How can one be Emperor Chongzhen without money?

Chapter 272 The Golden Bait Led to Aurangzeb
In the twelfth lunar month of the fourth year of the Chongzhen reign, Beijing had long since frozen into an ice cave. But on the Bharadvaja Plateau, thousands of miles away, the sun in Burhanpur was still scorching, making people's scalps burn.

The Ming Dynasty delegation walked through this "very smelly" city. You Shiwei's scarlet official robe was already soaked with sweat, clinging uncomfortably to his back. He squinted, surveying the foreign streets. A strange stench assaulted his nostrils—a mixture of strong spices, animal dung, the smoke of burning sandalwood, and the pungent smell of sweat on people, all suffocating him.

The streets were a chaotic mess. Women wrapped in brightly colored saris, priests with vermilion dots on their foreheads, Islamic imams in white robes, and ascetics almost naked and covered in ash were all crammed together. Vendors shouted their wares, temple bells jingled haphazardly, and elephants occasionally bellowed loudly, making one's head ache with noise.

Sun Yuanhua adjusted his crystal glasses, observing carefully. The style of the shops and the craftsmanship of the statues were indeed quite similar to those described in Tang Sanzang's *Great Tang Records on the Western Regions*. Except for the absence of monks, there were many imams. Wang Chengen walked beside him, his face expressionless, silently weighing the wealth and chaos of this place—His Majesty truly knows everything without leaving his palace! He wondered if his "marriage alliance" plan would succeed. Only the military commander Hu Dawei, with a smirk and undisguised contempt in his eyes, saw this noise and chaos as nothing more than weakness in his bones.

After finally squeezing out of the chaotic market, a vast open space opened up before me. The ground was paved with dazzling white marble, impeccably clean, a world apart from the bustling marketplace I had just left.

Directly opposite is the Governor's Mansion. It is a grand mansion, a mix of Persian-style arches and intricate Hindu carvings, with white marble strips inlaid in the red sandstone walls. It looks strange, yet exudes an overwhelming air of wealth.

On either side of the square stood the governor's guards. The main force consisted of tall, dark-skinned warriors with thick beards, colorful turbans, chainmail, and wielding curved swords and round shields. They were Hindu Rajputs, the trusted military force of the Mughal Empire—a Mongol dynasty that believed in Islam, yet relied on a group of Hindu Indian warriors—it seemed strange! Interspersed among these Indian warriors were several white-skinned officers dressed in Persian attire and wearing pointed helmets.

They certainly look strong and well-equipped, but they don't seem to be of one mind.

You Shiwei thought to himself, "This setup and this spectacle are at least as good as a royal palace in the Ming Dynasty!"

Just then, there was movement beneath the tall archway of the Governor's Mansion. A group of people escorted a young man out.

The boy was tall and slender, with a pale complexion as if he had never seen the sun, and his lips were tightly pressed together. His eyes lacked the liveliness expected of a thirteen-year-old, instead displaying a precocious and cold demeanor, along with an air of superiority. He wore a plain white cotton robe with a dark vest over it, which stood out conspicuously against the backdrop of the opulent gold.

This is Aurangzeb. The future emperor of the Mongols, still a young boy at this moment, already puts on the airs of a monarch.

His gaze swept over the Ming delegation, and finally settled firmly on the towering Hu Dawei—his round face, narrow eyes, and small mustache looked very much like the Mongol ancestors collected in the Alaga Palace!

A Persian attendant wearing a tall sheepskin hat stepped forward and spoke a long string of words in a chanting tone. The Dutch interpreter beside him quickly translated, which consisted of nothing more than phrases like "the esteemed heir of the noble bloodline of the Mongol and Timurid Empires."

Yu Shiwei took a deep breath, clasped his hands in a fist and said in a loud voice: "Your Majesty the Emperor of the Great Ming Dynasty, the Imperial Envoy to the West, Left Vice-General Yu Shiwei, leads the delegation to pay respects to His Highness the Governor-General!"

After speaking, he didn't look at the interpreter sent by the Dutch East India Company, but simply turned his head to gesture.

Hu Dawei moved. His armor clanged as he stepped forward. First, he gave a crisp, Ming Dynasty military salute to You Shiwei and Wang Chengen. Then, turning to face Aurangzebu, he gave an extremely solemn Mongolian chest-touching salute, imbued with the ancient charm of the steppes.

He raised his head, his gaze sharp as lightning, staring directly at Aurangzeb, and spoke in a booming voice, in impeccable Chahar Mongolian:

"Your Highness, the Governor! I am Hu Dawei, formerly a Kheshig (bodyguard) under the Great Khan of the Mongols, Huduntu (Lindan Khan), and I come from the Keshigten tribe of the Chahar Wanhu! After the Great Khan's ascension to heaven, we obeyed his last wishes and escorted our lord, Altan Hongtaiji, to submit to His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Ming. Now, by the grace of the Emperor, we have been appointed as Imperial Guards Generals of the Great Ming! Today, I serve as the interpreter for the Emperor's envoys!"

As soon as these words came out.

All the "Indians," including Aurangzeb, and the interpreters of the East India Company were stunned.

I can't understand a word! What is this saying? Is it Chinese? Why isn't anyone translating it?
Wang Chengen took in all these reactions—just as the Emperor had predicted, the "Mongolian literacy" of the Indian Mongols was rather low; they didn't even understand Mongolian. However, his humble smile remained unchanged as he slowly stepped forward and, addressing the Dutch interpreter, clearly spoke in Chinese:
"Please convey this to Your Highness. General Hu is no ordinary military officer. He is not only a loyal subject of our Great Ming Dynasty, but also the guardian of the orthodox lineage of the Golden Family and the former Kheshig of the Mongol Great Khan. Having him as your interpreter is fitting for Your Highness's status as the 'successor to the Mongol Empire,' and also demonstrates our dynasty's deep respect for the orthodox lineage of the Mongols."

Hu Dawei was certainly not some "former Kheshig of the Mongol Khans." He was just a Mongol warrior of humble origin who rose through the ranks after surrendering to the Ming Dynasty.

However, Emperor Chongzhen needed him to be the "Kheshig" of Hutudun Khan, so he is now a genuine warrior of the Chahar Ten Thousand Households and the Khan's Kheshig.

As for the title "Great Khan" of Hudun Tuhan, that could be adjusted according to Chongzhen's needs. If he needed to be the Great Khan, then he was the Great Khan; if he didn't need to be the Great Khan, then he wasn't. This statement was translated into Persian by the Dutch.

Aurangzeb immediately lost his pride—the former Great Khan of the Mongols. The Mongols still have Great Khans? What about the Timurid Dynasty?
One of his Persian attendants quickly asked the Dutch interpreter, "His Highness asks... what exactly is the purpose of your Ming Dynasty delegation?"

The time was right. Wang Chengen knew it was time to bait the deal. He remained calm:

"Your Highness, our Emperor is well aware that your country is descended from Timur the Great and aspires to restore the glory of your ancestors. Our Great Ming Dynasty is willing to work with heroes like Your Highness to accomplish great things. This is one reason."

He paused slightly, his gaze sweeping over Hu Dawei, who stood beside him like a stone statue, before continuing:

"Furthermore, in our palace, there is currently Princess Sarentuya, the younger sister of the Great Khan Huduntu. She is of noble birth, the daughter of the most authentic Golden Family, and can be called the pearl of the grasslands. His Majesty is benevolent and intends to choose a hero of the world as her spouse, so as to continue the century-old alliance between the Mongols and the Golden Family. This visit is also to facilitate such a beautiful story."

The word "princess," especially "the most authentic princess of the Golden Family," instantly replaced Aurangzeb's confusion with anticipation and eagerness.

This is Bharata, the Bharata who said, "Are kings and nobles born with a special destiny?"

A princess of the purest Golden Family! The implications for him are self-evident. If he could marry this princess, the "gold content" (Gold Family lineage) of his descendants would increase dramatically—more than the descendants of all his brothers combined!

Furthermore, his paternal ancestors Timur and Babur were, respectively, the son-in-law of the Chagatai Khanate and the grandson of the Chagatai Khan. The Chagatai Khanate was incomparable to the legitimate Great Khanate of the Golden Family.

He took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the turmoil in his heart, and said in as calm a tone as possible:
"Enter the residence...to discuss in detail."

Night fell, and the hustle and bustle of Burhanpur gradually subsided. The Ming delegation was accommodated in a riverside mansion within the city, which had originally belonged to a wealthy Persian merchant and was now temporarily serving as the Ming envoy's residence.

The house was grand, with a strong exotic flair. Wang Chengen dismissed his attendants and sat alone in a clean study. A tallow lamp flickered on the table. He spread out mulberry paper, ground ink, moistened his brush, and after a moment's thought, wrote in neat regular script:

Your subject, Wang Chengen, respectfully reports:
Your Majesty's gracious judgment. Your subjects have arrived at Burhanpur in the Deccan region of the Mughal Empire and have met with its governor, Aurangzeb. This young man is not yet of age, but he is cunning, arrogant, and self-important. He knows very little about the fundamental nature of the Mongols, just as Your Majesty had foreseen.

As Your Majesty instructed, I first used the imposing presence of a tiger to suppress his arrogance, and then used the words of "legitimate lineage of the Golden Family" to dispel his falsehood. At first, he was haughty, then bewildered, and finally revealed his eagerness. When I mentioned the matter of the "princess," Aurang was moved and immediately invited us to his residence for a detailed discussion.

Judging from the situation, Your Majesty's strategy of "using marriage as a hindrance" has already proven effective. In this matter, I will proceed with extreme caution to repay Your Majesty's grace.

At this point, he paused, his pen moving even more heavily, the ink appearing more somber:

"Although this place is in a foreign land, it is a hub for merchants and has good access to sea routes. I have observed that the benefits of its saltpeter are indeed greater than those I have heard of. If we can open up maritime trade and follow the old precedent of the Three Treasures, exchanging silk, porcelain and tea for these powerful military weapons, then the might of our Great Ming's firearms will not be lacking. This is a new route on the Maritime Silk Road and also the foundation for a strong military."

To ensure the safe arrival of this memorial in the capital, I have specially dispatched a Fujianese ship to accompany the Portuguese merchant fleet on its return journey eastward. They are accustomed to sea routes, so their safety is assured. I anticipate that by the time this letter reaches the capital, Your Majesty's profound schemes will have already brought the Western seas to our disposal…”

"I humbly beseech Your Majesty to be well. Your subject is deeply grateful for Your Majesty's grace and respectfully submits this report."

After writing, he carefully blew on the ink to dry it, took out his personal silver seal, and solemnly stamped it at the end. He then summoned a trusted servant, Xiao Huo, wrapped the secret letter in oilcloth repeatedly, and whispered, "This letter concerns the fate of the nation. Give it to the fleet captain and have him sail with the Portuguese merchant fleet. The letter must be with him throughout the journey."

(End of this chapter)