The Imperial Age with the Resurgence of Han Style

Chapter 261 The changing direction of the wind

Since Qi State established its first trading station in Surat, India, Qi State has been managing India for more than 80 years. From the earliest Indian trading company to a single dominant one, it later expanded in scale and was split into Indian trading company and Bangladesh trading company. , and in the end, the cabinet established the Ministry of External Colonial Affairs, which incorporated all colonial activities in the entire Indian region into official actions, thereby de facto establishing Qi's dominant position in the subcontinent and making it Qi's exclusive colonial territory.

However, due to the complex political forces and religious issues in India, the colonial methods adopted by Qi throughout India were also different.

There are semi-independent protectorates like the Karat Khanate, semi-colonies such as the Nawab Kingdom, Panjnad Kingdom, and Rajput Kingdom that are deeply economically and militarily tied up, and there are also semi-colonies like Bangladesh and Malwa. This kind of separatist warlord force under the military protection and economic control of Qi State also has direct subordinates such as Shazhou, Mozhou, Shanghai, Fengning (today's local governance and Madras region in India), and Jiangling (today's Calcutta, India). In overseas territories, there is even a puppet kingdom called Cochin, which is called an independent kingdom but is actually completely controlled by Qi State.

In the eighth year of the Han Dynasty (1648), the Portuguese, who could not withstand the intrusion of the Dutch, wanted to gain the support of the people of Qi and at the same time introduce a powerful foreign force to counter the aggressive Dutch East India Company. They moved the Port of Cochin to The land in and surrounding areas was packaged and sold to the Qi people at low prices, so that they could concentrate on developing and maintaining the two important colonial strongholds of Goa and Diu.

Qi State took this as an opportunity to unite with the Kingdom of Cochin, and for decades it continuously annexed neighboring countries and actively expanded its colonial power.

As of the first year of Yonglong (1730), the southern region of India, which was once full of states, had all been wiped out by the Kingdom of Cochin. The Kingdom of Chulong, the Kingdom of Ramnad, the Kingdom of Kozhikode, the ancient Kingdom of Goda, and the Kingdom of Kan The Nuer Kingdom has been completely wiped out, and the Madurainaya Kingdom, which was the largest and most powerful in the past, has also been forced to retreat to the north of the Cauvery River and huddled in a corner. In the Kingdom of Cochin, the Kingdom of Mysore and the Governor of Fengning Under the attack from three sides of the district, the final collapse may only be a matter of time.

At this time, in the entire southern India, except for the gradually rising Kingdom of Mysore, the Kingdom of Cochin had no rivals. It became the country with the largest territory, the largest population under its control, and the most influence in the region.

Of course, everyone in South India knows that the reason why the Kingdom of Cochin is so powerful is not because it is rich in martial arts and can fight well.

Gein, standing behind the Kingdom of Cochin are the people of Qi.

Oh, that’s not right. In the Kingdom of Cochin, the Qi people are not standing at the back. They are everywhere from the top to the Prime Minister’s Office of the Kingdom’s Cabinet Government, down to the tax collection system, and even to the middle and high-level officers in the army. figure.

It can be said that the Kingdom of Cochin was the "white glove" of Qi's colonization of southern India, a gorgeous coat of "Indians ruling Indians".

However, the entire Cochin royal family and many princes and nobles did not feel any resentment or humiliation as puppets of the Qi State. Instead, they were happy to enjoy the glory of "conquerors" and watch the powerful opponents or noble princes in the past being executed. At the foot of the stairs, the pleasure of humbly delivering the surrender form to the Kingdom of Cochin can hardly be described in accurate words.

In India, whether in the north or the south, there has always been a "historical tradition" of fearing the strong and obeying the strong.

More than two hundred years ago, the Portuguese drove gunboats and held muskets to the coast of Malabar, India. After a battle of blood and fire, the Kingdom of Kozhikode, the Kingdom of Cochin, the Kingdom of Chulung, etc. all came to the coast of Malabar, India. The Portuguese surrendered and accepted the harsh trade conditions they proposed.

Later, the Dutch came and showed more powerful force than the Portuguese. Many local forces on the Malabar Coast immediately fell to the Dutch.

Finally, the Qi people came, and their strength was even greater than that of Portugal and the Netherlands, so it was self-evident how to choose.

Among the many states in the south, the most fortunate one is undoubtedly the Kingdom of Cochin.

After Qi State obtained the Port of Cochin, it first chose them as partners in colonial expansion. From the beginning, it was just trade exchanges, to the end, in-depth cooperation in all aspects of economy, politics, military, culture, etc., and was tightly Tightly tied to Qi's chariot.

Of course, after seeing the powerful force of Qi State, the Kingdom of Cochin also sized up the situation and offered to entrust the kingdom's foreign affairs, port management, customs collection, road construction, military security and many other aspects to Qi State, and willingly became Qi State. protectorate.

Relying on the strong, although losing one's independent status to a certain extent, can ensure the survival and permanent wealth of the royal family. This seems to be a good deal.

In an era where the weak are the strongest, it is not shameful to take the initiative to lean on Qi in order to survive.

Looking at the four major civilizations in the world, among the thousands of years of history, only the Arab civilization, the Persian civilization, and the Chinese civilization have been able to continuously create powerful empires, achieve a high degree of political unity, and carry out military expansion. .

Only the Indian civilization has difficulty in achieving political unification, and has never had large-scale military expansion abroad. Culturally, with the rise of Arab civilization, the superstructure of Indian civilization was basically dominated by the True God religion, while local Hinduism was suppressed and restricted.

Oh, that’s not necessarily true. The only highlight moment of Indian civilization was when Indian civilization created the Mauryan Dynasty and gave birth to Buddhism.

This was the only time that political and cultural power was generated by Indian civilization itself, rather than being "gifted" from outside. While the Mauryan Dynasty achieved the unification of India, Buddhism continued to spread to the outside world. At the same time, Afghanistan began to be included in the territory due to the military operations of the Mauryan Dynasty.

However, even the Mauryan Dynasty did not cover the entire scope of Indian civilization. The rise of the Maurya Dynasty did not entirely rely on the strength of Indian civilization itself. Its rise was the result of the spread of Persian civilization to India. Darius invaded the Indus River Basin, and the Indus River Plain became the twentieth province of the Persian Empire. The court etiquette and writing of the Maurya Dynasty were therefore deeply influenced by Persian civilization.

At other historical moments, the Indian civilization did not have a country that could rely on its own unity and strength. From ancient times to the present, the Indian continent has been divided into large and small states and states in various regions. Carry forward your own civilization.

At this time, Indian civilization became a natural refuge for foreign nomads. One after another, nomads entered the Indus River Basin from the Khyber Pass in the northwest and settled down. They gradually became stronger and began to conquer the entire Indian continent and established huge empires. As this empire weakened, the Indian world was divided again until new nomads settled in the northwestern Punjab plains.

But southern India has never been truly unified, either geographically or politically. Even when the Mughal Empire was at its peak, the southern boundary only extended to the Cauvery River. The foundation of governance is also extremely weak. When the First Sino-Indian War broke out and the Mughal Emperor died on the battlefield, rebellions immediately broke out in the conquered Deccan Plateau, and local forces, large and small, sprung up like mushrooms after a rain.

By now, anyone with a discerning eye can see that southern India is likely to achieve true unification at some point in the future. Although there will still be a number of autonomous forces or semi-independent states, no matter what, all the people on this land will People will surrender to an outside power.

As the master of the Kingdom of Cochin and even southern India, Pan Guangfeng, the former General Representative and Minister Plenipotentiary of the State of Qi in Europe, was naturally warmly received by many local princes, nobles and comprador businessmen after arriving at the Port of Cochin.

Cochin Crown Prince Varma, in his capacity as Supervisor of the State, held a grand banquet for Pan Guangfeng at Matancherry Palace. Well, the reason why the King of Cochin failed to come forward to receive him was because, on the occasion of congratulating Emperor Qi on his enthronement ceremony, the King stayed in Chang'an again and did not want to come back.

Although there is endless luxurious material life in the Kingdom of Cochin, to truly enjoy the modern and comfortable civilized life, it has to be in Qi.

Decades ago, the King of Cochin spent more than 800,000 yuan to build a luxurious villa in Chang'an City, which could be called the "Golden Cave".

In order to make the strong afternoon light soft and pleasing to the eye, stained glass was installed in the windows of several halls, and each window was decorated with jade, marble, topaz and amber.

Many rooms are filled with Da Qin porcelain, luxurious Persian carpets hang on the surrounding walls, exquisite wall clocks are also inlaid with diamonds and pearls, and the interior furnishings are also antique sandalwood and nanmu furniture.

When night falls, all the gas lamps are lit, and the entire manor is like a bright starry sky, which is beautiful.

The King of Cochin also brought more than a dozen of his beautiful concubines to Chang'an, where they drank, had fun, and indulged in sex every day, feeling quite happy and unwilling to miss Shu.

In the mainland of Qi, you can enjoy the best goods and services in the world at all times, and you can also get the most advanced medical care in the world, and you can also get the most convenient and fastest means of transportation in the world. .

With nothing to do, spend a lot of money to buy a carriage and hang it on the train. You can appreciate the vast and rugged primitive scenery of Hanzhou in a very short time at any time.

As for the complicated daily affairs of the Kingdom of Cochin, forget it!
There is Crown Prince Varma in the palace to supervise the country, there is the Prime Minister of the Cabinet and the Qi State Advisor in the political affairs, and the Qi State Garrison is in charge of the military affairs. The King of Cochin feels that it does not matter whether he returns to the country or not, he might as well stay at ease in Chang'an.

The ministers of the Kingdom of Cochin and the advisers of the State of Qi were speechless about the king's neglect of government and his refusal to return in Chang'an.

By the way, this guy really knows how to enjoy life!

Don't you have any sense of responsibility as a king in your heart?
"The Kingdom of Mysore seems to feel our huge threat. In addition to continuously strengthening its armaments and military power, it is also trying to form a common alliance with Hyderabad and the Maratha Kingdom to maintain its own security interests." Qi State in the Kingdom of Cochin General Counsel Zhou Dehui stood on the edge of the terrace on the third floor, looking at the dots of lights in the distance. He put the pipe in his hand to his mouth, took a gentle puff, feeling the strong stimulation of nicotine, and then blew out a smoke ring.

"What? Are you planning to launch a preemptive military operation against the Kingdom of Mysore?" Pan Guangfeng asked with a smile.

"Well, we do have this plan." Zhou Dehui nodded and said: "A year ago, the Kingdom of Mysore attacked the Kingdom of Claydina Yaka. We thought that with the massive military assistance from our Qi Kingdom, the war would be over. It will last for two or three years. Even if the Kingdom of Mysore can win on the battlefield, its strength will inevitably be greatly reduced. In this way, we can take advantage of the situation and take advantage of the opportunity to completely solve the Kingdom of Madurai and push the border. To the Kingdom of Mysore. But who would have thought that the Kingdom of Mysore would defeat the army of the Kingdom of Claydinayaka in less than half a year, attack the country's capital Talwar, and force the other party to cede large areas of land and land. Huge reparations.”

"Oh, if Mysore conquers the Kingdom of Cledinaya in one fell swoop, then the threat to our Suzhou Governorate (formerly Portuguese Goa) will be great." Pan Guangfeng couldn't help but frowned after hearing this, "Mysore Did the Kingdom of Sol receive assistance from some external forces? "

"The French." Zhou Dehui said softly: "We learned from various channels that the Kingdom of Mysore had close contacts with some French businessmen, and it must have been through them that they obtained a large number of firearms. Of course, the profit-seeking Dutch and the ulterior motives of England People have also smuggled weapons and equipment to this kingdom to a greater or lesser extent."

"French people? Then you..."

"We did not impose too severe punishment on the French merchants who smuggled weapons. We only confiscated the weapons on the ship and gave them a verbal warning." Zhou Dehui smiled and shook his head, "After all, the weapons carried by those French merchant ships were purely for self-defense. Although the number is a bit large, we really can't challenge it. After all, India is not our legal territory of Qi, and there is a lack of due ports in the Mughal Empire that we have not yet actually controlled. Excuse for law enforcement. Haha... Who told Qi to advocate free trade? "

"Haha..." Pan Guangfeng couldn't help laughing when he heard this.

Yes, our country, Qi, advocates free trade. There is no reason to only allow its own merchant ships to carry out trade with any country and region, but to impose various restrictions and obstacles on the merchant ships of other countries to enter its territory or its colonial territories.

Moreover, the Mughal Empire and the Kingdom of Mysore are still legally independent countries. Although everyone in the world knows that the entire India is within the sphere of influence of our Qi State, they are not legally Qi State's after all. Formal territories or colonial territories cannot arbitrarily impose long-arm jurisdiction and prohibit the free passage of merchant ships from other countries.

"Although the Kingdom of Mysore is gaining momentum, its national power is limited after all, and defeating it is not a problem." Zhou Dehui pondered for a moment, and then said solemnly: "But I am worried that the Kingdom of Mysore will be attacked by us. After the blow, will it completely fall to the Maratha Kingdom and then unite with the Arkot State, the Chechidruganayaka Kingdom, and the de facto independent Hyderabad to form a Deccan Alliance? Challenge us."

"The Zhouzong system means..."

"The situation in southern India can affect the whole body!" Zhou Dehui said: "Therefore, before launching a military operation against the Kingdom of Mysore, we have to consider whether it will trigger a war with a wide range of consequences. Therefore, after Ambassador Pan returns to Chang'an, please be sure to inform His Majesty and the cabinet of the details so that necessary preparations can be made."

After hearing this, Pan Guangfeng couldn't help but sigh slightly.

The young emperor had not been on the throne for a long time, and most likely he wanted to flex his muscles and do a "great cause" to show his wise actions and enhance his prestige.

The principals of these overseas colonial territories naturally want to cater to the Holy Will and please His Majesty. They take various opportunities to launch colonial expansion wars and use numerous bones and the blood of countless people in exchange for the glory and wealth of themselves and their families behind them.

Perhaps, under the leadership of His Majesty the young emperor, the empire's formerly peaceful foreign policy may turn into a relatively radical and public one.

Then, I am afraid that I will face more challenges after taking office as Minister of Foreign Affairs.

(End of this chapter)