"What? Come on, come to Mumbai?"
After hearing Charles Elliot's report, Emperor William immediately became anxious and asked Nelson with his eyes wide open: "Marquis, didn't you say we still have 18 months? Didn't you say that the Chinese need at least 6-12 months?" Can they occupy Malaya? But they have now bypassed the island of Ceylon and will arrive in two or three days at most... But there is only one old ironclad Warrior in Bombay! What should we do?"
Nelson was calm and composed. Although he and Emperor William were both marshals of the British Royal Navy, Nelson was a marshal who had truly seen the world, while Emperor William's "battlefield" during the Napoleonic Wars was in the House of Lords of the British Parliament.
“Your Majesty,” Nelson smiled, “first of all, we should announce the news of victory and tell the Indians in Bombay that we blocked the Chinese main fleet in the Strait of Malacca and caused them heavy losses.
Secondly, we would also like to announce that a small group of Chinese warships used our large fleet to attack the main force of the Ming Navy and broke through the blockade and entered the Indian Ocean. This small fleet had no troopships but a few fast battleships, so it was possible that they could invade Bombay and create panic with long-range bombardment.
Third, Your Majesty the Emperor should declare your triumphant return and personally sit in Bombay to lead the Indian military and civilians to defend the capital and repel the invading Ming Empire navy..."
"What?" Emperor William looked at Marquis Nelson in surprise, "Marquis, do you mean that I, the emperor who leads the expedition in person, have triumphed enough to defend the capital?"
Marquis Nelson nodded, "That's it. And... you will definitely successfully defend Bombay! So you will prove to all the superior people in India that you are capable of defending this rich, peaceful, and civilized country from freedom." Slaved by the barbaric Eastern Z-controlled empire!"
"Free from...slavery?" Emperor William smiled bitterly, "Marquis, do you mean to say that the abolition of caste system, all men are created equal and land to the tiller is slavery?"
"Of course!" Marquis Nelson said, "It's just like the slavery brought about by the French Revolution! When we were young, didn't we fight against the greatest soldiers in the world for more than ten years in order to defeat this kind of slavery?"
Amesh, the chief minister of the Indian Empire, immediately took over the topic and said to Emperor William: "Your Majesty, we must let the members of the parliament understand that you are protecting their interests now! If the Ming Empire becomes the master of India, , then there will be no castes in India, and there will be no Chaidaming landlords. By then, all Indians will be born equal, and the land in India will be equally divided among all Indians who are born equal. !”
Emperor William muttered: "My Prime Minister, I think you have redefined slavery!"
"My Majesty," Amesid said, "In fact, the British Empire's standard for 'slavery' has never changed... That is whether the leader of a certain country is a friend of the British Empire. Yes, that He is an enlightened, progressive monarch who is loved by the people. No, then he is a demon who enslaves the people! And... every member of the upper house and lower house of the Indian Parliament will not welcome the Ming Dynasty The empire is an evil country that seeks to destroy the caste system and make every Indian equal!"
"But this time they did not declare that they would abolish the caste system and divide the land equally." Emperor William was still a little worried that the Indians below would turn to the Ming Dynasty.
Amesh shook his head and said: "Your Majesty, all the wise people in the world know what they are going to do? They now intend to abolish caste and divide the land, but once they gain power, they will still implement these policies in India... ....What have they done in all the vassal states! Recently, they are redistributing the land of the Kingdom of Hawaii and implementing the law of "all created equals" in the Hawaiian Islands! Even Japan has recently been studying how to achieve equality and peace. The fields are evenly distributed.”
This is what happened in the Ming Dynasty... The "equality" and "equalization of land" among the people have long been sanctified by King Zhuge Wuzhong, and are considered to be the long-lasting stability of the Ming Dynasty!
In the Ming Dynasty, except for the actually emptied emperor and a small number of important members of the royal family, everyone (the citizens of the Ming Dynasty) was equal... Of course, some of them, such as members of the eight great families, were More equal than other Ming citizens! Just more equal, not superior!
Although "more equality" is very common among the middle and upper classes of the Ming Empire, no one can deny that in today's world, the Ming Empire's performance in "equality" is definitely outstanding.
As for "equal land" (including limited land), it is also a sacred value of the Ming Dynasty! Even the vassal states of the Ming Dynasty had to implement land equalization (limited land) on "cooked land". When the Ming Dynasty's own capital entered, it could only obtain the "long-term use rights" of the land by cultivating "raw land".
By the way, the candidate vassal of the Ming Dynasty belongs to Japan. During this period, it performed very well in recruiting and organizing samurai divisions to help the Ming Dynasty fight. It has also begun to study "equality" and "equal land" with the help of Ming Dynasty experts. The problem is...
Therefore, no matter how much Ming Dynasty says now that it will not abolish the caste system and implement land equalization and land restriction after taking over India, no one will believe it.
William also knew that the Ming Empire was an evil country with great principles, so those middle-class and upper-class Indians who could "open their eyes to see the Ming" must love the British and oppose the Ming.
After being convinced that the Indians would support him, Emperor William felt a little relieved and asked his War Secretary Hugh Gough, "Secretary of War, can we defeat the Ming army in Bombay?"
"No problem!" Hugh Gough said with certainty, "There are fifteen thousand Royal Guard officers and soldiers in Bombay, two-thirds of them are white mercenaries.
In addition, we have built 7 coastal forts in Mumbai, each of which has a twin 13.5-inch armored turret and large-caliber artillery without armored turret protection.
So we can definitely defeat the invading Ming Empire fleet in Mumbai! "
In fact, Emperor William also knew that Bombay could definitely be defended - the Ming Dynasty has not yet annihilated the Indian fleet! Under such circumstances, it was unrealistic to land in India. Their fleet could only fire a few shots at Bombay to scare the Indians.
But he couldn't let the fleet of the Ming Empire hang around outside the port of Mumbai... because Mumbai is the largest trading port in the Indian Empire, and it is also the industrial, commercial and financial center of India. If the fleet of the Ming Dynasty is allowed to block for several months, the economy of Mumbai and even India will be in trouble.
In addition, although the Indian Empire is nominally independent, its industries are still a link in the industrial chain of the British Empire. If the Ming Empire blocked the routes between India and Europe, then the industrial chain of the British Empire would also be disrupted!
Although India has its own "internal circulation" and can be completely self-sufficient... and can even develop better after breaking away from the industrial chain of the British Empire, the Indian military industry, which is completely controlled by the British, is There is no way out of the UK’s own supply of components and raw materials.
Once the communication line between Britain and India is interrupted for a long time, India's local military industry will exhaust its inventory of spare parts and key raw materials in two or three months, and then stop production!
Thinking of this, Emperor William said to Marquis Nelson: "Marquis, I can lead the Indian military and civilians to defend the country of Bombay... But the navy must also come up with a plan to drive away or annihilate this fleet, and it must be implemented as soon as possible! "
Marquis Nelson replied: "Your Majesty the Emperor, the Second Indian Fleet has now arrived at the Andaman Islands, and its main force will return to Bombay later. As long as they arrive, we will have enough power to expel this Ming fleet.
In addition, the Navy Ministry has ordered the First Indian Fleet in the Gulf of Oman to block the entrance to the Persian Gulf with mines... After completing this work, the First Indian Fleet will also return! "
Emperor William nodded, "After the two Indian fleets merge, they will definitely be able to drive away the Ming Navy fleet that broke into the Western Indian Ocean!" He considered it for a moment and then said, "The cabinet will announce the news of victory...tomorrow , I want to hold a triumphal ceremony, and I want to return to Mumbai as a winner!"
