"Whereas, the Sikhs in the eastern and northern parts of Punjab launched a riot half a month ago in search of independence, which has seriously threatened the unity and stability of the Banjinad kingdom and in turn affected the ongoing Northwest War. Governor Luo believed that it was necessary to provide direct military assistance to the Nawab Kingdom front line to help it withstand the Mughal Empire's offensive and prevent the collapse of the Nawab Kingdom's army. ”

Shao Mingkui, the head of the black-clothed guard stationed in Xizhou and a captain (major) of Xuanjie, who hurried from Jinmen (present-day Karachi City), handed an order from Luo Yuwen, the governor of Xizhou, to Jiang Chuntang, the commander-in-chief of the garrison army, and then quietly waited for the other party's inquiry.

"The Governor's order for my garrison to intervene directly in this war? This...... Isn't that a bit sloppy? After Jiang Chuntang finished reading the governor's order, his brows couldn't help frowning, "If the Mughal Empire learns about this, I'm afraid it will directly turn against our Qi country!" ”

"The main forces of the Nawab Kingdom are deployed on the front line of the Ravi River, facing more than 100,000 troops of the Mughal Empire, struggling to support. In order to quell the Sikh uprising, the Kingdom of Banjinad had to transfer its troops from the front to Lahore, Amritsar, Gujranwala and other areas. This made it likely that the Mughal Empire would break through the Byas River and enter the heart of the Banginad, either outflank the Nawab army from the east, or attack Lahore. Shao Mingkui said worriedly: "Now, these two kingdoms have local rebellions inside, and under the powerful offensive of the Mughal Empire outside, they will face a dangerous situation of being attacked on their backs, and there is a high probability that they will collapse." As a result, we will not be able to prevent the Mughal Empire from recovering Punjab and Sindh unless we personally help in the war, and at a greater cost. ”

"Was the Sikh rebellion caused by the Mughal Empire?" Jiang Chuntang asked as he motioned to his staff officers to hang up two maps of Punjab and Sindh.

"Most of the time the Mughal Empire promised the Sikhs some benefits." Shao Mingkui nodded and said, "During the Aurangzeb period, the Sikhs wanted to seek self-reliance and worked tirelessly to achieve it. It is reported that in the tenth generation of Sikhism, Guru Kobinder. During Singh's time, he assembled a strong Sikh army and waged a long struggle against the Mughal army to establish an independent Sikh kingdom. Decades ago, when the Banjinad kingdom declared itself to stand on its own against the Mughal Empire, the Sikhs gave it strong support, giving it the status of limited autonomy. Now, when the kingdom is at war with the Mughal Empire and has no time to retreat, the Sikhs believe that this is the best time for them to seek complete independence. ”

"This India is a mess!" Jiang Chuntang shook his head, then turned around and walked to the wall, staring at the two maps that had been hung, and began to ponder where to send troops to flank the Mughal Empire's army in order to force the other side to abandon the plan of an all-out attack.

"If this India is not chaotic, how can we break through each of our Qi countries, so as to gradually expand our colonial power!" Shao Mingkui said with a smile: "As long as we gradually control the whole of India, we can ensure and maintain the hegemony of our Qi country in the Indian Ocean Rim region." In addition, such a rich and abundant area also enables countless factories in China to have a broad and stable market space, so as to develop and expand domestic industry and commerce. ”

Jiang Chuntang glanced at him, shook his head slightly, and continued to pay attention to the map hanging on the wall.

These black-clothed guards stationed in India are more or less contaminated with the atmosphere of businessmen because they want to spy on local military and political intelligence, map the geographical information of mountains and rivers, bribe local powerful officials and generals, and act with the help of the identity of merchants of Qi State, and at the same time, they are also inextricably linked with domestic businessmen and local Indian businessmen.

The civilian riot that broke out in the Nawab Kingdom this time was caused by the black-clothed guards' demagoguery, which provided the most favorable excuse for the Governorate of the Western Prefecture of Qi to intervene in the internal affairs of the Nawab Kingdom and then completely control the navigation of the Indus River.

However, no one expected that the force was a little too violent, and among the people who participated in the riot, in addition to a large number of untouchables, there were also many low-caste people who were too oppressed to participate, making the number of rioters reach more than 30,000 people, not only capturing the city of Multan, but also almost blocking King Azim I in the palace.

Unfortunately, the Banjinad Kingdom, which owns the northern part of Punjab and Kabul Province, suddenly broke out into the Sikh independence movement, which for a time made the entire Northwest War situation very favorable to the Mughal Empire, and if it could seize the opportunity, it might be able to destroy the two rebel forces of Banjinad and Nawab in one fell swoop, realize the unification of the empire in the northwest including Sindh, Punjab, Kabul, etc., and restore the glory and glory of the empire.

However, maintaining the limited division of the Indian region, thereby creating conditions for the gradual encroachment and control of the subcontinent, is the basic strategy of Qi in its affairs towards India. In the face of this situation, the Qi State naturally could not sit idly by and watch the Mughal Empire successfully recover the northwest region and complete the unification of the country.

Therefore, the Governor of Xizhou ordered the garrison to directly intervene in the ongoing Northwest War, thwart the offensive launched by the Mughal Empire, and urge the three sides to maintain the status quo.

"Order the officers and men of the garrison army to rest in Multan City for two days, change into the uniforms of the Nawab Kingdom, and prepare to go out to Vihali." After thinking about it for a long time, Jiang Chuntang issued a military order.

"Sir, are you going to cross the desert, pass through Rajput, and directly threaten Delhi?" Shao Mingkui was stunned when he heard this order.

"Siege Wei to save Zhao." Jiang Chuntang smiled and said, "Of course, we don't necessarily have to kill Delhi City, as long as we let the Mughal Empire know that there is an army that crosses the desert and drives directly to Delhi, it is enough to scare them." ”

——

After the city of Multan was captured by the troops of the Xizhou garrison of the state of Qi and the army of the Nawab kingdom, a five-day curfew was declared, and all residents were allowed only half a day in the morning, sending a family member out to buy necessary food and daily necessities.

In the town square and several main city gates, the bodies of hundreds of captured rebel leaders were hung. After the Nawab Kingdom army entered the city, they carried out a large-scale revenge massacre. In just two days, at least 4,000 civilians involved in the riots were dragged to the banks of the Chenab River, where they were publicly executed, leaving the entire river red.

Walking through the streets of Multan, you can still smell a faint smell of blood. The residents of the city, after seeing the groups of heavily armed patrol officers and soldiers, all stood on the side of the road respectfully, bent over, bowing their heads, waiting for the officers and soldiers to leave.

The only thing that can maintain a leisurely and complacent demeanor is a cow that is idling around. They wander the streets, wander the shops, and even swagger into the roadside houses.

The cow is regarded as the most sacred animal in Hinduism and enjoys a privileged status. The cow represents reproduction and is a symbol of life. Therefore, these cattle that are extremely lucky to be reincarnated in India are undoubtedly the most "happy". The prohibition of killing and eating beef is a Hindu precept and has become a Hindu custom.

Although the Qi people have always been relatively strong in India, in order to avoid unnecessary trouble, they generally do not slaughter cattle or eat beef in front of many Hindus to provoke their religious beliefs.

The untouchables, who were in charge of sweeping the streets, with large copper basins on their heads, rushed forward to grab the dung by their hands when they found cow dung in the places where the cattle passed.

Seeing this scene, Li Yanliang suddenly felt a surge in his stomach.

Nima's, this hand that grabbed cow dung, will he go to grab food to eat again?

Sabanda. Seeing the prefect's unguarded expression, Sonoval immediately took a few soldiers, armed with muskets, and shouted loudly to drive away the cleaners who were picking up cow dung, so as not to disturb the view and make their prefect unhappy.

After following the people of Qi for a long time, these servants and soldiers all know that the "old man" from Qi attaches great importance to cleanliness and hygiene. Not to mention picking up cow dung by hand, even before eating and after using the toilet, I will take the trouble to wash my hands repeatedly. In the hot summer months, I take a shower and change my clothes almost every day. When marching and fighting in the field, he never drank raw water, but had to be filtered and then boiled before he soaked tea or coffee and pecked slowly.

The fact that the soldiers of the Qi State did not wantonly loot and humiliate women in war, as the soldiers of the Mughal Empire did not do, may not have been strict military discipline or high morals, but perhaps the biggest reason was that dirty Indian women were not interested in them.

Sabanda from the bottom of society. Like the cleaners, Sonoval used to pick up cow dung in the countryside and take it home, make it into dung cakes, stick them on the wall, or dry them on the ground, and sell them as fuel when they were dry. In his village, there are many cows, and every summer, there is a strong "cow smell".

On the other hand, under the rule of the Qi State, in addition to the neat urban architectural planning, the biggest feature is that it is clean and hygienic, and there is no such chaotic and dirty scene as Indian cities. It is said that the reason why the people of Qi attach so much importance to cleanliness and hygiene is to prevent the breeding of plague in the scorching heat.

If you think about it carefully, it seems that there has indeed been no serious outbreak of the epidemic in the decades that the Qi State has controlled and managed Jinmen, which is in stark contrast to the terrible plague that breaks out in the interior of India almost every ten years.

Sometimes, Sabanda. Sonoval would have thought about the question in his heart, if the Qi people replaced the Mughal Empire and the kings of the large and small princely states as the masters of this land, and with their good management and management methods, would the lives of the vast number of ordinary people be effectively improved?

(End of chapter)