At about the same time, Calcutta, India, the chairman of the Board of Supervisors of the British East India Company, the supreme governor of the British East India Company, looked a little fat, but in those gray eyes there was still a sharp Lord Dundath looking at a letter from a British merchant ship, and with it, the heads of his niece-in-law and nearly two hundred British seamen, and in addition to a box of milk cakes.

The box of rancid milk cakes was now on the desk, and the heads that had been pickled in lime and salt, the staff outside were holding back their vomiting, and were recognizing the faces of these people, so that their names and positions could be noted when they were buried in the earth.

On the edge of the ashtray, there was a cigarette, and at this time, a long section of ash had been burned on the cigarette, which was close to the position of the tin foil, and the green smoke rose in the air, and then rolled into a cloud of flocculents, making the upper space of the room look a little gloomy.

Lord Dundath, however, did not move a finger in the slightest, and although his gaze fell on the letter, his thoughts seemed to be very unfocused.

At the door of Lord Dundas's office, a young woman of about thirty years of age was weeping in a low voice, and although many people were whispering to comfort her, they could not soothe the sadness in her heart, because beside her, an Indian maid was holding a lovely baby in her arms, blinking her big innocent eyes, looking curiously at everything around her.

The young woman was Elizabeth, the niece of Lord Dundas, and the baby was born less than a year old, but his father had already passed away, and his head had been collected by Lord Dundas's attendants, and was ready to be quietly buried two days later, although he did not want his favorite niece to know the news, but Lord Dundas knew that he was afraid that if he faced his niece's beautiful and clear eyes, he would not be able to hide anything.

Lord Dundas frowned bitterly, his only son had died of smallpox five years ago, and his thoughts were all pinned on this only niece, but now, Elizabeth's pain once again made Lord Dundas extremely angry, yes, when the helplessness and pain accumulated to a certain extent, there will always be an outlet to vent.

And there happened to be an opportunity, a justifiable opportunity, and the letter in his hand was full of the complaints and indignation of the Parliament and the ambassador sent by His Majesty to the great empire in the East.

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“…… If the Yanjing Imperial Court is not sincere, will it expect us to be deceived by these lies for a long time? Does it really not understand that just a few British warships can wipe out the entire navy of their empire? In just half a summer, British warships were able to destroy all the ships off the coast of China, starving the coastal inhabitants who lived on fish-eating terribly? Perhaps it is really not clear that His Majesty the Emperor of this empire has rejected the right of our British Empire to ask for dialogue on an equal footing............ We have traveled thousands of miles and gone through a lot of hardships, in exchange for only a box of milk cakes on your table now............ As an envoy of His Majesty the King, I have no right to ask for anything, but I can suggest to you that only by unconventional means can this empire be able to awaken it to the power of our British Empire, and of the terrible consequences of its rejection of our friendship. ”

"Mr. President, I hope that you will be able to pay your respects to Pryant, and may he rest in heaven. His Excellency would also like me to be able to express his apologies to you on his behalf, and if Mr. Ambassador had arrived earlier, perhaps ...... "The Chief Ambassador, the Ambassador-General of the Mission appointed by Macartney to India, John Brown. Barrow sat quietly on the couch beside him at the moment, and he had been quietly observing Lord Dundas's expression until this moment before he spoke.

"Tell Your Excellency the Ambassador that I thank him for his kindness. Also, Mr. John, is there anything else you would like to bring to me, Your Excellency? Dundas smiled and asked John.

"This empire doesn't know anything about our occupation of Manila, Macau is still calm, although some countries have sent warning signals to this empire, but what they can contact can only be a businessman, that is, Mr. Pan, the chief merchant of the Thirteen Banks, and for Mr. Pan, such a thing, as a businessman, he does not dare or want to easily touch the nerves of the official class of this empire, so far, this empire can be said to have no reaction."

John tilted his head and thought about it for a moment: "It's like falling asleep, yes, this empire seems to have been sleeping, still dreaming of being the king of the world." ”

"Yes, it's a sleeping empire. Only, don't you think it's better to let it sleep forever and not wake up? Dundas rested his elbows on the table and looked at John with interest.

Seeing Dundas's incomprehensible gaze, John thought for a moment: "Mr. President, as far as the host is concerned, will he be the first to entertain the first guest who knocks on the door with the best tea, or will he be the last?" ”

The smile on Dundas's lips grew thicker and thicker, and his expression became so meaningful: "You are very good at talking, and you are very descriptive, Mr. John, it seems that it is indeed a wise decision for Your Excellency the Ambassador to let you be a lobbyist." ”

Hearing Dundas's words, the expression on John's face could no longer suppress the happy smile, and he stood up and saluted deeply to the supreme ruler of the British Empire in the East: "You have made an extremely wise choice, and the British Empire will remember your great contribution to the country." ”

"Perhaps, I just hope that God will approve of our choice, and that the host will bring us delicious black tea, not poison. I have been observing the empire in India for twenty years, but I have not been able to understand it thoroughly, and although I am now well aware of how weak it is, I always have a bad feeling that perhaps we should not disturb its slumber. Lord Dundas stood up and shrugged his shoulders, and though he did not think that his decision was wrong, there was a gloomy feeling in his heart that was difficult to dissolve.

"That's because, Mr. President, this huge empire has always been able to give people the illusion of great oppression and even extreme danger, which is why we in the West have always been so careful in our attitude towards it for nearly two hundred years, so you don't have to worry, after this mission, we have come to the conclusion that this is a weak empire full of pride and prejudice from the top down." The smile on John's face looked so confident and reserved, but it couldn't suppress the excitement in his heart. It's like a gentleman's mood when he looks at the bloodshot steak and the best wine on the table.

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Dundas walked over to the heavy door, took a deep breath, and pushed it open, and with a slight creak, the office door opened, and after the sound of the side, the people who had gathered around Elizabeth suddenly looked sideways.

The light from outside came in, so that Dundas, who had been in the dim study for a long time, couldn't help but squint slightly, and then, what caught Lord Dundas's eyes was his most beloved niece holding her lovely child sitting at the end of the corridor, a window, shining the sunlight in, shining on the niece who was dressed in black gauze, the baby in her arms was a pure white baby clothes, after hearing the sound here, The baby, as beautiful as the angel in the fresco, and his eyes as blue as the clear sky, looked at Lord Dundas, who was old and decaying, and a smile appeared on his innocent face.

Dundas greeted him with open arms and a loving smile on his face. "May God punish them, my little angel, and your father will surely rest in heaven." Looking at this little angel, Dundas felt that his decision was the right one, and that the time had come for that empire to learn its lesson.

Britain was definitely the most powerful in India, and arguably the most powerful Western colonial power in the entire East, with a number of warships close to the total number of warships of all Western countries in the East. In addition to the garrisons stationed in various places, in Calcutta, the East India Company had an elite 4,000 heavily armed British soldiers, who were also actively training Indians to help them in war.

This mercenary army, which claimed to have 100,000 but was in fact definitely more than 50,000, was ostensibly owned by the feudal princes of India, but because these feudal princes were "protected" by the East India Company, this force was actually in the service of the British. It was commanded by European officers and played an extremely important role in the British occupation of India, and it can be said that without this mercenary force, the British would not have been able to conquer India.

In the same way, they know very well what kind of opponent they are going to face, they don't want to be seen as a pirate or a robber by this empire, they need to tell each other with the strength of a strong empire that they are fully capable of talking to this empire on an equal footing. Thus, for the first time, Dundath's war mobilization order was approved by a unanimous vote and as quickly as possible among the top brass of the East India Company.

(To be continued)