Chapter 1209: Aurangzeb Is No Fool! (Please Subscribe)

Shayista Khan was utterly stunned, staring wide-eyed at his Emperor.

A moment ago he had assumed Aurangzeb would have someone send slippers to Sengge; he never imagined this Emperor meant to send his own daughter, and on top of that an annual subsidy of 10 million rupees. The puritan emperor whom everyone in India feared had, here in Transoxiana, turned into a generous, open-handed good father-in-law!

Aurangzeb had already noticed Shayista Khan's astonished look. He rarely showed a smile, and now it was a bitter one. "My Wazir, do you think I would not like to have elephants carry slippers to the stone-walled royal city of the Zunghars? But my strength does not permit it! My 50,000 warriors are nothing but broken remnants who escaped from under the guns, cannons, and sabers of the Zunghars.

Moreover, in the history of Transoxiana, conquerors from the northern steppes have always been the victors, and among them were my own ancestors. Both history and reality tell me that I cannot tear my face apart with those barbarians. For now I can only combine soft and hard measures: on one hand, unite all parties to oppose the Zunghar Kingdom; on the other, use beauty and wealth to entice their king to convert to the True Faith.

As long as the Zunghar king alone converts, I can return to India with enough warriors to accomplish my great enterprise of unification!"

So Aurangzeb's mind was in fact very clear. He knew he could not defeat Sengge — how could he possibly defeat him? He could not even defeat the Khanate of Bukhara, so would he dare fight the Zunghars?

Besides, he had only with great difficulty recruited 50,000 Muslim warriors from Central Asia, and the pacification of India depended entirely on them. How could he let them be exhausted in a war with the Zunghars?

Why had he spent so much silver to come to Samarkand? Truly to restore his ancestors' patrimony? Impossible — he had come to gather manpower!

As a war maniac of India, Aurangzeb had long known that his own army could not fight, and that he had to replenish it with fresh blood from Afghanistan or Central Asia. And blood from Central Asia was even more effective than blood from Afghanistan!

If 50,000 would follow him back to India, he would have nothing to worry about for the rest of his life. If 150,000 followed him back, unifying India would be a trivial matter.

Only by completing the great enterprise of unifying India could Aurangzeb realize his ideal of transforming India and lead India to rise!

"Your Majesty Alamgir," Shayista Khan asked in a low voice, "then do we need to make preparations for war? What if — what if King Sengge is unwilling to convert to the True Faith, and also unwilling to submit to the Timurid Empire?"

Sengge most likely would not refuse Zeb-un-Nissa. She was the granddaughter of Mumtaz Mahal, and her mother was also a beauty from Persia — how could her looks be low? Moreover, Zeb-un-Nissa was a famously brilliant woman of India, versed in philosophy, mathematics, astronomy, and literature, able to speak Persian, Arabic, and Urdu, and also a poet and musician.

As for the subsidy of 10 million rupees, Sengge could not refuse that either. Who would make trouble for themselves over money?

But the two conditions of converting to the True Faith and submitting to the Timurid Empire — those Sengge would not necessarily accept. The state religion of the Zunghar Kingdom was Buddhism, and it also vigorously patronized Confucianism. As king, how could Sengge change his religion?

Moreover, the Zunghar Kingdom was a vassal of the Great Ming. The moment it declared itself a subject of the Timurids, it would very likely face punitive war from the Great Ming.

"That is why I want to unite the Khivans, the Turkmens, the Bukharans, the Kazakhs, the Tajiks, and even the Russians," Aurangzeb said, "to make everyone oppose the Zunghars!"

"And what of us?" Shayista Khan asked.

Aurangzeb ordered, "We shall withdraw to Termez — quietly withdraw — and leave behind a portion of the Rajput cavalry and the Qizilbash musketeers."

Termez was five or six hundred li from Samarkand, lying to its southeast, with the Amu Darya to its south and a large expanse of mountains and hills to its north. Once across the Amu Darya, one was more or less in Afghan territory. By withdrawing to the city of Termez, Aurangzeb was of course making ready to slip back to India the moment things turned bad. With 50,000 Muslim warriors from Transoxiana, he should be able to pacify the Deccan Plateau, and perhaps after taking the Deccan he could turn and make war on Afghanistan.

In addition, from Termez Aurangzeb could use money to incite the Khivans, the Turkmens, the Bukharans, the Kazakhs, the Tajiks, and perhaps the Russians to besiege the Zunghars.

No matter who won, it would be to Aurangzeb's advantage. If the Zunghars were defeated, then Aurangzeb's foothold in Transoxiana would be secure. If the Zunghars prevailed, then Aurangzeb could gather up the broken remnants of the Central Asian states at Termez and return to India with them all together — perhaps he could even make up 150,000 men!

"Wazir," Aurangzeb said to Shayista Khan, "make a journey for me to the stone-walled royal city of the Zunghars, and try to persuade King Sengge to convert!"

"As you command, great Your Majesty Alamgir."

Watching his Wazir depart, Aurangzeb let out a heavy breath, then called to the guards waiting outside, "Go and invite the Princess to come."

At present there was only one princess in the city of Samarkand: Aurangzeb's eldest daughter, Zeb-un-Nissa, a tall and very slender lady with an oval face, fine long eyebrows, and eyes that were not large but very deep.

She could be counted a beauty, though her forehead was somewhat large and her nose somewhat sharp; her features together gave an impression of somberness and wisdom — much like Aurangzeb himself.

Before her father, Princess Nissa was always very plainly dressed, wearing a white long gown, with a string of pearls around her slender neck.

"Father." She came before Aurangzeb and bowed respectfully.

Aurangzeb had already finished his deliberations. Seeing his daughter, he stepped out of the prayer hall and strolled within the splendid mosque, Princess Nissa following close behind him.

"I hear you have been reading Chinese books lately?" Aurangzeb suddenly asked.

"I am reading the 'Investigation of Things' chapter of the Zilun," Princess Nissa said. "Scholars of the Ottoman Empire have translated it into Turkish and Arabic, but I would prefer to read the original Chinese."

"Oh," Aurangzeb nodded. "I hear that book is somewhat blasphemous!"

"Absolutely not," Princess Nissa said, shaking her head. "It is a philosophical reference work; there is no question of blasphemy. I think you have confused the 'Investigation of Things' chapter of the Zilun with the Confucian Canon. In fact, even the Confucian Canon cannot be counted as blasphemous — it merely discovers God. God reveals Himself to the world in different ways, whether through angels, or prophets, or philosophers."

"Hmph!" Aurangzeb gave a cold snort. Princess Nissa knew she had misspoken and quickly closed her somewhat thin lips.

Aurangzeb looked at his frightened daughter and suddenly smiled. "You may read those books, and you may study Chinese, and you may also read the Buddhist scriptures."

Princess Nissa, who had expected to be scolded by her father, was completely stunned. Aurangzeb could not even tolerate different sects within Islam — how could he permit her to read Buddhist scriptures? Could this be a test?

Serving a ruler is like serving a tiger!

Although Princess Nissa had always been rather favored, no one knew on what day the old man's mind might change!

The startled princess hurriedly knelt before Aurangzeb and pleaded, "Father, your daughter knows she was wrong, and will never dare do it again—"

"Never dare what?" Aurangzeb asked with a smile. "My daughter knows how to say 'never dare'?"

"I, I—" Princess Nissa was nearly frightened to tears by her father.

Aurangzeb shook his head. "Enough, get up. Others do not understand me, but do you not understand me? Among all my children, you are the cleverest and the most like me. In truth, I too love music and poetry just as you do, but for the sake of Hindustan I can only give up such pleasures. As for religious freedom — if I could keep receiving a steady stream of warriors from Transoxiana, perhaps I would not bother imposing a single Islamic faith upon that chaotic and degenerate India, because the infidels there are not even worthy to enter God's heavenly kingdom!"

"Father, have we not already taken Samarkand?"

Aurangzeb smiled bitterly. "We have taken it, but not firmly. Unless you can become one of the queens of the Zunghar Kingdom."

"You — you want to marry me to King Sengge of the Zunghars?" Princess Nissa was so shocked she could barely speak. "But — but King Sengge is a Buddhist!"

Aurangzeb said, "It is enough if he is willing to convert to Islam. Only he alone needs to convert! So from now on, you may read the Buddhist scriptures, and you may read the Confucian Canon, and you may read any books you wish."

(End of Chapter)