Ming Jiajing: Starting from Immortality

Chapter 306: The birth of the butcher, all turned to dust!
Daman and Diu is located on the west coast, bordering the Arabian Sea.

In fact, it consists of two enclaves, namely Daman and Diu. Because of their relative locations and short distances, it is regarded as a port.

After the death of the navy commander Xiong Wencan, the deputy commander Ding Qirui temporarily took over the position of commander, and the two lieutenant commanders Yang He and Chen Qiuyu were promoted to deputy commanders at the same time.

On the South Asian subcontinent, the commander-in-chief Ding Qirui led 40,000 naval soldiers in the city of Goa.

The deputy generals Yang He and Chen Qiuyu each led 20,000 naval soldiers in Daman and Diu.

In Goa city.

Ding Qirui frowned as he looked at the "Mughal Empire Army" swarming towards the city like a swarm of ants.

Regardless of whether these gangs armed with pieces of iron and sticks can be considered an army, the naval officers and soldiers have become numb to killing.

In the first battle with the Mughal Empire, facing the attack of 30,000 people, out of caution, Ding Qirui also ordered the use of artillery bombardment, and then had the soldiers form a mandarin duck formation to kill all the invaders.

But facing the 300,000 troops of the Mughal Empire, Ding Qirui ordered his soldiers to form a battle formation and directly fight back in order to save artillery. Of course, to be more precise, it was a massacre.

Looking at the soldiers of the vanguard camp killing one "enemy" after another without any harm, but with gaps on their knives and guns, so they could only chop people down, Ding Qirui frowned even more tightly.

The imperial edict has arrived.

The emperor ordered Ding Qirui to act according to circumstances and be cautious, and wait until the treasure ship fleet arrived before launching a formal counterattack against the Mughal Empire.

But after taking Goa from Portugal for so long, Ding Qirui has also gained a basic understanding of the situation in the South Asian subcontinent and the Mughal Empire.

It is not difficult to see that the Mughal Emperor Akbar drove these Vaishyas, Shudras and untouchables who had not received any military training to attack Goa and Daman Diu in order to consume the firearms, swords and even the fighting spirit of the Ming navy soldiers.

When you bully a weak opponent, at the beginning, you can still solve the problem quickly and efficiently with a happy attitude, but if you bully them for too long, you will either become weaker too or lose the attitude.

In the military, this is called the loss of fighting spirit and unstable military morale. No matter what, these are all "the same kind", although of different races and with the same heart, but if they keep killing each other, their moods will inevitably change.

By the end of the killing, one will either be unable to lift the knife or become a murderer with no emotions at all.

Ding Qirui wanted to stop it, but this was a conspiracy of the Mughal Empire. These people were sent here to be killed by the Ming navy.

Moreover, they couldn't even persuade them to surrender. Firstly, there was the language barrier. Secondly, with the blessing of faith, these 300,000 people rushed towards the city camp with ghosts howling like ghosts crawling out of the underworld. No voice of persuasion to surrender could drown out the noise of so many people.

There are no rules, no order, and it's all chaos. Are there any normal people in this South Asian subcontinent?

Ding Qirui and the Ming navy could not ignore the enemy's attack and risk chaos in the city and camps, so they could only let the soldiers take turns to kill.

But this was exactly what the Mughal Empire wanted. The artillery and weapons were not endless, and the morale of the army had begun to waver. The treasure ship fleet had just arrived near the Strait of Malacca, and Ding Qirui had to deal with the "Ashes Army" before him.

Otherwise, if the real Mughal army infiltrates and launches another surprise attack on Goa and Daman Diu, personal life and death will be put aside, and if the territory cannot be defended, it will be really over.

The Royal Guards sent a message in advance that the "Tulip Plan" formulated by the emperor himself was about to be completed. The most critical part of it was that most of the wealth of the European continent would be transported to the city of Goa after leaving the European continent.

If they couldn't defend Goa City and the wealth was affected, Ding Qirui understood that even if he, Yang He and Chen Qiuyu sacrificed the lives of all ten clans, they would not be able to extinguish the emperor's wrath.

Ding Qirui was suddenly stunned.

Looking at the densely packed Mughal army in disarray outside the city, he thought of the method he used when he was a child to deal with ants by squatting on the ground.

Ding Qirui was silent. When he was young, he didn't understand the principles of good and evil. Now he is over 40 years old. After a long pause, he said, "Pass my order. Send Yang He and Chen Qiyu to come."

With such an impact, the Mughal Empire will have to last at least ten days. During this period, those who hide far away cannot see the real army of the Mughal Empire appearing, let alone attacking. During this period, the lieutenant generals can handle it, and the two deputy generals do not have to sit and watch the battle.

Goa is only 800 miles away from Daman. The entire journey by sea can be completed in two or three hours using a newly built speedboat, and a round trip takes only five or six hours.

Ding Qirui waited from early morning until dusk, when the Ash Army finally stopped its attack, leaving behind tens of thousands of dead bodies, and returned to the camp built near the mountains and forests. People crowded around and scrambled for the spiced food.

"Commander!"

"Commander!"

The voices of Yang He and Chen Qiuyu sounded behind Ding Qirui, clearly sounding a bit tired.

Ding Qirui turned around and looked at his comrades who had been with him for decades, with some pity in his eyes, and said, "Xiuling (Yang He's pen name), Yuxuan (Chen Qiyu's pen name), the battle has not stopped. I guess you haven't had a good rest these days. You rushed here in a hurry and probably didn't even have a meal. I should have let you rest and eat something before discussing military affairs, but I'm afraid that if you can eat now, you will vomit it out later, which will be even more uncomfortable."

Decades of friendship.

Yang He and Chen Qiuyu probably knew Ding Qirui better than he knew his wife and children. From these words, they realized that Ding Qirui had found a way to deal with the Mughal army, but it didn't seem to be a good one.

Yang He and Chen Qiyu were silent for a moment, then they raised their hands at the same time and said, "Please give us your instructions, General."

"Fire!" Ding Qirui said softly.

In this part of the South Asian subcontinent, it is hot all year round. Even though most cities in the Ming Dynasty have entered winter at this time of year, it is still as hot as early summer in Goa.

Daman-Diu is not much different.

Following the direction of Ding Qirui's finger, Yang He and Chen Qiuyu looked at the simple, crowded, and shaded camp of the Ashes Army in the sunset glow.

In an instant, a chill rose from the base of their tails to their heads.

Since ancient times, fire attack has been considered an ominous sign.

Take the late Eastern Han Dynasty as an example, the burning of Chibi, the burning of Yiling, the burning of Rattan Armor... Zhou Yu, Lu Xun, Zhuge Liang, these were all people of extraordinary talent, few later generations could compare with or surpass them, but after playing with fire, they all died early.

Goa and Daman-Diu, the navy soldiers have been killing these days. Of the 300,000 people in the Mughal Empire, there are at least 200,000 more. If they are burned...

Yang He was shocked and said in a trembling voice: "Commander-in-chief, this plan may shorten the lives of countless people!" On the battlefield, no matter how many people his soldiers killed, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, or millions of people, as a general he would not feel anything. No matter how much sin and karma there were, they would be shared equally among all the soldiers and they could all bear it.

But water attacks and fire attacks are different. Such schemes are harmful to the harmony of nature and all the sins and karma will be borne by the person who plotted them.

Ding Qirui sneered and said, "We don't have much life left."

Yang He and Chen Qiuyu were struck by lightning.

Yes.

They went to sea to fight for their country as criminals, and the imperial court arranged a way for them to return home, which was to die on the battlefield.

Following their leader Xiong Wencan, they recaptured the Strait of Malacca and captured the two ports of Goa and Daman-Diu. Except for Xiong Wencan, who died in battle and was posthumously awarded the title of Marquis and whose body was brought back to the Ming Dynasty, other officers did not even receive any reward.

When the officers were puzzled and dissatisfied, they always said that they had made great contributions and that when they returned home, the emperor would reward them handsomely to appease them.

But even if I can comfort others, how can I comfort my own heart? If I want to return to my country, the only way is death.

The treasure ship fleet is on the way. By then, the cabinet minister Wang Chonggu will take over Malacca and all affairs here. Their fate may be the same as that of Zhang Juyi, the younger brother of Zhang Juzheng, the former chief minister of the cabinet. They will be randomly assigned a fatal mission to die.

The time left for them is not much. Whether to die brilliantly or sadly depends entirely on their own choice!

Yang He and Chen Qiuyu came in a hurry and left in a hurry.

It's day and night.

The perennially hot climate of the South Asian subcontinent has made the people of the Mughal Empire develop the habit of falling asleep in the late night when it is cool.

Ugly moments.

When all the Ashes troops fell asleep and could not capture the nearby city of Goa during the day, the city gate quietly opened a little, and a small team came out.

The men held their tongues in their mouths and the horses wrapped their hooves as they quietly arrived near the Ash Army. Not only the patrolling soldiers, but even the secret sentries were dozing off. The team leader was silent for a moment, and then asked the team members to unload the flaming oil on the horses' backs and pour it at various locations in the mountains and forests.

In addition to the kerosene, the team also prepared some sugar mixed with cigarette ash. Although it is hard to explain, it is a commonly used combustion aid in the military and is not easy to extinguish.

When all the tasks were completed, the camp of the Ash Army was still silent. The team leader ordered all members to mount their horses, and then he mounted his horse as well. He looked back at the day and smashed the flint in his hand against the special flint next to the fierce fire oil.

The stones collided, sparks of fire suddenly flew in the dark night. The team leader felt the gentle breeze and growled, "Retreat!"

As the horse turned its head, sparks fell to the ground and came into contact with the kerosene. With a "bang", flames rose and burned along the traces of the kerosene, like a winding fire snake eating something. It looked very beautiful.

When the fire snake met the ash candy, an explosion immediately occurred, and flames splashed everywhere and fell on the nearby trees.

The dry wood started to catch fire from the leaves, then the twigs, the twigs, and the trunk, and finally the whole tree was on fire. The trees were next to each other, and the branches of this tree were connected to the branches of that tree. The fire was already spread.

Ding Qirui did not fall asleep, and it was impossible for him to do so. Looking at the raging fire and the swaying figures in the darkness, he could faintly hear the wails of fear in his ears and smell the faint smell of burnt barbecue in his nose.

It was almost a human instinct. Ding Qirui retched, but he hadn't eaten or drunk much for two days, and his stomach was empty, so he couldn't vomit anything.

Fires from the camps spread all over the mountains and fields. Frightened people woke up from their sleep and, feeling the heat against their bodies, they all ran outside. Everyone was running towards the forest, but no one could get out. The camps were built in a haphazard manner and the roads were crooked. People blindly bumped into and trampled on each other. Once someone fell down, countless feet would step on him or her, making it impossible for him or her to stand up again.

The Ash Army outside Goa numbered over a hundred thousand men, and their screams before death could not even be suppressed by the sound of the exploding flames.

Ding Qirui did not hear wrongly, and there was nothing wrong with his sense of smell.

Unless there is heavy rain, the wildfire cannot be extinguished. But this is not the rainy season, so the possibility of the fire being extinguished is completely eliminated. The fire cannot be extinguished until the last tree and the last person are burned.

Almost at the same time.

Yang He and Chen Qiyu, who returned to Daman-Diu, also lit a fire according to the specific situation, and the fire burned on both sides of Haikou.

In most cases, fire attack was never used by generals in their entire lives, and was more often seen in military books. When daybreak came, a wildfire was raging, and the burning of the trees produced a smog that covered the sky and made it impossible to see anything nearby.

Even with the wind against us, visibility in Goa was still very low, and the smoke and haze made it difficult for the naval officers and soldiers to breathe.

However, the military book contained the simplest and most practical solution. Ding Qirui ordered the soldiers to tear off a piece of cloth, untie their belts, wet the cloth, and cover their mouths and noses. Even Ding Qirui was no exception.

The naval officers and soldiers in Daman-Diu also received the same orders from Yang He and Chen Qiuyu. Although the smell in their breath was not very good, it was much more comfortable than the haze entering their throats and lungs.

Ding Qirui, Yang He and Chen Qiuyu were all standing on the city wall with wooden faces. It was so bad at the port with the wind against them, let alone the inland of the Mughal Empire with the wind to their side.

The haze drifted hundreds of miles away with the wind, and from the sky, it looked like a gray ribbon covering the South Asian subcontinent.

The real army of the Mughal Empire, Emperor Akbar's direct army, was originally guarding behind the Ashes Army, carrying out the task of preventing the Ashes from escaping and detecting whether the Ming army was tired or not, but they fled as soon as the fire broke out.

No one knows the horror of wildfires better than the people on the South Asian subcontinent. From ancient times to the present, there have been several wildfires every year. It can be said that people in the Mughal Empire have seen wildfires to some extent since childhood.

All forest fires are called "Lord Shiva's anger" and the third eye of the main god spews out divine fire that can destroy everything.

When they escaped to a safe place, they knelt on the ground, clasped their hands together, and chanted repeatedly, "May Brahma bless you!"

The gods did not appear, living people could not put out the fire, and no one tried to stop the spread of the wildfire. After one mountain burned, another mountain burned.

It was not until the first day of the first lunar month of the 42nd year of the Jiajing reign that the fires in the two ports and that had burned seven or eight forests finally showed signs of being extinguished.

The treasure ship fleet also slowly sailed into the port of Goa. After getting off the treasure ship, Wang Chonggu looked at the colors that were not like this world. Behind him was the infinite glow of the sea, one bright and one dark, two different worlds, as if he had thought of something.

Ding Qirui, whose face was as pale as gold paper, said, "Sir, welcome to Goa!"

(End of this chapter)