1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 3795

At least half of Portugal's trade in the Persian Gulf was with the Ottoman Empire, with the largest number of transactions taking place in the city of Basra, which was close to the coastline.

But in recent months, the sales of goods from Hormuz Island to Basra have been decreasing at a visible rate. It seems that Ottoman merchants have changed their minds for some reason and are no longer willing to spend money to order goods from Hormuz Island.

Rui knew the reason for this situation, but he pretended not to know and asked Galar what he thought about it.

He believed that as Galar was the governor of Basra, it was impossible for him to be unaware of such market trends. Only by clarifying Galar's attitude could he use appropriate wording to communicate.

Galar replied with a relaxed expression, "That must be because the merchants think that the goods from Hormuz Island are not selling well, so they reduced the purchase amount. Lord Rui should prepare more cheap and good goods and reduce taxes for foreign merchants, so as to attract more merchants to Hormuz Island."

Rui smiled bitterly and said, "If it were that simple, I wouldn't have to make a special trip to Basra. Lord Galar, haven't you noticed that your merchants are shifting their trading locations from Hormuz Island to Fubo Port?"

Galar asked in return: "It is the merchants' freedom to conduct trade activities wherever they want. Is there anything wrong with that?"

Rui quickly followed up the conversation and said, "Sir, for your country, Fubo Port is the gathering place of all kinds of rebels! The Xihu country that broke away from your country and declared autonomy held its founding ceremony at Fubo Port! Nowadays, many local Arab tribes want to follow the example of Xihu, so they frequently operate in Fubo Port. Part of the profits generated by your country's merchants trading there will also go into the hands of those rebels, so you must be on guard!"

What this means is, how can you allow your own businessmen to go to areas where rebel activities are taking place to do business? Isn't this a disguised form of aiding the enemy?

Galar said, "Lord Rui, are you worried that those Arabs will become powerful and will be detrimental to our country? Then I really want to thank you for your concern!"

Rui could tell the other party's tone was a little suspicious, so he quickly explained, "I have no intention of interfering in your country's internal affairs. It's just that the existence of Fubo Port has affected the peace of the region. Not only your country is affected, but Hormuz Island is also deeply affected. The recent decline in trade with your country is actually due to the obstruction of the Hai Han people in Fubo Port."

“Aren’t your two countries allies? Why would Hai Han want to steal your business?” Galar looked at Rui with a playful expression, as if he didn’t quite believe his accusation.

Rui had expected Galar to ask such a question, and was prepared for it. He answered calmly, "Our country and Hai Han are only allies in the military field, but in the field of trade, we are both partners and competitors. However, the Hai Han people are more ruthless in their actions, unlike us Portuguese people who are open and aboveboard. They will use some shady means to compete for the market. I personally don't like dealing with them."

Rui pushed all the blame onto Hai Han, completely forgetting how he had secretly instigated the Arabs to attack Fu Bo Port.

But Galar obviously did not completely believe his one-sided words. He just responded indifferently: "The grievances between your country and Hai Han have nothing to do with our country. What I care about is whether Hai Han can coexist peacefully with our country and whether trade with Hai Han can bring practical benefits to our country."

Rui shook his head and said, “But Arab tribes like the Xihu, which were originally under your jurisdiction, are now trying every means to cling to Hai Han and cut ties with your country... Could it be that Lord Galar is really going to watch the Arabian Peninsula being eaten away bit by bit by the Hai Han people?”

Galar asked, “Lord Rui, you’ve gone through so much trouble, but you still don’t want to tell me your real intention?” Rui saw that Galar had seen through his trick, so he gave up the cover-up and said directly, “I hope your country can take some tough measures to force Hai Han to abandon its expansion in the Persian Gulf and restore the international order here to its previous state.”

Galar raised his eyebrows and asked, "Tough measures? Are you saying that we should send troops to deal with the Hai Han people, and preferably drive them out of the Persian Gulf?"

Rui felt that the other party's tone was not friendly, so he could only respond cautiously: "It is your country's decision to decide what measures to take. I have no intention of inciting your country to send troops to fight."

Galar snorted and said, "It's really interesting to talk about it. Perhaps you won't believe it, but what you just said has actually been said by someone in advance."

"Ah?" Rui was shocked to hear this. He had not sent any envoys to Basra to meet Galar before. How could someone tell the other party these words before he arrived?

Galar also noticed Rui's embarrassment, which seemed to further prove that the intelligence information he had was not fabricated by someone, but really matched the real purpose of Rui's trip.

Rui also realized his own gaffe, and quickly calmed down, saying to Galar: "There must be some misunderstanding. I did not appoint anyone as a representative to come to Basra to pass on the message..."

Galar interrupted his defense impatiently: "The person who told me these words is not yours."

"Not my man?" Rui was a little confused. Since he was not his trusted subordinate, how did he know that he would come to Basra to meet Galar, let alone the specific content.

Seeing that Rui was unable to answer, Galar took the initiative to give the answer: "Before meeting with you, I received a Hai Han envoy from Fubo Port. It was he who told me the suggestions you just made."

The more Rui listened, the more confused he became. He shook his head and said, "I still don't quite understand."

Galar explained, “The Hai Han envoy arrived in Basra two days earlier than you. He told me that the Portuguese would definitely come to Basra to visit me and would repeatedly sow discord between the Ottomans and Hai Han, persuading me to sever ties with Hai Han and even send troops to attack Fubo Port… I didn’t believe it at first, but your arrival has confirmed his words.”

"He said goodbye to me and left just before he met you. Is it really just a coincidence that you two came to Basra one after the other?"

"Lord Rui, can you explain what's going on?"

Rui shook his head in confusion and said, “I… I can’t understand what’s going on, but I can swear that I haven’t told the Hai Han people about my thoughts.”

Galar said in a deep voice, “I don’t know what tricks you two countries are playing. I don’t like the Hai Han people, but I can’t trust you either. If your goal is to get our country to send troops to deal with Hai Han, then you can give up this idea now.”