Chapter 22 – Fourth Order Tactics

“This?” John mused, bringing in the British political structure for a moment to think about what seemed to be a lack of reaction time, and laughed bitterly, “We can’t just lose Goa without saying a word.”

“That’s not going to happen! We always have to explain to the people the process of how to lose Goa.” Alan Wilson chuckled and shook his head.

John shook the glass in his hand and said with an air of willingness to hear, “How will it be explained?”

“Stage one, we claim nothing happened; stage two, say maybe something happened but we shouldn’t have acted; stage three, say maybe we should have acted but we couldn’t do anything.” Alan Wilson said with an air of mutual understanding, “Stage four, saying maybe something could have been done in the first place, but now it’s too late.”

“Would the public believe that explanation? It would be stupid to believe it.” John picked up his glass with some amusement, “But then again, the English haven’t appeared to be all that smart since the beginning of time.”

“Of course my friend, stupid people are a little easier to deal with, especially for us. Otherwise, the Viceroys would have abolished the caste system in the first place, and then set out to strengthen it when they discovered its benefits. Aren’t even seasoned successive governors in the midst of learning?” Alan Wilson took the glass of wine handed over by John and continued, “If we can get the Portuguese on our side, even if India becomes independent, we still have a way.”

Bang …… John nodded at the words, pinched the wine glass and the Hyderabad commissioner beside him clinked a glass, as a way to thank each other for the hospitality, as for the Hyderabad Turbans monarch Ali Khan, the two are not very familiar.

“Indian independence is what you call the worst possible outcome, and it is not too much of a stretch to envision the worst possible outcome out of our current position.” John nodded his head ruefully in recognition, “But for now, it would only benefit us to get the benefits of the two native states, but once India becomes independent, it could be even more chaotic than Ali Jinnah’s Indo-Pakistani partition scenario. I’m kinda over it, and my sense of morality is causing me to experience some guilt.”

“Maybe you should take a trip to the church and take one tenth of the proceeds of the middle and donate it to the church, maybe God will forgive you.” Alan Wilson bristled and said, tongue in cheek, “Then you can retire early and enjoy life.”

“The tithe is a little too expensive and not in keeping with the Anglican tradition of the British Empire; it was because of the corrupt Holy See that our King broke with Rome.” John refused very dryly to Alan Wilson’s kind offer.

If he had a million pounds, he would certainly donate a tenth of it, for he had none. But one cannot donate a tenth without counting the number, and it would be too much of a loss to donate a piece even if it were only ten pounds.

Uh-huh! Alan Wilson didn’t reply, there are some things to see through and not to say. On a moral level both men were at odds, or else he would not have made a proposal and immediately gotten John’s cooperation in Junagadh Tupang.

For Ali Khan himself, this somewhat extravagant banquet was definitely out of character with his own life. But despite living a simple life, as Alan Wilson judged, Ali Khan was very aware that the wealth he now possessed was firmly tied to the Hyderabad monarch, and that nothing was for nothing.

Some occasions of conflict with personal habits were not entirely unacceptable in order to solidify his independent kingdom.

Just as Ali Khan was fuming alone, Allen Wilson came inside the palace and greeted him in a friendly manner, “Honorable Maharaja, things are going well so far and I have just talked to the Portuguese with good results.”

After saying that Alan Wilson talked about the communication with the Portuguese, Ali Khan frowned and said, “If you British are withdrawing, what can the Portuguese help me with?”

“You can’t say that, Portugal is strong man politics, making decisions faster than London, this is something I believe you understand, Maharaja. If the Portuguese can react immediately and give London a time to make a decision, won’t the benefit to you appear that way?” Alan Wilson smiled and spoke, “This would be the reason to make good relations with the Portuguese, and in terms of Goa’s status, there is a complete reason to do so.”

India’s recovery of Goa was a battle fought with the Portuguese, and it was through this battle that Nehru felt that the so-called old imperialism was nothing more than that, and in stepping confidently into the path of a reputable great power, he ended up crashing into the Himalayas.

If possible, Alan Wilson certainly want to help the Portuguese, at least British India’s suzerainty should never be handed over to the Congress Party, and even before the transfer of power to the Congress Party, should look for an opportunity to sign a treaty with the Portuguese, formally declaring that Portuguese Goa is not part of British India.

He had just envisioned the same thing with Pedro, and if Alan Wilson had been in Sir Barron’s place, there would have been no need to think about it at all, and he would have been ready to sign a treaty with the Portuguese right away.

But he was only a commissioner of Hyderabad’s native state, and it was too great a goal to advise New Delhi, and that was why Pedro was called in, so that the Portuguese Viceroyalty, on a diplomatic level, could advise the Viceroyalty of British India.

As long as this matter has been discussed by the Viceroyalty of British India, the first step has been successfully accomplished, and with this request in place, there is a need for discussion, and anyway, if the British Empire’s departure from the subcontinent is a foregone conclusion, it should not mind doing a favor to the Portuguese.

After listening to the Hyderabad Commissioner’s explanation, the Hyderabad monarch also understood the key, Ali Khan thought for a moment and said to himself, “That is to say, the Portuguese attach great importance to the existence of Goa, and will definitely not give up that port?”

“It’s the same situation that Hyderabad Turbans are facing, and when facing Nehru, the Maharaja might be able to get a little help from the Portuguese.” Alan Wilson nodded, looking confident.

If it was true that British India could not be preserved, he certainly hoped that British India’s would appear as a counter-example to British withdrawal, so that it could serve as an example to other colonies that were not independent for the time being, and serve as a deterrent.

With this goal as the direction of effort, the Indians must not live too well, as for other ideas, Alan Wilson is not without, just at present there is no opportunity and position to operate, can only first make things within the scope of the soil state.

As for British India later is not into a huge internal conflict, and therefore bring a huge number of casualties is how much?

This has nothing to do with him, the Hyderabad Commissioner, the dead are Indians, he is British. By then it was already time to change departments and start afresh and continue his career.