Volume 4: Hot! The whole world is a warring state Chapter 603: Preparing to Attack India
"Your Majesty is welcome."
"No need to bow, everyone."
There was no particularly important matter to be discussed at the State Council meeting on December 10, 1631, but Zhu Youdong made a rare appearance at the meeting.
"I am here today to attend the meeting, not to interfere with any of the matters that will be discussed, but to make a request to you all."
"Your Majesty, please give us your instructions."
"Please ask the Cabinet and the Privy Council to seriously study the feasibility of a large-scale military operation on the Indian Peninsula and formulate a corresponding plan. I hope to send a large army to India within a year."
"Ah? Your Majesty? This?"
Seeing that both civil and military officials had shocked expressions on their faces, Zhu Youdong felt extremely helpless.
Originally, in his plan, after about three to five years, when the Ming Dynasty was ready in all aspects, it would be time to attack: in these three to five years, he had plenty of time to slowly guide public opinion and let the ministers accept his ideas ideologically. At the same time, it was estimated that after three to five years, the growing and powerful Ming bourgeoisie would also need more raw material production areas and dumping markets: at that time, the country would mobilize hundreds of thousands of troops to enter India in a large-scale manner, and both the Ming Dynasty officials and the people would consciously or unconsciously obey his will, which was a natural outcome.
To be honest, he didn't know what Datar did before he traveled through time. But no matter what he did, he never took him seriously: it wasn't that he looked down on him, but he knew very well that with a religion like Hinduism that openly divides people into different classes, no matter how many time travelers you are, it can't develop - didn't you see that in the 21st century, the Indian constitution has explicitly banned the caste system, but there are still all kinds of weird things in the country? As for the high castes not seeing the low castes as human beings, and the low castes themselves not seeing themselves as human beings, aren't they also frequently reported?
This is the case in the 21st century, let alone the 17th century now?
Therefore, although the Indian peninsula where Datar is located is vast, economically prosperous, populous, and has much better natural conditions than the Ming Dynasty, in Zhu Youdong's heart, Datar's threat is smaller than that of Tokugawa Yoshinao and Rajafutu in the past. Before the opening of the Suez Canal, he had plenty of time to slowly cultivate his inner strength.
East Asia is now unified, and America has been messed up by the few devils he sent out. When Siberia is still a pure primitive landform, India must be used as a springboard to launch a strike against the Middle East and Europe - but don't be too anxious. My Ming Dynasty has just undergone a huge political and economic transformation, and it will take three to five years to adjust. When the adjustment is in place, especially after I issue paper money in three to five years, the national economy will be greatly improved again. And when new achievements are made in science and technology, then it will be the best time to launch the Indian campaign.
But Datar, it’s fine if you can’t develop: I won’t laugh at you for not being able to develop because Hinduism is holding you back - if I were in your shoes, I would also find it difficult.
But, you should never, ever, let the natives kill you. This is a shame for the time travelers!
And it would have been fine if he had just been killed, but he was actually killed by Aurangzeb!
That’s right, Aurangzeb, the sixth emperor of the Mughal Empire in the historical plane, expanded the territory of the Mughal Empire to its largest, but also led to the collapse of the empire because of his militarism. But it must be said that this man is really an outstanding person!
He received a good palace education since childhood and was devout in his faith. He maintained the simplicity of a true Muslim among the extravagant Mughal high-ranking officials. He was extremely brave and dared to fight a frightened and mad elephant at the age of fourteen. As a teenager, he served as the vice king of the Deccan, led the army to charge into battle and was invincible. He was ruthless and killed his brother and imprisoned his father in order to fight for the throne - he was simply a replica of Emperor Taizong of Tang!
Of course, in Indian history, his evaluation is far lower than that of Li Shimin. The biggest reason is that, in the historical plane, Aurangzeb, who imprisoned his father and became the emperor of the Mughal Empire, keenly discovered that Hinduism had corrupted the country and weakened its combat power. As a devout Muslim, he changed the religious tolerance policy of successive emperors of the Mughal Empire, imposed a head tax on Hindus, and expelled Hindu officials from the court, which completely intensified domestic conflicts, and then the entire country inevitably fell apart.
His behavior cannot be said to be stupid, but he is an idealist: although the Mughal Empire adopted the Crescent Moon as its state religion, Muslims at that time only accounted for 30% of the country's population, and the rest were almost all Hindus. With such a huge disparity, it is absolutely impossible to eliminate Hinduism.
It’s not that he didn’t see the proportion, but he saw it and had to do it: if he didn’t want to allow Hinduism to continue to erode the country and cause the country to die a chronic death.
In short, this great man was still very powerful: he had ideals, abilities, and means, and most importantly, he was in good health: in terms of history, Aurangzeb lived to be 89 years old.
Therefore, such an opponent, after obtaining Datar's memory, is much more difficult to deal with than Datar. Zhu Youdong had to launch the Indian campaign in advance: he must not give such a great man sufficient preparation time!
However, the Ming Dynasty was not ready at that time. Apart from other things, even the ministers were not prepared at all.
"Your Majesty suddenly mentioned this matter. I am truly... terrified."
"Yes, Your Majesty. The country has only just started the civil service examination this year, and there are many vacancies in government offices across the country. Are you launching a foreign war at this time?"
"Your Majesty, the country has invested heavily in education and medical care in recent years, and has built railways and factories all over the country. There is not much balance in the Ministry of Finance's account. If a war is to be launched, I am afraid..."
"Your Majesty, there have been no major wars in the country in recent years. Therefore, the arsenal's production is on a daily shift. The stock of guns and cannons in the Ministry of National Defense's warehouse cannot withstand large-scale consumption for too long."
"Your Majesty, the countries on the Indian Peninsula have only had economic and trade exchanges with our Ming Dynasty over the years, and there have not been many conflicts. This large-scale war is unjustified!"
Looking at the various words below, in short, the ministers were not in favor of going to war. Zhu Youdong felt very bitter in his heart: I don’t want to start a war so soon, but who can blame my colleagues for being so useless?
"My Lords."
After all, the emperor's prestige over the years was still enough. As soon as he opened his mouth, the meeting room immediately fell silent.
"You are all important officials of the country, and you are a group of people who control the fate of more than 200 million people in East Asia. Standing at such a high level, when doing things, you can't just see the present, but you must look far ahead and plan ahead."
"Uh... your subjects respectfully listen to the emperor's instructions."
"I want to take action against India for three reasons. First, the products of the private factories in our Ming Dynasty are increasing, and the East Asian countries have been overwhelmed by our dumping for so many years. Therefore, we need to open up new dumping markets for our factory owners. Second, India is extremely rich and its natural conditions are far better than those of our Ming Dynasty. In order to alleviate the increasingly serious food crisis in our Ming Dynasty, we must find new fertile land for the hundreds of millions of people in our Ming Dynasty as soon as possible. Third, you should also know that the white people in Europe have taken over almost all coastal areas of Africa and are constantly advancing into the interior of Africa. These greedy guys will sooner or later reach out to India. We finally drove these white people out of East Asia a few years ago. If we let them come back and set up cannons at our doorsteps, what will happen to Shu, Chu and Yangon in our Ming Dynasty? While the Western white people have not arrived in large numbers, we must seize this rich land first to be invincible.
As for saying that we have no legitimate reason to fight? Humph, everyone, you all know that the Hinduism openly divides people into different classes, which is even more extreme than the four-class system during the Yuan Dynasty. This system should of course be destroyed. My Great Ming Dynasty has received the mandate of heaven and has ensured extensive peace in East Asia, allowing more than 200 million people in East Asia to live a stable life. Now, shouldn’t we liberate those suffering people in South Asia? "
This statement made all the officials of the Ming Dynasty roll their eyes secretly: the production capacity of our Ming Dynasty factories cannot even meet the domestic demand for the time being. Haven't you seen that the prices of products produced by celluloid and cloth produced by steam engines are more than ten times the cost? Why dare to set such a high price? Isn't it because the market is not saturated yet? What about food security? Please, now that our Ming Dynasty has newly built water conservancy projects, developed state-owned farms, and bought grain from Southeast Asia... the market price of grain in the Ming Dynasty has been stable at 0.5 yuan per stone for 20 years.
As for those white people? Humph, my Ming Dynasty is invincible!
Finally, let’s talk about the reason for starting the war? What does the life and death of Indians have to do with us? This reason is not enough to deceive the people!
However, the emperor was the emperor after all, and his willingness to explain was already a great honor to the ministers. The ministers also had to give the emperor a way out.
"Your Majesty, I understand what you mean. In this case, I suggest that the Privy Council and the Ministry of National Defense take the lead in formulating a plan and then report it to the Emperor."
"Okay, I hope that this plan can be completed within a month. In other words, I want to see something after the Lantern Festival next year."
"Your Majesty, isn't this a little too hasty?"
"Ten thousand years is too long. We must seize the day. All the ministers should do their best."
"Ten thousand years is too long, we must seize the day ? Your Majesty has come up with another golden sentence. Yes, we understand, and we will start working on this matter immediately."
