Peng Zuchun, who was drowsy on horseback, was almost thrown off the horse by the horse that suddenly stopped. When he had come to his senses by the neck of his horse, he was about to be angry with the man who had taken his mount, when he heard the servant say to himself, "Little master, the guide said that Delhi is ahead, and that you must prepare the business license that the Governor has given you, so that you may not encounter any trouble when you enter the city." ”

After hearing this, Peng Zuchun suddenly looked up and looked forward, and found that an imposing red castle suddenly appeared on the edge of the rippling Yamuna River, scorching in the warm sunlight, with the silhouette of the mountains behind the castle, it was as exquisite as a magnified castle sculpture, and there was no murderous aura at all.

Peng Zuchun subconsciously touched his chest, felt the hard paperwork on his chest, and then sighed and said: "Finally arrived in Delhi, it's really a long journey." ”

Peng Zuchun was the eldest son of Peng Dehai, a Sichuan caravan, and with the quelling of the rebellion of the two Tusi in Lu'an, with the investment of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and private merchants, plus the people who moved in from Shaanxi, Henan, and Huguang, the local economy of Sichuan began to recover rapidly. The Southern Silk Road, which was caused by the Rebellion of Luxury, was also reopened.

Out of Yunnan through Myanmar Bamo or Myitkyina to India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and even Central Asia and West Asia, it is the poison road of Shu with a history of thousands of years. From northern Myanmar across the Naga Mountains and the Pathkai Pass into Assam, India, this section of the terrain is relatively flat, and is the most important communication route between India and Indochina.

From Assam into the Brahmaputra Valley, it is now the most famous silk textile center on the Indian continent, now under the control of a kingdom called Ahon. However, because of the Mughal Dynasty's use of troops in this area, this trade route was still not fully opened.

Raw silk, silk, linen and salt brought out by the caravans from Sichuan could only be transported to the Burmese region. But Myanmar's economy cannot absorb the raw silk, silk and linen that Sichuan has accumulated over the years.

It was at Peng Zuchun's suggestion that the Peng Family's Horse Gang took the trade route of Wusizang for the first time, trying to sell these goods in front and back. However, due to the struggle between the Tisi Zangpa and the Gelugpa, less than 300 packs of 1,200 loads of goods were sold.

Since one-third of the goods came from the investment of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and one-third from other merchants, if they returned to Sichuan, I am afraid that the reputation of the Peng family horse gang would be ruined. Peng Zuchun couldn't afford to provoke the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and he was unwilling to break off cooperation with the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

It was precisely because of the investment of the Ministry of Internal Affairs that the governor of Sichuan issued them caravan licenses for the first time, requiring them to facilitate transactions through various countries and regions. The Tszangpa only dared to expel them, not to rob them of their goods.

Peng Zuchun did not want the internal affairs government to think that he was incompetent, so he simply found a Tibetan guide to climb over the mountains. From the Nathula Pass, the caravans reached the southern slopes of the Himalayas, a princely state called Tsemengxiong, inhabited by the Lebcha people, who were distinct from the Tibetans, but who were still ruled by the Ustrojan nobles Guru Tahi.

In recent years, religious wars within Tibet have led many Tibetans to flee the fighting. These newcomers from Uszang called it Dengjiang, which means rice valley. These Tibetans are so called because the territory is mountainous and there are few flat areas. It is surrounded by high mountains on three sides, west, north, and east, like a horseshoe-shaped valley. However, the Tista River basin is a very suitable area for rice cultivation.

Because of this, the Guru Tahi family, who managed the area, were quite wealthy, and they bought 90 loadloads of goods at double the price of Tibet, and after accepting some gifts from Peng Zuchun, they sent them a guide who had been to Delhi and told them that these goods could only be sold for good prices in Delhi.

The current head of the Guru Tahi family, Pongchuganamgar, not only expressed his submission to the Ming Emperor to Peng Zuchun, but also hoped that when Peng Zuchun passed through here on his return journey, he would be able to bring the gifts he wanted to give to His Majesty the Emperor.

Peng Zuchun was still a little dazed at first, wondering why this Pongchuganamgar was so friendly to his caravan. It wasn't until his servants learned from the local people that this Pongchuganamgar was preparing to establish his own kingdom, but fearing opposition from the Tszangpa and nearby kingdoms, so he wanted to be canonized by the Ming Dynasty.

From Zhe Mengxiong to the south, the terrain becomes more and more gentle, and finally there is an endless plain as far as the eye can see, looking at the crisscrossing river network and water diversion channels, dotted rice fields and one village after another, Peng Zuchun almost thought that he was back in the Chengdu Plain, but here it seems to be the Chengdu Plain that has been magnified several times.

The appearance of the Peng family horse gang with thousands of horses and mules naturally aroused the prying eyes of many Mughal officials and troops along the way, but with the license issued by the Sichuan governor of the Ming Dynasty carried by Peng Zuchun, and the direction of the horse gang was the capital of the dynasty, Delhi, these officials and troops were finally released.

Unlike Sichuan, there are no distinct four seasons in mainland India, only a hot summer season, a humid and sultry rainy season, and a dry and cool season.

However, as he headed west along the vast Ganges, Peng Zuchun found that the ground was becoming more and more depressed, and after the guide's inquiry, he learned that they had come at a bad time, and that last year and this year there was a great drought in the Deccan and Gujarat regions, which led to famine and rebellion, and Emperor Shah Jahan had just quelled the rebellion and returned to Delhi.

When Peng Zuchun heard this, he wanted to turn around and go to the unaffected Bangladesh region to get rid of the caravan's goods, but was stopped by the local officials. The reason of these officials was that their arrival had been reported to Delhi, and if they turned around and left, they feared that they would provoke the wrath of the emperor and plunge the caravan and the officials into a disaster.

Peng Zuchun naturally did not believe the words of these Mughal officials, and these officials did not want to offend too much a caravan with an official license of the Ming Dynasty, and it was difficult for them to speculate on how the emperor would react if it caused a diplomatic dispute between the Mughal dynasty and China.

So a local high-ranking official invited Peng Zuchun to a private meeting, and during the meeting, he told Peng Zuchun: "Our Emperor His Majesty has just lost his most cherished Empress, Her Royal Highness Taj Mahal, and his grief is beyond comprehension.

During the seven days of the queen's death, he did not think about tea and dinner, and locked himself in the palace alone, and even the ministers of the dynasty could not persuade him.

After the emperor left the palace, he asked his ministers to find the best architects in our country. The first thing he asked when he met the designer was: Are you married?

The designer replied: Yes, Your Majesty.

The Emperor asked again: Do you love your wife?

The designer replied: Yes, Your Majesty, she is my life, and I love her more than anything.

Then the Emperor said, "Very well, then I will put her to death, and you will be able to understand how much pain I am now, and I want you to remember this pain, and build for my Taj Mahal the most magnificent tomb in the world." so that the world will not forget her..."

At this point, the high-ranking official stopped. Peng Zuchun suddenly felt a little creepy in his back, and he said with a forced smile: "His Majesty the Emperor is just intimidating this designer, right?" I don't think His Majesty would have killed the designer's wife. ”

The high-ranking official replied solemnly: "No, Your Majesty finally executed the designer's wife. So we can't take the slightest risk of angering His Majesty. Now that the news of your trip to Delhi has been announced, you should move on. Otherwise, I can only order the army to arrest you and take you to Delhi. ”

Peng Zuchun had to stubbornly lead the team to continue to advance, after seeing the Delhi Castle in the distance, Peng Zuchun jumped off the horse, ordered the servants to carry water up from the river, washed well, and then changed into a more solemn set of clothes, before ordering the horse gang to continue to advance.

The mighty ranks of the Peng family horse gang have long attracted the attention of the defenders of Delhi, a magnificent city with seven gates with hundreds of thousands of inhabitants and tens of thousands of soldiers. Therefore, when the Peng family horse gang advanced again, a group of cavalry ran from the city and asked them about their identity and purpose.

After looking through Peng Zuchun's license and a package of gifts from the horse gang, the officer who led the team finally said to Peng Zuchun with satisfaction: "You can choose a place outside the city to set up camp, and no more than 30 people can enter the city to meet Your Majesty." Of course, whether His Majesty will receive you or when he will receive you is not certain. I'll give you a suggestion, it's best to pay a visit to Assaf Khan after entering the city, only this lord can introduce you to His Majesty the Emperor..."

Peng Zuchun accepted the officer's suggestion and walked into the city of Delhi with a gift of 5 loads. If he saw the city of Derry from afar, he was full of admiration and thought it was a great city.

However, when he approached Delhi and saw the garbage dumped everywhere outside the city and the chaotic buildings inside the city, he immediately lost the respect in his heart. The rich and poor classes of Derry are so visible at a glance, the squalid shantytowns of the poor and the splendid marble-clad mansions of the rich divide the city into two worlds that never meet.

Of course, it is only in front of those temples that the rich who pass by give alms to the poor that the city has some warm scenes.

As the empress's father, Assaf Khan was sad, but he still abided by etiquette to receive Peng Zuchun and his party. He left only two packs of gifts, and suggested that Peng Zuchun should present other gifts to His Majesty the Emperor when they met, perhaps to make the Emperor happy for a while.

Three days later, Peng Zuchun brought ten gifts carefully selected to the palace in the city. Although Shah Jahan came out to meet him, he did not show much interest, but accepted the gifts he had brought, and gave some rewards, and asked Assaf Khan to send him out of the palace.

The Privy Council of the Imperial Palace, which received his subordinates, was an eye-opener for Peng Zuchun, with all kinds of jeweled furniture, white marble walls, silver glittering ceilings, black marble floors separated by several canals, the cleanliness and luxury of the whole hall was unimaginable, and the palace was actually in the same city as those dirty street shacks.

After leaving the palace, Peng Zuchun, who had never been able to estimate the value of the property in the Privy Council, couldn't help but ask Assaf Khan what the words on the pillars of the courtyard were inlaid with gold.

Assaf Khan gave him a strange look, and then said to him slowly: "If there is heaven on earth, then it must be here, it must be here. ”