The Han culture is spreading strongly in Southeast Asia

Chapter 912 The Seres are too evil

Marshal Berthier's guess was correct; Mo Gongze already knew that the second batch of the Great Yu Expeditionary Force had set off.

Seeing the Ottoman army suddenly withdraw, it was immediately clear that the second expeditionary force had arrived in Egypt and launched an attack.

The city of Tulcea erupted in cheers. Whether it was the soldiers of the Han Dynasty's Xia, Liang, and Liao armies, the Anxi army, or the Hungarians, they all knew that they were destined to win.

Napoleon, his face dark, decided to give it one last try.

Unwilling to accept defeat, Napoleon launched six large-scale attacks in the following fifteen days, each involving more than 10,000 troops.

But it's pointless now. The Three Feudatories' army wasn't defeated even under such harsh conditions a little over a month ago, so it's even more impossible now.

1814 2 Month 7 Day.

The French army began to plan their retreat because reality proved that they could not capture Tourcia.

Napoleon's plan was to temporarily retreat to Budapest and leave Marshal Louis Davout to guard the city.

On the one hand, they relied on Budapest to defend against Mogongze's resurgence, and on the other hand, they suppressed the Austrian Empire, cutting off their channels of communication and preventing the Austrians from being inspired by Mogongze to rise up in rebellion.

As for Napoleon himself, he would return to France to deal with the English on the Iberian Peninsula while guarding against a surprise attack on the port by the Seres Empire's fleet.

At dawn, Napoleon ordered Marshal Saint-Cyr to lead 10,000 troops as the vanguard, returning along the Danube River. Along the way, he cleared roads, established supply depots to facilitate the army's retreat, and notified the Belgrade army to come and meet them.

He ordered Lieutenant General Auguste Collangu, commander of the Guards Grenadier Division, to lead 15,000 men to hold the outer positions of Turcha and cover the retreat of the remaining 100,000 troops.

After the retreat began, they set up positions at key passes and strategic locations in various places, preparing to block the enemy layer by layer.

At the most crucial location, 170 kilometers from Turcha, Gyorgen ordered Major General Louis-Hubert of the 1st Division of the 1st Army to lead 10,000 men to build a fortified city to intercept them.

At seven o'clock in the morning, after realizing that the French army had begun to retreat, Mo Gongze did not immediately arrange a counterattack, because he did not know whether the French army was pretending to retreat to lure him out of the city.

At the same time, Mogongze didn't care about spending a day or two in the evening, because it was a full 1,100 kilometers from Turcha to Budapest.

If you want to get to the relatively safe Munich, you'll need to add another 700 kilometers, bringing the total to just over 1,800 kilometers.

At such a distance, once the news is released, many forces along the way that have suffered terribly at the hands of the French army will come out to intercept them.

So Mogölze immediately released his two thousand Hungarian cavalry, not to give chase, but to send them on a full-scale march toward Transylvania, Serbia, Hungary, and even Vienna.

He wanted everyone to know that the second expeditionary force of the Seres Empire had arrived, that the French were fleeing in fear, and that it was time to besiege the French Empire.

At 10 a.m., after the cavalrymen who went out to scout confirmed that the French army was indeed retreating, Mo Gongze summoned the entire army, slaughtered pigs and sheep, prepared the most delicious food, and informed the entire army of the arrival of reinforcements and the escape of the French.

In fact, the soldiers had already seen the French army's movements outside, but they were hesitant to confirm it. Now that Mo Gongze had confirmed it, they cheered.

"Today's victory was hard-won. It was not only due to the desperate fighting of the soldiers, but also because His Majesty did not forget us, the wanderers who were fighting abroad, and sent another army to rescue us!"

After saying this, Mo Gongze led the way in bowing to the east, and the entire army shouted "Long live the Emperor!" Afterwards, they ate a hearty meal and went out of the city to launch a fierce attack on the French army that was covering their rear.

Despite the thorough preparations made by French commander Lieutenant General Auguste Collangu, the army's morale was soaring.

Not to mention that the vanguard was not the Three Feudatories Army, but the Guihan Western Route Army, which had been resting and recuperating for more than half a year.

They had arrived long ago, but in order to lull Napoleon into a false sense of security, they waited for an opportunity at the mouth of the Danube.

This is their moment to shine.

On February 12, under the relentless attacks of the 2-strong army of the Da Yu, the French Lieutenant General Collangel's troops, which had expected to hold out for at least a month, collapsed, lasting less than five days.

The French suffered over 6,000 casualties, including 6,000 French Guards grenadiers, with most of the rest captured. Lieutenant General Collangu himself was shot in the head by a sharpshooter from the Great Yu while commanding the battle.

The reason why even the highly capable Guards Grenadiers collapsed so quickly was that the introduction of the needle-firing gun on the battlefield meant that the grenadiers, who needed to get close to 30 or 40 meters, or even 20 or 30 meters, to throw bombs, were no longer suited to the battlefield.

Even earlier, when artillery was rapidly deployed to battalions and even company-level operations, grenadiers became obsolete.

The French army was quick to notice; their grenadiers changed after 1808. Even specialized grenadier battalions were no longer entirely composed of grenadiers, or rather, the duties of grenadiers clearly changed.

But all this changed too slowly. The era of the grenadier ended when French grenadiers lined up from the high ground, attempting to inflict mass casualties with bombs in unison to the beat of drums.

They were first bombarded by shrapnel, and after their formation was slightly disrupted, they were quickly picked off by needle-shot guns at a distance of 150 meters.

Many French Guards grenadiers never saw the enemy's face clearly before they were killed.

On February 20, after the pursuing army broke through several minor interceptions, the imperial edict from Egypt reached the army.

The emperor reorganized the armies of the three vassal states of Xia, Liang, and Liao, along with the Anxi Army and the Western Route Army, into a single combat unit independent of the Russian Expeditionary Army, which was named the Expeditionary Army against the French.

The army that quelled the French invasion was led by Mo Gongze, who was promoted to general and Gui Han to vice-general. The Liao King Mo Zhouzhan was ordered to go to Wallachia to stand guard in Bucharest for Mo Gongze and preserve the fruits of victory.

On February 25, the army pursued and arrived at the city of Djurggen. This time, thanks to the fortified city and the advantageous terrain, the situation was slightly better.

General Louis-Hubert's First Army, First Division, was also an elite force in the French army, and it was also assisted by the most reliable Polish troops among the auxiliary forces.

On March 5, after an eight-and-a-half-day siege, Giorgione fell, and more than 3 men, including Major General Louis-Hubert, were killed in action.

On the same day, the Imperial Guard's Left Guard cavalry and the Xiaowu Army cavalry, along with more than two thousand Hungarian cavalry, formed a force of seven thousand cavalry, which caught up with the French rearguard cavalry.

A fierce cavalry battle broke out between the two sides forty kilometers south of the city of Djurggen.

French General Louis-Foussin led the 2nd Cuirassier Division, and Major General Jean Defoe led the 2nd Guards Lancers Regiment, also known as the Red Lancers Regiment, totaling 5,500 cavalrymen, to ambush the pursuing French cavalry.

At the start of the battle, the cavalry of the anti-French forces suffered heavy losses. Cavalry Brigadier General Bao Youxin and his younger brother, Cavalry Lieutenant Colonel Bao Youren, along with more than a dozen other officers, were killed in action. The vanguard was bombarded by French artillery, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of men.

At a critical moment, Huang Renyong led 600 Chaozhou cavalrymen in a fierce charge against the French artillery positions. It should be noted that Chaozhou, and even the entire south, rarely produced cavalry.

The horses couldn't withstand the high heat, and there was no cavalry tradition, but the fact that these Chaoshan people were selected for the Zuolongxiang Guard's cavalry showed just how fierce they must be.

This unusual Chaozhou cavalry unit, led by Huang Renyong, surprisingly defeated the French cavalry guarding the artillery with a force of 600 against 2,000. To avoid losing the cannons, the French had no choice but to seal off the fire gates.

Then the two sides showed their true strength, fighting entirely with light weapons and cold weapons such as lances, sabers, and hand cannons.

During the battle, Major General Jean Defoe was stabbed to death by Huang Renyong with his own spear. Huang Renyong was also slashed in the abdomen, and his intestines spilled out.

Lieutenant General Louis Foussen of the 2nd Cuirassier Regiment was hit by a bullet. The severe impact caused his steel lobster-tail helmet to fly off his head. Although he was evacuated under the protection of his personal guards, it was estimated that his days were numbered.

By the afternoon, the French cavalry, whose morale had indeed been greatly affected by the retreat, began to rout. Of the 5,500 men, no more than 1,000 were able to leave the battlefield and continue fighting.

Lieutenant General Louis Foussson was killed three hours after the withdrawal from the battlefield. His head was riddled with several large, bloody holes. It was a testament to his remarkable resilience that he did not die on the spot.

Of the seven thousand cavalrymen of the Great Yu, nearly three thousand were killed or wounded, and more than half of them lost their fighting ability.

However, after being given emergency treatment, Huang Renyong survived three bouts of high fever caused by wound suppuration and miraculously survived.

The battle was extremely fierce. These cavalrymen were the best in the world, both for the French army and for the entire Great Yu, which is why they were able to withstand such heavy casualties and fight so fiercely.

The casualties were so severe that even Napoleon could not tolerate them, so he redeployed his forces to defend Giurgiu, an important fortress on the lower Danube.

Napoleon ordered Marshal Udino, who had just come from Belgrade to meet him, to lead 30,000 men in defense, and allowed Marshal Udino to hold out for 20 days before withdrawing.

The city of Giurgiu straddles the Danube River and was later divided between Romania and Bulgaria. The Romanian city was called Giurgiu, and the Bulgarian city was called Ruse.

At this time, Giurgiu was not as large as it would be in later years. The two cities on the north and south banks of the Danube were each defended by several bastions built decades earlier, and the river was blocked by cannons.

This city was one of the most fortified fortresses of the Ottoman Empire in the Moldavia region. After the Battle of Constanta in 1811, when Mokongze attacked the Ottomans, the local Fanar nobles, with the support of the Ottoman Empire, mobilized 40,000 militia to defend the city. Mokongze attacked for two months but failed to capture it.

This gave General Udino great confidence. However, the Fanar nobles and Bulgars of Giurgiu had already been killed or fled in the war and could not provide General Udino with any help. On March 7, Mo Gongze personally led his troops to Giurgiu. He appointed Liu Rongqing to replace Huang Renyong as commander of the cavalry to continue the pursuit and keep up with the French army. As for the infantry, they basically stopped at Giurgiu.

"Our current food reserves are only enough for 40,000 men to pursue. If the entire army passes through Jiuerzu and we leave it unattended, the 30,000 French troops here could cut off our retreat at any time. Therefore, we must take this city."

In fact, although Giurgiu straddles the Danube River, it is not a city that cannot be bypassed.

If the anti-French forces were sufficient, they could use 10,000 to 20,000 men to hold off the French for a long time, while the main force continued to pursue them.

Unfortunately, the anti-French army lacked sufficient food and could not pursue the enemy in full force.

Meanwhile, since the Moldavia had been almost wiped out by both sides, it was difficult to find civilians to transport supplies, so some soldiers had to be assigned to the task.

The current limit is that 40,000 people can still participate in the pursuit.

Without hesitation, the attacking forces used a 60-ton inland steamship to tow the Liangwang Cannon from the warship. Relying on its immense destructive power, they smashed the Jiuerjiu Bastion and then attacked each building and fortress one by one.

On March 20, after more than ten days of street fighting, although Marshal Udino had done his best, the French army was still overwhelmed by the enormous pressure.

The task of covering the rear cannot be sustained without immense benefits and unwavering perseverance.

The reason why Prince Balagdion, who died in the Battle of Tsaritsyn, was so capable of covering the retreat was because his family betrayed their own people and the Georgians, and was wiped out.

If they don't seize upon their status as peripheral members of the Romanov family, they are nothing but stray dogs.

Therefore, it was necessary to make Tsarist Russia stronger and stronger, and to use this to prove that their family's choice back then was not wrong.

But Marshal Udino and his army lacked this spirit. In the first two rearguard operations, the losses of the Old Guard and the Young Guard pained Napoleon, and he was reluctant to let his own guards stay behind to cover the rear with Marshal Udino.

On the afternoon of March 20, seven days before the twenty days stipulated by Napoleon, Giurgiu fell, and Marshal Udino was shot in the shoulder but escaped under the cover of his guards.

A few days later, Marshal Udino, who was hiding in a farmer's stable in an attempt to escape the search, was captured and did not return to France as miraculously as he had in Russia in history.

Of course, the thirteen days that Udino gained were still crucial.

Napoleon and his entourage abandoned most of their baggage and fled for their lives, covering 400 kilometers in thirteen days, entering Serbia, and were less than 100 kilometers from Belgrade.

. . . .

In February, just as the Battle of Gyurdjeni broke out and Huang Renyong was nearly killed in battle, the Ottoman army of 70,000 men, under the command of Muhammad Memish Pasha, landed in Egypt on more than 300 ships.

As a wandering knight-errant who ran away from home at the age of eleven and survived in all sorts of dangerous environments, Luo Siju was very good at exploiting the weaknesses of human nature.

He took full advantage of the Ottomans' religious fanatics' contempt for nonbelievers, and had Ali Pasha of Egypt write a letter to the Ottoman court.

In his letter, Ali Pasha repeatedly apologized to Sultan Mahmud II, stating that he had been coerced by the Qin people, and that his own greed had also played a role in letting the wolf into his homeland.

Now Ali Pasha has come to his senses, because he has realized that these Qin people, who have not received the true teachings of the Master, are truly wicked.

They do not believe in God, nor do they believe in prophets. They do not perform prayers or recite scriptures.

Even worse, they also enjoy eating big-eared sheep and drinking wheat juice and fermented grape juice, making them the most hateful heretics.

Of course, Ali Pasha also revealed at the end of the letter the main reason why he requested the Sultan to send troops to expel the Qin people.

That is, these Qin people did not come to attack France for a short time, but to station troops there for a long time, because they wanted to dig a canal connecting the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea.

Sultan Mahmud II, upon receiving Ali Pasha's plea for help, immediately fell into the trap, because in his view, Ali Pasha's words made perfect sense.

A canal connecting the Mediterranean and the Red Sea could shorten the entire voyage around the African continent, saving a tremendous amount of time and reducing maritime dangers. One can imagine the immense benefits.

Therefore, it is entirely understandable that Ali Pasha wanted to control the canal and that the Qin people wanted to station troops there.

Moreover, building this canal was not easy; in fact, it was impossible with current technology. There was only one way: to risk human lives by sending in two or three hundred thousand able-bodied men to gnaw at it bit by bit, like ants.

Each of these points is aimed at killing Ali Pasha.

It seems that the Qin people's so-called punishment of the Ottoman Empire and its alliance with the French Empire was a pretense; their real purpose was to control the canal and station troops there.

Therefore, under these circumstances, Mahmud II quickly believed Ali Pasha's words.

The other Ottoman ministers, whether Grand Vizier or the central members of the High Gate, also largely believed this.

In late February, the Ottoman army landed at Aboukir Bay and encountered no resistance along the way, quickly approaching Cairo, and then disaster struck.

Ali Pasha, who was supposed to come to meet the imperial army, blocked all roads and closed all castles. The main force of the Qin army, which was supposed to be in Damascus and Jerusalem, suddenly appeared behind them.

The Suez Canal is indeed going to be dug; Da Yu already has this idea.

Because after the Suez Canal was dug, the steam warships of the Great Yu Dynasty could travel to the Mediterranean Sea, which would be less than 9,000 kilometers instead of more than 20,000 kilometers.

Ross's trip to Egypt was indeed based on this consideration; he brought with him a number of technical personnel from the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Railways, and preliminary exploration work had already begun.

But Ali Pasha was not one of those muddle-headed fools in Istanbul's Grand Gate, much less the muddle-headed Sultan Mahmud II.

What is the Suez Canal? It is a strategic passage that, once completed, will be unique in the world. What qualifications or power does an Egyptian warlord have to control such a canal?

Ali Pasha knew his own limitations. He didn't want the Suez Canal; he only wanted Greater Syria. As long as the Qin people supported his rule over Greater Syria, everything was negotiable.

Moreover, the high-ranking members of the Embroidered Uniform Guard who accompanied Luo Siju had promised that after the canal was completed, Ali Pasha would receive 500,000 silver dollars annually from the Qin Empire, which would be deposited in the Fuxing Bank.

Ali Pasha could also send one of his sons to live in the Qin Empire, so that if there were any unrest in Egypt in the future, his descendants would not be wiped out.

3 month 3 day.

The Ottoman Egyptian expeditionary force of 70,000 men, led by Rozju, was completely annihilated in an attack by 20,000 men. More than 100 high-ranking generals, including their commander Memish Pasha, were captured or killed.

Shrapnel, Zhuge Liang's hand-cranked crossbow, and needle-firing gun became excellent weapons for killing Ottoman soldiers.

In just two days, 9,000 of the 70,000 Ottoman troops were killed and more than 20,000 were wounded. Many of them lost their lives before they could even collapse or surrender.

On March 13, the second expeditionary fleet of Dayu, led by Chen Tianbao, bombarded Istanbul with 168-pound Liangwang cannons.

The enormous cannonballs flew over the walls of Istanbul, crashed into the city, and caused a fire.

In fear, Ottoman Sultan Mahmud II ordered the execution of Hursid Ahmed Pasha, who advocated an alliance with France, and sent envoys out of the city to sue for peace.

Chen Tianbao ignored him, because the time was not right.

Then on March 15, the fleet, in coordination with the Black Sea Fleet, attacked the Ottoman fleet that had retreated to the Black Sea, sinking eight battleships and essentially annihilating the main Ottoman fleet.

Only then did Chen Tianbao agree to the Ottoman Sultan's request for peace.

Sudan announced the relinquishment of sovereignty over Moldavia, Wallachia, Bessarabia, and Serbia, and allocated more than 30,000 tons of food for the expeditionary force.

On March 20, as the Battle of Giurgiu was drawing to a close, fifteen large warships carrying a large amount of grain set sail for Tuercha County, essentially solving the food supply problem for the anti-French forces.

Meanwhile, Luo Siju ordered Yang Yuchun to lead 4,000 troops to land in northern Bulgaria, while he escorted more than 50,000 Ottoman laborers along the way.

These people will help the anti-French forces transport food and supplies so that the soldiers can focus all their energy on fighting.

With this support, the anti-French forces advanced much faster, seemingly poised to catch up with the French near Belgrade.

(End of this chapter)