1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 3682

Two days later, Takahashi Minami, who had visited the Persian port of Abbas, led his troops back to Hormuz Island and immediately reported the gains of the trip to Qian Tiandun.

"The port of Bandar Abbas is larger than that of Hormuz, but the port facilities and operation methods seem to be relatively primitive. I think that the Persians are not as professional as the Portuguese in operating ports."

"However, there are more European merchants here than in the Goa port we visited before. In addition to the Portuguese, there are also merchants from the Netherlands, England, France and other countries. The various handicrafts produced in Persia seem to be very popular among European merchants."

"I met with Bayim, the governor of Bandar Abbas, but his status in Persia seems to be not as high as that of the merchant Batiya who came to Hormuz Island. He did not give a clear attitude on how to deal with the relationship with our country. I think this may be due to his lack of authority."

"But this Bayim is very interested in our military equipment. Our Majestic-class battleship stayed there for three days, and he came to see it for three consecutive days. He looked at the bow and stern, inside and outside, and all the places he could see. In the end, he even asked me about the cost of the battleship and whether it could be exported."

Qian Tiandun interrupted him and asked, "Have you given him a quote?"

Takahashi Nan responded, "We only quoted the prices for the Exploration-class, Expedition-class, and other auxiliary ships according to the rules. We dare not quote the prices for the Majestic-class ships randomly. After all, the Executive Committee does not allow them to be exported now."

Qian Tiandun said, "In fact, the export ban on the Majestic class has been slowly lifted, but for now, only Annan and North Korea can purchase in limited quantities. Once the shipbuilding capacity is increased, it will be sold to other countries sooner or later... By the way, is Bayim still interested after hearing the offer?"

Gao Qiaonan said: "From his attitude, I think he wants to place an order right away. However, as a small port governor, he probably can't make the decision on this matter. He will probably have to report it to the higher authorities one level at a time."

"He was not idle either. He even hired a painter to build a high platform on the dock with an unobstructed view. He painted the ship for three whole days. I guess he wanted to hand in information that would satisfy the higher-ups."

It was not uncommon for the Majestic-class to be targeted by local painters while docking at foreign ports. Qian Tiandun and Gao Qiaonan were used to it. However, it was rare to see such a blatant practice as the one in Bandar Abbas, where a high platform was specially built to arrange for painters to depict the appearance of the Hai Han warships.

Qian Tiandun nodded slightly and said, "Since the Persians have such a wish, perhaps we should think about how to promote this deal."

Takahashi Nan said: "If we sell arms and equipment to Persia, I'm afraid the Portuguese will protest to the Executive Committee again, right?"

Qian Tiandun said: "There is actually a solution to this problem, but the procedures are a little more complicated. You should remember that both Annan and North Korea have arsenals and shipyards built with assistance from my country, right?"

With this hint, Takahashi Nan immediately understood what he meant: "You mean, Persia does not have to place an order directly with my country, but instead looks for a qualified shipyard in another country? In this way, my country will not openly violate the alliance with Portugal."

Qian Tiandun said: "Most of the arsenals and shipyards we built in Annan and North Korea only have assembly capabilities. Many key parts and core equipment still need to be manufactured in my country and then shipped to the local area for assembly. But even so, they are enough to meet the demand for export." The military industrial institutions built by Hai Han in the surrounding vassal states do not have much self-research and self-production capabilities, but Qian Tiandun's idea is to let them act as white gloves for arms trade, which is not too difficult to operate. However, whether this operation can get the support of the Executive Committee is not certain.

Although the arms trade is lucrative, the impact on international relations must also be considered. If the price of selling a few ships is to offend allies with whom we have cooperated for more than 20 years, then there is no need to do this business.

In addition, the Executive Committee must also evaluate factors such as the national strength, ambition, and combat effectiveness of the target country and formulate corresponding sales projects to avoid affecting Hai Han’s own goals after the regional strategic balance is disrupted.

If a regional power like Persia could really purchase several fully equipped armed fleets from Hai Han, the situation in the Persian Gulf would immediately become unbalanced, the tacit status quo on Hormuz Island would be terminated by the Persians, and the Portuguese would most likely be expelled from the region.

At least at this stage, the Strait of Hormuz still needs the presence of Portugal, which can act as an intermediary to balance the forces of all parties and, by the way, block the hatred for the newly arrived Hai Han.

Despite what Bhatia, who visited the country the day before, said, without Portugal, the relationship between the two sides would change, and Hai Han, which was still unstable, would become a direct competitor of Persia. Such a situation was not something Hai Han was happy to see.

After staying on Hormuz Island for many days, the fleet was finally about to set off for its next stop. Archon Rui knew that Qian Tiandun's fleet would not leave the Persian Gulf, so he sent a ship to cooperate with the Hai Han fleet in the name of piloting.

Qian Tiandun certainly understood that the piloting was just an excuse, and the real purpose was just to monitor the actions of the Hai Han fleet from the side. However, since he had already informed Rui of his plan to go to Khasab for an inspection, he would not care about the other party's tricks to cover up his mistake.

Besides, the fleet would have to cruise in the Persian Gulf next, and having a guide was always better than having no guide, so Qian Tiandun readily agreed to Rui's "help".

The straight-line distance from Hormuz Island to Khasab in the south of the strait is only two hundred miles. The fleet set out in the morning of that day and arrived at the target sea area in the afternoon.

It can be observed with the naked eye that the terrain on the south side of the strait is much more complicated than that on the north side. The coastline is winding and mostly hills that extend directly into the sea. There are almost no flat areas.

Khasab is a small coastal plain with a small fishing village on the shore. The fishermen did not panic at the appearance of this huge fleet, but most of them were curious onlookers.

To be on the safe side, Qian Tiandun followed the standard landing procedure and first sent out two troop transport ships, which landed under the cover of warships and cleared an area for berthing.

The small dock of the fishing village obviously could not meet the berthing requirements of the large ships of the Hai Han fleet, so the fleet could only drop anchor near the shore first and then use small boats to transfer personnel ashore.

According to Rui, this place should have been under the control of Portugal. However, judging from the clothes and appearance of the local fishermen, Rui was obviously bragging. These natives were clearly local Arabs.