Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 2218 Rajput's Plan ([-])

On August 1693, 8, Diu Island, India, light rain.

South Asia in August is still shrouded in the power of the southwest monsoon.These cyclones from the depths of the Indian Ocean carried a large amount of moist water vapor, and then landed on the thirsty land, moistening countless farmlands and rivers, which can be said to be the source of life for the vast majority of Indians in the agricultural society.

Because of the huge investment in the construction of well-drained water and sewage facilities, there is not much obvious water accumulation on the streets of Diu County.Of course, it's just "not obvious".In fact, in relatively low-lying places, there is still a large amount of stagnant water, which creates conditions for mosquito breeding.

There are basically no Indians in Diu County now.After years of continuous "transplantation", the majority of the more than 8500 settled people in Diu County are from Chinese immigrants, and there are occasional Portuguese and Indo-Portuguese, which do not account for the majority.The whole city has also been greatly developed. Originally, the Portuguese city was small in size and the layout was very messy. The people on the east coast not only rebuilt it, but also expropriated the surrounding land (only a small part was paid. money and supplies to the Indians), and carried out large-scale development.

Now Diu Island, except for a few ponds (which also serve as reservoirs) and woods, basically has no farmland, and there are only a few vegetable fields.The entire island has a very high degree of urbanization, and basically all Chinese-style buildings, basically there is no trace of India, and even Portuguese-style buildings are more than Indian-style.

Similar to this is the Asashima area to the west.This new colony with a history older than Diu Island is more thorough. It was originally a desolate small fishing port.After the people from the east bank arrived, they first used the local Indians to build a wave of infrastructure construction, and then sent them all away and sent them to Oman to fight against desert bandits.

The degree of urbanization in the Shallow Island area is not as high as that of Diu Island, but it is quite good.After all, more than 4000 immigrants from mainland China are not fake.Quite a few of these people are engaged in agricultural work. There is fertile alluvial soil near the shallow island, which is rich in nutrients and water. Therefore, they were quickly divided up by military households from Denglai, and they were established smoothly. Agricultural planting.Of course, the bulk of the local economy still relies on entrepot trade. Like the Diu Island, the income is not bad.

That is to say, the Diu Management Committee, a provincial-level administrative region, currently directly governs two cities with a population of about 1. It controls two key nodes in the Rajput community in northwestern India. Among the foreign colonial forces, it can be regarded as a relatively successful one.

And the Indians on the opposite side of the Diu Management Committee—whether they were the local governor, warlord, or the central court of Delhi—basically knew the origin and identity of the people on the east bank.In the beginning, people from the east coast entered India with the help of Portuguese vests. At that time, the Indians couldn’t figure it out. They really thought that these very fierce but good-looking colonists were Portuguese, and they once thought they were Portuguese. A servant summoned from Macau.But after so many years, no matter how dull the Indians are, they should know the truth!

But what if we know the truth?Is it possible that the Indians can still come to punish the "deception" of the people on the east coast?Even thinking about it is impossible.Now their country still maintains a unified situation on the surface, but it has long been torn apart inside. The governor and warlords rule one side, listen to the central government and refuse to listen to the announcement, and even the tax money and food that should be given can be deducted a lot, let alone other things. up.People on the east coast once imagined that if the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, who is now 80 or [-] years old, dies, his successor will definitely not be able to control the situation, and there will be turmoil in India.Therefore, now basically no one cares what the people on the east coast are doing and wanting to do, except to face their warlords in the Rajput region.But warlords also have a characteristic, that is, selfishness and cruel competition.Before the people on the east coast have really touched their interests, they have no reason to launch any revenge against the people on the east coast.So, for now, people on the east coast are absolutely safe.

Today, Lieutenant Colonel Yao Tong, director of the Diu Management Committee, is sitting in the famous Guoxing Temple on Diu Island, listening to Zen Master Baozhi who has studied the history of India and Buddhism for many years, so as to have a clear idea of ​​the expansion behavior in the next few years.The explanation is one-on-one, but it is the prerogative of the chief to interrupt the question at any time.

"...India is found in ancient books in our country. Its name is Fan San, one is Shendu, one is Tianzhu, and the other is Xiandou. Xuanzang said that India is the correct pronunciation, and he said——"

"Stop! Zen master Baozhi, I know you have studied Indian history for many years, and you have learned a lot, but our time is precious, so let's try to focus on the key points? Well, let's talk about the history of the nearby Rajput region. Let's put it in a nutshell. I won't touch on other things for the time being, and I'll talk about them later when I have time." Yao Tongzhong said helplessly as he put down his teacup.

"Uh——" Zen Master Baozhi was silent for a while, then nodded randomly and said: "To put it simply, the Rajputs are a mixed race, that is, the ethnic groups that invaded from northwest India in history and the local natives are mixed. The formed race. The leaders of this race have a relatively high proportion of generals, so the martial arts atmosphere among the people is not bad. Although they are not brave and fearless in battle, they are much stronger than other natives."

"They generally believe in Hinduism, and of course there are Green believers, but not many. They claim to be the Kshatriya class and established some separatist regimes in the early days. Before the Portuguese arrived in India, the separatist states of the Rajputs had a lot of money. Countries such as Japt, Cambay, and Mandu, these states are large and small, and have different armed forces, but they are generally considered to be rich."

"Wait—" Lieutenant Colonel Yao Tong interrupted Zen Master Baozhi again, and asked, "Are there any definite histories or documents for these countries?"

Zen Master Baozhi was silent for a while, and then said: "Some have it, some don't. The chronology of ancient Indian history is similar to that of our country. However, the historical records of China are not lost, and there is little difficulty in inferring the age. However, most of the Indian historical records are lost. Among them, the factual dates are not continuous, and even contradict each other. Occasionally, they appear in stone tablets, ballads, or myths. It is difficult to verify, and it is necessary to rely on foreign history, such as relevant records in Chinese, Greek, and Ceylon historical records. "

"This Indian doesn't like to write history." Yao Tong immediately laughed.

"Most Indian history is recorded by Brahmins. However, they love poetry and literature and despise historical records. Therefore, there are very few classics that record ancient Indian life. Many studies can only rely on external history or speculation. Such research is also helpless." In With the help of a translator, Zen Master Baozhi, who has read a large number of Chinese and foreign historical books, said: "Chinese people like us are so focused on compiling history, and there are very few countries in the world. It is normal for India to fall short of historical records."

"The poor monk has studied many foreign historical books, visited many Rajput city-states, recorded some songs and legends, collected some ancient objects and coins, expanded some stone tablets, and visited some abandoned ancient cities. After years of sorting out, I have some experience with the history of Gurajput, but I dare not say I understand it at all. General Yao, please look at this ancient coin——" As he spoke, Zen Master Baozhi took out an ancient coin from his side. Coins, only one side is Greek and the other side is Indian, seem to be extremely old.

"Is this the coin used by the Gurajput?" Yao Tong was a little surprised, took it and examined it carefully before asking.

"Yes." Zen Master Baozhi nodded, and said, "This was cast by Alexander after he invaded India, and it passed through northern India. We can infer the political, economic, and commercial conditions at that time from the fineness, weight, and shape of coins. Of course, it is not guaranteed to be accurate. Some larger coins will also mark the achievements of the king, which is another clue. My junior brother Bao Tong specializes in this knowledge. After a few years, he may write a special knowledge book and publish it. Introduce the commerce and economy of Gurajput that has been researched."

"Oh? I haven't seen Zen Master Baotong for a while, so he was writing a book. When this masterpiece comes out, I must buy a copy and read it. It's all knowledge." Yao Tong immediately complimented him.

Zen Master Baozhi thanked him immediately.Later, he talked about the history of the Rajputs, and talked about the arduous struggle of this ethnic group with the Green Christians from Central Asia in the past hundreds of years, and pointed out that they actually defended the continuation of Hindu culture Otherwise, northern India may have changed color a long time ago-ironically, the so-called bravery of the Rajputs is actually mainly derived from the blood of their external invaders, but they are not Green Christians.

The last time the Rajputs fought against the Muslims was after Babur was defeated by the Shaybani dynasty in Central Asia and fled southward to India in embarrassment with two or three thousand remnant soldiers.Of course, when the coalition forces formed by the Rajput states encountered Babur's troops, they had already developed through snowballing. Bull surrendered.

Fortunately, at that time, Babur urgently needed the government in other parts of India, and he took a gentle attitude towards the slightly combative Rajputs, so that they could join Babur's command.And because of this, the Rajput region retained a considerable degree of independence. Even though the later Mughal monarchs wanted to take power, and even wanted them to convert to the Green Church, they failed in the end, and even Even the military conquest was not completely successful-after the founding army quickly corrupted and degenerated, the Mughal court really did not have a good way of dealing with these local powerful factions.

To this day, when the central court of Delhi has had a bad nose in the Deccan Plateau and its prestige has been greatly reduced, the Rajput region has become even more obsequious to them.So much so that people began to wonder whether some of Delhi's official orders would be dismissed by the local power factions in Rajput, although they still respect the rule of Delhi on the surface.

After such an in-depth explanation by Zen Master Baozhi, director Yao Tong Yao had a comprehensive understanding of the historical origin and current situation of the Rajput people.He didn’t take it seriously when others asked him to consult Zen Master Baozhi, but now he really thinks that this great monk can be called “Rajputong”. It is really not easy to do such in-depth research in such a short period of time. .He is already considering whether the management committee can allocate a sum of money to Guoxing Temple every year in the future to reward him for his contributions.

And after such a lecture today, Yao Tong also became more and more convinced of the correctness of the expansion plan in northwest India.And he scoffed at the so-called bravery of the Rajputs. Maybe they were stronger than other Indians, and maybe they were stronger before, but now, sorry, Lieutenant Colonel Yao Tong, who was born in the army, still doesn't think highly of them.He also remembered that the Portuguese mentioned that the Rajputs tried to form an alliance with the Portuguese in order to deal with the Mughal Dynasty, but the Portuguese colonists perfidiously killed their king, and these Rajputs did not dare Retaliation, but in the end they continued to do business with them.Therefore, in the face of such a wonderful nation, it is really difficult for Lieutenant Colonel Yao Tong to respect them, and he is also dismissive of their strength.

He has already decided to invite the newly appointed Governor of Portuguese India to meet in two days (this person happens to be in Diu and has not yet returned to Goa), and everyone will sit down and talk about how to carve up the Rajput region.For expansion in Northwest India, it is best to chat with the Portuguese who have worked here for many years, and they can sometimes make more pertinent suggestions.

(End of this chapter)