"Two million stones a year?" Li Jicheng looked at Gu Conglong and asked, "Is Aurangzeb willing to give you that much?"
Gu Conglong smiled and said: "Your Majesty, if he doesn't give it to you, we'll go and grab it! The coastlines of Bangladesh and Orissa are so long, and Chittagong is also bordering Bangladesh. You can also take advantage of Manipur and Meng Dunshun." How many troops could Aurangzeb deploy in Bengal and Osali if there were no invaders? It would be impossible to defend them!"
Li Jicheng turned to look at Song Yaowen and Luo Ke again.
Song Yaowen said: "Your Majesty, the Timurid Empire is close to the English, and it is not good for the French and Dutch. They are not allowed to open businesses on their own territory... I guess, the French and the Dutch are I want to use us to pry open the door of Timur's empire."
Luo Ke said: "Your Majesty, the coast around Shunfeng Castle is very rich. It produces spices, gems, and cotton cloth. It is also a must-passing place for merchant ships. And those places are not from the Timurid Empire. Without strong soldiers, it is easy to They were defeated by the French and Dutch. I guess those Westerners just wanted us to fight the Timur Empire and go south to enjoy the delicious food!"
"Where are the British and Portuguese?" Li Jicheng asked, "Who are they from?"
The sea power in the Indian Ocean is actually shared by the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. The French's maritime power is weak and not worth mentioning. And the Portuguese have been lying down for a long time and can't get up... So Li Jicheng doesn't care who the Portuguese supports. But who the British support is a big question!
Niu Quan, who was in charge of receiving the French and Dutch envoys, said: "According to the French and Dutch, Britain and Portugal are also on the same side."
"Then why no envoys from Britain and Portugal came?" Li Jicheng frowned, "Bo Er and Zhu Cixi are Han, and they are still enemies! There are so many Western countries, they can't all be monolithic, right? That Shunfeng Fort was originally This is still the territory of the British, and it was the Dutch who dragged us to conquer it! I don’t believe that the British can really swallow this breath."
The attitude of the British was very ambiguous. They seemed to recognize France's hegemony on the European continent and swallowed the bad breath of the seizure of Fort St. George.
But Li Jicheng always feels that this matter is not that simple...
Niu Quan said: "The British have done a lot of business in recent years and have made a lot of money in Tianzhu and Canming. Maybe they don't want to go to war."
After France and the Netherlands colluded together, Britain seemed to be squeezed out of the European continent, and because of the emergence of the New England Kingdom, it lost its colonies on the east coast of North America. It seemed that it was going downhill. But in fact, the British's overseas trade is booming. They have received support from the Timurid Empire in India, and they are also prosperous in the territory of the Chinese Empire. They seem to be replacing the Dutch, the sea coachmen - because East and West World empires emerged on both sides, so the country trading in the middle would do well to follow a neutral path.
The Republic of England, which believed in Puritanism, had few friends in Europe, so it acted as a neutral country that made a lot of money in silence.
While overseas trade was booming, the pace of unification within Britain was also steadily advancing due to the Puritan policies of Cromwell's administration. Moreover, Britain's local industry and commerce have also benefited from foreign trade and internal unification, and have developed very well.
Li Jicheng didn't know the details of the British, but he still didn't believe that the British would give up the benefits they had finally obtained just because their business became bigger.
"We have to send someone to find out the British's background!" Li Jicheng said, "If the British resent us because of the incident at Fort St. George and end up defecting to Can Ming, there will be trouble!"
"Your Majesty," Gao Yidao said, "Well, we are leaving for Haidu right now. There is the British East India Company's business building over there."
"Okay!" Li Jicheng nodded, "Go back quickly!"
...
The person in charge of the British East India Company's business office in Haidu was named William Beckett. He was a fat and white British businessman who always had a gentle smile on his face. He was in his forties. When he was young, he traveled on the sea for many years and worked as a captain of the East India Company. However, he no longer went to sea very much and began to live a stable life on land.
Before the opening of Haidu (formerly Salian), he worked in the East India Company's trading house in Surat (the largest trading port in the Timurid Empire) for several years, and witnessed the grand wedding of Princess Nisha with his own eyes. This leads to the conclusion that the Ming Empire is about to enter the Indian Ocean...
The entry of the behemoth Ming Empire into the Indian Ocean will certainly make all maritime powers with a place in the Indian Ocean, including Britain, unhappy.
However, Beckett suggested that London should not easily join the "Anti-Ming Alliance" led by the French, but continue to adopt a low-key and neutral stance... His reason is that the more low-key Britain is, the easier it is to obtain huge amounts of money. profit.
Little Cromwell, who was not very fond of causing trouble, was obviously willing to follow this suggestion of making a fortune silently, so he continued to remain neutral while applauding Louis XIV.
However, the British protector could not ignore the drastic changes that might occur in the Indian Ocean, so he sent his good friend, Rear Admiral George Blake, the son of the late British Admiral Robert Blake, to lead a small force A small British expeditionary fleet arrived in the Indian Ocean.
This fleet arrived at the port of Haidu Prefecture in March of the first year of Nanping in the name of delivering messages for the British East India Company (the East India Company's treaty to cede Fort St. George). Now George Blake is sitting in the East India Company's business building. Inside, holding a cup of Mancini milk tea in his hand, he listened to William Beckett analyze the situation and possible development direction of the Indian Ocean.
"...The main risk now is that the Chinese Empire may seek to establish a naval base on the territory of the Timurid Empire! Only in this way can the Chinese Empire truly unite with the Timurid Empire and integrate Westerners' maritime The force completely swept out of the Indian Ocean.
So it does not hurt that we should not prevent the French and Dutch from strengthening their military presence along the southeast coast of India. Because their military presence can block the westward advance of the Chinese Empire, it will also increase the Timur Empire's hostility towards France and the Netherlands. This will help us further increase our share of the Timur Empire's foreign trade. "
"So is it possible for us to use this opportunity to increase our share in the Pacific?" Rear Admiral George Blake interjected.
Trying to increase the share of the British East India Company in the Western Pacific, or even completely ousting the Dutch East India Company, was also Major George Blake's mission in the East.
Although little Cromwell did not have the brilliance and brilliance of his father, he was nevertheless a shrewd ruler. In his opinion, the Ming Empire and the Franco-Dutch Alliance would sooner or later break up because of India's interests - neither France nor the Netherlands would give up the big fat piece of India!
The purpose of the marriage between the Celestial Empire and the Indian Timurid Empire was obviously to get involved in India, so conflicts between the two sides were inevitable!
Once France, the Netherlands and the Ming Dynasty turned against each other, would the Dutch East India Company be out of the big market of East-West trade? This is a huge market that brings millions of profits to the Netherlands every year. If this profit can be owned by the United Kingdom, then Cromwell's power in the British Isles will be more stable, and the unification of the United Kingdom will be accelerated! Britain can also have enough financial resources to build a navy capable of dominating the Atlantic...
William Beckett thought for a moment, frowned and said: "Major General, I think this will not be easy... Although the Dutch East India Company's share of East-West trade has been taken away by our British East India Company. Less. But they still have huge advantages in trans-Pacific trade and spice cultivation, mineral development and colonial city operations. In fact, the Dutch East India Company's business situation after the Battle of Malacca was better than before the Battle of Malacca !
Unless we can get the support of the Chinese Emperor, it will be difficult for us to compete with the Dutch in the Pacific market! "
