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Chapter 70: The Fall Of Maratha Kingdom Part :2
"Has everyone been evacuated?" Rajendra asked.
"The news about the impending war has already been conveyed to the people of the Empire, Your Majesty. Since a month ago, almost 40% of the important personnel in the empire have left to escape the war. However, some have chosen to stay behind and fight with you, Your Highness," Jayaprit Singh, the chief Guard of the royal family, informed.
Rajendra nodded in understanding.
"Ting, ting, ting."
The alarm bells rang on the lookout tower as they were informed of the approaching Mughal army. Rajendra could see on the horizon hundreds of thousands of soldiers, like a sea of people waiting to devour his Kingdom. Looking at the approaching army, all the soldiers were filled with fear, knowing they stood little chance against such a massive force.
"So, this is it, huh?" Rajendra thought to himself with a calm demeanour.
Seeing the panic in the soldiers' eyes, he knew he had to do something. "Dear soldiers, I know that looking at this massive army, you are scared. Your lives will be lost, your wealth will be plundered."
Listening to the sudden speech, everyone looked at the king as he continued, "I will not lie. We are all about to die. Every soldier on this wall is about to die, and I am no exception. Even the kingdom is going to collapse. But will we kneel and beg to spare our lives, let them defile our mothers and daughters, plunder our temples and our way of life?"
"No!" the old king shouted like a lion.
This heart-stirring speech ignited a passion in the soldiers' hearts, preparing themselves to face death.
"But before we go down, we should at least take a chunk of flesh from the enemies. We should make them remember that Maratha is not easy to take. We are not sheep waiting to be slaughtered but wounded beasts ready to put our lives on the line for a final attack."
Soldiers gripped their weapons tightly as they heard this impassioned speech.
"So tell me, who is with me?"
"Me!"
"Me!"
"Me!"
Several soldiers shouted out with hoarse voices. They felt their blood boiling, no longer caring about life and death. Right now, their only intent was to take down as many enemies as possible.
"Jai Maratha!"
"Jai Maratha!"
"Jai Maratha!"
Continuous shouts rang out as the morale of the army reached its highest level.
"Archers, get ready!" Rajendra ordered.
The archers on the wall tightened their bowstrings, waiting for the orders to release a rain of death upon their enemies.
As the Mughal army approached, tension began to build, but suddenly, the Mughal army stopped in their tracks, about 100 meters away from the wall.
Rajendra was surprised by this move. He didn't know what the Mughals were thinking. "Do they want to starve us out?" he thought. However, that seemed like a foolish idea considering that they had enough food supplies for a year. Just a few weeks ago, he had imported a large amount of food from Vijayanagara.
Soon, a carriage was pulled to the frontline of the Mughal army. It contained what appeared to be a large cannon. The massive cannon was pulled by four horses, indicating its immense weight.
Before Rajendra could figure out what was going on, "boom!" A deafening sound echoed as an iron projectile could be vaguely seen flying at high speed towards the city wall.
By the time everyone regained their senses, a spider-like crack had formed on the thick city wall.
Seeing this scene, cold sweat broke out on the soldiers' backs.
Rajendra was dumbfounded by the destructive power of the cannon. Even though the Maratha Empire had cannons, they were old and had been manufactured in the 16th century. Their range was only a few meters, and their firepower was not as formidable.
"No, it can't go on like this," Rajendra thought to himself. He was certain that with another dozen shots, the city wall would collapse, and they would have no way to defend against the enemy. So he decided that instead of waiting to die, it was better to face the enemy head-on.
"Bring down the city gate; we will take them on head-on."
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Mughal Camp
The army general, Muhammad Bairam Khan, was celebrating the imminent victory he was about to achieve. With the newly improved cannons imported from the Safavid Persian dynasty, he saw no challenges in the Indian subcontinent.
Suddenly, the city gate opened.
Seeing this scene, the generals and captains of the army were excited and laughed loudly. "Looks like these lowlifes gave up after just one shot."
"Occupying such a rich land is a waste of resources on their part."
"Hahahahah!"
Hearing this, everyone laughed with contempt.
But soon, something that left them shocked occurred. Roughly 50,000 armed men poured out from the city wall.
Seeing this scene, General Khan was dumbfounded. "Are they looking for death?" he thought to himself. The Mughal army outnumbered the Maratha forces by more than three times. Just as he was doubting the intentions of the Marathas, something unexpected happened.
Suddenly, wooden flooring was lifted up by the Maratha soldiers, and then the entire Maratha army passed through the tunnel they had dug beneath the ground.
General Khan was still in shock and couldn't understand what was going on. "Are they trying to run away?" someone in his camp questioned.
"Impossible. All their homes, families, and livelihoods are in this kingdom. If they run away, what foundation do they have to live in this land? This may be a plot. Be careful," General Khan concluded.
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Inside the Tunnel
Rajendra had this tunnel dug out as Vijay had suggested in his letter to fight the Mughals. Vijay had recommended that in the event of overwhelming force, they should use this method to flank the Mughal army, avoiding the direct fire of their artillery and inflicting as much harm as possible on their soldiers.
At that time, Rajendra wholeheartedly embraced this ingenious approach to battle. He also knew that Vijay was trying to buy some time for himself by providing various weapons and food supplies. But Rajendra was also willing to fight this last battle and severely harm the Mughal Empire.
At the end of the tunnel, the Maratha soldiers were in perfect position behind the Mughal army.
"Chaaaaargeeeee!" Rajendra ordered.
With the command, the cavalry pointed their spears and rushed forward like an unstoppable train.
With the terrible speed and power of the cavalry, the Mughal Empire's infantry was mowed down immediately. Blood and brains filled the battlefield as the spearheads of the charge became blood-painted figures. The Mughal cavalry was in no position to turn around and attack the Marathas'.
The infantry soon followed behind the cavalry for a melee fight.
A bloodbath ensued with the surprise attack. Screams and wails filled the air as the Mughal Empire faced a massacre, But due to the Mughals' numerical advantage, the Marathas' advantage couldn't last long. More soldiers swarmed towards them with hatred, causing the Maratha soldiers to gradually dwindle in number. Nevertheless, they managed to take down at least 100,000 enemy soldiers with them.
"It's been an honour, Your Highness," Jaspreet Singh, the royal guard, said to Rajendra.
"The honour is mine, old friend," Rajendra replied as they watched the last struggles of the battle.
Rajendra, with renewed clarity and determination, stood up straight. Today, he gave the order for a final charge.
The cornered Maratha soldiers made a breakthrough towards the Mughal general's camp.
In a desperate attempt, they pushed all the way through the defences.
General Khan was surprised by the Marathas' life-or-death struggle. He watched as the Maratha soldiers mowed down his guards one by one, all in their relentless pursuit to reach him. Cold sweat broke out on his back as he felt death approaching, step by step.
He could see fearless determination in the old man's eyes. The old man appeared as if he didn't care about death at all. This made General Khan panic as he hastily tried to stab the old man. Fortunately, although the sword didn't hit any vital organs, it still pierced the old man's shoulder.
"Splurt!"
Blood spattered everywhere.
But undeterred, the old man only winced slightly as he raised his sword and accurately swiped at General Khan's neck. The last thing General Khan remembered was his headless body before he drifted into darkness.
"Sigh, goodbye, my beloved motherland," Rajendra said as the swords of the Mughals pierced him from the back.
However, he did not fall down. Instead, he sat on the corpse of General Khan, took his sword, and stabbed it into the injured Mughal soldier as the blood-spattered. As he managed to take one more life of his enemy, He raised his head high and sat like a king before he took his last breath.
Seeing this scene, the Mughal soldiers were momentarily dumbstruck. It was the first time they had witnessed the majesty of a king with their own eyes. With this battle, the Maratha Kingdom ceased to exist in the history of Bharat.