Bringing the Railway to Daming

Chapter 352 Caste, India is always conquered [Please subscribe]

As a prince who was highly valued by Zhu Di, and who was about to be sent to an overseas fiefdom, Zhu Di had long ago received a set of maps related to India from Zhu Di, and he often observed and studied them.

However, those maps are flat maps, and are hand-drawn by Ming Dynasty painters.

At this time, the video shows a three-dimensional map, with the mountains, rivers, land and oceans of the Indian subcontinent and surrounding areas all visible.

Soon, a young man's commentary that sounded a bit strange (actually it was AI commentary) was heard.

"The history of the Indian subcontinent is one of conquest and domination, with the indigenous people losing control of their territory very early on."

"About 5,000 years ago, the ancient Indian civilization, also known as the Harappan civilization, emerged in the Indus River basin. It was created by the Dravidians, a native Indian people."

"The Harappan civilization built many cities and possessed excellent pottery, textile, and dyeing techniques. It also had some exchanges with China at the time. However, the civilization disappeared after only 800 years – some say it was destroyed by natural disasters, others by the invasion of the Aryans."

"Before or after the disappearance of the Harappan civilization, a nomadic Aryan people entered the Indian subcontinent from the northwest through the Khyber Pass."

"Speaking of which, the Indian subcontinent is surrounded by mountain ranges in all three directions, east, west, and north. Especially in the north, the Himalayas stretch for thousands of miles, forming an absolute natural barrier."

"The rest of the country is surrounded by the ocean. This enclosed, vast environment is very conducive to the development of civilization. However, the existence of the Khyber Pass created a breach in this closed environment, which led to India being repeatedly invaded and ruled by foreign races."

"If this happened in our country, we would have built the Great Wall long ago, making it so that 'one man can block the way for ten thousand men'..."

Seeing this, Lao Zhu, Zhu Biao and others were also puzzled. They didn't understand why the Indians didn't build border defense buildings similar to the "Great Wall" at the Khyber Pass.

Zhu Di thought: If I can rule northern India, or even the entire Indian subcontinent in the future, I must build a Great Wall at the Khyber Pass.

Strong passes must be built at important military locations so that Dayan can attack when advancing and defend when retreating.

Even if his descendants are mediocre or even foolish, they can at least protect Dayan for hundreds of years!
"After the Aryans entered the Indian subcontinent and conquered the Dravidians, they founded Brahmanism in order to establish a long-term and stable rule over the Dravidians because their ethnic group was too small."

"The religion adheres to a caste system, whereby people are born unequal and divided into four classes."

"The highest class is the Brahmins, or monks, who are in charge of sacrifices and education. The second class is the Kshatriyas, or princes, nobles, and warriors, who are in charge of military affairs and administration."

"The third class is called the Vaisyas, or merchants, engaged in commerce. The fourth class is called the Shudras, who are mainly farmers and handicraft workers."

"Among them, Brahmins, Kshatriyas, and Vaishyas are almost all Aryans, while Dravidians can only be Shudras, the fourth caste."

"In addition, there are a considerable number of people who are excluded from the caste system and have a status lower than that of the Shudras. They are called 'Dalits', or 'untouchables' or 'untouchables'. They are mainly prisoners of war and some indigenous people."

"When this caste system was at its most stringent, it even strictly prohibited intermarriage between different castes. Furthermore, castes were hereditary; once established, they could not be changed by descendants!"

Seeing this, Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but think deeply.

Speaking of which, during the Mongol Yuan Dynasty, people were divided into four levels based on their origins, namely Mongols, Semites (including Koreans), Han people (including Khitans, Jurchens and other forces that were conquered by the Mongols later), and southerners.

Under the Mongol system, lower-ranking Han Chinese and southerners struggled to ascend to high positions in the court unless they had made significant contributions. He had assumed the Mongol system was already strict enough, but he hadn't expected the Indian system to be even more stringent, directly restricting occupations based on race and making caste change nearly impossible.

"During the period of Aryan rule, there was actually no unified country, but rather a chaotic war between various states, similar to China's Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period."

"During this period, Indian culture was also full of diverse schools of thought, which were known as the 'Sramanic Thought'."

"Most of these schools are against the caste system, and Buddhism was born out of the Samana movement."

"If India follows China's script, after hundreds of years of chaos, it will eventually move towards unity. However, the international community does not give it a chance."

"From the sixth century BC, the Persian Empire rose and expanded in four directions: east, west, south, and north. Its eastern expeditionary forces entered India through the Khyber Pass."

"The Persians were actually also Aryans. Their invasion of India at the time could barely be considered an internal war, and they won a series of victories after entering the Indian subcontinent. Unfortunately, the Persians encountered Alexander the Great in the West."

"Alexander not only defeated the invading Persians, but also followed their footsteps and marched eastward all the way to India..."

The video uses a concise way to continuously introduce the history of the Indian subcontinent being conquered by foreign races time and time again, and each time the foreign races invaded from the Khyber Pass.

In the process of repeated invasions, India finally gave birth to a powerful dynasty that almost unified the entire subcontinent.

"Shortly after Alexander withdrew from India, the Maurya Empire, the first empire in Indian history, was established."

"The Maurya Empire reached its peak during the reign of Emperor Ashoka. To the northwest, it extended to present-day Afghanistan, to the east, it encompassed Bengal, and to the south, it encompassed almost the entire Indian subcontinent!"

"Ashoka's early experiences were somewhat similar to Li Shimin's. The throne originally belonged to his eldest brother, but he relied on his greater prestige to launch a coup and kill his eldest brother, thus ascending the throne."

"But Ashoka was very different from Li Shimin. He campaigned in many directions, killing many people, including some who massacred over 100,000 people."

"Then, for some unknown reason, he suddenly changed his character, laid down his butcher knife, and instantly became a Buddha, converting to Buddhism. Buddhism reached its peak during the reign of Emperor Ashoka."

"However, after Ashoka's death, the Maurya Empire quickly collapsed and fell into chaos among the various kingdoms once again."

"However, it wasn't long before the Indian subcontinent welcomed its fourth wave of conquerors - the Yuezhi."

"The Great Yuezhi were a powerful nomadic people in the Western Regions during the Qin and Han dynasties. Before Emperor Wu of Han attacked the Xiongnu, he sent Zhang Qian to the Western Regions to gather intelligence and communicate with various states. One of his key missions was to liaise with the Great Yuezhi to join the attack on the Xiongnu."

"However, the Yuezhi were frightened by the Xiongnu and did not cooperate with the Han Dynasty. Instead, they fled westward and southward, annexing smaller tribes such as the Wusun along the way. Eventually, a branch of the Yuezhi entered the Indian subcontinent through the Khyber Pass."

"Although the Yuezhi were no match for the Xiongnu, they were able to easily defeat the Indian states of the time and easily took over a large area of ​​territory in northwest India."

"With the rich resources of the Indian subcontinent, the Yuezhi tribe rapidly expanded westward and northward, establishing the Kushan Empire, which became one of the four great empires in Eurasia at the time, alongside Rome, Parthia, and the Han Dynasty!"

Could the Dayuezhi, who were driven away by the Xiongnu, conquer India?
Even with the title, Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Biao and others were still surprised when they saw this, thinking: Isn't India too easy to conquer?
　Good night~
　　
　
(End of this chapter)