Deng Fei and the others traveled more than 20 days on horseback and elephants for more than 300 kilometers from the local government to Mysore. The reason why we are walking so slowly is because the five-month rainy season in the South Asian subcontinent has begun.
The accompanying French Major Duroy complained to Deng Fei on the road, saying that there is no autumn at all in South India, and the dividing line between dry summer and winter is the rainy season. At this time, everything becomes moldy and the air becomes unbearably humid.
Despite the rain, the weather is still hot and humid and there are many mosquitoes. Fortunately, the military doctors accompanying the team were well prepared and brought a large bag full of cooling oil. They were also strictly prohibited from drinking raw water, and along with timely anti-malarial drug treatment, malaria infection was avoided.
The French and Tamil natives admired the pungent yellow paste in the small tin box because it could prevent mosquito bites and relieve itching and pain. It was so refreshing and refreshing that the French doctor who accompanied him called it the "Serys potion."
The accompanying staff from the Ministry of Trade felt that this was a huge business opportunity, so they simply distributed two boxes of cooling oil to every French and Tamil officer, treating it as free advertising.
Sure enough, in less than a year, Beihai Town's cooling oil and Fengyoujing became popular throughout Southeast Asia under the vigorous promotion of the Ministry of Trade, becoming the most exported products after tea, porcelain and silk, while in Bacheng due to various All kinds of raw materials are extremely abundant, and it has gradually become the largest production and sales base of cooling oil.
Although they expected to be welcomed when they arrived in the city of Mysore, Deng Fei and his party were still shocked when they saw the welcoming formation put up by the other party.
Damn it! Tipu Sultan actually used 500 rockets as a salute, blasting blue light and thunder over the drizzly city of Mysore. It was even more lively than the Chinese New Year. Deng Feixin said that he was worthy of being the Sultan, he was so bold and domineering, even the salute was so unique.
Although the Chinese are the ancestors who used rockets in military applications, since the fall of the Ming Dynasty in the 17th century, rockets have been used like "a swarm of bees", "fire chariots", "divine fire flying crows", "fire dragons coming out of water", "open fire" Rocket weapons with such amazing names as "Flying Arrow" have withdrawn from the stage of history, and artillery and matchlocks have become the masters of the battlefield.
But right now, the Mysore Sultanate is the only one in the world that can use rockets in large-scale warfare! The "Congreve Rocket" invented by the British decades later was born out of this!
Starting in the 1750s, the Mysore army began to equip rockets and established a regular "rocket force" with about 1,200 people. After Tipu Sultan succeeded to the throne, it expanded to five Thousands of people. During the Second Anglo-Malay War (1780-1784), Tipu and his father Hyder Ali Sultan, who were still princes, put him on the battlefield to fight against the British army.
In the "Battle of Bolila" in 1780, a rocket from the Mysore army hit the British army's ammunition depot, resulting in the defeat of the British army. In the third Anglo-Malaysian War, the Rocket Force also achieved considerable results in the "Battle of Seringapatan", causing huge headaches for the British.
Sounds exciting, right? In fact, it is an oversized Sky Monkey!
China actually had similar rockets in the Ming Dynasty. For example, in the Battle of Korea during the Wanli Period, the Ming army used "Poison Fire Arrows" and "Open Fire Flying Arrows" to attack cities. The structures were similar; except that the former used poisonous smoke. , the latter was set on fire.
Rockets were also used on battlefields in Europe in the 18th century, but like those in the Ming Dynasty, they were all made of paper and were used to attack cities and set fire to them. The rockets of the Kingdom of Mysore took a step forward. They used hand-made metal cylinders to hold propellant and explosives.
This kind of rocket uses a 6 to 9 meter long bamboo pole as a guide rod, with an iron spear tip or steel blade tied to the front of the iron tube. It relies on impact to kill the enemy; the average range is one kilometer, and the maximum range can be up to two kilometer!
Of course, the flight trajectory of this thing is definitely unstable, and it must be launched in large quantities to reduce the error; however, it is precisely because of the instability that the blade on the top will rotate like a flying sickle, dealing terrifying blows to the enemy troops passing by. Especially effective against cavalry.
In addition, there is also a type of rocket that is not equipped with blades, but kills the enemy through gunpowder explosion. Although the hammered metal tube is very rough in workmanship and varies in thickness, it can bring greater internal pressure and enable the rocket to produce greater jet thrust. Ultimately, its blasting strength is greater than that of the paper structure, and the bamboo pole is also blown up. Flying debris makes the lethality even higher.
However, no matter how good the Rocket Force was, Mysore could not defeat the coalition forces composed of the British, Maratha and Hyderabad. You must know that once the rainy season comes, the lethality of rockets will be severely weakened, and no matter how hard you try, it will be in vain.
Before Deng Fei and the others arrived, the Sultan had already received a letter from Governor Leclerc, and he couldn't help but be very excited after reading it. To this forty-one-year-old ruler, anyone who was on the opposite side of the British East India Company was a friend!
After entering the city, Deng Fei and his party rested for a day in the post house, and then under the guidance of Major Duroy, they saw the famous "Tiger of Mysore".
It is said that when the sultan was in his twenties, he was hunting in the forest with a French friend and encountered a tiger. The tiger first pounced on the Frenchman and killed him. When he turned to pounce on Tipu, he didn't even use his musket and killed the tiger with only a dagger. Since then, he has earned the title "Tiger of Mysore".
Because he hated the British, he even asked French engineers to build him a mechanical organ with the appearance of a "tiger biting the British". The puppet's hands could still move when playing. The device was called "Tipu's Tiger". In another time and space, this thing later became a trophy of the British and was placed in the V&A Museum in London.
Oh, by the way, in Jules Verne's works, the famous Captain Nemo is Tipu Sultan's nephew.
Tipu Sultan, who had just experienced a defeat and had to cede land and pay compensation, looked a little haggard. He was slightly shorter than Deng Fei, visually measuring 1.76 meters. Perhaps because the hat filled with gold and diamonds has been weighed down on his head for many years, his neck is very short, but his shoulders are very broad.
Although Sudan spoke fluent French, the two sides still conducted conversations through the accompanying translator. After the two sides exchanged greetings, Sultan immediately asked his most pressing question: "General Deng, what can Beihai Town bring to me?"
This Sultan actually met the Chinese. About twelve years ago, a businessman from Guangdong came to see him. The man was wearing an official robe. He also said that he was an ambassador of the Qing Dynasty and gave him a piece of silk. Tipu Sultan, who didn't know anything about Dai Qing, was fascinated by the gorgeous and exquisite silk, so he entertained him warmly and gave many gifts in return.
"Your Majesty the Sultan, the British will not give your country a break. They will soon unite with the Marathas and Hyderabad to attack you."
Tipu Sultan couldn't help being surprised, and his tone was a little urgent: "Oh? Did you hear something from the British?"
Deng Fei said lightly: "Your Majesty the Sultan, this is obvious. Now you are the only prince in India who dares to resist the British. If the British want to control all of India, they must destroy Mysore. That is why , my colleagues and I greatly admire your resistance and are willing to provide assistance."
"The Marathas and Hyderabad are a bunch of fools! The Kingdom of Mysore is not their enemy at all, the British are. They think they have taken advantage of the British alliance, but they don't know that if the Kingdom of Mysore is gone, they will It’s worthless!”
"Yes, as we Chinese say, when the cunning rabbit dies, the lackey will be cooked."
Tipu Sultan's eyes lit up and he chuckled: "It's a very interesting description! May I ask, what help can you give me?"
"Different army training methods, advanced weapons far superior to those of the British, and supporting tactics. If you trust us, Beihai Town will train an invincible army for you in just two years!"
Tipu Sultan was not excited by Deng Fei's words, but became serious. As the ruler of a kingdom, he knew that no pie in the sky would fall into the sky, and no benefits would come in vain.
After pondering for a moment, Sultan said calmly: "So, what do you want to get from me?"
Deng Fei smiled and said: "You may not believe it, but in fact we have no special requirements for your country, especially territory."
"oh?"
Deng Fei turned to look at Jiao Xun, who was sitting on his left. The other person understood, so he took out a map from the leather bag he carried with him and opened it with the help of two waiters.
Although there was a globe given by the French in Tipu Sultan's court, he did not know the sphere of influence east of Malacca. He only knew that to the north and east was the huge Qing empire. However, he was shocked when he saw that the red color representing Beihai Town's sphere of influence spread throughout East Asia, from the cold Arctic Ocean to the hot Batavia, and even parts of the Qing Empire.
In fact, not only the Sultan, but also the French Major Duroy was extremely shocked. He scanned the huge area on the map with straight eyes and realized the strength of Beihai Town for the first time.
"In fact, we have been at odds with the Qing Empire for many years. If the Russians hadn't suddenly invaded the Heilongjiang Basin and forced us to launch a counterattack, the Northern Navy would have reached the Himalayas by now."
Duroy pointed to the land in Eastern Siberia and said in astonishment: "Your Excellency, Lieutenant General, is this the result of your counterattack?"
"Yes." Deng Fei took a sip of the coffee handed over by the waiter and explained: "After two wars, we defeated tens of thousands of Russian troops, captured Suvorov, and even their marshal Rumyantsev. He almost became a prisoner and pushed the border to the Yenisei River. And this is the price the invaders must pay!"
"My God!" Duroy gasped. If he hadn't witnessed the artillery test firing scene of Beihai-1, he would have thought that Deng Fei was telling a story.
Deng Fei turned to look at the moved Tipu Sultan and said with a smile: "Your Majesty the Sultan, I heard from Major Duroy that opium is strictly prohibited under your rule. Is that true?"
"Yes! Opium and marijuana will poison my people, weaken their fighting spirit, and make people unproductive. Only the devil can cultivate these things. In my territory, anyone found planting or smoking will be executed! "
"What you said is great! But now the British are smuggling opium produced in Mawa, Bangladesh into Guangzhou, and the increase is increasing year by year, poisoning our people. As the regime that is about to take over this land, we will never allow it! So! We have to teach the British a lesson."
Tipu Sultan nodded slightly, expressing his understanding.
Deng Fei continued: "You and I both know that the British's greed for land cannot be satisfied. Their goal is to occupy the entire India and enslave the people here. Although the French government has good long-term cooperation with you, it can There is currently turmoil in their country and they are unable to provide strong support to your country. As for the Ottoman Empire, their war with the Russians is far from over."
Tipu Sultan and Deng Fei talked for three days in a row. Through in-depth exchanges with each other, he felt that Beihai Town would be a powerful helper for Mysore to resist the British. Later, he became more convinced of this idea after visiting the North Naval Special Warfare Camp and watching the firepower display of percussion rifles and 12-pound guns.
Although the relationship between the French and Mysore has always been close, France's military assistance is actually fragmented; a small number of volunteers and engineers are not enough to improve the combat effectiveness of the Mysore army, and the emergence of Beihai Town just fill this gap.
So after another two days, Tipu Sultan and his ministers personally negotiated with Deng Fei and others, and finally reached a comprehensive military cooperation plan and formally signed the agreement.
The two parties agreed that Beihai Town would send a training camp composed of 300 people before mid-August 1792 and select 5,000 people from the army of the Kingdom of Mysore as a standing army for rigorous training for a period of two years. The number of people trained in the first phase was no less than 2,000, and the number in the second phase was expanded to 3,000.
In addition, Beihai Town will provide a series of military supplies including 10,000 percussion rifles, 300 12-pound cannons and related ammunition to the Kingdom of Mysore in four batches before the end of December 1793; while the Kingdom of Mysore The compensation will be paid in three installments based on future victories against the British, Marathas and Hyderabad Alliance, with a total of not less than three million pounds.
In fact, although Tipu Sultan had just paid a huge war indemnity, the strength of the Kingdom of Mysore was still there; under the rule of this sultan, Mysore became India's main economic power with its high-yield agriculture and textile manufacturing industry. . According to British statistics, the average income of ordinary people in Mysore is now five times that of the rest of India.
In addition, Deng Fei vaguely revealed in his communication with the Sultan that Beihai Town could support Tipu Sultan to become the emperor of South India and compete with the Mughal Empire. Tipu Sultan couldn't help but feel excited after hearing this.
You must know that whether it is Tipu Sultan or other princes of India, they are all nominally loyal to the Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II. Immediately after his coronation as king, Tipu Sultan sought investiture from the Mughal emperor. His loyalty to Shah Alam II earned him the title "Nasir ud", the ruler of Hyderabad.
This incident aroused the hostility of Nizam Ali Khan, the actual ruler of Hyderabad, and eventually prompted Hyderabad to unite with the British. The Marathas were once the largest force of the Mughals to resist foreign enemies, but since their disastrous defeat in the war with the Afghans in 1748, the Marathas have become disobedient.
At this time, the Mughal Empire had fallen into decline, and its rule over princes everywhere was in name only. The actual territory controlled by Shah Alam II, except for the Delhi area, has been reduced to Pakistan and Afghanistan in later generations. This also gave the British an opportunity to defeat each other and divide and rule.
The "sweet date" given by Deng Fei was actually decided after a long discussion with Zhao Xin and after many deductions. The French were too busy to take care of themselves and were simply unreliable, and the Kingdom of Mysore was too small. If you want to fight against the British's continuous expansion in the South Asian subcontinent and cause trouble for them, the best way is to let Tipu Sultan unify South India.
