Volume 4: Hot! The whole world is a warring state Chapter 631: The Three Parties’ Separate Deployments
After the meeting attended by major generals or officials of the third rank and above ended, Zhu Youdong was led by Cao Wenzhao to a secret room where Xu Xianchun, the co-director of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, was already waiting for him.
The room was small, and after Zhu Youdong, Fang Zhenghua, Cao Wenzhao, and Xu Xianchun sat down, it already seemed a bit cramped. But in the end, two people squeezed in: Li Guozhu and Du Youning.
"Your Majesty, the intelligence has been confirmed to be true. The Spanish have indeed sent additional fleets. Currently, the Spanish pirates have gathered a total of eight ironclad warships and six ironclad supply ships in Goa Harbor."
"Source of the information?"
"She is a female spy we have trained in Rangoon for many years. She is Portuguese and now a famous socialite in Goa."
Haha, the term socialite was just hearsay. Zhu Youdong of course knew that she was just a high-class prostitute.
"How did you get in?"
"When the Jinyiwei was training spies in Yangon, one of them was a businessman. We asked a businessman who was also of Portuguese descent to take her back to Portugal first, and then to Goa. This process took us more than four years."
"Very good. Is he now in Goa, and very popular with the Spanish officers?"
"Yes, Your Majesty. Goa was originally a colony opened up by the Portuguese in India nearly a hundred years ago, and was later taken over by the Spanish. But it is too far away from the Spanish homeland, and there are few white people, and even fewer young and beautiful white women. So, hehehe... our spies can now follow Spanish officers in and out of their naval ports frequently, so they can easily get relevant information. It is said that the Spanish fleet has no plans to engage in a decisive battle at sea with our army for the time being. According to their commander, Viscount Alfonso, the biggest mission of their fleet is to take Aurangzeb to Europe in case he fails."
"Alfonso?" Li Guozhu interrupted: "It's him again?"
"Why, General Li has fought with this man?"
"It happened more than once. Overall, his tactical command is good. But he is afraid of death in battle and lacks the courage to risk everything. The king of the Western Bandits used such a person to carry out the mission of picking up people. I can only say that he used the wrong person."
"Don't underestimate the enemy." Zhu Youdong gently nodded Li Guozhu and said, "How is our fleet in Colombo gathering?"
"Seven 5,000-ton ironclad ships, ten 3,000-ton ironclad ships, and nine ironclad supply ships are all in place. They can go out to fight at any time. Colombo Port has been operated by the Ming Dynasty for nearly ten years. It has all kinds of facilities. After the warships are damaged, no matter how serious the damage is, as long as they struggle to enter the dock, they can always be repaired. Your Majesty, do you want us to go to war?"
"Not yet. My intention is to attack Agra and Delhi first. After the Mughal Empire collapses, we will receive reinforcements from the Ganges and Indus plains. At the same time, we will attack Aurangzeb of Andhra Pradesh by land and sea. I will give Aurangzeb some hope, so that he will think he still has a way out. In this way, when we approach Agra, he will not come to rescue us desperately. When we attack Andhra Pradesh, he will not fight to the death. Combined with these two factors, our army's casualties will be much smaller."
"Your Majesty, I think that's a good idea."
I don’t have any brilliant ideas at all. You just hold back and let me show you.
However, he would not expose this tacit understanding between the monarch and his subjects: "The navy's mission is to patrol the Palk Strait and the Bay of Bengal. Ensure that Aurangzeb does not escape by sea and that our transportation line from Rangoon to Calcutta is not attacked."
"Your Highness obeys your order."
"Yes, Xu Xianchun."
"I am here."
"Let the locals under the Jinyiwei spread the word that the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty has come in person to punish only the Mughal royal family who killed our Ming Dynasty envoys without reason. It has nothing to do with ordinary people and many local princes. Those who serve our Ming Dynasty will be rewarded. Those who are neutral will be fine. Those who stubbornly follow the Mughal royal family will die without a burial place!"
"Your Majesty, please rest assured that although the people in this area are much lazier than the people of the Ming Dynasty, they are much more enthusiastic about gossiping than the people of the Ming Dynasty. I am confident that within three months, your words will be spread to all the towns in Mughal!"
With Zhu Youdong's arrival and the conclusion of the Calcutta Conference, the Ming Dynasty's huge war machine once again accelerated.
Of course, such a movement could not be hidden from the Mughal army at home. Starting from February 1st, just 17 or 18 days later, the Mughal king and his ministers in Agra received the corresponding news.
"Father, it seems that the Zhendan people will never retreat unless they get what they want. Father, should we restart the negotiations?
"Shujia, my brother, why are you still insisting on negotiations? The other side's emperor has come in person and brought more troops. He has even spread the word that he will only fight against our royal family. Isn't the other side's intention very clear? They want to destroy us and replace us!"
"Otherwise, Shuko, in my opinion, since the other party's emperor is here, the negotiations are more likely to succeed. After all, Luo Sigong was a complete rogue who didn't know the etiquette of the nobility. Dialogues between royal families are more likely to succeed."
"Hehe, Shujia, do you really think so?"
"My brother, what do you mean by that sarcastic tone?"
"Okay!" Shah Jahan, who had been sitting in the upper seat with a frown on his face, finally spoke: "We must find a way to talk. But we must also be prepared to fight. Shuko, how is our defense line going now?"
"Father, since we recaptured Kanpur more than four months ago, I have mobilized 200,000 civilians and rebuilt three lines of defense there under the guidance of officers sent by the Ottomans. In the past six months, we have re-armed six divisions of new troops. Together with the previous 80,000 people, the total number is 170,000 new troops. This unit has a total of 300 75mm cannons. In addition, four permanent artillery batteries have been built in Kanpur, each with a 150mm cannon. According to the evaluation of Ottoman officers, this line of defense can withstand the attack of 500,000 people for at least one year."
"In addition to these 170,000 new troops, we have also rebuilt 200,000 traditional troops of the empire. However, facts have proven that such troops are almost useless in the face of the enemy's advanced weapons. However, we no longer have enough weapons to arm and reorganize them."
"Hey, Dako still doesn't want to come back?"
"I'm sorry, Father. My brother wrote to me recently and said that he heard that we agreed to the Aurora people's request to send him to Aurora as a hostage some time ago, so...but," Crown Prince Shuko hesitated for a while, then raised his head and said, "But in the past six months, he has done his best to transport a lot of weapons and ammunition for us. If it weren't for his efforts, we would not be able to equip the new six divisions. We would not have received guidance and training from Ottoman officers."
"Yes, Father, at this time, we still need Dako to threaten the flank of the Cathay people in the south to relieve the pressure on us. Therefore, we can't just ask him to return to Agnar."
"I know!" Shah Jahan stood up after waving his hands irritably. "Although we are at a disadvantage now, since the Emperor of Aurora has come here in person, there is no reason for me, the Emperor of the Empire, to stay behind. Shuko, you are the Crown Prince. While your father is in Kanpur, you will be responsible for guarding Agna. You will be responsible for the food, fodder and ammunition of the soldiers in the front. Shuja, follow me to Kanpur to meet the Emperor of Aurora."
"Yes, Father."
…
Meanwhile, Bhubaneswar, the capital of Odisha state to the north of Andhra Pradesh.
"Your Majesty, the great savior of the empire, the invincible Aurangzeb, your arrival has made Orissa feel extremely safe."
"Governor Said, there is no need to say more. I have brought 100,000 troops this time. Are you ready for the barracks I want?"
"After receiving your instructions three months ago, I arranged for people to build large barracks, and now they are all completed. Your loyal and brave soldiers can move in at any time."
"Very good. So, what new deployments have the Chinese from the north made?"
"We have sent a large number of scouts to investigate. We have now found out that the Zhendan people are still blocking the mountain passes between the plateau and the plains like last time. There is no sign of them marching into the depths of the plateau or exploring."
"What do the flags of the troops blocking the passage look like?"
"There's still a special pattern in the lower right corner."
"...What is the Emperor of Zhendan thinking? He suffered such a great loss last time, but he still dares to trust the troops of those vassal states?"
After muttering these words to himself, Aurangzeb waved his hand coolly: "Never mind, we should proceed according to the original plan. After the main force of the Aurora people is involved in Kanpur, we will attack Patna again. This time, I will definitely be able to take Patna!"
