I

"In 1660, my subordinates brought me a cup of drink called 'tea'. I took a sip out of curiosity. It was slightly bitter in my mouth, but when I swallowed it, there was an indescribable sweetness." ——English Navy Chief Executive and Member of Parliament, Samuel Pepys.

At this time, tea was not urgently needed by the British East India Company, and only a small amount of tea was transferred from Europe to the British nobles.

Charles II's return to the throne obviously brought about many changes.

First, the table etiquette of the British court was determined. The four-piece set of knife, fork, spoon and chopsticks spread to the nobility with Charles II as the center.

Members of the British House of Lords and House of Commons adopted four-piece dining sets, and then spread to the citizenry. There are even workshops making chopsticks in London, and they are regarded as a kind of civilized high-end tableware. The British aristocrats were even more self-taught and asked people to make silver and ivory chopsticks so that they could be distinguished from the chopsticks of common people.

At the same time, Charles II liked to drink tea. The price of tea in Europe was too expensive, so he ordered the British East India Company to transport some from China for every trade.

The power of the British East India Company is currently mainly concentrated in India. I also sailed to Guangzhou, but gave up in the end because it was more cost-effective to order directly in Banten. Of course, Banten Port has been in relative decline, and ships from various countries now prefer to go to Coconut City.

Or you can order in Malacca, but food prices in Malacca are more expensive and more funds are needed to replenish food.

The merchant ship buying tea for Charles II had already set off from London, but the British merchants as far away as Banten had just received news of Cromwell's death. They were more worried about the domestic situation. They didn't know that Prince Charles had returned to China, so they could only guess that the political situation in London must be chaotic.

Oliver, head of the British East India Company's Far East, wrote in a letter to London:

"The tough Chinese governor of Palembang annexed all the territory of the Banten Kingdom in Sumatra. The decline of Banten Port is visible to the naked eye, because most Chinese merchants ship goods to Coconut City and Palembang, both of which are related Tax incentives. The small country of Banten will perish sooner or later. No one can resist China’s expansion..."

"The Portuguese princess married Chittagong to China. Chittagong is also offering tariff concessions. It must be an emerging trade center. More and more Chinese merchant ships are going to Chittagong for transactions. I guess that in one or two years at most, Chinese businessmen will If we want to monopolize all ports, the tariff preferences will also be cancelled, and may even be higher than normal, which will be detrimental to the British East India Company..."

"I heard that the new governor of Semarang is the leader of the rebels who failed in the fight for the throne in China. He is a murderous guy. He shows no mercy to the natives. There may be 20,000 to 30,000 Javanese who died in his hands. Vietnam. More and more Chinese farmers are coming to Java and Sumatra to cultivate land. They are all excellent cultivators, and their numbers are as numerous as herrings in the North Sea. If this trend continues, Java and Sumatra will be completely covered in less than fifty years. Chinese……"

"Britain cannot colonize and expand in the Far East. We must focus on India. There was a civil war there and the fighting between several princes seriously weakened the strength of the Mughals. This was the opportunity for the British East India Company..."

In fact, the Mughal Civil War was almost over.

The third prince Aurangzeb and the fourth prince Murad led their troops to march towards the capital.

At this time, the old emperor Shah Jahan recovered slightly and sent prince Jaswant Singh to fight. He also told Singer not to harm the two princes and to use his prestige to force the rebels to surrender.

Such an outrageous imperial order made Jaswant Singh unable to deal with it. He could only send an envoy to negotiate when the two armies were facing each other. The third prince, Aurangzeb, took advantage of the negotiation opportunity to spend money to buy off Singh's generals.

The two princes were victorious and continued towards the capital.

When the war started here, it was different from what it had been in history.

In another time and space, the eldest prince personally led the troops to fight the second prince, but the distance was too far to return reinforcements. So the emperor's grandson was sent to lead the troops to deal with the coalition forces of the third and fourth princes. Marshal Jaswant Singh, who suffered a defeat, simply rebelled and led his troops to defect to the third prince Aurangzeb.

In this time and space, the second prince obtained Chinese arms and had the ambition to be the emperor, but he remained stationary and observed the situation.

Therefore, now the eldest prince and his grandson are fighting against the third and fourth princes in person. Marshal Jaswant Singh did not dare to rebel, and the two sides fought evenly. The war was stalemate for three months.

The third prince, Aurangzeb, suddenly issued an order that as soon as he became emperor, the poll tax for Hindus would be restored, Hindu merchants would be subject to an additional 2.5% business tax, and Hindus would not be allowed to ride horses, elephants, etc., and Hindu temples must be rebuilt. It is a green religion temple.

Holy war message!

When the news spread, the eldest prince's army quickly fell apart, and a large number of Green Sect princes led their troops to join the third prince.

The third prince, Aurangzeb, gained great prestige and fought hard all the way to the capital. The eldest prince and the emperor's grandson were executed, and the emperor Shah Jahan was placed under house arrest. Then he poisoned the four princes who were his allies.

The second prince, who had been watching the theater in Bengal, did not react at all. The third prince had already ascended the throne and proclaimed himself emperor. If he sends troops now, it will be too late!

The new emperor Aurangzeb, without waiting for the second prince to send troops, rushed towards Bengal non-stop.

The generals of the vanguard were Mirjumullah and his son Sultan. A magical scene happened. The father and son were actually incited to turn against each other by the second prince. Sultan rebelled with his army, fled to Bangladesh decisively, and became the son-in-law of the second prince.

Immediately afterwards, Nawaz Khan, the father-in-law of Emperor Aurangzeb, also launched a rebellion and announced his support for the second prince.

In desperation, Aurangzeb could only return to the army and go straight to Gujrat, killing his father-in-law first. Things went well, but the new emperor's father-in-law was killed by a cannonball.

Two accidents happened one after another, and Aurangzeb had no choice but to fight again the next year.

The war has dragged on until now, and the second prince's territory is only the Ganges Delta. The Gongyutuo, Wucha and other areas in the southwest have all been lost, and they rely on a complex water network to survive.

By this time, the new emperor Aurangzeb was also tired.

Through his jihadist manifesto, he successfully imprisoned his father and killed his brother. He must fulfill his promise after ascending to the throne. A series of policies caused Hindus to revolt everywhere, and the Rajputs even announced their separation from the Mughal Empire (this is the most important horse-producing area in India and the main source of Mughal cavalry).

The brothers immediately declared a truce and recognized each other's status.

The third prince, Aurangzeb, was the Mughal emperor. He stopped attacking Bengal and led his troops back to suppress the Hindu uprising.

The second prince, Shah Shuja, was the emperor of Bengal and ruled the Ganges Delta.

Shivaji, the rebel on the west coast, also made a truce with the Bigapur state and attacked the Mughal Empire with all his strength. This man's territory was less than one-thirtieth of Aurangzeb's, but he took advantage of the Mughal uprising and killed the Mughal army in retreat.

This series of wars caused great harm to Chinese maritime merchants.

The Mughal green princes, because of their extravagance and extravagance, borrowed large amounts of money from Hindu businessmen. Aurangzeb favored the princes, allowing them to not repay the money and raising taxes on Hindu merchants. The princes were inspired and instead of paying back the money, they began to extort money from the merchants.

One after another, Hindu businessmen went bankrupt in large numbers.

The territory of the Bengal emperor, although not affected by the decree. However, most of the goods bought by merchants here have to be shipped to the Mughals for sale. Business taxes there increased and merchants went bankrupt in large numbers, resulting in a huge backlog of goods for Bangladeshi merchants.

When Chinese maritime merchants received orders to ship cotton cloth and other commodities to Bangladesh, they faced a collective breach of contract by their business partners. The only option is to take the risk and go south, sell the goods to the Dutch and British at a discount, and then sell them to various states in southern India through the sales networks of the UK and the Netherlands.

The Mughal people, merchants, craftsmen, as well as Bengali merchants and Chinese merchants all suffered heavy losses. The only ones who really benefited were the princes and nobles of the Green Religion, and they benefited by killing the goose and seizing the eggs.

The Ganges River Basin is the highlight of Mughal handicrafts and commerce. However, due to the new emperor Aurangzeb's actions, the traditional Mughal industrial and commercial system almost collapsed!

The Mughal Empire, which was already in financial difficulties, suffered another fatal blow. Coupled with the continuous uprisings, local governors and princes took the opportunity to grow bigger and support the bandits, so Aurangzeb, who was powerful in force, could still control it.

Once Aurangzeb died, the Mughal Empire was effectively abolished. It could still exist in name, but in fact it was divided all over the country.

When Zhao Han received the news from merchants and craftsmen, he couldn't help but sigh: "The Mughals are over. Once Aurangzeb dies, it will be like a vassal state in the late Tang Dynasty."

Of course, Aurangzeb was still very strong.

This guy quickly put down uprisings in various places. Although he could not kill the rebel Sivaji, he successfully planned to surrender. Although the trap failed, he regained the territory captured by Sivaji, and then defeated the states in the Deccan Plateau. It can be said that whoever is caught is beaten, and whoever is seen is destroyed.

Squeeze out the last bit of blood and sweat of the Mughal people and create the supreme hegemony of Emperor Aurangzeb!

The losses to Chinese maritime merchants are only temporary.

As the handicraft industry in the Ganges Basin dwindles, there will be greater demand for Chinese goods. At most, within a year or two, the sales of Chinese products in the Mughals will continue to rise.

The second prince, who failed in the struggle for the throne, saw that his brothers no longer beat him, and he became the emperor of Bengal with peace of mind. This guy keeps bullying the kingdoms in the east, and attacks the mountain tribes from time to time. It seems like he is showing off his power and expanding his territory, but in fact it is all a loss-making business, and he is just venting his anger on the mountain tribes.

Bengal's finances were quickly in embarrassment, but the nobles were more content to enjoy themselves. They re-imposed poll taxes, commercial taxes and agricultural taxes were also increased, and a large number of people fell into a state of abject poverty.

The Mughal and Bengal emperor brothers, call them stupid, they are expanding their territory. Call them wise, but the people in the country are in dire straits.

It can be summed up in three words: messing around!