"You are here. I thought we could only be trapped in the castle!" Qin Zuoming couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief when the reinforcements from Malacca City arrived when the enemy troops were at the city.

One by one, soldiers carrying bags and holding muskets climbed the river beach, and several 6-pound and 12-pound field artillery were pushed up.

After a long long-term ocean voyage, these soldiers still maintained high morale, even more elite than the defenders of Kolkata Fort.

The Nanyang Fleet and the 12th Corps have been fighting in the Nanyang area and indigenous kingdoms and extinguishing the rebellions of local nobles. They often take sailboats to fight from one island to another. It can be said that the officers and soldiers of these two troops have rich practical experience, and their arrival gave the defenders of Kolkata Fort full of confidence.

Especially the 2,000 Tumen mercenaries who had just recruited, they saw the heroic army coming to Malacca City, and the psychological pressure brought by the Mughal Emperor's army was relieved.

"How many people have you come?"

"The 12th Corps sent an infantry battalion and an artillery company, with about 1,500 people. About 300 naval officers and soldiers of the Nanyang Fleet can go ashore to fight." Chen Bangyan said with knowledge.

"In addition, there are about 2,100 regular soldiers in our bastion, and 2,400 mercenaries." Qin Zuoming roughly calculated the number of people.

"Wu Yi, the battalion commander of the 8th Infantry Battalion under the 12th Corps, also arrived with an artillery company of our 12th Corps." A middle-level officer with the 12th Corps logo on his chest clasped his fists.

Each permanent corps of the Jiuzhou Army has its own exclusive logo to strengthen cohesion. The 12th Corps is the avatar of the white-bellied sea eagle, guarding the island of Nanyang for the empire.

"Do I need to hand over command to you?" Qin Zuoming saw the 12th Corps sending an infantry battalion and an artillery company over, which involves the issue of command.

"I am an infantry major, and you are also an infantry major. We should be at the same level, but you are more familiar with the situation and terrain here, so you should continue to serve as the commander-in-chief. I will accept command unconditionally." Wu Yi said.

"Then I'm not polite." Qin Zuoming said.

Although he had only 300 regular soldiers under his command, he was the commander of the East India Expeditionary Army, with the same rank as the infantry major, and had the power to recruit mercenaries on the Indian Peninsula, which was no less powerful than Wu Yi who arrived.

"The intelligence personnel from the Bangladesh Department took the initiative to find us a few days ago. They brought intelligence from the Mughal army." Qin Zuoming said.

"Information Department!"

Whether it was Chen Bangyan or Wu Yi, they were all surprised at the ubiquitous presence of the Intelligence Department!

The intelligence department has long penetrated into the heart of the Mughal Empire at a critical moment. As for how much it has penetrated, it is probably only a few people in the capital who know it.

"According to the information provided by the Intelligence Department, the Mughal Emperor and the princes of each state brought about 70,000 soldiers and 80,000 civilians, and in addition to 40,000 soldiers and civilians from Bangladesh. Among them, the Mughal Emperor's most elite 5,000 heavy cavalry, 12,000 conveyors, 27 six-wheeled heavy bronze cannons and mortars. Their current main force is in a village called Plassi, with great momentum."

Qin Zuoming explained the situation to the people who have arrived in Kolkata: "In addition, this is the enemy's defense map obtained by the Intelligence Department. Their logistics troops and granaries were transferred to another fortress called Katewa, and 20,000 soldiers were sent to guard it. The village of Pulasi deployed their 70,000 main force, ready to attack our Kolkata at any time. On the surface, they claimed to be a 500,000 army, but in fact, our opponents only had 70,000 opponents. The quality of these 70,000 people was mixed. In addition to the army led by the emperor himself, there were other princes and princes, and they might not be wearing the same pair of pants."

"The Intelligence Department is really terrible. It can actually make their reality clear..." When everyone heard the information sent by the Intelligence Department consciously, they could imagine how terrifying the most mysterious organization in the Jiuzhou Army was.

If intelligence personnel had not infiltrated the Mughal Empire, they would have been confused and deployed by the other party's claim to be 500,000 troops.

In ancient times, the number of troops was liked to exaggerate was not just to scare the enemy, but also to confuse the enemy.

"Is it possible to attack their logistics forces and capture their temporary fortresses for storing food?" Wu Yi asked.

"It is not feasible. Our troops are insufficient. If we divide our troops to attack their granary, we may be cut off by the Mughal cavalry." Qin Zuoming said.

"So now we don't plan to stick to the fortress, nor can we divide our troops to attack the granary, so we only have a frontal battle. The opponent has a large number of cavalry. Unless they fight us openly, they can easily attack everywhere in the field to defeat us." Wu Yi said.

What is most fearful about fighting against large-scale cavalry units is not the massive heavy cavalry charge, but the powerful maneuver power of the cavalry. Once the infantry is entangled by large-scale cavalry, the consequences may be very serious.

"Don't worry, as long as the battle is not far from us in Kolkata, their cavalry will still not be able to cut off our retreat. Moreover, the Mughal Emperor wants us to go out to the battalion and engage in a dignified battle with us. He has sent someone to issue a letter of war a few days ago." Qin Zuoming handed them a letter of war in Persian.

Wu Yi, Chen Bangyan and others looked at each other, but they couldn't understand this thing.

"The other party asked us to go out of the city and hold a dignified battle near Placi to decide the outcome. As the emperor, he probably wouldn't be using any conspiracy if our troops were ten times less than theirs." Qin Zuoming said.

"Prasi? Inviting us to fight to the decisive battle near their camp, their emperor was really arrogant and unpleasant. We organized an expeditionary force to fight. Our 8th Battalion and artillery were all allowed to participate in the expedition except for some sick soldiers." Wu Yi said.

"Let me think about how many people should be sent to fight the opponent's 70,000 troops... We must ensure that everything is foolproof. Even if we lose a crushing defeat in the battle, we must ensure that the Kolkata Fort will not be lost. In addition to the 1,500 people of your 8th Battalion and the artillery company, I can form 2,000 mercenaries, officers and soldiers of the South China Fleet, and employees of the East India Company also have 400 Tumen mercenaries responsible for defending the city. If he wants to fight, we will fight!" Qin Zuoming said.
Chapter completed!