1635 Han style rises again

On December 1659, 12, Mahari Sultan, Socotra Island.

Two warships belonging to the Indian Fleet of the Qi State Navy are stationed on the sea near the west side of this small island (now Gulanciye Town, Socotra Island), and the fleet commander and General Mingwei (Brigadier General) Luo Shouxun is holding a telescope Carefully observe the situation on the island.Previously, after they escorted three merchant ships under the Persian trading company to Bandar Abbas, they explored the geographical terrain of the opposite peninsula (Arabian Peninsula) along the Persian Gulf.It took two months to sail to the vicinity of the Gulf of Aden.

The climate here is as hot and dry as the coast of the peninsula, and there are all kinds of strange plants growing on the island, which he has never seen anywhere he has ever been.There are trees whose sap is dark red and crowned like an upside-down umbrella (Dracaena socotra), and there are also trees that grow directly embedded in stones without soil at all. The bark is shiny like rubber, and the branches Trees with pretty pink flowers growing on top (desert roses), and a gaunt, sallow-faced vulture.All of this gives people a sense of illusion and fear.

"If the officers and soldiers who landed and explored can find enough water sources, I think that a supply point can be established on this small island as an important base for strategic planning of the peninsula and the African continent." Luo Shouxun put down his binoculars and looked towards the "Brigade He Zongyuan, the captain of the "Ming" and Lieutenant Xuanjie (Major), said: "Makhri Sultan is more than 300 kilometers away from here, and the sea power is weak. Even if we fail to lease it, it is not impossible to take it by force .”

"This small island is no less than [-] miles away from the mainland of Hanzhou. How can we take care of it?" He Zongyuan said with a wry smile: "Besides, the nearby land is not rich in production, and the place is barren. The supply may all depend on India, which is somewhat time-consuming and labor-intensive." .If the Mahrisudan country is not forgiving and sends troops to snatch it, I am afraid it will be difficult to gain a foothold in a short time."

"Then why don't you hand over this place to the Persian trading company in the early stage, set up a trading station here, and set up a small supply point. Later, our Indian fleet's maritime strength will increase, and we will completely take down this small island."

"Commander, merchants want to make profits." He Zongyuan couldn't help but be dumbfounded, "The poor here are poor and the products are not abundant. Even if you add the land kingdoms on the surrounding land, there are probably not many people. If the Persian trading company establishes a here Shops, there is nothing lucrative about it, and they are probably reluctant to do this kind of loss-making business."

"Since the Persian Trading Company is unwilling, then ask the princes and nobles of the Mughal Empire for some money to build this stronghold." Luo Shouxun pondered for a moment, then said with a smile: "This is the only way for believers of the True God to go on a pilgrimage to Mecca. Land. Their doctrine stipulates that every adult believer of True God who has money and physical strength has the religious obligation to worship Mecca. If the princes and nobles of the Mughal Empire do not want to be attacked and robbed by pirates in this sea area If you want to plunder, then it is time to support us in establishing a stable sea base on this small island so that we can better provide them with escort operations."

After hearing this, He Zongyuan was speechless.The commander-in-chief seems to be particularly fond of staking land. Whenever he finds a port or small island with an excellent strategic location, he always wants to occupy it and build it into a naval supply point. …

"It's still the same sentence, in this world, whoever controls the ocean controls the world." Luo Shouxun glanced at the older officer under his command, "How to control the ocean is nothing more than occupying more key points on the sea." The main point is to have the ability to control maritime traffic, and thereby control world trade. Then, if you control world trade, you will also control world wealth, and thus control the world itself. This is the ultimate goal that our navy will strive for in the future. , is also the earnest hope of the king for us."

"What the commander said is very true. However, with our current maritime strength, it is not enough to expand the sphere of influence here. If we forcefully set up a layout with weak forces, I am afraid it will be difficult to achieve safe defense and control. At that time, there will be disputes, and our military power will not be able to be projected, so that it will be useless."

"I remember that more than ten years ago, the Mughal Empire fought a loss-making war. That year (1647), the Mughals mobilized 2.5 people to attack the Bukhara Khanate. It took a year and cost 4000 Thousands of rupees were spent, and more than 5000 officers and soldiers died in the battle, but they had to withdraw to the country in the end, but the harvest was only 22 rupees. This made the Mughal Empire neither expand its territory nor destroy it in this war For the Bukhara Khanate, it can be said that the gain outweighs the loss, but it hurts its vitality."

"Expansion on land and expansion on the sea are two completely different models." Luo Shouxun couldn't help laughing when he heard this, "The Mughal Empire attacked the Bukhara Khanate and dispatched tens of thousands of troops, which cost military funds It also reached 4000 million rupees, but what is the situation of the places they attacked? They are all composed of mountainous areas and valleys, with sparse population and cultivated land. In this way, it is naturally hard to get it, even if it is taken, it is like a tasteless business, a pure loss-making business."

"However, if my Indian fleet possesses a wealth of 4000 million rupees, it will be enough to expand the fleet's current size by more than ten times, and establish countless maritime logistics supply bases throughout the Indian Ocean region. Let me ask, with such strong strength, we can Easily control the entire Indian Ocean, and have the ability to project naval power to any coastal area of ​​​​the Indian Ocean. In this situation, our country Qi can completely monopolize the maritime trade in this vast area. Africa, Arabia, Persia, India, Myanmar , the Malay Peninsula..., dozens of countries and regions, and tens of millions of people, what a huge source of wealth this is!"

During this period, there were three powerful and huge empires around the Indian Ocean, the Ottoman Empire, the Safavid Empire and the Mughal Empire.

The core territory of the Ottoman Empire is far away from the Indian Ocean. It can be regarded as an inland country or a country along the Mediterranean Sea, pursuing the interests of Europe and the Middle East.The local wars between it and the Safavid Empire also show that they are all land-oriented, which also means that their maritime role in the Indian Ocean is very small.

The point of the Safavid Empire seems to have always been inclined to the Mesopotamia, Central Asia, and the Caucasus.Facing the vast Indian Ocean to the south of the territory, it also seemed careless, but after expelling the Portuguese in the Gulf (Persian Gulf), by the way, it controlled several key points nearby to ensure the safety of its southwest coastal territory. …

The most surprising thing is that the Mughal Empire (at this time, the Mughal Empire did not unify southern India) was not interested in the ocean at all.They believe that "war at sea is the business of merchants, and has nothing to do with the prestige of the king (emperor)".Their interest lies in controlling and collecting taxes from the land, and the countless farmers on the land.Customs revenue constitutes only a small fraction of their total tax revenue.Any activity they may undertake at sea is at best ancillary to land affairs.

However, it was the first time that Emperor Akbar thought about the ocean, and it was the only time. However, his point was only because he wanted to send pilgrims to Mecca, starting from Surat, and crossing the sea. travel.Therefore, this did not cause him to spend extra energy to create a powerful navy.

The emperors (shahs) of the Mughal and Safavid empires seemed quite content with their "appreciation of the continent".The entire thinking of them and the domestic nobles is based on land.If you want to have the highest glory, you must win the land through war, and lead your own cavalry to gallop on the plains.

"So, under the circumstance that the above-mentioned three empires have no intention of getting involved in the vast Indian Ocean, our Great Qi Kingdom will assume the fate of this talent, take the initiative to maintain and control the affairs of the entire Indian Ocean region, and be the master of this sea area!" Luo Shouxun said face-to-face Turning sideways, pointing to the depths of the endless ocean, "Turn this vast Indian Ocean into the sea of ​​our country!"
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January 1660, 1, Muscat Sultanate, Masirah Island waters.

Fernando de Almeida Pesania, the captain of the "Lopez", glanced back at the seven small and medium-sized galleys that were chasing after him, and then looked at the images of the two large sailing ships that appeared in front of the left side of the ship. The figure, face can not help but covered with the color of despair.

The "Lopez" is a Galen galleon owned by the Portuguese African colony, with a full load of 450 tons. It set off from Beira, Mozambique more than a month ago, preparing to go to Goa, India.I thought that after escaping the interception and attack of the Muscat Sultanate stationed in Zanzibar Island by luck, I could sail smoothly to India via the coast of the peninsula.

Unexpectedly, when traveling near the waters of Masirah Island, they encountered seven small and medium-sized galleys of the Muscat Sultanate Navy.Except for some small boats, the remaining ships were all Portuguese ships captured in previous years of looting.When they saw the Galen galleon, they rushed over immediately.

Seeing that the situation was not good, the "Lopez" immediately turned around and fled southwest.The opponent's seven galleys spread out quickly, biting the prey's tail tightly with a wide fan-shaped surface, and speeding up to catch up.

In other words, more than 100 years ago (1507), the Portuguese conqueror Alfonso de Albuquerque led his army to attack Muscat and brought the place under Portuguese colonial rule for more than 130 years.During the period, although the Ottoman Empire captured Muscat twice between 1552 and 1582, it was eventually recaptured by the Portuguese, firmly controlling the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea.

However, in 1624, when Nasir bin Murshid al-Aribi was elected as the Imam of Oman (Head of the True God), it changed the balance of power between the Persians, Portuguese and local Arabs in this region. balance. …

He established the Yariba Dynasty in Rustak in 1642 and unified the interior of Oman under his administration.After more than ten years of continuous attacks on the Portuguese, his nephew and ruler Yin Mamu Sultan bin Saiyinf I succeeded in driving out the Portuguese in 1650.

But the Yaribas only drove the Portuguese from the land of Oman, and the Portuguese remained in the adjacent areas.So Sultan I and his successor Saiyinf I established a small but powerful navy in the Indian Ocean in a short period of time, and continued to attack Portuguese ships sailing in the Indian Ocean and in bases in the South Asian subcontinent.

Facing the aggressive Yariba dynasty, the Portuguese in Goa, India, decided to launch a strong counterattack.Since the island of Hormuz had been conquered by the British-Persian coalition forces in the siege of Hormuz decades ago, Muscat has become their most important base in the Persian Gulf.If it is completely abandoned, the risk of shipping between East Africa and the west coast of India will be greatly increased.

In 1651, the Portuguese formed an expeditionary fleet in Goa, India. By gathering the remaining forces on several routes, the expeditionary force included about 700 infantry, sailors and gunners.They set off on two galleons, a light double-barrel sailboat, and seventeen small and medium-sized galleys, and carried barges that could be used for beach landings, with Antonio de Sousa as the supreme command.

However, although the expeditionary fleet invaded the inner port of Muscat and captured two armed merchant ships of the Yariba, they were blocked by heavy artillery fire on the shore and numerous land troops, and were forced to return to Goa. .

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To make matters worse, the Sultanate of Muscat gained confidence after successfully repelling the Portuguese counterattack.Then in the second year, the Sultan King Saif led more than ten warships to conquer Zanzibar and Pemba Islands in one fell swoop, executed the Portuguese colonists including Governor Augustus, and ended the Portuguese colonization in Zanzibar. The more than 150-year rule of the two islands of Ben and Ben has dealt another blow to the declining Portuguese.

Today, the Portuguese route from India to Africa has become very unsafe. In addition to dealing with the looting of some malicious armed merchant ships from England and the Netherlands, they also face the Muscat Sultanate in East Africa, The Gulf, as well as attacks along the coast of the Indian Ocean, the maritime trade situation has become increasingly deteriorating.

Under such circumstances, the "Lopez" set off from Mozambique and prepared to go to India, risking many risks.It may be that Portugal's luck has really declined. In such a vast ocean, the navy of the Muscat Sultanate can even be intercepted.Now, they are intercepted in the front and pursued in the back. It is estimated that it is difficult to escape. In the end, everyone and goods will fall into the hands of the Ariba people and become miserable slaves.

"Captain, the two galleons in front belong to the Hanzhou people!" The lookout on the "Lopez" shouted in surprise: "Yes, they belong to the Hanzhou people! Moreover, they look like two... professional warships! "

Upon hearing this, Captain Pesania immediately raised his binoculars and carefully observed the two galleons approaching from the front left.

With a slender hull and a smooth hull, several red rising sun and yellow dragon flags fluttered high on the mast, and there were faintly several sailors standing on the bow, wearing unique blue and black military uniforms. …

"Oh, God!" Captain Pesania burst into tears with excitement, and kept making the cross on his chest with his left hand, "It's from Hanzhou! We... are all saved!"

The battleships "Luming" and "Qiming" rushed straight to meet the Portuguese Galen galleon. Amidst the cheers of many Portuguese sailors, they suddenly made a bend in front of the "Lopez". They rowed across the Galen boats obliquely, one in front of the other, and formed a simple line formation. With the sides of their respective hulls, they faced the chasing Muscat naval ships and greeted them.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!..."

The naval warships of the State of Qi fired row after row of salvos almost close to the naval ships of the Sultanate of Muscat. After passing by, they sank a small galley on the spot and damaged a medium galley.

Muscat's naval ships were suddenly bombarded by two oncoming warships, obviously caught off guard.The prey in front is about to be obtained.Why did the opponent's reinforcements suddenly appear in the oblique stab, and it was a galleon with such fierce firepower.

Feeling bad, the Muscat naval ships immediately dispersed, turned around and fled towards the mainland.

The warship of the Qi State Navy drew a beautiful arc on the sea ahead, turned around, followed the direction in which the opponent was fleeing, and then chased after it.

Seeing this, the Portuguese "Lopez" also adjusted its sails, followed behind the Qi warship, and chased after it.

As night fell, three of Muscat's naval ships finally escaped the pursuit of the Qi warships and disappeared into the dark night.The Portuguese expressed their heartfelt thanks to the officers and soldiers of the Qi State Navy and presented them with a large number of gifts. With permission, they followed the Qi State Navy ships to the Persian coast.

In Bandar Abbas, there are three merchant ships under the Qi State Persian Trading Company, loaded with Persian goods, waiting for the escort of Qi State Navy warships.