1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 3676

Although the two sides of the Strait of Hormuz look desolate, it is not an unowned land after all. It is not easy for outsiders to settle down here. The first thing they have to do is to deal with the local tyrants.

Although Persia was the owner of the northern shore of the Strait, the Portuguese seized an island on their doorstep. This small island, which was only more than ten miles in radius, was also named Hormuz Island by the Portuguese, and a fortress and trade port were built on the island.

The first stop for the Hai Han fleet when visiting the Strait of Hormuz is the Port of Hormuz on Hormuz Island.

As the most knowledgeable person in the fleet, Qian Tiandun had to give his entourage some relevant information about Hormuz Island.

"According to the information we have, this island was once the territory of Persia 150 years ago. The Portuguese relied on force and spent eight years defeating Persia before they occupied the island."

"In recent decades, the island has changed hands many times in the tug-of-war between the two countries. It is said that the British also helped the Persians in the war, and fought back and forth with the Portuguese. But in the end, the Portuguese prevailed and continued to occupy the island."

"This place is also recorded in Zheng He's navigation map, marked as 'Horumos', saying that this place is rich in red salt stone. This stone is made into utensils, and food will taste salty without adding salt."

Hearing this, Li Yuande interrupted and said, "So, the Ming Dynasty came here before Portugal. If Zheng He had any idea about Persian territory at that time, he would not have let the Portuguese take the lead!"

Dong Shangyi also agreed: "If the eunuch Sanbao could occupy an island here at that time, wouldn't it save a lot of trouble today!"

Qian Tiandun said, "With our national strength and military power, it would be time-consuming and laborious to establish a base so far away from our homeland, let alone Zheng He two hundred years ago? Besides, Zheng He's mission was to travel around the countries and establish diplomatic relations, not to conquer and plunder like the Europeans did. He probably didn't consider what you are talking about."

As they were speaking, the Port of Hormuz had already dispatched a pilot boat to assist the Hai Han fleet in docking.

In fact, the Portuguese's reaction was much calmer than those border guards on the Persian border before. They had noticed the two-color flag hoisted by the Hai Han fleet early on, and could confirm by the ship shape that this was a fleet from Hai Han, so they naturally arranged the reception with confidence.

If the conditions on Hormuz Island were measured by Hai Han’s standards, it would not be a good place to build a port.

The island is oval in shape, and there is no natural bay on the shore that can be used to build a port. There are almost no tall trees on the island except for some drought-resistant shrubs. The island's coast is mostly sandy land, which can be said to be defenseless. It is no wonder that this place has changed hands repeatedly in the past.

The only thing worth mentioning is probably its location. The island is only a dozen miles away from the nearest coast, blocking the main sea route of Persia.

Although there are several other islands on the west side of the Persian Gulf, and even a large island ten times the size of this island, the Portuguese still chose Hormuz Island, probably because of its geographical location. Even though they knew that this island was easy to attack but difficult to defend, they still invested huge resources here for long-term operation.

Perhaps it was because they had to face constant military pressure from Persia and the Port of Hormuz had no natural defenses, so the Portuguese put a lot of effort into building it into a seaside fortress.

Among the many Portuguese ports that the Hai Han fleet visited during this visit, the level of city defense here is definitely top-notch, probably second only to Goa.

Although this place is thousands of miles away from Goa, it is still under the jurisdiction of the Governor's Office of Goa. After meeting Qian Tiandun and others, the governor Rui here heard that they had visited Goa before, so he made no secret of his other identity - the brother-in-law of Goa Governor Fernandez.

Of course, he can serve as governor on the island of Hormuz, more or less benefiting from this special identity.

Li Yuande immediately thought of one thing. Since Rui was a family member of the Governor of Goa, he was arranged to sit in this position because there must be a lot of money to be made here.

But if this place really goes to war with Persia every other day and there is no peaceful environment, there won't be much commercial activities. Where will the profits come from?

But after all, he had been with Qian Tiandun for so much time that he soon came up with the answer.

Since Portugal wanted to hold on to this place, it would have to allocate a considerable amount of military funds and supplies to Hormuz Island. As the consul, it would not be difficult for Rui to make some money from it by just moving his hands a little.

But Rui's introduction surprised Qian Tiandun and others a little. The port on this island is not just for transporting supplies to the people stationed on the island, but there are real trade activities and the income is quite good.

Qian Tiandun asked curiously, "This port faces Persia across the sea. Given the level of hostility between your country and Persia, can the other side allow ordinary merchant ships to enter and exit here at will?"

Ruyi smiled and said, "To be honest, the people who trade with us are Persian merchants."

Seeing the slightly surprised expressions of Qian Tiandun and his group, Rui Yi was even more proud, and then he revealed some inside information to them.

Rui was not bragging. Most of the merchants who maintained trade relations with Hormuz Island were indeed from Persia.

The long-running war between the two countries over the Island of Hormuz did not prevent merchants from making profits from cross-border trade.

Persian handmade carpets, turquoise jewelry, painted ceramics and other handicrafts can be sold at very good prices in the European market. The Portuguese brought a wide variety of goods from all over the world to Persia, many of which were in short supply in the domestic market.

Driven by huge profits, some people will naturally choose to take risks and engage in cross-border trade. Of course, this is a nice way of saying it, but in fact, the nature of these underground trades is smuggling.

As a result, a strange phenomenon occurred in the Strait of Hormuz. From time to time, the two sides would have tense armed confrontations, and even large-scale conflicts would occur.

But at the same time, after nightfall, many merchant ships still quietly traveled between the Persian coast and Hormuz Island. Countless goods and gold and silver flowed between the two countries, which was quite a spectacle.

After listening to his introduction, Qian Tiandun immediately added: "I believe that a Persian businessman with such courage must have an extraordinary background!"

Rui frankly admitted: "Those who dare to do this kind of business are mostly just running errands for others in front of the stage, and behind them are all various royal relatives of Persia!"