New Shun 1730

The Dashun side did not pursue at all.

Instead, they followed the old method, assembled and moved forward.

That night and the next morning, everything was the same.

The British-Indian coalition did not retreat quickly, with only a small number of cavalry contacts and no large-scale battles.

At most, they captured a few scouts here and robbed two war horses there.

If they retreated further, they would reach the three-way intersection of the Rubnayangla River and the Hooghly River.

The British-Indian coalition had to make a decision.

After the evening of the next day, the Dashun still sent some idle scouts to the British-Indian coalition camp as usual, threw two bombs, made some noise, and then retreated.

In the tents, the commanders of the British and Bengal sides were worried.

The reason why the commanders were worried was the tortoise shell tactics of the Dashun. How could this be?

Superior manpower, superior firepower, high-quality infantry, and elite grenadiers, but they were as cowardly as hedgehogs.

Deploying a formation is a defensive counterattack.

If they thought they could win, they would have chosen to fight when Dashun deployed its formation the day before yesterday.

And now, what exactly Dashun wants to do is completely incomprehensible.

If Dashun builds a city and a fort in Diamond Bay, it will be equivalent to directly splitting the British army and the Bengal army.

Because, a group of troops that can attack a city so quickly must have amazing ability to defend the city, there is no doubt about that. If you can defend, you can attack, and if you can attack, you can defend.

At that time, build a bastion in Diamond Bay, stuff more than a thousand troops, and put 30 coastal defense heavy artillery.

Then, Calcutta will be dead. A thousand-man fortress garrison can hold back the entire British fleet and all infantry.

Dashun's navy can be liberated, and Dashun's main army can also be liberated.

The British Indian Squadron can only shrink in the harbor of the Hooghly River.

In a narrow river channel, bombarding the coastal defense artillery of the fort on the shore? This is probably not insane.

With a thousand men in the fortress, the logistics were completely cut off, and the navy could continue to supply. With the level of British siege of Pondicherry, it is estimated that the siege could last until George II died and the new king ascended the throne...

Pondicherry was not captured by attack.

It was the field battle that broke the French mobile forces, and the naval battle forced the French navy back to Mauritius. With no hope of relief, the French officers chose to surrender.

In the previous sieges of Pondicherry, the siege capabilities of Britain and its Indian allies had proved that they were unable to attack by force.

The problem is that if Dashun really built a city in Diamond Bay, it would not be able to replicate the surrender of Pondicherry by relying on this disgusting and wretched fortress advancement tactics.

The navy could not even get out of the Hooghly River, so how could it repel the fleet of Dashun in a naval battle?

If the field battle could be easily won, it would have been fought the day before yesterday. Why did they choose to run away before Dashun deployed its column?

And once the fortress in Diamond Bay was repaired.

Either the British army abandons Calcutta and retreats to the north of the Ganges, defending Dhaka and Rajshahi together with Jafar's Bengali troops.

Or, once Jafar sees that Dashun chooses to build a city, he will run away without looking back. Because the city is well built, it means that the main forces of Dashun's army and navy are liberated, and they can go up the Ganges at any time, attack the heart of Bengal, and pull in those who support Siraj's restoration.

This is really like gambling. Dashun has too much capital, and it doesn't open the cards at all. It keeps increasing the stakes. If you want to open, you open, but I don't. This way of playing is the most boring, but it works.

Will we fight tomorrow?

If we don't fight tomorrow, then there is no need to fight, and the coalition forces can be disbanded directly.

Whether the British army chooses to defend Calcutta to the death, or burn Fort William and run to the north of the Ganges, it depends on the British. Anyway, Jafar's meaning is very clear. If he doesn't fight again, he will withdraw.

Can fight, how to fight?

The Dashun side is clearly in a defensive counterattack formation, how to fight?

Can Jafar's cavalry destroy the flank of Dashun before the Dashun center breaks through the Bengal infantry?

In a bleak cloud of sorrow, the excited Clive gave a possibility of a gamble.

"Gentlemen, in fact, we still have a certain chance of winning. Although, I believe that we cannot annihilate them completely, if we command them properly, we may destroy a quarter of their troops."

"I noticed that their march is very methodical. However, we still have a chance. As long as we dare to take the initiative and fight actively."

"Their weakness is that they have set up a defensive counterattack formation, with a large number of cavalry deployed in the middle column."

"If we can grasp this time difference, it is entirely possible to destroy their flanks with the cavalry advantage of our allies before their middle column fails to support."

When everyone was at a loss, Clive's excited words once again lit up everyone's hope. As one of the few stars who could defeat the French with a surprise attack during the previous confrontation with Dupleix, Clive's boldness has always been known to everyone.

At this time, Clive once again proposed a tactic of gambling.

He had gambled many times before, and basically won.

Except for the first time when he confronted Siraj's Bengal army, he gambled and kicked on the steel plate, sneaked into the camp and directly stole the central army deployed by Siraj. He was beaten back, but still escaped unscathed.

The rest of the time, he basically won the gamble.

In this situation, there is really no chance to fight Dashun.

Gambling means you may win or lose everything.

The Dashun is not the Bengal army. If they really hit a steel plate like the first time they fought Siraj, they would not be able to escape unscathed and would lose everything.

But now, everyone has no choice, so they all look at Clive and ask how to gamble on this game.

Clive unfolded the map, used the tin soldier doll as a simple soldier model, and explained his gamble plan.

"Tomorrow morning, we can get up early, and when the Chinese march and attack, we will also choose to move."

"Let our elite Dorsetshire Regiment, Jafar's cavalry, and the 102nd and 103rd Battalions of Bengal all concentrate on the right wing."

"We should not form a parallel line with the Chinese, but march quickly to turn our front line to the left wing of the Chinese."

"While they are adjusting their deployment, seize the time and launch an attack on their left wing."

"In this way, the weak infantry of Bengal can distance themselves from the Chinese front line, so that even if the Chinese want to defeat the infantry of Bengal, they need to march closer."

"Moreover, I found that the Chinese rely heavily on artillery. They may not fight without superior artillery. At least as far as I know, they attacked the Dzungar Khanate, the Dutch, and even Japan, all of which concentrated several times the superior artillery."

"This is certainly their advantage, but it also means that we have the opportunity to gain a time difference, at least within an hour to prevent their artillery from playing a role. All advantages. "

"Of course, this tactic is very risky. If we can't defeat their left wing without artillery preparation and within an hour, then our entire army will be in great danger. "

"But this is the only way to try. According to the observations of the past two days, their flank column has only 3,500 infantry and a small number of cavalry. "

"If we concentrate 3,000 cavalry and 1,200 infantry from the European and Bengal camps and try a surprise attack... Once their left wing is dispersed within half an hour, then we can gain an advantage..."

"Of course, there are great risks in doing so. But obviously, if they don't do this, they can move to Diamond Bay like a turtle, occupy it, and build a fort... In that case, Calcutta will be like Louisbourg of the French, who have no naval advantage at all, and become a dead end. We can only choose to abandon Fort William and cross the river to retreat. "

This is obviously a life-and-death style of play, and a one-shot deal.

If the left wing of the Dashun Army cannot be eaten within an hour, then the entire army will face the danger of being annihilated.

Because, the Bengal infantry, who had taken away the British army and Jafar's cavalry, was completely unable to stop the attack of Dashun. They could only rely on this method of changing parallel lines into angled lines to lengthen the distance of engagement and delay time.

The premise of this time difference is that the Bengal cavalry must charge directly into the left wing infantry of Dashun without any artillery preparation.

However, this seems to be the only possibility of winning.

…………

In the tent of the Dashun army.

Du Feng was very happy.

"It's just like playing Mahjong. I have at least eight cards to win, and he only has the last single card."

"The temple is better than the battlefield. The emperor and the Duke of Xingguo have been planning for a long time, making the cards in my hand infinitely good."

"You can attack or not. You can defend or not. You can build forts to advance, you can sneak attack the rear, you can set up a turtle formation, you can slowly build up artillery, you can rely on the navy to blockade, you can attack where you must rescue and turn to Dhaka."

"And there is only one way they can win. Concentrate troops and attack our left or right wing. There is no other possible way to win."

"Because... he won't be stupid enough , concentrate all the offensive forces to attack my central army. That way, they will be surrounded, and once they can't break through, they can't even run away. "

"They haven't really fought with us, including the Dutch, in fact. They just saw our ability to attack, besiege, build cities, and repair artillery. But they don't know what the direction of the military reform was at that time. "

"Our real advantage lies in the infantry drill manual and tactical regulations after the military reform and the large number of battalion and company officers. The French army needs five minutes to change formations at this time, while we only need one minute . Our infantry marches very fast on the battlefield, and the speed of changing from a column to a horizontal column or a square formation is very fast. "

"Of course our cavalry can defeat the Bengali cavalry, but... if we don't stick to them, they will run very fast and it will be difficult to catch them."

"My headache is not how to win, but the cavalry in my hands, which is still a bit small. The cavalry on both wings will fight each other. I am afraid that if the battle starts at 7 o'clock, Jafar will realize that he cannot win at 7:30 and will definitely leave the British army and infantry and run away... If he runs away, he will have to fight again after crossing the Ganges to the north, which is troublesome. After all, it is not as good as the credit awarded by issuing an order north of the Ganges. "

"The key to this battle is not victory. It is... building Jingguan. Therefore, we must find a way to stick to them and induce them to take the initiative to attack, so as to turn the battle of rout into a massacre, and frighten the Bengalis so that they dare not resist for a hundred years."

"In the past, Shudang said to the King of Chu: If you defeat the enemy, you must show it to your descendants, and you should build Jingguan so that you will not forget your military achievements."

"The ancients said: A warrior is one who prohibits violence, restrains soldiers, protects the great, determines merits, pacifies the people, reconciles the masses, and enriches wealth."

"The merits of a warrior can be obtained in this battle."

"Jafar turned his back on the enemy in the face of the enemy. This is the most hated act of the thief in this dynasty. If he is eliminated, this is a merit."

"The disaster of the vassal states in Tianzhu has led to continuous wars. If this dynasty can stabilize it, it can be said that violence can be suppressed and the people can be pacified. These are the second merits."

"Tianzhu is suitable for growing cotton, rice, and hemp, and it also has high-quality fertilizer saltpeter. If it is stabilized in one battle, the people of this dynasty will benefit greatly, which can be said to be the protection of the country and the abundance of wealth. These are the third merits."

"Therefore, it is enough to demonstrate martial virtues to show future generations. It is just right to stabilize it in one battle, so as to avoid wars in the future and massacres everywhere."

After speaking, Du Feng smiled and said, "How about this, I will be the banker today, and you can bet on it. Do you think they will attack our left wing? Or steal our right wing? Anyway, I bet that he will definitely not try to steal my central army banner like he did last time against Siraj. If anyone dares to bet on this, I will pay him twenty to one. "

"Since the day I became the governor of Ceylon, I have been thinking about Dupleix; since the day Clive stood out, I have one more person to think about. The Duke of Xingguo told me about India a long time ago, and I have been thinking about it for a full ten years. I dare say that based on my understanding, Clive will definitely take a gamble."

In the tent, there was a relaxed atmosphere.

How to march, how to cross the river, when to camp, how to organize the crossing, how to build a bridge, how many miles to march today to avoid the swamp, etc., are not the commander-in-chief's job, the staff department does this.

Everything is going on as usual, and there is no tension in the tent at all. It doesn't matter whether we fight or not; it doesn't matter whether we fight tomorrow or the day after tomorrow.

At worst, if they just don't fight, then change the strategy and take the initiative to attack. At worst, it will be a rout, and the intense pursuit in the Ganges will force Jafar to flee.

Anyway, Fort George bought time. Even if the surprise attack on Fort William failed, Calcutta could be taken within the time stipulated by the Privy Council.

In that case, Du Feng felt that although he could still be conferred a title, he was afraid that the earldom had reached the limit, and he would not be able to be conferred a marquisate in this life.