Compared to Kolkata, where the rain is abundant, the sunny island of Ceylon is a paradise, and Colombo is one of the most beautiful scenery in this paradise.

The members of the Governor's Palace, who had migrated from Calcutta, were very satisfied with the living conditions they were living in. With sun, sand, coconut groves and the sea, the Port of Colombo has become a seaside town with a European style after more than 100 years of construction by the Portuguese.

If it weren't for the cannons erected on the city walls, this place would be more like a scenic spot suitable for tourism and summer vacation. Tang King Zhu Yujian fell in love with Colombo almost as soon as he saw it for the first time.

Although the scenery of Lion Rock is also good, the heritage is still too bad here. Compared to Colombo, Lion Rock is like a big messy village. After all, Colombo was already a very famous trading port on the island before the Portuguese arrived here, and although a large number of Portuguese buildings have been built in the city, there are still traces of abandoned Tianfang Temples left by Arab merchants and Buddhist temples built by local residents.

Walking on the cobblestone streets of Colombo, watching the people bargaining in the shops on both sides, Zhu Yujian felt that he had finally regained some memories of his hometown of Nanyang. The only thing that made him feel a little fly in the ointment was that there were too many crows in the city, and the terrible chirping that rang out from time to time really ruined the beauty of the city.

Before the ship of the King of Shu and others arrived in Colombo, Zhu Yujian had actually received the news that they were going to Delhi. It's just that there was some trouble on his side, so he couldn't go north to Calcutta to join the mission, but only sent a messenger north, and it was obvious that the two sides had missed it at sea.

However, it also happened that he did not go north in person, so that he did not miss the opportunity to meet with the mission that went south to Ceylon. But Zhu Yujian, who was standing on the dock to greet the King of Shu, was still frightened by the members of the clan who disembarked one after another behind him. He really didn't expect that the emperor would be able to give him another big trouble.

After a few years in the Indian Ocean, Zhu Yujian has come to understand that this overseas land is not a good place. Don't look at Colombo facing the sea, coconut groves, mangoes, blue sea and blue sky, it looks like a paradise. But since the Portuguese discovered this place more than 100 years ago, there have been many wars around Colombo, and thousands of people have died inside and outside the city. Just a few months ago, this place was almost a bloody battlefield again.

As long as you find a little benefit, the friend who was at the same table with you yesterday will become an enemy who wields a knife at you today. Here, your status and family in the country can't help much, and in order to protect their own interests, everyone dares to wield a sword.

A group of gentlemen who are rampant in the country with the status of the clan, if they bring their domestic habits overseas, I am afraid that they will not know when they will really lose their lives. Thinking that he would be a nanny for the dozens of clan members in front of him in the future, Zhu Yujian almost thought about simply driving them back to the ship.

However, he has experienced a lot of ups and downs now, and he quickly suppressed the true thoughts in his heart, and he still greeted the King of Shu and the King of Jin with a spring breeze.

After the polite words were finished, Zhu Yujian gave way to the side, and introduced the subordinates behind him to the King of Shu, the King of Jin and others, "This is Zuo Changshi Su Guansheng, Gu Yan, Senator of the Governor's Palace, Lin Cha, General Zuo, Liu Xiang, the East Indian Ocean Patrol Envoy, and Li Kuiqi, the West Indian Ocean Patrol Envoy..."

Li You, who was standing beside the King of Shu and the King of Jin, was a little stunned when he saw this scene, because the main officials of the Governor's Mansion were actually concentrated in Colombo, except for one Yang Tiansheng, who was not here. Obviously, the Governor's Palace seems to be facing a problem that needs to be discussed by everyone before it can be faced.

Although Li You was curious about what this trouble was, he still kept a low profile in this public occasion, standing silently behind the two vassal kings. As for the King of Shu and the King of Jin, they did not feel anything unusual about the Governor's Mansion pouring out to greet them, but they were a little surprised that there were still a few Portuguese in the ranks.

However, Zhu Yujian did not intend to explain the two in detail, but after briefly introducing the names of the two, he invited everyone to go back to the governor's mansion in the city first.

The vehicle that Zhu Yujian prepared for everyone was an open-top two-wheeled rickshaw. He quickly explained to the two vassal kings that the Ming had just entered Colombo and had not prepared too many four-wheeled carriages. And they didn't have so many horses in their hands that they could use to pull carts, so they chose this lighter means of human transportation.

This hand-pulled rickshaw, known as rickshaw, was originally transported by a domestic merchant to be sold locally, but now it is used by them first.

For taking this kind of rickshaw, the two vassal kings were a little resistant at first, after all, in the capital, this kind of rickshaw is a means of travel for some traders and civilians, and it is really not worthy of their identity. However, after an initial period of discomfort, the two vassal kings discovered the benefits of the rickshaw.

In such a seaside city, this open rickshaw not only has a great view and allows them to enjoy the beautiful scenery of Colombo, but also the sea breeze blows slightly, which also makes them feel comfortable and comfortable.

Colombo City is divided into two parts, the outer city is inhabited by locals, Arab and Indian merchants, the streets are narrow and uneven, and the spacing between buildings is narrow. However, there are trees such as coconut trees, mango trees or linden trees in front of the houses, and the walls of each house are so lush with vines that it looks like you have entered a large garden.

On both sides of the street leading to the governor's residence in the center of the city, there are small two- and three-story buildings with very European characteristics, and these small buildings are surrounded by very neatly manicured gardens, which are planted with ornamental plants such as roses, purple jasmine, frangipani, purple frangipani, multi-colored wisteria, and some people's backyards are planted with many fruit trees, the most common of which are mango trees hanging with abundant fruits.

Even the members of the clan who are used to enjoying it have to admit that this is indeed a pretty good place. And Li You, who had some conversations with his entourage along the way, also understood why the Portuguese were reluctant to hand over Colombo. The Portuguese obviously run a beautiful place like this as their home, and they really can't let it go until the last minute. But now, I've picked up a bargain for the Governor's Palace.

When the convoy stopped in the square in front of the governor's residence, Zhu Yujian also roughly understood why the mission had come here to meet him. While he asked Su Guansheng to arrange the accommodation of the members of the mission and those of the sect disciples who had come to practice, he said to the King of Shu, the King of Jin, and Li You: "In this way, why don't I ask Gu Yan to prepare some materials for you, and after you read it, we will discuss it after selecting the key points."

As for today, you will rest and bathe for a while, and then let me take the wind and wash the dust for you, and do your best to be a landlord. What do you think? ”

Jin King Zhu Xianxuan immediately said: "I think His Royal Highness the King of Tang is right, now I really want to take a good bath, and then take a break, otherwise I will have no energy." As for the data, you don't have to prepare it for me. I was ordered by the emperor to bring these clan disciples over to study and train under you, and I really don't dare to interfere in the matter of the envoy. ”

King Shu and Li You glanced at each other, and also nodded at King Tang in agreement. And Tang Wang smiled and said to the three of them: "Actually, you are here just in time, the Governor's Mansion is also experiencing a little problem at present, and I would also like to hear your suggestions, but we will talk about these things tomorrow." Someone..."

Under Zhu Yujian's orders, the chief butler of the governor's residence, Zhang Shutang, the steward eunuch beside King Tang, came up and arranged the three of them in the guest rooms in the official residence.

After taking a hot bath and changing into a comfortable and dry cotton robe, Li You saw a thick stack of documents on the table in his room. It seems that the efficiency of the Governor's Palace is still good.

His guest room was on the second floor of a two-story brick and wood building, on the west side of the garden of the Governor's Residence, and from the balcony of his room, he could see most of the back garden of the Residence, including a small lake in the garden.

Li You looked at the room, did not climb onto the big bed in the corner of the room to rest, but walked to the balcony with the documents, lay on the recliner placed on the balcony, and slowly looked through the information sent by Tang Wang.

Compared with the materials stored by the Hooghly Port Merchant House, the materials given to him by the Governor's Office were obviously more comprehensive, and they were initially collated and tried to analyze the Mughal Empire from a historical and political perspective, which gave Li You a deeper impression of the Mughal Empire.

For example, through these materials, Li You finally knew how big the territory of the Mughal Empire was now, this empire occupied Bengal to the east, penetrated deep into East Balochistan to the west, conquered Kashmir to the north, and almost looked at the Cofuri River to the south.

It was about the closest the Indian continent had ever come to unification, and it gave the Mughal Empire a high level of prestige to Europeans. In a country with a ruling population of more than 100 million, and the various peoples who speak Bengali, Hindi, Punjabi, Urdu, Gujarati, Rajasthani, Marati, and Telugu under one emperor, the European eyes are almost as close to the Ottoman Empire.

Of course, in Li You's eyes, this empire is still some distance away from the great unified dynasty. Although this empire copied the provincial system of the Mongol Empire, it lacked the provincial system of the county system, and in the final analysis, it was just a feudal system with limited power.

When the central government is strong, the princes of various places naturally bow down to their orders. However, once the central government shows its weakness, the local princes will naturally form the fact that they are divided into local areas.

This is also evidenced by the fact that since the establishment of the Mughal Dynasty, the local rebellion has not stopped, so that the Mughal emperor had to divide his sons into powerful provinces in an attempt to control the local powerful faction.

However, it is clear that this measure did not work very well, but instead caused the princes to collude with the local powerful factions, so that the central government further lost its binding force on local forces. Now this Mughal emperor Sha. Jahan relied on the support of the local military leaders to ascend the throne.

In addition, the overly complex language system within the empire, combined with the Persian language used in the court, made it difficult for the country to truly melt together. Not to mention that the upper echelons of the empire believed in Islam, while the middle and lower classes of the people believed in various indigenous gods of the Indian continent, which made it difficult for the upper and lower classes of the country to identify with each other.

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