After seeing the strict order of Kida, the capital of the Kharat Khanate, and also seeing the magnificence, cleanliness and tidiness of the Jinmen City of Shazhou, which belonged to Qi, and then looking at the dilapidated and messy city of Surat in front of him, Ibrahim Khan immediately felt a strong contrast.

Well, the city without the participation of Qi people seems to be the normal state of this region.

Although there was still no shortage of lavish mansions of princes and nobles and lavish mansions of merchants, there were many more low, dilapidated wooden and mud houses, potholed streets, and countless temporary structures that made the roads look cramped and messy.

There are also many beggars and refugees in the market, unkempt and sluggish, and only when they see passers-by passing by, they will force their spirits to show their hopeful eyes and ask for a little charity.

The market is crowded with people, with stilts and shops piled on top of each other, and small vendors selling tea, spices, seafood and various treasures lining the streets.

Aromas mixed with curries, grilled meats, and floral aromas fill the air, and the noise and chaos of the city makes people feel dizzy. Horse-drawn carriages, pedestrians, livestock, and wild dogs compete for limited space in the crowded streets, and every now and then erupt in vicious cursing from the rich and low wails from the untouchables.

Dilapidated buildings stretch around the city, and the dirt and grass on the rooftops are reminiscent of the barren part of the city. But even in this impoverished city, there are still ornate palaces, merchant houses, and temples standing, struggling to show their former glory.

At the edge of the harbor, many seagoing ships are docked, and the tired sailors on board gather their goods from all over the world to flow through the markets or to the hinterland, bringing wealth and vitality to the city.

Ibrahim Khan could not understand why the Qi people had set up their office for India's regional foreign affairs in this city, which was neither the political center of India nor the commercial center of the region, but a common port city that was in decline.

Could it be that because Surat was the first trading port where Qi once established a commercial base, it has been reluctant to leave?

A few months ago, although Nadir had defeated the Safavid army in the Battle of Mayam, the new army, which was equipped with firearms, had suffered a lot of losses. Had it not been for the extraordinary courage and perseverance of General Ahmet, who oversaw the battle, the cavalry units that launched the flank attack almost crushed the new army with a dense volley of gun fire. In the end, it was at the cost of more than 1,000 cavalry losses that the new army collapsed in the array of the imperial army, and then it was out of control, and was covered up by the Nadir army, and won the final victory.

Therefore, in order to maintain the combat effectiveness of the army, the Nadir military group must obtain a stable reinforcement that can continue to replenish the loss of weapons.

As an "impartial" third party, Qi is willing to provide the necessary guidance and appropriate venue for negotiations between the two parties.

After the war, Nadir did not retaliate against the captured Imperial soldiers because of the heavy losses of his troops, but instead recruited all the thousands of captured New Army soldiers for his own use.

As a result, the Nadir army was also equipped with a large number of firearms, so that its combat power far exceeded that of the surrounding tribes, and even beat the ignorant and backward Afghans to the ground, and quickly stabilized the rule of the Khorasan region. However, most of the firearms exported from these areas are "hand-rubbed", which not only has a backward level of craftsmanship and unstable quality, but also has extremely low production efficiency.

The muskets and artillery captured from the new Safavid army were very high-end at first glance, not only fast in firing, high in stability, and few in failure, but also advanced in technology, simple in operation, and very easy to maintain, even higher than the quality of firearms transmitted from Europe.

In response to Nadir's request to carry out in-depth economic exchanges with Qi and strengthen trade between them, the Qi people showed great interest and agreed to open a trade channel from Herat to Kandahar, and the two sides would provide the necessary security for the caravans (merchants).

At the beginning of the 16th century, after the Ottoman firearms unit Ganisari defeated the powerful Safavid Empire's "Red Army" in the Battle of Chaldiran, a wave of "firearms" was set off in Central Asia. Gunmakers from the Ottoman Empire introduced the craft of firearms to Khorasan and other parts of Central Asia. By the beginning of the 17th century, firearms craftsmen in Samarkand, Mashhad, Bukhara and other cities were able to imitate arquebuses and light artillery, and Andijan, Tashkent, and Ashgabat were famous centers for the firearms smuggling trade at that time.

However, although the combat power of the firearms unit far exceeds that of the traditional cold weapon unit, the cost is very large, after a battle, the musket equipped by the soldier will be almost more than 30% of the damage to varying degrees, and a few more battles, almost all the weapons have to be scrapped and need to be re-equipped, and the large consumption of ammunition with it is even more staggering.

It is said that at the beginning of the battle, the lightly advanced Imperial troops rushed forward in such a swarm that their artillery units did not have time to catch up. Otherwise, under the repeated bombardment of dozens of artillery pieces of the opponent, it would be impossible for the cavalry troops to quickly break into the front of the formation. Even if they rushed close to the enemy, they would inevitably be blasted out of the charge formation by artillery, and could not pose a threat to the Empire's well-organized military formation.

After a two-day break in Surat, several Qi officials made initial contact with them.

The captured Imperial officers were treated with great courtesy, not only promising them not less than the Safavid Army's salaries and treatments, but also rewarding them with houses and land and a large number of slaves, so that they could devote themselves to Nadir and thus increase Nadir's military power.

If there is no refusal, it means endless possibilities, and Ibrahim Khan has great expectations for this.

When Ibrahim Khan vaguely proposed that he wanted to purchase a large amount of ordnance from Qi, especially advanced artillery and muskets, the Qi people were obviously hesitant about this, but did not directly refuse, but only said that they needed to report this request to their superiors.

Similarly, the Qi people warned that they did not want a major change in the situation in the Persian region, and demanded that Nadir negotiate with the Safavid dynasty of Persia if conditions permitted, in order to resolve the contradictions and differences between the two sides.

The weapons equipped by the new army of the empire were naturally provided by the Qi people, and I heard that most of the weapons and equipment of the Ottomans next door also came from the Qi country, and they played an extremely key role in the confrontation with the European coalition forces.

Therefore, if you can connect with the Qi people and carry out trade with them, whether you make money or not is secondary, but you must be able to get enough weapons and equipment from them.

After meeting with waves of Qi people from Kandahar, to Jinmen, and finally to Surat, Ibrahim Khan keenly realized that the Qi people did not seem to be wholeheartedly supporting and helping the Safavid dynasty to restore its imperial glory, as they claimed.

Yes, the Qi people also restrained and guarded the Safavid Dynasty to a certain extent, so as to prevent the former empire from becoming strong again and forming a backlash against the Qi Dynasty.

They were glad to see that the Khorasan region remained divided from the Safavid Empire, and even wanted to indulge Dir's military division, thus creating a certain element of instability for the whole of Persia, thereby weakening the central authority of the Safavid Empire, so that they could gain huge political and commercial benefits from the middle and left of the Safavid Dynasty.

Then, as a representative of Nadir, we must make full use of the mentality of the Qi people in the talks, seize the opportunity, and make a sincere "confession" to them.

Whether it is to contain or balance the Safavid Dynasty, or to help your Qi State expand its power into the hinterland of Central Asia, our Nadir Military Group can do it, and it is definitely a very worthy investment object for your Qi people.

——

"Ambassador Pan, Nadir in the Khorasan region wants to form a good alliance with our country and seek commercial and military cooperation and exchanges between the two sides, do you have any specific advice to me about this?"

In the residence of the diplomatic envoy of Qi in India, a grand welcome dinner is being held to wash away the dust for Pan Guangfeng, the general representative and plenipotentiary minister in Europe. All the military and political officials and generals of the Qi State stationed in Surat, as well as well-known scholars and big businessmen, were all present, and the governor of the Mughal Empire stationed in Surat, local princes, comprador merchants were also invited to attend the meeting.

The halls of the mansion are richly decorated with beautiful frescoes and sculptures. Gorgeous lampposts emit a soft light that illuminates the entire ballroom. The atmosphere of the dinner was warm and pleasant, with Indian musicians playing beautiful music to create a warm atmosphere for the guests, and more than a dozen beautiful dancers dancing to the music.

All the guests were dressed in gorgeous costumes, or holding wine glasses, or holding plates, gathered together in twos and threes, socializing, and exchanging their own insights and interesting stories.

The food and drinks at the dinner were also a highlight that could not be overlooked, showing the royal style, and the restaurant was filled with a variety of food and wines. The whole dinner was full of laughter and laughter, and the beautiful and dignified women and ladies shuttled among them, which made people dizzy.

At the guest of honor in the banquet hall, Pan Guangfeng gently touched the wine glass with Zhai Guangqian, the foreign affairs attaché in India, took a sip, and then held a piece of fatty fish meat with chopsticks and put it into his mouth, chewing it slowly.

"Ambassador Zhai's question is really a bit difficult for Pan. Not to mention that I have not been personally involved in the local affairs of India and Persia and cannot make accurate judgments, even if I am evasive about the matter, I should not be vain in this matter and judge it at will. ”

"Ambassador Pan is gracious." Zhai Guangqian said with a smile: "Who doesn't know that Ambassador Pan has been immersed in foreign affairs for more than 20 years, has dealt with many complicated diplomatic disputes, and turned countless conflicts into invisible, and is the person who has carried the leader in the foreign affairs of our country. This time, he was ordered to return to his homeland, and he must go further, even if he entered the cabinet to pay respects to the prime minister, it was also a matter of course. ”

"Ambassador Zhai, what you said is a bit of a murder of me." Pan Guangfeng smiled reservedly, "This time, the edict to return to Chang'an is a normal report on foreign affairs. As for the arrangements thereafter, it is still necessary for His Majesty and the Prime Minister to arrange them. Hehe, entering the cabinet to worship the prime minister, I really want it, but I really don't dare to hope for it. ”

"Ambassador Pan does not need to be so humble, in the past ten years, our country has made remarkable achievements in European foreign affairs, and His Majesty and the general ideal are in the eyes." He Tingbiao, the financial and taxation supervision envoy of Qi in Surat, said: "At the enthronement ceremony of His Majesty last year, except for a few small countries in Europe who did not know how to raise the throne, they did not send envoys to Chang'an to congratulate them, almost all major European countries sent distinguished royal family members or government officials as representatives to participate in the ceremony, which really made our Qi country grow face, and His Majesty and the cabinet must also be very satisfied with this." All of this is thanks to Ambassador Pan's painstaking efforts over the years. In this case, how can His Majesty and the Prime Minister slow down Ambassador Ban? ”

When Pan Guangfeng heard this, although he didn't dare to say it again and again, he was very proud in his heart.

Before receiving the recall order from the cabinet, he also received relevant information from China in advance, the current secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Lu Gongwei, is seriously ill and difficult to serve, and all the ministry management is signed by Zuo Shangshu Yu Wenyuan, and he is about to take over the position of Shangshu. But I don't know who broke the news that Yu Wenyuan had accepted a huge donation from Beiming, which made the country "inadvertently" obtain a large amount of Qi State's foreign policy against Beiming, which greatly damaged the national interests of Qi State.

Against this background, the candidate for the helm of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs unexpectedly fell to Pan Guangfeng's head under the recommendation of various forces. When he returned to Chang'an and met with His Majesty the Emperor, he would officially take over the post of Shangshu and become one of the main players in the formulation and establishment of foreign policy in this vast empire.

So, in theory, he has a real say in the foreign affairs of the Persian Khorasan region, as well as India.

However, he has been immersed in foreign affairs for more than 20 years, and has long developed a cautious and cautious character. Before he is formally appointed, Pan Guangfeng will naturally not point fingers at the foreign affairs of the Indian region and make unnecessary interference.

Moreover, Nadir was just a small warlord in the Khorasan region of Persia, and his weight was not enough to reach his eyes.

"In the past, the Indian Ocean region was home to the Mughal, Persian and Ottoman empires, all of which played a pivotal role in the region. However, by now, the Mughals and Persia can be said to be in the hands of our Qi country, taking what they want, and fiddling with them freely. And the Ottoman Empire is also in decline, if it were not for the single-minded support of our Qi country, I am afraid that it would have been eaten up by the European countries long ago and would no longer survive. General Guangwei (Major General), commander of the Qi garrison in Gujarat, took a deep breath of his pipe, and then leisurely exhaled a smoke ring.

"In the coming decades, the main strategic concept of our Qi country in the Indian Ocean region is how to achieve complete political, military and economic control over these three empires, and gradually transform them into our vassal states and even protectorates, so as to further consolidate and strengthen our absolute hegemony in the Indian Ocean Rim region. As long as we firmly control the Indian Ocean, then our Qi country will have a stable strategic rear and huge manpower and material resources, so that we can cross the Atlantic Ocean without hesitation, interfere in the affairs of the European continent, and finally establish our Qi country's world hegemony. ”

"But in order to achieve all this, it is crucial to be able to completely integrate India into our Qi colonial system." He Tingbiao nodded, glanced up at the Mughal princes and officials who were drinking and noisy on the west side of the hall, and said with a smile: "If we completely conquer this continent with hundreds of millions of people, then our Qi country will not only have a stable and huge consumer market, but also have endless human resources, no matter what kind of challenges we face, we will have enough confidence and strength to face it head-on." ”

"But if we want to fully integrate India into our colonial system, we must crush all the great power on this continent. In this way, we will be able to calmly carry out new planning and new layouts, and make the whole of India into what we hope to be. ”

"What does it look like?"

"What does it look like? …… Well, it's better to be like the Kingdom of Cochin, a pure puppet kingdom. All affairs are determined by our country. ”

(End of chapter)