18th November 1656
Sulawesi Confederation, Palopo
The three decision-makers of Sulawesi, Sultan Abdul Rahman of Gowa, Raja Ali of Bone, and Sultan Mohammed Yusuf of Ternate, received a peculiar guest brought in by a resident of Makassar.
The guest was peculiar because he was not from their land but from a faraway empire with which they had no connection. Although they were a Southeast Asian country and knew about the Indian subcontinent and its prominence, they did not know much about what had happened within their neighbours, much less the subcontinent.
The last thing they knew about the situation in the subcontinent was that the Mughal Empire was reigning supreme and the Vijayanagar Empire was following behind.
"Let’s see what this person has to say, he came such a long way to meet us after all," Abdul Rahman said, his eyes filled with curiosity.
His colleagues, Raja Ali and Mohammed Yusuf, agreed as they too had similar ideas.
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Jaydeep arrived in the city of Palopo. He was assigned a guide who would lead him through the city and take him directly to the Hall of Three Kings.
Along the way, Jaydeep, being an intelligence agent, could not resist collecting as much information as possible.
"Sir, can you tell me who rules this nation?"
The guide was surprised as this foreigner was speaking his language, but since they were the guests of the leaders, he did not mind and told him, "The rulers of this nation are the three kings: Sultan Abdul Rahman, Raja Ali, and Sultan Mohammed Yusuf. They are the kings of the Kingdom of Gowa, the Sultanate of Ternate, and the Sultanate of Bone."
The guide further explained as to how the Kingdom of Gowa was located in the southern part of the island, the Sultanate of Ternate in the northern part, and the Sultanate of Bone in the southern part.
Jaydeep was confused. How can one region have two kingdoms? Later he learned that these two kingdoms occupy two different regions in the south divided by the sea. The geography of Sulawesi is such that its southern area has two land structures stretching into the sea.
From an aerial view, it looks like the island has two legs: the western leg is ruled by Gowa, and the eastern leg is ruled by the Sultanate of Bone.
"Oh, okay," Jaydeep exclaimed, fully understanding the power distribution of this island.
This content is taken from fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm.
"So how come you call the place where we are going the Hall of Three Kings? Did these three kingdoms come together to form a large country?" Jaydeep asked.
The guide thought for a while and answered, "Well, kind of. According to our history, these three kingdoms were once heavily feuding for supremacy over the islands, especially the Kingdoms of Gowa and the Sultanate of Bone since they are both located on the southern side of the island.
However, when one of the regions under the Sultanate of Ternate was attacked and occupied by the Dutch, the other two kingdoms realized that these foreigners were a force they could not resist. Subsequently, the Dutch invaded Java, Bali, Sumatra, and Malacca. Not to mention the various other invasions by different European countries.
These frequent actions by the foreigners only made the already frightened kings even more restless. Hence, the three kings, a few decades ago, decided to come together and form a coalition to resist the Europeans."
"So although we may have three kingdoms, in reality, we have a single kingdom ruled by three rulers. We call this country the Sulawesi Confederation."
Jaydeep fully understood all the details about this nation and how it originated. He had to admit that these three kings acted quickly and decisively, putting away their differences and coming together to resist the foreigners. Maybe that was why this country had not been attacked by anyone yet. During his travels on this island, he noticed that there were nothing but dense forests and harsh terrain.
He guessed that this also added a natural defence for the people living here against the Europeans.
Overall, one thing that Jaydeep confirmed was that this country should have the answers he was looking for since even the guide knew about most of the countries controlled by the Europeans.
Soon, Jaydeep and his men made it to a large building that looked majestic. Although the building was not too tall, its intricate carvings and unique designs made it stand out and gave it a hint of majesty.
The guide who was with them until now quickly left the group and made an inviting gesture as he showed the way in.
Jaydeep and the others quickly entered the hall, and three men, all in their mid-thirties, looked at them with curiosity.
The Secret Service agents did the same, but suddenly Jaydeep knelt down as a show of respect. The Secret Service agents quickly remembered that they were not within the empire and that the customs here might not be the same, so they immediately followed suit, as kneeling down was a universal gesture of respect.
Abdul Rahman, Raja Ali, and Mohammed Yusuf were finally relieved now that one of their suspicions—that the Bharatiya Empire was eyeing them—had been cleared away.
It might sound very unlikely, but for these three kings, it was a valid fear since their island is located on a very crucial trade route in the Southeast Asian waters, and this was the only island that had not been conquered by the Europeans so far. So they thought that the Bharatiya Empire, being a strong country, would want its own colony overseas and was looking to target them.
But judging by how the people in front of them acted, it looked like they were wrong.
"Please get up, guests from Bharat. To what do we owe the pleasure of meeting you?"
Jaydeep was delighted that they were welcomed. He got up and proceeded to answer the question.
"Your Majesties, I have been tasked with an important mission of contacting any resistance forces within the archipelago of Indonesia.
Since this island comes under the archipelago of Indonesia and, due to your unity, you have not been conquered, I seek you out not only to establish my nation’s connection with this nation but also in the hopes that you would disclose any resistance forces that are still active within the Dutch-controlled region of Indonesia."
Abdul Rahman, Raja Ali, and Mohammed Yusuf were greatly surprised as they did not expect such a thing. "Was the Bharatiya Empire looking to fight against the Europeans? Incredible!" they thought.
"So, dear guest, in establishing a connection with the Bharatiya Empire you speak of, what do we get for you asking for our help?" Raja Ali asked, getting down to the main point.
Jaydeep answered, "Your Excellency, instead of telling you, I can show you. Could you please allow the respected gentleman who took away our luggage to bring it back?"
Raja Ali nodded his head and gestured to a man next to them.
Soon, a man was bringing two boxes that looked heavy, as he could not carry them and had to drag them.
Jaydeep had a smile on his face as he brought these boxes in front of the three kings and opened them, revealing the muskets that had been put out of service.
But the three kings, as soon as they saw these weapons, their eyes lit up. They were overjoyed. None of the three kingdoms had any industrial technology to manufacture these guns. Hence, in fear of Dutch bombardment, they shifted their living areas from the coastal region to a central region in a city called Palopo.
Fortunately, the geography of Sulawesi is such that Palopo is located in the innermost part of the Gulf of Boni, a stretch of water where the Dutch do not dare to enter.
Now, looking at these weapons, they felt more confident in resisting any foreign force.
"These are some of the weapons that we are willing to trade with you. If the trade channels are stable, we can even trade larger quantities with you, but that will have to wait until we have formally conducted trade for at least a few months. In exchange, you can pay us with anything we deem valuable from your kingdom that you are willing to exchange.
The prices have to be negotiated by the diplomats of the two countries, but I am informing you here since it is my duty to brief you on these details."
Sultan Abdul Rahman, Raja Ali, and Sultan Mohammed were very satisfied with the thought the Bharatiya Empire put into this arrangement and were even happier that the trade could be conducted in a resource that they had in abundance.
"We are very satisfied with this deal, Sir Jaydeep. We will wholeheartedly cooperate with you," said Raja Ali
Soon after, as promised, the three kings discussed together and began to reveal the resistance forces against the Dutch in the Indonesian archipelago.
Jaydeep was attentive as he listened intently, not missing a single word. The agents behind him quickly took out a book and began writing down all the details As accurately as possible.
"In the region of Java, there is a leader named Surapati who leads a resistance movement against the Dutch government. This man is your best chance at getting what you want since he grew up as a slave under Dutch rule and has become a resistance leader in Java with his tough methods.
In the region of Bali, I am sure you know that the Kingdom of Buleleng is controlled by a puppet king, but you wouldn’t know that the real king and heir of the Buleleng Kingdom, Gusti Praji Sakti, is still alive and also leads the resistance movement in Bali."
"The same goes for the region of Sumatra, where the noble family in hiding, led by Sultan Iskandar Muda, is leading the resistance against the Dutch, fighting to regain their Sultanate of Aceh. As for the region of Malacca, there is a leader named Johor who prominently leads the resistance against the Dutch."
Saying that the kings quickly went on to mention how to contact these resistance forces and also wrote them a letter of recommendation to avoid misunderstandings. This letter could also make things easier for the Bharatiya Secret Service.
P.S. Thank you its_a_joke, for the IceCola