The Han culture is spreading strongly in Southeast Asia

Chapter 905 I saw Huo Piaoyao again today

'Only after that did I realize what kind of monster I had unleashed in Belgrade.'

Ten years later, on his deathbed, Louis Davout wrote the following in his diary.

The monster he was marveling at was none other than Li Xingtai, the King of Liang of the Dayu Dynasty of the Seris Empire, who had come to support Belgrade, the great second ancestral dragon emperor of the East, and a marshal of the army.

In the spring of 1812, as the ice and snow melted and temperatures rose, Louis Davout's French army resumed its assault on Belgrade.

Faced with such a fortified city, the French army had no good solutions and could only use Marshal Vauban's trench warfare tactics to slowly chip away at it.

Seeing the French army's posture, Li Xingtai immediately had a bold idea.

“Vobán’s siege tactics are indeed ingenious and still relevant even after more than a hundred years. If we just wait for the French army to dig their trenches down to our walls, Belgrade will still be in danger of falling.”

As Li Xingtai spoke, he patted Liu Guoqing, the general of the Xia Kingdom, on the shoulder, “But this method of attacking cities has one major problem, which is that it requires a comprehensive grasp of the battle situation.”

If I have an elite force supporting the city from outside, constantly flanking and killing his soldiers digging trenches, this siege tactic won't work.

Belgrade is a fortified city, and you, Mu Yuan, have commanded it well. I'm entrusting its defense to you. I'll lead the cavalry out of the city and wreak havoc.

Liu Guoqing was startled when he heard this. It turned out that His Highness the Prince of Liang was going to personally go out of the city to harass the French army with cavalry.

“A son of a noble family should not sit under a dangerous roof. Your Majesty is of high status and should stabilize the morale of the army within the city. I am willing to lead the cavalry out of the city.”

"Hahahaha!" Li Xingtai laughed a few times. "We are all soldiers who have fought in the army. Let alone the danger of falling down the wall, we will go through fire and water."

Besides, commanding cavalry is not as good as my expertise, so it's settled then.

Having said that, under the cover of night, Li Xingtai suddenly led five thousand cavalrymen out of Belgrade.

The French army never expected that Li Xingtai would rush out after entering the city. Caught off guard, they not only failed to defend against him, but Li Xingtai's cavalry also charged directly into the headquarters of the 6th Division of the 7th Army Corps.

The unfortunate commander of the 6th Division, Major General Jean-Pierre Granio, had just returned from a dinner with some generals when he ran right into Li Xingtai's cavalry.

The cavalry routed two companies of soldiers who came to meet Major General Granio. Xia Fan's fierce general, Dang Shouzheng, a native of Qin'an, Tianshui, Gansu, was in the chaos when he immediately spotted Major General Granio, who was surrounded by guards.

He immediately realized it was a big fish and spurred his horse forward.

Dang Shouzheng's warhorse was a crossbreed of Akhal-Teke and Indian Folded Horse, with extremely strong explosive power. In just a few seconds, the warhorse rushed to Major General Graneo's front.

With a series of 'bang bang bang bang' shots, six revolver shots were fired in an instant, taking down three people immediately.

Then, Dang Shouzheng wielded a sword in one hand, moving swiftly left and right, and with a single thrust, he felled five French soldiers.

Xia Fan was known for his "Five Tiger Generals," namely the brothers Liu Rongqing and Liu Guoqing, Di Feihu, Bai Fengshan, and Dang Shouzheng.

Of these five, only Bai Fengshan was a martial arts third-place winner in history; the other four were all martial arts champions in history.

Given that the Manchu Qing dynasty's military examination system was entirely designed to select martial arts masters, one can imagine how weak their individual combat abilities were.

Standing at 1.77 meters tall, Dang Shouzheng, riding a warhorse with a shoulder height of 1.61 meters, was practically a god of war against French soldiers who were generally around 1.64 meters tall.

Turning his horse around, Dang Shouzheng charged back again.

Major General Granio had just been knocked over by Dang Shouzheng's warhorse, falling and getting covered in mud. He had just pulled out his pistol but hadn't had time to load it yet.

In the critical moment, the major general drew his ceremonial sword, a symbol of his rank, in an attempt to put up a fight.

With a graceful turn, Dang Shouzheng shifted his position from the left to the right of his warhorse. He pulled on the reins with his left hand, causing the warhorse to rear up. From his right side, Dang Shouzheng unleashed a lightning-fast slash of his saber.

The blade flashed like a bolt of lightning!

A trail of blood flew into the air accompanied by a scream. Major General Granio's neck was severed two-thirds of its length. His massive head drooped to the left in an instant, and he collapsed, leaving only the rustling sound of blood spurting from his carotid artery.

"He's a major general, not bad!" Dang Shouzhen laughed loudly, jumped off his warhorse, and used his saber to completely sever Major General Graneo's head.

Then, a sharp knife tied with a hemp rope was pierced through the esophagus and out of the mouth, and a rope was attached to secure it to the rear of the warhorse.

Killing a major general in battle is a great achievement, and one might even be awarded a noble title by the imperial court for it.

Upon seeing the major general beheaded, the French soldiers who had surrounded him were terrified, and many even dropped their weapons and ran away.

Dang Shouzheng led the few dozen cavalrymen who were still able to fight back in a pursuit, killing more than a hundred people before turning east when they heard the assembly whistle.

Two hours later, Louis Davout personally led the Italian Imperial Guard cavalry brigade to the scene.

The scene before him filled him with lingering fear, for the Sixth Division's camp had been almost completely destroyed by this Seres cavalry.

Many barracks were burning, and the bodies of many soldiers lay scattered on the ground. Even the division commander, Major General Granio, was a headless corpse.

Soon after, the losses were reported: more than 900 of the 6,000-plus division's men were killed in a raid lasting just over an hour, and more than 1,000 were wounded, bringing the total casualties to over 2,000. Morale was low and the division was essentially crippled.

Louis Davout knew in his heart that if the enemy did not send out a cavalry division, but 30,000 cavalry, he would be defeated in this battle.

"The reason this Seres cavalry has left the city must be to sabotage our trench advance," Marshal Louis Davout made an accurate judgment.

He turned to look at the commander of the Italian Guards Cavalry Brigade, Lieutenant General Jean-Baptiste de Blaise.

"Lieutenant General, I entrust all the cavalry to you. We have 25,000 cavalry, at least five times the number of the Seres. Intercept them and prevent them from harassing us."

"Marshal, I can not only stop them, but also annihilate them!" Lieutenant General Bryce replied with great confidence.

Marshal Louis Davout was not so confident, because although he had a force of 200,000 including logistics personnel, most of his cavalry were Italian.

Marshal Louis Davout sighed inwardly. The Italians didn't seem to be good at cavalry at all. If the cavalry here were mostly Polish, he would have dared to send Lieutenant General Blaise to wipe out those Seres cavalry.

But the Italians, haha!
After a moment of indignation, Marshal Louis Davout patted Lieutenant General Bryce on the shoulder. "Our most important task right now is to take Belgrade. Nothing else matters. I believe you can prioritize and accomplish the mission well."

However, after Li Xingtai led his troops out of Belgrade, he did not immediately begin harassing the city, knowing that his five thousand men were still somewhat insufficient.

Li Xingtai then first wiped out a small number of French troops far from the French camp, restoring communication between Belgrade and the Petrovaradin fortress complex, which had been cut off by the French army.

Li Xingtai then led his troops to Vallevo, a city southwest of Belgrade, where thousands of Serbian militia were stationed, led by Karachorje Petrovich, who was cooperating with the French.

Historically, Serbia at this time was controlled by the Ottoman Empire. Although the Austrian Empire occupied Belgrade several times, it quickly lost it each time.

The most recent instance was during the Russo-Turkish War of 1789, but it was quickly lost due to frequent changes in the imperial throne.

However, in this timeline, things are different. Mogongze had long intended to move south and repeatedly dragged the Holy Roman Empire into wars in an attempt to seize Belgrade, finally occupying it again in 1805.

The Ottoman Empire also considered retaking it, but in 1810, Mogonze launched the Battle of Bucharest on the lower Danube.

The Ottoman Empire suffered a crushing defeat in this battle, losing even Bucharest and Constanta, leaving it with no time to worry about Serbia, where nationalism was on the rise.

Karachorje Petrovich, the Serbian militia leader in Vallevo, was the very man who launched the national uprising in Belgrade in 1805 and helped the Holy Roman Empire army enter the city.

However, after entering the city, Karachord Petrovich was abandoned by the foolish Franz I.

Vienna's politicians, wanting to control this key to the Balkans, expelled Karachordj.

Therefore, when Li Xingtai led his army to the scene, Karachorje was very resistant.

However, Marquis Moritz Kluge, the military commander of the Xia vassal state who came with Li Xingtai, persuaded the man with just three sentences.

"King Ferdinand was not a treacherous person like Emperor Franz. He promised to make you the Grand Duke of Serbia, and he would definitely keep his word."

In contrast, Emperor Napoleon never granted the titles of monarchs of his vassal states to outsiders.

"If an ordinary monarch bestows upon you the title of nobleman, it will not be recognized by the vast majority of nobles, because you are of poor origin."

But King Ferdinand, with his noble lineage from both the Seres and the Roman Empire, possessed immense prestige.

“Even if the French keep their word, they will at most support you in possessing the area around Belgrade. But King Ferdinand is different. He will support you and assist you in continuing your revenge against the Ottoman Empire. You may even be able to acquire more Ottoman territory.” Mogongze will not touch the four regions of Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and Albania, which have complex ethnic groups, religions, and terrains.

However, he was willing to support a group of locals to govern themselves, thereby extracting local resources for his own use.

Karachorje was smitten.

The good reputation that Mo Zirong and his son Mo Gongze had built in Europe over thirty years came into play.

In particular, over the past twenty years, Mo Gongze has been repeatedly fooled by Franz I and the Austrian nobles of Vienna, and has become a king of eating cakes.

Even so, he always kept his promises, and everyone could see that he was a man of his word.

Therefore, when Karachorje heard Mogongze make a promise to him, he had no doubt that Mogongze would go back on his word.

Moreover, Moritz Kluge's point is very valid: France still needs to court the Ottoman Empire and is unlikely to support its southward march for revenge, but the Kingdom of Hungary can.

"I accept King Ferdinand's appointment and will fight for him as his loyal warrior," Karachorge quickly decided after consulting with his men.

"Mobilize all the men you can. I need at least eight thousand mounted warriors with me to open up the waterway from Bucharest to Belgrade. Then you will not lack food."

Louis Davout had 200,000 men, which he naturally wouldn't all keep in Belgrade. He actually controlled a large number of nodes on the Danube River, precisely to prevent Mogongze from supplying Belgrade via steamships from Bucharest.

What Li Xingtai needs to break down most right now is this blockade.

In May 1812, in the town of Drenkova, 5 kilometers east of Belgrade.

With the help of 10,000 Serbs from Karačorje, Li Xingtai completely seized the advantage of the terrain and began to continuously attack the French-controlled points on the Danube River.

This was intolerable to Marshal Louis Davout. If the Great Yu could truly supply Belgrade through the Danube, how could he possibly capture it?

Marshal Louis Davout wrote to Napoleon requesting an increase in troops, and at the same time agreed to Lieutenant General Blaise's proposal to form a combined infantry and cavalry army of 50,000 men to launch a preemptive attack on Li Xingtai, who was roaming around Serbia.

Although Li Xingtai's forces were all cavalry, they were actually quite easy to capture because he had no choice but to first sweep away the French control of the Danube River nodes.

Over the past two decades, Serbia has been caught in a constant struggle between the Holy Roman Empire (Austria), the Ottoman Empire, and the Mogongze, as well as the recent French invasion, resulting in severe damage to its production and daily life, with a staggering 62 percent of its land abandoned.

In short, Serbia is experiencing a nationwide famine.

The French army's supplies were all forcibly requisitioned from Austria and Hungary. The soldiers on Karachord's side had started eating potatoes every day. Li Xingtai's 5,000 men had gone out, and the consumption of food and horses was enormous, making it impossible for them to resupply locally.

Fortunately, Li Xingtai had made an agreement with Mo Gongze before leaving. Mo Gongze had transferred some of the grain to a small town in the Balkan Mountains in advance. As long as Li Xingtai cleared out the French army, the grain could be transported by steamship.

Among these nodes, the town of Drenkova, nestled against the Balkan Mountains and facing the Belgrade Plain, is extremely important; losing it would sever the supply line.

Therefore, even if Li Xingtai's army is entirely composed of cavalry, he cannot abandon this place as long as he doesn't want his entire army to be eating potatoes with the Serbs.

"Mr. Petrovich, this battle depends on your warriors."

If they don't want to eat nothing but roasted and stewed potatoes every day from now on, if they want to become nobles serving the Grand Duke of Serbia in the future, then they'd better fight for it!

Karachorje Petrovich then realized that Li Xingtai had not brought them along to attack the French army in Belgrade, but rather to have them defend Drenkova to the death.

"I will become the Grand Prince of Serbia. Only in this way can the Serbian people completely get rid of the cruel rule of the Ottoman Empire." Karachorje Petrovich knew he had no choice but to fight with all his might.

Hearing him say that, the Serbian, who had been able to afford Queen's Bread for the past two months by following Li Xingtai, resigned himself to his fate.

After you've had the luxury of eating Queen's Bread made with eggs and white flour every two days—an absolute luxury at the time—going back to eating roasted potatoes would be incredibly difficult, especially with the opportunity to become a noble waiting for you.

5 month 10 day.

French Lieutenant General Blaise began his attack on the town of Drencova, which was located halfway up a mountain and backed by mountains, giving it a certain geographical advantage.

When the Serbs were driven to desperation, they became truly ruthless, fighting relentlessly and without regard for their lives. In addition, Li Xingtai left a thousand men under Di Feihu in the town, and the French army managed to avoid discovering any flaws in their defenses.

While Di Feihu and 6,000 Serbs were defending the town of Drenkova, Li Xingtai led 4,000 Dayu cavalry and 2,000 Serbian cavalry to bypass Lieutenant General Blaise's French army and directly raid the city of Belgrade.

This completely stunned Louis Davout.

Louis Davout had considered that some cavalry that Lieutenant General Bryce might not be able to contain might break through, but he didn't expect there to be a full six thousand cavalry.

Li Xingtai's forte was this kind of cavalry raid, and this battle brought his strengths to the extreme.

Six thousand cavalrymen first circled around to the rear of the French army and launched an attack on a French field hospital.

In just over forty minutes, Li Xingtai killed almost all of the more than 1,000 wounded soldiers and hundreds of doctors and nurses in the hospital, and then defeated two regiments of French troops who came to their aid.

By the time Louis Davout's main force arrived, Li Xingtai had already fled far away. He continued to send out a thousand cavalrymen to make it appear as if they were going to attack the French infantry who were digging trenches, inducing Louis Davout to send troops to support them.

Once the reinforcements arrived, the entire army immediately switched targets and attacked the reinforcements. Six thousand cavalrymen faced off against fifteen thousand infantrymen marching in the open field, and within an hour, they killed more than a thousand of the enemy.

Then, seeing that the infantry had completed their formation, Li Xingtai moved again to the place where he had initially attacked the field hospital.

The French troops here had their field hospital destroyed, and the French troops that came to their aid were gradually withdrawing when they were suddenly attacked by cavalry. They almost completely lost command and were scattered by the cavalry charge, suffering heavy casualties.

Louis Davout was cornered and had no choice but to send his last thousand cavalrymen. Li Xingtai had already spotted the French cavalry's movements and quickly withdrew before they arrived.

The French cavalry numbered only a thousand, and without infantry cover, they dared not pursue.

Just as Louis Davout was congratulating himself on his timely troop deployment, Li Xingtai once again rushed to the vicinity of the trenches and captured the previous reinforcements.

The French suffered an even worse fate this time. More than 3,000 infantrymen deployed on the outskirts were divided and almost completely wiped out in less than an hour.

Louis Dawu was stunned; only then did he truly realize the power of the Great Yu Imperial Guards cavalry.

In one day, Li Xingtai ran nearly 200 kilometers in eight hours, defeating four French armies in succession. With only 500 casualties of his own, he killed or wounded more than 7,000 French soldiers.

Of course, this was not actually the Great Yu's personal guard cavalry.

Li Xingtai's 4,000 men consisted of half of the cavalry of the Beijing Garrison, the other half of the Imperial Han cavalry of the Anxi Army, the elite Hungarian cavalry of Mo Gongze, and a portion of the local comrades from the Huai River region of Liaodong.

But they were indeed the elite of the Great Yu cavalry.

Louis Davout was at his wit's end. He quickly wrote to Lieutenant General Bryce, ordering him to send out his cavalry if he could not capture the town of Drencova within three days, or his side would be harassed to the point of madness.

Lieutenant General Bryce received the order and broke out in a cold sweat. He knew he had been outmaneuvered by the Seres cavalry and had no choice but to launch a fierce attack on Drenkova regardless of casualties.

The Serbs were equally aware of their situation and were willing to risk lives rather than back down. The two sides engaged in a fierce hand-to-hand combat in the small town of Drenkova, to the point of being evenly matched.

Finally, on the fourth day, the Serbs, who had suffered more than 30% casualties, could not hold on any longer and were completely driven out of the town of Drenkova.

But before the French troops could even cheer, the sound of thousands of horses galloping suddenly rose from behind them.

Lieutenant General Bryce exclaimed in surprise and quickly pulled out his binoculars to see that the Yu cavalry, carrying the sun and moon flag, had returned once again.

This was a head-on battle, with fierce cavalry clashes erupting between the two sides outside the town of Drenkova.

Blood splattered everywhere, and severed limbs flew all over the sky. Li Xingtai personally drew his sword and rushed to the front line, hacking away until his saber was dulled.

At this time, the army that had been driven out of the town returned under the leadership of Di Feihu.

The Serbs were exhausted, but Di Feihu's remaining 800 elite Xia troops were still able to fight. They quickly occupied a French artillery position, turned their cannons around and bombarded the French rear, causing great chaos.

Lieutenant General Bryce was confused and had no idea what was going on. He thought a large force of Seres' army was coming from the lower Danube to support him, and in his excitement, he sent out all his reserve troops to attack Di Feihu.

As the battle drew to a close, the French army had exhausted all their resources. They had no idea how many men Li Xingtai had, and with heavy casualties and widespread panic, they finally collapsed.

Lieutenant General Bryce rallied the remaining 10,000 cavalrymen who were still under his command and retreated in disarray toward Belgrade, leaving behind a large amount of baggage and wounded soldiers, with corpses lying for dozens of miles along the way.

In a panic, many French soldiers even jumped directly into the Danube River. More than half of the 50,000 infantry and cavalry were lost, and the Battle of Drencova was a complete failure.

(End of this chapter)