Chapter 1537: The Great Ming's Prince Henry

"Let's leave it at that for the New Continent," Zhu Cilang said with a smile. "I'll have a word with Gaozi later. As long as he has no objection, you won't need to worry about the Tenth and Thirteenth anymore."

Zhu Cilang's tenth son and thirteenth son were both counted as Xu Gaozi's sons. The reason they were "both counted" was that the Tenth Prince, Zhu Hejing, was Xu Gaozi's biological son, while the Thirteenth, Zhu Hexing, was the son of Takada Miho. Because Takada Miho had entered the palace as Xu Gaozi's maidservant and was then taken by Zhu Cilang, the son she bore was also registered under Gaozi's name.

And Xu Gaozi treated these two sons exactly the same, caring for both of them deeply and doing everything she could to arrange the best education and prospects for them.

But there was a huge gap in intellect between the two sons. The Tenth Prince, Hejing, was extremely clever. He had passed the entrance exam for the Army Staff College, had now graduated, and was leading troops in the army. The Thirteenth Prince, Zhu Hexing, however, was a bit slow — a poor student. After graduating from middle school he failed to get into anything. But his martial skills were excellent. Don't be fooled by his small stature — he was the shortest of Zhu Cilang's sons — he had a natural gift for the martial arts, was proficient in all eighteen weapons, and was especially skilled at mounted combat. He was a fine young man for charging into battle, and perhaps on the New Continent he could carve out a future for himself.

After arranging things for his two sons, Zhu Cilang brought up another matter that had recently been hotly debated among the court officials: supporting the Timurid dynasty of India.

The Timurid dynasty of India had been having a rough time lately, because Zhu Cilang had chosen to back down at Malacca, leaving the four robber nations of "France, the Shun, Holland, and Portugal" to gang up on it.

In truth, the Timurid Empire of India was not weak at present. It was fully capable of standing against the forces of "France, the Shun, Holland, and Portugal" around India.

But the Timurids of India were defending their home, while the four nations of "France, the Shun, Holland, and Portugal" had come to rob them. The Timurids of India could only take the beating and could not strike back — where could they even strike back?

Holland's territory was on the island of Ceylon, which Aurangzeb simply could not reach.

Portugal's great stronghold in India, Goa, was now occupied by King Afonso of Portugal, and Afonso was an ally of the Great Ming, and thus also counted as an ally of Aurangzeb.

As for Burma, Arakan, Chittagong, and the other places controlled by the Shun, none of them were good places now. Invading them would yield no profit, and besides — was the Shun army easy to provoke?

France's holdings in India were just a few footholds along the Coromandel Coast and the Malabar Coast. The Timurid Empire of India likewise could not reach them. Aurangzeb's territory was separated from Coromandel by Golconda.

Speaking of Golconda, Aurangzeb truly wanted to weep but had no tears left.

It turned out that the Muslim Sultan of Golconda had been destroyed by Aurangzeb himself two years earlier, and he had conveniently swallowed half of Golconda in the process. And the remaining half of Golconda became the fuse that ignited the war between France, the Shun, Holland, Portugal, and the Timurid Empire of India!

Because this half of Golconda, at the same time Aurangzeb was conquering the other half, had been occupied by Li Jicheng of the Shun, who held colonies on the Coromandel Coast.

How could Aurangzeb, determined to unify India, resign himself to that? So he dispatched troops to contest the territory with Li Jicheng, and the result was an endless, all-out war.

Li Jicheng's skill as a commander was actually nothing special. He was unwilling to fight pitched battles in open formation. But his skill at plundering was superb! That was a fine craft handed down from his great-grandfather Li Zicheng — four generations of banditry! And roving bandits at that!

Why would he ever agree to a decisive battle with Aurangzeb at Golconda? Aurangzeb now held all of Afghanistan and part of Central Asia, and had also opened the "Junior Grand Secretary trade," so he had no shortage of manpower.

And how many core Shun countrymen did Li Jicheng have in his hands? How could he compete with Aurangzeb in a war of attrition?

So he took advantage of Aurangzeb dispatching his main force southward and, with the help of the joint Franco-Shun-Dutch-Portuguese fleet, successfully invaded Bengal. Li Jicheng's army advanced north along the Hooghly River, burning, killing, and plundering as they went, and also routed an army Aurangzeb had stationed in Bengal. This forced Aurangzeb to abandon his southern campaign and lead his main force back to Bengal by land.

But Li Jicheng, before Aurangzeb could arrive, had already made off with his plundered wealth. Shortly afterward he invaded the province of Orissa, again seizing considerable spoils, and again returning fully laden before Aurangzeb's great army could arrive.

Not long after that campaign ended, Li Jicheng again marched troops out of southern Golconda to attack northern Golconda.

Aurangzeb's great army had been rushing back and forth along India's eastern coast continuously and was utterly exhausted. So he had no strength left to send relief, and had no choice but to abandon the half of Golconda he had so painstakingly acquired.

But how could Aurangzeb resign himself to losing the chance to unify India? At that time it happened that the Great Ming envoys Zhu Cixuan and Zhu Hengli, after enduring countless hardships, had arrived at the city of Lahore in India. So Aurangzeb went in person to meet them and proposed a joint operation: the Great Ming would attack Yunnan, while the Timurids of India would attack Golconda.

This proposal was written by Zhu Hengli into a memorial and sent over ten thousand li to the Old Mountain Palace in Yingtian Prefecture, into the hands of the Zhu Emperor.

"Imperial Father," Zhu Hexing said, knowing that Zhu Cilang was deliberately testing him with this question, and so he took it up and answered, "It is time for us to recover Yunnan. Yunnan is the land of our ancestors — what sense does it make to leave it in the hands of roving bandits? Your son is willing to command an army to chastise the roving bandits in Yunnan!"

Zhu Cilang neither agreed nor disagreed, and turned to look at Ding Yuying — to be a proper Empress Dowager, one had to have an international perspective!

"Imperial Father," Ding Yuying said, "didn't we propose a plan for India to support the Ottoman Empire in attacking Vienna? If Vienna can be broken, wouldn't Aurangzeb's crisis be resolved?"

The Zhu Emperor smiled and said, "The Prince of Fu and Hengli did mention this matter to Aurangzeb. But Aurangzeb neither agreed nor objected, and instead put forward the suggestion of a joint attack on the roving bandits."

Ding Yuying thought for a moment. "Imperial Father, perhaps Aurangzeb does not wish the Ottoman Empire to grow too powerful? At present, among the Muslim powers, those two are the greatest, are they not?"

Zhu Cilang smiled. "Perhaps. But if Aurangzeb's Timurid Empire is to survive in the long term, this is the only move he has!"

The Lucky Crown Prince, standing to the side, interjected: "Surely it's not that desperate. Your son is eighty percent confident he can take Yunnan! At that point the roving bandits might well withdraw from India."

"Only eighty percent?" Zhu Cilang shook his head. "Too little. We are one hundred percent confident! Lucky boy, We grant you command to pacify Yunnan! Remember — only pacify Yunnan, do not go into Burma! This is your chance to win merit and build your authority. You are the Crown Prince of the Great Ming; you ought to have at least one truly glorious achievement to shore you up."

The Lucky Crown Prince immediately rose and bowed. "Your son thanks Imperial Father!"

Zhu Cilang waved his hand with a smile, gesturing for him to sit back down quickly. "But Aurangzeb still cannot defeat Li Jicheng!

Because the French and the Dutch stand behind the roving bandits... robbing India is a profitable business with three shareholders!

If Aurangzeb wants his country to enjoy lasting peace, he must draw the attention of France and Holland back to Europe."

"Imperial Father," Zhu Hexing said, "your son understands this reasoning as well... As long as the three robbers can profit, Aurangzeb will never know peace. But can the Ottoman westward advance on Vienna truly succeed?"

Zhu Cilang shook his head and smiled. "Your father doesn't know either. That depends on your younger brother Hengli's abilities."

By the time Zhu Cilang and Zhu Hexing were discussing the possibility of an Ottoman westward advance, Prince Hengli, Zhu Hengli, had already been staying in Lahore for some time.

His diplomatic mission, truth be told, had been rather tedious. At first it was endless travel — nothing but travel, and more travel.

After covering more than ten thousand li, perhaps even twenty thousand li, he arrived in Lahore. There, he became an honored guest of Aurangzeb. He could often come and go from the court at Lahore, conversing at length with the dignitaries and nobles of India, Aurangzeb included.

But Aurangzeb seemed to have little interest in territory outside India... Still, he had not come away empty-handed. He had made quite a few friends at Aurangzeb's court, and had also become very well acquainted with the exiled King of Portugal in Goa and the king's newly wed queen!

(End of Chapter)