Chapter 450: Winners Take All

Afghanistan, Kabul.

In the palace, the Afghan King (Emir) Dost Mohammed was pacing anxiously. Although he had been suppressing the Akbar faction since he came back, its size was still huge and it enjoyed widespread support among the people.

"The one who is more powerful than the master" will almost certainly be envied by the monarch, even if the other party is his own son.

Although Dost had a secret agreement with the British and needed to help them get rid of Akbar Khan, a thorn in the flesh. But in fact, even if there was no secret agreement with the British, he would not let his son go.

Because his influence and prestige were already above his father, which was something no monarch could tolerate.

However, Dost was not completely useless except for his cruelty. He still hoped to get rid of his son quietly. After all, in addition to Akbar Khan, there was also Aminullah Khan who was eyeing him.

If he took too big a step to get rid of Akbar Khan, it might cause resistance from the rest of the tribe, and then Aminullah Khan, a lowly guy, might get the upper hand.

So when he heard the doctor he sent say that Akbar Khan had taken the medicine he gave him, Dost breathed a sigh of relief.

But this was only a small step in his plan. If Akbar Khan died, he could recruit his armed forces to deal with Aminullah Khan.

In fact, Dost, who had just returned home, did not have many supporters or soldiers available.

He had to kill the two enemies who posed the greatest threat to him first, and then slowly eliminate all those who had anything to do with them.

In fact, Dost had already thought of a plan to deal with Aminullah Khan.

It is said that Aminullah Khan's daughter, Vera Yang, was the most beautiful woman in Afghanistan and was deeply loved by her father. Dost was going to marry Aminullah Khan's daughter, pretending to reconcile the two families, but in fact it was to let the other party relax their vigilance.

(In fact, Afghanistan at that time was much more open than it is today, and some doctrines were not very strict, and were not even considered doctrines at that time.)

This is what Dost did in history. At an old age, Dost married Aminullah Khan's daughter, claiming to reconcile the two families, and invited Aminullah Khan and his people to Kabul.

Then there was a plot similar to the Red Wedding, except that Aminullah Khan's daughter was indeed beautiful, and Dost just imprisoned Aminullah Khan until his death.

The charge was inciting rebellion, and Aminullah Khan was found dead under his pillow on the second day of imprisonment. It was said that the tragedy was caused by his wrong sleeping posture.

It took several more years to eliminate all those who might rebel, as well as their relatives and subordinates. Dost, who was in power, began to conquer everywhere, and the area he finally controlled was the actual border of modern Afghanistan.

But at this time, he still needed to perform in front of his son's body and win over those tribal leaders to work for him.

But when Dost came to the mosque excitedly and walked to Akbar Khan's coffin, he found that the other party was looking at him.

This scared Dost and he wanted to reach out to make Akbar Khan close his eyes, but the other party sat up directly.

Dost was so scared that he fell to the ground and said in horror.

"Are you a living person or a dead soul?"

Akbar Khan exhaled.

"Father, I'm still alive. Why are you not happy for me?"

"Kill him!" Dost roared.

But no one did it, because the guards he brought had been controlled, and the tribal leaders who pretended to be loyal to him outside were holding knives and guns and glaring at him.

"Father, you lost." Akbar Khan's tone was not joyful, but a little sad. He didn't expect his father to be so heartless. But he knew that Dost would definitely come to recruit his subordinates, after all, there was Aminullah Khan who threatened Dost's position.

Dost wanted to escape, but he was pushed down as soon as he ran to the door.

"I am your father, you can't kill me. I am the king of Afghanistan! King!" He turned to Akbar Khan and said.

"Father, you should stay here. I will defeat your enemies. Your kingdom..." Akbar Khan paused and continued.

"Afghanistan will flourish in my hands, and our family will go down in history."

Akbar Khan kept his promise and locked his father Dost Mohammed in the cellar of the Great Mosque.

After that, Akbar Khan married Aminullah Khan's daughter. With the help of their many supporters, the two families quickly swept the local forces in Afghanistan, and the Afghan Kingdom was unified again.

However, this land was too barren. Akbar Khan wanted to make the country really strong, and going south to plunder India's wealth became the country's established goal.

And if he wanted to go south, he needed allies. At this time, although there were many people who claimed to be kings on the Indian subcontinent, the only ones who were truly powerful were the Sikh Empire and the British East India Company.

Afghanistan and the Sikh Empire were enemies, and the British had just been driven out of his land, and it seemed that neither of them would become his allies.

But in fact, Akbar Khan had his own plan, but allies alone were not enough, he also needed weapons.

At this time, an Indian businessman came to Kabul and called himself Verawais.

Kalimantan Island.

Colonel Hardyck Chris was caught in a dilemma. Since the emerging Southern Ming Kingdom rejected William Hawke's proposal, he was ordered to intercept all ships departing from Kalimantan and Natuna Island.

(William Hawke was a representative of the East India Company, and the so-called proposal mentioned in the previous article was the opium trade.)

There was nothing wrong with blocking the route, and the British often used it to deal with such small countries.

But Zhu Qiongying hired a Dutch ship, and the latter had no reason to refuse in order to make money.

So, Colonel Hardyck Chris seized the Dutch ship. This was just a routine to force the Southern Ming Kingdom to sign an agreement. After all, the British did not want to fight the enemy in the jungle on Kalimantan Island.

But at that time, they asked the Dutch for a ransom based on the principle of "trying three times if there is a date or not". What they didn't expect was that the ship had a background in the Dutch military.

In fact, most of the smuggling ships in the South China Sea are warships, and it is not uncommon for the military to take on smuggling work. To be precise, these ships should belong to the Dutch East India Company, and those soldiers are its employees.

The news soon reached Jakarta. Because Zhu Qiongying had bribed those Dutch merchants in advance, and the British attitude was indeed arrogant.

So those Dutch merchants exaggerated the matter and made the Dutch stationed in Jakarta think that the British wanted to steal their business.

At this time, the number of Dutch ships in the Nanyang region far exceeded that of the British, and the Dutch had not encountered opponents here for too many years.

The Governor of Indonesia personally led the fleet to ask the British for an explanation. At this time, the British navy was indeed fierce. Instead of being afraid, it issued a warning to the Dutch fleet.

After that, the two sides had a brief exchange of fire, and as a result, two British ships were slightly injured, while six Dutch ships were sunk and more than a thousand people were killed.

So the Governor of the Netherlands and Indonesia reported urgently to Amsterdam.

"The British fleet attacked our merchant ships."