Volume 4: Hot! The whole world is a warring state Chapter 676 Soldiers' Daily Life
On June 3, 1638, Raimondo and Durrell used their navy to bypass the eastern side of the Indian peninsula and successfully landed in the unguarded Andhra. The rear areas of Japan and Fuzhou quickly fell.
On June 7, upon receiving the news, Yukimura Sanada and Masayoshi Hayashi were forced to adjust their troop deployment and the main force retreated towards Andhra.
On the 8th, Wallenstein, sensing a change in the enemy, commanded an army of 200,000 to launch a full-scale attack on the Japanese and Fuzhou divisions. The geographical advantages of the Japanese and Fuzhou divisions were almost negligible in the face of the huge difference in troop strength. After a day of desperate resistance, they were forced to retreat due to heavy casualties. As a result, the passage from the Goa coastal plain to the Deccan Plateau was opened by the European coalition forces.
On the 9th, the first batch of reinforcements from the Ming mainland, five divisions, 75,000 people, arrived at Kanpur in the middle reaches of the Ganges under the command of Huang Degong. At the same time, the scouts sent by Huang Degong after landing had crossed the entire northern India and sent the news of the arrival of the reinforcements to Mumbai.
On the 10th, Gustav and Wallenstein split into two groups, one heading east to chase the defeated Japanese and Fuzhou armies, and the other heading north to prepare to attack Mumbai from the rear.
On the 11th, Mao Wenlong and Li Yongfang, who received another emergency call from Sanada Yukimura, decided to lead eight divisions and 120,000 people to the south. At the same time, Mao Wenlong wrote a letter to Huang Degong: Your troops should not go south after reaching Delhi. Consolidating the Delhi defense line is the real thing. As long as Delhi is not lost and the Ganges River Basin is in my hands, the essence of India is still in the hands of my Ming Dynasty.
On the same day, the second batch of Ming mainland reinforcements, consisting of 15 divisions and 225,000 people, arrived in Yangon under the escort of the Ming Navy's South China Sea Fleet led by Lieutenant General Du Youning and composed of three 5,000-ton and six 3,000-ton ironclad ships.
On the 12th, the port of Yangon was bombarded by the main detachment of the European expeditionary fleet led by Count Alfonso of Spain . Although the artillery of Yangon Port and the Nanyang Fleet jointly fought back, the Ming army's counterattack seemed very weak in the face of the twelve 305mm cannons on the two giant ships, the Marquis de Santa Cruz and the Duke of Alva. Although the casualties of the army that had landed were not heavy, a large number of transport ships were destroyed in the port, leaving the Ming army without a means of transport for the second batch of reinforcements.
Although General Liu Zhaosun, the commander-in-chief of the aid to India, made a prompt decision to change the route to land, the land route from Myanmar to India requires crossing the Arakan Mountains, which have an average altitude of more than 2,000 meters. In this huge mountain range, the only pass that can be used by the army is the Dongge Pass, which is located in the middle of the mountain range. In this way, it is unknown how long it will take for Liu Zhaosun's troops to enter India.
On the 13th, Mao Wenlong and Li Yongfang's troops finally set out. By this time, Gustav had already traveled through the Western Ghats for three days.
The time has come to June 16th...
In the pouring rain, three figures wearing straw hats and raincoats were struggling to move forward on the flat but muddy road on the Deccan Plateau.
The leader stood on a small platform, raised the telescope and looked for a while, then put it down, shaking his head. "This damn India is good in every way, except for the endless rainstorms after the rainy season. This lens was covered with water droplets in less than two seconds after it was raised. What a shit to see!"
"Hey, squad leader, is everything really good? Didn't you say a few days ago that the wives at home can't get along well, and you're getting a headache from being quarreled all day long?"
"Tsk! Li Erdan, that's why I say you are still young and ignorant. Is the monitor complaining? Is he showing off? Do you understand?"
The man who was called squad leader by the two soldiers put the telescope under his raincoat and carefully wiped the rain off the lens. Then he took out a small wooden board from his pocket, covered the front of the telescope, and put it back on his nose.
After completing these actions, he responded while observing, "Old Zhang, don't complain. Didn't you marry another one last month? How many is this? Sixth? Seven? You'll be rich just by collecting the dowry!"
"Hey, squad leader, stop making fun of me. How can I, a man of the Ming Dynasty, be like these shameless lazy men in India? Oh, you marry a wife, she takes care of the housework and serves you, sleeps with you at night, and even gives birth to your children. You actually want to charge her a large sum of money, or abuse her? This is unreasonable! The local customs in India are really weird. If you don't accept the dowry, her family will be angry with you, so I accepted it reluctantly. But unlike ordinary Indian men who ask for a dowry worth 20 or 30 silver dollars when they marry, I only accepted a symbolic amount from each of my six wives. Those things are only worth one silver dollar at most."
"Not bad. Six silver dollars are worth three or four stone of rice even in the Ming Dynasty. Hey, Li Erdan, although you are the youngest among the three of us, you are twenty-one this year, right?"
"Yes, squad leader, I was born in the first year of Tianqi. I am as old as the number of years since the current emperor ascended the throne."
"When I was your age, my kids could run around the yard. Why the hell don't you get married yet? There are so many girls , don't you know?"
"Squad leader, you don't know yet, this brat is very ambitious. He wants to marry a Brahmin, or at least a Kshatriya."
"Wow! I didn't realize you were so thoughtful. Well, Indian high-caste women are indeed beautiful. But I say, are you crazy? We are yellow people, and those so-called high-caste idiots will not marry anyone other than white people."
"Hey! Why do those high-caste women look down on our Ming men? How are our Ming men not better than those lazy and stupid Indian men? In my opinion, it's because I'm kind and merciful that I don't interfere with this kind of folk custom. If I were the Governor-General of India, I would confiscate the property of all these high-caste people! Humph, in front of our Ming, no foreigner can stand up!"
"Hey, what Erdan said... shush!"
After the squad leader hushed, Lao Zhang and Li Erdan quickly ended their conversation and quickly found a place to hide. At the same time, the squad leader and the other three of them skillfully turned sideways, letting the submachine guns on their backs fall into their hands automatically.
"Hmm, grey helmet, grey uniform, high nose and deep eyes, damn, this is a Western thief!"
"Western bandits? Aren't they said to be in Goa? This place is at least a few hundred miles away from Goa, right? How come they are all here?" Lao Zhang lowered his voice and asked, "Squad leader, how many are there? How far are they?"
"There are three of them now. They should be out for reconnaissance like us. They are getting closer. I will give my orders later. It is best to use daggers to end the battle."
About two or three hundred meters away from the three Ming scouts, three white men wearing PET raincoats and the standard gray military uniforms of the EU coalition forces were panting and walking slowly towards the small platform occupied by the Ming scouts in advance.
After the Ming Dynasty conquered India more than three years ago, Philip realized that he had been left far behind Zhu Youdong in terms of population, so he quickly launched a plan to conquer India. Although the Suez Canal was not open at the time, the army could not set out. However, he did not hesitate to subsidize military equipment and materials with his own money, allowing each factory to operate in three shifts.
Apart from anything else, each person is equipped with a set of raincoats made of PET, which are both lightweight and waterproof. This is something that the soldiers of the Ming Dynasty do not currently have.
The EU Army's military system is completely modeled after the Spanish Army, and the current Spanish Army was set up by Rudolf. Rudolf once served as a military attaché in Germany. Therefore, the EU Army's uniforms are very similar to the German Army in the 1930s and 1940s in terms of color and style. This is a very handsome uniform, and it is much better than the green uniform similar to the Type 65 uniform that Zhu Youdong chose for the Ming Army.
However, although it looks very handsome, in India, where most of the country is in the tropics with lush vegetation and evergreen all year round, the concealment of gray military uniforms is far worse than that of green military uniforms.
Therefore, even if they do not have the advantage of geographical location, in general, it is the Ming Dynasty's scouts who discover the enemy first.
"Cough, cough, cough~"
"Baptista, can you cough a little quieter? I heard that there are tigers everywhere in India. If you keep coughing so loudly, what if you attract tigers?"
"Cough cough, Ronaldo, do I want to cough like this? This damn place is hot and humid. Don't you see that so many people in the army have caught heat colds?"
There is no way. In Europe, whether it is the Mediterranean climate in southern Europe, the temperate oceanic climate in western Europe, or the temperate continental climate in eastern Europe, the average temperature rarely exceeds 30 degrees in summer. In tropical monsoon climates like India, it is common for summer temperatures to rise to 40 degrees.
Therefore, just three or five days after landing in Goa, the European coalition forces began to suffer from widespread symptoms of colds, heat stroke, etc.
Although the EU can now independently produce penicillin, the sudden illness of so many soldiers also made Gustav, Wallenstein and others extremely anxious. In addition, the sinking of the hospital ship of the second batch of transport fleets further accelerated the spread of the disease in the coalition forces... And this also further helped the commanders to make up their minds: when there is a chance to annihilate the Chinese manpower, the risk should be taken. Otherwise, when all the Chinese are gathered together, if the disease on our side has not been effectively controlled, I am afraid there is no need to fight.
While complaining to each other, the three scouts of the coalition forces slowly approached the small platform: this was a relatively high place in a nearby open area, and any scout would instinctively want to get a better view here.
At this moment, three black shadows suddenly jumped out of the dense rain and fog. These three black shadows seemed to have been arranged long ago , and each black shadow pounced on one of the other side.
With two muffled "hiss" sounds, the squad leader and Lao Zhang accurately cut the opponent's throat with their daggers. But in the case of young Li Erdan, his dagger pierced the opponent's shoulder.
"Ah~" The coalition soldier, who was coughing violently at first, screamed loudly, and then years of training made him instinctively roll on the ground, quickly distanced himself from Li Erdan. While rolling, he had already grabbed the pistol in his hand and started shooting at Li Erdan.
After Li Erdan missed his first shot, he quickly rolled over, fumbled for his gun, and shot. Suddenly, the sound of gunfire really rang out on the empty plateau.
"Da da da~" After a burst of fire from the squad leader's submachine gun, the coalition soldier named Baptista was quickly killed. But...
"Squad leader, I'm sorry."
"MD, let's not talk about this now. Once the gunshots are heard, this place will be bustling. There is no time to destroy the bodies. Quickly take away their helmets, epaulettes and weapons. Then retreat quickly and report to the general!"
