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Chapter 1264 East India Dispatch Army
Aurangzeb discovered the collusion between the British and the Chinese in the port of Surat, but he, who has been active in the Deccan Plateau and the port of Gujarat for a long time, learned the news very slowly.

He had no idea that two gunboats of the East India Company had bought the fishing village of Madras and an island on the east coast for 600 pounds, and three villages in Calcutta at the mouth of the Ganges for 1200 rupees. management rights.On the surface, they set up warehouses locally for turnover, but in fact they were secretly building bastions.Once the bastion is completed, it will be difficult for the princes of India to take back the land.

Two ships approached Calcutta. The yellow dragon flag of the Ministry of War was hung on the ships, and a group of soldiers with muskets came down from above.

They were supposed to go to Surat, but after the East India Company purchased two potential land plots in Madras and Calcutta, it notified the West Cochin Province, which governs Taungoo, Siam and other places, and asked them to tell them about The destination of the incoming East India Expedition was changed to the Ganges Delta region in eastern India, located in Calcutta on the east bank of the Hooghly River.

The 300-strong East India Expeditionary Force searched for a while in the east of the Ganges Delta before finding the Hooghly River. Sailing along the upper reaches of the Hooghly River, they discovered the territory of Calcutta with the flag of the East India Company.

Chen Bangyan and Francis Ri led the East India Company team to build a bastion in Calcutta. At this time, seeing the sudden arrival of 300 people, they couldn't help feeling a little headache.Three hundred people, that is three hundred mouths. They have not yet established a factory in Calcutta, and the fort is still under construction. It may be difficult to provide them with enough food.

The natives who were hired to carry the stones looked uneasy when they saw the Huaxia Army coming from afar.

"I am the temporary head of the East India Dispatch Army, Artillery Major Qin Zuoming, and I have been ordered to protect the commercial interests of the East India Company in the Indian peninsula. I have already learned of the change of destination from the Provincial Yamen of Xijiaozhi Province."

Leading this East India dispatch army was a middle-aged officer with a refined command knife at his waist.

This is the standard equipment for officers of the Kyushu Army. It was improved by Tang Dao. It removed unnecessary decorations and pursued a cold metal texture. It also used the latest technology and the hardest steel forging.

"The port of Surat is the most prosperous port of the Mughal Empire. The empire is closely monitoring it. I am afraid that after your dispatched army arrives at the port of Surat, the empire will soon send troops to surround the port of Surat. You are asked to leave there immediately. So we chose this place with more swamps and woods."

"Originally the stronghold should be as close to raw materials or markets as possible, but the power of the Mughal Empire is growing. We can only find suitable places on the islands and coasts in order to gain a firm foothold. That's why we ask you to set the target The location was changed from Surat Port to here."

Chen Bangyan and the East India Company explained to Qin Zuoming the changes in the situation.

The East India Company intends to adopt a gradual encroachment method to turn the Indian peninsula into a source of raw materials and a product dumping market, and try to establish a stronghold in a relatively safe place.

After Qin Zuoming understood the intentions of the East India Company, he stationed in the relatively backward Calcutta area.

There are three villages here, as well as Indian merchants. The East India Company can use these merchants to buy food from the hinterland for the incoming East India dispatched troops.

The East India Dispatch Army is not under the management of the East India Company, but is directly commanded by the military headquarters in the capital.

But when the East India Company has an accident, the East India Company has certain powers to ask the East India to send troops to help the company achieve a certain project.

The East India Company is different from Western companies. It is completely purchased by the government. After all, it is a state-owned industry, and it is easier for the two parties to coordinate.

Calcutta Fort is along the river bank, and specialized fortification experts are surveying the terrain and designing the location of the bastion.

Compared with the relatively casual design of bastions in other colonies, the construction of Calcutta Fort was much more cautious.

The Bengal region is the treasure house of the Mughal Empire, and the Ganges plain has a large population and a large amount of cultivated land. For the immediate agricultural empire, farmland means taxation, and taxation determines whether the treasury is rich, so it is regarded as very important place.

Shuja, the second prince of the Mughal Empire, served as the vice king of Bengal, and guarded the Bengal area with the governor of the Mughal Empire.In addition to the vice king and governor of Bangladesh, there are many feudal princes here, and the situation is very complicated.

"Our bastion must meet the living needs of at least 500 people in normal times, and it needs to meet the needs of [-] soldiers stationed in the bastion for defense during wartime." Chen Bangyan made a request to the fortification experts.

Fortification experts have carefully surveyed the nearby terrain during this period. They drew a topographic map of the Calcutta area and planned the bastion according to the hydrology and topography.

The bastion was planned to rise flat on a clearing with its back against the east bank of the Hooghly River.

Its prototype still uses cheap civil structures, and it will be rebuilt or expanded according to the actual situation in the future.After the Calcutta Fort is developed, it will be changed to a stronger masonry or even a cement structure.

"The Portuguese Da Gama built a bastion on a small island on the west coast more than 100 years ago. At that time, they had only about 150 people. They were attacked by the local indigenous king. Tens of thousands of Indian troops besieged the bastion for seven months. Unable to win. Although the Mughal Empire more than 7 years later is stronger, but in the face of more advanced bastions, as long as we occupy the command of the sea, even if they come with 100 troops, they will not be able to capture this Calcutta fort.” Fortification experts are confident Said full.

The combination of warships, bastions and firearms is unfavorable in the colonial activities of this era. The Portuguese, with a population of less than one million in the Age of Discovery, can often occupy a large area with a few hundred people. Few indigenous rulers Ability to drive them away, smashing their heads when attacking the bastion.

The East India Company built a bastion here, that is, it did not mean to leave, but it was like a nail firmly stationed in the Ganges Delta, trying to make the Mughal Empire feel uncomfortable.

"We have only 300 troops in East India, but according to the order of the military department, we need to hire and train the natives here to assist us in combat. Our number and funds are limited, and this place is vast. We need a group of Cannon fodder with some combat capability..." Qin Zuoming said to the East India Company.

(End of this chapter)