1635 Han style rises again

Bandar Abbas, Persia, January 1660, 1.

When the two warships under the Qi Navy's Indian Fleet arrived in Bandar Abbas, three Qi merchant ships had been waiting here for more than ten days.Because they were worried that the ships would be fully loaded and unable to cope with the rampant pirates in the Gulf and the Arabian Sea, they could only continue to stay in the port and wait for the response of warships.Moreover, the merchant ships of the State of Qi also found several British armed merchant ships that were also stationed in the port, showing strong hostility, which made them dare not leave the port alone without authorization.

The Persians gave great enthusiasm to this Hanzhou businessman who traveled thousands of miles to the Safavid Empire for maritime trade after Portugal, the Netherlands, and Britain.Due to the rise of maritime trade, Persia, as a transit point for land trade between the East and the West, has gradually moved away from the world trade center.In addition, the Portuguese occupied the island of Hormuz and plundered the coastal areas of Persia, severely disrupting the commercial order of the area, and making the foreign trade of the Safavid Empire extremely withered.

Fortunately, in 1622, the great Abbas I, with the support of the British, recaptured Hormuz from the Portuguese and expelled it from the Persian Gulf.As a wise monarch, Abbas I encouraged the development of handicrafts and commerce, which brought prosperity to the country not seen since the invasion of the Mongol Empire.At the same time, Abbas actively promoted the relationship between Persia and European countries, built Bandar Abbas, developed commercial and trade cooperation with the British East India Company, and sought allies against the Ottoman Empire. Abbas also sent missions to Western European countries and the tsar Russia established diplomatic relations and formed an alliance with the Holy Roman Empire against the Ottomans.

In 1652, the threat of a blockade of Bandar Abbas by the Dutch East India Company forced the Safavid Empire to sign a new agreement with the Dutch on the silk trade.However, the Persians also wanted to take this opportunity to introduce more European traders, intending to revive the maritime trade in the Persian Gulf.

The Dutch, on the other hand, had previously been approved to establish commercial special zones in Isfahan, Tabriz, Coleman, and Bandar Abbas, making the Dutch East India Company's commercial power quickly surpass that of the British.

In August last year, the people of Qi from the New World in the far south also came to Persia. In addition to bringing a large-scale trade fleet, they also had a team of diplomatic missions, preparing to go to Isfahan to meet Abbas II, with a view to establishing formal bilateral diplomatic and commercial relations.

Through the English, the Persians gradually learned some information about the country of this southern New World. Although it was only established for more than 20 years, its development and rise was very fast.From the description of the English, the Persians were surprised to learn that this country had fought wars with the Dutch East India Company twice in the past ten years.After verifying with some Malay businessmen, the Qi State still had the upper hand during the war, and once beat the Dutch to shame.

In addition, this country can also produce a large number of industrial products, exquisite clocks and watches, soft and transparent cotton cloth, fine forged steel rods and ironware, various small hardware, exquisite porcelain and cloisonné products, and a large number of Cane sugar, tea, leather goods... There are many kinds, and all of them are of high quality, which are much more economical and affordable than some European goods sold by the Dutch and British before. …

Moreover, what made the Persians even more satisfied was that these Hanzhou people did not seem to value gold and silver very much. After selling all the goods, they did not ship the gold and silver back to China like other Western countries. Instead, spend it all again.

They bought large quantities of raw silk and silk fabrics, brocades, carpets, horses, wool, pearls, and almonds that could be used as seasoning in India in Persia.They even bought hundreds of young female slaves from the slave market, and insisted on leaving the last copper on their bodies in Persia.

You must know that during this period, whether it is European countries or several empires on the Indian Ocean, although they have different understandings and implementation methods of mercantilism, they can obtain more gold and silver and keep them in the country. But it is the goal pursued by every ruler and businessman.

This trading partner from the southern New World obviously does not regard the pursuit of more gold and silver as the ultimate goal of their trade. They like to replace all locally produced industrial products with piles of raw materials and primary industrial products, and then use them Bring it back to China to continue processing and production.As for obtaining some young and beautiful female slaves, it may be that the dignitaries and businessmen in their country like to hunt for exotic women and enjoy the gentleness of women with different flavors.

This kind of generous trading partner should be the favorite type of Persian businessmen.Because, you can earn at least two trade benefits from them, which will greatly promote the prosperity of the local Persian market.

Abbas II and the officials of the Safavid Empire gave a thoughtful and hospitable reception to a country in the New World that traveled thousands of miles and took the initiative to seek the establishment of diplomatic and commercial relations.When leaving Bandar Abbas, an imperial Memandar will welcome the arrival of the Qi delegation and accompany them to the capital city of Isfahan.

When they arrived in the capital, members of the Qi diplomatic mission were arranged to stay in a pre-arranged beautiful palace according to their official ranks. During this period, the treasury of the Safavid Empire would bear all their board and lodging expenses.

When the ships of the State of Qi were about to leave Bandar Abbas, a group of more than ten people from the Safavid Empire's diplomatic return mission boarded the merchant ships of the State of Qi one after another, planning to go to the mainland of Hanzhou to represent His Majesty Abbas II and the Emperor of the Empire. Vizier Mohammad Beg went to inspect and visit the regional powers of this southern New World, witnessing their national strength by the way.
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February 2, Persia, Almara.

After more than 20 days of difficult sailing at sea, the fleet of Qi Guo and his party arrived at Almara, a small port in the southeastern part of the Safavid Empire, for a short stay.Because some members of the Persian diplomatic mission on board had symptoms of severe seasickness and were once in danger.In order to ensure their personal safety, the fleet had to stop sailing and take a rest here.

In the northern Indian Ocean, from October to March-April of the following year, the Asian continent is shrouded by the powerful Mongolian Siberia high pressure, and the northeast monsoon prevails over the sea, while the southwest monsoon prevails from May to September.

Therefore, it is not a very good time for the fleet of Qi to return to India at this time, so that the fleet had to change direction frequently in order to avoid the obstruction of the trade wind, in a big "S" shape on the vast ocean, With the help of crosswinds, zigzag sailing.The straight-line distance is less than a thousand kilometers, and it took nearly a month. …

The fleet encountered two groups of pirates on the way, and one of the pirates owned two armed merchant ships, Galen sailing ships, which looked like privateers from a certain European country.When they tried to get close to the fleet of five ships, the leading sailing ship immediately went up bravely.

As soon as the fire was exchanged, the sailors on the pirate ship immediately felt a little uneasy.The opponent's firepower is extremely fierce, and the number of artillery equipped is obviously much more than that of ordinary merchant ships.Moreover, there is a slightly larger sailing ship in the opposite fleet, which is quickly inserting, ready to outflank them left and right, and the portholes on both sides are full of muzzles.

What a hell, this is meeting a professional warship escort!

Two professional warships, plus three merchant ships with a little force, this is no bargain.Hurry up, let's go!Otherwise, if you are accidentally left behind by someone else, it will be really a waste of money, and the gains outweigh the losses.

After the two warships of the Qi State chased for a certain distance, in order to prevent the plan of diverting the tiger away from the mountain, they allowed them to escape, returned to the fleet, and continued to perform escort missions.

The other wave of pirates encountered by the fleet was a bit off-putting. Five small and medium-sized galleys followed furtively for a distance. They felt that they were not strong enough, so they quickly dispersed and looked for another target.

Several officials from the diplomatic mission of the Safavid Empire who accompanied them saw the warships of the State of Qi driving away the pirate ships one by one like two lions. Fight at sea.It's a pity that the pirate ships are not powerful at all, they are completely tyrannical masters, under the deterrence of the Qi warships, they retreat one by one.

The fleet stayed in Almara, a small coastal city, for six days. Unfortunately, a Safavid Empire diplomat's condition deteriorated, and the medical conditions in the small town were extremely poor, so he died in the embassy. His entourage was weak and dispirited, obviously unfit for further sea voyages.

The leading diplomat had no choice but to leave the two sick attachés, but in order to prevent further loss of personnel during the sea trip, he recruited ten more small officials from the local area to serve as attaches to the mission.

On March 3, the fleet left the small town of Almara and continued eastward.

On March 3, the fleet sailed into Sumiyani Bay and entered the coastal waters of the Mughal Empire.

On March 3, the fleet passed near the mouth of the Hubu River. Fleet Commander Luo Shouxun held up his binoculars to observe the location of the small fishing village they were looking for again. Acquire a piece of land and establish a naval supply base.

At this time, he has not yet learned that the task force had submitted a loan request to the Mughal Empire in November last year, and it had been approved by Aurangzeb.And just as the fleet they were in turned around and headed towards Surat, the warship "Xingming" and the armed merchant ship "Changshun" under the Indian fleet were coming from Fort Anfeng (now Cochin, India) , carrying a lease permit from the Mughal Empire, loaded with various building materials, came to this place tentatively named Lumen Fort (now Karachi, Pakistan).

On March 3, the fleet arrived in Surat.Several members of the Safavid Empire’s diplomatic corps were holding letters and gifts from Shah Abbas II, preparing to meet the Mughal Emperor in order to ease the tension between the two countries over the struggle for Afghanistan. …

The center of gravity of the Safavid dynasty has always been on the western front, and the contradiction with the Ottoman Empire is the main contradiction, and Ottoman is their most important enemy.Shahs of all dynasties were unwilling to fall into the dangerous situation of fighting on two fronts, and the political center of the Mughal Empire located in the southeast of Persia was in India. Conquering and managing India was the central task of the Mughal Empire. From this point of view, Safavid There should be no fundamental conflict of interest between the dynasty and the Mughal Empire except for the Afghan issue.

Therefore, the Safavid dynasty is willing to express its goodwill towards the Mughal Empire and restore friendly relations.Last year, Abbas II even sent envoys to congratulate Aurangzeb on becoming Mughal emperor.

However, in view of the balance of power between the two sides, the Safavid dynasty was content to hold the western part of Afghanistan, and the Mughal Empire was also content to hold the eastern part of Afghanistan. Neither side had the power to drive the other out.Moreover, Aurangzeb had just ascended to the throne of emperor and urgently needed to consolidate his rule. He accepted the olive branch handed over by the Safavid dynasty and stopped the armed struggle between the two sides in Afghanistan.

On March 3, the ships of the State of Qi left Surat and continued southward to Anfeng Fort.Originally, according to the previous sailing pattern, when Qi ships sailed on the west coast of India, they usually stopped at Goa, the ruling center of Portuguese India, for a short rest and replenishment of fresh water.However, considering the tense relationship between the Persians and the Portuguese, the fleet commander Luo Shouxun canceled the routine stop and sailed straight to Fort Anfeng.

On April 4, the fleet finally arrived in Anfeng amidst the warm cheers of the naval officers and soldiers on board.All ships and personnel will take a one-month rest and enjoy a comfortable and leisurely vacation here.Afterwards, they waited for the arrival of the monsoon in May, and returned to the mainland of Hanzhou together with more than ten merchant ships under the banner of the Indian trading company.

Since the state of Qi and the Kingdom of Cochin reached an oral agreement on mutual security assistance (the formal written contract requires the Kingdom of Cochin to go to Hanzhou to sign), Anfeng Fort has become a general existence of Qi State's overseas territories, whether it is governance or judicial power, Even the military defense rights in the surrounding areas have fallen into the hands of Indian trading companies.

For this reason, the big treasurer who is in charge of the actual management of the Indian region has returned to the mainland with the task force a few months ago, and is preparing to lobby the cabinet government and the military department to grant more privileges to Indian trading companies.The main requirement is that the trading company can obtain the right to formulate laws and judicial disposal in the Indian region (including judgment, punishment, and even the death penalty), as well as the power to establish fortresses, armed defense, and appoint officials.

As for whether to imitate the model of the British East India Company, recruit local natives to form an army, attack local kingdoms, mint currency, establish local towns and other powers, some shopkeepers of the trading company are still hesitating, whether they should propose it together.They are very worried that this move will be suspected by the cabinet and the military.Isn't this just like the existence of feudal towns in the late Tang Dynasty?I'm afraid they will be denounced by the officials as self-reliance, which is tantamount to rebellion!

"Without the support of military force at sea and local support, are you merchants capable of rebelling and self-reliant just because you are operating in India?" Practicing the military laws of the Qi State can somewhat strengthen our armed deterrence in the Indian region. I personally actively support this. At that time, you can boldly propose it to the cabinet and the military. It does not cost the country a penny With money, our country of Qi can gain strong influence and radiation in the Indian region. In this way, the government has made a lot of money for nothing!"