In the royal palace in Kabul, Afghanistan, the Mughal Emperor Humayun sat in a white palace and quietly watched the Dutch envoys in his palace.

The Mughal Empire is generally considered to be the royal dynasty of India, but in fact the state was founded after the conquest of northern India by conquerors from Central Asia and Persia. In other words, it was not so much an Indian dynasty as a colonial empire in India by Central Asian and Persian conquerors.

So in the upper echelons of the Mughal Empire, the emperors and nobles used Central Asian etiquette and customs, speaking Persian.

However, after hundreds of years of conquest, the nobility of northern India basically became conquerors from Central Asia. Most of India has been completely subjugated to the iron heel of the Central Asians.

Although Humayun held the title of Mughal Emperor, he was actually an exiled emperor. His father was the Mughal emperor, but Humayun's failure to control his younger brothers plunged the empire into a civil war for the throne. An Afghan nobleman, his father's vassal, Shersha, defeated Humayun and forced him into exile under the Safavid dynasty in Persia.

After ten years of forbearance and begging, Humayun used Persian forces to conquer Afghanistan and the northwestern corner of India.

However, Humayun is not willing to retreat to Afghanistan as a petty nobleman, after all, his title is the emperor of the Mughal Empire, and all he wants is to restore the Mughal territory in his father's hands and rule the whole of northern India, and even the whole of India.

Humayun was waiting for an opportunity, but today, it came to his door.

The Dutch envoy Weltmann looked his Afghan palace up and down, and finally said: "Let me be honest with you, the Mughal emperor should not live in such a small palace. ”

"Such a palace is not even comparable to a prince of India."

Hearing the translator's translation, Humayun was expressionless.

Humayun was a king who was rarely moody. It's not that his city is so deep, but that his character is so calm. Humayun rarely laughed and never got angry. It is said that Humayun never cursed anyone in his life, and the most serious thing he said was "stupid".

But Humayun was a man who was good at seizing opportunities.

He raised his right hand, which held the sword, spread out his palm, and said, "Then, emissary of the mighty Dutch Republic, how do you think I, the emperor, should return to India?" ”

The Dutch envoy Weltermann looked at Humayun and laughed.

"Your Majesty the Great Emperor, your sworn enemy Sher Shah has been killed in battle, India is now in tatters, and it is time to send troops south to rebuild the glory of the Mughal Empire. Do you want to live in the desolate land of Afghanistan for the rest of your life, hidden in the ravines between the mountains? ”

Humayun heard Welterman's almost defiant words, but he didn't feel any emotion.

He understood that the Dutch, who came to their territory with a ship of arquebuses and cannons, would never come to make a joke about themselves. That shipload of weapons was very weighty, and it may not be anything in Europe, but in India it was a weapon that could change the outcome of the war.

Humayun had sent spies to observe the ship's side for a long time, and it was impossible for Humayun not to be greedy for the ship's advanced weapons.

Humayun stood up, and he went to the middle of the palace and took Weltermann by the hand, and led Welterman to his seated master, and let the Dutch envoy sit down with him on the splendid Persian carpet.

"Messenger of the great Dutch Republic, your merchant ships are in every corner of the Indian Ocean. Only you have the power to change the balance in India. ”

Instead of kneeling on the carpet like Humayun, Welterman sat cross-legged very rudely. As a chair-sitting European, Werterman was not very accustomed to Central Asian etiquette.

"Indeed, the Netherlands has the power and the will to change India."

Looking into Humayun's eyes, Wittman said, "We want the Mughal Empire to rule India again, arm 200,000 soldiers and horses, and become the most powerful fortress in the Indian Ocean, blocking all threats from the east." ”

When Humayun heard the words of the Dutch envoy, Furui Wubo's face finally couldn't help it, and it bloomed with excitement.

Regaining rule over India and restoring the glory of his father's generation has been all Humayun's dreams for the past decade.

Not only Humayun was excited, but all the nobles sitting in the palace were excited. Someone accidentally knocked over the wine glass on the table, but didn't bother to care, only listened to Welterman's words with their ears pricked up.

Humayun looked at his subordinates in the palace, and there was more persistence in his eyes.

Of course, Humayun was not willing to be a king of a dead country, and he was not willing to let the Mughal Empire really die in his own hands. Humayun cannot be mediocre because he inherited the throne of Mughal emperor, and if he is mediocre, what about the Mughal nobles who followed him in exile for ten years?

Humayun knelt on the carpet and bowed deeply to Weltermann, as if he were bowing to the Dutch emissary.

"What will the Mughals do so that the great Dutch will help us regain rule over India?"

Wittman laughed and said, "Northern India is now ruled by the nobility of the Middle East, and only the Mughal emperor has the appeal to truly unify the country. He helped Humayun up: "Your Majesty, in fact, our interests are exactly the same. Your Majesty, we just need you to take control of India and send troops to attack Li Zhi in the Far East. ”

Hu Mayun was stunned: "Li Zhi? ”

Welterman took a breath and said, "Li Zhi has already sent troops to attack Indochina. It is estimated that it will not be long before he can fully control the entire peninsula. We, the Dutch, do not want to lose all the interests of the Far East, so someone must stand up and defeat Li Zhi. ”

"And the only thing that can defeat Li Zhi is the Mughal Empire."

"We will provide you with a large number of flintlock guns and mortars to help you return to Delhi as quickly as possible and take control of northern India. Then you organize all the Indian soldiers and horses to attack Li Zhi from the west. ”

The nobles in the palace looked at each other for a while, and then they understood why the Dutch had come to Afghanistan with a boatload of firearms.

It turned out that everything was done to stop Li Zhi in the Far East.

Humayun nodded and said, "Honorable Dutch envoy, if we can regain rule over India with the help of the Dutch, of course we will stop Li Zhi's expansion. Even if it is for our own sake, we will not sit idly by and watch the expansion of Li Zhi's power. ”

Weltman nodded and said, "We will provide you with the most advanced weapons, even more advanced than those of European countries." But for the sake of better communication between the Netherlands and the Mughals, we hope that His Majesty will send his eldest son, Akbar, to the Netherlands to learn European culture. ”

Humayun's left hand trembled slightly.

He knew that the Dutch were going to take them hostage.

Humayun had few children, and he gave birth to a son, Akbar, at the age of thirty-five. Akbar is Humayun's only unobstructed heir. If he agreed to this condition of the Dutch, the Mughal would later become a client state of the Dutch.

However, glancing at the fanatical-eyed nobles in the palace, Humayun knew that he had no choice but to promise the Dutch.

"Honorable Dutch emissary, I think Akbar is willing to go to Europe to study."

Welterman laughed, and he said, "We have a batch of greetings on our big ship. 5,000 flintlock pistols, 1,000 Formosa rifles, 50 Dutch cannons! I hope that it will not be long before the North of India will be subjugated at the feet of His Majesty. ”

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