A few dozen kiloters west of Mysore City.
This area was already close to the Cannanore region under British control.
At this mont, within a luxurious building styled after the era of the Peacock Kings, Callum Griffiths, a senior representative of the British East India Company, was scowling at Jahanzeb Khan before him, "Are you sure the French are behind this?"
"Um, I have no evidence, Mr. Griffiths," said Sultan Tipu’s private secretary Jahanzeb Khan, ntioning "no evidence" with a surprisingly affirmative tone, "These rumors surfaced after the French arrived in Mysore. From what I know, the French have been covertly encouraging the Sultan to attack British territories."
The position of Mysore’s Chancellor, also known as "Vizier," was rely a ceremonial office. Above the four core ministers with actual power and below Sultan, there was also the role of Sultan’s secretary, holding significant authority.
However, even such an influential official had colluded with the British after the Second Mysore War, using their power to solidify his own position.
Griffiths was not surprised by the news—backstabbing between England and France in India had never ceased. However, the French influence had essentially retracted from India after the Seven Years’ War, and they hadn’t stirred up such a fuss ever since.
Logically, the French no longer had interests in the Indian subcontinent, and considering France’s near-bankrupt financial situation, they shouldn’t have been investing so much here.
But with caution in mind, Griffiths still ordered Jahanzeb Khan, "I want these rumors gone within a month.
"If you can manage it, you may purchase half a ship’s worth of textiles or iron goods from at a favorable price."
British textiles and ironware were very popular in India. Access to half a ship of goods at a discount could result in reselling them at nearly double the price, with profits of at least twenty to thirty thousand British Pounds.
Jahanzeb Khan was overjoyed and, with a quick flick of his wrist and a serious expression, assured, "Respected representative, I guarantee that by dawn tomorrow, you will hear no more of these rumors."
Upon his return to Mysore City, he imdiately used the administrative system to issue a nationwide order to arrest those spreading libelous rumors against the British.
In Sheikh Khan’s sumr villa, several Mysore officials from the sa faction looked anxiously toward Salah.
They had already received word that Jahanzeb Khan had ordered a large-scale arrest of rumor-mongers, and in just three to four days, over a thousand had been thrown into prison, many of whom were agents they had sent out.
And the most troubleso part was that Jahanzeb Khan’s actions were "justifiable"—quashing rumors was such that, even if it reached Sultan Tipu, they wouldn’t be able to fault Jahanzeb Khan.
After a long silence, a lean "Ummda," a Mysore high-ranking officer, grimly said, "There are barely any people daring to speak about the British these days, and even those I sent to spread ssages are shunned."
Another person imdiately nodded, "At this rate, the matters regarding the British will soon be forgotten by everyone. Moreover, Jahanzeb Khan will consolidate his authority by mobilizing officials on such a large scale."
Sheikh Khan sighed and said to Salah, "Consul, it seems we need to find a new way to deal with Jahanzeb Khan."
The latter, who had been thinking with his head down, only now looked up with a smile, "General, do you rember why we spread the ’stories’ about the British?"
"Of course, it’s to stir up hatred toward the British among the people and thereby topple the pro-British figures like Jahanzeb Khan."
"Exactly," nodded Salah, "In fact, people’s hatred for the British can’t directly affect the pro-British faction. Sothing else is needed to ignite public sentint.
"And right now, Jahanzeb Khan’s arrest of the rumor spreaders is giving us that opportunity."
Sheikh Khan and the others exchanged glances before all turning their eyes to Salah, "What’s your plan? To dispatch more people to spread the news?"
"No, we will help Jahanzeb Khan catch the rumor spreaders," Salah gestured a catching motion with his hand, speaking fiercely, "We should be even more ruthless than him, we must make everyone start to fear!"
A few days later, the Mysore military also began to "respond" to Jahanzeb Khan’s orders, arresting those spreading rumors about the British all over the country.
Their standards for arresting were far stricter than those of the administrative officers. If soone was accused of speaking ill of the British, soldiers would promptly arrest them in the na "of executing the Sultan’s secretary’s orders."
In particular, in the political and economic hubs of Mysore City and Seringapatam, tens of thousands were thrown into jails. Prisons designed to hold a hundred people were now cramd with thousands.
And soon, even the barracks were packed with prisoners.
Initially, Jahanzeb Khan thought the military was trying to curry favor with him and cheerfully sent rewards to the soldiers capturing rumor-mongers—further confirming to the public that it was the Sultan’s secretary who was driving the army to make arrests. Consequently, Jahanzeb Khan’s na was also dragged into the tale of the fight for public opinion.
But Jahanzeb Khan quickly sensed sothing was amiss. The military seed insane, even one of his wife’s relatives was arrested for not contesting rumors about the British when overheard in the streets.
Now everyone in Mysore feared for their safety, hardly daring to leave their hos, lest talking about the British in the streets would bring them misfortune.
At the sa ti, the hatred toward the British grew even more intense—such is the nature of people; the more you forbid them from speaking about sothing, the more they believe it.
Soon enough, even Sultan Tipu was alard and summoned Jahanzeb Khan over the mass arrests. Knowing he had stirred too much trouble, Jahanzeb Khan explained the rumor incident, then imdiately assured the Sultan that he would swiftly review those arrested and release anyone who wasn’t a severe offender right away.
Subsequently, Sheikh Khan’s political circle held a eting.
"Jahanzeb Khan has been reprimanded by the Sultan and has no choice but to start releasing people," said the lean "Ummda," looking delighted, "This will be a substantial blow to his prestige."
Another one nodded, "After this lesson, he certainly won’t dare to arrest people randomly. We can keep sending agents to tell those ’stories’ about the British."
As the group reminisced about Salah’s clever strategy, they turned their attention to him, ready to praise him, but found Salah looking serious, "The day after tomorrow, Jahanzeb Khan will release the first batch of rumor-mongers, and that will be our best opportunity—we must seize it firmly!"
"Ah? Opportunity?"
Stay tuned with .Côm
Salah looked at Sheikh Khan, "I ask you to mobilize everyone, send them across the country, and prepare in advance...
"By tomorrow at midday, we will launch simultaneously..."
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