Volume 4: Hot! The whole world is a warring state Chapter 779 Both Sides Continue to Increase the Stakes
On the morning of September 20, when the news that the armies of the five vassal states of the Ming Dynasty had landed at Yanam Port in Andhra Pradesh reached Philip, the battleship Ferdinando V on which Philip was riding had just arrived at the dock of the Port of Mumbai.
Philip and his companion Turenne were not particularly nervous about the situation: this was expected. There was no special reaction to the news on the afternoon of the 20th that the Polish division was forced to withdraw from the first line of defense after six or seven hours of fierce fighting: abandoning the first line of defense and sending the enemy to the second line of defense to continue to consume the enemy was originally the strategy formulated by the Grand Condé. To be honest, it was already very good that the Polish division could hold on .
But on the morning of the 21st, when the adjutant brought the news that a large number of Ming soldiers appeared in the coastal areas of Orissa, Philip and Turenne, who were having breakfast served by Indian servants, were stunned on the spot.
"This, the information sent by Li Yangeng, is actually true?"
"It's incredible. The geographical conditions in Odisha are so bad. Why did the Chinese choose to land there?"
"Henry, what should we do now?"
Putting down the cutlery in his hand, Durrenyi thought for a while and then said, "Your Majesty, I must rush to Patna as soon as possible and lead the 20 divisions stationed there to the south. No, I must send a telegram to the generals of the Patna cluster right now, asking them to rush south and block several exits from Orissa to Jharkhand and Bengal."
"You want to mobilize the entire Patna Cluster? What about our strategic reserve?"
In fact, the EU has deployed a total of 75 divisions and 1.125 million troops in the army this time. 15 of them are in the south and 60 in the north. Among the 60 divisions in the north, Dhaka and Kolkata have 15 each, Patna has 20, and Kanpur and New Delhi have 5 each - in general, this is a long snake formation along the Ganges.
The most important part of this formation is the Patna cluster: it is a strategic node located in the middle reaches of the Ganges River, and it is geographically very convenient to go anywhere. Therefore, if there is something happening in the surrounding area, the Patna cluster can respond quickly. It can be said that this cluster, with 300,000 people, is the total reserve of the European Army on the northern front.
"Your Majesty, the Chinese landing in Orissa seems to have entered a deadly place with inconvenient transportation. But I just thought about it carefully for a while and felt that this was a very powerful killing move by the other side. Your Majesty, please look." Durrenni simply swept the food in front of him, picked up the half-cut bread soaked in milk, and drew the outline of the Indian Peninsula on the table: "Your Majesty, Orissa is mostly mountainous, and internal transportation is very inconvenient. But from another point of view, once it is occupied by the Chinese, the Chinese will get a strategic high ground. As long as they can improve its internal transportation, no matter which side they want to attack in the future, whether it is the north, west or south, they will be in a superior position. Speaking of which, this is my mistake. I didn't think of this level in advance. The emperor of China has outstanding generals around him."
"Henry, don't say that. In my opinion, both you and Louis are excellent." After a pause, Philip said, "You mean, the Dhaka and Calcutta clusters will remain unchanged, and only the Patna cluster will be used to block the exit of Orissa, right?"
"Yes, Your Majesty. Because our navy is not sure of victory now, we need to be patient. I support and obey your decision. But there is no doubt that without the navy's restraint, the enemy can land wherever they want on the eastern side of the entire Indian peninsula. Although Orissa is a strategic highland, its transportation conditions are much worse than those of Dhaka and Kolkata. Because we cannot move these two clusters. Otherwise, as soon as we leave, the enemy will turn back and land in Dhaka and Kolkata. Then our Ganges defense line will be opened up. And the Ottoman Arakan cluster in the north will also be caught in the dilemma of being attacked from both sides."
"Oh, I understand." After thinking for a while, Philip raised his head and said, "I agree with your plan and allow you to lead the entire Patna group south. In addition, I will send five divisions in Kanpur to Patna, and three divisions from the five divisions near Delhi to Kanpur."
"Thank you for your trust, Your Majesty. However, our reserve forces are seriously insufficient."
"There is no other way. It will take five months for the navy to recover and further effectively strengthen its strength. Before that, I need the army to hold on for five months."
"You don't have to worry too much about the war situation on the peninsula. There is no doubt that the Chinese have far more troops than us, but I firmly believe that we can hold out for at least half a year. But in Central Asia, Your Majesty, I really don't think that Hussein can hold out for five months. Even if Mr. Wallenstein has led ten Indian divisions to the north to support us, they are Indian divisions."
"I know." Philip supported his nose and said, "I have called the Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire. He agreed to organize another ten divisions of troops in the country and move eastward quickly. In addition, in Europe, the Prime Minister has organized 20 divisions of troops, which will reach India in three months at the earliest."
"That means we will have thirty divisions of reinforcements within three months? Well, then I will be more confident about the upcoming battle."
"Haha, Henry, don't be too optimistic. We will send more troops, and the Chinese will do the same. So, please be cautious in the next battle. We have to buy enough time for the navy."
"As you command, my Lord. I will start for Patna at once, then."
"Okay. Next, I have to leave Mumbai and go to Agra. That Li Yongfang seems to be useful. I have to go and comfort him."
…
Just when Spain decided to increase its stakes, in Ming territory, on the outskirts of Beijing.
"Bang~" With a slight gunshot, a soldier who had just slightly exposed his head in the grass in the distance was hit on his heavy helmet and mask by a lime bullet without a bullet. After the bullet shell broke, the lime inside splashed directly on his mask.
"Hahaha, brother Zhuo, your team was wiped out by me again."
"Humph." After taking off his heavy helmet and neck brace, Zhu Cizhuo, the eldest son of Prince Jian Zhu Youxue, snorted unconvincedly: "Zhu Ciran, don't be complacent. This is Beijing in September, and the vegetation is very sparse. It is really difficult for us to hide. If we were in India, under the dense vegetation, could you see me?"
"Tsk! Yes, the vegetation in Beijing is indeed sparse at this time of year, but why didn't you see me? Besides, this is an exercise, and the bullets we use are not regular sniper bullets. The range and speed are much worse than sniper bullets. I'm afraid that if I use real sniper bullets, your team will be destroyed even faster!"
"What? Zhu Ciran, don't think you can defeat me just because you are one year older than me. Don't you see that the price your team has to pay to annihilate us is getting higher and higher? In the past, your team could annihilate all 15 of us without losing a single person. What about now? You are the only one left in this exercise, right?"
"Hmph, no matter what, a winner is a winner. Also, did you call him Zhu Ciran? You are so disrespectful. Come on, call me brother."
"Bah! I won't acknowledge you as my brother until I defeat you."
Just as the two brothers were bickering after the end of the exercise, Sergeant Wang Shunwen, who was in his sixties and once the best sniper in the Ming Dynasty, walked into the training ground with several veterans who were also in their fifties and sixties.
Seeing Wang Shunwen enter with no expression on his face, the two brothers who were just bickering stood at attention and saluted: "Greetings, instructor."
"Yes." After returning the greeting meticulously, Wang Shunwen first briefly commented on the previous exercise. Then he took out a few pieces of paper and said, "First, let me inform you of the recent war situation. In Central Asia...In India, Wang's division has successfully landed in Andhra and Orissa on the morning of the 20th and the early morning of the 21st. At present, the Andhra front is still in fierce fighting, while the Orissa front is generally quiet."
Glancing at the two excited young men, Wang Shunwen pressed his left hand slightly downwards and said, "The following is an order. According to the Emperor's order, the second batch of our army, 20 divisions, will set off for India on October 3... After review and approval by the Imperial Horse Administration, Prince Zhu Ciran is allowed to lead two sniper teams to India as an army captain to participate in the war!"
"Thank you, instructor!"
"Instructor, what about me?"
"Haha." With hundreds of souls dead under his command, the usually serious Wang Shunwen raised the corners of his mouth for a rare moment: "Please forgive me, Prince Cizhuo. I can see your efforts in the past six months. Although you are still a little behind Prince Ciran, in my opinion, you are enough to go to the battlefield. I also recommended you to the higher-ups for this second batch of troops.
But the emperor's will is very clear. Jian Fan has only you as his only son, and you haven't let your concubine give birth to a child yet. It's different for Prince Ci Ran. Although Lai Fan also has only him as his only son, his concubine has already given birth to two sons for him."
"Zhu Ciran, you are such a shameless pervert!"
"Hahaha, brother Zhuo, you should go home and have a baby. Oh, by the way, you still have to hope that this war lasts long enough. After all, a pregnancy lasts ten months. In other words, you can't join the army for at least ten months. Ten months, hey, I might have taken down a hundred snipers. Hahaha~"
Just as the Ming Dynasty was preparing to increase its investment and the second batch of the army began to mobilize, the villa area of the academicians of Fangshan Academy of Sciences.
"Father, mother, I'm leaving now."
"Hey, kid. You are an academician. Shouldn't you be doing research in Beijing? Why do you have to go to India?"
"Mother, I am studying internal combustion engines. Although I got the final push with the help of father, I still have to go to the site to see what problems the internal combustion engine will have after it is put into practical use. This will facilitate further improvements. And mother, this time not only I will go, but also Fu Shan and Dean Song next door will go. It is said that on the Indian battlefield, we shot down the enemy airship and got the real Western bandit radio. These all need the academicians to go to the site to observe and study..."
"Alright, alright." Zhu Jingda, who had been smoking his pipe silently, stepped forward and stopped the crying women at home: "Do your job well and take up the responsibility of the royal family."
"Yes, father."
Starting from late September of this year, such a scene of farewell to family members was staged again in the Ming Dynasty and even in Europe and the Ottoman Empire. In short, the war had just started for only half a month, and both sides began to escalate. The scale of this war was getting bigger and bigger...
