I

China's conquest of the Netherlands went very smoothly. In addition to the offensive and defensive battles of the fortress, a series of field battles were also carried out in the early stage.

The Chinese servant army from South India and Bangladesh faced the Dutch servant army on the island of Ceylon. The total strength of the two sides reached 50,000 in several battles.

Before the official siege of the fortress, the total number of casualties on both sides was nearly 10,000. Among them, the Datong Army had 18 casualties (none of which were due to combat reductions), 15 Dutch soldiers were killed, and more than 60 were lightly or severely wounded. The rest of the casualties came from the servants of both sides.

The tragic failure of the field battle caused the Dutch colonists to have no fighting spirit.

Coupled with the economic depression in the Netherlands, it is impossible to receive any reinforcements, and the governor directly ordered the surrender. Moreover, only one request was made, that is, to ensure the safety of Dutch ships and personnel and allow them all to return home by ship.

In this regard, the tentacles of the Dutch East India Company can only extend as far as Cape Town, a colony along the coast of East Africa, which is either captured by Oman or invaded by Portugal.

The news of the victory was sent back to the Indian region, King Jin's prestige in South India increased greatly, and all the states sent envoys to send congratulatory gifts. Zheng Sen was also tougher in Bengal, the princes of the Tubang were more obedient, and the nobles were proud of being able to speak Chinese.

"General system, there is news from the west that Aurangzeb has won a big victory."

The person who spoke was Wu Liangfu, the eunuch who killed Dayuer.

After this old man was transferred back to Nanjing, he worked in Honglu Temple for a few years, and now he is the vice-governor of Bangladesh, a genuine fourth-rank official of the imperial court.

Zheng Sen asked, "When did it happen?"

Wu Liangfu said: "When the imperial army was conquering Ceylon, the Mughals were also conquering Afghanistan. Emperor Aurangzeb personally conquered, and the independent Afghan chiefs were all suppressed by the Mughal army. It is said that the Mughals also There was a famous general named Amir Khan, who was invincible when he conquered Afghanistan. When Aurangzeb withdrew his troops, he appointed Amir Khan as the governor of Afghanistan."

Zheng Sen thought: "The rebellion in Afghanistan has been quelled, and Persia is governed by a foolish king. This means that the western border of the Mughals is completely stable. With Aurangzeb's militaristic temperament, there will definitely be wars in the future, or the Deccans will go south. country, or come east and attack us, Bangladesh."

Wu Liangfu said: "The Deccan countries have many plateaus and mountains, and it is more difficult for the Mughals to march. If they come to attack us, they can go directly down the river. Putting aside other things, only in terms of military affairs, Aurangzeb definitely Send troops to Bangladesh first."

"You said, does Aurangzeb really dare to touch the tiger's whiskers of the Celestial Dynasty?" Zheng Sen asked.

Wu Liangfu analyzed: "This man is cruel, cunning and self-willed. Now that he has pacified Afghanistan, he must be even more arrogant. The Bengal region is a big granary. The Mughals have been suffering from famines for these years. Aurangzeb may have already set his sights on Bangladesh's grain."

Zheng Sen said: "If we don't ask the country to send troops, we can prevent it by ourselves, but it will be somewhat dangerous after all. We have to use tactics!"

Aurangzeb, the Mughal emperor, had a simple and complex personality.

He is intelligent, even cunning.

But he was reckless, never compromised, never reconciled, and lacked political wisdom. Especially after becoming emperor, everything is resolved by force and power, and the ancestors' policy of marriage and religious freedom is completely abandoned.

Not to mention that many tribes in Afghanistan were forced to rebel, the princes of the Rajasthan state were also eager to try and prepare to rebel. The reason is very simple. As the emperor, Aurangzeb actually forcibly intervened in the succession of Rajasthan's maharajas. This approach made the Tubang princes both terrified and angry. They would rather be colonized and ruled by foreign races than accept the emperor pinching their own lifeblood.

To be honest, if Aurangzeb were the emperor of China, he would probably be liked by many history fans. True temperament, iron-blooded, uncompromising, just tough, and occasionally behaves affectionately.

The emperor's first love turned out to be a slave girl from his uncle's family.

With the honorable status of a prince, to openly fall in love with a female slave can be made into a costume romance drama.

When he was young, because of a complaint from his father, he did not enter the palace for seven months. He was very stubborn, and just wanted to take a gamble. When his temper got up, ten cows would not be able to pull back.

At this moment, Aurangzeb has completely pacified the west, and he faces four choices next:

First, go south to conquer the rebel Sivaji;

Second, go south to conquer the disobedient Bijapur country;

Third, go south to conquer the hard-boned Golkonda country;

Fourth, go east to conquer the Governor-General of Bangladesh where Zheng Sen is located.

The ministers all suggested to attack Sivaji first. Because this is a force created by the insurgents, the foundation is still shallow, and in terms of terrain, marching is not very difficult.

Aurangzeb said: "If you want to fight, fight Bengal. It is the lost land of the empire. Moreover, there is inexhaustible food there, and there are countless merchants and craftsmen there. The benefits of seizing Bengal are comparable to pacifying ten Siwas." lucky!"

Kuri Khan, the Minister of Fa Xiao and the best friend, advised: "Your Majesty, Bangladesh is occupied by China, and I am afraid it will not be easy to deal with. Even if we succeed in the early stage and successfully drive out the Chinese governor, but anger the Chinese emperor, the Chinese army will make a comeback. At that time, there will be endless wars. And when we send troops to the south, no matter which target we attack, there will be no such troubles.”

"What do you know?"

Aurangzeb sneered: "The emperor of China has great ambitions, and he is willing to only occupy Bangladesh? We must take advantage of China's unstable foothold in Bangladesh and mobilize the whole country to conquer and drive the Chinese out completely. Otherwise, the land China has embezzled will be destroyed. More and more. At that time, it will not be us conquering Bangladesh, but the Chinese army in Bangladesh will attack us!"

Curry Khan asked, "How many troops does His Majesty plan to send?"

Aurangzeb said: "Amir Khan is the governor of Afghanistan. I am very relieved. I only need to keep a small amount of troops. When the envoy went to Persia, he said that I wanted to marry, and the Mughal prince asked to marry the Persian princess. Persians Busy arranging marriages so they don't come to invade the border."

"Then the envoy will contact Sivaji and say that I recognize him as the founding of the country. Put forward some harsh conditions, and talk for as long as you can. Sivaji wants to be recognized in his dreams. During the negotiation, he will not come to harass the border."

"Send the emissary to Bijapur again, and say that I promise to help him suppress Sivaji. Most of Sivaji's territory comes from the country of Bijapur. Let Bijapur and Sivaji fight each other, and everyone will smoke Attack the borders of the empire without sending troops."

"Send the envoy to Golkonda again, and say that I want to cease fighting with them. I secretly contacted the princes of the country in Golkonda and promised to fund their rebellion. The bigger the rebellion, the better."

"In this way, there will be no danger at all borders. Only a small number of troops will be left to garrison, and the rest of the army will be dispatched to attack Bangladesh. China is very strong. I plan to send 200,000 troops to take back Bangladesh in one go!"

Curry Khan swallowed his saliva: "Your Majesty, if we send 200,000 troops, the empire may not have enough food."

Aurangzeb said: "There will always be a way, no matter how hard it is for nobles and civilians everywhere. I appoint you as an imperial envoy to be responsible for urging food throughout the country. In addition, it is time to prepare warships and fight along the Ganges River. past."

The changes in the Mughal Empire were quickly detected by Zheng Sen and Wu Liangfu.

Wu Liangfu personally acted as a diplomatic envoy and took people to lobby the major forces.

First go to Golkonda to tell the interests, that is, after the Mughals seized Bengal, the next target must be Golkonda.

At this moment, Golconda is in a difficult situation. It has been fighting with the Mughals all year round in the north, and has territorial disputes with the emerging Jin state in the south. Faced with Wu Liangfu's "goodwill", the Sultan of the country asked for 500 flintlock guns. As long as Zheng Sen fulfilled his promise, he promised to send troops to stab the Mughals.

After bargaining, Wu Liangfu was willing to provide 200 flintlock guns, as well as exquisite silk and porcelain, in exchange for sending troops from Golkonda at a critical time.

Wu Liangfu did not go to the Bigapur country. The country was so cowardly that it dared not take the initiative to attack the Mughals.

Wu Liangfu went directly to contact Sivaji, and he told the insurgent: "The great insurgent Sivaji, your bravery, even the emperor of China knows. The Mughal emperor regards you as the greatest threat, as long as you He captured Bengal, and the next target must be you. Next year, or the year after, the Mughals will definitely attack Bengal. By that time, the Mughals’ rear will be empty, and you can take the opportunity to expand your territory.”

Sivaji said with a smile: "Last month, I just received Aurangzeb's envoys, and they are willing to admit that I have established an independent country."

"Your Excellency is a smart person and will not make the same mistake twice." Wu Liangfu said.

Sivaji was once ordered by the Mughals. Not only was he almost killed, but he also lost more than 90% of his territory. He escaped back to his old den relying on tricks and bravery, and of course he would no longer believe in Aurangzeb's lies.

Sivaji said: "If you want me to cooperate with the troops, what benefits can I get?"

Wu Liangfu said: "1,000 sets of armor and 300 muskets. Don't be too small, your Excellency. The armor is the standard of the Chinese army, not the kind that Han merchants sell to you."

Sivaji was very generous: "Okay, as long as the armor and muskets are delivered, I can send troops at any time!"

Immediately afterwards, Wu Liangfu sent his Indian deputy to Rajput across the Mughal territory disguised as a merchant.

The Rajputs live a semi-nomadic life, which is the main source of Mawari horses and the main source of Mughal cavalry.

The Mughal emperors married the Rajput princes for several successive emperors, similar to the marriage between the Manchu royal family and the Mongolian princes, in order to gain the support of the Rajputs and the source of cavalry.

But after Aurangzeb became emperor, he fell out with the Rajputs.

The Rajput princes rebelled and have been in a semi-independent state, and Aurangzeb was powerless to suppress it. This is like, the entire Mongolia region is rebelling against the Qing court. Not only can it not be suppressed, but the court's cavalry is also getting more and more straddled.

Wu Liangfu's deputy made a promise that as long as the Rajputs captured Gujarat, the Datong Navy would immediately cooperate to occupy the port. At that time, the Rajput cavalry will cross the land, and the Datong Navy will help them consolidate the coast and jointly resist the counterattack of the Mughal army.

As long as it has a firm foothold, Chinese goods will continue to flow in and be sold to the Rajputs to improve their lives. And Rajput war horses can also be sold to China for a good price.

The two sides hit it off because the Rajputs had a hard time.

After their independence, the territory was surrounded by Mughals. Although the Mughal army was unable to suppress it, it was able to impose economic sanctions on it and kept lowering the price of war horses. The war horses could not be sold at a good price, and the prices of daily necessities soared, which made the semi-nomadic people extremely uncomfortable.

Wu Liangfu's deputy continued to go north and got in touch with the Sikh leaders. The Sikhs didn't want anything and agreed to cooperate in making troubles.

The main reason is Aurangzeb's religious high-pressure policy, which has already aroused dissatisfaction among Sikhs. Even if there were no Chinese envoys to join forces, the Sikhs would still make trouble, and even dig up the graves of the Mughal royal family.

The deputy continued to go north, and then went to connect the various tribes in Afghanistan.

And Wu Liangfu himself went directly to Persia by boat, encouraging Persia to take the opportunity to send troops to the Markland area.

…

Two years later, the war broke out.

Counting the civilian husbands and craftsmen, the Mughals sent 250,000 troops, and Emperor Aurangzeb personally marched.

On the Chinese side, there are only 2,000 Datong Army soldiers, 600 Datong Navy soldiers, and 1,000 Han militias temporarily recruited. In addition, there are 30,000 Bangladeshi servants and a number of civilian husbands.

At the beginning of the war, the Mughal army was victorious, and more than 8,000 Bengali servants surrendered.

Zheng Sen abandoned the cities along the Ganges and retreated to Dhaka, defending the city where the Governor's Mansion is located. In the Bodo River Basin in the lower reaches of the Ganges, due to serious sedimentation, large ships are easily stranded, and the Datong Navy cannot enter at all. We can only send naval soldiers to Dhaka by boat to help Zheng Sen defend the city.

In this series of actions, more than 10,000 servants surrendered.

The Tubang princes who had previously been loyal to Zheng Sen changed their course and withdrew, declaring their allegiance to Aurangzeb.

At this time, Aurangzeb received news from the rear.

The rebel Shivaji took the lead, sending troops to attack the southwestern Mughal territories. Due to the shortage of troops and the response of local nobles, Sivaji's army was invincible.

At this time, it was too late to return aid, and Aurangze dispatched envoys to the country of Bigapur. Not only officially recognized Bijapur's independent status, but also promised to marry Bijapur. The Sultan of Bijapur immediately sent troops to poke Sivaji's chrysanthemums - more than half of Sivaji's territory belonged to Bijapur's inherent land. The Sultan wanted to take the opportunity to regain the lost land.

Sivaji had no choice but to divide his troops to return to aid. Some troops were stationed in the newly occupied territory, and the real elite went back to fight Bijapur.

As for the Sultan of Golconda, he received the gift from the Chinese envoy, but did not express anything at this time. Because there was a rebellion in his country, he was busy suppressing the rebels, and he didn't have the energy to trouble the Mughals. Because the rebels were expelled, they fled south to the state of Jin, and the king of Jin was also involved, and South India was smashed into a pot of porridge.

Pull one hair and move the whole body.

As Sivaji captured a lot of territory in the north, the Rajputs took the opportunity to make trouble. They belonged to the whole cavalry team and were unable to attack the city, but they plundered all the way around the city and wanted to go south to join forces with Sivaji.

The Datong navy is also cooperating, even pulling the Portuguese navy to dispatch together to capture the coastal port of Gujarat, and set aside two port cities to provide the Rajput cavalry with rest and supplies.

The foolish king of Persia broke his promise and did not help China send troops.

Those short-sighted Persian monarchs were actually busy marrying the Mughals, completely ignorant of taking the opportunity to expand.

It was the Sikhs, who were the weakest, who set off a Sikh uprising in the northwest of Mughal, and even held high the banner of "taking Delhi" along the way, attracting a large number of Hindus to join them (in another time and space, the Hindus even broke out in an uprising in Delhi ).

Further north, China's Dawan Governor led cavalry, led the Bukhara vassal army, and a small number of Kazakh cavalry, and went straight to Afghanistan.

The ministries of Afghanistan, which were suppressed after independence, saw China leading troops to kill them, and they all cooperated in response. The Mughal garrison in Afghanistan was forced to retreat to a few big cities, and the rest of the territory was controlled by the Chinese army and Afghan tribes.

Immediately afterwards, the Afghan assassin gave his life to stab the governor Amir Khan to serious injury.

The Protectorate of Dawan dispatched a small number of elites to cross the Khyber Pass and head towards the core territory of the Mughal Empire, attacking the city together with the Sikhs. The conquered cities were all handed over to the Sikhs to rule, and the Datong Army only needed food and some gold and silver.

On the other side of Dhaka, Zheng Sen defended the city for half a year.

Except for the coastal ports and Dhaka, all other sites in Bangladesh were captured by Aurangzeb. But Aurangzeb, who holds a heavy army, can't take Dhaka alive, let alone attack coastal ports.

The war is at a stalemate, and it can only continue to delay time.

Zheng Sen's grain storage can last at least one year. But Aurangzeb's army is almost finished with food and grass, and there are only two or three months of rations left.

Aurangzeb asked his ministers to continue collecting food, and due to the urgent urging, Hindu landlord uprisings broke out in several areas along the Ganges.

In desperation, Aurangzeb took the initiative to seek peace talks.

The previous peace talks all collapsed because Zheng Sen opened his mouth and wanted Aurangzeb to cede land and pay compensation.

In the end, Zheng Sen figured out Aurangzeb's bottom line: this Mughal emperor can talk about anything, just don't want him to cede land.

The results of the negotiations are as follows:

First, the Mughals recognized China's rule over Bangladesh, and the territories of both sides remained in the pre-war situation.

Second, the Mughals provoked the war without authorization and compensated China for all losses.

Third, if the Mughals are unable to pay compensation, they will hand over some commercial ports in the middle and lower reaches of the Ganges to Chinese officials for management. That is to say, Chinese officials obtained part of the Mughal tariff rights and deducted war reparations from the tariffs.

Fourth, Chinese merchants obtained commercial privileges in the Mughal Empire.

Fifth, Chinese troops must withdraw from Mughals (including Afghanistan) and promise not to support Afghan tribal and Sikh insurgencies anymore.

Sixth, China must not interfere in the war between the Mughals and the rebel Sivaji, and must not provide port sanctuary to the Rajput rebels. However, Chinese merchants can trade with the Rajputs, and the Mughal officials along the way are not allowed to stop and impose additional taxes.

Apart from engaging in diplomatic ties, Zheng Sen hardly fought any serious battles. He just defended the governor's city for more than half a year, forcing Aurangzeb to sign an unequal treaty.

After the treaty was signed, Zheng Sen did two more things.

The first thing is to clean up the interior and give preferential treatment and rewards to the most loyal group of Tubang princes. Every prince can choose a son, send him to study abroad in Nanjing, and help these princes apply for the title of "baron" (a special colonial title).

At the same time, it is not necessary to kill all the princes of the Tubang who surrendered the earliest. Anyway, they must hand over some local power in their hands.

The second thing is to impose all-round economic sanctions on the country of Bigapur, which helped the Mughals to fight the war, and increase the tax rate on commodities traded with the country.

At the end of this battle, the Mughal emperor lost his prestige, and for the next few years, he was busy quelling domestic rebellions.