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Chapter 739 [Sky Theory]

Pan Wei, who stayed in Gujarat, learned more about the Mughals from the crown prince every day.

In his work notes he wrote:

"The Mughal state of India has completed the establishment and decentralization of power, but this system is full of loopholes."

"The local provinces set up provincial governors, just like the governors of the previous Ming Dynasty. Under the provincial governors, there are Subadar and Diwan. Subadar can be regarded as the chief envoy. Diwan is in charge of the finance of a province."

"The princes of the Mughal kingdom are all appointed as governors. One person manages one province, or one person manages several provinces. There are also clans or nobles who are named provincial governors by the Mughal monarch. These nobles must live in Delhi or Ala. Ge, whose family is like a hostage in the hands of the king."

"However, the Mughal emperor is old and faint. The provincial governors of each province have more power. They can mint their own coins and appoint officials at will. The promotion and replacement of the provincial governors will continue to extend. If things go on like this, within a hundred years, the provincial governors may be State herdsmen, in the situation of separatism at the end of the Han Dynasty..."

If the provincial governor becomes independent, it will become a state, and it will appear one after another in about 50 years.

Of course, there are other forms of statehood.

One is the Rajputs, that is, foreign peoples who have arrived in India one after another for thousands of years.They have their own territory, have their own army, and remain relatively independent in the Mughal Empire.

One is the combination of capital landlords and military groups.With the commercial development of the Mughals, the landlords continued to erode power, and even obtained the right to collect commercial taxes, and gradually became merchants and bankers.Long-term wars and chaos have led to the decline of the traditional military system, and local powerful factions have begun to train Western-style mercenaries.This model is very expensive, and you have to borrow money from merchants. Gradually, military groups and merchant landlords form a community.

When the British colonized India, India was full of land states, which were formed due to the above three reasons.

At this time, the Mughals were still at the peak of the emperor's centralization of power, but there were already signs of the collapse of the rule.

The fundamental reason is that Shah Jahan's militarism has emptied the entire empire's finances, and there is an urgent need to stop and recuperate.In order to ease the financial pressure of the central government, the provincial governor has been continuously given more power, and the provincial governor has been allowed to make money and raise soldiers in the local area.

The next emperor, the first thing to do is to take power and disarm.

However, the actual situation is that the emperor is not dead, but seriously ill, and the four princes started fighting.The number of troops is increasing, the power of the provincial governor is increasing, and the new emperor who raises Gu is facing the uprising army one after another.Not only can we not disarm, but we must continue to expand the army. After the expansion, we cannot cut the army. We can only use foreign troops to transfer internal conflicts.

Thus, the unfilial son born to Taj expanded the territory of the Mughal Empire to its peak.As soon as this person died, the local government lost control, and the governors of the provinces were divided into states, and the central government could no longer control the military and political power of the provinces.

The British East India Company, taking the opportunity to collude with the native states, crazily grabbed huge profits.

Today's Mughals, magistrates are still very obedient.

Emperor Shah Jahan warmly received the Chinese mission, and the nobles in the capital responded immediately, rushing to visit the members of the mission and hosting banquets every now and then.On the way back to the mission, the local officials also received them attentively, for fear of neglecting the emperor's distinguished guests.

In such a situation, there is no danger, and no one dares to move when the emperor covers the mission.

Returning to the ship without any surprises, Pan Wei submitted his work report, and the others also summarized and handed in what they saw along the way.

Next stop, Persia.

Like the Mughal Empire, Safi Persia is also in its heyday, and the centralized monarchy system has reached its peak.

Abbas II, King of Persia, combines political, military, judicial and religious powers in one body.Even most of the land in the country was declared to be owned by the royal family, and part of the land was allocated to officials in the form of lutian.Peasants, on the other hand, have no right to own land.

Abbas II made great efforts to govern, not only continued to recover lost land, but also built water conservancy, improved farming, reduced taxes, encouraged industry and commerce, built post roads, and encouraged literature and art... On the whole, the national power has far surpassed the Mughals. Kandahar was taken back from his son.

Although this is a country of green religion, the social atmosphere is actually very open, and even naked women often appear in paintings.

Pan Wei gave Persia a very high evaluation, and wrote in his work notes: "The ancient country of Persia is not a vain name. This country has a prosperous culture, rich people, merchants gather, and all kinds of industries are prosperous. The people are clean and self-loving, and the streets and markets are free from filth. Compared with the Mughal Kingdom, there is a world of difference..."

In a word, Safi Persia belongs to a civilized country, which can throw the Mughals out of eight streets.

Even the Ottoman Empire was beaten by Persia at this time.From the Ottomans, Persia successively recovered Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kurdistan, Sumer, Baghdad and other places.The Portuguese colonists were completely driven out of the Strait of Hormuz.

Zheng Dayong, the leader of the personal guards, also wrote in his notes: "Persian soldiers, the military appearance is pruned, and the city garrison is the same. Moreover, it has a vast territory and an inexhaustible supply of troops. Unless there is civil strife, it cannot be attacked by force."

Cai Yuncheng from Qintianyuan wrote a completely different evaluation:

"All the land in Persia belongs to the royal family. Officials in this country have no salary, and the king rewards them with lutian. Isn't this pre-Qin? In the whole world, is it the land of the king, and the emperor of Zhou divided the feudal princes. How can officials be willing to return the lutian they get? The king? In this way, the officials will be hereditary, and eventually they will control the place and form princes, big and small. The more princes there are, the more alienated they will be from the king.”

"The small people in this country have no right to own land. Those who have no permanent property have no perseverance, and the people's hearts must not be with the king. In the countryside, there are many hungry people, and there are many people who sell their sons and daughters. Naturally, the people are struggling to survive. In less than 50 years , Persia will be in chaos, and the day of disintegration is near."

"My husband, the holy son of heaven in our country, how wise and wise! Your Majesty came from a commoner, deeply understands the hearts of ordinary people, and realizes that the heart of heaven is the ultimate truth of the hearts of the people. Then he wrote "Three Principles", expounding the way of the monarch and his subjects, so that a great harmony can be achieved. Eternal stability. Persian monarchs and ministers don’t know this way, and they treat peasants like nothing. How can there be no reason not to subjugate the country?”

Pan Wei's focus is on Persian cities and the citizen class.

Cai Yuncheng's focus is on the peasants in the Persian countryside.

Historically, the decline of Safi Persia was due to the peasant uprising, and the Ottoman Empire took the opportunity to invade.

At night, the two drank and chatted.

Cai Yuncheng said with a smile: "Today's Persia is just like the middle Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty. The cities are so prosperous, the commerce is so prosperous, the culture is so prosperous, and the peasants...how miserable! You come from a wealthy family, so naturally you only see the glamor of Persian cities. But I come from a farming family in the countryside, and I know that farmers have no way to survive, so they really have to rise up."

"Brother Cai is exaggerating." Pan Wei didn't take it seriously. "I think that although Persia is not taught by sages, it is already very rare. I asked the merchants in the city, and they all said that the king of this country is a kind and wise monarch." .Even the common people in the city praised the Persian emperor. You and I went to sea this time, and experienced countries big and small along the way. Is there anyone comparable to Persia?"

Cai Yuncheng said disdainfully: "I see, your elementary and middle school studies are in vain, and you don't seriously understand the "Three Principles". Peasants are the cornerstone of a country, and Persian peasants don't even have the right to own land. The Persian emperor or Benevolent, what about the next one? What about the next one? Meeting the benevolent emperor, the Persian peasants have become so impoverished. You see, in the harbor city, there is a street dedicated to people, all because of the peasants selling their sons and daughters. Replaced by a tyrant, the peasants will not be able to survive, so they can only seek death. Fight to the death, raise up the rebellion, kill the emperor and recreate the universe!"

Pan Wei couldn't argue, so he could only say: "Scaremongering, scaremongering!"

Cai Yuncheng sneered and said, "I'm alarmist? Persia, which is full of flowers, is actually not as good as Ming Dynasty. No matter how corrupt Ming Dynasty is, at least the children of peasants study hard and have the opportunity to become officials through imperial examinations. But what about Persia? Officials are all hereditary, farmers There is no future!"

Pan Wei obviously drank a few more glasses, and blurted out drunken words: "As a farmer, I just need to farm with peace of mind, what else do I need to get ahead?"

"Fuck you, try saying it again!" Cai Yuncheng was furious.

Pan Wei knew that he had made a slip of the tongue, and apologized with an embarrassing smile: "It was my fault, and I punished myself with three cups. Haha, I punished myself with three cups."

Cai Yuncheng left in a flick of his sleeves, already hating Pan Wei to the extreme.

Drunk words are the words from the heart!Back in his room, Cai Yuncheng wrote vigorously: "Your Majesty's commoner clothes originated in Jiangxi, gathering the hearts of the people to cleanse the filth, and re-opening the bright and bright world. The government of dividing the land is hated by the gentry and wealthy households. The fields are connected with rice paddies, and the servants are in groups. , this person's desire. Nowadays, there are many princes in the imperial court who come from poor and humble backgrounds, but how many people can "preserve the principles of nature and destroy human desires"? One day, they may turn into wolves and feast on the fat and anointing of the people of the world. Scholars in my life, you should remember Your Majesty's teachings are for the benefit of all people in the world. Even if thousands of people criticize you, you should stick to your heart!"

Although a little drunk, Cai Yuncheng's thoughts became clearer and clearer. He continued to write:

"Sages and sages have a saying, to preserve the principles of nature, but to destroy human desires. Eat the king's salary, divide the king's worries, eat the people's salary, and work hard for the people, this is the law of heaven. It is the law of heaven for scholars, farmers, businessmen, and each to perform their duties. Once you gain power, you will be an official. To be an official, greedy and demanding, is human desire. To be rich for the people, to annex land, to keep slaves, is human desire!"

"Those who preserve the principles of heaven and destroy human desires are following the theory of the three originals. The public opinion of the three originals is that the land government is the leader. Those who destroy the land government are those who harm the country and the people, and they will be punished when everyone gets it! Yehaoyou, there are quite a few wolves with ambitions, and at that time, we were always on guard against them bringing disaster to the world."

"When I was studying at Jinling University, I checked the records of the former Ming Dynasty. The reform of a whip method originated from the abolition of the official land of the Ming Dynasty. The abolition of the official land of the Ming Dynasty was due to the invasion of official land by Gongqing Haoyou. This kind of encroachment, occupying his land Don’t pay for it. The Land Administration of Datong New Dynasty does not allow land trading, which is no different from the official land of the Ming Dynasty. Beware of public officials who embezzle people’s land and do not buy it, and they are not guilty of destroying land administration!”

What is embezzling people's fields without buying them?

That is, the people are bankrupt and can only sell their fields to survive.But the big family did not dare to destroy the land administration, so they did not trade the land ownership, leased the land to the big family permanently, and became the tenant farmers of the big family in disguise—this is how the official land of the Ming Dynasty was invaded.

Cai Yuncheng has already decided that when he returns to Nanjing, he will go to the Shu and ask His Majesty to make up for the loopholes in Tianzheng.

At least, from a legal perspective.

In the future, even if the Tian government is corrupted, there will be full legal grounds to take action against Hao You when he encounters daring officials.

During the following travel, Cai Yuncheng continued to enrich his theory.He intends to create an academic school, which may be called the "School of Heavenly Principles". To implement Zhao Han's system is to preserve the principles of heaven, and to destroy Zhao Han's system is to violate the principles of heaven, and he is a hypocrite who is dominated by human desires!

Chapter 740 [Bloodline Collection Obsession]

"The city is both large and beautiful. The gates of the palace all face the main square. The gates are high, and above the gates are magnificent rooms decorated with patterns.'

This is the description of the Persian capital Isfahan by a Russian businessman who traveled in Persia 20 years ago.

Abbas II, the Persian emperor, personally took the prime minister out of the palace and greeted the Chinese envoys on the square, paying far more attention than the Mughals.

Abbas II is only 20 years old, but has been on the throne for more than ten years.

The young emperor was prone to produce powerful ministers, but he was very lucky to meet two virtuous ministers in succession.

Due to Abbas I's perennial wars, the treasury was empty.The prime minister Sanutaki, who assisted the little emperor, rectified the internal affairs in an all-round way, and cracked down on corruption. He was assassinated by nobles after five years of assisting the government.

The prime minister who was also a master and father was murdered. The little emperor, who was only 14 years old at the time, hated the domestic dignitaries to the bone.

The second prime minister was Caliph Sultan, who was a religious leader as soon as he heard his name. He was a good friend of the previous prime minister.Relying on its religious status and influence, he continued to assist the emperor in rectifying the internal affairs, relied on fighting corruption, continued to gather local power, and continuously strengthened the emperor's centralization.

Under the training and teaching of the two prime ministers, Abbas II became wise and kind, and at the same time a knowledgeable monarch.

In addition, his generous character is also related to family experiences.

His grandfather, Abbas I, although talented, was extremely suspicious.In order to prevent the prince from usurping the throne, he killed the eldest son and the second son, and blinded the youngest son.After his father succeeded to the throne, he did the same thing as his grandfather. He almost killed all the members of the Safavid royal family, and also killed the ministers of civil and military affairs who had made great achievements. Then he began to drink and smoke opium for a long time.

Born in such a family, King Abbas II has been trembling since he was a child, delicate and sensitive.

"teacher,

What do Chinese people look like? "Abbas II asked.

The Caliph said: "I have never seen it, maybe it is similar to the Mongols. But according to the news brought by the merchants, the current Chinese emperor is a young and promising founding monarch. In recent years, our products have become more and more popular. More and more were sold to China. And more and more Chinese goods came to Persia. Especially their cotton cloth, even across the ocean, is still as cheap and high-quality.

Abbas II asked again: "Which country is bigger, Persia or China?"

The Caliph said: "This... I don't know either. Our merchants sent back news from Banten that the Chinese navy had defeated the Netherlands. This is a very good thing. In the future, merchants will be safer when they go to sea, and they can even directly contact China. Contact. In my opinion, a fleet should be organized and envoys should be sent to visit China.

"Your Majesty, the Chinese envoy is here!" An eunuch trotted over to report.

Persia has always had a tradition of using lots for eunuchs, and its lottery system is even older than China.The use of people in Greece was learned from Persia.

Abbas II raised his eyes and immediately saw the envoys approaching from a distance.

Most of the [-] accompanying soldiers were left outside the city, and only [-] soldiers were allowed to enter the city.

Lu Tianxiang rode a war horse bought from India, and led the envoys to move forward slowly.She was wearing exquisite armor, and the two hundred soldiers behind her were all wearing plate armor, stepping on the ground with clangs.

Abbas II smiled and said: "A very majestic army."

After approaching, Abbas showed surprise. The leader of the Chinese mission was actually a woman.

But it's just a little surprised. This period of Persia is the most open era.The Persian queen who was following Abbas stood there openly, without a veil on her head at all.

Lu Tianxiang dismounted from his horse, brought Zhang Ruifeng and other civil officials forward, cupped his hands and said, "Lu Tianxiang, the Chinese imperial concubine of Datong, and the Chinese envoys have met His Majesty the Emperor of Persia!"

Hearing the translation, Abbas II was shocked and said: "It turned out to be the Chinese imperial concubine. It's a great honor to meet you. This is my wife Marlene. I think you can become good friends. This is my son Mirza, He wants to meet distinguished guests from afar."

The Persian emperor who was only 20 years old, his eldest son is already 6 years old...

This prince named Safimirza is the next Persian emperor - Suleiman I, and the Safi Persian Empire declined in the hands of this person.

The Mughal royal family loved Persian culture very much. Although the two countries often fought wars, the royal families had intermarried for a long time.

The Mughal emperor Shah Jahan had four sons, two of whom married Persian princesses.He even wanted to marry his granddaughter to his grandson in order to ease the conflict between the two princes - if the grandson and granddaughter were not too young, the marriage would probably have been completed.

And the granddaughter named Zebnisa is proficient in Persian poetry, and she is extremely beautiful, and her name even spread to Persia.The Persian emperor Abbas II sent envoys to propose marriage to his son. Zebnisa asked to meet the man first, but refused to marry a man he did not know.This Mughal princess, because of her high vision, never married until her death.

Empress Marlene brought her son forward and greeted the Chinese envoy in a graceful manner.

The two sides introduced the main members to each other, Zhang Ruifeng took a step forward, cupped his hands and said: "Respect

Your Majesty the Emperor of Persia, Your Majesty has specially prepared a gift for you. "

The gift is very simple, a telescope, a clock, some bolts of silk, and some pieces of porcelain.

In addition, there is also a letter written by Zhao Han, which was also translated into Persian.

Abbas II liked the table clock very much, which is far smaller than the European table clock and has a more accurate minute hand.

After reading Zhao Han's autographed letter, he learned that in the previous Persian dynasty, members of the royal family fled to China after the country was destroyed.

Abbas II was very happy, and immediately invited the envoys to enter the Palace of Forty Columns.

The Palace of Forty Pillars in the Persian Royal Palace actually has only twenty stone pillars, but when reflected in the water, it becomes forty.This palace is very beautiful, it was just completed a few years ago.

The imperial guards of the Persian emperor were all tall and mighty, and the source of soldiers mainly came from the Caucasus region.In addition to cold weapons, they are also equipped with a large number of matchlock guns, which they learned from fighting Ottoman for a long time.

After entering the palace, the envoys were arranged to stay and rest for a while before going to the banquet in the evening.

Of course, armor could no longer be worn at the banquet, and everyone, including Lu Tianxiang, changed into silk clothing that could represent China.

Abbas II and his wife, Lu Tianxiang and Zhang Ruifeng, the four of them sat down facing the table.There are no stools, just sit directly on the carpet, and the rest of the staff sit behind them.

The singing and dancing came on stage quickly, but the angle was a bit awkward, so everyone had to turn around to enjoy the singing and dancing.

The secularization of the Safavid Persian dynasty can be seen from singing, dancing and food.

The dancers are not only not covered with veils, but also extremely revealing.And served

Drinks are all good wine, which is not allowed by the doctrine, but Persian nobles seem to be used to it.

While enjoying the wine, while enjoying the singing and dancing, while chatting.

Abbas II rarely talked about the military, focusing on poetry and art.Pan Wei, who was born in a rich family, came in handy again, and after communicating with the Indian crown prince, now he knows how to talk nonsense with foreign nobles.

Gradually, the two sides talked about the calendar, and the calendars of the two countries were surprisingly similar, and even everyone had twelve zodiac signs.

Zhang Ruifeng said: "The Chinese zodiac signs include rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog, and pig.

Abbas II said: "The twelve zodiac signs in our country are rat, ox, leopard, rabbit, whale, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog, and pig.

"Hahahahaha!"

Members of both sides laughed, because it was such a coincidence.Among the zodiac signs, except for individual animals, even the order of the zodiac signs is the same. There must have been close exchanges between the two countries in history.

This made Abbas II more interested in China, and even suggested royal intermarriage. He said: "My eldest son is six years old this year, and my eldest daughter is four years old this year. I heard that the Chinese emperor is also very young. Why not let my son, Marry his daughter as his wife, and his son marry my daughter. After the intermarriage of the royal families of the two countries, the relationship between the two countries will definitely be brought closer.

Lu Tianxiang replied: "The royal families of the two countries are intermarried, we cannot make decisions, we must return to China and ask His Majesty the Emperor for instructions.