Novels online

Chapter 503: The Minister of Finance and the Poor

"That's impossible!" Cornwallis, the Governor-General of India, immediately exclaimed from the side. "Vijayanagara now belongs to the East India Company."

Britain had spent an immense amount on this war, only managing to occupy two and a half provinces in northwestern Mysore, while trade on the west coast of India had been stagnant for over half a year. They were already losing money hand over fist, so how could they possibly give up their spoils of war?

Tipu Sultan ignored him and simply looked at Abzam, the Vizier of Hyderabad: "Are you just going to stand by and watch the people of Vijayanagara be ruled by infidels?"

Hyderabad and Mysore both followed Islam and had even formed an alliance decades ago.

Abzam knew that Tipu was trying to sow discord between him and the British, but Hyderabad had lost over 30,000 soldiers for Britain in this war, so receiving Vijayanagara as compensation was only right.

He cleared his throat softly and cautiously said to Seeley: "Sir, if we could assist you in managing Vijayanagara, we could increase the taxes by thirty percent..."

"Your opinion isn't needed here." Seeley cut him off bluntly and rapped on the table, stating, "Vijayanagara is not part of these negotiations."

Tipu Sultan immediately rose to his feet: "If that's the case, then we'll settle this on the battlefield."

In truth, as he spoke, he felt a lack of confidence. The British forces currently held a decisive advantage on the battlefield, and Seringapatam was already in dire straits. But at the same time, he firmly believed the Marquis de Lafayette's words that the British would certainly withdraw before the monsoon season ended. Therefore, he had to maintain a strong stance during the negotiations.

As expected, a flash of helplessness crossed Sir Seeley's eyes — the British expeditionary force had less than half a month's worth of supplies left; they had to retreat to Kannada as quickly as possible, otherwise, the withdrawal could easily turn into a rout.

After much bargaining, Seeley finally agreed to hand over the portion north of Bellary city to Hyderabad for "temporary administration" and permitted residents from other regions of Vijayanagara to relocate to Hyderabad.

Abzam exchanged a grateful, subtle glance with Tipu, while simultaneously feeling a renewed sense of resentment toward the British.

Seeley and Tipu then began discussing the issue of Carnatic. According to the secret agreement between Britain and France, Carnatic, located east of Mysore, would terminate its alliance with Britain and maintain neutrality.

During this Mysore War, the main British forces were concentrated in the northwest, providing almost no assistance to Carnatic, which allowed Mysore to soundly defeat it.

Had Tipu Sultan not consolidated his forces for defense, as Joseph had advised, Carnatic's entire southern region would likely have been lost.

Therefore, Carnatic had no objection to ending the alliance — 'What use was an ally who was overbearing, only cared about collecting taxes, and couldn't even protect its own friends?'

After the three parties had settled the issue of Carnatic's status, Tipu Sultan then addressed Carnatic's special envoy for the negotiations: "War should never have broken out between Mysore and Carnatic."

His gaze swept towards Cornwallis and Seeley, who stood nearby; he all but stated, 'It was all instigated by the British.' He then continued, "Therefore, I am willing to return Tiruchirappalli to you."

Tiruchirappalli was a southern province of Carnatic and had been occupied by Mysore shortly after the war began.

According to the French advice, for Mysore to rule this territory would require immense effort and would incur Carnatic's hatred. It would be better to return it and gain Carnatic's gratitude instead.

Puducherry, France's last foothold on the Indian Peninsula, bordered Carnatic. If Carnatic were to be accommodating, Mysore might be able to secretly establish contact with France.

Carnatic's special envoy evidently hadn't expected to reclaim the lost territory and immediately bowed excitedly to Tipu Sultan, exclaiming, "On behalf of His Majesty the King, I extend my sincerest gratitude to you!"

After several days of negotiations, Britain and Mysore signed an armistice agreement on October 2nd.

Although Mysore had lost nearly three provinces of territory, its vitality remained largely intact.

It's worth noting that historically, Tipu Sultan dared to fight the Fourth Mysore War with Britain even after losing half his territory, including Seringapatam and Bangalore.

With his power still largely preserved now, how could he possibly not seek revenge against Britain the moment an opportunity arose?

As for Britain, they seemingly defeated Mysore, gained some territory, and maintained their hegemonic status on the Indian Peninsula, yet they had invested enormous military funds and received no war reparations.

Furthermore, Britain's justification for initiating this war was "Mysore's annexation of Travancore," but now that the armistice was signed, no one mentioned Travancore anymore. The British could pretend to forget this matter, but the various Indian states, large and small, were certainly taking note.

The hegemon was still the hegemon, but it had lost its former luster.

...

Outskirts of Paris.

More than a dozen influential tax farmers from the General Assembly, surrounded by servants and hunting dogs, were laughing and chatting as they rode their horses toward Fould's hunting grounds.

Hope smiled as he said to those beside him: "You can probably imagine Archbishop Brienne's desperate expression when Monsieur Charles said, 'Due to business issues, the previously discussed loan might not be available.'"

A middle-aged man walking on the left wore a smug expression: "With only two months left in the year, how will our Minister of Finance manage to secure 200 million Francs?"

Another man chuckled along: "Soon, all government departments and governors will be demanding next year's budget from him. Only then will he truly experience hellish despair."

The middle-aged man looked at Hope: "Monsieur Hope, next we'll need to speed up the tax farming negotiations."

"No, quite the opposite." Hope gazed toward the distant hunting ground fence. "Look, we're almost there. It's Archbishop Brienne who's in a hurry now; we, on the other hand, can arrange for Viscount Berlant to fall ill or something.

By mid-November, Archbishop Brienne probably won't even have the heart to haggle. We might even be able to sign the agreement for the same amount as last year."

Bolloré spurred his horse closer and declared loudly: "I see no difference between the Minister of Finance and those poor souls who take out high-interest loans, haha. As long as we keep our purse strings tight, won't they all have to beg humbly and let us dictate the terms?"

"You're absolutely right."

As the group crossed the wooden fence of the hunting grounds, they began directing their servants to set up a temporary camp, while also dispatching small teams to guide the dogs in search of game.

Fould and Hope were leisurely chatting about late autumn game when they saw a carriage approaching rapidly. As the ground in the wilderness was uneven, the carriage frequently bounced and jolted.

Before long, the carriage halted, and a tall man in his forties alighted.

Fould, recognizing the man's appearance, couldn't help but frown slightly: "Viscount Berlant?"

Berlant, the negotiator for the Tax Farmers' General Assembly, was led by a servant and hurried to Fould, gasping for breath as he spoke: "Monsieur Fould, something has happened... This morning, the Assistant to the Minister of Finance informed me that the tax farming negotiations have been formally canceled."