The warm and humid Indian Ocean monsoon crashes head-on with the towering Himalayas.

Produced out of the moist and rainy you Ganges Great Plains.

Bangladesh's dense network of river deltas, abundant water and abundant sunshine combine to give birth to this rich, densely populated estuarine delta.

Calcutta, the notification center of the British Empire in British India, was located in this area.

The British Empire at this time did not fully occupy all of India.

In later generations, the Indian colonies of the British Empire eventually included India, Bengal, the northwestern part of Burma, Pakistan, etc., and almost the entire South Asian subcontinent.

However, the core of the British Empire's rule in India was now the Bengal region, and then along the coastline from north to south, occupying the entire east coast of India, as well as part of the southern part of the west coast.

To the northwest of India, there is also the Mughal Empire, founded by the Mongols, and the last Hindu state, the Maratha Federation, two major powers in the Indian region, resisting British colonial aggression.

Among them, the Mughal Empire was an empire established by Babur, a descendant of Genghis Khan and Timur, who invaded India from Afghanistan southward.

The Mughals, which means "Mongols," at the height of their empire, encompassed almost the entire Indian subcontinent, as well as Afghanistan and other places in Central Asia. The official language of the empire was Persian, but its rulers were Persianized Mongols who practiced *** religion and had the noble blood of the Chagatai Khanate, and its rulers belonged to the Timurid dynasty.

After Babur's death, his son Humayun was defeated by the Sur Shah in 1540 and expelled from India, but he regrouped and regained the empire in 1555 by taking advantage of the Sur civil strife.

After the decline of the Mughal Empire, colonial empires such as the British Empire, the French Colonial Empire, the Dutch Colonial Empire, and the Portuguese Colonial Empire fought for colonies in India, and finally the British won, and the Mughal emperor became a puppet from then on.

In 1858, Queen Victoria of England was awarded the title of Empress of India, establishing British India and ending the Mughal dynasty completely.

And the Federation of Maratas.

It was once known as the Maratha Empire.

It was a modern regime on the Indian subcontinent and the last Hindu empire in Indian history. Beginning in 1674 and ending in 1818, at its peak it covered the entire northern part of India. After the death of the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb in 1707, it significantly expanded its territory, only to be defeated at the Third Battle of Panipat in 1761. Subsequently, the empire was changed to a confederation until its demise in 1818 after its defeat to the British in the Maratha War.

If there is no rise of the Ming Dynasty.

The British expansion in India would gradually encroach on the entire subcontinent under British colonial rule.

Eventually, the entire South Asian subcontinent will be brought under control.

And now.

The Viceroyalty of British India in Calcutta had no time to look westward, but withdrew the British forces to Bengal.

This is because of the new Viceroy of India, Richard. Wellesley arrived in India and brought with him more than 7,000 British troops, as well as a large Eastern Intervention Fleet.

Britain's main strategic direction shifted from expanding toward the western Indies to being wary of the Ming vassal state of Burma, the Gongbang Dynasty, and an increasing number of Ming merchants, who bypassed the southern tip of the subcontinent and engaged in large-scale trade with the northwestern states of India.

The trade brought by these Ming merchants was in addition to impacting the market for British goods in India.

It also objectively strengthened the power of the northwestern states of India, especially the Maratha Confederation and the Mughal Empire.

This made the British Indian authorities even more unbearable.

Therefore.

On the third day of the arrival of the new governor.

The moment has finally come for many British merchants who have traveled all the way to trade with India to shout long live.

The Viceroy of India has issued a privateer order!

Any British merchant who spent money on a privateer license was free to attack and plunder all merchant ships flying the Sun and Moon flags in the Indian Ocean.

"John! John! Hurry up and get rid of that batch of cotton! The big deal is coming! ”

David. Klein rushed in with a stamped letter from the Governor's Palace of Calcutta.

This is in a tavern in Kolkata.

There are many British merchants who have lost their old money here.

Many businessmen have shipped cotton cloth to India only to find that the price of cotton cloth in the Indian market has been reduced to a point where it is completely unbearable for them.

If it were sold at that price, almost all the cotton merchants would go bankrupt!

The reason for all this was the influx of unspeakably cheap Chinese cotton cloth, even though the Viceroyalty of British India forbade Chinese merchant ships to dock on their territory.

But it didn't work at all.

On the one hand.

The merchant ships of the Ming Dynasty could trade with Indian merchants who drank Maratha and imported cotton cloth into the Indian market in large quantities.

On the other hand.

The British ruled in India by compradors.

Other words.

Smuggling simply cannot be eradicated.

Why did those compradors put aside cheap Chinese cotton cloth and buy expensive British cotton cloth?

Price has always been the only magic weapon for dumping.

So in this case.

It seems that the only means of organizing Chinese cotton cloth to enter the Indian market is only one left - violence!

This is what many countries in Europe have done in the granting of privateer licenses.

Ever since the advent of the privateer profession in the Age of Discovery.

The "legitimate use of pirates" is a tactic of great interest to many European countries.

Among them, the originator of the mountain, there is no suspense that there is a great lack of great virtue.

In 1243, King Henry III of England first issued a "Letter of Mandate", allowing private ships to raid and loot enemy ships. In return, privateers surrendered a portion of their booty to the state.

In the hundreds of years that followed.

Although European countries are trying to sign various treaties to abolish this immoral behavior of "legal robbery".

But helplessly.

Privateering is too costly, profitable, and easy to operate.

Therefore, these signed contracts are of no use at all.

Repeated bans.

Now Britain could not even keep its own Indian colonial market in terms of legal trade.

Therefore, it is natural to sacrifice this ancestral magic weapon again.

David. Klein was not tall and had served in the Royal Navy, but he didn't go any further because he didn't have the money to buy an officer.

After coming out of the army.

and various Johns. Klein borrowed a sum of money and rented an armed merchant ship, preparing to transport a batch of cotton cloth to India in exchange for local spices, gems, ivory and other local products.

Make a lot of money.

It's just that it took them almost half a year (mainly because their ship was too old) to arrive in India, and then they found that the British cotton cloth on their ship was no longer in demand in India.

Because the price is so expensive, no one wants to trade at a loss.

So this trip down.

The Klein brothers went bankrupt.

If they go back to England, all their property will be mortgaged, and it will not be enough to pay for it.

Like most Britons, the Klein brothers, who could not return to England, had to wait for an opportunity here in Calcutta, and by the way, they borrowed wine to kill their sorrows.

"Privateer! Privateer! It's time to issue a privateer warrant! It's time to do something to the merchant ships of the Chinese! ”

Hear David. Klein's words.

The frustrated tavern where the quasi-bankrupt British businessmen gathered immediately became a sensation.

"Damn it! This is long overdue! ”

"Kill them!"

"Rob! Rob! ”

"Praise be to God!"

"Die! Chinese! ”

John. Klein hurriedly stood up and pulled David aside.

'What's going on?' Going to war with the Chinese? ’

"Most likely, otherwise what would the Eastern Interference Fleet send to do?"

David. Klein lowered his voice.

"You can buy a privateer for only a thousand pounds, and you only need to hand over thirty percent of the loot to the Governor's Palace! We want to sell all those cotton cloths as soon as possible, and lose money! Go and recruit a group of adventurers, this is the real big deal with high profits! ”

Is it not profitable to rob or rob?

Kolkata Governor's House.

Richard. Wellesley and Nelson sat opposite each other, and Richard poured Nelson a cup of tea.

Nelson took a sip and his brow furrowed.

"Good Chinese tea, alas. Until now, we have not been able to get any of the tea varieties. ”

"Both the Qing Empire and the Ming Empire strictly controlled the outflow of tea seedlings and tea seeds, and we have nothing to do about it." Nelson said, "Hundreds of privateer warrants have been issued, and the merchant ships of the Ming Empire will soon be driven out of this area." ”

"So, how will the Ming Empire react to this? Will they organize an expeditionary force, or send a fleet to escort it? ”

"Expeditionary Force?" Nelson shook his head, he never thought that the Ming Empire would send an army to India.

"They may send a naval fleet to escort them." Nelson said.

"In that case, isn't our chance?"

"Attacking their convoy?" Richard. Wellesley nodded slightly, and then said with a solemn face: "This needs to be controlled, our purpose is only to force the Ming Empire to submit, not to start an all-out war!" ”

War in the Indian Ocean is about to begin.

And at this time at the mouth of the Yangtze River.

The busy Yangtze River route has been fully restored.

The port of Suzhou at the mouth of the Yangtze River is perhaps the busiest port in the world at this time.

Ships from the north and south meet here.

At this time, Zhu Daohua and Sun Shiyi, who was about to take a boat south, stood on the edge of Suzhou Port.

Recently, there was a truce between the Ming and Qing dynasties, and both sides were repairing their own internal affairs, and the Qing court was busy sending green flag soldiers to block Tongguan on the one hand.

On the other hand, the Eight Banners were practiced.

And with the displeasure on the side of Daming, it broke up.

British, Spanish, and Russian missions traveled north along the canal in an attempt to reach the Qing Empire.

"Your Majesty, aren't you worried about these Xiyi going north?"

Sun Shiyi couldn't help asking.

Zhu Daohua shook his head and said, "There's nothing to worry about, the world is so big, how can I block the way for Qing Tartar to contact Xiyi?" ”

In later generations, the Qing Dynasty had a very smooth way of contact with the West, and they didn't come into contact with anything.

Right now.

A dilapidated Daifuku ship creaks and quacks ready to dock.

On the shore there were waiting comprador businessmen rushing up.

Soon, however, there were sighs of disappointment.

"It's rice, it's rice!"

"Why is the rice in Nanyang so cheap?"

"The farmers in Jiangnan don't grow rice anymore."

"It's a loss to grow rice."

Discussions came and went.

Sun Shiyi looked at Zhu Daohua and stopped talking.

(End of chapter)