latelenovela Chapter 722 Hyderabad, Everything as Usual
Chapter 722 Hyderabad, Everything as Usual
On August 19, the conflict on the South Asian subcontinent nearly reached its climax.
Neither the National Congress faction nor the Star-Moon Alliance would yield to the other, so they mobilized the masses to engage in a heated exchange of opinions, specifically on physics.
Governor Viscount Wavell's rule was nearly incapacitated.
It was clear to everyone that John's rule was coming to an end.
Therefore, despite Viscount Wavell's repeated orders that the colonial troops must stay in their camps and not go out, both the Congress faction and the Crescent Union managed to recruit a considerable number of colonial soldiers to their side.
As for the white officers, many of them developed feelings for the local forces over time and simply led their soldiers to join the corresponding local camp.
What began as a spontaneous conflict between the two groups of believers quickly escalated into a war between a portion of their regular armies, with casualties skyrocketing. This served as a rehearsal for the first large-scale war that would ensue the following year after the two sides were truly divided.
Meanwhile, in the princely state of Hyderabad, everything is as usual.
At the vegetable stall, a woman wearing a headscarf slowly picked through tomatoes, occasionally haggling with the stall owner.
In the butcher shop next door, the waiter swiftly cut fresh mutton into even chunks, the blade striking the cutting board with a rhythmic "thud."
The teahouse was filled with the rich aroma of spiced tea. The elderly sat in rattan chairs, chatting about everyday matters or the latest equipment the royal guard had acquired—the most fashionable topics of the moment.
Patrol teams have become a common sight on the streets.
The soldiers of the Prince's Guard, dressed in their newly issued khaki uniforms provided at a discounted price by the Nanyang Textile Factory and wearing sturdy military boots, marched in groups of three along a predetermined route.
What they carried on their shoulders were no longer the old Lee-Enfield rifles, but the Nanyang-made M1 Garand semi-automatic rifles with a dark blue lacquer finish, or the compact M3 Grease Guns.
His belt was fully equipped with a pistol, magazine pouch, and water bottle, giving him a professional and capable appearance.
There is a checkpoint every few blocks.
Sandbags were piled up to form a fortification about half a person's height. Several sentries stood behind the fortification, and a... somewhat unusual-looking armored vehicle was parked next to it.
That was an M8 Greyhound wheeled armored vehicle, but it looked quite different from its counterparts on the battlefield.
It was painted in shades of gray camouflage suitable for the urban environment. The original 37mm cannon barrel was gone, replaced by a thick, rotatable metal tube, which was a high-pressure water gun.
The top of the open turret was welded with steel plates to prevent it from being hit by Molotov cocktails or grenades thrown from above.
The side of the vehicle is also painted with the emblem of the Hyderabad Maharaja in white paint.
"Mommy, look, a big truck!" A little boy, holding his mother's hand, pointed at the Greyhound and shouted excitedly.
The sentry was a young man named Xingyue. He waved his hand sternly at the child: "Step back, little boy, don't come near, don't touch the gun barrel."
His temper wasn't exactly gentle, but at least it was restrained.
The child's mother quickly apologized and pulled her child away.
The sentry watched their retreating figures, breathed a slight sigh of relief, and continued to vigilantly scan the street.
At the entrance of a secluded alley deep within the market, several figures had just been dragged away, leaving only a few dark red stains that were not yet completely dry and a few broken wooden sticks on the ground.
Two hours earlier, a group of thugs who had fled from the north and were trying to cause trouble and incite hatred were cornered in a dead end by nearby patrol guards and Greyhounds who arrived quickly, before they could even shout their second slogan.
Under the "enthusiastic rinsing" of high-pressure water cannons and the "kind education" of rifle butts, the attempted riot was quelled within ten minutes, and all participants were arrested.
These small-scale, fast-paced detoxification operations have taken place no fewer than twenty times in Hyderabad in the past few weeks.
The Nanyang Military Advisory Group brought not only weapons, but also a complete counterinsurgency process involving intelligence screening, rapid response, and precision strikes.
In the slightly sarcastic words of the consultants, this is called "nipping destabilizing factors in the bud, or at least nipping them in the bud."
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The new training base of the royal guard in the suburbs.
Engines roared across the dusty playground.
Rows of M5A1 "Stuart" light tanks, painted in standard military green and with long gun barrels, are conducting mobile training.
At the other end of the parade ground is the infantry training area.
Amidst the deafening gunfire, soldiers lay prone at their firing positions, practicing rapid fire with M1 semi-automatic rifles, the crisp "bang, bang, bang" of gunfire echoing continuously.
In the machine gun position, the MG42 general-purpose machine gun, known as the Southeast Asian version, was spitting fire, and the 7.62x63mm bullets instantly tore the distant target in half.
The mortar squads and field artillery groups were also engaged in intense drills.
Although these weapons were all second-hand items discarded by Southeast Asia, they were just right for the Prince's Guard.
On the reviewing stand, Ali Khan, dressed in military uniform with medals adorning his chest, was beaming with pride.
He held up a pair of military binoculars, a gift from Southeast Asia, and looked at them with great interest, occasionally letting out satisfied exclamations.
"Good, well done! The sound of that cannon fire is powerful."
Standing next to him was a middle-aged man wearing a dark jacket and work pants, who looked more like an engineer or technician.
His name is Zhao Zishi, the newly appointed head of the Nanyang Military Advisory Group in Hyderabad, and a former major in the Nanyang Army's armored forces.
He retired because his right hand was injured while fighting the Japanese.
He stood with his arms crossed, calmly observing every detail of the training.
"Your Majesty, what we have completed so far is only basic equipment operation and unit coordination." Zhao Zishi's voice, like his personality, was crisp and decisive, without any emotional coloring. "Next, we will move on to company and platoon-level tactical exercises, infantry-tank coordination, and most importantly, specialized training in infantry-artillery coordination. Time is very tight."
"Time is tight?" Ali Khan put down his binoculars, somewhat puzzled. "With Commander Zhao and the Nanyang instructors here, and with so many good weapons, what do I have to be afraid of?"
Zhao Zishi turned his head and looked at the optimistic monarch, deciding to pour some necessary cold water on him: "Your Majesty, we only have a year at most, or even less."
"One year?"
"The John people won't last much longer. Once they withdraw, the interim government controlled by the Congress Party will become the nominal master of Delhi."
Given Nehru's character and his dream of becoming the "Greater India," he would never tolerate the continued existence of a powerful and independent princely state like Hyderabad.
In the history of the Great Xia Dynasty, the first thing a new emperor would typically do upon assuming power in a unified dynasty was to reduce the power of the vassal states.
Zhao Zishi's words struck Ali Khan's heart like hammer blows.
"War will likely break out within months of John's departure. The opposing force will be a large, well-trained regular army composed primarily of colonial troops who have served in World War II."
The flush on Ali Khan's face faded slightly: "Then we..."
"So we're not playing house, Your Majesty." Zhao Zishi pointed to the parade ground. "We're spending a year transforming a traditional royal guard into a modern defensive force capable of withstanding initial invasions, stabilizing the defenses, and buying time and leverage for a political solution."
It's difficult, but it has to be done.
Our instructors are all veterans who retired from Southeast Asia. They will directly instill the most practical battlefield survival and combat skills into all the soldiers.
He paused, then added, "Of course, all of this is predicated on the premise that you and your subjects have the determination to resist and defend autonomy. No matter how good the weapons or how strong the instructors, in the end, it is the people of Hyderabad who pull the trigger."
Ali Khan was silent for a moment, then patted Zhao Zishi heavily on the shoulder:
"Commander Zhao, I understand what you mean. Rest assured, since I, Ali Khan, have chosen to stay, I have no intention of handing over the legacy passed down from my ancestors. My people and I will cherish this peace as we would a pearl, and we will use the weapons and knowledge you bring as we would protect our homeland."
Seeing Ali Khan's fighting spirit rekindled, Zhao Zishi's face revealed a barely perceptible hint of approval.
It's not that I'm afraid of a monarch having ambition, it's that I'm afraid of a monarch lacking courage.
He looked at the soldiers crawling and rolling in the dust, silently calculating the training progress and the timeline for the equipment to become combat-ready.
The task is arduous and the road ahead is long. However, it is not impossible.