1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 3984

The next morning, visitors continued to flock to Chen Pingliao's residence, making the guesthouse bustling with activity.

In addition to the sons of salt merchants and local dignitaries, several Portuguese businessmen doing business in Hambantota were also present today. They apparently only learned of their VIP status at the guesthouse last night, and thus hurriedly joined the group of visitors.

Chen Pingliao had little experience dealing with the Portuguese, so he brought along the more knowledgeable Li Yuande. This way, if any topics arose that he was unsure about during the meeting, Li Yuande could speak up and handle them, to avoid accidentally making a mistake.

However, these Portuguese merchants did not bring any trouble for Chen Pingliao. It seemed that they really only came with the purpose of making an acquaintance. After a brief exchange of pleasantries, they introduced themselves and the businesses they were engaged in, drank a couple of sips of tea, and then took their leave.

Chen Pingliao was quite fond of the exquisite silverware tableware that the Portuguese merchant had sent him. According to Li Yuande's estimate, if this item were to be transported to Sanya, it should be able to sell for around 100 yuan, comparable to a piece of royal porcelain produced by the Jiangxi official kiln.

Finally, it was noon. After meeting with the morning's guests, Chen Pingliao leaned back in his chair, looked up at the sky, and said, "That's enough for now. If anyone else comes this afternoon, you'll have to fend them off for me."

Li Yuande slowly put down his teacup and replied with a smile, "It seems that Brother Chen is indeed not suited for this line of work. You've only met a few people, and you're already complaining that you can't handle it!"

Chen Pingliao waved his hand and said, "You're right this time. This line of work really isn't for me. Someone like me should stay in the military. This welcoming and seeing off is something you business people should do."

Li Yuande said, "Actually, meeting more people has its benefits. It will give you a more direct understanding of the local situation. After all, books are static, but people are dynamic. The experience of reading only texts and interacting with the people involved is completely different."

Chen Pingliao said, "I understand the reasoning, but it's a bit difficult to adapt... I only have one question now, and you should know what I'm going to ask, right?"

Li Yuande was not stumped by Chen Pingliao's test and replied with a smile, "I know what you want to ask. Just wait two more days, two days will do. There are still some goods that need time to be loaded onto the ship. Once they are loaded, we can set off for Fubo Port."

Chen Pingliao sighed deeply, thinking to himself that he would hang a sign of truce at the entrance of the courtyard for the next two days and would no longer receive any new visitors.

Chen Pingliao was eager to see Qian Tiandun as soon as possible to discuss joint operations, and he wasn't particularly interested in these mundane matters, a fact that Li Yuande was well aware of. However, the Furuifeng fleet had established shipping schedules and wouldn't completely change them according to Chen Pingliao's wishes.

In the future, once Chen Pingliao's warships have sailed more times on the Indian Ocean route, they will no longer need to rely on the Furifeng merchant ships for navigation. However, no matter how fast this process is, it will take at least a year and a half to see initial results. At this time, Chen Pingliao can only patiently wait for Li Yuande's arrangements.

Li Yuande kept his word. He said two days and indeed it was two days. When the time came, he came to inform Chen Pingliao, and they set off early the next morning.

On the eve of their departure, the garrison commander on the island hosted a farewell banquet to entertain officers such as Chen Pingliao and Sun Zhen who had come from afar. Li Yuande and his group of salt merchants' sons, who were regarded as gods of wealth, were naturally among the invitees, and there was bound to be another round of toasts and laughter.

After setting sail, Chen Pingliao waved goodbye to the local officials who came to see him off at the dock, and said to Li Yuande, "These guys from Hamban Port really know how to drink! They're all like they don't care about their lives. I'll have to be more careful next time I come here!" Li Yuande laughed and said, "The army doesn't usually allow such unrestrained drinking. They're only allowed to indulge when entertaining distinguished guests. Think about it, how many groups of distinguished guests do you think Hamban Port get to visit in a year?"

The fleet departing from Hamban Port had lost more than thirty ships, most of which were merchant vessels that had followed from China. These ships would no longer sail westward; after completing their trade activities at Hamban Port, they would join the next batch of ships heading to the Strait of Malacca to return home.

However, the remaining fleet was still very large. The Fu Ruifeng merchant fleet, plus the warships brought by Chen Pingliao, was far larger than the Western fleets that usually passed by in the vicinity.

It was rare to see such a large fleet dock at Hamban Port, so Li Yuande and Chen Pingliao decided to "take a detour" to Colombo, on the west coast of Ceylon Island, for a short trip.

This trip wouldn't involve much detours and wouldn't delay our journey to Fubo Port. As for the purpose, it was naturally to take this opportunity to show off our power in front of the Portuguese.

Although the Portuguese merchants in Hambantota would certainly have relayed the news back to Colombo, how could word-of-mouth be as impactful as firsthand observation?

The fleet sailed slowly northward from a few miles off the coast of Colombo. If the Portuguese in the city weren't blind, they would certainly spot this conspicuous fleet of ships.

Chen Pingliao observed Colombo through binoculars from the deck. It was more accurate to describe it as a Western-style fortress than a city. The fortress did not appear to be very large, and most of the low-lying houses were located on the coastal plain outside the fortress. Presumably, only important facilities such as the governor's mansion, barracks, and granaries were built inside the fortress.

There are not many Portuguese ships docked in the coastal ports, and most of them are fishing boats. The scale of Portuguese agricultural development here is small, so they have to rely on the sea for their livelihood, and fishing is one of the main sources of income for the local settlers.

Today, some of Colombo's trading functions have been taken over by Hamban Port, a newcomer, so the port looks somewhat deserted and basically only serves as a Portuguese outpost on Ceylon.

It wasn't until they had sailed several miles past Colombo that Li Yuande ordered the ship to turn west and head towards the southern waters of the Indian subcontinent.

The fleet will first pass through the Lakshmi Sea, known for its abundant deep-sea pearls, then sail past the Laksha Islands off the west coast of the Indian peninsula, before entering the Arabian Sea between the Arabian and Indian peninsulas.

The Arabian Sea is roughly the same size as the South China Sea. The Gulf of Oman in the north connects to the Strait of Hormuz, where Fubo Port is located, while the Gulf of Aden in the west connects to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the entrance to the Red Sea.

However, compared to the South China Sea, the Arabian Sea coast lacks natural harbors with excellent conditions and regional trade centers like Sanya, Xingdao, and Manila City, and the prosperity of its maritime trade is incomparable.

Before Haihan entered this region, only the seaports on the west coast of the Indian peninsula, such as Surat, Mumbai, Goa, and Cochin, were somewhat decent. However, most of these ports were under Portuguese control, making it difficult for Haihan to establish a foothold. Ultimately, Haihan chose to build Hamban Port at the southern tip of Ceylon Island.