Chapter 1314: Whoever Possesses India Possesses the Future

The Son of Heaven was in residence, surrounded by lake waters, all perfectly tranquil.

Princess Nisha followed Zhu Cixuan and Luo Dagong aboard a painted pleasure boat, gliding slowly across the lake. Over the years, the Zhu Emperor had spent who knew how much silver around this picturesque lake east of Wuchang city, and now pavilions and terraces could be seen everywhere, with the occasional building full of exotic charm. Princess Nisha, dressed all in white, stood at the prow, gazing about and enjoying the delightful scenery, when suddenly she seemed to spot something and broke into a delighted smile.

"Princess, that is the Red Fort, which His Majesty specially invited a Persian master craftsman from India to build. It is entirely in the style of the Timurid Empire of India."

Zhu Cixuan pointed to a castle-like structure built against the northern slope of Mo Hill on the Moshan Peninsula, southeast of East Lake — a red edifice with pointed arches, a great dome, small domed pavilions, and other features, its exterior in red and white tones dominated by dark red, constructed of red brick and white granite.

"Did His Majesty build this for me?" Princess Nisha asked excitedly.

Looking at this woman who seemed to have fallen in love, Zhu Cixuan sighed. "This is the Red Fort His Majesty built to celebrate your becoming his Noble Consort. There is another one on the hillside of Lao Mountain in Yingtian Prefecture."

"Truly?" Nisha beamed. "Then will His Majesty receive me inside this Red Fort?"

Zhu Cixuan nodded. "Your Highness will meet His Majesty in the Red Fort's audience hall, perform the kowtow ceremony, and then a banquet will be given. After the banquet, you will rest one night in the Red Fort. Tomorrow afternoon you will take the first and second examinations, in philosophy and mathematics. The afternoon after, the third and fourth examinations, in Chinese and military science. The afternoon after that, the martial arts examination — riding, archery, and saber technique. Afterward, you must choose one of the three arts of music, painting, and dance to present to His Majesty."

The examination content arranged for Princess Nisha was, of course, somewhat different from that for others. Other candidates did not need a separate Chinese examination (including writing, reading, and speaking); instead, the Chinese examination was merged into the Confucian studies (philosophy) examination.

But Princess Nisha was, after all, an Indian princess, and her Chinese might not be very strong, so Zhu Cilang permitted her to take the philosophy examination (Chinese was also acceptable if she preferred), the mathematics examination, and the military science examination in Arabic, while separately arranging a Chinese examination.

Additionally, Princess Nisha had never studied French, so that subject was waived for her. All other girls taking the examination were required to take the French examination.

Furthermore, according to Zhu Cixuan's report, Princess Nisha's martial skills were quite good — she was skilled at riding, archery, and wielding a curved saber — so the requirements for her martial arts examination were also relatively high. Riding, archery, and curved saber all had to be tested!

Zhu Cixuan also said that Princess Nisha was proficient in music, painting, and dance. In short, she was a woman of brilliant talent and great charm, and very beautiful as well.

So Zhu Cilang added an elective subject for Princess Nisha! Her examination ultimately became six examinations over three days, each examination worth a full 100 points, for a total of 600 points across the six.

There were also 60 interview points. Today's audience and banquet were, in fact, an interview.

If Princess Nisha performed perfectly in what was effectively a seven-part examination, then Zhu Cilang would make her his Noble Consort.

Having heard the examination contents, Princess Nisha already wore a confident smile. "It doesn't sound very difficult. Besides, I finished reading the Imperial Academy's Confucian studies and mathematics textbooks along the way. I believe I can certainly achieve results that will satisfy His Majesty."

Zhu Cixuan nodded, thinking to himself: How could it not be difficult? The papers were personally set by his imperial brother, and not to the standard of an entrance examination, but to the standard of a graduation examination. If she could do well, she could probably become a female instructor at the women's academy.

"Your servant Nisha respectfully wishes the Great Emperor boundless fortune and peace."

Inside the Red Fort's audience hall, filled with Indian ambiance, the top female scholar from India was kowtowing to the Great Zhu Emperor.

"We are well. Grant her a seat." Seated on a soft sofa chair imported from the Ottoman Empire, Zhu Cilang looked at the white-clad woman before him — tall and slender, fair-skinned, dazzlingly beautiful, and clearly quite intelligent (with a rather large forehead) — and could not hide the smile on his face.

Of course, Zhu Cilang was not lustful. He was a universally acknowledged virtuous and enlightened monarch — how could he possibly be lustful? The reason his face lit up with joy at the sight of Princess Nisha was that he greatly valued the friendship between the Great Ming and the Timurid Empire of India.

Now the Great Ming was the richest nation in the world, and the Timurid Empire of India was the second richest — both true nouveau-riche powers of the seventeenth century, and both great and mighty nations.

If Ming and India could form a marriage alliance, support one another, and prosper together, then the future world would surely be led by the Ming-India alliance!

Princess Nisha had already seated herself upright opposite the Zhu Emperor, her posture elegant, a smile on her face, as if awaiting the interview.

"Nisha," Zhu Cilang said with a smile, "that you could travel ten thousand li to come to Us makes Us very happy, because We see in it the sincerity of the Timurid Empire of India's willingness to establish a firm friendship with the Great Ming. In the world today, the Great Ming is the foremost rich and powerful nation, and the Timurid Empire is the second rich and powerful nation. If our two countries can further form an alliance, we shall surely jointly dominate the future world."

Zhu Cilang, of course, did not truly believe India was second in the world, but neither did he regard India as a candidate colony that could be easily conquered. After all, the one now ruling most of India's territory was Aurangzeb, a formidable man.

Moreover, with the rise of the Celestial Empire and the rise of France in Europe, the future world might well see competition between the Celestial Empire and the Christian world led by France.

And India, that miraculous land, would undoubtedly be the crucial weight that decided victory or defeat in the East-West contest!

One could say: whoever possesses India possesses the future!

But possessing India did not mean immediately sending troops to invade with bared fangs and brandished claws. Aurangzeb was still there, and he had brought a gang of enforcers back to India from Central Asia, conquering Afghanistan along the way. India now was no weakling without the power to resist.

So first arranging a marriage, making a friend, and then finding a way to conquer later was still the more pragmatic approach.

Princess Nisha smiled and replied, "Your Majesty need not flatter my homeland. Although my homeland is the second richest nation in the world, it is not the second strongest. The Timurid Empire of India is merely a rich but not powerful country, so my father has never thought of dominating the world. Although he is called the Conqueror of the World in India, what he wants to conquer is only India."

She was quite self-aware!

Zhu Cilang smiled faintly and said, "Nisha, can you tell Us how large the India in your father's mind is?"

Princess Nisha said, "The India in my father's mind extends westward to include the entire Afghan plateau. Southward it reaches the Western Ocean. Eastward it stops at the borders of Bengal Province and the kingdoms of Ahom and Arakan. Northward it stops at the snow-capped high mountains. My father no longer has any designs on Samarkand, and he also hopes that Your Majesty's vassal, the Dzungar Kingdom, can restrain its ambitions and not advance south of Samarkand and Bukhara."

The war in the Western Regions was still dragging on endlessly!

War in this age had that rhythm — either it did not start, or once started, it was mostly endless!

Zhu Cilang smiled and nodded. "We shall issue edicts to the Dzungar Kingdom and the Khoshut Kingdom, ordering them not to violate the borders of the Timurid Empire. However, the Timurid Empire should also restrain the border tribes of Afghanistan, so that they do not support rebels within the Dzungar Kingdom and the Khoshut Kingdom."

During this period, the map in the northwest had changed again. First, the Beiting Khoshut tribe had been ordered to migrate westward to Bukhara — although Bukhara's territory was not as large as Beiting's, its wealth was beyond comparison!

Second, the Dzungar Kingdom had transferred Chu River Prefecture to the Tianshan Kingdom, where Zhu Cijiong served as king, while moving the people of the Chu River to fill Samarkand.

Third, the Fergana Basin had temporarily broken away from Dzungar rule and was now ruled by Anusha Khan of the Khanate of Khiva, while in the Khanate of Khiva's homeland, another khan had appeared — a son of Anusha Khan named Ishaq.

Finally, the allied forces of the Russians and Kazakhs still held the upper hand in the Middle Jüz, forcing the Dzungar Kingdom's nomadic tribes to withdraw southward to the Chu River valley and the Ili River valley.

But Aurangzeb no longer had the slightest intention of returning to Central Asia. The purpose of his Central Asian campaign had already been achieved.

Princess Nisha smiled and said to Zhu Cilang, "Your Majesty, my father will move the Tajik tribes north of Afghanistan to India as much as possible, thereby creating a vacuum zone."

"Excellent!" Zhu Cilang said. "In this way, there will be no possibility of conflict between our two countries. Princess, now let Us see your wisdom and talents!"

(End of Chapter)