The Sun and the Lion

Speaking of Punjab's request for help from Diwan in overhauling water conservancy facilities, we cannot fail to mention the current situation of the Indus River Basin, which has been under Safavid rule for more than two years.

There is no doubt that the Indus River Plain is the most densely populated area under the rule of Shahr in Iran. Eight to nine million people live here. There are many settlements of various sizes in the plains along the river. If a traveler travels from Lahore to Mur If you look at the road between Tanzanian and Tanzanian, you will be surprised to find that there is a whole stretch of farmland divided by water canals between the two places. Countless Indian farmers work hard on it, and the crops grown in it are so dense that they cannot be counted.

At the same time, according to the survey statistics of tax collectors, the number of properties registered in the tax rolls in Punjab is the largest among all administrative districts at the same level. Everyone in Diwan tacitly defines India as the cow of Iran. From this province and Sindh province A large amount of wealth, which exceeds that of other provinces, was withdrawn through various nominal expenditures to meet the new expenditure.

Prior to this, the Indus River Basin was divided and held by different regimes. The treasury reserves of these small regimes were unmatched by the Guligani warlords in the northwest. Nowadays, the entire plain is owned by Iran and is only divided into two provinces for management. In an environment of general peace and unified government orders, the local production environment has been greatly improved.

Even so, the Indus Plain still has a lot of potential to be developed, and there are still lands that cannot get a stable source of irrigation water due to the lack of water conservancy construction. Water conservancy officials have unanimously assured: "Wherever the canals are built, the villages can be extended." where."

The developed agriculture created by excellent natural conditions and advanced farming technology is the main reason for the prosperity of the Indus Plain. The local planting industry produces wheat, rice, barley, sorghum, sugar cane, beans, cotton, etc., covering grains and non-staple foods. , feed, textile raw materials, sugar crops and oil crops and other various types of crops.

The main livestock raised on the Indus plains were buffaloes. Raising a large number of cattle not only met the needs of farmers for arable land, but also provided the bazaar with a sufficient supply of leather and butter. Camel breeding in the Sindh area has also reached a large scale. In addition, the palace has also set up horse farms on the edge of the Indus Plain to try to breed local horses imported from Iran and Arabia. The same horse farms are also distributed in neighboring Afghanistan for the palace. Horses provided.

Thanks to the developed agriculture, commercial activities are very active in the Indus Plain. The countryside is full of merchants who purchase agricultural products. Grain undoubtedly occupies a major position. Everyone is keen to purchase various grains and other agricultural products to meet the needs of the city walls. In order to meet the strong demand of the African agricultural population, it also sells daily necessities and tools needed by farmers or lends money.

Apart from food, the most widely grown cash crops in the Indus Plain are cotton and sugar cane. Punjab and Sindh are the only areas that produce cotton on a large scale under Safavid rule today - in terms of planting scale, the cotton output in Merv, Tehran and Fars is only sporadic compared to the cotton fields in the Indus River. Planting.

Whether it is Lahore, Multan or Thatta, there are thousands of weavers and looms in these big cities. Even small and medium-sized cities with no reputation have thousands of weavers. The cotton textile industry can definitely be called It is the main business of each city, and their guilds are also the most valued by officials.

The processing of cotton is mainly done in the countryside. The raw materials processed by the cotton gin will first be spun into yarn by local spinners. Merchants then transport the yarn to textile workshops in the city, where guild workers will weave it into cloth. .

Manufacturing textiles not only requires a sufficient amount of cloth, but the Indus River plain also produces tons of indigo dye. Cheap semi-finished cotton cloth, cotton textiles and dyes are sold from the mouth of the Indus River to all over the world, and even entered Europe through the hands of the Venetians. Let Iranian merchants exchange for gold, silver and other specialties.

The continuously growing profits have allowed the cotton textile industry in the Indus Valley to continue to expand. The textile guild in Lahore alone added hundreds of members last year, and countless people joined the cotton business in other cities and villages. . Coupled with the popularity of spinning wheels and improved cotton gins combining worm drives and cranks in India, the price of local cotton rose due to insufficient supply, allowing merchant ships to flow foreign cotton from places such as Gujarat into the Indus River Basin to meet the growing demand. need.

In particular, the victory in the Battle of Goa informed the Muslim merchants along the coast that the sea routes were no longer in danger of being cut off by Frankish pirates, and that the trade routes would be safe and smooth from now on. With the increase in the number of merchant ships, the resumption of active maritime commerce undoubtedly increased the exports of the Indus River Basin. More goods flowed to the west along the trade routes, allowing rising trade revenue to flow into the royal treasury.

Lahore's abundant treasury first provided convenience for military operations. After receiving the authorization, Gulbuddin and Mirwais relied on the money and food to piece together a strong enough expeditionary force. The swords and guns of the Afghan warriors successfully defeated The mountains of Kashmir were placed under the jurisdiction of high-ranking officials in Punjab, and forts were built and garrisons were left at strategic locations.

Naturally, the products of the plateau valleys cannot be compared with those of the alluvial plains below the mountains. Among them, the only things that Diwan can see are the saffron planted in patches, and the minerals buried deep under the Himalayas. Find Shuyuan www.zhaａｏshuyuan.com

The minerals in the Indus River Basin are distributed on the edge of the mountains, including salt, iron, crystal, silver, copper, lead and other metal and non-metallic minerals. The ore production in the adjacent Afghan mountains is even more abundant, and camels transport these metal minerals. To the metallurgical workshops in various cities, Indian craftsmen made exquisite swords and other metal products. As conflicts continued in the Ganges River Basin and the Deccan Plateau, caravans have been transporting military supplies to the outside world.

According to the news heard by the caravan, after a hard battle, the Rajputs forced Lucknow to surrender after several months of siege. Sikandar Khan was honored to become the last sultan of the Lodi dynasty, and his whole family died at the end of the castle. During the First World War.

At the same time, the presence of Safavids and Portugal in India accelerated the spread of military technology. More and more Indian regimes purchased the latest firearms to arm their armies. A ten-gate system appeared in the siege camp outside Lucknow. Different artillery.

The demise of the Lodi dynasty did not mean the end of the war. After the Sultan of Bengal heard about the decline of the Lodi dynasty, he tried to provoke border conflicts as a test. After several successful invasions of border castles and villages, and the news of the siege of Lucknow, the court in Gower City finally made up its mind to assemble a large army and head westward in the name of helping the Sultan of Jaunpur, who was under the protection of Bengal, to restore his country. March.

The Tomar dynasty of Gwalior was in a dilemma at this time. Man Singh did not want his victory to be stolen by the Sultan of Bengal, but the hostility from other Rajput clans continued to consume his energy, making him He couldn't distract himself from other matters.

In this way, the Indus River plain under Safavid rule is still safe. It is against this background that senior Punjab officials believe that resources can be invested in local economic construction rather than strengthening the military power of the Eastern Gulam .