Southern Ming, my destiny is too abstract

Chapter 105 Is Zhu Cixuan really the same as Hannibal?
A summer rain, drizzling and sprinkling, soaked Chittagong, a small town adjacent to the Rakhine Mountains.

Arakan was not only on guard against Bengal and Tripura, who had different faiths, in Chittagong.

There are also the savage tribes in the north-central Rakhine Mountains.

In addition to the narrow coastal port, Chittagong also has a large mountainous area.

Ten parallel hills running north-south are stacked one after another and stretch endlessly.

Also, because of its proximity to India, the tribe was driven out of Hongsawadi by the Hongsha Shan people who came from China.

The ethnic groups here are more complex and barbaric than those on the Luchuan Plateau.

The Chakma, Marma, Tripura and other peoples still have some cultural heritage, but the Chin and Mizo people in the Rakai Mountains are truly uncivilized.

Headhunting and killing to curry favor with gods and ghosts is no different from the Wa people.

What is even more barbaric than the Wa people in southern Yunnan is that they have no effort to tame livestock.

It cannot be said that they did not domesticate livestock, as they also raised Indian bison.

But we only slaughter and eat the cows' meat, we don't drink their milk, and we don't use cows to pull carts or plow the fields.

It should be noted that the Chin people are not the same as the Kachin people, who also migrated from Central China to the northern part of Hongsha in southern Yunnan.

The Chin people migrated from Central Asia to the south from India.

Therefore, Arakan not only established important fortresses along the coastline to prevent invasion from Bangladesh.

There are also more than ten wooden passes in the Chittagong Hill Tracts to prevent the Sripura people in the north of the mountainous area and the barbaric tribes in the Rakhine Mountains.

A timely summer rain washed away the bloodstains of such a pass in time.

Zhu Cixuan stood on the arrow tower, watching the Chin and Mizo people in the village cutting off the heads of the captives and snatching the livestock in the wooden village one by one.

Even the chiefs and warriors of several Chin tribes began to draw their swords and fight each other.

If the Ming army and Hongsha soldiers had not shouted with swords, they would have been forced to fight for the prisoners.

The Qin people were not afraid of killing and sacrifice, and even believed that dying in battle would mean returning to the embrace of gods and ghosts.

It can only be said that the slave trade in Arakan has been a bit excessive in recent years, and even the uncivilized barbarians in the Rakhine Mountains can't stand it.

The Mughals had become a world power under the rule of Emperor Shah Jahan (father of Aurangzeb).

After Shah Jahan ordered the Governor of Bengal to suppress the local Portuguese, it became difficult for the Arakan Kingdom, which was allied with Portugal, to obtain prisoners from Bengal.

In addition to the private sale of Hindus, the Arakan State targeted the Chin and Mizo peoples in the Rakhine Mountains as slaves.

When Zhu Cixuan entered the Rakhine Mountains, he only brought 500 elite assault troops and 500 Hongsha auxiliary troops.

Once they left the northern Rakhine Mountains, the number of troops suddenly expanded to three thousand.

After beating and destroying several foolish villages and tribes who wanted to plunder the Ming army.

When the other Chin and Mizo tribes heard that the Ming Dynasty was planning to attack Arakan, they hurriedly followed, providing their own food and weapons.

It is a pity that they did not pay any grain or taxes to Arakan and Hongsawadi, so [Ying Chuang Wang] was of no use in the mountains.

The rain was a little lighter, and Zhu Cixuan stood on the arrow tower and looked into the distance.

The water is shrouded in mist, and the trees in the mountains are lush and green, looking even more verdant.

Amidst the vast expanse of green, a streak of white streaks down from the Rakhine Mountains and heads straight for the Bay of Bengal.

The end of the long river is the destination of this battle, Miaowu City.

At night, Zhu Cixuan, Hu Yiqing and others were looking at the map in the tent.

Wang Fuchen said, "Your Highness, we found fifty good horses in the village for this battle. They can make up for the losses suffered while crossing the mountains and hills, and allow the two hundred Ming soldiers to form a charging formation."

Zhu Cixuan nodded slightly to show that he understood.

Even with [Mountain Climbing], it is relatively easy to cross the mountains in northern Rakhine, but those horses cannot climb ladders like humans.

They had hundreds of horses, but all of them were lost in the mountains.

It was only after they robbed several villages that they were able to gather more than a hundred horses.

Hu Yiqing then said, "There are quite a few firearms in the wooden fort. There are at least twenty small red cannons and over a hundred Western fire muskets, which are better than what we have."

"After the replacement, I have distributed the remaining ones to the Qin soldiers."

"Your Highness, this is the last pass in the Chittagong Hill Tracts. About ten miles away is the Nashizi Karnaphuli River."

"A lot of goods from Chittagong Port are shipped there, down the river, and delivered to Mrauk-U."

"Your Highness has been looking at the river, but he also wants to take a boat down to Myaow City."

Zhu Cixuan shook his head.

Even if you take the water route, you can reach Mrauk City in just two days.

But the risk is too great.

The boats on the Karnaphuli River are all okay.

The key is that the river becomes extremely wide downstream, about two to three hundred meters wide, which is wide enough for small naval warships to enter the river.

The Toungoo Dynasty was defeated here when it besieged Mrauk U City.

Not to mention that Arakan had Dutch warships at that time.

Although the sea carriage is also a car, Zhu Cixuan can also try some sea drifting.

But that presupposes a ship comparable to a Dutch warship.

Instead of these sampans on the Karnaphuli River.

Zhu Cixuan pointed his finger towards the north of Miaowu City.

"Arakan's forces are now concentrated in the southern part of the Arakan Mountains to defend against Bai Wenxuan and Ma Bao."

"We have over 3,000 soldiers, and we can't defeat them head-on?"

"Give Tudama time to prepare, defeat the Arakanese Dutch army head-on, and then find an opportunity to enter the city."

……

The Royal Palace of Mrauk-U City.

"Your Majesty, these three Polish maids were originally intended to be given to the Mughal royal family."

The Dutch commander, Vanderlan, sent three European maids.

The three Polish maids had different hair colors, flaxen, chestnut and blonde, some curly, some straight, some long, some short.

The only thing they have in common is their fair skin, blue eyes, tall and straight noses, and naturally red lips.

The Dutch slave traders even dressed the three of them in Baroque lace dresses.

These days, or in the past one or two hundred years.

Slaves were not worth anything.

There are many indigenous Han people growing spices in Southeast Asia, and since they are close to Siam and Cochin, they can replenish the losses in time.

The slave trade flourished among Eastern Europeans and Slavic white slaves.

With the development and spread of firearms, nomadic peoples reached a new peak.

Not to mention the Ottoman and Mughal dynasties that replaced the Qing Dynasty, the Crimean Tatar Khanate invaded and plundered slaves from the Romanovs for more than 150 years.

They inherited the Golden Horde's rule over the Slavs and forced Tsarist Russia to pay tribute and ransom to the Tatars.

At least one million people were looted and sold across the Black Sea by the Tatars, many of whom were Poles.

Slaves were tied with cowhide ropes and fed on horse carcasses and horse milk as they trekked for three months across Europe and Asia.

Of course, the best quality Polish women were sold even further, as far as the Mughals.

These three maids were obtained by the Dutch in exchange for selling spices to the Moulin area.

Originally intending to use it to please Aurangzeb, the conqueror of the universe, Vanderlan passed it over and decided to give it to Tudhama.

I hope this temporary cannon fodder can hold on for a while longer.

Drag the Ming Dynasty into the quagmire of war with the Mughals and cut off the Central Plains trade routes of Hongsha, Yundian and Yunnan.

Tudamo stroked his chin and asked curiously, "Are they also princesses of your Europa royal family?"

Vanderlan laughed awkwardly. "The Polish royal family still has some strength. Although they've suffered heavy losses in the wars with the Romanovs and Sweden in recent years, their cavalry still has some strength."

"Although these three women are not princesses, they are also descendants of nobles."

Vanderlan exaggerates the goods a bit.

It was true that the nobles had been redeemed long ago. These three gentle and clean-looking Polish women were at most the daughters of the village chief. Their villages might have been destroyed by the Swedish Romanovs or the Tatar cavalry.

After listening to the translation, Tudama suddenly lost interest.

He now has the royal princess of Bengal.

And there is the fiancée of the Crown Prince of Ming Dynasty.

With two powerful nations serving him, Tudama no longer looked down on ordinary noble daughters.

He was not like the King of Siam, who married women from various countries to win the hearts of the people for the sake of maritime trade.

He doesn't have any special hobbies like the Crown Prince of the Ming Dynasty.

Let the eunuchs send three European women into the harem to serve Princess Mengala.

Tudamo and Vanderlan discussed the war ahead.

The Ming army was indeed fierce. In just ten days, except for the city of Shalian, all the Arakanese troops were driven back to their homeland.

"Only artillery can defeat the Ming army."

Tudama said sternly, "Those gunpowder and shells are consumed very quickly. You need to send two or three more ships."

Upon hearing this, Vanderlan secretly grinned.

The lion opened his mouth.

He had already found out clearly that the Ming army on the front line had no more than two or three thousand people.

All the firearms that Mangbai had purchased at great expense were taken by Zhu Cixuan to fight Dai Qing.

The Ming army in Xiahongsha had no ability to capture the city or break through the pass in the Rakhine Mountains.

The two of them pulled each other.

It was agreed that another shipload of firearms and ammunition would be sent from Batavia.

Having lost his wife and spent money this time, Vanderlan was about to return home disappointed.

As soon as he left the house, Vanderland was still considering whether to tell the Mughal directly that the Ming Dynasty was ready to support Shah Shuja to restore the country and seize Aurangzeb's throne.

Arakan is incompetent and warlike, so it is not a long-term ally.

However, a guard hurried past him.

Vanderlan, noticing a change in the war situation, slowed down his pace slightly.

After a while, Tudama's exclamation was heard from the palace.

VanderLaan turned to the translator and asked what was going on.

The translator looked a little dazed, waiting for Tudama to shout for all the generals in the city to come to the palace for a meeting.

Only then did I realize that I had not heard wrongly.

The translator swallowed twice and replied nervously, "Commander, the Ming army has appeared in Mrauk-U County."

"It's only fifty or sixty kilometers from Mrauk-U."

Vanderlan was stunned.

Where did the Ming army come from?
Has the southern defense line been breached by the Ming army?
It shouldn't be.

Koxinga's army was so powerful, and its firearms were no less powerful than those of the Europeans.

The siege of Rejaran lasted for several months without success, so Khitan had to wait for reinforcements from Batavia.

The Arakan Pass is not as strong as the European bastions.

But according to Dutch officers on the front line, it is built on the mountain and is high above, making it easy to defend.

Besides, if the Ming army really broke through the Rakhine Mountains defense line, it should be two hundred kilometers away from Mrauk-U City.

Vanderlan didn't care about anything else and hurriedly returned to the palace with a few subordinates.

In the magnificent hall, Tudama no longer had the leisurely attitude of a Buddhist believer.

He seemed to be shrouded in an indescribable haze of fear, with sweat constantly oozing from his forehead and pacing back and forth with his hands clenched tightly.

Vanderlan called out a few times, but there was no response.

It took a long time before Tudama seemed to notice the Dutch officers. His lips, which had turned pale at some point, opened and closed several times, but he could not utter any words. He waved his hand and asked Vanderlan and the others to wait for a moment.

Vanderlan, realizing that something serious was happening, asked his accompanying lieutenant to call the Dutch officers inside and outside the city.

More than ten people in the palace, standing and sitting restlessly, waited anxiously for an hour.

Afterwards, all the generals, big and small, from Mrauk-U City, including the naval generals from Poki Island and the port, came to discuss the matter.

Tudama just spoke helplessly: "The Ming army turned over from the peaks and valleys in the northern part of the Rakhine Mountains."

"And it was an army led by the Crown Prince of Ming himself."

One word stirred up a thousand waves.

In the hall, both the Arakanese and the Dutch were in an uproar.

Vanderlan's heart suddenly tightened, as if it was being squeezed tightly by an invisible hand, and his breathing suddenly became rapid and heavy.

The hourglass in his hand fell with a "click".

Vanderlan looked towards the north without knowing it, as if he could see through layers of obstacles and see the flags and figures of the Ming army sixty kilometers away.

Did Zhu Cixuan really turn over?

How did he do it?
He is still a human being.

The three great military legends of Europe, Alexander, Hannibal, and Caesar.

We have all climbed mountains.

The former crossed the Hindu Kush Mountains, and the latter two crossed the Alps from the east and west, respectively.

Zhu Cixuan's move was comparable to the Carthaginian general Hannibal leading his army across the Alps in ancient Rome.

If he moves to Europe in the future.

You can directly become the fourth military legend.

Vanderlan did not compare Zhu Cixuan with Alexander and Caesar in his mind.

if not.

The Dutch really gave up directly.

An Arakanese general's voice trembled uncontrollably:
"Your Majesty, isn't it said that the Crown Prince of Daming is currently engaged in a fierce battle with Daiqing Gulun in Yundian and cannot return to Hongshawadi?"

The others also looked at their king in panic and helplessness.

The reason why they dared to launch an attack on Pegu was that the Ming Dynasty took away all the elite troops of Hongsavadi.

Didn't the Ming Dynasty just return north and fight the Dai Qing for half a year without any sign of returning?

They thought they could only deal with a small number of Ming troops at most.

Although Li Dingguo and Bai Wenxuan were fierce, the Pindali of Toungoo had successfully resisted them before, not to mention that they also had the Dutch army and the Arakan Mountains.

But no one dared to think that the Crown Prince of the Ming Dynasty would go south and pay attention to them.

How do you think?
That is Zhu Cixuan, who has the red moon as armor, is invulnerable to swords and spears, and is protected by gods and Buddhas.

He killed the King of Toungoo in one night, captured the city of Ava, destroyed Mangbai's army of 200,000 with only 10,000 soldiers, burned the city of Tonggu, and destroyed the country in three months.

Zhu Cixuan has long been a legend in Fengshang, where he can stop children from crying at night.

If Zhu Cixuan was blocked outside the Rakhine Mountains, they could still think of using artillery to resist the Dutch.

This is like a Rakshasa ghost, which sneaked over the northern mountains and appeared in the heart of Arakan.

How to fight?

Most of the country's troops were sent to the front line to resist the Ming army.

There were only about 10,000 soldiers in Chittagong and a few thousand in Mrauk-U.

If Sandoval's 60,000 troops were withdrawn, the Ming army in Hongsawadi would be able to advance straight ahead.

Someone immediately whispered that they should surrender and pay money to settle the matter.

More people shouted, "Go and invite the Mughal army from the west."

(End of this chapter)