The Imperial Age with the Resurgence of Han Style

Chapter 57 Department of Overseas Colonial Affairs

January 1724, 1, Linchuan, Bengal (now Howrah, India, opposite Calcutta).

On the bank of the Hooghly River, more than ten kilometers away from Linchuan Fort, beside the dirt road on the south side of Bali Town, stands a temple of the Mother of Time.That temple was noisy and exotic.This is especially true after the rainy season when people come from all over to worship the goddess.

The air was then filled with the aroma of incense and flowers, the raised dust swirled around the temple walls, and the lanes were crowded with bullock carts, wandering cattle, beggars, and barefoot worshipers.

Day and night, lambs were consecrated to the goddess, their blood flowing along the temple steps.Sometimes, people will hear the screams of these sacrificial animals, and the worshipers will also fall into a trance in ecstasy, and they will even be beaten and bloody, but they still pray for God's grace - Shi Mu is the destroyer Shiva's wife is a cruel god, a god of blood, and a god of darkness.

It is a mecca for Hindu mobs, a gathering place for generations of murderers who have been a nightmare for Indian travelers and traders for hundreds of years.There are branches and followers of their secret societies from the Indus to Bengal, with their own hierarchies and their own religious rituals and cultural traditions.

Moreover, they believe that by strangling strangers on the road, they are actually completing the work of their mother.When Mother Time killed the Asura blood race at the beginning of all things, she created two humans with the sweat from her forehead and ordered them and their descendants to kill all foreigners.

In addition to farmers becoming their accomplices out of fear, their murderous behavior will also be secretly protected by Indian princes and wealthy people, whether they are true believers or Hindu believers.These perpetrators devoutly come to the Temple of the Mother of God every year and pay taxes to the priests here. In return, they can receive instructions from the gods: where they should "practice" in the next year, and what they should do for the next year. How much money can be brought back from the temple, and what rituals need to be performed if one wants to enjoy the blessing of the goddess.

If they fail to fulfill these obligations, they will be abandoned by the Time Mother and become ownerless souls, wandering hopelessly in the chaotic world.

All this may pose a serious security threat to the Qi people who are trying to fully colonize India, because no one wants businessmen and travelers wandering around India to suddenly encounter such a situation on a remote road. A group of savage and ignorant people attacked and lost their lives in vain.

"Therefore, we should tear down this temple of the Mother of Time, destroy everything inside, and hang all the priests to avenge all those who died unjustly."

More than a dozen murderers were dragged out of the temple like dead dogs by the Qi Yin garrison officers and soldiers, then tied into rice dumplings and roughly thrown into several flatbed carriages, ready to be taken back to Linchuan Fort to face legal trial.Upon seeing this, Feng Jinping, a writer for Bangladesh's "United Business Daily", turned his head and suggested to Sheriff Qi who was responsible for the arrest.

"That's not necessary." Linchuan Fort Sheriff Wang Kaicheng shook his head and said: "Although this is the sphere of influence of our Bangladesh trading company, it is not our directly governed territory after all, and it is not easy to interfere with local affairs and religious customs in India. We only need to Just take him back and give an explanation to those local businessmen in Bangladesh. If his temple is destroyed, I'm afraid it will cause a huge commotion."

In the entire Indian region, except for the ports and trading cities directly controlled and occupied by several governor-general areas and two monopoly trading companies, the Qi people's consistent policy towards local affairs in India is not to interfere with their religious customs and cultural traditions.Therefore, the people of Qi clearly knew that this temple harbored many murderers, robbers, and villains who raped and abused women, but they selectively turned a blind eye and turned a deaf ear.As long as these evil believers do not target the people of Qi, you can do whatever you want. After all, the rumors and legends about the murderer will have no more impact than giving new visitors to Qi a chill. .

You must know that the biggest difference between trading companies and the overseas territories and colonial governor-general under the government is that the businessmen have no intention of ruling India, let alone trying to transform Indians. They just want to make more money.At this point, both Bangladeshi and Indian trading companies have been quite successful.After working for trading companies for more than ten years, most people can return to their hometown and live a good life, which can support their recovery and recuperation in a leisurely and quiet countryside after retirement.

If he becomes the person in charge of a trading station or the governor of a colonial stronghold through hard work, he will live a life like a prince in India.

Have you not seen Zhang Guangkun, the chief shopkeeper and local governor of the Bangladesh Commercial Company in Jiangling (now Kolkata, India)? This man is the nephew of the queen. He likes to cruise around in a luxury carriage with four horses, followed by hundreds of people. The musketeers and the cavalry of the brigade were cheering in front and behind, and the scene was huge.Wherever they pass, the horses' hooves raise countless amounts of smoke and dust. Bengalis carrying water bottles on their heads or carrying heavy objects will stop and watch the convoy passing by with respect. All passing vehicles on the road must give way to him to maintain order. The Indian soldiers also saluted him.

This big shot with royal connections had more than ten concubines in Bengal, each of whom lived a luxurious life like a princess.Well, during this period, there were very few Qi women in India, and the climate here was so bad. At this time, the lifestyle of the Qi people in India would be slightly closer to the locals - they had Indian wives or concubines, and local princes and nobles When making friends with businessmen, they rarely have a sense of superiority over race and civilization.

Compared with the self-proclaimed great Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb decades ago, the people of Qi appear to be quite tolerant of local religious control--in fact, in Qi's directly administered territories and governor-general areas, , they also managed nearly a thousand Indian temples.They have always maintained a friendly attitude of mutual cooperation and mutual respect with the Indians during plunder, battles and trade.

In short, they do not want to change this continent, its people, their religion and culture yet.India, as long as it remains sufficiently docile to our country, can provide a steady stream of resources for the development of domestic industry and commerce, and become a huge market for commodity dumping, it will be the most perfect "sacred place".

"I heard that the cabinet government has recently established a new department called the Department of Overseas Colonial Affairs." Feng Jinping sat on the carriage, glanced back at the Temple of the Mother of God that was gradually disappearing, and then said to Wang Kaicheng with a mysterious face Said: "This new department seems to have colonial affairs jurisdiction specifically for India, Bangladesh, Myanmar and other regions. By then, several trading monopoly trading companies, including our Bangladesh Trading Company, will not only accept the management and guidance of the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Industry , but also subject to the constraints and policy intervention of the Ministry of Overseas Colonial Affairs. As a result, our good days are probably coming to an end."

"Oh?" Wang Kaicheng was startled for a moment, and then said with a meaningless look: "The establishment of the Ministry of Overseas Colonial Affairs just added an extra mother-in-law to our trading company. The impact is somewhat, but it must be If it touches the direct interests of our trading company, then that’s not a big deal, right? Even if the trading company’s trade monopoly is directly abolished, our trading company has been operating in Bangladesh for more than 60 years, and it has already been deeply rooted, with a network of tentacles all over Bangladesh, and it will not shake our trading company at all. The dominant position. Besides, even if it does have a major impact, it is only a matter for the big guys to worry about, and it should not be a big deal to us little shrimps."

"You think too simply." Feng Jinping shook his head and said: "Since the cabinet government has established this department, it must change the current colonial policy and transfer the colonial affairs that were previously dominated by trading companies to the government level. The entire Nanyang region is far away The mainland of Hanzhou is just around the corner, and it will inevitably be included in the scope of direct management in the future, with provincial, prefectural and county-level management agencies established to eventually realize localization. Then, Burma, India, Persia, and even Arabia and Africa that are slightly farther away will be controlled by several countries. The cities, ports, and inland strongholds controlled by these trading companies will inevitably be transferred to the cabinet government and under the unified management of the so-called Ministry of Overseas Colonial Affairs."

"So, all the colonial administrators, including Governor Zhang of Bengal, will either be re-appointed by the cabinet and continue to serve, or they will be replaced by officials sent from the mainland. They can only return to the trading company and become your shopkeeper again or The position of steward will no longer continue to enjoy the status of being superior to the princes above."

(End of this chapter)