In 1635, Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan built the stately Red Fort and Jama Mosque on the southwest bank of the Yamuna River. Named Chandni Chok after his beloved daughter, the heart became a commercial hub, while the entire city was called Shah Jahan Abad, the seventh Delhi in history.

Under the leadership of Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb, Delhi became one of the richest and most magnificent capitals in the world. In the world of the Celestial Sect, she can be compared to Istanbul in the Ottoman Empire and Isfahan in the Safavid Dynasty; At the same time, it is not inferior to Western cities such as London and Paris.

For any foreigner who comes to the city, they will notice that Delhi is actually a multi-core city with multiple commercial centers while its architecture is uneven. This may be due to the fact that Delhi has changed too often throughout history. Situated right in the corridor between the Himalayas in the east and the Thar Desert in the west, it has always been a battleground for war, and because of this, Delhi has been destroyed and rebuilt countless times.

Destroyed again and again and rebuilt, directly led to the city has a number of commercial centers, but now, the real center is Shah Jahan Abad, and the Ming legation in the Mughal is located here, here is the first Ming embassy abroad, different from the vassal state, the establishment of the legation, at least to some extent, shows that the two are equal, although in the eyes of the Ming, this is still just a barbarian land.

Even if he thought he was "the most powerful monarch in heaven", Aurangzeb still attached great importance to the establishment of a legation by the Ming Dynasty, and he not only agreed to the request to send envoys to each other with the Ming Dynasty, but also agreed to protect the minister in accordance with the diplomatic principles of the Ming Dynasty and determine the few privileges that the minister had, and gave the Ming a mansion in the Red Fort facing the palace.

Every morning, as long as Yan Wusi walked out to the balcony, he could look at the Red Keep from the garden of the Legation, and although it looked magnificent, it did not have the noble and unobtrusive grandeur of the Forbidden City or the Imperial Palace of the Central Capital.

Instead, it's more like a prison.

"Chu Bai, do you think this Red Fort is more like a prison?"

When Yan Wusi looked at the Red Keep, there was a slight mockery in his expression.

It couldn't be more beautiful than the Celestial Empire.

This outer land is far inferior to the Celestial Empire, but as a diplomat, he must accept the appointment of the imperial court.

Unlike in the past, now the Ming is using its own way to create a new diplomacy, if other countries agree to sign a diplomatic treaty with the Ming, the Ming will send diplomats.

What is the purpose of sending diplomats?

The first is to safeguard the interests of the country, especially the interests of the overseas Chinese. As for the second, it's very simple, just to find out the intelligence of the country where he is stationed, just like Wang Chubai, he is the military official of the military department, but on the surface, he is the counselor of the Ming legation in Delhi.

"Actually, for the emperor, the palace is not a kind of prison."

Wang Chubai took a sip of tea, then put down the teacup and looked out through the screen window. Even on the balcony, there are screens, which is the easiest and most effective way to do this, after all, there are too many mosquitoes in Delhi, and in order to prevent the embassy staff from contracting diseases, installing screens is the easiest and most effective way.

"That's ...... too"

Nodding slightly, Yan Wusi glanced at the Red Fort again, and then said.

"Xie Sixin is going to enter the palace today, how to get in touch is really a problem."

Xie Sixin is Wu Sangui's prime minister, and the purpose of Wu Sangui sending Xie Sixin to Delhi this time is not so simple.

"Tribute!"

With a sneer, Yan Wusi's brows tightened.

"Wu Sangui sent people to pay tribute, this is really a joke, perhaps, for Aurangzeb, the "pseudo-Zhou" tribute shows their submission, but as far as Li understands, the so-called tribute is just to temporarily befriend Aurangzeb, once it digests Assam, when the time comes, it will naturally be Aurangzeb's turn. ”

In the history of China, there are too many examples, when the weak surrender to the strong, and when the strong then attack the strong, even if it is a few decades ago, isn't it the same for the Manchu Qing Dynasty?

"If that's the case, when the time comes, I'm afraid that Wu Sangui will really be a big deal!"

Holding the teacup, Wang Chubai didn't speak, he just quietly looked into the distance, looked at the red fort, and then said slowly.

"Now, we don't have the strength to meddle in India, but Aurangzeb's expansion is not in the interests of the Ming Dynasty, and a unified India is not in our interests, which is why the imperial court can tolerate Wu Sangui."

Perhaps, for the Chinese people, the "Zhou State" established by Wu Sangui five years ago is a secret, but for the Ming court, it is not a secret, but the court has always pretended not to see it, and the reason is because Wu Sangui is needed to stir up the situation in India.

"Bizapur, Deccan, Vijayanaghar, Hyderabad, Golconda plus Marathi, well, there is also a pseudo-Zhou of Wu Sangui, this India is also a group of heroes competing for hegemony, but their strength is far inferior to the Mughals, and Aurangzeb himself is also inclined to expand southward, eventually, he will occupy these sultanates in the next few decades, of course, if we don't interfere, but we don't have the extra strength here at the moment, so the imperial court tends to borrow Wu Sangui's hand and let them kill each other."

"However, if Wu Sangui defeats Aurangzeb, what if he captures Delhi? When the time comes, won't we have to face an even more formidable enemy? ”

Staring at Wang Chubai, Yan asked rhetorically.

"Of course, when Babur occupied Delhi, he led only more than 10,000 soldiers, while Wu Sangui had nearly 70,000 Han troops under his command, and I heard that he had recruited tens of thousands of native soldiers as servants according to the Manchu Qing practice."

For thousands of years, the Han people have a subconscious defense against their own people, after all, in their opinion, there is no threat at all, and only the Han people themselves can threaten the Han people. It is precisely because of this that Yan Wusi will be doubly vigilant against Wu Sangui's possible expansion.

"Time!"

Wang Chubai smiled slightly, pointed to the Red Fort in the distance and said.

"At least in the next ten years, Aurangzeb will still be a giant that Wu Sangui cannot challenge, and Aurangzeb will still be obsessed with the conquest of the south, Wu Sangui will continue to grow himself, and when Wu Sangui can challenge him, we will already be able to have the strength to invest in India, and Aurangzeb's expansion in the south will also be conducive to our expansion in the south, those southern sultans, in order to defeat Aurangzeb, accept our conditions, we will penetrate into India little by little, When Wu Sangui has the strength to challenge Aurangzeb, who knows? Perhaps, at that time, our strength here will be stronger, and besides, even if Wu Sangui occupies this place, in the short term, it will not be able to pose a threat to us, because ......"

"Religion."

Yan Wusi knew what Wang Chubai meant,

"The reason why the Mughal was able to occupy India was not only by more than 10,000 troops, but also by the power of religion, he ruled through the Celestial Sect, and used the Celestial Sect to rule the native Christians of India, but Wu Sangui was completely different, for the Celestial Cultists, they were infidels, and for the native Hindu Christians, they were also infidels, so they would eventually oppose his rule."

After pondering for a while, Yan Wusi seemed to understand why the imperial court was not worried about Wu Sangui sitting in India at all. Only when you are in a foreign land can you know the influence of religion on the natives in these places, and only when you are in this place can you know the meaning of mission.

"I heard that in the Gui and Qin countries of Nanyang, where it is like Aurangzeb's "eradication of paganism and strengthening of Tianfang religion", where they levy a poll tax on infidels, demolish pagan temples, and build temples or churches. ”

Although he knew the role and significance of mission, Yan was still a little worried about the situation in Nanyang, especially the Gui and Qin states, after all, there were many people there who could not tolerate heretics.

"This is not a problem there, the reason why they use a high-pressure policy, although it is also because the local natives have an absolute majority of the population, but unlike Aurangzeb, who regarded himself as a slave of the Lord, his purpose is only to expand religion, whether it is the promotion of Catholicism in Gui or the promotion of Confucianism in Qin, the purpose is to indoctrinate and transform into Xia, as for religion, it is just a tool to integrate and educate the natives......

Then, Wang Chubai said with a smile.

"Just like the king of Gui, if he is really a Catholic, it stands to reason that the bishop should be crowned by the so-called God, but he was canonized by His Majesty's decree, and the bishop of Gui is also appointed by the king, and the so-called "Catholicism" is just a noun. ”

The corners of his lips raised slightly, and Wang Chubai naturally thought of the joke he overheard from His Majesty and the ministers when he was in the palace - "The Han people will play all religions badly, because the Han people will never be devout believers." The so-called god is nothing more than wiping a tablecloth and using it when needed. ”

"That's ...... too"

Yan Wusi nodded slightly, then glanced out again, and suddenly said with some vigilance.

"But, what if Wu Sangui is baptized and believes in Tianfang, or believes in Hinduism?"

Yan Wusi's rhetorical question made Wang Chubai stunned, and there was a trace of doubt in his eyes, indeed, this possibility also exists, what if he believes in religion?

"This ...... This ......"

After pondering for a moment, Wang Chubai said with some uncertainty.

"They shouldn't be so shameless......