1825 My New Daming

Chapter 71 What?Someone wants Daying to pay money? (Seek collection, monthly pass, recommendation, follow-up)

Calcutta, House of the Governor General of the United East India Trading Company, an English merchant.

This majestic and luxurious building made of white granite stone, like a European palace, is the newly completed Governor's Palace of India, or more precisely, the Governor's Palace of the English Merchant East India United Trading Company.

It is unbelievable to say that India, the jewel in the crown of the British Empire, was not brought down by an expedition sent by the British court, but by the British East India Company, which specializes in drug trafficking, smuggling, robbery, murder, and trafficking. Population, separatist regimes, and legal trade. The so-called "franchise trading company" has been obtained step by step through more than 100 years of operation and expansion in India.

It has to be admitted that this kind of semi-feudal and semi-capitalist chartered trading company is of great help to the colonial cause of Westerners.

On the one hand, these chartered trading companies are capitalist joint-stock companies, which can raise enough start-up capital through issuing stocks, but at the same time, they are vassals of Western monarchs, who have the power to organize armies, occupy territories and rule.Moreover, their army, occupation, and rule are for profit. They can do whatever they can to make a profit, and they can do all kinds of evil. They can have no bottom line and more flexible methods than other feudal lords.

Therefore, they can well control the cost and quickly realize profits in the process of expanding the colony. Only in this way can the colonial expansion become a sustainable good business.

And the English Merchants East India United Trading Company is the peak form of this semi-feudal and semi-capitalist joint-stock company!
This company actually conquered such a large and wealthy colony as India for the British Empire. It has to be said that this is a semi-feudal and semi-capitalist miracle!
Although the British court also helped a little during the whole process, the role played was not decisive-before the invention of the telegraph, it took several months for Calcutta to send a letter to London, and it took at least one round trip. half a year!

What can London do to help in this situation?

Of course, London didn’t do nothing. When the East India Company was engaged in India, the British government and parliament in London were engaged in the East India Company—they had to turn the shareholder’s East India Company into the British East India Company. Then turn the British East India Company into the British Governor's Office of India.

The first goal, the British court in London, has basically been achieved.And the second goal is also close to being achieved.

According to the License Act of 1813, the sovereignty of the Indian territories occupied by the East India Company belonged to the British monarchy. Except for the tea and tea trade and the trade between India and China, the company's monopoly on Indian trade was deprived, and the company had to sell its trade Distinct from regional accounts.

In addition, the governor of the East India Company was not appointed by the company's board of directors, but was appointed by a committee including the British Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Minister of Indian Affairs, and four privy advisers appointed by the king.

The current governor of the East India Company, William Peter Almasted, was appointed by this committee, so the object of his service and allegiance is not the company's shareholders, but the King of England.

And his main mission in India, in addition to safeguarding the interests of the British Empire in India, is to do everything possible to provide various logistical support for the Royal Navy's Indian fleet.

Since the end of the Napoleonic Wars, the focus of the Royal Navy's mission has shifted from Europe to the Indian Ocean, and the Indian Fleet of the Royal Navy has also become a maritime force that surpasses the local fleet.

The reason why the British Empire wanted to elevate the Indian fleet to a more important position than the local fleet was of course to curb the expansion of the Ming Dynasty to the Indian Ocean. This was a national policy that the British Empire had implemented since the middle of the 18th century.

Battleships at that time were transitioning from the age of sails to the age of sails, and the absolute advantage of the British Empire in the age of sails (King Zhuge Wuzhong didn't understand sail battleships at all) became a relative advantage in the age of sails, so the Ming Dynasty broke through the Strait of Malacca and entered the Indian Ocean. become possible.The Indian Grand Fleet of the Royal Navy was formed during that period!

Because this fleet was formed in the name of "defending India", its daily expenses and part of the shipbuilding funds, as well as the costs of building naval ports, forts, forts, barracks, shipyards and other naval arsenals in various parts of India, are all Looted from the people of India with the help of the East India Company.

With the increasing size of the Indian fleet, the maintenance costs and the construction of auxiliary facilities are also increasing. Facing the increasing bills, the current Governor of India, Baron William Peter Ahmed I also feel great pressure for the Indian people under the rule!

"Count, am I not mistaken? The East India Fleet will double the expenditure that India will bear in the next five years? This, is this too much?"

In the office of the Governor of the East India Company, Baron Amherst, who has curly silver hair, is very handsome, and behaves like a gentleman, is holding a budget growth plan for the Indian Grand Fleet, with a embarrassed look on his face. Looking at a one-armed old man with silver hair talking.

This one-armed old man was wearing a blue British Royal Navy uniform. He looked very thin, and his eyes were very sharp. He knew that he had seen strong winds and waves.He is the commander of the Royal Navy's Indian Grand Fleet, Admiral Horatio Earl Nelson.

The legendary naval admiral of the Napoleonic War era is now old, 68 years old, and his physical condition is not very good. Therefore, although the British Admiralty appointed him as the commander of the Indian Grand Fleet, he also clearly ordered him to stay in Calcutta. Leading the Indian Grand Fleet in the Fleet Command—this old man is too precious to the Royal Navy, and his great reputation is his combat effectiveness. He cannot be allowed to get sick or even die because of the hard life at sea.

However, this naval commander, who doesn’t go to sea very much, is the most troublesome existence of the Governor of the East India Company, Baron Amherst, because this old gentleman always feels that the Indian Grand Fleet is insufficiently armed, insufficiently funded, insufficiently base, insufficient fortresses and forts And a large part of these deficiencies had to be made up by the East India Company to find ways to make money.

"A lot? Baron, these are all necessary, even a little insufficient!" Earl Nelson frowned and said, "I just got the news that the Ming Empire is launching a 'One Thousand Ships Project', of which the Hongwu Emperor class alone is It is planned to build more than [-] ships. Once these Hongwu Emperors are all built, the Indian Ocean will become a battlefield for Ming and Great Britain to compete for world hegemony. If the Indian people cannot spend enough money to prove their determination to resist Ming, then our British Why did the Royal Navy sacrifice to protect them? I think those Indian princes who only know how to extort money and live the most shameless and extravagant life should understand what Ming’s conquest means? Ming is not as benevolent as ours. They will Eliminate the caste system, the land belonging to the princes and dignitaries will be divided equally among the peasants, and taxes will be imposed on every wealthy businessman, prince and official, and they will have to pay taxes like ordinary people!"

Baron Amherst frowned: "This is really terrible"

"Yes!" Earl Nelson said, "so you just need to clarify this with the Indian princes, bureaucrats, and wealthy businessmen, and they will definitely be willing to cooperate with you in collecting taxes and collecting more taxes. Moreover, these policies implemented by Ming Dynasty are not What a secret, I believe that most of the rich and powerful in India know it very well."

Baron Amherst had previously served as an ambassador to the Ming Empire, so of course he knew that what Earl Nelson said was true!But Nelson wanted too much!And because Nelson proposed, there is a high probability that London will fully support it, so the pressure on the East India Company is really great!

Just when Baron Amherst wanted to discuss it with Mr. Nelson, one of his secretary suddenly knocked on the door and came in, handing over a note. Baron Amherst took the note and looked at it with surprise. Said: "What? Someone wants our British Empire to pay money?"

(End of this chapter)