1635 Han style rises again

May 1664, 5, Dhaka, Bengal.

"Your Excellency, I am very honored to be summoned by you." Gong Wangui, chief treasurer of Qiguo Indian Trading Company in Dhaka, bowed respectfully to Shayinsta Khan, Governor of Mughal Empire Bengal.

"This time you are called here to discuss the use of your gunboats of the Qi State to conquer the land of Chatagan (Chittagong) where Arakan pirates are entrenched, so as to prevent these rampant pirates from continuing to invade the coastal towns of our Mughal Empire. .” Shayinsta Khan said straight to the point without exchanging too many greetings.

Shainsta Khan, formerly known as Mirza Abu Talib, Persian, his grandfather Mirza Gyasberg and father Abu Hassan Assaf Khan were the Mughal emperor Jia Attendant of Khangir and Shah Jahan.Jahangir bestowed the title of Insta Khan on Mirza in recognition of his family's service and status at the Mughal court.

In 1663, after the former Governor-General Mir Jumla died of illness and took office, Emperor Aurangzeb appointed Shayinsta Khan as the new Governor-General of Bengal.

This gentleman, before coming to Bangladesh, served as the governor of the Deccan and was responsible for killing the rebel forces in Maratha. In January 1660, Shainsta Khan led a large army to Aurangabad and quickly advanced to occupy Pune, the most important city stronghold of the Marathas.Subsequently, with successive victories, they further captured Chakan and Karyan and the North Konkan fortress.

Just when he was full of ambition and ready to make persistent efforts to completely strangle the resistance of the Maratha people, he was hit repeatedly.First, in January 1663, the Maratha leader Sivaji led troops to raid Surat, the most important coastal city in the northwest of the Mughal Empire, and looted the entire city.This move made the emperor Aurangzeb furious, and issued an order, severely reprimanding him for his incompetence and stupidity.

Then, in April 1663, Sivaji, the leader of Maratha, even brought hundreds of capable men into Pune under the cover of a wedding.Then, at midnight, there was a surprise attack on Shayinsta Khan's palace.

The Marathas broke into the courtyard of the palace and killed the palace guards.Shainsta Khan lost three fingers in this raid by Shivaji, and his son was killed in an encounter with Marathas in the palace courtyard.

Such a shocking assassination occurred, and Shayinsta Khan himself was injured, which made Aurangzeb feel a little disappointed in him besides being angry.However, as the emperor's uncle, he was not punished accordingly. Instead, he was transferred to Bangladesh by Aurangzeb to replace Mir Jumla, who died of illness, as the new Governor of Bangladesh.

When he arrived in Bangladesh, Shain Stan Khan, who was eager to make meritorious service, immediately led his troops to suppress the rebellion of the local tribes bloody.He foresees a powerful threat from the kingdom of Arakan, especially the powerful naval power of the kingdom, which makes him dreadful.To this end, he set about building the navy of the Mughal Empire, increasing its fleet to more than 200 ships within a year.

He also made strenuous diplomatic efforts to win the support of the Dutch East India Company, as well as Hanzhou Qi, and isolate the Portuguese, who the Mughal Empire believed were secretly supporting the Kingdom of Arakan with resources and troops. …

In February of this year, with the active support of the Dutch East India Company and Qi's sea power, Governor Shainsta Khan led the Mughal Empire army to attack and control the Arakanese-controlled Sundibu Island.

Now, his goal is to focus on the Chatagan of the Arakan Kingdom at the mouth of the Gornopri River, and prepare to capture it in order to cut off the kingdom's most important sea channel.

In view of the excellent performance of the three professional warships of the Qi State in the battle when the two sides cooperated to capture Sundibu Island in February, Shainsta Khan decided to invite the people of the Qi State to send powerful warships to cooperate with the imperial navy to capture Chatgaon. to ensure the smooth completion of this military operation.

"Your Excellency, our naval warships have gathered in Surat at this time, preparing to provide escort services for the nobles and believers of your Mughal Empire who are going to Mecca for pilgrimage. If they return to the east coast, it will be April or May next year at the latest It's the month." Gong Wangui said in embarrassment: "In addition, so that the governor knows that our trading company is a private organization and cannot command naval ships, let alone make any promises on its behalf. So..."

"The combat ships of the Arakan pirates are simple and dilapidated, and their combat power is low. In addition, after our heavy blow last time, their strength has become relatively weak. Therefore, there is no need for your professional warships of the Qi Navy to come to the battle." Governor Shainsta Khan waved his hand and said: "You Qi people have a large number of armed merchant ships. At that time, you only need to send seven or eight ships to attack Chatgaon with our imperial navy. In addition, we also need artillery. The kind of heavy artillery that can take a fort."

"Your Excellency, we will do our best to provide the corresponding heavy siege artillery. However, although our trading company has a large number of ships, each ship has a specific transportation task. If only two or three armed merchant ships are dispatched to participate in the battle, the problem It shouldn't be too big. If you want to mobilize seven or eight ships at once, I'm afraid..."

"Hanzhou people, don't give me conditions!" Governor Shayinsta Khan showed a trace of fear on his face, and said in a deep voice: "You have established dozens of business houses all over the Mughal Empire. The amount of money amounts to millions of rupees. All this is a gift from our great emperor to you. So, don't use any excuses to shirk our request. Since we can give you trade privileges to obtain a lot of wealth, we can also use it Take it all back!"

"..." Gong Wangui narrowed his eyes when he heard the words, and said softly, "My lord governor, you are a bit...to be difficult for others!"

"Capturing Chatgaon and eradicating the pirate forces in Arakan is our planned military deployment for this year and next. It is also related to the dignity and power of our Mughal Empire. No mistakes are allowed." Governor Shainsta Khan saw the other party's face He showed a bit of displeasure on his face, and his tone softened a little, "Conscripting your armed merchant ships from the Qi State to participate in the war may affect your normal trade and transportation. As compensation, I allow you merchants from the Qi State to trade in Chatter after the capture. In the city of Gang, randomly select a thousand, no, fifteen hundred young women."

"In addition, if you are interested, we can follow the example of Hooghly City more than 30 years ago and grant you the same rights as the Dutch. After the capture of Chategon, you will be fully outsourced to the people of Qi. The Governor’s Mansion pays a certain amount of taxes and bears part of the defense costs.” …

The Mughal army of this era is no longer the landlubber army that was afraid of water warfare.In the process of gradually annexing the states of Bengal, they united a large number of feudal lords with a complete shipbuilding industry, and successfully integrated new artillery.Although it is still difficult to mass-produce European-style high-seas warships, they can already have a firepower advantage in relatively calm shallow seas.

Previously, a large number of European adventurers who landed from the west coast of India continued to sell them updated cannon casting technology, so that the Mughal artillery could generally keep pace with the development of the West.This kind of emergency combination had achieved good results in the siege of Hooghly more than 30 years ago, making the limited number of European-style light sea-going ships unable to parry.

After more than a year of painstaking efforts, Shasta Khan also established a large and seemingly very powerful naval fleet in Bangladesh.But he knew very well that after leaving the cover of the coast and entering the ocean, their so-called navy was no match for those Western armed merchant ships.Not to mention, this country of Qi also maintains as many as ten professional warships with powerful forces in Indian waters all year round.

Therefore, Shasta Khan did not want to persecute the merchants of the Qi Kingdom too much. While maintaining the powerful deterrence of the Mughal Empire, he still wanted to give them some benefits and make necessary win over this maritime power from the southern New World.You know, they can not only provide the empire with a large number of industrial products, but also dispatch several powerful warships every year to provide armed escort services for many devout true god believers in the country to go to Mecca for pilgrimage.Whether it is the upper-class princes and nobles of the empire, or the middle- and lower-class businessmen and believers, they have accumulated a very good reputation.

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On June 6, Ningyang Fort (now Pondicherry, India, also translated as local governance).

This season is the hottest time in India. The temperature will even reach 35-37°C at noon during the day, which makes people feel an unspeakable suffocation. The air is hot and stuffy. ,Dizziness.There is not a cloud in the sky, there is no wind, and there is still a scorching sun overhead, and all the trees, listless, stand there lazily.

However, a group of children disregarded the hot weather at all, and were still happily playing and playing in the shade of the trees, enjoying their carefree childhood life.

"In the next year, our Ningyang Fort has been established for more than ten years, and more and more children were born locally. We should build a few schools, and then invite a few gentlemen from Hanzhou. Otherwise, these children When I grow up, don't I want to become as ignorant as the local Indians." Bai Wen'an stood on the balcony of the manager's mansion, looked at the group of children playing not far away, and said shaking his head.

"Boss Bai, you're right." Jiang Maohui, a team member of the Ningyang Fort Security Team, echoed, "I estimate that there are no less than 200 children in the entire Ningyang City, and most of them are the guys and guards in the trading company and the local Indian women. Children born. If so, the number of children will probably be even more with the addition of more than a dozen business houses in the surrounding area. According to the naturalization standards, they are all citizens of our country Qi, and they should receive formal education from our Han people. I heard that qualified families here either send their children to Anfeng (now Cochin, India) on the west coast of India to study, or send them directly back to Hanzhou. If Ningyang City can build a few schools, more or less can be Stabilize the hearts of the local people.” …

"Fart people's hearts!" Bai Wen'an cursed with a smile, and then grabbed a palm fan from the coffee table and fanned it vigorously, "Whether you join my Indian trading company or a guard, it's not all about getting a share." A generous salary, and then return to Hanzhou to enjoy the blessings. Where does the people's support come from here?"

"You want to talk about those Indian natives, hey, as long as you give them a bite to eat, they can sell you their lives and work for you! I want to build a few schools, not just for our own children. We have to plan ahead and promote Sinicization here, so that the natives here can receive education from our country of Qi from an early age, and be influenced by the culture and traditions of our country of Qi, so that they can continue to work for our Indian trading company to the greatest extent in the future! His grandma, otherwise, even if you want to order them to work, you won’t understand our words.”

"Boss Bai is indeed young and promising, and he is far-sighted, a villain can't help himself!" Jiang Maohui smiled and flattered him.

Although Bai Wen'an is only in his 20s, none of the shopkeepers and fellows in Ningyang City dare to underestimate him, because his father is the helm of the Indian trading company——Bai Yuangui.Because he was the child of a Persian orchid in the family, his status was far inferior to that of his direct brothers, so he was sent to India to become the general manager of the place, presiding over the trade activities of Ningyang Fort and more than ten surrounding business establishments.

"By the way, a Western barbarian ship that came to our Ningyang Fort a few days ago, have you found out their identities?" Bai Wen'an walked around the room holding a cattail fan, obviously confused by the hot weather. Be a little restless.

"We asked a few Dutch and Portuguese people in the city. They said that the Westerners who came to Ningyang Castle a few days ago also came from Europe, and they called it the Danish-Norwegian United Kingdom." Jiang Maohui restrained his smile and said seriously He replied: "This country is not very big in Europe, with a population of more than one million. They occupied a territory called Tranqueba hundreds of kilometers south of Ningyang Fort more than 40 years ago. This time I came here because I encountered a storm at sea and temporarily entered the port to take shelter."

"What about their sea power?"

"It should not be as good as the Portuguese. They are not a big threat to us." Jiang Maohui thought for a while and said, "However, they have a closer relationship with the Dutch."

"If we are seeking Tiruchirappalli on the banks of the Cauvery River, will the Dutch and this Danish be in the way?"

"They want to come... no way." Jiang Maohui shook his head and said, "Those Danes don't have to consider it. As for the Dutch, they have always been close to us. As long as they are not on the territory of the Mughal Empire, no one should dare Tell us what to do."

"Tell me, have the Dutch attacked Ceylon at this time?"

"..." Jiang Maohui asked Bai Wen'an such a jumpy question, but he didn't react for a while, "...It's time to do something. Didn't our Indian fleet send two warships to watch the excitement a month ago?"

"Do you think the Dutch can take Colombo?"

"If there are no accidents, they should be able to successfully capture Colombo and drive the Portuguese out of Ceylon. I heard that they have been preparing for this for half a year." …

"That's good." Bai Wen'an smiled, "The Dutch occupied Ceylon, and our Indian trading company will have another colonial stronghold and a new market in the future."

"..." Jiang Maohui looked at Bai Wen'an in puzzlement. In the past, when the Portuguese controlled the western coastal area of ​​Ceylon, they didn't dare to exclude our Indian trading company, and continued to do business.The Dutch expelled the Portuguese, so it doesn't mean they won a new market?

"According to the news from the local area, after the Dutch expel the Portuguese, we will obtain the northwest region of Ceylon including the Jaffna Peninsula." The family is divided."

After nearly 20 years of development, the Indian trading company has gradually developed into a huge commercial behemoth. At present, it has more than 5000 ships of various sizes, nearly 1000 personnel, and an annual trade volume of 370 million Hanzhou silver dollars. More than [-] million.

There are more than 40 business stations and strongholds established in India, Ceylon, Yiling Islands (now Andaman Islands in India), Aceh and other places. It is a commercial colonial company with the greatest influence and penetration among many foreign forces in India.In addition, it also obtained political and economic privileges similar to those of a feudal town. Three years ago, it surpassed Nanyang Trading Company and became the largest overseas trading company in Qi.

Today, the Indian trading company has gained nearly [-]% of the territorial influence of Ceylon, which has further consolidated and strengthened its strength and status in the Indian region.

In view of this, some people in China have called for certain restrictions on Indian trading companies, or splitting them up, or issuing more business licenses, in order to eliminate their strong economic influence on the country.

It is said that the Ministry of Industry and Commerce has already started discussions on what method to choose to promote the expansion of Qi's commercial power in India and eliminate the threat of its deepening domestic trade and economic control.