Boom!" Several bolts of lightning struck straight down, seeming to split the sky in half; heavy rain also followed, pouring down like a torrent, drenching the already damp land.
"It rained so heavily." At this time, in the tent in the middle of the Majapahit army camp, Vigrama Vardhana stood at the door of the tent, raised his head and looked up at the sky, and whispered in a low voice.
"This is really a good thing." Behind him, Ketalayasa also came over and said with a happy face: "Your Majesty, this is a good thing. It has rained a few days ago, and the ground is already soft. If it rains again,
In such a heavy rain, if you step on it, your entire foot will sink into the mud, and there will be no need to think about fighting in three or two days."
"And with such heavy rain, not only can the Ming army's cannons be unable to fire, but the gunpowder is also difficult to protect from moisture. There is no need to worry about the Ming army's artillery shells coming in these days. The warriors can finally rest for a few days. Your Majesty and I are waiting
I can feel a little more relaxed."
"Yes, this is a good thing." Wigrama Vardana also said a few words: "The people captured by the Ming army will also die less; the Ming army wants to send people to grab food, so
It's not that easy anymore."
It is now late August. On August 13th, Zhu Gaoxu also led his troops to join the Northern Route Army near Pamalan. The two armies merged into one and were about to attack Pekalongan City eastward.
After learning about this, Wigrama Vardhana also ordered that only 3,000 men be left to garrison Pekalongan City. He personally led the remaining nearly 70,000 troops to the west. Before the Ming army moved its camp, he also came to Pamalan to join the Ming army.
Confrontation.
He had to come. Zhu Gaoxu said, "The soldiers of the Majapahit Kingdom cannot fight in the field and can only defend the city." The words have been spread among the warriors who escaped from the city of Wumiya. If he did not dare to go out of the city to fight with the Ming army in the field,
, even if the Ming army is forced to retreat in the end, his prestige will decline, and 7 can take the opportunity to send troops to fight for the throne again. By then, his army has just fought with the Ming army and is exhausted, facing 7 who has been recuperating for a long time.
The army may not necessarily win.
Moreover, the Majapahit Kingdom was not a completely centralized system. Many ministers and Brahmanical monks had their own lands. Among them, those whose fiefdoms were in the west of Java Island suffered heavy losses. They must hate the Ming army with bitter hatred. If they did not dare to agree with
The Ming army was dissatisfied during the field battle and switched to 7. His position was really unstable. If he lost another war with 7, he might not lose the throne.
And if he goes out of the city to fight in the field and repel the Ming army, or fights a draw with the Ming army and forces Zhu Gaoxu and others to retreat, his prestige will rise, and the ministers and monks who have suffered heavy losses will not be dissatisfied with him,7 and there will be no excuse to immediately send troops to fight for the throne.
.
Therefore, in order to avoid the crisis after the war with the Ming army, he could only lead his troops out of the city and fight with the Ming army outside the city.
Zhu Gaoxu and others seemed a little surprised that he dared to lead his troops out of the city to fight. There was no movement for three days after the confrontation between the two armies began on August 15th. It seemed that they were here for training in the wild. But just as Wigrama Vardhana felt himself
When the misconception that they were leading their troops in the field for training disappeared, the Ming army began to take action.
The first was the bombardment. Starting from the night of August 18, small and light cannons were used to bombard the camps of the Majapahit army every night. Although the Majapahit Kingdom also paid attention to firearms after the Ming army conquered Annan,
They spent a lot of money to recruit some people who could cast cannons to make cannons, and they also had cannons. However, their cannons were not only inferior in quality to the Ming army's cannons, but also had a much shorter service life and were prone to exploding chambers. They also had a far longer range at the same weight.
Rather, it made it difficult for them to retaliate against others. Vigrama Vardhana had to send more people on night watch to attack whenever there was movement outside the camp to interfere with the Ming army's artillery fire. Through this
This method made it difficult for the Ming army to fire at the Majapahit army's camp. However, Zhu Gaoxu used this arrangement to sneak attack the Majapahit troops who had left the camp, causing them considerable losses.
Of course, the Ming army did not just fire artillery secretly. Starting from daylight on August 19, they sent troops out of the camp to provoke the Majapahit people. Of course, Wigrama Vardhana could not accept it, and also sent troops out of the camp to fight the Ming army. The Ming army
The fighting was very desperate, and I don’t know what orders Zhu Gaoxu gave. All the soldiers who went out to fight fought hard against the Majapahits as if they had taken stimulants. Both sides suffered heavy losses. Wigrama Varda’s heart trembled when he saw it.
: Those who lost were all his main force.
What made Wigrama Vardhana even more angry was that every time before the Ming army went to battle, they would drive the captured Majapahit civilians to attack the Majapahit formation, with their own soldiers following behind. These captured civilians
The soldiers had no idea what impact their actions would have on their country's army. They only knew that as long as they could escape from this battlefield, they would survive, so they fled eastward desperately. Ketalayasa, who led the army, had to order the shooting
Kill them and scare them with arrows so that they dare not run to the east. But in this way, the strength of the Majapahit archers was exhausted, and the weapons of the Majapahit warriors standing at the front of the formation were also exhausted.
Most of them were stained with blood, not to mention the blow to morale. The Ming army took advantage of this opportunity to launch an attack, which often caused heavy casualties to the Majapahit people.
From the day of the 19th to the 24th today, although there have only been six days of fighting, the Majapahit people have been killed, seriously injured, and disabled in total more than 8,000 people, an average of more than 1,300 people per day; nearly 10,000 people have been injured.
Seven thousand, an average of more than 2,800 people per day. This army was already a bit exhausted, and the distressed Wigrama Vardhana shed tears.
Of course, the Ming army also suffered injuries. According to Ketalayasa's estimate, nearly 4,000 Ming soldiers were killed, seriously injured, and disabled in the past six days, or more than 600 people every day; nearly 10,000 people were injured, or more than 1,600 people were arrested every day.
The civilians who came here are not included. Although they lost fewer soldiers than they did, it was still a considerable loss. However, the Ming army on the opposite side still fought hard every day as if they were desperate for their lives.
On the 23rd, Wigrama Vardhana could not bear it anymore and ordered some troops stationed in various cities in the rear to be transferred to Pamalan. Because the matter was urgent, Wigrama Vardana brought the troops stationed in Pekalongan City.
They were all the main force, and later Bamalan was brought in before he could exchange them. But if the losses continued like this, even if he defeated the Ming army and gained prestige, he might not be able to retain the throne. He would have to mobilize troops from the rear to share the losses on the front line.
.
Moreover, Wigrama Vardana also planned to dispatch the entire army to the Ming army camp after the 30,000 to 40,000 troops arrived. If the Ming army dared to challenge, he would fight them with twice the strength. Even if it was full,
The combat effectiveness of the Majapahit people is indeed inferior to that of the Ming people. No, it is impossible. Many of the so-called Ming armies are natives of Srivijaya, Borneo and Manchuria. They were originally defeated by the Majapayi people.
How could the combat effectiveness of Zheboyi's army be inferior to theirs?
Even if their combat effectiveness is indeed inferior to theirs, and they have twice the military advantage, the Ming army's combat effectiveness will never be more than twice as strong as theirs, and they will definitely be able to defeat the Ming army. Maybe they can capture a vassal king, and their prestige will be at its peak.
Don’t be afraid even if the loss is bigger.
If the Ming army does not go to war, it means that they are afraid, their morale will be reduced, and they will not dare to go to war in the future. But if there is a stalemate, the food channel behind him will be unobstructed. Although the Ming army now has a lot of food in the camp
, but it will eventually be exhausted, and it is not that easy to search for food on the west side of the island, so we can only retreat.
However, it will take several days for the troops drawn from various cities to arrive, and the three or four days before reinforcements arrive will not be easy. When he withdrew his troops and returned to camp this afternoon, Wigrama Vardhana was still worriedly calculating the next steps.
How many soldiers will be lost in a few days? Suddenly there was thunder and lightning in the sky, and there was a heavy rain. This made all Majapahit warriors very happy, and also made Wigrama Vardana, Ketalayasa and others relieved.
of heavy rain.
Vigramavardana and Ketalayasa stood at the entrance of the camp and watched for a while. Vigramavardhana said: "Ketalayasa, wait until the weather clears tomorrow, first find a dry area in the camp.
Place all the wounded soldiers there. Wounds of wounded soldiers are not easy to heal in places with a lot of moisture."
"The grain should also be taken out to dry. Although most of it is old rice, it is better than eating moldy rice. Although the artillery is not of much use, it is because the Ming army has better artillery than us.
Artillery is still very useful when dealing with other enemies, so artillery must be properly kept and gunpowder must be taken out to dry..."
Vigramavardhana gave many instructions, and Ketalayasa agreed to them one by one. After a while, Vigramavardhana finished his instructions and said to him: "Ketalayasa, I don't have anything else to do.
I've told you to go back and rest. I could have told you these things tomorrow morning, but I'm worried that I've forgotten them, so I'll tell you again now."
"Yes, Your Majesty." Ketalayasa agreed, thought for a moment and then said, "Your Majesty."
"What's wrong?"
"Your Majesty, if you want to mobilize troops from the city behind, please think about it again."
Ketalayasa said: "Although the Ming army is in Bamalan, our army has not surrounded them. They can withdraw at any time or attack other places. This time, even Semarang, Lassen, and Suzhou are located on the seaside.
Labaya (Surabaya), and Yogyakarta and other cities in the south have all mobilized some troops. What if the Ming army divides its troops into two groups again, and sends one group of troops to go south and attack Yogyakarta and other cities eastward along the southern coast of the island?
?"
"The Ming army still has a navy. If they pretend that the whole army is still here, but secretly send a part of the army to board ships and attack Semarang and other places, how to deal with it?"
"You don't have to worry." Wigrama Vardhana replied: "The civil servants forced by the Ming army have the details of our country, and even the soldiers of the Ming Dynasty also have people who deliver messages for our country. If the Ming army intends to divide its troops, or secretly send
Some troops will make a sneak attack by boat. They will know about it immediately and report back to me. The Ming army only has so many camps. If there are eight hundred or one thousand men missing, they may not be able to find it, but if there are two or three thousand men missing, they will definitely find it."
"And at this time, the ocean current near Java Island is from east to west, and the wind is from southeast to northwest; from west to east, it is faster for soldiers to march on land than to take a boat. There is no need to worry about not being able to come back in time."
"But what you said makes sense. Although marching in a hurry is faster than taking a boat, people and horses are exhausted after all. In this case, after reinforcements arrive, let the troops with more warriors who died in the battle withdraw and garrison in various cities."
"Your Majesty, reinforcements from Semarang City have arrived. At this time, there are less than 3,000 people stationed in the city. Do you want to send troops to garrison tomorrow?" Ketalayasa said hurriedly.
"There is no need to be in such a hurry. But that's all. Tomorrow, I will send Ayulibali to lead his troops to Semarang City to garrison. He has lost more than half of his troops in the past few days, and now there are less than 2,000 people intact. He is just in time to rest in the rear."
Gramavardhana said.
...
...
At this time, near Semarang City, more than a hundred miles east of Bamalan, and a few miles northeast of the coast, it was also raining heavily. Although it was not as majestic as the rain in Bamalan, it was not light, and it was also dark.
In the misty weather, even people dozens of meters away could not be seen, and the sound could not be heard clearly due to the thunder. Because the weather was so bad, the soldiers on duty in Semarang City tonight retreated into the house early.
, some people even returned directly to the military camp to live, completely failing to perform their duties on duty. When someone asked, these people said: "It's raining so heavily, who will be outside? Who will come to attack the city?" The person who asked the question heard this.
Ya was speechless when asked the question, so he could only let it go.
But if these soldiers were still stationed on the city wall in accordance with their duties, they might vaguely see ships moving along the coast a few miles to the northeast; if they were more serious, they might still be able to
Hearing faint sounds coming from the coast. If the generals stationed in Semarang City get reports from the soldiers on duty and send a few people to the coast to take a look, they will find something unbelievable.
In this heavy rain, although dozens of ships were kept moving by the wind, even after anchoring, and the decks were shaking, which could make people dizzy, there were still many people queuing up to get off the ships.
Walking down. From time to time, someone couldn't stand and fell off the boat and fell into the sea, but the rest of the people remained silent and followed the people in front of them to get off the boat.
After a while, all these people got off the boat. At this time, one of the men, who was wearing leather armor and was tall and strong like a leader, counted the number of people and whispered: "There are still 952 people.
A total of forty-eight people failed to make it ashore."
"But this is enough. Even if there are only 950 people, it is enough to capture Semarang City!"
He immediately shouted to the soldiers in front of him: "Soldiers, follow me to attack Semarang City! The victory or defeat of this battle will be decided in one fell swoop!" (To be continued)