Chapter 734: The Decisive Battle

Before landing, Erdogan had absolutely never imagined that the Maratha would be defeated so quickly.

It seemed there were no signs at all.

He had even less expected that his army of three hundred thousand, before even having a firm foothold, would be met with a fierce assault from the Six-Nation Allied Forces.

Indeed.

Zhai Shiqing was well-versed in the Art of War and knew that these Ottoman forces had just spent over a month at sea; upon landing, they would certainly suffer from severe acclimatization issues, and in such a state, the combat effectiveness of the Ottoman army would surely drop significantly.

Therefore, she did not hesitate in the slightest.

Originally, both sides had been racing against time.

It just so happened that as the Ottoman army landed, the Scorched Earth efforts of the Six-Nation Allied Forces were also completed. The land was flat as a plain, and the cavalry charged. Zhai Shiqing naturally would not waste such a golden opportunity; she immediately mustered one hundred thousand cavalry and set out from Gujarat, the dust kicked up by the one hundred thousand iron riders never settling.

The earth-shaking sound of hooves made people tremble with fear.

The reason it is said that taking Gujarat is equivalent to taking Mumbai Port is because the distance between the two places is truly too close.

With war horses galloping, one could arrive in almost three days.

So, when Erdogan had not yet recovered from the shock of how quickly the Maratha had lost, this sudden new shock caused his expression to change drastically. His army of three hundred thousand had not yet settled in, and the enemy had already attacked.

All of a sudden.

The Ottoman side was in a panic!

The soldiers were full of complaints; they had just spent over a month drifting at sea, had not yet grown accustomed to life on land, and had not even been assigned living quarters, yet they were expected to go to war?

"Alert! Alert!"

At Erdogan's command, the three hundred thousand troops, though they could be considered disciplined enough not to descend into chaos, certainly harbored resentment in their hearts. Furthermore, upon arriving at Mumbai Port, Erdogan discovered that due to the failure at Gujarat, the grain reserves at Mumbai Port were not substantial! This made him nearly fly into a rage.

He had come all this way to provide reinforcements, and there wasn't even enough grain?

A quick battle to force a quick decision!

Although it was difficult, he still made the decision immediately.

Three hundred thousand troops, one hundred thousand Sipahi Cavalry, prepare for battle! One hundred thousand Imperial Guards, stand by at all times! Thirty thousand Archers, protect the flanks, thirty thousand Spearmen...

One military order after another went out.

All of Central Asia was stunned.

Only then did people realize how bold Zhai Shiqing was. It seemed she had long known the force composition of this Ottoman army! She knew that among this army of three hundred thousand, there were one hundred thousand Sipahi Cavalry!

Yes.

That is why she used her own one hundred thousand cavalry to go straight for them!

She intended to use the Liangzhou Cavalry against the Ottoman Sipahi Cavalry!

One hundred thousand against one hundred thousand!

Cavalry against cavalry!

Everyone following the war situation in Central Asia became instantly excited upon receiving this news.

What was this?

A battle of the peak?

Point against point!

In Europe, the Sipahi Cavalry were known as invincible.

In Longyan, the Liangzhou Cavalry were known as invincible!

Which would win?

Which would lose?

A great show was about to unfold!

This battle was directly related to the ownership of Mumbai Port. It could be said that this battle would almost determine the outcome of the entire Central Asian war situation!

This was equivalent to a decisive battle!

If Zhai Shiqing took Mumbai Port this time, it would mean that the powerful Ottoman army had been defeated. In this way, the Bukhara Khanate would certainly face renewed and increased pressure. One must know that at this time, the Putu Kingdom still had available troops waiting for the situation at Mumbai Port!

Or rather, all the countries in Central Asia were keeping their eyes on this most critical Mumbai Port.

Once Mumbai Port fell into Zhai Shiqing's hands, all countries would exhaust their full strength to launch a total offensive against Bukhara!

In Bukhara, when Aziz heard this news, he was also completely bewildered.

"Is this Zhai Shiqing a lunatic?"

"A lunatic!"

He roared out.

Originally, once this Ottoman army of three hundred thousand arrived, wouldn't the mere momentum alone scare the Six-Nation Allied Forces into retreating step by step? He had felt that if Bukhara and the Ottomans could successfully launch an attack on these Six-Nation Allied Forces, attacking from front and rear, then these Scattered Soldiers would certainly be devoured by them, and Bukhara would turn defeat into victory! They could even rely on the Ottomans to sweep across all of Central Asia!

He had not expected...

This Zhai Shiqing would actually meet them head-on!

One hundred thousand cavalry! Against one hundred thousand cavalry!

How was he supposed to deploy his forces now?

"Great Khan..."

"I believe we have no need to consider this battle; the main army should continue to march south!"

"I think so too!"

"Yes, Great Khan, those Sipahi Cavalry are invincible under heaven! Not to mention the coordination of other troop types; these Liangzhou Cavalry, in truth, only have about forty thousand that actually come from Longyan... the remaining sixty thousand were scraped together by the other few countries... how can such a cavalry force fight against the Sipahi Cavalry?"

A group of people laughed heartily, full of confidence.

Upon hearing this, Aziz realized the facts were indeed so.

The troops of the Six-Nation Allied Forces that have now entered Mughal territory actually retreated from the attack on Bukhara and then joined forces. Originally, Qin Zhangfeng only brought fifty thousand Liangzhou Army troops for this general offensive, and Zou Sheng took away another ten thousand, so all told, Zhai Shiqing only had forty thousand Liangzhou Army troops in his hands!

The other sixty thousand cavalry were all scraped together by other countries.

How could such a rabble compete against the invincible Sipahi Cavalry?

"Good!"

Aziz finally made the most regrettable decision of his life, a flash of light appearing in his eyes: "Listen to my order: the entire army is to head south, pursue the fleeing soldiers, and drive these bastards completely out of Bukhara for me!"

"Yes!"

Bukhara immediately decided to assemble its national army of three hundred thousand and head south to pursue the Six-Nation Allied Forces!

Once this order was given, the troops at Caspian Port were also recalled.

Instantly, the pressure on Zou Sheng was greatly reduced.

The war situation changed once again.

No one noticed.

On this day, another batch of one hundred thousand troops from the Putu Kingdom sharpened their weapons and readied their horses once more. Three hundred thousand soldiers of the Longyan Western Regions Construction Corps began their expedition.

But.

These things were actually not important.

The most important thing.

Was still whether Zhai Shiqing could successfully intercept the Ottoman army between Mumbai Port and Gujarat!

One hundred thousand cavalry galloped on without ceasing.

Zhai Shiqing and several generals from other countries wore grave expressions.

Everyone knew the importance of this battle.

Regarding this decision of Zhai Shiqing, everyone actually felt it was absurd.

But.

It seemed that this was the only Method before them that could turn the tide of the war.

Looking at the one hundred thousand cavalrymen cobbled together ahead, many people wiped their faces fiercely.

Damn it!

Who said the Sipahi were invincible?

Had they not just been defeated in Europe?

Who said their soldiers were not as good as the Liangzhou Army? As long as they followed orders, understood flag signals, and were equipped with this Weaponry and Equipment from Liangzhou, then they would naturally be Liangzhou Cavalry too!

A surprise attack by day.

A surprise attack through the night.

The distance of these three days, along with the sound of hooves, made the air become increasingly oppressive.