Daming Yuanfu

Chapter 2372: First Show of Strength (Part )
Gao Youshi laughed and nodded, "That's a good idea. So, what are the specific measures?"

Menggu Zhezhe thought for a moment, her expression turned serious, and she said, "I have been with you for many years, and even though I have never eaten pork, I have seen pigs run. Today, I will not be afraid of my ignorance and will imitate you in dealing with some things on a daily basis. I hope you will not laugh at me."

Seeing that she was speaking seriously, Gao Youshi put away his slightly joking smile and said in a serious and encouraging tone, "Anyone who learns calligraphy starts with copying. If you have really learned the way I judge things, I think you will be more than qualified to be a military commander or military governor." Then he paused for a moment and stretched out his hand to gesture, "Please try to speak."

Seeing Gao Youshi being so serious, Menggu Zhezhe became a little nervous. She cleared her throat, calmed herself down, and then said, "I will divide this measure into four aspects, namely economic warfare, intelligence warfare, diplomatic warfare, and military support."

Gao Youshi was indeed a little surprised, and thought: You not only learned my method of judging things, but also learned my idioms, right?

Then I thought: It seems that I underestimated her in the past, thinking that she was the least talented among my wives and concubines. Therefore, since she married me as a teenager, I have always let her concentrate on studying, but I never tested her, so I have no idea whether she has learned anything or not. Now it seems that she is not only good at studying, but also has observed me very seriously, so much so that she can even imitate me very well...

Thinking of this, Gao Youshi smiled encouragingly again and nodded, "Very good, then let's start with the economic war."

Receiving Gao Youshi's encouraging smile, Menggu Zhezhe gained courage and said with a firm look, "I think we should immediately adopt the strategy of economic warfare. We can use our trade network in the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean to restrict trade with the Mughal Empire. Not only can we increase tariffs, but we can even ban the export of certain key materials to weaken their economic strength."

Gao Fusi nodded in agreement, and then added: "Your idea is very good, and economic warfare is indeed an effective means. However, in addition to tariffs, we can also take other measures, such as supporting merchants within the Mughal Empire to oppose Jahangir's policies, or using our agents to dump certain goods in their markets and destroy their local industries.

At the same time, we can also use our naval superiority to harass the Mughal Empire's maritime trade routes and increase their trade costs."

Menggu Zhezhe carefully noted Gao Youshi's suggestion, and then continued: "We can also consider exerting indirect economic pressure on the Mughal Empire through our trading partners. For example, we can reduce support for those countries that have close trade relations with the Mughal Empire, forcing them to choose between us and the Mughal Empire - such as the Portuguese."

Gao Fusi smiled slightly, approving of Menggu Zhezhe's analysis, and then added: "In addition, we can also strike the Mughal Empire by controlling key resources. For example, we can limit the supply of luxury goods such as spices, silk and gems. These commodities are not only an important source of resale trade income for them, but also necessary materials for them to maintain the luxurious life of the court and nobles. In this way, we can weaken their internal stability without directly launching a war."

Menggu Zhezhe's eyes lit up, and she said excitedly: "Yes, we can use our plantations and mines in Southeast Asia to control the supply of spices and gems. We can also influence the Portuguese to increase the interest rate on loans to the Mughal Empire, increase their financial pressure, and force them to compromise on military spending."

Hey, you know a lot, you even know that the Mughal Empire asked the Portuguese for a loan? I only knew this news half a year ago... Oh, yes, I allowed her to review some internal reports of Jinghua before, but I didn't give her the power to interfere. I guess she only knew it after reading the reports - this makes sense.

Gao Fusi nodded and reminded: "That's right, but we also need to be aware that these economic warfare measures may provoke a counterattack from the Mughal Empire, and they may also take similar measures against us. Although I believe that Jinghua's economic system is healthier and more stable than that of the Mughal Empire, we still need to be prepared, strengthen our economic resilience, and ensure that our trade network can remain stable even if the other side counterattacks."

Menggu Zhezhe thought for a while, then said: "I understand. We need to ensure our economic security while carrying out economic warfare. In this way... we can strengthen economic cooperation with other countries or tribes in the Tianzhu region, so that we have more trading partners and reduce the risks caused by changes in a certain market. In this way, even if the Mughal Empire takes retaliatory measures, we can maintain economic stability."

Gao Fusi nodded with satisfaction. He was very satisfied with Menggu Zhezhe's analysis and suggestions. He could tell that Menggu Zhezhe had a certain strategic vision and political wisdom, and was able to consider issues comprehensively from multiple angles.

In particular, Menggu Zhezhe put economic warfare first, and this alone made him believe that Menggu Zhezhe had really studied him carefully. With such a vision, as time goes by, Menggu Zhezhe will definitely become his important assistant in handling Jinghua's internal affairs, and will also be able to share the heavy responsibility for Liu Xin in the future.

"So, what about the intelligence war?" Gao Yousi asked.

Under Gao Youshi's urging, Menggu Zhezhe continued to elaborate on her views on intelligence warfare: "In terms of intelligence warfare, I think that at this stage we should strengthen the collection of intelligence within the Mughal Empire, especially the dynamics of the Mewar region, as well as the deployment and mobilization of their troops. Through this intelligence, we can formulate strategies more accurately, and even carry out some sabotage activities when necessary."

Gao Fusi smiled slightly and agreed with Menggu Zhezhe's analysis. He added: "Intelligence warfare is indeed crucial. However, we must not only collect intelligence, but also learn to create and use false intelligence to mislead the Mughal Empire's decision-making. In addition, we can also use the intelligence network to secretly contact dissatisfied elements within the Mughal Empire and encourage them to launch a coup or uprising to further weaken Jahangir's ruling foundation - at the very least, we can create all kinds of troubles for him and distract his attention."

Menggu Zhezhe was very impressed. The master was indeed an expert. As soon as he opened his mouth, he used a ruthless move to turn the passive situation into the active one. She calmed down, showed a little admiration, and continued: "I think we can consider asking the Ministry of Internal Affairs to establish a special branch in Tianzhu as soon as possible to coordinate and execute these tasks.

At the same time, because this branch is too far away, I am afraid that it will be given some discretion. In this case, it must be led by someone that the master trusts especially, to ensure the accuracy of the intelligence and the secrecy of the action, as well as to ensure his loyalty. "

Gao Fusi nodded, and then reminded: "It is necessary to set up the Tianzhu branch as soon as possible, but we must also pay attention to protecting our spies. They are our eyes and ears. Once exposed, not only will their lives be endangered, but our plans may also be leaked. Therefore, no matter what tasks we give them in the future, we need to first ensure that they have sufficient cover and protection measures - I will personally explain this to Gao Qi." Gao Fusi deliberately mentioned Gao Qi, and Menggu Zhezhe certainly understood what he meant. In terms of intelligence, Gao Qi has been directly responsible for Gao Mo since he semi-retired, and no one else can ask about it - even Huang Zhiting and Liu Xin took the initiative not to ask about the Ministry of Internal Affairs, let alone her.

So Menggu Zhezhe simply said roughly: "Yes, I understand. I just suggest that the Tianzhu branch be established as soon as possible so that it can be handled earlier to avoid the delay in information transmission like now."

Gao Fusi nodded and added: "You should know that at present, we are mainly using our business network as a cover for intelligence gathering in India...Tianzhu. Merchants travel around and deal with people from all walks of life. They can collect a lot of valuable information without arousing the enemy's suspicion."

Menggu Zhezhe smiled and said, "I know this. Merchants are indeed ideal intelligence collectors. They can freely enter many areas that we cannot directly contact, and their business activities provide us with a perfect cover. We can either place spies in the caravan, or cooperate with some reliable merchants to let them collect intelligence for us, or even make the spies the leaders of the caravan... Isn't this what we have been doing?"

Gao Fusi nodded with satisfaction, but he did not intend to elaborate on the intelligence model. Instead, he changed the subject and said, "In addition to our own intelligence, we can also establish cooperative relations with other forces by exchanging intelligence. For example, we can share intelligence about the Mughal Empire with the Portuguese or even the Persians in exchange for their support for our actions, or at least their acquiescence."

At this point, Menggu Zhezhe was just about to talk about the diplomatic war. She immediately elaborated on her initial idea of ​​the diplomatic war: "Speaking of other countries, it is exactly the diplomatic war that I want to talk about. I know that the master met with Mr. Xijiang (Matteo Ricci) not long ago. He mentioned that the Pope wanted to establish a certain alliance with the Ming Dynasty to curb the expansion of the Ottoman Empire. During the meeting, he also mentioned the Safavid Empire in Persia..."

Facing Menggu Zhezhe's inquiring gaze, Gao Youshi nodded calmly and said, "Yes, it is true. These things are not confidential to you. I believe you have already fully understood the situation that day... So, what do you think?"

"I have spent a lot of time trying to understand the information about Europe recently, and I have also learned about the existing information about the Ottoman Empire and the Safavid Empire. Although this information is a bit trivial, I have gained some understanding."

Menggu Zhezhe paused for a moment and said, "I think we can contact other hostile forces of the Mughal Empire, such as the Safavid Empire in Persia, or even some maritime forces that have recently arrived in India from Europe - such as the Dutch, and use them to contain the energy and military strength of the Mughal Empire."

It seems that Menggu Zhezhe has indeed spent time to understand the situation of these empires, but it is clear that she does not know enough about the Dutch. Because of their small land area and small population, the Dutch basically dare not use force against some big countries in the East. In most cases, they still pay more attention to commercial interests.

6◇9◇Book◇Bar

This is well-documented: In the late Qing Dynasty, after the disastrous defeat at Yiya, the Dutch East India Company's international reputation plummeted, but the Dutch East India Company did not dare to take action against the Lan Fang Company, which was right in front of it and had only 60,000 people (not 60,000 troops, but only 60,000 Chinese under its rule).

You ask why? The reason is that Lan Fang claimed that they were a vassal state of the Qing Dynasty (not really, the Qing Dynasty only agreed to trade with them after being annoyed by Lan Fang enough). The Dutch were afraid of angering the Qing Dynasty and attracting Qing Dynasty intervention, so they waited for a hundred years until the Sino-French Crisis broke out in 1884, and then they plucked up the courage to invade Lan Fang.

It would be an overestimation to expect such a commercial republic that bullies the weak and fears the strong to confront the Mughal Empire, which seems to be still in its heyday.

Gao Youshi briefly explained the situation in the Netherlands - of course, he mainly told Menggu Zhezhe some basic information, such as the size of the Netherlands' territory, population geometry, etc., and then said: "Diplomatic war is necessary, but the Netherlands cannot be relied on. The reason why they can withstand the fierce attack of Spain is because they fought on their own land, and the King of Spain did exploit them too much.

In India, we can maintain peace with the Mughal Empire on the surface, while supporting its enemies behind the scenes. You know, Akbar the Great's decades of conquest wars were not fought in vain, and Jahangir gave himself such a name (Jahangir, meaning "World Conqueror"), so in diplomacy, we can win over too many forces - after all, the Mughal Empire has enemies everywhere in India. "

"Master, you really know everything. I took it for granted." Menggu Zhezhe admitted her mistake and continued, "In this case, we should send envoys to widely contact the forces that oppose the Mughal Empire and try our best to form an anti-Mughal alliance to let Jahangir experience what it means to have the whole world as an enemy."

Gao Youshi smiled slightly, agreeing with Menggu Zhezhe's analysis, and then reminded: "However, we also need to pay attention that diplomatic war is not achieved overnight. It requires long-term management and patience. We need to establish a stable diplomatic network to transmit information, exert influence and form alliances through this network... Even after defeating the Mughal Empire, these will be useful."

Menggu Zhezhe pondered for a while, then said: "I understand. We need to ensure that our diplomatic actions are coordinated with our economic and military strategies while carrying out diplomatic warfare. We need to find a balance between different countries and ensure that our actions do not cause unnecessary conflicts."

Gao Youshi added, "That's right. In addition, we also need to train a group of professional diplomatic talents who are proficient in foreign languages. You may not know that India is a place that has never been unified. There are many languages, and the religions and customs are very different. So we need to train some professionals who understand the local situation and can speak the local language. These talents will be very important assets for us in future diplomatic battles."

Menggu Zhezhe thought carefully about Gao Youshi's words. She realized that in this complex international game, every decision needs to be carefully considered and every action needs to be carefully planned. She knew that she still had a lot to learn, but she was also confident that she could become an excellent "military advisor" under the guidance of her master.

"Thank you for your guidance, Master." She bowed deeply and continued, "Then let's talk about military support."
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PS: Congratulations to Black Monkey for winning the Golden Joystick Game of the Year Award. Even though it's just a cassock, I'm also a "shareholder" who spent more than 300 yuan, so I'm still very happy, hehe.