Chapter 1239: The Eve of France's Rise

The Grand Imperial Heir of the Shun, Li Jicheng, was no pampered princeling raised in the depths of the palace by women — he was a battle-hardened warrior who had seen much of the world! He had campaigned for years in Shaanxi, Burma, Arakan, and elsewhere, and had faced all manner of ferocious enemies, but what he encountered today was a first.

The moment he landed on the beach at Paradeep, he had already sensed something was off!

He — a "Pirate King," an invader, a bandit burning with ambition to plunder India — had waded ashore through the surf under the gaze of a crowd of dark, emaciated, bare-chested Indian paupers.

These onlookers were truly poor! They went bare-chested not because of the heat, but because of poverty — at least that was how it seemed to Li Jicheng, for he also saw many bare-chested women... if even the women were so scantily clad, just how poor could they be!

If they were this poor, why had they not risen in revolt? The landlords who lorded it over them did not look particularly ferocious either — far less so than the Shun's own estate stewards, and not even a match for the nobles of Burma and Arakan.

Upon hearing that invaders had come, these people did not even think to organize resistance, but cheerfully came to welcome them, bringing bare-chested paupers and basket after basket of gifts that gleamed with a pleasing golden or silvery light.

What was the meaning of this? Was it a sincere welcome for the Shun, or was some mischief brewing?

In a spacious and respectable house belonging to a certain jagirdar lord from Rajput, Li Jicheng met with the tax-farming lords and Brahmins of more than a dozen surrounding villages.

Baked by the sweltering heat of Orissa, Li Jicheng had by now also stripped to the waist, sitting boldly and imposingly in the great hall, his solid muscles and thick chest hair on full display. Beside him, a fair-skinned, rather pretty young girl in a midriff-baring blouse and long skirt fanned him, her eyes fixed all the while on the deep-eyed, high-nosed, heavily bearded Li Jicheng — with looks like that, there was no doubt he must be a Kshatriya! And at least of princely caste, a perfect match for the Rajput race...

This girl's father was also named Singh. Singh means "lion," and after the tenth Sikh guru, Guru Gobind Singh, widely bestowed the surname "Singh" upon male Sikh believers in 1699, the name became a dime a dozen. But it was only 1665 now, and Singhs were still few in India — almost all of them Kshatriyas. The Rajputs who served the Timurid Empire were all Kshatriyas, which was why there were so many Singhs.

Moreover, the Rajputs had originally lived in northwestern India, near Afghanistan, and were generally fair-skinned and handsome. Singh, who was soon to become Li Jicheng's father-in-law, was no exception — he cut a most imposing figure.

This Singh's ancestors had been among the first Hindus to submit to the Timurid Empire of India, acknowledging a new master after the Battle of Kannauj and becoming Hindu warriors of the Timurid Empire. In the time of Emperor Akbar, Singh's great-grandfather had followed Akbar's great army to conquer the Kingdom of Orissa, and had then settled in Orissa, receiving a jagir estate — originally jagir estates served the dual purpose of military service and tax-farming, but by now they had become purely tax-farming estates, so Singh no longer needed to serve as a soldier for Aurangzeb.

The Persian guide Jalali had by now changed into a white silk robe and wrapped a turban about his head, looking every inch a Timurid courtier as he stood at Li Jicheng's side.

Singh could speak Urdu, and Jalali conversed with him fluently.

And this guide Jalali was truly excellent — Persian merchants in India often served as guides, and had long since become old hands at it.

The history of India's conquests had basically all followed the same pattern: barbarian conquerors from Central Asia or Afghanistan invaded under the leadership of Persian profiteer-merchants, defeated the earlier arrivals who had come years before, and then the Persian profiteer-merchants helped introduce Hindu Kshatriyas to serve as tax-farmers and puppet troops. Then everyone joined together to oppress the Indian working people and get rich together — what a happy arrangement!

Now Li Jicheng and Song Yaowen, these foreign invaders, had not yet found their proper places. Li Jicheng thought of himself as a bandit who would grab what he could and leave. Song Yaowen thought of himself as a liberator come to save India's various untouchables. But Jalali and Singh had already settled into their roles of their own accord.

Jalali was prepared to serve as Li Jicheng's finance minister — before the British East India Company conquered India, the conquerors from Central Asia and Afghanistan had basically all used Persians to manage finances, and they managed them well, better than the scholar-officials of the Ming dynasty, and even better than their counterparts in the European countries!

And Singh was prepared to become Li Jicheng's father-in-law and puppet-army general, recruiting Kshatriya warriors for him to put on a show of strength and suppress the various untouchables.

If Li Jicheng was willing to guarantee religious freedom, then outside the door there were also several Brahmins prepared to civilize the Indian untouchables on behalf of the Great Shun Dynasty of India...

In short, everyone was already in position, ready to get rich!

The somewhat presumptuous Jalali now smiled as he reported his achievements to Li Jicheng, saying: "Your Highness the Grand Imperial Heir, this humble servant has already reached an agreement with the brave Singh of Orissa and several other Hindu tax-farmers and Brahmins!"

"Reached an agreement?" Li Jicheng was taken aback. Agreed to what?

Jalali smiled: "Of course, on how to welcome Your Highness's conquest of Orissa."

"Ah..." Li Jicheng thought to himself: I only wanted to grab a quick haul — how did it become a conquest? And why are you people welcoming it?

Jalali continued: "There is also the matter of tax collection and recruiting warriors."

"How are taxes collected?" Li Jicheng asked.

Jalali smiled: "India is a vast land, and conditions on the ground are rather complicated. Tax collection is a troublesome business, so the common practice is to contract it out. In areas where the Brahmanical religion predominates, it is contracted to Kshatriyas; in areas where the Islamic faith predominates, it is contracted to us Persian merchants or Muslim warriors. Generally speaking, taxes in Brahmanical districts are higher — the agricultural tax can reach one-third of the harvest."

"One-third?" Li Jicheng was startled. "Indian peasants are that badly off, having to hand over one-third of their harvest to the court?"

"No, no, it is not that they hand over one-third..." Jalali smiled. "It is that you, the merciful conqueror, His Highness the Grand Imperial Heir of the Great Shun Empire, receive one-third!"

"Receive one-third? Then how much do the people below have to pay?"

"At least two-thirds, I should think..." Jalali smiled. "The tax-farmers also have considerable costs. They must handle the collection, sell the grain they receive, transport the proceeds to designated locations, and they are also responsible for maintaining order and adjudicating lawsuits in the areas they contract — all of that costs money!"

"Then the common people below only get to keep one-third of the harvest? Is that not too little?" Li Jicheng still sympathized with the working people!

"Not that much..." Jalali shook his head. "There are also the Brahmins — they are very important too!"

"Aren't they just monks?" Li Jicheng said.

"No, no, no, they are far more capable than monks!" Jalali explained. "Buddhism originated from Brahmanism and is a heresy of the Brahmins, yet its ability to civilize the common people is inferior to that of the Brahmins, because Buddhism places too much emphasis on equality. Brahmanism, by contrast, has strict hierarchies, clear distinctions of rank, and each person — rich or poor, noble or base — rests content in their appointed lot."

"What do you mean by 'rests content in their appointed lot'?" Li Jicheng asked.

Jalali said: "The Brahmins hold that a person's wealth or poverty, nobility or baseness in this life is the fruit, while the merits and sins of past lives are the cause. Thus the suffering of this life is atonement for the sins of previous lives..."

"Buddhism is much the same!" Li Jicheng still did not quite understand.

"It is different, different..." Jalali shook his head. "Buddhism teaches that all beings suffer, and the only escape is to renounce the world. Brahmanism teaches that there is both suffering and joy, and that suffering and joy are fated — fate is decreed by heaven and cannot be changed."

Li Jicheng was still utterly confused, so Jalali had no choice but to put it more plainly: "According to the Brahmanical rules, a person's fate is decided the moment he is born! If he is born into a peasant family, then his lot is to be a peasant. If he is born into a warrior family, then his lot is to be a warrior!"

Li Jicheng asked: "And if he is born into a family of beggars and bandits?"

"Then of course he becomes a beggar or a bandit!"

"So that's how it is!" Li Jicheng thought to himself: Good thing neither I nor Zhu Cilang are Indians — otherwise I'd still be a mountain bandit, and that fellow Zhu would be even worse off, reduced to begging!