately heard that it was the explosion of the gunpowder depot outside the city. Therefore, he immediately guessed that there would be chaos in the city, so he immediately ordered his own soldiers around him.
Go out of the house and try to maintain law and order as much as possible.
However, it was too late. The number of soldiers loyal to him was too small. Even if they tried their best, they could only barely keep a street outside the gate of Azizkoca's temporary residence from being attacked by the chaotic people.
It is completely powerless to control more places.
Azizkoca himself changed into a military uniform as quickly as possible, wore a helmet and armor, held a scimitar, left the house in person, and led his soldiers to squeeze towards Padisha's palace - although he did not want to see it
The blood caused greater chaos, but in the end they were forced to kill dozens of people who blocked the way, and then barely reached the Padisha Palace.
Martial law was already in place outside the palace. The Padisha soldiers stared red-eyed at Azizkoca, who was fully dressed and leading his troops. The leader of the general shouted: "Old marshal, stop! You lead the troops to the Padisha palace.
What do you want?"
As a major imperial general with the same reputation as Man Singh, how could Azizkoca be intimidated by this mere scene? He put his saber into its sheath, threw it to his cronies, strode forward, and said coldly: "I'm here to see you.
I saw the Padishah and the chaos in the city, so I brought my own soldiers. Now that I have left my sword and am here alone, do you want to stop me?"
Having said this, Azizkoca paused for a moment, stared into the eyes of the Padisha general, and said slowly and emotionlessly: "I'll answer after I think about it."
The general was obviously overwhelmed and suffocated. He subconsciously stepped back half a step, lowered his head slightly and said, "Since you are here to meet alone, you can naturally enter the palace at any time. However, please allow me, the old marshal, to pass the message to you.
"
Azizkoca retracted his aggressive gaze and said calmly: "Of course I won't break the rules, but I still want to remind you that the situation is urgent now, and some red tape can be omitted, but I hope it can be done quickly."
The general's eyelids twitched, he suppressed his dissatisfaction, replied "Please wait a moment", and hurriedly entered the palace to report. Soon he came out of the palace again, expressionlessly making a gesture of extending his hand.
, said: "Padisha has allowed you to meet, old marshal, please."
Azizkokar ignored him and walked quickly into the palace with a cold face. The gauze curtain of Jahangir's palace swayed in the light, and his figure cast a long shadow on the curtain. His face was spread out in front of him.
He was looking at the map, which was densely marked with every corner of the recent battlefield, but those symbols representing defeat were like sharp thorns piercing his heart at the moment.
"Padisha, Azizkoca salutes you..." the old marshal's voice sounded at the door of the room.
Jahangir turned to look at him with a dark face, and replied in a cold tone: "Are you here to see my joke?"
Azizkoka frowned, walked into the room by himself, shook his head and said, "I'm here to share your worries."
"Oh?" Jahangir sneered: "I can't tell that you are so loyal to me... Humph, if I remember correctly, you were admonishing my old father and asking him to take over the Padishah.
This bit was passed on to that boy Khusrao."
"I do have this advice." Azizkoca nodded without fear, but then said: "But before old Padisha died, I also promised him that I would give him my loyalty
Transferred to New Padisha—yours."
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! Jahangir fell silent for a long time before asking: "Why did you come to see me?"
Azizkoca said without hesitation: "I am here to advise: the Eastern Expedition must be stopped."
Jahangir's suppressed anger suddenly rose to the ground again. He suddenly kicked a tin wine can away and said angrily: "Even if all the supplies stored outside the city are destroyed, I can mobilize them again."
, and even more can be mobilized!”
However, Azizkoca remained unmoved and continued to speak in a calm voice: "As you know, we have lost most of our gunpowder, and the rest of the supplies have also been severely damaged, but this is not the most fatal thing. Around nightfall,
I received news from Mewar that our suppressive force encountered strong resistance, not to mention the slow progress, and even suffered two defeats, with the loss of more than 3,000 people." Although his voice was calm, every word
The words were like heavy hammers, hitting Jahangir's heart.
Jahangir's fists were clenched, and his nails were almost embedded in his palms. His strategy, his plan, and his empire seemed to be in danger at this moment. He took a deep breath, forced himself to calm down, and began to re-examine the entire battle situation.
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The "Mewar" mentioned by Aziz Kokar refers to a dynasty that has existed in the central and western regions of India for about 900 years. Its current area is roughly equivalent to two-thirds of Zhejiang.
The relationship between this kingdom and the Mughal Empire has always been relatively tense. Except for a very few periods when it accepted the nominal rule of the Mughal Empire, it maintained a state of war with the empire in most periods. From the official to the private sector, the Mewar people
The resistance of the Mughal Empire continued, causing the empire to spend a huge amount of energy on it... and gold.
The worst thing is that since the country is not far from the imperial capital Agra, the Mughal Empire cannot leave it alone and can only continue to invest power in trying to suppress it. Now it has almost become a bottomless pit.
"The resistance in Mewar is stronger than we expected, and on the Bangladesh side...the war is not going well, and the morale of the army must have hit rock bottom."
Aziz Kokar's voice paused, and his eyes also fell on the map that Jahangir was looking at before. He wandered on the map for a while, and finally settled on the location of Mewar, and spoke slowly again: "
We must make a choice, Padishah. If you continue to insist on investing your strength in the Eastern Expedition at all costs, then Mewar will be out of control, and the surrounding areas of Hadoti, Dundar, etc. may also become uneasy.
If we separate, even Agra will be on the verge of danger, and the foundation of the empire will be shaken."
Jahangir just had too much vanity and desire for power, which did not mean that he was a fool. He also understood what Aziz Kokar said. At this moment, he was struggling fiercely in his heart. On the one hand, he had no desire to reconquer Bengal.
Full of desire, this is not only an expansion of power, but also a proof of his personal prestige; on the other hand, the turmoil in Mewar directly affects the stability of the empire, and he really cannot sit idly by.
"If we continue to spend time in Bangladesh, our logistics will become increasingly difficult to support. Even if you invest desperately, as long as we cannot quickly eliminate that hateful enemy cavalry, we will eventually run out of strength. At the same time,
The problems in Mewar will become more and more serious." Seeing that Jahangir refused to speak, Aziz Kokar continued.
Jahangir remained silent, and there was a war between heaven and man in his heart. He knew that if he withdrew his troops from Bengal, all previous efforts would be in vain, and the southern Xinjiang army would consolidate their rule in Bengal, and he, Jahangir, "
The title of "World Conqueror" will become a laughing stock in the history of the empire. But if it does not withdraw, Mewar's resistance movement will intensify and the internal stability of the empire will be seriously threatened. This is especially unacceptable now that his new king has ascended the throne.
tolerate.
"Padisha, hesitation is not a characteristic of a wise king. Please make a decision as soon as possible." Aziz Kokar's voice sounded again, and it was obviously much harsher, which also interrupted Jahangir's meditation.
Jahangir raised his head, and his eyes finally became firm and decisive: "Send my order to Man Singh. The main force is preparing to retreat. We... will first turn our strategic target to Mewar."
This decision is not easy to make, but Jahangir also knows that as the Padishah of the empire, he must prioritize the stability of the empire. The campaign in Bengal can be put on hold for the time being, after all, the southern Xinjiang army does not seem to be ready to expand its conquests
, but the unrest in Mewar must be quelled immediately.
"People of the Ming Dynasty, we will meet again." Jahangir muttered silently in his heart, his eyes shining with dissatisfaction. Although he chose to retreat this time, the seeds of future revenge had been planted in his heart.
I just don’t know if he will still start the next war, or if the Southern Xinjiang Army should take the initiative...
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