The Revolt of the Three Feudatories: All-in at the start in Beijing

After the discussion about the Japanese islands concluded, the tension in the Hall of Mental Cultivation finally eased, and Li Guangdi and Zhou Peigong secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Zhao Lie also stood up from the ground, his knees stained with tiny bloodstains from broken glass, but he didn't look at his legs, he just wiped the dried bloodstains on his chin with his sleeve.

Liu Mu sat back on the heated couch and took out a series of military reports from the stack on the right side of the imperial desk. The covers were stamped with the seals of the Indian Royal Palace, Admiral Xu Chuang, and Governor-General Yin Huasheng of Iberia.

The three military reports arrived a few days ago, but he hadn't had time to read them carefully since they were lying in the corner of his desk. Today, with several important officials present, he planned to deal with them all at once.

The military report was very thick. The original was a letter of apology, the copy was a detailed record of the Brahman investiture ceremony, and an explanation of the handling of Zhang Ying after his transfer from military affairs was attached.

Liu Mu opened the letter of apology. He recognized Liu Weiqing's handwriting, which was as messy as a dog's scribbles, with each stroke pressed harder than others.

After reading it, Liu Mu placed the letter of apology on his lap, but his gaze did not leave those few pages. "My nephew has spent almost three years in India and has honed his skills. If I were in his shoes, I might not be able to play this Brahmanical game as well as he has."

Liu Mu's words were not flattery; he genuinely believed that Liu Weiqing was talented, and even felt that Hinduism was made for him.

Li Guangdi and Zhou Peigong both looked puzzled upon hearing this, because such military reports were top secret and they were not authorized to know them immediately.

Liu Mu didn't pay any attention and continued flipping through the pages. He flipped to the pages on the Brahman investiture records and glanced at the list of twenty-three noble families of Korea: the Kim family of Gimhae, the Lee family of Jeonju, the Kwon family of Andong, and the Shin family of Pyeongsan.

"Well done! This is equivalent to planting twenty-three nails in the highest caste of Hinduism!"

After Liu Mu finished speaking, he turned the letter of apology back to the first page, handed it to Zhao Fengnian, and asked him to pass it on to Li Guangdi and Zhou Peigong. Then he shook his head.

"This child has grown up and knows how to play mind games with me. If I were truly afraid of his ambition, I wouldn't have given him 200,000 troops and the administrative power over Tibet and the Western Sea!"

Liu Mu said this, but he was actually quite happy. After all, Liu Weiqing hadn't changed. If Liu Weiqing really became independent, Liu Mu wouldn't care.

He really didn't want India.

Aside from the British, everyone else who looks at it frowns.

Thinking of this, Liu Mu picked up his imperial brush and began to reply. The gist of his reply was: If Hinduism can be used by the Han Dynasty, then Confucianism should not be involved. Hinduism is a tool for the Han Dynasty to rule India. A tool is a tool. Don't stuff things that shouldn't be stuffed into it. Keep the useful things that Zhang Ying taught you, and throw away the useless ones. Just be a good Indian king and don't worry that your uncle will overthink it.

He paused here, the pen tip hovering above the silk. Then he started a new line, the handwriting slightly heavier than before.

"Zhang Ying is indeed talented, but he still cannot be kept alive. It's not that I don't trust him, but he has already proven that he not only wants the power you give him, but also things you didn't intend to give him. Keeping such a person around will only bring trouble sooner or later. Send him to see Shiva, and send his children away as well to prevent future problems."

Li Guangdi stood to the side, carefully reading every word on the silk. His Adam's apple bobbed, but he said nothing.

Once the emperor's reply reaches India, Zhang Ying will cease to exist in this world. His son, daughter, and unmarried niece will all have to go with their father.

Liu Mu rolled up the silk, sealed it with sealing wax, stamped it with the imperial seal, and placed it on the right side of the imperial desk, waiting to send it back to India together. Then he picked up Xu Chuang's military report.

The letter describes how Metsuiko used a fire-breathing musket to burn eighty large ships of the Allied forces.

How were Montagu and Tromp captured and taken to the capital? How were the 8,000 prisoners of war from the Allied forces escorted back to Malacca?

The report also included observations of Dhaka, Liu Weiqing's Lion Army, 50,000 Korean youths, 23 newly conferred Brahmins, and the mountains of gold, silver, cloth, dye, and 18 million shi of refined rice piled up at the docks.

When Liu Mu saw the figure of 18 million shi of refined rice, his eyelids twitched, and he handed it to Li Guangdi.

Li Guangdi took it and looked at a few lines, his finger pausing on the numbers as he quickly did some mental calculations.

Although several counties in the north have had a bumper harvest over the past year and grain prices have remained stable for more than a year, the people around Hebei have finally been able to eat their fill. Now, with an additional 18 million shi of fine rice, the food supply for the people of the Han Dynasty can be greatly alleviated.

"Xu Chuang did a good job on this mission," Liu Mu said briefly, then stacked the three military reports together and placed them on the imperial desk. The Hall of Mental Cultivation was quiet for a moment.

"Regarding the Anglo-Dutch matter," Liu Mu turned to Li Guangdi and Zhou Peigong, "what are your thoughts?"

Li Guangdi said first: "Your Majesty, after the Battle of Nantianmen, the main forces of the British and Dutch in the South Seas have been exhausted, but they still have more fleets in their homeland. Give them a year or two, and they can put together another fleet. At that time, another battle will have to be fought at Nantianmen."

"My opinion is the same as Minister Li's," Zhou Peigong replied. "But we cannot afford to spend a lot of money to defend against what will happen later. The current garrison at Nantianmen is sufficient. Adding more troops there would be too costly and not worth the effort. I believe the most cost-effective way is to blockade it."

"explain."

"From this day forward, no official or private merchant ships from Britain, the Netherlands, or Spain are permitted to pass through the Strait of Malacca."

"Pei Gong, do you mean to let them come to me for help?" Liu Mu stated the conclusion for him.

"Yes." Zhou Peigong nodded. "Let them come and ask for it themselves. Once they arrive, His Majesty can set the terms."

Liu Mu's gaze fell on the map of the entire territory, specifically on the South Heavenly Gate, which was circled three times in red ink.

"The decree is hereby issued that the Nantianmen Navy shall, effective immediately, completely blockade the Strait of Malacca, and that all merchant ships of Britain, the Netherlands, and Spain, regardless of whether they are armed or not, shall not be allowed to pass through."

"Those who forcibly break through the checkpoint shall be treated as pirates and sunk on the spot. French, Portuguese, and all merchant ships holding Han Dynasty customs clearance documents shall pass as usual."

……

Meanwhile, in Whitehall, London, in early February 1677, a thin layer of ice floated on the Thames, but it was colder inside the palace than outside.

In the Privy Council chamber, a dozen people sat around a long oak table, their faces somber, a far cry from the cheerful laughter that had filled the air when the colonial pie was being divided.

On the table lay a hand-drawn map of the South China Sea. The Strait of Malacca was circled three times in red ink, and next to the circles was written the words: "South Heavenly Gate, July 16th".

The nautical chart was crumpled and clearly had been submerged in water for a long time; it was brought out by a Dutch merchant ship that had escaped from Batavia.