Chapter 340: Want to Dispel Rumors? I'll Help You
Dozens of kilometers west of Mysore City.
This area was already close to the British-controlled Kannanur region.
At this moment, in a lavish building in the style of the Peacock King era, Callum Griffith, a senior representative of the British East India Company, looked grimly at Jahan Zeb before him. "Are you certain the French are behind this?"
"Uh, I don't have any proof, Mr. Griffith," Jahan Zeb, the Sultan's private secretary, replied, though his tone was quite confident. "These rumors only surfaced after the French arrived in Mysore. From what I understand, those Frenchmen have been secretly instigating the Sultan to attack British territories."
Mysore's Grand Vizier was merely a ceremonial office. Above the four core ministers of true power, and just below the Sultan, was the position of Sultan's Secretary, which wielded immense authority.
However, even such a pivotal official had allied himself with the British after the Second Mysore War, using their influence to solidify his own standing.
Griffith wasn't surprised by the news. In India, the British and French had always been backstabbing each other. It was just that since the Seven Years' War, French influence had largely withdrawn from India, and they hadn't stirred up such a significant disturbance since then.
Logically, France no longer had significant interests in the Indian Peninsula, and given its current financial situation, teetering on the brink of bankruptcy, it shouldn't be investing so heavily here.
Yet, Griffith, maintaining a cautious demeanor, still instructed Jahan Zeb, "I expect these rumors to vanish within a month."
British textiles and ironware were highly sought after in India. Acquiring half a ship's worth of reasonably priced goods meant they could be resold for almost double the price, yielding a profit of at least twenty to thirty thousand Pounds Sterling.
Jahan Zeb was overjoyed. With a confident gesture, he declared earnestly, "Esteemed Representative, I guarantee you won't hear those rumors by tomorrow morning."
Upon his return to Mysore City, he immediately issued orders through the administrative system to arrest anyone spreading rumors and slandering Britain across the nation.
In Sheikh Khan's summer villa, several Mysore officials from his faction looked anxiously at Salah.
They had received news that Jahan Zeb had ordered a massive crackdown on rumor-mongers. In just three or four days, thousands had already been thrown into prison, many of them people they had dispatched.
The most troubling aspect was that Jahan Zeb's actions were entirely "reasonable and legitimate." Suppressing rumors was something that, even if brought to the Sultan's attention, couldn't be faulted.
After a while, a lean "Umdat," a senior Mysore military officer, spoke with a grim expression, "These past few days, there aren't many people left who dare to discuss the British. Even when I send my men to spread news, no one dares to listen."
Another immediately nodded. "If this trend continues, matters concerning the British will soon be forgotten by everyone. Furthermore, Jahan Zeb will see his authority boosted due to the large-scale mobilization of officials."
Sheikh Khan sighed, then said to Salah, "Consul, it seems we need a different approach to deal with Jahan Zeb."
Salah had been deep in thought, head bowed. Only now did he lift his head, a smile gracing his face. "General, do you recall why we were spreading 'stories' about the British?"
"Naturally, to ignite hatred for Britain among the people, and thereby topple the pro-British Jahan Zeb and his associates."
"Exactly." Salah nodded. "In reality, people's hatred for Britain cannot directly influence the pro-British faction. Something more is needed to ignite public opinion.
"And right now, Jahan Zeb's arrest of rumor-mongers has given us precisely that opportunity."
Sheikh Khan and the others looked at each other in dismay, then all turned to Salah. "What do you plan to do? Send more people to spread the news?"
"No, we'll help Jahan Zeb catch the rumor-mongers." Salah made a gripping motion with his hand and said fiercely, "We need to catch them more ruthlessly than he does, we need to make everyone start to fear!"
A few days later, Mysore's military also began to "respond" to Jahan Zeb's orders, arresting people spreading rumors about Britain throughout the country.
Their arrest standards were even stricter than those of the administrative officials. As long as someone accused another of having spoken ill of the British, soldiers would immediately go to their homes and arrest them, citing "execution of the Sultan's Secretary's orders."
Especially in Mysore City and Seringapatam, these two political and economic centers, tens of thousands of people had already been thrown into prison. Prisons that could originally hold just over a hundred people were now crammed with thousands.
Afterwards, even the barracks were filled with prisoners.
Initially, Jahan Zeb thought this was the military trying to curry favor with him, and happily sent people to deliver rewards to the soldiers arresting rumor-mongers. This only made people more certain that the Sultan's Secretary was mobilizing the army for arrests. Thus, in addition to the British, Jahan Zeb was also added to the narrative of the public opinion war.
However, Jahan Zeb soon realized that something was amiss. These military fellows were acting like madmen; even a relative of one of his wives was arrested simply for not refuting a street discussion about the British.
Now, everyone in Mysore lived in fear, not even daring to leave their homes, dreading that if they encountered someone speaking of the British on the street, they would immediately suffer the consequences.
At the same time, people's hatred for the British grew even stronger—such is human nature; the more you forbid them from saying something, the more they believe it.
Not long after, even Tipu Sultan was alarmed and summoned Jahan Zeb regarding the mass arrests. The latter, knowing the situation had escalated too far, immediately assured the Sultan, after explaining the rumor-spreading incident, that he would quickly screen those arrested and release anyone who wasn't a particularly serious rumor-monger.
Sheikh Khan's political circle subsequently held a meeting.
"That fellow Jahan Zeb was reprimanded by the Sultan and had to start releasing people." The lean "Umdat" appeared very happy. "This will be no small blow to his prestige."
Another person nodded and said, "With this lesson, he certainly won't dare to arrest people arbitrarily in the future. We can continue to send people to tell those 'stories' about the British."
The group remembered this was Salah's clever plan and all turned to look at him, just about to shower him with praise, but saw Salah say with a serious expression, "Jahan Zeb is releasing the first batch of arrested rumor-mongers the day after tomorrow morning. This is our best opportunity, and we must seize it firmly!"
"Ah? An opportunity?"
Salah looked at Sheikh Khan. "Please mobilize all your available manpower and send them throughout the country to prepare in advance..."
"Then, the day after tomorrow, at noon, launch it simultaneously..."
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