The Imperial Age with the Resurgence of Han Style

Chapter 50 Riots in Multan
December 1723, 12, sunny day, Sindh area.

A year ago, when the newly promoted Renyong Colonel (Lieutenant) Li Yanliang just arrived in Jinmen (now Karachi), he had deep doubts about the combat effectiveness of the Xizhou servant army, which was mainly Indian indigenous people.But more than ten days ago, a sudden local riot broke out, which immediately became the best practice to verify the combat effectiveness of the slave army.

On November 11, a massive civilian riot broke out in the capital city of Multan of the Nawab Kingdom near the Tianjin Governorate. Those people who could not bear the oppression of officials at all levels armed with various farm tools and sticks first killed The wanton tax collector was killed, and then he captured a military camp outside the city and seized a large number of weapons.

Subsequently, with the cooperation of the people in Multan, the rioting civilians invaded the city.If King Azim I had not seen the opportunity quickly and escaped from the palace in a hurry under the protection of the Royal Guards, he would have been captured by the angry people.

The Nawab Kingdom was established by Prince Akbar, the third son of the former Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, in the 1680th year of the Han Dynasty ([-]).

In the first Qi-India War, Aurangzeb unfortunately died in battle. His four adult princes immediately gathered their troops and staged a traditional imperial drama - the throne, regardless of the fact that the empire was still at war with Qi. Battle.

The great prince Muazzam in Delhi, with the support of his ministers, declared that he would succeed the Mughal Emperor as Shah Alam I.Although he had the advantage of being the center of the empire, due to the intentional or unintentional interference of the Qi State, Shah Alam I led the army on conquests for several years, but was still unable to completely cut off the power of the other three brothers, and had no choice but to allow the brothers to separate and establish themselves.

Within a few years, Azam, the second oldest, established kingdoms in Punjab, and Akbar, the third oldest, established kingdoms in Sind, openly rebelling against the Mughal Empire.The Malwa region occupied by the fourth brother Kam Bakhsh was sandwiched between the three major forces of the Maratha Kingdom, the Mughal Empire and the Gujrat occupied by the Qi Kingdom (until 1715, the Mughal Empire completed its indemnity Later, Qi State withdrew from the area) and did not dare to establish a separate state. In the form of restraints, it reluctantly stayed within the empire's territory.

In order to resist the central government of the Mughal Empire and ensure their independent status, the three princes in the separatist areas, in addition to actively wooing local powerful factions in Qi and surrounding areas, also levied exorbitant amounts of money within their jurisdiction to maintain their huge armed forces. force.

The rulers introduced one tax after another and used various methods to steal money from the people.As long as countless people want to live peacefully on the land of India, they must pay taxes according to their requirements. The endless taxes and assessments make the lives of the people at the bottom even more difficult.

The upper class turned a blind eye to the suffering at the bottom. After transferring the contradiction, they continued to enjoy their luxurious life. When the next crisis came, they began to collect a new round of taxes.

Among the many tax items, there is one that targets the dressing behavior of lower caste people.

They require that women of lower castes are not allowed to wear tops and must expose their breasts. Especially when facing high-caste people, they must take off their clothes to distinguish the difference between the two.

Of course, if you want to wear clothes, you have to pay a sufficient amount of tax, and the standard of this tax is different for everyone. Women with larger breasts have to pay more.

This tax is bizarre from beginning to end, and there is no common sense at all. However, because it was enacted by the upper-level rulers, the people at the bottom have no ability to resist, so they can only bear it silently.

High-caste people can take off the tops of lower-caste women at will, and they say that this is a sign of respect for the upper caste.If anyone does not act according to their ideas, they will be reported to the relevant tax inspectors or local officials, and then someone will come to collect large amounts of taxes to please the upper castes.

You can imagine how absurd this kind of life is, which makes many Indian women eager to flee to the Karat Khanate, or the Xizhou Governor-General and Mozhou Governor-General controlled by Qi State.

This is not because they admire and yearn for the people of Qi State, but that the status of women in the areas controlled by Qi State has a certain degree of "dignity" compared to that under the rule of Indian princes. Although it cannot be said that everyone is equal, But at least I don’t support this kind of naked body behavior.The people of Qi thought this was indecent and even more barbaric.

In a village on the outskirts of Multan, Muklam, a low-caste woman from a poor family, could not afford the heavy taxes promulgated by the kingdom, nor could she accept such tax items that were contrary to human nature.When she went to the market to sell fruits and vegetables, she put on a top and became an "outlier" among many low-caste people.

Soon, the official in charge of tax collection found her home and asked her to take off her clothes immediately. The weak Mukram, all resistance seemed so weak in the face of the man's strength.

Her top was forcibly taken off, and her beautiful figure made the wretched tax supervisor and attendants make all kinds of nasty jokes.

Mukram felt endless humiliation, followed by a deep sense of powerlessness.The other party told her frivolously that if she wanted to wear clothes, she would have to pay a fee. Judging from her figure, this would be a "huge sum" of money.

After everyone finished speaking, they burst into laughter.The humiliated Mukram couldn't bear it anymore. She took out the kitchen knife at home and slashed her chest hard.

Everyone present was stunned. Muklam held up two bloody pieces of meat and sent them to the other party, and said angrily, since it attracted a fine, then you can take it away.

Muklam's crazy behavior made everyone feel scared, and they left in a hurry and stopped collecting the so-called "clothing tax" from her.

When Muklam's husband returned home, his wife was lying in a pool of blood and losing her breath because she had not received timely treatment.

After learning what happened, the honest husband had no words. He jumped up at his wife's cremation and left with her.

The tragic experience of the Mukram family aroused the anger of many surrounding people, and the largest civilian riot in the Nawab Kingdom in decades broke out.

"Bah, if this kind of thing happens to me, I will still pick up all kinds of guys and do whatever the hell they want!"

On the winding Indus River, eight 400-ton small steamers are sailing upstream to Multan, hundreds of kilometers away.The boat was filled with officers and soldiers from the Xizhou garrison. Several sailors were observing the river and talking about the riots in the Kingdom of Sindh.

A sailor with a short beard spat fiercely into the river and cursed: "What the hell is this? You said, if a woman wears clothes to hide her shame, she has to collect a fucking tax. !...These princes of the country are so evil-minded that they even lose face when it comes to making money!"

"Who says it's not?" Another tall and thin sailor glanced at the garrison officers who were taking a breather on the deck, and said in a sinister tone: "That's it, we still have to respond to that bullshit prince's request and send troops to Mur. Tan, protect his safety, and also help him suppress those poor civilians. How pitiful, how many innocent people will die with this military disaster!"

"What are you talking about?" A sailor sergeant glanced at the garrison officers over there. He must have heard their discussion and looked over with hesitation, fearing that there would be a conflict between them, he hurriedly He shouted in a low voice: "How can you comment on the military operations assigned by Shangfeng at will? Keep an eye on the river carefully, and be careful when a small boat suddenly rushes out from the fork of the river and hits our boat!"

Immediately, several sailors dispersed muttering.

"A bunch of water rats, they know nothing!" Zhong Qingrui, commander of the second battalion of the [-]st Battalion of the Xizhou Garrison Army and captain of the Royal Martial Arts School, looked at the sailors with disdain and cursed without any scruples: "If we wait in the Sinde area It's such a mess. What do they eat and wear? These dogs are standing and talking without pain. Don't they know that the food and a large amount of cotton in the hinterland have to pass through the Indus and Chenab rivers? Only then can it be transported to Tianjin! Once the shipping on these two rivers is cut off, not only our Western Governorate will be greatly affected, but the entire west coast of India will be shaken violently."

"Sir, that's what you said." Li Yanliang, the newly appointed commander of the third company of the second battalion of the Xizhou Garrison Regiment, nodded and said: "Their navy only sailed the ship and talked about it. They never landed on the ground and experienced the battle. Naturally, they spoke nonsense and wantonly. Comment."

"Alas, but what they said is quite right." Zhong Qingrui said: "Those local Indian princes are really shameless in plundering people's wealth! Damn it, decades ago, the Tatars in the mainland also It’s just about keeping your hair but not your hair, and now, here in India, even women are being taxed on how to dress to cover their shame. Those people who can tolerate it until now are extremely docile. "

"There is a saying in "Warring States Policy" that the nest is overturned and the eggs are destroyed, but the phoenix emperor cannot fly; the embryo is burned to death, but the unicorn does not arrive." Li Yanliang continued Zhong Qingrui's words and said softly: "However, these warning words to the world But it does not apply in this region of India. It is reported that in the Mughal Empire, although there were more than a dozen provinces that nominally submitted to the central government, there were hundreds of local princes, large and small, scattered across its vast land. , these fragmented geographical separations have been enough to weaken their national concept. Coupled with various religions, various beliefs, and the caste system that has lasted for thousands of years, I believe that the people in the entire Indian region have already adapted to this kind of oppression , the condition of being enslaved, and thus unable to give birth to the spirit of resistance.”

"You do know a lot about India!" After hearing this, Zhong Qingrui couldn't help but look at this subordinate with admiration. He didn't expect that he was so young and had only been in India for a year, but he had such a thorough understanding of the specific local situation and his analysis was clear and logical. , then asked with a smile: "Then what do you think we will do when we arrive in Multan?"

"The humble position believes that in addition to helping the Nawab Kingdom stabilize the domestic situation, it is probably necessary to choose the opportunity to garrison Multan and then control the Indus waterway to ensure the safety and smooth flow of materials in the hinterland." Li Yanliang blinked. Said: "It is reported that in India's hundreds of thousands of years of history, although there have been civilian riots, riots led by low-caste people have never happened."

"Huh?..." Zhong Qingrui immediately narrowed his eyes when he heard this, looked at Li Yanliang meaningfully, and said nothing for a while.

(End of this chapter)