Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan is sixty years old this year.

His second wife, a Persian girl, died in childbirth twenty years ago. Grief-stricken, Shah Jahan spent more than a decade building a lavish mausoleum for his wife.

This mausoleum is called the Taj Mahal.

Such a poignant love story, it's a pity that Taj gave birth to an unfilial son. A few years later, when Shah Jahan was seriously ill, he was placed under house arrest by his son, and he was locked up for five years, until his death.

"Your Majesty, the lucky prince sent someone back to report that the Chinese envoy with three thousand soldiers wants to go to Delhi to meet Your Majesty."

"China? Hurry up and let it go, and receive it with the highest courtesy! ”

Shah Jahan was very happy, he had heard many legends about China.

As for the Chinese envoys with three thousand soldiers, this is nothing to Shah Jahan.

The army of the Mughal Empire was quadrupled by Shah Jahan. During his reign, he put down the Green Cult rebellion, repelled the Portuguese, and even captured a Portuguese colonial port. He destroyed two in the west and two in the Deccan Plateau, expanded northwest beyond the Khyber Pass, and seized large swathes of Afghanistan from the Persians.

How could an emperor with such great martial arts be afraid of three thousand foreign troops?

In Gujarat, the Mughal crown prince, Dara Shuko, personally received the Chinese delegation.

This dude, the eldest son born to Taj, has been identified as the heir. He was given the title of Prince of Fortune, and his actual positions were: Governor of Gujarat, Governor of Allahabad, President of Multan, and President of Kabul.

The crown prince holds the local military and political power, and the other princes also hold the local military and political power.

Such a system will inevitably lead to internal strife.

In history, the crown prince was cut down by his own brother. is the one who put the emperor under house arrest, after the emperor fell ill, he first led troops to kill the crown prince's brother, and then put the emperor's father under house arrest until death.

The defeat of Dara Shuko was mainly for religious reasons.

As the crown prince, he actually advocates Hinduism. As a result, although the emperor continued to give him great power, the religious forces and local lords turned to his brother's side.

"It is a great honor to be able to receive Chinese friends." Dara Shuko smiled.

Lu Tianxiang arched his hand and said, "I have long admired His Highness's name!" ”

After the two sides reported their identities to each other, Dara Shuko was a little surprised that the Chinese emperor actually sent his concubine as an envoy. Moreover, is the skin of the Chinese so dark? Although whiter than the untouchables, it also looks like a lower caste.

But it's not right, this messenger named Zhang Ruifeng has skin as white as the high caste.

It seems that the taste of the Chinese emperor was very unique......

Dara Shuko made up her mind to give a Persian slave girl to the Chinese emperor to appreciate the charm of a fair-skinned woman.

The crown prince is a Hindu believer and attaches great importance to skin color. Except for the greetings at the beginning, he didn't talk to Lu Tianxiang much in the future, and kept communicating with Zhang Ruifeng through the translator.

His character is like this, warm and generous, cheerful and gentle, arrogant and irritable!

He sees it, and he is gentle and enthusiastic towards you. He doesn't look down on you, so he is arrogant and irritable with you. This kind of person is not suitable to be an emperor, but more suitable to be a scholar.

In fact, Dara Shuko was so learned that he even served as editor-in-chief himself, translating Hindu texts and poetry into Persian.

He discussed Chinese poetry with Zhang Ruifeng, but the translation was too bad, so he asked, "What about Chinese painting?" ”

Zhang Ruifeng said with a smile: "I have an accompanying official, who is proficient in Chinese painting. ”

Pan Wei, who was responsible for recording the customs and customs with the group, immediately took out a pen, ink, paper and inkstone and made an ink painting on the spot.

Dara Schucco couldn't put it down, repeatedly observed and tasted, and then asked: "Are Chinese paintings all black and white?" ”

Pan Wei replied: "There are also color paintings, but they need to mix pigments. ”

Dara Shuko said: "I can provide any paint you want." ”

Seeing the hunting, this goods was happy, leaving Pan Wei and not letting go, insisting on learning painting skills from him.

The envoys could only leave Pan Wei in Gujarat while the rest continued to Arag to meet the Mughal emperor.

Before leaving, Pan Wei said: "Niangniang, Ambassador Zhang, this Indian crown prince, no matter how you look at it, it looks like Song Huizong. ”

Zhang Ruifeng said with a smile: "It's Song Huizong, the Mughal is really a big country, and it is best for me to be divided into China." And as the crown prince, he is actually a governor outside, and the Mughal emperor is not afraid that the crown prince will lead troops to Qingjun's side? ”

"Barbarians are like this, they don't know how to establish a proper system." Pan Wei said disdainfully.

Zhang Ruifeng said: "You stay in Gujarat, make friends with the Indian crown prince more, and inquire more about some detailed information." ”

Lu Tianxiang knows that she has a special identity, she usually doesn't communicate with men much, and she has a few female officials by her side anytime and anywhere. At this time, the two of them spoke, and she also kept silent, only listening silently beside her.

The envoys continued on their way, and the crown prince sent five hundred cavalry to escort them.

Before they had left Gujarat, they encountered a religious conflict. I saw a few princes of the princely states, leading troops to attack the mosque, rushing to the temple and killing people when they saw them.

With the crown prince sitting in Gujarat, the Hindu princes began to float, and they continued to attack the Green Cultists all these years.

The situation is even more complicated in the north, where Sikhism, which has always been peaceful and never involved in politics, became involved in the struggle for the throne decades ago. At the same time, it abandoned the purpose of a purely religious group and openly taxed Sikhs, openly challenging the functions and authority of the government.

During the day, he witnessed religious disputes, and during the evening meal, Zhang Ruifeng convened a meeting with his entourage.

Zhang Ruifeng asked, "How about the cavalry escorting us?" ”

Zheng Dayong, the leader of the emperor's personal guard who accompanied the regiment, said: "Extremely strong, judging from the armor, it is not lost to our cavalry." These cavalrymen wore chain plate mail. The waist and abdomen are plate mail, and the rest of the body is chain mail. Their cavalry spears are similar to those of our cavalry. What the combat power is, you have to finish the fight to know. ”

Mughal melee cavalry, style belongs to a hodgepodge.

The armor was a composite of chain mail and plate armor, both Mongolian scimitars and European cross broadswords, and boots belonged to the Mongolian style.

Shi Lang, the admiral who led the troops ashore, said: "I see this crown prince, and there are firearms troops under his hands. The use of arquebuses is not as good as our flintlock guns, and the military appearance is relatively powerful. However, these are the crown prince's army after all, and they may already be the elite of the elite. When the real war is fought, it depends on the non-commissioned officers of the ordinary army. Passing by the city today, the defenders are quite unbearable, just like the officers and troops of the former Ming Dynasty. ”

Lu Tianxiang suddenly spoke: "I have communicated with the two maids sent by King Jinji. According to them, the Green and Hindu religions here often slaughter each other. Emperors, kings, and noble lords mostly believe in the Green Religion, and many of the low-level untouchables also believe in the Green Religion. The princes of the princely states and commoners of various castes basically believed in Hinduism. If there is really a war, it can provoke believers, and the Indian states will inevitably have civil strife. ”

"Niangniang's words are reasonable." Zhang Ruifeng nodded and said.

After Lu Tianxiang went to sea, he didn't talk much, but he read military school textbooks all day long, and at the same time observed how the navy operated, and how to camp when marching on land.

Zhang Ruifeng said: "I heard that the Mughal had four princes, all of whom were exiled as governors. Not only does it hold local military and political power, but it can even collect taxes on its own, which is almost equivalent to a country within a country. And this crown prince also believes in Hinduism, once the Mughal emperor dies of illness, the rest of the princes will inevitably be in turmoil. When the time comes, I'm afraid it's going to be a mess. ”

This tone is a bit of schadenfreude.

A right Shaoqing of Honglu Temple, not long after he came to India, accurately guessed the future situation, and it was enough to stay and be a military advisor for a certain prince.

Didn't the Mughal emperor understand?

Of course I understand, but I am old and frail, and I can't do many things, so I can only continue to give power to the crown prince, so that the other sons dare not act rashly. When the Chinese envoys arrived in Aragh, the Mughal emperor fell ill again. The old man had been sick habitually two years earlier, and with each fall of illness, the crown prince's governorship was increased by one.

After staying in Alagah, he waited for half a month before Emperor Shah Jahan ordered a summons.

In the palace, Shah Jahan was in good spirits, but he still looked weak.

"I heard the story of the Chinese emperor from a British merchant who reminded me of my ancestor, the founding emperor of the Mughals. At a very young age, he led an army to fight against a strong enemy and eventually established a country. I admire such a person very much, and I am very willing to be friends with him. In these decades, I have wiped out four countries. Even the Persians in the west were no match for me, and I was defeated and retreated. The emperor of the Persians is not worthy of being friends with me, but the emperor of China has that qualification. ”

Although this statement is roughly true, there is also an element of bragging.

Shah Jahan was so aggressive that his army quadrupled and the treasury was already empty. How short of money? After running away from Portugal, he found that trade profits were declining, so he took the initiative to invite the Portuguese back to do business.

First, the treasury was empty, and secondly, the emperor was old, and the Persians were taking the opportunity to counterattack.

Just two years ago, the Persian army marched east to recapture the Afghan town of Kandahar. Shah Jahan could only accept this situation, he was no longer able to fight with Persia.

Zhang Ruifeng took out a letter: "Your Majesty the Emperor of our country has also admired the prestige of the Mughal monarch for a long time, so he personally wrote a letter. ”

The waiter took the letter and bowed to Shah Jahan.

Shah Jahan opened the letter on the spot, and Zhao Han's handwriting was in Chinese characters, but it had been translated into Persian.

The general content of the epistle is threefold:

First, he has admired the Mughal emperor for a long time and is willing to make a friend.

Second, China and the Mughals have deep historical ties. The founding emperor of the Mughals, Babur, was the ancestor of Timur, the overlord of Central Asia, who was a Turkic Mongol, while the Han and Mongols were descendants of Yan and Huang. Therefore, the Chinese royal family has a common ancestor with the Mughal royal family.

Thirdly, Emperor Zhao, who hated the Europeans, succeeded in recovering Portuguese-controlled Macau, successfully defeating Spain and the Netherlands. China wants to establish diplomatic relations with the Mughals, bypassing the damned Europeans, and the two countries will trade directly by sea. If given the opportunity, the two countries could join forces to attack the armies of European countries.

Shah Jahan read the letter, was very satisfied, and asked many more details.

After sending the envoys away, Shah Jahan called the court scholars: "My ancestors, the great conqueror Babur, and the great distant ancestor Timur, are really Mongols from China?" ”

The court scholar replied: "The great Timur is indeed the Mongol nobleman of the Chagatai Khanate. ”

"I see." Shah Jahan was quite embarrassed.

His bloodlines were very mixed, first with the Indian Kshatri, and then with the Persians, and it was difficult to find the oriental characteristics in his appearance.

Shah Jahan summoned his courtiers and said, "Order the merchants of the seashore to organize a trading fleet. And he said, "Let your son, form a delegation of envoys to China to visit the emperor there, and bring me gifts for the emperor of China." ”

The gifts of the Mughal emperor included 100 catties of iron, 20 horses, 2 elephants, 10 Persian slave girls, 10 boxes of Indian cotton cloth, and a number of jewels......

This product is very generous, as long as it suits his appetite, he is willing to give anything.

The British merchant pleased his appetite and immediately reaped huge benefits. The British East India Company's business in the Mughal was all tax-exempt.

Without that, it will be difficult for Britain to gain a foothold in Asia.