I

  Chapter 973 969【Enemies on all sides】

  Jin King Zhao Kuangchen didn't know that a crisis was slowly approaching.

  The Dutch have played tricks!

  In this historical year, the Netherlands and Portugal signed the Hague Agreement. The two sides delineated the colonial scope, the east coast of India belonged to the Netherlands, and the west coast belonged to Portugal. The Netherlands recognized Portugal's sovereignty over Brazil, and Portugal paid 4 million reais in compensation to the Netherlands, to be paid in installments over 16 years.

This led to Portugal remaining neutral after the Anglo-Portuguese marriage and not intervening in the second Anglo-Dutch war. suzerainty over Brazil.

  The Netherlands seized the coastal ports of India with all-round means, not only by force, but also in collusion with the Indian princes.

   Now that China and Portugal are married, Portugal has not signed the "Hague Agreement", and the economic situation in the Netherlands is even worse. Zhao Kuangchen expanded under the nose of the Netherlands again, how could the Dutch still sit still?

  They dare not go to war in person, but they still have the guts to sabotage secretly.

  In the city of Madurai, it was raining heavily.

  The old king passed away two years ago. The only thing he remembered for future generations was the construction of the magnificent Tirumalai Nayak Palace. This palace is named after the king.

   Madurai is a Hindu country ruled by the Sultan!

   Only 1.5 kilometers away from this magnificent palace is the Meenakshi Temple, one of the holy places of Hinduism. There are four gate towers around the temple, the shortest is 45 meters and the highest is 50 meters.

  The palace seems to want to compete with the temple, covering a vast area and exquisite architecture. It's a pity that in another time and space, it became the granary and arsenal of the British, and only a small part remained after hundreds of years.

  King Udaji Nayak received the Dutch envoy Rheinster in the palace.

Leinster said a lot, but the king was unmoved. He continued to say: "The Chinese are different. Whether it is Portugal or the Netherlands, we only want to get ports to do business. But China has countless Tens of millions of people, they not only want to do business, but also occupy the land here. There will be more and more Chinese people, and the land in Tanjore can’t satisfy their appetite, and they will come to attack Madurai at that time.”

  Udaji Sultan said: "China is far away and very powerful. I don't want to provoke them. Of course, if the Chinese invade Madurai, we will of course rise up to resist and drive the Chinese out of here."

   "It will be too late by then," Rheinster said. "There are more and more Chinese people. When they launch an attack, no country can resist it."

  Udaji Sultan asked: "Will the Netherlands send troops together?"

  Linester said: "The people of Ceylon are rebelling, and Dutch soldiers need to quell the rebellion. We are short of troops and cannot send troops together for the time being, but we can help."

   "What help?" Udaji Sultan asked.

  Linester said: "300 matchlock guns, two artillery pieces, and some ammunition are sold at 30% off the previous price."

  Udaji Sultan sneered: "I thought it was a free gift."

Rheinster said: "The king of Mysore in the north of your country has agreed to send troops. Prince Alikamedu of Tanjore has also agreed to send troops. If His Majesty sends troops together, the Chinese will be attacked from three sides. At that time, Tanjore The city of Jor and its surrounding areas belong to His Majesty."

   Sultan Udaji suddenly felt a little moved. It was the rich city of Tanjore and the fertile river delta.

   It's just that his father built a majestic palace and tossed the whole country for more than ten years. The domestic people's livelihood is in decline, and he has no ability to expand abroad. It has only been two years since Udaji succeeded to the throne, and he has barely settled the domestic nobles. It is unrealistic to dispatch a large army at this time.

  But as a young Sultan, Udaji has the desire to expand his territory, and the bait given by the Dutch is also irresistible.

   "I promised to send troops, but you have to send the muskets and artillery first," Udaji said, "I will pay half of the price first, and the balance will be paid after the war is won."

   "Of course." Leinster smiled.

   Both sides are playing tricks!

  Udaji wants to wait and see after getting the arms, when the time comes, the border between Chen Bing and the two countries. If the Chinese are really besieging, he will take advantage of the situation and kill them. If the Chinese were not besieged, he would find an excuse to withdraw his troops, buy weapons at half the price of 30% off, and refuse to pay the rest of the balance.

  As for the Dutch, it doesn't matter, as long as Madurai sends troops symbolically. Regardless of the outcome, as long as the Chinese can be disgusted, the Chinese will always be on guard against their neighbors, and they will not be able to develop with peace of mind. As for the balance of the weapon, if you refuse it, you will refuse it, just treat it as a meat bun and beat a dog.

  At the same time, Dutch envoys also appeared in the Kingdom of Mysore, the Kingdom of Jinji, and the city of Kanmei, which nominally surrendered to Zhao Kuangyi.

   In a word, make trouble everywhere!

  …

  Taiwu City.

  The rainy season has not yet passed, Zhao Kuangyi received the envoy of Jin Jiguo.

   "The Netherlands urged you to fight, and also said that other countries sent troops together?" Zhao Kuangtang was taken aback.

The envoy of Jinji Kingdom said: "Yes, the partition plan has been formulated. The northernmost corner of your country belongs to our country, the northeast and northern large areas belong to Prince Ali Kamedu, the west belongs to Mysore, and the south belongs to Madurai. .”

  Zhao Kuangchen couldn't help but sneer: "It's a good plan."

   Jin Jiguo said: "My Majesty, I wish to have good relations with your country, and hope to marry the princess to Your Excellency. From then on, the two countries will form an alliance. If one side is attacked, the other must send troops to help."

   "I need to think about it." Zhao Kuangtang said.

  The envoy was taken out of the palace, and Zhao Kuangyi summoned the ministers of civil and military affairs to discuss.

   Ma Yu took the lead and said: "Your Highness, I have already inquired and understood. The biggest enemy of the Jinji Kingdom is the very powerful Golconda Kingdom. Once we form an alliance with the Jinji Kingdom, it means going to war with Golconda."

  The country of Jinji is long and narrow, occupying the area with the most rainfall in South India, and there are two large gold mines being mined.

   At the same time, its long and narrow land borders with Golconda. Golconda is a country that can be hardened with the Mughals, and a small part of the country borders Zhao Kuangcheng. It is very difficult to solve the quagmire of war in the future.

Wang Chongxi said: "The news brought by the Tamil merchants is that Golconda is fighting the Mughals, and should not use troops in the south in the short term. We need an ally, otherwise we will face enemies on all sides. I suggest that His Highness and Jin Ji country marriage."

  Sun Kewang also said: "I also suggest marriage. Only with northern allies can we expand to the west and southwest with confidence."

   All the ministers discussed repeatedly, and all felt that they should marry, otherwise they would definitely offend Jin Jiguo, and it would be difficult to deal with making enemies on all sides.

Zhao Kuangzhen followed the good example and made a decision: "When the sea merchants come back, order some brocade, silk, clocks and so on from them as the betrothal gift for marrying the princess of Jinji Kingdom. Please treat the envoy well and say that I am willing to marry, and I will formally marry the princess next year. , let’s talk about the war.”

  Wang Chongxi said: "We must first settle down in order to fight against the outside world. We should send troops in advance, and attack Canmei City as soon as the rainy season is over."

   "Second minister!" Zhao Kuangyi's classmates agreed one after another.

  Zhao Kuangtang looked at Weng Yingqi and Sun Kewang: "What do you two think?"

Weng Yingqi was the commander of the infantry. He was afraid of offending these civil servants. After all, they were all old classmates of the King of Jin, so his words were more tactful: "You gentlemen are right, but I think Madurai should be attacked first. Whoever is closest to him should be attacked!" "

  Sun Kewang also said: "It is best to fight Madurai first."

  Tanjore and Madurai are very interesting. One is in the southeast of the territory and the other is in the northeast of the territory. The capitals of the two countries are not far from each other.

  Zhao Kuangyi only studied in the Naval Academy, so he doesn't know much about land warfare. At this time, the civil official said to attack Canmei City first, but the two military generals said to attack Madurai first. He felt that professional affairs should be left to professionals, so he was inclined to the generals' suggestion.

   "Why hit Madurai first? Explain in detail." Zhao Kuangtang said.

   "General Weng has experienced many battles, so he must have more vision than his ministers." Sun Kewang didn't want to be the first bird. The civil servants were all classmates of King Jin, and the infantry commander was from the Datong Army. Only he himself was a pure outsider.

Weng Yingqi said: "These surrounding forces were forcibly twisted together by the Dutch to form a coalition. How can they work together? After the rainy season, most parties will send troops, but I am afraid they will be slow. Even if they invade the border, they will be nothing more than looting Villagers, dare not go straight to Taiwu City."

  When the civil servants heard the words, they all felt that it made sense.

Weng Yingqi continued: "Since the enemy is scattered, we should fight the most threatening one. Madurai is the closest to Taiwu City. If we send troops elsewhere, Taiwu City is very likely to be besieged by Madurai's army. We The Madurai army should be quickly defeated, and then immediately transferred back to Taiwu City. At that time, the coalition forces will have different ideas, and they may disintegrate on their own. Even if they do not disintegrate, they will not be able to cooperate in the battle. If you want to clean up the noble princes in Canmei City, Isn't it easy to grab?"

  Zhao Kuangtang looked at his classmates: "What do you think?"

   "What General Weng said is very true." The civil servants replied in unison.

  Everyone came from afar to establish the state of Jin. Their foothold is not stable, they are surrounded by enemies, and there are not even enough officials. At this time, there can be no civil and military disputes. They all think about how to get through the crisis smoothly.

  Zhao Kuangtang asked again: "How about defeating the enemies of Madurai quickly?"

  Navy commander Lin Chengzong, who only has three old ships available, said: "Madurai's navy is very weak, and its capital is by the sea, so troops can be transported directly to its capital."

Sun Kewang said: "If Madurai has not yet dispatched troops, he will besiege the city to fight for aid and kill the army of King Qin. If Madurai has dispatched troops, the infantry will surround the capital by boat, and the cavalry will cross the border by land. The enemy's country is besieged. The army must return to the army to serve the king, and the cavalry can wait for the opportunity to follow and attack!"

  Weng Yingqi said: "General Sun has thought about it carefully and can fight like this."

   "That's good, that's it," Zhao Kuangtang said, "Everyone go back, prepare food and grass, and recruit peasants. Once the rainy season is over, send troops immediately, both by land and sea!"

  (end of this chapter)