1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 3773

Over the past thousands of years, the Persian Gulf region has seen countless dynasties rise and fall, with new forces emerging and old overlords declining. This is the norm as history moves forward.

However, each metabolic process often takes decades or even hundreds of years, and it is very rare for an unknown local force to rise rapidly.

Great powers like Persia and the Ottoman Empire would not sit idly by and watch latecomers threaten their international status. They would take action to eliminate them in the bud at the slightest sign of threat.

But the Xihu tribe is obviously an extremely special exception. Before the arrival of the Hai Han people, this tribe was just one of dozens of local tribal forces in the Arabian Peninsula. In terms of seniority, strength, environment, and development potential, it was not even ranked in the top ten, let alone compared with the surrounding major powers.

Even when facing a foreign force like Portugal, the Xihu tribe had no advantages at all. It seemed that being a landlord in the desert was already their peak.

The appearance of the Hai Han people brought the Arabs of the Xihu tribe a path they had never imagined. They suddenly discovered that the tribe was not the upper limit of the Xihu’s development. With the help of the Hai Han, they could even establish a country based on the tribe—a country ruled by the Xihu!

It is difficult for anyone to resist such temptation, even the Xihu people who were originally satisfied with the status quo. Chief Abdullah suddenly realized that the reason for being satisfied with the status quo was simply that he had not found the ladder to the next level. Now that the ladder was in front of him, this was most likely the best opportunity the Xihu tribe had ever had.

However, Chief Abdullah was not completely sure how much Hai Han could do and whether it could really provide reliable security for the Xihu tribe as it promised. So he sent his son to Fubo Port in the name of training to examine Hai Han's true strength and sincerity for cooperation and ensure that the Xihu tribe would not fall into some trap.

After young Abdullah received training in Fubo Port for a period of time, what he saw and heard actually made him believe that Hai Han indeed had the strength to support the Xihu tribe in establishing a nation.

The arrival of another Hai Han fleet with Zhoushan as its flagship dispelled all his doubts. Even the Ottoman Empire and Persia would have to retreat when faced with an armed fleet of this size.

What surprised little Abdullah even more was not that Takahashi Nan agreed to take him on board the Zhoushan for a tour, but that diplomats from many countries also came to Fubo Port with Hai Han this time.

Of course, due to the special nature of this fleet, most of these diplomats' positions are temporarily held by senior military officers from various countries.

But this is not the point. What little Abdullah cares about is not their identity, but the purpose of their coming to Fubo Port.

One of the conditions for Hai Han to help the Xihu tribe with its nation-building plan was that it would coordinate international relations for the future Xihu country and arrange for multiple countries to recognize the Xihu country's legal status.

This is easy to say, but it is not easy to put into practice. Even though little Abdullah has little diplomatic experience, he can fully imagine how difficult it is.

How much face does it take to get other countries to recognize a newly established small country? It may even have to agree to some exchange conditions from other countries. The various interests involved are probably much more complicated to deal with than the establishment of the Xihu tribe itself.

Qian Tiandun called little Abdullah to his side and whispered to him, "These diplomats were invited by Hai Han to come to Fubo Port to participate in the event and witness the establishment of the Xihu Kingdom. I will introduce you to them later. You have to behave like a Prince of Xihu, do you understand?" After listening to the translation, little Abdullah nodded repeatedly to show that he understood, but his heart beat faster involuntarily.

Although the countries he visited were all unfamiliar to little Abdullah, and he had never even heard of the names of most of them, it would indeed be a great honor if Xihu could be recognized by so many countries at the beginning of its founding.

However, he had never experienced such an occasion before, and he didn't know how to achieve the style that Qian Tiandun described, so he couldn't help feeling a little nervous.

As if he had seen through his thoughts, Qian Tiandun added, "When these diplomats come to greet you, just smile and nod. You don't need to communicate with them too much. I will make arrangements for the formal talks later."

Little Abdullah then calmed down a little, and stood together with Qian Tiandun and other Hai Han high-ranking officials, ready to meet these foreign officials who had come from afar.

Although the establishment of the Xihu State is still in the planning and preparation stage, the respect and courtesy shown by the diplomats to little Abdullah is exactly the standard for treating a country's crown prince. This made him feel unprecedented respect and his nervous mood was relieved a lot.

Of course, little Abdullah was not overwhelmed by such courtesy. He also knew that the respect of these foreign officials was not directed at him, but at the high-ranking Hai Han officials standing next to him. They were the real objects of their respect.

The only thing that worried little Abdullah was whether the Fubo Port, which was still under construction, might seem too simple for these foreign officials who had come from afar.

After all, this place doesn't look like a place that can be used as a temporary capital. And if the founding ceremony is to be held in Xihu City, then the long journey across the desert will be a big test for these foreign officials.

But he immediately felt relieved about this. Since these foreign officials came for Hai Han's face, the location of the founding ceremony would of course be decided by Hai Han, and there was no point in him worrying about it.

If Hai Han decides to hold the ceremony at Fubo Port, then surely no one will come out to question this decision.

Although the Xihu tribe seemed to be just a role cooperating with Hai Han in the nation-building plan, little Abdullah had no complaints about it. Compared with the bright future of becoming the king of a country, being a puppet for a while did not seem to be a big deal.

As for why Hai Han supported an indigenous tribe to establish a country in such a remote place, the foreign officials who came with the group generally speculated that it was the geographical location that attracted Hai Han.

On the way, they all saw the nautical charts produced by Hai Han, and of course noticed that Fubo Port was located right at the throat of the Persian Gulf. This location was consistent with Hai Han’s long-standing habit of selecting locations for port construction.

However, the surrounding area is entirely barren desert, and there seems to be no fertile land available for cultivation. This is a unique and special environment among the ports built by Hai Han, and it has invisibly increased the difficulty of development.