Chapter 1250: Let Us Form an Alliance!

Aurangzeb frowned. "Can you be more specific? What exactly does the mathematics exam cover? What about literature? And how will martial skills be tested? Also, the Princess has only learned a little of the Chinese language and script, so I'm afraid she may not do well!"

He still hoped to push the marriage alliance forward — he needed to ally with the Ming against the Shun, and he could not allow the Shun state to become a second Timurid Empire of India!

But he also worried that his daughter would not do well on the exams — although everyone knew Princess Nisha was brilliantly talented, she had rarely taken examinations, since examinations were not common in India. And mathematics and literature were vast fields of learning; how much could Princess Nisha understand? Her Chinese had not been properly studied either, so how could she take an exam in it? And as for martial skills — was the Emperor of China choosing a consort or recruiting a great general? Why test martial skills at all?

Of course, Princess Nisha did have a bit of amateur skill in that area — she counted as a Mongol, after all, and her father was the especially warlike Aurangzeb. So her horsemanship and archery were still intact, just not particularly masterful, and she could not be sure whether she would pass.

"The mathematics exam covers the Elements of Geometry, and answers may be written in Arabic." Zhu Cixuan had long since tailored the examination content specifically for Princess Nisha. "The literature exam covers poetry and composition in Arabic and Persian. The martial exam covers horsemanship, archery, and fencing. As for Chinese — it tests reading and calligraphy, and a rough command is sufficient."

Aurangzeb relaxed slightly. It truly was not difficult — mathematics only covered the Elements of Geometry, and the Princess was fairly proficient in that.

Then there were three foreign languages (Princess Nisha's mother tongue was Urdu), and two of them — Arabic and Persian — had to reach the level of composing poetry. The difficulty was certainly not low, but Princess Nisha was a true Indian top student; had she been born in a later age she would surely have gotten into the Indian Institute of Technology! So there was no problem.

As for a rough command of Chinese, there was a slight issue. Princess Nisha had begun studying Chinese after learning she was going to China, but the problem was that no good teachers could be found in Transoxiana — they had only located two Shanxi merchants doing business there, who had managed to teach her for a few months. She could now speak a little colloquially, but did not recognize many Chinese characters, let alone write essays or compose poetry. However, Aurangzeb had confidence in his daughter's intelligence — as long as she had a good teacher, her Chinese would certainly catch up.

And the martial exam of horsemanship, archery, and fencing should also pose no problem — she was quite familiar with riding and archery. Fencing was a little weaker; the warriors of the Timurid Empire of India did not much favor the sword, preferring the curved saber. The Princess was decent with the curved saber but poor with the sword, though she could find a teacher to make up the lessons.

At the thought of remedial lessons, Aurangzeb said to Zhu Cixuan, "Your Highness, when do you intend to arrange for the Princess to take the examination? The Princess has just returned to India from Transoxiana and is extremely fatigued. Could she be allowed to rest for two or three months?"

"Also, the Princess's Chinese is not very good, mainly because there are no good teachers. Could you send a teacher proficient in both Arabic and Chinese to teach her for three months?"

Zhu Cixuan shook his head. "Three months may not be enough, I fear."

"Not enough?" Aurangzeb asked. "Not enough for what?"

"Not enough to learn Chinese!" Zhu Cixuan said. "The Chinese language is extremely difficult to learn; three months, I fear, will not suffice."

"Is that so?" Aurangzeb laughed. "Let us try and see. Princess Nisha has loved learning since childhood. She mastered Arabic and Persian in only two or three months each. Chinese is harder, but three months should still be enough for a rough command."

What? She learned Arabic in three months? Zhu Cixuan was startled, thinking to himself: Is she really that clever? It took me three years just to manage a rough command.

"Very well," Zhu Cixuan nodded. "I will teach her personally."

Among the envoys who had accompanied Zhu Cixuan to India, Zhu Cixuan himself was the most cultured, so of course he had to personally give the Princess remedial lessons.

Moreover, through the remedial lessons, Zhu Cixuan could also assess whether this Princess was truly clever or dull-witted.

"That would be excellent!" Aurangzeb smiled, then added, "Let us also discuss the Princess's dowry. I wonder, when your Ming Emperor marries off a daughter, roughly how much dowry is given?"

Dowry?

When Zhu Cixuan heard Aurangzeb bring this up, he could not help frowning.

Because Princess Nisha was not marrying Zhu Cilang — she was not going to be Empress, but a Noble Consort. The rank of Noble Consort was merely that of a concubine.

However, that money-grubbing Emperor Zhu Cilang had given instructions when seeing Zhu Cixuan off: ask for as much dowry as possible, at least two or three million taels!

"This Princess Nisha is not His Majesty's primary wife," Zhu Cixuan was too embarrassed to deceive anyone, so he had to tell Aurangzeb the truth. "She will be the Ming Emperor's fourth wife."

At present, first place in Zhu Cilang's rear palace was of course Empress Wu Sanmei; second was Imperial Noble Consort Zheng Chagu; third was Jin Dongzhu, who had been promoted to Noble Consort. Zhu Cilang had already said that if Princess Nisha could "pass the exam into the palace," she would jump the queue directly into fourth place — not because her father was the Emperor of India, Aurangzeb, but because she had earned her way in by her own ability!

Because the Ming valued examinations above all else!

"Fourth... that is acceptable!" Aurangzeb nodded. "How much should be given? Name a figure!"

Zhu Cixuan did not dare ask for too much, so he held up two fingers. Before he could speak, Aurangzeb had already nodded. "Twenty million rupees? Very well, no problem! In addition, Princess Nisha has an annuity of one million rupees, which she may continue to receive after her marriage."

"As for the Princess's private property, it will also be shipped to the Ming along with her — roughly several million rupees as well."

Princess Nisha is that wealthy? Zhu Cixuan felt a little envious just hearing it, and thought: How many daughters does this Aurangzeb have? Are there any still unmarried?

He was just thinking of how to inquire when Aurangzeb began laying out conditions.

"Princess Nisha is the pearl of my hand," Aurangzeb said. "If the Ming Emperor wishes to take her as his wife, he must satisfy three conditions of mine!"

Zhu Cixuan asked, "What are the conditions?"

"First, His Majesty the Ming Emperor must cherish Princess Nisha forever," Aurangzeb said.

Zhu Cixuan smiled. "That goes without saying! As long as Her Highness the Princess passes the examination, she will be a treasure beloved by my imperial brother!"

Indeed! The questions Zhu Cixuan set were so difficult, and if she still passed them — how could Emperor Zhu not be fond of her?

Aurangzeb continued, "Second, His Majesty the Ming Emperor must respect Princess Nisha's religious faith."

Zhu Cixuan nodded. "The Son of Heaven of the Ming protects all gentle and benevolent religions. However, Princess Nisha's children must follow the teachings of their father."

"Agreed," Aurangzeb nodded. "And the third condition is that the Ming Empire must conclude an alliance with the Timurid Empire of India, to jointly oppose the evil Shun Empire!"

"Of course, no problem!" Zhu Cixuan laughed. "This is something our Ming could only have wished for. Even if Your Majesty had not raised it, I would have proposed an alliance on behalf of the Ming Empire."

Zhu Cilang's desire to take Princess Nisha as a Noble Consort was of course not merely for her beauty and intelligence — the main purpose was to establish an alliance with the Timurid Empire of India.

Whoever gains India gains the world!

And India today had not yet lost its capacity for self-defense. Aurangzeb's 100,000-strong army brought back from Transoxiana alone was not something an expeditionary force of ten or twenty thousand could overcome. And to send an army of eighty or a hundred thousand would exceed the limits of the Ming's maritime transport capacity.

If such a number of troops absolutely had to be sent, they would first have to develop the Malacca Peninsula, then station troops and build ships in the northern part of the Malacca Peninsula, and finally cross the Bay of Bengal to land on India's east coast. Without several years or even a decade of development, the Ming Empire simply could not send that many troops to India — one look at how many years the Shun had spent building up in Burma shows that this matter is not easy.

Therefore, the Ming's India policy was to ally with the Timurid Empire of India.

And the Timurid Empire of India, of course, was even less capable of reaching the Ming — the Shun alone was enough to keep them busy, let alone the Ming.

Aurangzeb nodded in satisfaction and laughed. "Good! Then I ask Your Highness to teach the Princess Chinese as quickly as possible. I assure you, my daughter is extremely intelligent — she will learn Chinese very quickly! By then she will be able to pass all the examinations!"

(End of Chapter)