Volume 4: Hot! The whole world is a warring state Chapter 685: Grand Vizier Goes to Battle
"Sir, I am deeply ashamed that I have caused you to come here in person because of my incompetence. If my death can wash away the shame that my army's performance has brought to you, I will be very happy to commit suicide according to your order."
On January 21, 1639, Ibrahim's carriage arrived at the Ottoman army camp at the Khyber Pass. After meeting him, the army commander Boris frankly admitted his failure and expressed his willingness to bear all punishment.
"..." After a long silence, Iprahin sighed: This Russian is loyal, brave, and actually has a decent level of fighting skills - he fought quite well in Alexandria. However, this guy has a common problem with Russian generals in the original historical plane: he doesn't care too much about the lives of his soldiers.
Nearly half of the 200,000-strong army was lost in half a year, which was an unbearable pain for the Ottoman Empire, whose native population was only 20 million.
Therefore, although there was still a lot of things to do at home and although he knew that Boris would lose all his prestige if he came to the front line, he still had to come.
"Boris, let's not talk about the past. Now please tell me, who is the commander of the other side? How many troops are there? How many are the real Chinese?"
"It is said that the highest commander of the opposite defense fortress is Cao Bianjiao, and his deputy is Zuo Menggeng. After more than half a year of fighting, the Sikhs originally stationed here have died or retreated, and are almost gone. The main force now is mainly Gurkhas and Siamese... There are probably about 600 to 700 real Chinese people now."
"Ah, this commander is truly amazing. He was able to control the armies of so many nations with his limited direct forces, and even made them achieve impressive results."
"Your Excellency, I am deeply ashamed."
"I'm sorry, what I said just now was not directed at you. Boris, is the source of the information reliable? Did the Chinese prisoners say that?"
"Unfortunately, we have killed hundreds of Chinese people so far, but have not captured a single prisoner. The above information was provided by the Sikhs and Gurkhas we captured."
"That shouldn't be too far off. So, Boris, please send an envoy to the fortress opposite and tell their commander that the Grand Vizier of the Empire invites him to meet with both sides."
"Sir, this is too dangerous."
"No, if I don't, we'll be in danger."
"Your Mightiness?"
"Dear Boris, you are a pure soldier, so it's normal that you can't understand some things. Your characteristics were nothing in the past, but now you are the commander of a national heavy military group, so you have to pay more attention to political affairs."
"I beg for your guidance, Excellency."
"It's not really teaching. In fact, as a pure technician, I also hate talking about politics. But being in this position, I can't help but change slowly." - Of course, I can only think about this in my mind.
“Boris, we all know that the Chinese have built a very abnormal defense system here at the Khyber Pass. In addition, the commander here is really powerful. So, in my opinion, it is normal that they failed to take it down within half a year. In fact, in previous wars in Europe, it was very common to besiege a fortress for several years without being able to take it down.
But the problem now is that it took the EU only four or five months to drive away the main force of the Chinese and occupy the Deccan Plateau and the Gangetic Plain. We, facing a small Chinese force and a group of miscellaneous troops, have been unable to take this place for more than half a year. After such a long time, it is not a big deal that the EU looks down on us. I am afraid that they will have improper thoughts and think that we are very weak and want to attack us. "
"They dare? I will let them taste Jerusalem's defeat once again!"
Did you command the great victory in Jerusalem? That was Richelieu. Alas, our Ottoman Empire seems to have entered a period of talent shortage at this time, lacking famous generals.
"Don't say that anymore, Boris. The country now has only 300,000 modern land forces, and this battle has killed at least 120,000 (plus the losses in the south against the Sikhs, illness, etc.). Because our navy cannot send its main force into the Persian Gulf, we have to mobilize a large number of manpower and animal power to ensure logistics by land, which is also very harmful to the country economically. Moreover, if we continue to be deadlocked here, not to mention the European Union, even the Persians who are already under our control will have other ideas. So, please send an envoy to meet with the other commander as soon as possible. I want to end this war quickly through political negotiations."
"I... yes, I will follow your orders, sir."
Therefore, the next day, in the central part where the two armies were facing each other, a pergola with only a roof and ventilation on all four sides was built on a slightly flat stone slab.
At twelve o'clock noon, Cao Bianjiao appeared in front of Yipulaxin wearing the standard uniform of Ming Dynasty Army officers.
"Brave commander, please take a seat. Do you have anyone familiar with our language? You can bring one over."
"No, this war lasted for more than half a year, but fighting didn't happen every day. Most of the time I asked your captives to teach me Turkish. Otherwise, I would be bored to death if I stayed here." Cao Bianjiao sat down very casually and leaned back on the chair with his whole body relaxed: "Grand Vizier? The Prime Minister of our dynasty? What do you want to say to a small battalion commander like me?"
"Uh, haha, actually I'm familiar with many people in your country. For example, Chen Zizhuang from your country, we formed a deep friendship in Istanbul before. There are also Liu Xingzhi, Cui Chengxiu... and Richelieu who went to your country. Oh, by the way, how is he doing in your country now? Is everything okay?"
"Ahem, Grand Vizier, Minister Chen is a second-rank official in the imperial court, equivalent to a lieutenant general or even a general in our military. What about me?" He patted his epaulettes: "Major. Do you think I have anything to do with them? Hey, Grand Vizier, I'm a military man. If you have anything to say, just say it directly, don't beat around the bush."
"Okay, my request is simple. Please hand over this fortress."
"Haha~ Da Weiqi, you are the ruler of a country, how dare you say such things? Zhang Xunzhai is right here, if you want it, come and get it yourself!"
"Brave commander, it is precisely because of the heroic fighting of you and your comrades and your outstanding command that we cannot take it down in the short term by military means alone. Therefore, I am prepared to exchange something with you."
"Huh? Change? Change what?"
"First of all, you must admit that your country's main force has been defeated by the Europeans and has completely withdrawn from India. If you hold on here, perhaps we can't do anything to you for the time being. However, you will lose to time."
"…So what? As a soldier of my country, I only want to die."
"Oh, it's a pity that such an outstanding and young commander like you died here so early. How about it, Commander, if you hand this place over to me, my first condition is: give you enough supplies and let you take the Chinese, Gurkhas, Siamese... who are still holding on here back home."
"The first condition?" Cao Bianjiao raised his eyebrows: "So there are other conditions? Can you continue?"
"I know that you have been here for so long, in addition to the fact that your defense system is really well built and your command is really excellent. Your biggest support is the Sikhs in the south and the Pashtuns in the north. Before I came here, I had met with the king of the Pashtuns. I guaranteed the independence of their country and did not ask them to help me attack your country. I just asked them to cut off their material support to you. He has agreed."
Hearing this, Cao Bianjiao's heart skipped a beat, but he remained calm and said, "Are you so kind? As far as I know, you have an agreement with the Europeans, right? The Pashtun territory was also allocated to you in advance, right?"
"It seems that the officers we have fallen into your hands are of a high rank. You even know all this." Yiplashin spread his hands and said, "I don't even want a dry and barren place like Afghanistan. Instead of forcibly ruling and spending a lot of money on garrisoning every year, it's better to let them remain independent. Just don't mess with me."
"That's true. Then, how do you appease the Sikhs in the south? Will you allow their country to continue to exist?"
"Of course this is impossible. This time, the European and Australian forces jointly advanced and we took over the most prosperous part of Pakistan, Punjab, the core area of the Sikh Kingdom. If the Sikhs were allowed to continue to maintain their independence, what was the point of me spending so much manpower and resources this time?"
"Haha, I finally understand. It seems that your detachment in the south is not having a smooth march against the brave and warlike Sikhs, so you want to pass through me and attack the Sikhs from both the north and the south."
"You are wrong, Commander. The reason why progress in the south is slow is that I don't want to open the Pandora's box. Because I think the Sikhs will be very good soldiers for the Empire in the future, much better than the Hindustan people on the Ganges Plain that the EU has obtained. Therefore, I don't want to open the Pandora's box and cause too many casualties to the Sikhs."
"Magic box?"
"Please allow me to show you briefly." After saying this, Iprahin waved his hand behind him, and a servant brought up a large glass bottle with a lively little white mouse in it.
After placing the glass bottle right in front of Cao Bianjiao's sight, the attendant carefully took a small glass bottle from another attendant. The glass bottle contained about two milliliters of colorless oily liquid. After that, the attendant tightly inserted the side of the glass bottle with the cork into a pipe above the glass bottle. The needle-like sharp protrusions in the pipe naturally pierced the cork, and the oily liquid in the small glass bottle flowed into the large glass bottle where the little white mouse was, and quickly atomized and disappeared.
But soon, the mouse in the glass bottle, which was originally alive and kicking, began to scratch its skin with its limbs like crazy, until its fur was torn, but it showed no sign of stopping - but this process was extremely short. In less than two minutes, the mouse with ulcerated skin fell into the glass bottle, and looked dead.
"Dear commander, this is mustard gas, a highly lethal poison gas. If I wanted, I would choose a north windy day, put it in an artillery shell, and shoot it at your position..."
"Humph, bluffing." After all, he was not even thirty years old at this moment, and the young Cao Bianjiao did not realize that his voice had changed: "Since you already have such a thing, why not use it?"
"It's simple. This is a magic box. Once it's opened, someone will definitely follow suit. I heard that your emperor is an excellent doctor and is the best doctor in your country. Doctors are good at saving lives, but they are also good at killing people. I believe that as long as I use it here, it won't be long before he takes out similar poison gas bombs and uses them on my soldiers."
Without waiting for Cao Bianjiao to speak, Yiplashin said seriously: "However, if the Khyber Pass cannot be taken, and the pressure on me is too great, I will be forced to use this kind of weapon extensively here and in the battle against the Sikhs on the southern front. So, Commander, you should hand over this fortress to me. I promise in the name of Allah that as long as you hand over the fortress and our prisoners in the fortress, I will let you and your soldiers leave safely and embark on the road back home."
What to do? After watching Yiprahin's demonstration, Cao Bianjiao's heart was a little shaken: To be honest, the food in the fortress is less than two months, no matter how much he saves, it can't last more than three months. In addition to food, the base number of ammunition has also dropped below three digits. If it weren't for such a predicament, he would not come out alone to negotiate with the other party.
"Commander, if you die here, your martial arts reputation will surely be passed down. But what's the point of passing on martial arts reputation when people are dead? On the contrary, as long as you return alive, with your military exploits today, it is only a matter of time before you become a general or even a marshal in the future. If you have the chance, can't you lead the army to find me in person and avenge today's humiliation?"
Looking at the silent Cao Bianjiao, Yiprahin was a little anxious: Khyber Pass must be taken soon! Otherwise, it would arouse the covetousness of Europeans and the contempt of Persians, and he could not afford the consequences. At the same time, he could produce mustard gas, but at least for now, there was no factory in the country that specialized in producing this thing - this mustard gas was just a laboratory product.
"Commander, you are a very moral person as you can command soldiers of so many nationalities to fight for so long. Perhaps you will wonder how the Sikhs, who are under attack from all sides, will look upon you after you let this place go. In order to dispel your concerns, I will allow you to pass on the message to the Sikhs... In fact, the early surrender of the Sikhs will be extremely beneficial to the survival of their race. You are actually doing a great favor to their nation by doing this... Please don't force me to use the means I least want to use..."
"...Huh~" After a long silence, Cao Bianjiao let out a long sigh: "If you can fulfill what you said, I agree to hand this place over to you."
