After turning around the mountain pass, just as Jimuda expected, he saw the Mughal capital Delhi in the distance, already surrounded by the Ming Dynasty. However, the Mughal flag was still flying on the top of the city in Delhi. From the looks of it, the fighting probably hadn't started yet.
Finally arrived in time! Dalantai was thinking in his mind, but found that a group of cavalry was galloping towards this direction, and they were not far away. The leader seems to be a general.
"Is this...are you here to welcome me?" Dalantai couldn't help but wonder in surprise, how did he know that his own army would arrive at this time?
Because it was a rapid march, behind Dalantai were all soldiers rushing in. But the envoy of the Ming Dynasty was naturally with him, and of course he also saw the cavalry team coming over. After taking a closer look, he couldn't help but be overjoyed and shouted quickly: "Commander Zhou, Marshal Zhou..."
Marshal is the title of the military officer in charge of the Ming army. Dalantai knew this, so he couldn't help but feel a little flattered that a commander-in-chief came to greet him.
The person who came to greet him was Zhou Yuji, who had been appointed as one of the commander-in-chief of the Hussars Battalion. The Ming Dynasty envoy was sent from the palace, so he naturally knew him. At this time, he was already approaching, so he reined in his horse, clasped his fists with a smile and said, "I've seen the imperial envoy! Is this the Third Prince? His Majesty ordered me to come and greet you!"
After hearing this, the Ming envoy nodded quickly and introduced them to each other.
Then without waiting for the people behind them, they went to Delhi first. No matter what, since Dalantai has arrived, he naturally wants to visit the Ming Emperor as soon as possible.
"You are finally here, otherwise, you won't have a share in Delhi!" Zhou Yuji turned to the Ming envoy and Dalantai with a smile.
Among them, the envoy of the Ming Dynasty was the most respected, representing Emperor Chongzhen, so he walked in the middle.
When Dalantai heard this, he turned his head past the Ming envoy, looked at Zhou Yuji, and asked in surprise: "Delhi is about to be conquered? How many days has it been since the attack?"
After hearing this, Zhou Yuji shook his head and said with a smile: "We just surrounded it, not attacked it. But the emperor said that the city will only be broken in these two days."
"..." Dalantai was speechless upon hearing this. After so many days, it was just a siege but not an attack. Then why did the Ming Emperor say that the city would only be broken in these two days?
He had doubts, but the Ming envoy had no doubts at all. He immediately laughed and said, "Thankfully we marched in a hurry to come here. No, we really caught up!"
Well, you all trust your emperor so much. If I show any doubt at all, it would be disrespectful to the Ming Emperor. With this thought in his mind, Dalantai could only smile and agree.
Deep down in his heart, of course he didn't quite believe it. Delhi was, after all, the capital of the Mughal Empire and one of the most fortified Mughal cities. If you haven't attacked once, you can guarantee that you can attack it in one go? Hang!
………………
About half an hour later, Dalantai arrived at the camp outside Delhi and was received by Emperor Chongzhen.
After the greeting in Dalantai, Emperor Chongzhen cordially expressed his condolences to Gushi Khan's health, and then said to him: "You have done a good job. The loss of our troops was not much, but we were able to cause great trouble in the northeast of the Mughal Empire. Shashuja's troops in Wol rushed back and forth, and finally created a fighting opportunity for me. Therefore, I deliberately waited for you to arrive before taking Delhi."
"I thank you, Your Majesty, for your kindness!" Although Dalantai didn't believe it, he immediately responded to Emperor Chongzhen's words without any hesitation.
Emperor Chongzhen also commended the envoy he sent to the Heshuo Special Department. He was one of the first eight people he trained from the inner study hall, and named him Eunuch Bingbi, the Superintendent of Ceremonies.
Then, he said sternly to the generals below: "If my prediction is correct, Mughal Shah Jahan will arrive in Delhi in about three to six days. Therefore, you are preparing to attack the city tonight." .”
"General, I obey!" Upon hearing this, many generals immediately clasped their fists and accepted the order with loud voices.
Of course, this includes Dalantai. But he was very surprised. Because he found that whether he heard what others said or saw Emperor Chongzhen with his own eyes, he always felt that Emperor Ming seemed to be very confident in everything he did.
Is it really that powerful?
Dalantai thought so in his heart, but he was not in a hurry. Didn't the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty say that Mughal Shah Jahan would be coming soon, and the Ming army would attack the city tonight, so just wait and see!
Afterwards, he accepted the order and went to arrange the camp for his men.
Emperor Chongzhen continued to observe the information in the eavesdropping system.
He knew when Shah Jahan's side would depart from Bombay. Then based on the learned conditions on the road from Bombay to Delhi, an estimate was made based on the highest and best speed of the cavalry, and the previously announced conclusion was reached.
As for Delhi, as soon as Emperor Chongzhen arrived, he selected the Mughal generals who appeared on the city, as well as civil servants and so on. Anyway, looking at who would have a higher official position, he scattered a lot of Class C eavesdropping seeds. .
In the past few days, although he did not attack the city, he had a clear understanding of the situation in the city.
It has to be said that Emperor Chongzhen suddenly led the army to fight this time, and he also turned the infantry brought by Sha Shujia into part of the Ming army, which greatly shocked the defenders in the city. It would not be an exaggeration to describe the city as being filled with panic all day long.
Don't think that Delhi is the capital of the Mughal Empire, but when Shah Jahan went on an expedition, he had already taken away some of the elites. When Shashuja went to the northeast, he also took some of the elites with him. After returning to the army, thinking of a decisive battle with the Ming Emperor, he took some more with him.
After going back and forth like this, it turns out that the number of troops in Delhi is actually very small.
These days, Emperor Chongzhen is not really just besieging the city and then doing nothing. Instead, they made a gesture that they might attack the city at any time, and the possibility of attacking the city was adjusted according to the tension of the city's defenders. It can be said that he has been tightening the tension of the city's defenders.
In addition, when nothing happened, they also asked the Mughals to shout in unison into the city, shouting about what to do after the city was broken. Just this matter of uniting the middle and lower classes to fight against the local tyrants has been talked about so much that it has spread in the city.
Under the strong pressure of the Ming army outside the city, as well as the tension of the powerful people in the city, there have been several tense transitions to forcibly suppress some soldiers and untouchables who looked like they wanted to rebel.
The reason why Emperor Chongzhen was confident that he would attack the city at night was that the defenders at the southeast corner of the city had been sleeping relaxedly for two consecutive days after midnight.
Today, Dalantai's troops have just arrived on a quick march. From the perspective of the defenders at the top of the city, they must have rested for a day or two before attacking the city. In other words, the Ming army had not attacked the city and might have been waiting for this army. Then in a day or two, it is estimated that the dangerous defense battle for Delhi will begin. In this case, it’s time to take some time to rest.
Emperor Chongzhen not only guessed this mentality, but he was also confirmed by the information fed back by numerous Class C eavesdropping seeds in the eavesdropping system.
So, on the surface, on this day, the Ming troops outside the city seemed to have given up threatening the city and went to greet the new troops. They made quite a fuss. Then they set up camp, transported supplies, and seemed to hold a celebration party. Whatnot, it looks lively.
The defenders on the city were relieved when they saw it.
At around 4:00 in the morning, that is, at four o'clock in the morning, Emperor Chongzhen personally led the Ming soldiers selected for the night attack and quietly came to the southeast corner of Delhi.
Just like the previous two days, the defenders of this city wall were still very lax and almost fell asleep again.
The sunrise time in Delhi is around 6:30 in the morning. It can be said that 4 or 5 o'clock in the morning is when people are most sleepy.
After Emperor Chongzhen reconfirmed the situation on the city wall through the eavesdropping system, he personally deployed the details of stealing the city. The main thing is to point out where there are people on the city and how many people there are.
After explaining everything, he said to the leader Li Laiheng: "In the battle in Delhi, I will give you the first victory. I am waiting for your good news!"
After Li Laiheng heard this, he immediately led his generals in a military salute, and echoed in a low voice but solemnly: "Don't worry, Your Majesty, the first achievement will be determined by the final result!"
Then, he led his soldiers into action quietly.
Emperor Chongzhen did not leave, but was just outside the city, focusing on the eavesdropping system, observing the movements of the Delhi defenders. If anything happens, he can immediately dispatch troops to support Li Laiheng's troops.
Although he seemed very confident before and seemed not to take the Delhi defenders seriously, when it really started, he was still very serious and did not dare to be careless.
But others couldn't see it. They just saw that after the operation started, Emperor Chongzhen sat in the military tent with his eyes closed and calmed down. He didn't seem to care about the situation outside at all.
This kind of self-restraint in the face of war is worthy of the emperor!
The 20,000 cavalry originally brought by Emperor Chongzhen were the elite of the Ming army. Emperor Chongzhen then selected a few hundred elites from the 20,000. They were required to have no night blindness, be proficient in cold weapon warfare, and be agile and brave. It was not a difficult task.
Li Laiheng knew how to steal the city when he was a bandit, so this operation was very familiar. At the beginning, he was cautious.
Unexpectedly, when he climbed to the top of the city through the flying claws and reached the defenders at the top of the city, he could still see the group of Mughal soldiers still sleeping soundly. This made him a little embarrassed. Should he do it directly or wake him up first and then send him home?
While taking action, Li Laiheng couldn't help but sigh, the emperor is so powerful, he even thought that the defenders here would sleep to death! Just when he was thinking about this, he was suddenly startled. Could it be that the emperor's trick was to conjure sleepy bugs to make these Mughal soldiers sleep deeply?
Miaoshuwu
