Song Dynasty: Yuan Dynasty, you didn't expect this, did you? I'm still alive.

In Delhi, the capital of the Delhi Sultanate, the atmosphere inside the magnificent red sandstone palaces is so oppressive it's almost frozen.

Sultan Mubarak sat on his jewel-encrusted golden throne, clutching a battle report tightly in his hand, his face ashen.

Upon learning of the annihilation of Bahram's five thousand elite cavalry, he slammed the battle report to the ground, his roar echoing throughout the hall: "Useless! A bunch of useless trash! Five thousand iron cavalry were defeated by an army of Eastern merchants—it's an utter disgrace!"

Mubarak considered himself a man of great talent and ambition, and since ascending the throne, he had fought in numerous battles, but had never suffered such a crushing defeat.

In his eyes, the states of the Indian subcontinent were all vulnerable lambs, but now they had been defeated by a suddenly emerging "Great Song Dynasty," which he simply could not accept.

The civil and military officials in the hall were all too frightened to speak, none daring to provoke the Sultan in his rage.

After a long silence, Mubarak's anger subsided slightly, his eyes turning sinister. He said in a deep voice, "Issue my decree: order Khuslao Khan to lead a large army on an expedition to the Kingdom of Kakatiya! We must capture its capital, Varangar, and open the passage to the Song Dynasty. I will make those Easterners pay the price!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!" A tall general stepped forward and bowed to receive the order; he was none other than Huslao Khan, who had been entrusted with this important task.

His eyes were sharp, and a bloodthirsty smile played on his lips; he was clearly confident about the expedition.

After Huslao Khan led his army out, he did not linger in the small towns along the way, but led the main force straight into the city of Varangar, the capital of the Kingdom of Kakatia.

With the army at the gates, Huslao Khan sent a letter of surrender to King Prataparudela II of the Kingdom of Kakatiya, demanding that he immediately submit to the Delhi Sultanate and pay a huge sum of money and tribute, or else the city would be massacred.

After reading the surrender document in the palace hall, King Prataparudela II's face instantly turned ugly.

The amount of tribute demanded in the book was astronomical. He thought to himself, "With this money, I'd rather buy advanced weapons from Western merchants to strengthen my country. Why give it to these Turks?"

What he found even more unacceptable was that the Delhi Sultanate was a Muslim country that had a history of forcing people in conquered territories to convert, while he and his nobles and commoners were Hindus. This was a matter of faith and dignity, and he would never compromise on it.

"Where is the Sultanate's envoy?" King Prataparudela II slammed his hand on the table and asked in a deep voice.

After the envoy was brought into the palace, he tore up the surrender document and shouted, "Go back and tell Khan Huslao that I would rather die than surrender! Varangar is impregnable; to conquer it, one must step over the corpses of me and all the people of the city!"

Having said that, he ordered the envoy to be driven out of the city. He then immediately summoned his ministers to discuss the defense of the city and dispatched an envoy to Madurai overnight to request aid from the Song Dynasty.

When Huslaukhan learned that Plataparudela II refused to surrender, he was furious and immediately ordered his cavalry to plunder the surrounding villages and capture a large number of civilians to serve as servants in the army.

He intended to use these defenseless civilians as cannon fodder to continuously deplete the city's defenses until the city fell.

……

Lion City, inside the Governor-General's residence.

Lu Junyao held the battle report sent by Yang Zhi in his hand, his brows furrowed, his fingertips tapping lightly on the table, his expression solemn.

A 10-to-1 casualty ratio might seem like a resounding victory, but he knew perfectly well how weak the Song army's foundation was—the entire Indian Governor's Office only had these three thousand Song firearms soldiers. If they had to suffer three hundred casualties in every battle, they simply couldn't afford to have such a "great victory" more often.

"Until a mature tactic to counter the cavalry is found, we must never confront the Delhi Sultanate's cavalry head-on again."

Lu Junyao made a decision in his heart, his eyes firm, "The lives of the Song people are precious, and none of them should be easily lost. From now on, we should focus on defense. The Indian spearmen who blocked Bahram's cavalry last time performed well. We should train more of these local soldiers to fight against cavalry."

Soon, Lu Junyao's order reached Yang Zhi of Madurai. Although Yang Zhi felt it was somewhat conservative, he understood Lu Junyao's concerns and could only obey the order.

However, he also took this opportunity to offer Lu Junyao a suggestion: "My lord, this battle has shown that the Indian soldiers trained by the Lion Kingdom are quite loyal. Now that the Delhi Sultanate is powerful, it is difficult to sustain it for long with only three thousand Song soldiers and a small number of local infantry. Why not petition the court to further relax the control over firearms and allow Indian soldiers to be equipped with firearms? India does not have the technology to manufacture high-quality gunpowder locally, so even if they are equipped with firearms, there is no need to worry about them rebelling. As long as a sufficient number of firearms troops are formed, they can effectively counter the Sultanate's cavalry."

After reading Yang Zhi's memorial, Lu Junyao pondered it for a moment and found that what he said made great sense.

He immediately picked up his pen and wrote a memorial, requesting the court to relax its control over the equipping of Indian troops with firearms.

Upon learning of this, the Second Prince's faction in the court immediately exerted all their support in the court—this would not only consolidate Lu Junyao's rule in India, but also further expand the sphere of influence of the radical faction.

Furthermore, since Lu Junyao was originally the Minister of Works and was extremely familiar with the Ministry of Works, after a reasoned argument, the court finally passed the resolution.

The resolution stipulated that Indian troops could be equipped with firearms, but the gunpowder required had to be purchased from within the territory of the Eastern Song Dynasty and was strictly prohibited from being manufactured in India to prevent the leakage of military secrets.

However, the imperial court's move seems to overestimate India's capabilities.

The gunpowder used in the Eastern Song Dynasty at this time was completely different from the original gunpowder; they were essentially two different things.

The black powder of the Eastern Song Dynasty not only had the best formula obtained through repeated experiments, but also adopted advanced purification technology, resulting in extremely low impurity content in the gunpowder, and its power and stability far exceeded those of the original black powder.

Unless the core artisans of the Eastern Song Dynasty were sent to provide guidance, India would never be able to produce gunpowder of the same quality.

Overjoyed at his wish being fulfilled, Lu Junyao immediately sent people to Australia to purchase three thousand matchlock guns and ample ammunition, and devoted himself to training Indian soldiers in the use of firearms in the Lion Country.

Within Madurai City, Yang Zhi's military strength was also greatly expanded.

He organized 10,000 elite Indian soldiers trained by the Lion Kingdom into the "Lion Army" as the core fighting force; and selected 10,000 strong soldiers from the 30,000 surrendered soldiers of Vira II and Sandara III to supplement his own troops.

At that moment, Prataparudela II's messenger arrived in Madurai.

Yang Zhi was well aware of the principle of "if the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold"—if the Kingdom of Kakatiya were conquered by the Delhi Sultanate, the next to suffer would be the Pandiya region, which had just been brought under the rule of the Governor-General.

However, even if he were to provide assistance, he wouldn't do so for free. Yang Zhi immediately met with the envoy, agreeing to send troops to the rescue, but also clearly stating his demands for compensation.

Upon learning of this, King Prataparudela II agreed almost without hesitation.

This money, whether given to the Delhi Sultanate or the Song Dynasty, would have to be paid out eventually. Rather than compromising with the invaders, it would be more worthwhile to rely on the power of the Song Dynasty to protect the country.

Soon after, Yang Zhi dispatched his generals, leading two thousand Lion Army soldiers and eight thousand Indian soldiers, to Varangar to provide relief.

With Yang Zhi's assistance, the troops in Valangar City were instantly replenished, and their morale was greatly boosted.

Huslao Khan besieged Varangar for months, but not only did he fail to capture the city, he was also repeatedly harassed by the city's defenders and reinforcements, suffering heavy losses.

As time went on, Khuslauhan's army gradually ran out of food supplies, and its logistics supply lines were repeatedly harassed.

Left with no other choice, he had to abandon the siege of Varangar, and instead plundered the surrounding area to replenish his supplies before leading his army in a hasty retreat.

With the siege of Varangar lifted, King Prataparudela II was overjoyed. He personally went out of the city to welcome the Song Dynasty's reinforcements and sent envoys with a large amount of treasure to Madurai to thank Yang Zhi for his rescue.

At Lu Junyao's behest, Yang Zhi took this opportunity to invite the kings of the Kingdom of Horsala and the Kingdom of Kakatiya to a meeting in Madurai, where they agreed to form an alliance to jointly resist the "evil invasion of Islam".

The alliance stipulated that if any of the three countries were attacked by the Delhi Sultanate, the other two countries would have to send troops to help.

Upon receiving the invitation, the kings of the Kingdom of Horsala and the Kingdom of Kakatiya accepted it almost without hesitation and quickly traveled to Madurai to sign the alliance.

For them, the sphere of influence of the Song Dynasty did not directly border the Delhi Sultanate, so this alliance was entirely beneficial to them, essentially providing them with a powerful backer, which they naturally accepted willingly. Thus, the Indian version of the "Vertical Alliance" was officially born.

Meanwhile, after learning of the alliance between the Song Dynasty and the two kingdoms, Sultan Mubaraksha of the Delhi Sultanate, perhaps fearing the strength of the tripartite alliance, did not launch any further military action.

Instead, he shifted his focus to the domestic sphere, vigorously weakening the power of religious forces and local nobles, further consolidating royal power, and accumulating strength.

Seeing this, the kings of the Kingdom of Hosala and the Kingdom of Kakatiya mistakenly thought that the Delhi Sultanate was afraid and gradually relaxed their vigilance, no longer paying attention to military training and defense construction.

Meanwhile, the Great Song Dynasty's Indian Governor-General's Office took advantage of this rare period of peace to intensify the training of Indian musketeers, stockpile food and ammunition, and sharpen its swords in preparation for the next offensive—the next war would certainly not end so anticlimactically.

The situation in India has temporarily calmed down. Seeing that the rule of the Indian Governor-General's Office in the region is gradually stabilizing, the Eastern Song Dynasty also dispatched several experienced craftsmen to the Lion Kingdom to explore the local mineral resources.

Previously, Australia's high-quality mineral resources enabled Dong Song to produce high-strength low-carbon steel, which also opened up new avenues for craftsmen: to further break through the strength of steel, high-quality materials and advanced technology are indispensable.

While exploring the east and northwest coasts of the Lion Kingdom, the craftsmen unexpectedly discovered a type of black sand—typical iron ore. Officials from the governor's office rushed to the scene, eagerly inquiring: "What is the quality of this iron ore? Can it meet the needs of iron smelting?"

A leading craftsman picked up a handful of black iron ore, examined it closely, and then conducted a simple test with his tools. He replied, "Rest assured, sir. Preliminary assessment indicates that this iron ore contains between 30% and 70% iron. The quality of iron ore in some enriched areas is comparable to that of Australian iron ore. We will now set up a temporary furnace, start smelting, and further verify its quality."

The governor's officials were overjoyed upon hearing this, their hearts filled with anticipation. If the Lion Kingdom's iron ore met the standards, it would mean there was hope of persuading the imperial court to establish an iron smelting plant there.

This was extremely beneficial to the Governor's Office—it would enable them to be self-sufficient in many weapons and equipment, eliminating the need to spend huge sums of money to purchase them from Australia and greatly reducing the cost of governance.

A few days later, the makeshift furnace produced the first iron ingot. But when the craftsman picked up the ingot and gently tapped it, it broke in two. The craftsman looked at the broken ingot, his brow furrowed, and he fell into deep thought.

Upon seeing this, the governor's official felt a pang of anxiety and asked nervously, "Could it be that the iron ore is of poor quality?"

The craftsman shook his head and said with certainty, "The iron content is definitely up to standard, and the iron-making process is also fine. The problem lies in the toughness of the iron ingot. This ingot is too brittle. It must be that the iron ore contains some kind of impurity that we don't know about, which affects the quality of the steel. I need to take some iron ore samples back and give them to the masters at Tsinghua Academy to study. Perhaps they can find a targeted refining method."

Subsequently, after repeated research, the masters of Tsinghua Academy indeed discovered a new element with extremely high strength in these iron ores, and named it "titanium".

The academy suggested adopting an improved smelting method for steelmaking—constantly stirring the molten iron during the smelting process to allow it to fully oxidize in contact with air, thereby controlling the titanium content.

The resulting titanium alloy steel was harder and more heat-resistant than ordinary steel, while also having a lower density, making it the preferred material for manufacturing advanced cannons in the Eastern Song Dynasty.

Of course, that's a story for later. At that time, the Viceroy's Office of India still did not have the capacity for independent iron smelting.