Chapter 1547 Battle of India - preparations for both sides
"General Zhang, we can't go on like this, we must think of a way." In the house where the shouts of killing could be heard from outside, Zhu Daizhen and Sun Bingwen said anxiously to Zhang Fu.
Although the Bengalis have not yet entered the city, the situation is already very critical. The rolling logs and stones on the city top are almost exhausted, there are not many arrows left, and even the firewood used to boil water and oil is gone.
You can use excrement to splash the enemy. Although excrement is disgusting, the damage to the enemy is far less than that of boiling water and boiling oil. When the remaining logs and arrows are completely consumed, the Bengalis will attack the city. Once they are defeated
They attacked the city, but with only a few soldiers, the city could no longer be defended.
"I know all this, but what else can I do?" Zhang Fu said with a wry smile: "Half of the houses in the city have been demolished, and the people are extremely angry. If they continue to be demolished, there will be riots; all the trees in the city have already been cut down.
, the grass has all been pulled out, and the soldiers have been eating raw food since this morning, and they can’t find anything to make firewood and arrows.”
"If I had known this, I would have killed Singh (the name of the only Kshatriya in the city) when I first entered the city." Zhu Daizhen shouted. He had already understood that the Brahmin believers in the city had no ability to organize each other.
, but they listen to the words of the high-caste people. If there is no Singh in the city now, although they will not be satisfied with the Ming army demolishing their houses, they will not be able to make a big splash; but with the Singh organization, these Shutuo
Luo was able to form a whole body to put pressure on the Ming army, forcing the Ming army not to continue demolishing houses in order to prevent riots, nor to recruit too many civilians. Therefore, Zhu Daizhen had long wanted to kill this Kshatriya named Singh.
"It is useless to say this now," Zhang Fu said. We cannot kill Singh now. If we kill him now, the Shudras in the city will immediately riot under the leadership of Vaisya, and there will be no need to defend the city.
"General Zhang, what should we do now?" Sun Bingwen asked.
"For the current plan, we can only encourage the soldiers to fight bravely with the Bengalis after they run out of arrows from the rolling wood and stone bows and crossbows." Zhang Fu said. Even though he was good at fighting, he couldn't think of a better way to face this situation.
"Fortunately, the language and appearance of the people here are very different from those of the people of the Ming Dynasty. The soldiers have a very high fighting spirit and are Tianfang believers. It is easier to encourage the soldiers." Zhang Fu added.
"General Zhang, do you want to contact Ye Tongzhi?" Zhu Daizhen asked again. The three thousand cavalry led by Ye Yiwei had already arrived near the city when the Shah had just led the Bangladeshi troops to completely surround Majedi City, and had been trying to attract the ideas of the Bengalis.
, reduce the burden on the city.
"Let's get in touch." Zhang Fu said. Although Ye Yiwei only has 3,000 men, he can always attract some Bangladeshi soldiers. At the last moment of the city defense battle, even if there are only a few hundred fewer enemies, it will be good. What's more, Ye Yiwei will definitely attract more than 100 soldiers.
Several hundred people.
The three of them discussed for a while how to organize the defense of the city. Zhu Daizhen and Sun Bingwen resigned, and Zhang Fu said to the guards: "Call Singh to come."
The guard agreed and took the order to retreat. After a while, a tall man with fair skin and deep features walked in and saluted according to the traditional etiquette of Brahmans: "Hello, respected General Zhang."
"Singh, although this is not the first time I've seen you, I still can't believe you are an Indian." Zhang Fu first joked: "People often go to the Ming Dynasty as envoys. Your appearance is very similar to those of the envoys."
The appearance is completely different from the Indian businessmen I saw in the past in Shanghai or Baoan."
Singh smiled slightly and said nothing. Their appearance and skin color were very different from those of the lower castes, and they were often greeted by white-looking Westerners. Of course they knew where their ancestors came from, and they were not the same ethnic group as the lower castes. But this
He could not speak openly, so he could only smile and answer the second question: "Most of the people who go out to do business are from the Vaishya caste, and there are also some Sudra castes, but there are no Brahmins and Kshatriya castes. So their appearance is different from ours.
The difference is not small.”
Zhang Fu smiled again, chatted a few words casually, and then said very seriously: "Singh, the defensive equipment on the top of the city will soon be used up, and we will soon have a bloody battle with the enemy on the top of the city.
.I know exactly what you are doing these days."
Singer was a little nervous, but Zhang Fu ignored him and continued: "But I understand why you did this. After all, if I were in your position, I would probably do the same thing, so I don't care."
"But there is a bottom line you cannot cross: take the initiative to help the Bengalis who are attacking the city! When the Bangladeshi soldiers attack the city, the civilian men we recruited can go down to the city, but they must not provide convenience to the Bengalis. If you exceed this point, as long as
If a Ming army escapes, when the Ming army invades this city again, your whole family will die without a burial place!" Zhang Fu said very sternly.
"Don't worry, General Zhang. I will definitely not allow them to assist the Bengalis who are attacking the city." Singh immediately agreed. The Tianfang believers who now rule the Bengal region are deeply hostile to the Tianfang believers. He would rather be ruled by the Ming Dynasty than
Being ruled by Tianfang believers, he and the Brahmans in the city did not recognize themselves as Bengalis. If he hadn't felt that the Ming Dynasty had no intention of occupying Bengal, he would definitely not have done these small tricks and would have fully assisted Zhang Fu in defending the city.
"Besides, General Zhang, you don't have to worry about your life." Singh added: "The Ming Dynasty is so powerful, Bangladesh is so weak, and General Zhang's status is so high, the Shah will definitely not dare to kill you, but will
We will capture you and we will not mistreat you. Of course, if General Zhang wants to return to the Ming Dynasty, his family will need to pay a ransom."
In this era, probably except for China, the difference between nobles and ordinary people in other countries was very big. No matter how many ordinary soldiers died on the battlefield, it didn't matter. Unless they wanted to be plundered as slaves, ordinary soldiers who surrendered would be killed; but
Nobles are different. Even if forces with religious conflicts like the Cross Church and the Tianfang Sect are at war with each other, they will treat each other's nobles preferentially. They can go home without killing them and pay a ransom. The Shah still treats the Ming Dynasty according to this principle.
Zhang Fu shook his head and said nothing more. He would never surrender and was determined to fight to the end. But there was no need to tell Singer this.
After that, Zhang Fu made a last-ditch effort to squeeze something out of Singer's hands. After repeated efforts, Singer finally agreed to give some more firewood to the Ming army.
After saying this, they had nothing more to say. Singh bowed in accordance with the traditional etiquette of Brahmans and left the room. Zhang Fu picked up the tea cup and took a sip of tea, and said to himself: "I can do it."
Everything has been done, and it depends on God whether God is willing to let Ming win this battle."
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"Launch a general attack tomorrow!" Shah sat in the tent and spoke loudly.
"Whether it is the number of times the Ming army has used defensive equipment at the top of the city these days, or the news from people who are still loyal to me in the city, it shows that the Ming army does not have much defensive equipment left, and it will be used up by tomorrow morning at the latest, including arrows.
With the arrow inside, the army can attack without interference."
"And there is good news. The imitation artillery used by the Ming army has been transported from Dhaka. The power of the artillery is huge, especially for siege. It can blast through the city walls. With the cannon, it will definitely be able to break through the city walls.
Jedi City.”
"Of course, the most important thing is the Lord's blessing. It is with the Lord's blessing and light that we can get through many difficulties, and this time will be no exception," Shah finally said.
"Thank God." Everyone present said one after another.
"Sultan, I think artillery should be used with caution." Maher said: "Majedi City is a city belonging to Bangladesh. If the city wall is damaged, it will have to be rebuilt; and the Ming army may not because of this
If more than 10,000 people are wiped out, then we will admit the defeat of the war, and we will continue to attack Bangladesh. We also need city walls to defend Majedi City. So I suggest not to use artillery lightly."
"As for the lack of artillery, which makes it difficult to capture the city, we can drive the Brahmans to rush forward first and consume the strength of the Ming army soldiers. After they are too tired to move, we can send an elite army composed of Tianfang believers to attack the city and recapture the city in one fell swoop.
Anyway, there are so many Brahmans, so we are not afraid of them all dying."
"Of course, I am not completely opposed to the use of artillery. If the resistance of the Ming army cannot be broken down, artillery can be used, but do not use it lightly." Maher finally said.
Shah nodded and said: "Your opinion is good. I will use artillery carefully."
"Sultan, how will the man named Singh be punished after the city of Majedi was captured?" Mansour asked: "According to the news coming back from the city, Singh provided convenience for the Ming army to defend and rule the city.
, should you take this opportunity to kill him?" He hated Brahmins very much, especially the high-caste Brahmins, and wanted to kill all the Brahmins in Bangladesh who were unwilling to convert to Tianfang religion.
Shah thought for a moment, then shook his head and said: "The reason is not sufficient to kill Singh." Although there are more Tianfang believers than Brahmans in Bangladesh, the Brahmin population is still large, and due to the oppression of the Tianfang believers,
Gradually they came together. In order to prevent the fish from dying, the two sides formed agreed upon rules. Although Singh organized some civilians to work for the Ming army and agreed to demolish some houses, he did not directly organize the Brahmans to help the Ming army defend the city, and there was no breakthrough.
Bottom line, the Shah could punish him and extort a large sum of money, but he couldn't kill him.
"Mansoor, don't worry. When the number of Brahmins drops to less than one-fifth, they can be completely purged and those who are unwilling to convert in the face of death threats will be killed." Shah comforted Mansoul again.
Surdao.
Afterwards, several more questions were raised, and the Shah either answered them himself or consulted with others to resolve them one by one.
When no one asked any more questions, Shah glanced around again and began to give orders: "Lughman Khan, you will lead the army to attack the North City tomorrow; Ainis, you will lead the army to attack the West City; Mansoor, you will lead the army to attack the East City.
. The south city is vacated so that the Ming army can think of retreating when the situation is unfavorable. But of course I will not let them withdraw easily. Maher, you lead the army to hide in the woods to the south. Once the Ming army wants to withdraw from the south,
Wait until they leave the city and stop them."
"Of course, it is not necessary to wipe out all the Ming army. As long as we can recapture Majedi City and defeat the Ming army, we will have achieved the original goal." Shah added: "If they attack very fiercely, let them go.
, Reduce the losses of our army." Of course, in addition to reducing losses, Shah also had another consideration. If the Ming army stationed in Majedi City was really wiped out, he was worried that the Ming army commander would become angry and attack Bengal more violently.
So try to save face for the Ming army. Not only must you avoid annihilating the Ming army, but you remember that in the Ming army, no one with an official position above the fourth rank, or a hereditary title of Duke, Bozinan, can be killed. If you are injured, you must
Treat their injuries as much as possible."
"Yes, Sultan." Although they were unwilling in their hearts, the generals present understood the importance and agreed in unison.
"Khalid, I remember you said you could speak Chinese." Shah said to him again.
"Yes, dear Sultan." He had been under Zhu Xian's rule for more than two years and had learned some Chinese, but he was not very fluent.
"You are responsible for communicating with the captured Ming army generals. Tell them that Bangladesh will never kill them, and I do not want them to surrender. As long as they are willing to be prisoners without resistance, I will provide them with treatment consistent with their status. In the future
After the armistice between the two countries, their families can also pay to redeem them," Shah said.
"Sultan," Khalid hesitated and said, "Eastern countries have very high moral requirements for military officers. They consider it a shameful act for generals to surrender or be captured. It is impossible for them to be promoted after the news of their capture reaches the country.
They may even be deprived of all property and honor. They would probably rather commit suicide than be captured. Moreover, the status of officials in the Eastern Ming Dynasty is not very high. Many people from civilian backgrounds can be officials, even fourth-grade officials. You don't have to
So polite to the officials."
"This way." Shah muttered, thought for a moment, and said: "If the Ming generals are not willing to be captured, then kill one-fifth of them, claim to the outside world that they died in battle, and release the other four-fifths.
But the generals with noble backgrounds cannot be killed, and all of them must be let go. Khalid, you will decide who to kill and who to let go when the time comes."
"Yes, Sultan." Khalid agreed.
"Generals," Shah finally said: "Eight days have passed since the attack on Majedi City began. The possibility of the Ming army's follow-up troops arriving is getting higher and higher. In order not to be attacked by the Ming army from both front and rear, we must win this battle.
, we must conquer Majedi City tomorrow! I hope the Lord can bless us!"
"I hope the Lord can protect us!" everyone said one after another.
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…
"Sir, based on the news of calls for help in the city and the investigation of the Bangladesh military camp, the Shah will probably launch a general offensive tomorrow."
"In this case, we should prepare for war tomorrow."
