Anti-Qing: Starting from the Jintian Uprising

Chapter 470: The Situation in India Takes a Sharp Turn for the Worse

Sanjay couldn't help but frown when he heard this.

"How is that possible?"

"If we ignore the rear guard and evacuate directly, won't the army be in trouble?"

Upon hearing this, the deputy general continued to speak with an indignant look on his face.

"General, why do you care so much?"

"When those people arranged for us to cover the rear, they didn't think about what would happen if we were surrounded by the British army!"

"They don't care about us, so why should we think about them all the time?"

Upon hearing this, Sanjay opened his mouth and looked embarrassed.

But in the end he gritted his teeth and made the decision.

"Okay, pass the order down and order all our troops to prepare for evacuation..."

Upon hearing this, the deputy general immediately agreed with a happy face, then turned around and began to arrange the retreat.

……

It was late at night, the stars and the moon were high in the sky.

Gusts of night wind blew, making the air slightly cooler.

Bahadur Shah II took advantage of the night and walked out of the tent surrounded by several guards.

When the night wind blew, he couldn't help but tighten his cloak.

Although Delhi is located in the subtropics, it is still quite cool at night in winter.

It was pitch black inside and outside the tent.

Several personal guards surrounded Bahadur Shah and headed towards the camp where the Tang Army Instructor Corps was stationed.

After joining Xiang Yuquan and others, the group retreated towards the Indian army camp in the dark.

Although during the meeting, everyone had already agreed on the evacuation strategy tomorrow morning.

They even arranged troops to cover the rear and prepare for an orderly retreat.

However, anyone who believes this kind of thing is an idiot.

In order to avoid being abandoned on the battlefield, Bahadur Shah II made a decisive decision to leave first.

Moreover, the Tang army must escort him!

Well, Bahadur Shah II obviously trusted the Tang army more than the Indian army in the barracks.

The reason for this is that the Tang army was more powerful and more elite.

If there was any danger on the way of evacuation, the Tang army would be more confident than the Indian army in protecting Bahadur Shah II from breaking out.

The second reason is that the Tang army is more reliable!

Although the current Indian insurgent army is huge in scale, it is not united in spirit.

Among them, many even have more or less connections with the UK.

Bahadur Shah II did not trust these people.

He was afraid that if he allowed these people to escort the evacuation, they would betray him to the British and regard it as a token of surrender to the British.

And the Tang army doesn’t have to worry about this!

These Tang army instructors in the Indian army were all sent from the Tang mainland, and the orders they executed were the orders of the Tang emperor.

As long as the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty wants to protect him, these Tang soldiers will never sell him out to Britain.

I will even fight to the end for his safety!
Therefore, Bahadur Shah II asked for the escort of the Tang army when he evacuated.

Instead of dispatching Indian troops to escort!
With the sound of horse hooves, a group of people successfully left the Indian army camp.

At the same time, Sanjay also took action.

Sanjay assembled his troops and prepared to evacuate the camp at night.

However, as soon as he made a move, he was discovered by the patrolling sentry.

"stop!"

"Who are you?"

"What are you doing in the middle of the night?!"

The sentries came forward to block the way and then started asking questions.

In fact, when Bahadur Shah II was leaving the camp, he also encountered patrolling sentinels.

However, Bahadur Shah II did not show up, but Xiang Yuquan dealt with it instead.

Xiang Yuquan directly told the sentries in his capacity as a special envoy of the Tang Dynasty that he was ordered by the Khan to move troops out of the camp for a secret mission. The sentries did not dare to stop him, let alone ask a few more questions.

Well, of course the procedures are complete.

Bahadur Shah II did give Xiang Yuquan a warrant.

It is unimaginable that even if these sentinels were killed, the secret mission given to the Tang army by the Great Khan Bahadur Shah II was to have the Tang army escort him away.

Also, even if the sentry wanted to stop it, it would be useless.

India’s military law cannot control the Tang army!
Well, Bahadur Shah II had this consideration in mind when he asked the Tang army to escort him out of the camp.

However, Sanjay was not so lucky.

Faced with the sentinel's questions, they were unable to give a reasonable explanation.

So Sanjay chose to shoot directly.

After killing several sentries, he led his troops directly to the checkpoint.

The moment the gunshots rang out, the entire Indian army camp fell into chaos.

……

Bahadur Shah II and his entourage had just left the Indian army camp outside Delhi.

Not long after walking out, Bahadur Shah II heard gunshots and noise coming from the camp behind him.

He subconsciously looked back and saw that the Indian army camp was in chaos.

Fires began to burn in many camps.

In the shadows, one could see soldiers running around wildly in the Indian army camp.

The riots are spreading at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Looking at the commotion behind him, Bahadur Shah II could not help but stand there in a daze, feeling relieved.

Fortunately, I escaped in time, otherwise, I would have been trapped in the camp and unable to escape.

Seeing this, Xiang Yuquan, who was standing by, pulled Bahadur Shah II's reins and spoke.

"Khan, our army camp is in chaos. I'm afraid the British army will not sit idly by and will probably take action soon."

"Let's retreat quickly!"

Bahadur Shah II came to his senses after hearing this and nodded vigorously.

"Good! Good! Good!"

"Get out! Get out!"

"Let's retreat quickly. Don't let the British catch up with us!"

As he spoke, he swung the whip vigorously, urging the warhorse under him to speed up.

A group of people galloped on horseback in the dark, fleeing towards the defense line of Kanpur in the east.

The sound of horse hooves broke the silence of the night.

……

In the Indian Army Camp!
Sharma was awakened by a riot that broke out in the camp late at night.

He put on his clothes, stood up, walked out of the tent, and asked the guard beside him.

"What...what happened?"

Upon hearing this, the guard just shook his head to indicate that he didn't know.

Sharma stood there with a gloomy look on his face.

After a moment, he said immediately.

"Go and gather all the units of our army and prepare for any emergency."

Upon hearing this, the guard nodded to show that he understood, then turned and left.

Sharma continued to stand where he was, looking in the direction where the commotion in the camp originated, his heart filled with solemnity.

At this moment, a messenger came running, came before Sharma, and bowed down.

"Report, General!"

"Something happened!"

"Sanjay led his troops to break through the checkpoint and leave the camp at night, and has already fled to the east..."

Sharma reacted immediately after hearing this.

Oh no! Sanjay doesn't want to be the rear guard of the army and wants to start the race!
"Quick, tell the whole army to retreat, retreat immediately!"

Sharma knew that if Sanjay rushed ahead, the entire Indian army would probably be destroyed.

In this way, whoever runs slower will be the last one to leave!
Sharma can't be the one to cover the back.

Soon, as Sharma's military order was issued, his troops began to prepare to retreat.

Before evacuating, Sharma led his men to Bahadur Shah II's military tent, preparing to take Bahadur Shah II with them.

But when he arrived at Bahadur Shah II's military tent, he found that it was empty.

Bahadur Shah II has long since fled to who knows where!
Sharma couldn't help but curse inwardly.

"The Khan escaped so quickly..."

However, no matter how much he cursed, since Bahadur Shah II had already escaped, he had no choice but to calm down and lead his men to retreat quickly.

As the Indian troops scrambled to retreat, the Indian army camp outside Delhi fell into complete chaos.

There is no one to maintain order anymore!

……

Late at night.

Canning, the British Governor-General of India, was fast asleep.

He had a glass of brandy before going to bed and was sleeping soundly.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

Boom! Boom, boom, boom!

Canning was awakened from his sleep, and was obviously in a bad mood.

There was visible displeasure on his face, but he did not express it directly. Instead, he asked with a serious face.

"Who is it? Who is making noise outside?"

As soon as Canning finished speaking, he heard a response from outside.

"Your Excellency the Governor, it's me!"

It was Lieutenant General Kofman who spoke. After Kofman finished speaking, Canning rubbed his brows and said.

"come in!"

As soon as Canning finished speaking, Kofman pushed the door open and walked in.

Canning couldn't help but ask.

"Well, what happened?"

"Why did you rush to disturb me in the middle of the night?"

Hearing this, Kofman took a deep breath and said with an excited expression.

"Your Excellency the Governor, good news!"

"I don't know what happened, but the rebel camp outside the city is in chaos!"

"The rebels are scrambling to escape. I think this is the best time for our army to send troops out of the city and wipe out the invading rebels in one fell swoop."

After listening to Kofman's report, Canning was stunned at first, then he slammed the table and said.

"Hurry up!"

"Go and pass on my military order. Order all our troops to leave the city immediately and pursue the rebels!"

"Hahahaha, God bless, the Indian army has lost its composure."

"Today is the day to put down the Indian rebellion!"

Upon hearing this, Kofman nodded vigorously.

"Don't worry, Governor. I understand!"

After saying this, he turned and left, arranging for his troops to leave the city and pursue the collapsed Indian army outside the city.

……

After capturing Dhaka, the Tang army did not continue to launch an offensive rashly, but began to focus on building defensive fortifications in the city of Dhaka.

The Tang army built five lines of defense outside the city of Dhaka.

Each line of defense is built around several bunker fortifications.

There are trenches connecting the bunkers.

In the open space in front of the bunkers and trenches, barbed wire was buried to cooperate with the machine guns on the positions to block the enemy.

Fang Haiyang and Zhang Guoliang walked on the position outside Dhaka to inspect the work. They walked into a bunker and the construction workers in charge of the fortifications introduced them to the work.

"Commander, Division Commander, the bunkers on the Dhaka defense line are all of the same standard."

"The entire bunker is divided into three floors, with only half a floor above ground, less than one meter high, and the rest is all underground."

"The first floor is a firing point, used to place machine guns and artillery."

"Each bunker can be equipped with three machine guns and two small-caliber direct-fire artillery pieces."

"The second floor is the living area. It has tables, chairs, beds, dining tables and other living facilities, where soldiers can rest and recover their strength."

"The third floor is an ammunition depot, used to store bullets, shells of various calibers, grenades, etc."

"The average thickness of the walls and roof of the top floor of the bunker is 2 meters, and the walls in key areas are even 3.5 meters thick."

"With the addition of sandbags for load relief, our bunkers can withstand direct bombardment from 270mm naval guns without collapsing."

"It has quite good defensive capabilities!"

"Our defense line is centered on the bunkers, connected by trenches. Each bunker and each defense line can support each other and reinforce each other..."

"In theory, as long as we stockpile enough guns and ammunition here, the enemy will never be able to break through our defense line, no matter how many people they lose."

Zhang Guoliang walked into the bunker, looked around and nodded continuously.

"Not bad!"

"With this line of defense, Dhaka's city defense will be safe!"

Fang Haiyang, who was standing by, also spoke while stroking his beard.

"Very good, you did a great job!"

"Our army has the Dhaka Fortress as a barrier and the Nanyang Fleet as a support. Even if the British army from Calcutta attacks one day, Dhaka's safety is guaranteed."

Today, the British army has also deployed heavy troops in Kolkata.

Although in later generations, among the cities in India, Kolkata's importance is not as great as Mumbai and Delhi.

However, in this era, Kolkata's importance is no less than that of Mumbai and Delhi.

Because, ever since Britain began its invasion of India, Kolkata has been the capital of British India.

The importance is self-evident!

Even though the British in Crimea were almost defeated, the British army still maintained a heavy garrison in Kolkata.

Later, even though the Indian uprising was in full swing, Kolkata remained as stable as a rock.

After the Tang army conquered Dhaka, the British army in Kolkata became eager to try.

Although they haven't committed the crime yet, it's just because they are not prepared.

Once the British army is ready, it will definitely send troops to Dhaka.

Fang Haiyang and Zhang Guoliang continued to patrol the position.

However, at this moment, a Tang army messenger ran up to the two of them in a panic.

"Your Excellency, Commander, Division Commander!"

"There is bad news coming from Delhi."

"The Indian army gathered a large force to counterattack Delhi, but was defeated by the British army outside the city of Delhi."

"Three hundred thousand Indian rebels were almost wiped out in one battle. Indian generals Sharma, Sanjay and others were captured by the British army. Bahadur Shah II managed to escape..."

"Now, only a small number of remnants of the Indian rebel army have retreated to Kanpur!"

When Fang Haiyang heard this, he froze in place involuntarily and couldn't help but frown and ask.

"what?!"

Zhang Guoliang also asked with a serious expression.

"and then?"

Upon hearing this, the messenger took a deep breath and said with a serious expression.

"Then the British army launched an offensive towards Kanpur and Lucknow."

“Now, both Kanpur and Lucknow have changed hands.”

"The latest news we have received is that Bahadur Shah II is retreating towards Dhaka with a small number of remaining troops!"

As soon as these words were spoken, Fang Haiyang and Zhang Guoliang's faces couldn't help but fall.

"Mad, I'm in trouble!"

Fang Haiyang couldn't help but grit his teeth.

Zhang Guoliang standing by also had an unhappy expression on his face.

"These Indians are really useless. Our Tang Dynasty provided them with so many advanced weapons, but they were defeated so easily and gave all the weapons to the British. It's really, really..."

Zhang Guoliang felt depressed and even didn't know what to say.

"Commander, what do you think we should do next?"

Zhang Guoliang asked.

Fang Haiyang's expression twitched, and then he spoke.

"Um……"

"Report the matter first and ask the court to make a decision."

"Then, send troops to support Bahadur Shah II who is retreating to Dhaka. In addition, we must also be prepared to defend against the enemy in Dhaka..."

Fang Haiyang is really feeling a little nervous now.

Damn, Indians are such a rip-off!
Upon hearing this, Zhang Guoliang could only nod to show that he understood.

……

Beijing!

The sound of horse hooves rang out, and a carriage moved along the official road and arrived outside the capital.

Then he drove into the capital through the city gate.

The carriage passed through the bustling streets of the capital. Li Hongzhang lifted the curtain and observed the street scene outside.

The scene before him was completely different from the capital city he had in mind.

The low and dilapidated bungalows in the past have been transformed into small six- or seven-story buildings.

The hordes of beggars on the streets disappeared, replaced by well-dressed merchants and travelers.

The bumpy cobblestone roads and loess roads have all turned into flat and straight asphalt roads.

The streets became spotless, with almost no garbage or debris to be seen.

His heart was filled with amazement.

In just a few years, the capital has changed so much!
The Tang Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty are indeed not the same thing.

The carriage drove all the way to the outside of the Old Summer Palace before stopping.

The car door opened, and Li Hongzhang, dressed in official uniform, walked out of the car and walked to the main gate of the Old Summer Palace.

After inspection, Li Hongzhang was allowed to enter the Old Summer Palace.

After walking along the secluded path in the garden for about half a quarter of an hour, Li Hongzhang finally arrived at Jiuzhou Qingyan.

Wang Zhong came forward and greeted him.

"Master Li, please come this way."

"His Majesty is already waiting for you in the palace."

Li Hongzhang heard this and spoke.

"Thank you, General Wang, for leading the way!"

As they were talking, the two of them walked into Jiuzhou Qingyan together and came in front of Li Yi.

Li Yi was sitting behind a desk. When he saw Li Hongzhang being brought in, he said with a smile.

"Jianfu is here?"

"Counting the days, it has been a few years since we last saw each other, right?"

Li Hongzhang bowed and saluted before Li Yi, then spoke.

"In reply to your Majesty, I have not seen you for more than three years since we parted in Shandong in the fourth year of Zhaowu."

Li Yi said with a smile.

"Your family has done a good job in Shandong recently. I am going to give you more responsibilities."

"I wonder what you think?"

Since the Yellow River broke its banks, Li Hongzhang was arranged by Li Yi in Shandong, and was promoted from the prefect of Caozhou to the governor of Shandong.

Mainly responsible for disaster relief and post-disaster reconstruction in Shandong.

(End of this chapter)