The Hooghly River is a tributary of the Ganges River that flows south into the Bay of Bengal at the confluence of the Pajilti River and the Jelenji River at Napodwivop. The Pajileti River was the main course of the Ganges for decades, and it is only after the diversion of the Ganges in the last two or three decades that the flow of water has decreased considerably.

As a result of this change, the Hooghly Channel, which was originally extremely wide, has shrunk by nearly a third, exposing the tidal flats on both sides of the river into the swamps and depressions of the reeds. However, at this time, the sea ships were able to go all the way up the Hooghly River, anchor at the Portuguese-built Hughle, unload their cargo, and then change the cargo into Indian flat-bottomed boats and continue up the river to the Ganges, where they were transferred inland to the mainland.

Built on the highlands on the west bank of the Hooghly River, Hughley Port is not large to Chinese, but this small town in Jiangnan is home to many exotic European-style buildings, but these buildings look a little decayed and do not deserve the status of the largest port in western Bangladesh.

However, when the Ming mission landed, he learned the reason from the steward of the Chinese merchant hall stationed here. After the Portuguese built this port city, they tried to turn it into a second Goa, not only establishing a court and army in the area, but also forcing the city's residents and nearby villagers to convert to Catholicism, and sending pirates to abduct children in the vicinity to convert to religion.

The arrogance of the Portuguese angered the Indian princes of Bengal, so in 1632, the Bengali Nawab Quisim. Ali Khan gathered a large army and in three months captured the Portuguese-administered port of Hughle, expelling and capturing many Portuguese missionaries and merchants.

This incident not only dealt a blow to the local Portuguese colonial forces, but also allowed the Indians to gain control of the port of Hughle. From that time on, foreign merchants were allowed to establish merchant houses in this area after obtaining the permission of the Indian maharajas.

Of course, from the Mughal emperor Sha. The Tang king, who had obtained a trade permit and set up a factory and warehouse with Jahan, was reluctant to crowd the European merchants in the small city of Hugele. What's more, according to Chongzhen's instructions, the first stronghold established by the Ming Dynasty on the Indian continent should not only have independent administrative powers, but also take into account defense and room for future urban development.

So with the great prince Darla. The Tang king, who was befriended by Su Ke, simply bought the land of three villages on the other side of the port of Hughle, and built a new city, a Chinatown called Calcutta. Although this move by the Chinese was opposed by the third prince Aurangzeb, he was powerless to stop the Chinese who had the support of the eldest prince in the Deccan.

However, at the moment the city still exists only on the drawings, and the city land called Kolkata is now surrounded by a wooden fence. Inside the wooden fence were only warehouses and the foundations of a small masonry city under construction, which would be the mayor's residence and barracks of Calcutta, and a permanent fortress. But all you can see now is some stone foundations.

Before the city of Kolkata was built, Chinese merchants, including the Tang kings, were able to buy a few houses in Port Hughley as a temporary station.

However, to the great disappointment of the members of the mission, their news was too late, so they got one thing wrong. Perhaps in the future, Kolkata will indeed be the most important stronghold of the Ming Dynasty on the Indian mainland, but now, because of the poor climate and the unfinished construction plan, the Tang king, who was appointed as the viceroy of India, has moved the governor's palace to the island of Ceylon at the southern tip of the Indian mainland. The Eastern and Western Indian Ocean Patrol Offices and a number of military institutions were similarly relocated.

Although Ceylon is in the tropics, the climate is much more comfortable than in Bangladesh, with high temperatures but no heat, and unlike Bangladesh, where there are many swamps and mosquitoes are rampant, resulting in frequent outbreaks of diseases. Therefore, for the sake of their own health, before the court agreed, everyone had already moved over.

Course is responsible for managing the construction of Kolkata city and dealing with the current Bangladeshi Nawabusha. The mayor of Kolkata, Yang Tiansheng, who has diplomatic relations with Shuja, cannot run. However, the mayor of Kolkata chose to go to Hosha from March to September every year. Shuja made personal contact and left local affairs to his subordinates.

The current capital of Bangladesh is located in Dhaka, a city relatively close to Chittagong. However, the climate in Dhaka is not much better than that of Kolkata, so from March to September every year, the Bengali Nawab will go to the palace near Gohati in the north to escape the summer, so that Yang Tiansheng is also avoiding the harsh summer and rainy season in Kolkata.

After listening to the report of the manager of the Chinese Commercial Museum, whether it was the King of Shu or Li You, his face was not very good-looking. In this way, their idea of meeting with Tang Wang or Yang Tiansheng and others before going to Delhi was shattered.

After opening the steward of the merchant hall, after the three of them glanced at each other, Li You had to take the initiative to break the silence and said: "The two highnesses, His Royal Highness the Tang King and the others are not here at the moment, it seems that our plan to understand the political situation of the Mughal Empire and then act has gone bankrupt." Do you have any new suggestions? ”

When Zhu Xianxuan, the king of Jin, heard that the king of Tang had moved to the island of Ceylon in the south with his subordinates, he was still relieved. In the past few days of sailing at sea, he has already learned the difficult climate of the hot and humid Bangladesh region, and how can he not want to go to another place with a comfortable climate. Besides, it is said that Ceylon has a lot of gems and pearls, and letting those clans buy some gems and pearls can always calm their complaints along the way. He is not Chongzhen with an iron heart, and he can not mind being constantly cursed by the clan behind his back.

Therefore, after hearing Li You's inquiry, he immediately said loudly: "I was ordered by the emperor to bring these clan disciples to study and do things with the Tang King, where the Tang King is, we should go." As for the mission to the Mughal Empire, that is the task assigned by His Majesty to Uncle Wang and you, and I will not get involved. In my opinion, it is better for us to go our separate ways, and we will go south to the island of Ceylon, and you will continue north to Delhi, and everyone should complete their own tasks. ”

Zhu Zhishu, the king of Shu, glared at this prince and nephew, but he couldn't speak out against it, so he could only look at Li You and said: "It seems that our sea ships can't continue to go north, but if we want to exchange the gifts given to the Mughal emperor on the ship to the local ships, is there a little shortage of manpower available for this mission?" If you encounter thieves on the road, you will be in trouble.

Now that the local merchant house has so few people, it is not appropriate to send them to escort us on our way. Why don't we all go south together, find King Tang first to hand over the errand of King Jin, and then ask him to send some people to us, and then come back? ”

Li You didn't want to go to Delhi in such a hurry, his task was not only to escort the King of Shu to greet the Mughal emperor, but also to collect human and geographical information on the Indian continent and seek an alliance with the Mughal Empire to conquer Central Asia. The current rainy season is conducive to gathering geographical information, and without meeting with the Tang king, it is impossible to know the intelligence inside the Mughal court, which may lead to the failure of the proposed alliance.

So he thought for a while and then agreed: "What the two highnesses said is reasonable, there are not a few gifts from His Majesty the Emperor to the Mughal Emperor and several princes and important ministers this time. Now that the situation has changed, let's leave those merchant ships behind and go south with two warships, so that we can reach the island of Ceylon as quickly as possible, and we will not be dragged down by the merchant ships. ”

Naturally, the two vassal kings would not refuse Li You's proposal, and because of these merchant ships, they didn't know how much they had slowed down their journey. Now that we have reached a safe place, we will naturally not bring these burdens with us anymore.

The trio decided to spend a day in Hughley and then head south to the island of Ceylon. Li You then summoned the captains of the fleet and the merchants to explain the decision of the three of them, and then followed the steward of the merchant hall and asked him to take out some of the materials collected in the museum for consultation.

Although the written materials stored in the merchant hall are basically about business, after Li You looked at it for a day and a night, he still had a basic understanding of the basic social conditions of the Indian continent, and this continent was no longer so mysterious and unpredictable to him.

In Li You's view, the three major countries on the Indian continent at this time, the Mughal Empire in the north and the Gokanda and Bijapur in the south, had similar basic social forms. It is a part of the foreign Muslims who rule the indigenous people of the local polytheistic religion.

The only difference is that the two Muslim states in the south were established earlier, in fact, there should be three. Shahi was destroyed by the Mughal Empire seven years ago. The early establishment of the Muslim kingdoms in the south, coupled with the huge benefits from the expansion of maritime trade, made the social class relatively stable, which also made the upper echelons of these kingdoms more closed and conservative.

The Mughal Empire, established by Muslim aristocrats from Central Asia, was not established for a long time, and since its founding, it has continued to conquer the Indian continent, so that the upper and lower classes of the country still maintain a kind of mobility. Akbar the Great's establishment of a set of effective institutions for the empire, from the central to the local, from taxation and official ranks to the judiciary and the military, is still in play, so that the Muslims in the upper echelons of the empire still have an enlightened and enterprising spirit.

The Mughal Dynasty, which was on the rise, faced the Gaokangda and Bijapur in the period of defending, which naturally allowed the Mughal Empire to firmly occupy the upper hand in the two countries. In fact, however, there is no fundamental difference between the two sides in terms of social formation, religion, and political conditions. Therefore, the war between the two sides was not like a life-and-death war between the Ming and the Manchus, but a war between the upper Muslim rulers for land and wealth.

Li You then came to a preliminary conclusion that neither side dared to mobilize the people to wage an all-out war. Because once the natives of the lower middle class were put in power, it was the upper Muslim rulers of both countries who ultimately failed.

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