In mid-August of the 26th year of Chongzhen, Emperor Chongzhen, who had been leading the army's westward march, suddenly issued an order to stop and let the entire army rest when he arrived near the ruins of Qunu City.
This decree puzzles many people. It went smoothly all the way, so why did it stop? If we don't take advantage of the situation to win more battles, then when will we wait?
Despite this confusion, the Ming army officers and soldiers were accustomed to their emperor often having unexpected orders. The final facts proved that the emperor definitely had a purpose in doing so.
But those Mughal recruits had never experienced it, but even if they had thoughts in their hearts, they did not dare to show it.
At this time, Emperor Chongzhen's army consisted of 20,000 elite cavalry as his base. Next is the Heshuo Special Cavalry led by Dalantai, with an army numbering around 10,000. Dongwu has more than 30,000 infantry troops.
For now, the Mughal infantry have the worst combat capabilities, with a total of more than 90,000.
The first reason why the Mughal infantry was poor in combat effectiveness was the language barrier. They had only been under the command of Emperor Chongzhen for a few months and could only understand a little bit of Chinese. Therefore, it is very difficult to command during wartime.
The second point is that the Mughal infantry was not equipped well. The muskets they are equipped with are still very primitive matchlocks, and their quality varies. When they go on the battlefield, it is not uncommon for them to explode. As for armor and the like, there is basically none.
The only advantage is that most of these Mughal infantry troops are former Mughal Empire infantry troops. They know some common sense about marching and fighting, and do not need special training.
During this break, Emperor Chongzhen gave his general soldiers a task, which was to reduce the Dongwu infantry to 20,000 and the Mughal infantry to 50,000.
The streamlined soldiers were formed into another army, and they were led by Zhang Huangyan, the governor of Dongwu who followed the army, and they were mainly converted into local troops.
Although the successive battles in the Mughal territory were fought either on the side of the Mughal Empire or on the side of the Ming Dynasty, they were fought back and forth. After all, there were still many people scattered in various places, who fell into the trap of being bandits. Damn, I just want to be free and at ease.
If Emperor Chongzhen had just fought in a circle and left as he had done at the beginning. Then he won't worry about these people who are not under his jurisdiction. However, now that the Mughals are to be occupied, these people must be cleared out. He planned to leave this task to Zhang Huangyan.
As for why we stopped at the ruins of Qunu City, it was not because it was a pity that the once glorious Qunu City was destroyed by the war, but because there were two fools ahead who were plotting against the Ming army. Emperor Chongzhen didn't want to act according to the script they thought, so he simply stopped and exhausted their energy first.
Anyway, as far as the current situation is concerned, Emperor Chongzhen is not in a hurry at all. While resting, you can reorganize the army's combat strength and stabilize the rear. By the way, you can also enrich the supplies at the back. Why not?
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Sure enough, Emperor Chongzhen was not in a hurry, but Aurangzeb was. In other words, among the three parties, he was the most anxious.
After signing an alliance with Abbas II, Aurangzeb took Shah Jahan back to Delhi and, just like in the original history, imprisoned him opposite the Taj Mahal and kept him under strict guard.
After that, Aurangzeb himself led the army all the way east. After estimating the journey, he set up a fighting posture in the Ud area.
Although he and Abbas II agreed that the decisive battle with the Ming army would be held in Panipat, but if he ran to the west without fighting, he was afraid of pretending not to be different and being suspected by the Ming emperor.
Therefore, Aurangzeb's original plan was to pretend to drive eastward and pretend to rescue the east, and then encounter the Ming army. If they could not resist it in the battle, they could only retreat. In this way, the Ming army will definitely bite him all the way to the west, and the situation will be completed.
Eliminating or driving away the Ming army as soon as possible and restoring the territory of the Mughal Empire was what Aurangzeb was most anxious about. Therefore, if possible, he wanted to end the war as soon as possible.
Aurangzeb's army clearly showed that it was about to encounter and fight the Ming army, but in fact it was ready to withdraw at any time. To be honest, this pose is difficult to maintain, especially if you hold it for a long time, it is easy to flash your waist.
Therefore, Aurangzeb calculated that he would probably encounter it in the Ud area, so he decided to prepare it here. As a result, he took the correct posture, but saw no Ming army on the left, and no Ming army on the right. When he could no longer hold on, he had to send out scouting horses to search for traces of the Ming army to the east.
As a result, the unexpected reward for exploring the horse was that the Ming army rested at the ruins of Qunu City and did not come west again.
At this time, Aurangzeb was a little confused.
If the Ming army did not continue to advance westward, the countermeasures he had discussed with Abbas II would not be used. Didn't they fight towards the west with great force? Why did they stop?
What to do next? Aurangzeb was a little undecided.
For him, the best thing to do is to lead the Ming army to the west and let Abbas II also participate in the war. It is best if they can lose more troops so that he can benefit. This is the best option. A good situation.
The next best thing was that he and Abbas II joined forces to annihilate the Ming army at a very small cost. Then Abbas II abides by the agreement and retreats, so that he can fight eastward, regain the lost territory, and achieve the resurgence of the Mughal Empire, and even take it to the next level.
But now, the Ming army has stopped. If he wants to go over and face the Ming army alone, whether he can win or not is one thing. The most important thing is to let Abbas II's army sit on the mountain west of Delhi and watch the fight between tigers and tigers. , he felt a little stupid, and he was definitely unwilling to do so!
Continue the stalemate? Aurangzeb was certainly unwilling.
what to do?
After thinking for a long time, Aurangzeb could only continue to the east, take the initiative to fight the Ming army, and then fake defeat and return to the west.
However, the further east he goes, the further away from the intended battlefield, the greater his losses will be when he turns back and flees back to the west. Therefore, it can be said that Aurangzeb went eastward with all his heart.
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Odom was left in Delhi by Aurangzeb. Therefore, Emperor Chongzhen's grasp of Aurangzeb was not clear enough. However, when the Mughal Empire's Tan Ma came into contact with Damingye, he knew that Aurangzeb was still coming.
At this time, Emperor Chongzhen actually had many countermeasures to choose from, all of which could make Aurangzeb very uncomfortable.
For example, if the Ming army retreated eastward, would Aurangzeb pursue it or not? If we can pursue him, what will happen to Abbas II’s ambush troops? If we don't pursue them, will we really have to watch the Ming army retreat like this?
In addition, the Ming army can still go south. Should you, Aurangzeb, pursue it or not? The same principle applies.
Of course, right here, Aurangzeb's army was severely punished. Anyway, the other side had no real fighting intention, so they could just take this opportunity to give them a beating. When Aurangzeb led his army to retreat westward, Emperor Chongzhen refused to pursue him. This was another countermeasure.
However, Emperor Chongzhen's purpose was to include Abbas II. Therefore, he did not take these countermeasures.
The rest of the Ming army ended with the approach of the Mughal Empire army. Emperor Chongzhen led his troops and started acting.
Just as Aurangzeb expected, Emperor Chongzhen led the reorganized main force and took the initiative to seek a decisive battle.
The two armies faced each other, both with thousands of troops. The huge army seemed to be endless as far as the eye could see on this plain.
Emperor Chongzhen's imperial flag was very eye-catching, and he was observing the formations of the two armies in front of them.
After scanning around, he suddenly waved his hand. A guard in imperial robes beside him drove his horse forward and headed towards the Mughal army on the opposite side alone.
Seeing that there was only one knight coming out of the Ming army, the Mughals certainly knew that this was the messenger and obviously had something to say. Therefore, there was no movement. They just looked at the knights of the Ming army and were a little curious about the Ming army. What do you want to say?
When they were just a stone's throw away, they saw the Ming army's royal guards reining in their horses and shouting loudly to the Mughal army: "The Ming Emperor has an edict, and the third Mughal prince Aurangzeb has come forward to listen to the edict!"
This sentence was shouted in the Mughal language. Therefore, when you hear it here, you will naturally understand it. Subconsciously, they looked towards where their prince was.
As the "Great Khan of the Mughal Empire", how could Aurangzeb come out to listen to the emperor of the Ming Dynasty? Wouldn't that mean that he was inferior? However, no one can make the decision for him whether he will get out or not. He can only decide for himself.
Therefore, everyone else looked at him, waiting for his opinion.
Aurangzeb said "poof" and then ordered the guards around him: "When you go to deliver the edict, just say that I have an edict and ask the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty to come up and ask for the edict!"
After hearing this, his personal guards immediately drove their horses out and shouted the same loudly, shouting out Aurangzeb's meaning.
The Mughal army laughed loudly after hearing this. It has to be said that Aurangzeb's reply was a mockery of the Ming army, and it unknowingly improved the morale of his side.
Is the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty a fool? How could the Great Khan come forward to listen to his will? Not to mention that after hearing this, the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty would come over to listen to the Great Khan's will!
After hearing this, the Jin Yiwei stopped talking and rode back to pay the order to Emperor Chongzhen.
Emperor Chongzhen didn't care about the ridicule from the opposite team. With the help of the recent movement, he had locked Aurangzeb and "rewarded" him with a Class-A eavesdropping seed. This was his purpose. As for making Aurangzeb listen to his will, there was no such thing!
After such an episode, the battle between the two armies began.
On the Ming army's side, unlike before, the Hongyi artillery was pulled in front of the formation and bombarded first, preparing to break up the Mughal army's formation. The infantry advanced, the war elephants opened the way, and the cavalry pressed from both sides and launched an attack.
