Chapter 1495: Only Let India Colonize Europe!

The possibility Zhu Cilang mentioned actually did exist!

Although France and Holland had not placed heavy bets on the Indian Ocean, if the Great Ming backed down, they still might adjust their course.

If not for the Great Shun Empire, that "progressive" nation which believed that "building is not as good as buying, and buying is not as good as robbing," then given the strength of Holland and France in the Indian Ocean, they could not have carved up India until Aurangzeb went to meet Allah. At most they could have seized a few small colonies along the Indian coast, raided the interior from time to time, and done a bit of grab-and-run business.

But with the Great Shun's fubing soldiers as cannon fodder, the situation was different!

Aurangzeb's "little Grand Secretary" had only just been bought from Central Asia, and it was still far from being a formed army! And the hired fighters he had brought in from Central Asia and Afghanistan were fine for dealing with India's native enemies, but they were hardly enough against the Great Shun's New Army trained with French help. Moreover, India's coastline was far too long. With Dutch and French assistance, Li Jicheng could imitate the Manchu Qing's five invasions of the passes and launch a large-scale invasion!

The destructive power of tens of thousands of men banding together to plunder was nothing a few thousand could match! It might really rob the Timurid Empire of India into oblivion. In history, the Great Ming had in fact been robbed into oblivion by the Great Qing's repeated invasions through the passes. The five invasions had dealt nearly ruinous blows to Northern Zhili, Shanxi, Shandong, and other places. And those three provinces were the heartland of the Ming court. Though not particularly rich, they were the territory where the Great Ming could most easily levy grain and conscript men. According to the grain-tax quotas of the Wanli era, the annual land-tax quota of these three provinces together exceeded 5.6 million shi.

Moreover, these three provinces also contained the four great military garrisons of Jizhou, Xuanfu, Datong, and Taiyuan (four of the Nine Border Garrisons). Although the strength of these garrisons had long since declined, they still held many military households and could still provide the storm-tossed Ming dynasty with a little self-defense force. For a Great Ming whose national strength had already decayed, the wealth, resources, and military force obtainable from the vicinity of the capital were all "grass by the burrow" that could be used to desperately prolong its life!

If even the grass by the burrow was pulled up by others, how could the Great Ming not be left gasping on its last breath?

The Timurid Empire's "grass by the burrow" was not in Bengal, Orissa, or Golconda near the Great Shun, but Aurangzeb's burden was far heavier than Chongzhen's had been back then. The lords who joined in exploiting India's laboring masses were beyond counting. There were Rajput lords who believed in Brahmanism, Afghan lords who believed in Islam, Timurid lords, lords of the Delhi Sultanate, Persian lords, and lords who had fled Central Asia in recent years, plus the "slave lords" Aurangzeb had bought with money. With so many lords wanting to live well, even the 300 million rupees Aurangzeb squeezed out each year left little surplus in the end.

If Bengal, Orissa, and Golconda were all seized by the Great Shun, and India's western coast and the Indus valley were then frequently visited by the joint Franco-Dutch-Shun plundering gangs, then Aurangzeb's fine realm might truly be seized and carved up by others!

Frightened so by Emperor Zhu, Princess Nisha looked on the verge of tears — though it was unclear whether she was worried about India's tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of untouchables (no one knew the exact number), or about her own million-rupee annuity.

Seeing Princess Nisha's tearful look, Zhu Cilang decided not to keep frightening her. He shifted tack and began presenting his plan to save India.

"Eldest," Zhu Cilang said, looking at the Lucky Crown Prince and also doing his best to put on an expression of deep concern for the Indian people (he couldn't let them fail to remain untouchables, after all!), "if the navy cannot take the Andaman Islands and the Mergui Archipelago for a while, does the army have any way to support our Indian friends?"

"Imperial Father," Zhu Hexing said, also pretending to think for a moment, "without naval transport, it is impossible for the army to travel ten thousand li to help India. The only thing the army could do is attack Yunnan, but that is not something that can be prepared in a short time."

Indeed — Li Jicheng had not yet entered Bengal! How could the Ming army possibly be ready?

Yunnan was also a miasmic, pestilential place, with high mountains and treacherous waters. If the roving bandits really defended it to the death, Ming casualties would be severe. Better to let the roving bandits go to India and become Brahmins and Kshatriyas — then a casual fight would bring total victory. How delightful!

Zhu Hexing had already made up his mind: once the roving bandits entered Bengal, he would volunteer for the expedition to Yunnan, and while at it ask Imperial Grandfather for twenty-four "kept-man princely uncles," then pick a batch of "mass-market edition" Ming imperial clan members and take them all to Yunnan to settle down, replacing the old Mu family and garrisoning the southern frontier forever!

"Then what is to be done?" Princess Nisha said, beginning to wipe her tears.

Ding Yuying, standing nearby, pressed her husband: "Thousand Years, is there truly no way?"

"It's not that there is none," Zhu Hexing paused. "Someone has proposed a plan of besieging Wei to rescue Zhao!"

"Besieging Wei to rescue Zhao?" Princess Nisha knew what Zhu Hexing was getting at, so she asked, "India is Zhao, France and Holland are Wei — then who is the Qi that can besiege Wei? Could it be England?"

"No, no," Zhu Hexing shook his head. "France and Holland are not Wei, and England could not possibly attack them."

At present, England's naval strength was on par with Holland's and far exceeded France's. With the French and Dutch navies away on distant expeditions, the English navy was unquestionably the foremost navy in Europe. England's army was also not weak — though it could not beat the French army, it would have no trouble thrashing Holland.

But little Cromwell would not send troops against France and Holland, for a very simple reason: after France, Holland, Portugal, and Spain had fallen out with the Great Ming, neutral England had become the monopolist on the East-West trade routes!

He scarcely had time to count his money — how could he be willing to break neutrality and join the war? There was not the slightest benefit to England in that!

"Then who is Wei?" Princess Nisha asked again.

"The Holy Roman Empire is Wei!" Zhu Hexing said. "More precisely, Austria is Wei! And the Ottoman Empire is Qi! As long as the Ottoman Empire can take Vienna, France and Holland will surely withdraw their troops from the Lesser Western Ocean. With only the roving bandits left, can the Timurid Empire not handle them?"

Princess Nisha thought for a moment, then said, "If Vienna really is occupied by the Ottoman Empire, wouldn't Louis XIV become First Citizen of Rome?"

"Exactly!" Zhu Hexing said. "Becoming First Citizen of Rome is far more important than invading India!"

"But the question is... does the Ottoman Empire have that kind of strength? And are they willing to send troops immediately?"

Seeing that the moment was ripe, Zhu Cilang smiled and took over the topic: "The Ottoman Empire is certainly willing to send troops, but they need support from the Timurid Empire of India. The Ottoman Sultan's army needs India's silver rupees! Nisha, your father's title Alamgir, translated, means 'Conqueror of the World,' does it not? If he cannot carve out a colony in Europe, how can he have the face to say he can conquer the world?

Why not have him contribute some troops as well, and fight alongside the Ottomans? If Austria is taken, why not also secure a colony in Europe for the Timurid Empire of India?"

"What? India colonizing Europe?" Sweat broke out on Princess Nisha's broad forehead — this would not do!

India's caste system roughly held that the whiter the skin, the higher the status. European whites, by their looks, could all be rated as Brahmins or Kshatriyas. A colony full of Brahmins and Kshatriyas — what use would it be? Were they supposed to import lords from there?

Zhu Cilang had not thought that far. He felt the idea was quite good, and quite feasible. Wasn't Europe the "dumping ground" for Indian goods? India sold so many things to Europeans every year and took in so much gold and silver. According to certain theories, wasn't that economic colonization? For India to sell even more goods to Europe, joining with the Ottoman Empire to invade and seize a larger market seemed perfectly satisfactory!

"Nisha, I think this plan is excellent!" Zhu Cilang paused, then added, "Why don't you write a letter to your father, tell him of this plan, and best make clear to him that it is the only way at present!"

(End of Chapter)