It turned out that Pei Tugu's worries were completely unnecessary. Both the process of apprehending the people and the return journey were uneventful, so calm that Pei Tugu almost felt a crisis of faith.
It wasn't until Pei Tugu began his second task that he truly encountered the resistance he had imagined—a large number of Indian barbarians surrounded the divine cattle, trying every means to stop Pei Tugu and the rest of the Jin Yi Wei, displaying a rather defiant attitude of fighting to the death.
Pei Tugu preferred tough guys, especially those who could withstand the pressure of the Jin Yi Wei and fight to the death without backing down.
"You cannot capture the divine cattle; they are the mounts of the gods. If you capture them, you will offend the gods, and the gods will surely punish you!"
"Vishnu will unleash his terrible wrath!"
"Brahma will punish you!"
"Shiva will punish you sinners, and your emperor, the sinner, will also suffer Shiva's wrath for this!"
At first, Pei Tugu was listening with great interest to these Indian barbarians boasting. After all, they could blow anything messy into a god, and each god was described so powerfully that Pei Tugu and the others felt like they were listening to a comedy show.
But when he heard the phrase "sinner's emperor," Pei Tugu, who had been contemplating how to deal with these people, could no longer laugh.
Someone had insulted the emperor in front of the Jin Yi Wei, and this person was not even a subject of the Great Ming...
Pei Tugu's expression immediately turned cold, and he roared, "Clear the area! Leave no one behind!"
As everyone knows, tough guys often meet a bad end, and flesh and blood are no match for firearms. Therefore, after Pei Tugu ordered the area to be cleared, these Indian barbarians who had been blocking Pei Tugu and the others, boasting about the power of Indian gods, collectively met their doom.
Following this, the remaining Indian barbarians scattered in a panic, completely devoid of their previous heroic resolve.
This turn of events left Pei Tugu somewhat bewildered.
Where were the tough guys?
Where was the resolve to face death?
Where were the unbelievably powerful gods?
The same sense of questioning his life was experienced by Zhu Jinsong, the Emperor of the Great Ming.
Zhu Jinsong had not considered that conflict might arise.
In fact, when he first sent Pei Tugu and others to apprehend the Brahmins, Zhu Jinsong had already considered the possibility of conflict, and even the troops sent to support Pei Tugu and his team were prepared.
However, Zhu Jinsong had not expected that the process of apprehending the Brahmins would be easy, but instead, conflict arose while capturing the cattle.
Of course, for Zhu Jinsong, the Emperor of the Great Ming, it didn't matter whether the problem occurred during the apprehension of the Brahmins or during the capturing of the cattle. The important thing was that Zhu Jinsong had finally found a relatively perfect excuse, and incidentally, he had also fulfilled his promise to treat Louis XVI and George III to beef.
Zhu Jinsong held a steak in his hand, gestured to Louis XVI and George III, and then said with a smile, "See? This is what is called having a just cause."
"It's the same for you in Europe. As long as you are in the right, no matter who you fight, others cannot fault you. If you win, all of Europe will praise you. If you lose, all of Europe will be on your side in their hearts."
"Your actions against the Habsburg family before were a bit rash. You should have found a better excuse."
Louis XVI frowned and asked, "A better excuse?"
Zhu Jinsong nodded and said, "Of course. For example, if your French soldiers ran into the Habsburg territory and disappeared inexplicably, and you wanted to search for them, that would be a very reasonable reason, wouldn't it?"
"Or, you could plant something in the Habsburg territory first, proving that it is your ancient French territory. That reason would also be very reasonable, wouldn't it?"
"However, since the battle has already begun, there's no point in discussing this now. Let's focus on tasting the beef. I've always been curious about what Indian beef tastes like."
George III, holding his steak thoughtfully, said, "We have a colony in overseas. If I were to sell this colony, I would be somewhat reluctant. After all, you know our situation with France; our land area is very small."
"However, if this colony remains in England's hands, it poses a problem of sorts. Because there is a copper mine there, it is likely to affect the friendly relations among us Five Benevolent Ones. What do you think I should do?"
Zhu Jinsong's heart stirred, and he asked, "Copper mine? Sri Lanka?"
George III nodded and said, "Yes, the copper mine in Sri Lanka. In fact, I'm not too concerned about the copper mine itself, but I am very concerned about the land there. I hope you can help me find a way?"
Zhu Jinsong burst out laughing and said, "Sri Lanka, of course, is your English colony. The Great Ming has no intention of seizing Sri Lanka, so what are you worried about?"
"How about this: while your British East India Company has not yet left India, you can vigorously recruit laborers here and have these laborers mine for you."
"As for how to set the price for the ore or copper, I think that's an issue between the Great Ming and the English Ministry of Revenue, not something we two should be concerned about."
"What we should be most concerned about now is this beef in front of us—if it gets any later, it will probably get cold."
Upon hearing Zhu Jinsong's words, George III's mind, which had been restless since his return from the Great Ming, finally settled.
Sri Lanka indeed had a copper mine, and a very rich one at that. If it were all exploited, England could make a fortune. George III was certainly unwilling to give up Sri Lanka.
However, George III also understood clearly that even if India had not been sold to the Great Ming, England would not have had the capability to hold onto Sri Lanka.
In terms of ground advantage, the Great Ming could attack India simultaneously from land and sea at any time. Once India was conquered, the Great Ming's navy could attack Sri Lanka from both India and Port of Quanzhou.
In terms of naval advantage, the Great Ming's warships had evolved into ironclads, while England's warships were still primarily wooden sailing ships. England was only beginning to research how to clad their ships with iron plates and did not yet possess the capability to equip warships with steam engines.
Under such circumstances, if a conflict were to break out with the Great Ming, England, even with India as a base, could only act cautiously and endure attacks.
Therefore, George III had been in a state of dilemma throughout the journey.
It was the mention of the two cunning tactics—missing soldiers and using purchased items as evidence—that made George III truly fearful that Zhu Jinsong might employ a similar tactic in Sri Lanka. This prompted him to ask the question that was causing him so much anxiety.
After the beef feast had largely concluded, George III finally spoke, "Speaking of which, how many laborers does your Great Ming intend to recruit in India, and how many of them will be reserved for England?"
Zhu Jinsong hummed and said, "The Great Ming has no upper limit for recruiting laborers. You should know that the Great Ming has many places that require laborers. Building railways requires laborers, and mining requires laborers. Let alone India, even if all the people on this small planet were brought to the Great Ming as laborers, it probably wouldn't be enough."
"Of course, I'm just saying that. If there were so many laborers, the Great Ming would have to worry about having enough food."
"How about this: before the officials sent by the Ministry of Personnel arrive, your England can recruit laborers for the copper mine. This period should be about half a year to a year. How many you can recruit depends entirely on your abilities. The remaining laborers will belong to the Great Ming, how about it?"
George III nodded, thereby agreeing to Zhu Jinsong's proposal.
Half a year or a year would be enough time for England to recruit a sufficient number of laborers in India. Bringing them all to Sri Lanka to mine copper and then selling the copper ore to the Great Ming would likely allow England to profit from this endeavor.
Zhu Jinsong smiled and said to Louis XVI, "What about your France? Don't you need laborers?"
Louis XVI was startled and asked, "France also needs laborers?"
After asking, Louis XVI cursed himself internally for being so foolish, and then hesitated, "Does France also have the option to recruit laborers here in India?"
Zhu Jinsong looked at Louis XVI with an expression of concern for the intellectually challenged and retorted, "Doesn't France need laborers? Why can't France recruit laborers here?"
"The Great Ming cannot use up the laborers here for some time. Even with England added, it still won't be enough. Even with France added, it still might not be enough."
"The key is that your France definitely needs laborers now. If Napoleon's offensive against the Habsburg family goes smoothly, won't your France have to start building roads?"
"Building roads is a dangerous undertaking, with many sections of road or mountainsides being very hazardous. If your own citizens suffer too many casualties, will your French government have to answer to the people? If you use laborers instead, will you still feel concerned?"
Louis XVI looked at Zhu Jinsong gratefully and said, "Thank you, I know what to do."
Zhu Jinsong then smiled and nodded.
Did the Great Ming need the Indian barbarians as citizens?
Not really.
If all the Indian barbarians were turned into laborers, the Great Ming could not digest them all in a short period. This was not hundreds of thousands of laborers, but tens of millions. Such a massive labor force would cause headaches just trying to provide them with clothing and food.
Therefore, rather than the Great Ming worrying about these laborers, it would be better to let England and France help share some of the pressure.
As for whether these laborers would snatch the jobs of the English and French, whether they would bring the caste system with them after being recruited, or whether they would cause other disturbances...
Did Zhu Jinsong need to care about these things?
Ultimately, it was still because the population of the Great Ming was severely insufficient.
If the population of the Great Ming could exceed 500 million, Zhu Jinsong would dare to march on Sri Lanka right now, snatch the meat from England's mouth, and have the people of the Great Ming go to Sri Lanka to plant tea and mine, among other things. If it could exceed 600 million, Zhu Jinsong would dare to organize the conquest of all of Europe.
The problem was that the population of the Great Ming was not enough. According to the Ministry of Revenue's calculations, even in the most ideal scenario, by the twelfth year of the Holy Emperor's reign, it would barely exceed 400 million. This was not enough to even digest the existing territories, let alone meet the demand for migration to India, much less Sri Lanka or all of Europe.
Therefore, Zhu Jinsong was now eager for them to recruit more laborers, ideally sharing the burden for the Great Ming while also building all the roads in Europe and even causing some unrest.
A chaotic Europe was a good Europe.
Seeing that George III and Louis XVI had both taken the bait, Zhu Jinsong smiled and said, "I once published an article in the 'Great Ming Newspaper' titled 'To Get Rich, Build Roads First.' I presume you have both read this article?"
Louis XVI nodded and said, "Of course, I have read it, and I believe what this article says is very reasonable. If the roads are all completed, it can indeed accelerate the pace of economic development."
At this point, Louis XVI's expression could not help but turn somewhat somber, "However, as you know, France has not even completely solved the issue of excrement, let alone building roads."
George III also chimed in, "England's situation is similar. For England now, clearing the excrement and fermenting it into fertilizer is the most important thing. As for building roads, it can only be postponed."
Zhu Jinsong, however, chuckled and said, "When in doubt, use laborers."
"With so many laborers, whether you want to clear the excrement or build roads, won't the speed be greatly increased?"
"After the roads are built, your..."
Louis XVI nodded and said, "Of course, I have read it, and I believe what this article says is very reasonable. If the roads are all completed, it can indeed accelerate the pace of economic development."
At this point, Louis XVI's expression could not help but turn somewhat somber, "However, as you know, France has not even completely solved the issue of excrement, let alone building roads."
George III also chimed in, "England's situation is similar. For England now, clearing the excrement and fermenting it into fertilizer is the most important thing. As for building roads, it can only be postponed."
Zhu Jinsong, however, chuckled and said, "When in doubt, use laborers."
"With so many laborers, whether you want to clear the excrement or build roads, won't the speed be greatly increased?"
"I Really Didn't Want to Be Emperor"