Volume 4: Hot! The whole world is a warring state Chapter 790 Zheng Chenggong's Killing Move
Also in the early morning of January 1st, in the city of Mumbai.
"Good morning, your majesty, and happy new year."
"Henry, Louis, Garcia, I wish you a happy new year too."
Nearly a month had passed since the great defeat in the Battle of Bengal, and Philip now looked relatively normal.
Of course, it only looked normal on the surface. Generals like Turenne and the Great Condé, who grew up with Philip , knew very well that his majesty's fingers had been glued to his nose recently.
This is what they knew, but what they didn't know was that when the Ming Dynasty launched an overwhelming offensive in the lower reaches of the Ganges, His Majesty almost fell into a state of madness during those days. For nearly fifty years, His Majesty, who had always shown a warm and kind face, beat several of his servants for the first time.
Philip couldn't help but go crazy because he made a fatal mistake in the deployment of his troops, and he made it twice in a row!
Just imagine, if there was a fresh force in Patna when Ming Dynasty launched an offensive against Bengal, Dhaka, Calcutta, and even the Boris Group would not need to retreat at all, and could rely on solid defensive offensives to defend and wear down the enemy's strength and morale. Then, with the three strongholds inside and the Patna Group outside, with the cooperation between inside and outside, even if the Bengal Campaign failed in the end, it would not be such a disastrous defeat.
However, when the Ming Dynasty landed in Orissa, he agreed to Durrenyi's suggestion and sent the entire Patna cluster to the mountainous areas of Orissa. Later, he mistakenly believed Li Yangeng's intelligence and sent the second batch of reinforcements to southern India... When the Ming Dynasty landed, there was really no troop to be sent to the rear of the three strongholds!
For an army that is surrounded by enemy forces and relies on a defensive system to defend itself, having a friendly army on the periphery and having no reinforcements at all are completely different concepts. Therefore, Durreni did not dare to issue an order for each group to defend on the spot - even if he did, no one would execute it.
In short, after repeatedly reviewing this battle, Philip discovered with horror that strategically, he was completely manipulated by Zhu Youdong... This was more unacceptable to him than defeat.
If only Rudolph were still here - this was what he often muttered to himself throughout December.
Unfortunately, the dead cannot be resurrected. Even if Rudolph was resurrected, he would probably kill Rudolph again as soon as possible.
However, after the heartbreak, if you don't intend to accept your fate, you still have to struggle hard.
However, even though Philip forced himself to struggle, he found that the situation he faced was unprecedentedly bad and desperate.
Now the Spanish or the European Union Army has lost more than one million in this Indian campaign. If we add the losses in the previous Indochina Campaign, the multiple battles in South America, the First Indian Campaign, etc., Europe has permanently lost more than two million young and strong men in the past ten years.
Of course, with the EU's current population of more than 100 million, it is difficult but not impossible to arm another 1-2 million troops. But the problem is that, on the one hand, the Castilians in Spain account for at least a quarter of the 2 million casualties. On the other hand, if another 2 million soldiers are recruited in Europe , in addition to farmers, factory workers will also have to be drawn - this will cause dissatisfaction among the emerging European bourgeoisie.
Philippe's efforts to centralize power through the European Union and weaken the power of European monarchs naturally alienated these monarchs from him. If the bourgeoisie no longer supports him, then where is his foundation as a king and leader?
Therefore, no matter what, he must bring as many troops as possible that have entered Mumbai back to Europe. At this time, only the army is the foundation for him to continue to sit firmly on the throne.
"Garcia, how many of our transport ships have arrived?"
"Your Majesty, there are currently 320 ships in port, and more than 600 ships are outside the port. From the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean, there are still 1,200 ships on the way."
"Has the order of embarkation of the existing troops been arranged?"
"Yes, according to your instructions, we will arrange for the Ottoman army to board the ship first, then transport them to Persia and return immediately. In this way, the Ottomans agreed to send their small fleet, which currently only has one battleship, two heavy cruisers, and six destroyers, to support us. At the same time, they also allowed Mr. Wallenstein's ten Indian divisions to cross the entire Ottoman land and return to Europe."
"At this moment, any reinforcements are valuable. Moreover, after we evacuate India, we will need a long time to recuperate. And how long the Ottomans can resist the Chinese on land will determine how long it will take us to recover our strength."
"Yes, Your Majesty, please rest assured. I will persuade our sailors to quickly send the Ottoman troops away first. But Your Majesty, I once again strongly request that you must also leave in the first batch of evacuations."
"Shall I go first?"
"Yes, Your Majesty. The news of our defeat in India should have reached Europe by now. After all, thousands of ocean-going transport ships are now equipped with radios. Many of these transport ships are merchant ships we have conscripted. You know how these guys talk. So, you must hurry back to Europe to take charge. Moreover, it is foreseeable that the Chinese fleet will soon gather outside the port of Mumbai. When I command the fleet to engage in a fierce battle with the enemy, it will be difficult to take care of your safety."
"…Okay, then, after I leave?"
"Your Majesty." Durreni stood up and said, "If you allow me, I will hold on until the last moment."
"Thank you for your hard work, Henry. As I said before, let the Indians push to the front. These guys can't attack, but they can always defend. Don't spare their lives. If they dare to retreat, kill them all. Anyway, after bringing these guys back to Europe, I plan to make them slaves in the mines."
"Yes, Your Majesty. I have deployed ten Indian divisions to the outermost defense line. If they dare to retreat, they will all be killed. In addition, I have already formulated a retreat plan for the army. If God blesses us, we should be able to withdraw at least 400,000 people this time."
…
At noon on January 1, Inukai Toji left the Delhi Palace and came to the temporary station of the Naval Fleet Staff outside the city.
"Commander, you're back? What did you say at the meeting? Were you promoted to general?"
"Nonsense, the war isn't even over yet, and you're talking about promotion? Why, Major General Cao Bianpeng, do you want my rank of Lieutenant General?"
"Hehe, it's more than the commander's current rank. I'm thinking about taking advantage of the fact that my old man has no plans to retire yet and seize the opportunity to climb to the rank of general. When the time comes, the old man will salute me first when he sees me."
"What wishful thinking. Well, enough idle talk. Pass the order down. All warships must assemble in Colombo and prepare for sea battle."
"Yes. But Commander, where are we going after we put out to sea?"
"Of course we're going to Mumbai. The Western bandits must be preparing to escape now. We have to go to the sea and intercept as many of them as possible."
"Well, Commander, actually when you went to Delhi for the meeting, some of our captains got together to analyze and deduce the current war situation. Then Zheng Zhilong's son, the one named Zheng Sen, proposed a relatively radical but feasible plan."
"Oh? What have you come up with? Tell me about it."
"Yes. Chenggong believes that we don't have any supply and repair points on the west side of the peninsula. After bypassing most of the peninsula and reaching the Mumbai Sea, the condition of the navy ships will not be very good. Although the Western pirates' navy only has five battleships at this time, according to the information obtained by the Jinyiwei from the interrogation of the captured senior officers of the enemy, the enemy's heavy cruisers and destroyers are still more than ours. If a decisive battle really takes place in the Mumbai Sea, it is still unknown who will win."
"You, or Zheng Sen, are both right. But our navy is the emperor's navy. The emperor doesn't want the Europeans to withdraw too many of their manpower, so our navy must do it for the emperor."
"Commander, you are right. But what if we can better complete the mission assigned by the emperor without suffering too many casualties?"
"…Poop, and do it all at once."
"Oh, yes." Although this superior was from the He clan, he joined the Taisun's army when he was less than 20 years old. In the past 40 years, he and Li Guozhu and Yan Siqi built a powerful navy. So, when this superior's face was stern, Cao Bianpeng completely put away his relaxed and playful expression just now: "Commander, the successful idea is that the main force of our navy will not go to Mumbai. It will set off directly from Colombo, cross the Indian Ocean, and occupy Socotra Island."
"Hmm? Hmm~~Hmm! This idea is very bold, but excellent! I agree in principle. You pass the order down and the entire army prepares to target Socotra Island. I will return to Delhi immediately. Forget it, send a telegram to the emperor, and then ask Zhang Hong to transfer at least three marine divisions to us."
"Yes, sir!"
The so-called Socotra Island is located at the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula, at the exit of the Red Sea. It is a must-go place and an important supply point for the European coalition forces on the route from mainland China to Suez, the Red Sea, the Indian Ocean, and India. It is also a must-go route for the coalition forces to retreat from Mumbai.
Here, there are complete ports and basic ship repair workshops, as well as mountains of food, shells, and coal. If the Ming navy gathered on the waters of Mumbai, it would be like aiming a gun at the enemy's head at close range, and the enemy would definitely dodge desperately. Then occupying Socotra would be like completely locking the enemy's throat.
The most important thing is that at this time, Mumbai was the main force of the Spanish navy. With the support of a large number of fortress guns, it would be impossible for the Ming Dynasty to capture it in a short time, whether by sea or land. But Socotra Island was almost unprepared at this time, so it was easy to take it!
