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Chapter 1077 Be Prepared
The only explanation for not seeing Persian reinforcements so far is not that they have not received the news or that the naval force is weak. The most likely possibility is that both the British East India Company and themselves have been betrayed!

The Danes somehow reached some kind of tacit agreement with the Persians, and the British East India Company became the victim. This is not surprising, as the Portuguese were tricked in the same way. It's just a matter of time.

"Sir, the Danish East India Company sent a boat, dropped off this ultimatum and left."

I was trying to figure out what benefits the Danes could bring that made the Persians so distracted. The clerk came in on tiptoe and placed a piece of paper wet by seawater on the table. Then he stood there, as if waiting for further instructions.

Vidor did not take the paper because he could read it clearly without getting too close. The content was very simple, which was in line with the Danish style. There was only one sentence on the paper: Leave the port within two days, otherwise it will be regarded as resistance to the end.

Looking up at the hope and fear in the clerk's eyes, Vidor took a cigar from the wooden box on the table, lit it, covered his face with light smoke, and fell into deep thought.

The Danish East India Company entered Asian waters earlier than the British East India Company, but it did very poorly and only established one trading post and factory on the southeast coast of the Indian subcontinent, and it has always been in a loss-making state.

Compared with the Dutch East India Company and the Portuguese, who were thriving in Asia, the influence and strength of the Danes here were almost negligible and were often even forgotten.

However, the number and quality of the ships that raided Hormuz Port this time were obviously inconsistent with their strength, especially the naval guns with a range almost the same as the fortress guns, which had never appeared in Europe. It was said that there was only one place that could produce them, the Ming Empire!
Could it be that the Danish East India Company had a connection with the Ming Empire? This speculation does not seem to be very reasonable. If that were the case, they would not have ended up like a bunch of paupers.

In addition, the Ming Empire had just reached an agreement with England. The two sides were no longer hostile to each other, and English merchant ships were allowed to enter the Indian Ocean for normal trade. As long as they did not go beyond the east of the port of Shalian, they would not be restricted.

The British East India Company's authorization will expire in three years. According to news from the court, King Charles I will most likely no longer authorize operations in Asia, but will instead switch to America.

The company's top management has been lobbying the king for the past year, but it is said that the effect is not great. In this situation, the company is slowly adjusting its layout, no longer investing too much resources in Asia, but starting to expand to America.

If the Ming Empire wanted the Port of Hormuz at this moment, there was no need to go through the Danes. It only needed to contact the top leaders of the British East India Company, and it might be able to transfer it for a fee, and the cost would be no higher than hiring the Danes.

In addition, the Ming Empire controlled the area on the east side of the Indian Ocean, which is called the South Sea by Arab merchants. It had little presence in the Indian subcontinent and the Arab region, and there were few merchant ships from the Ming Dynasty.

Even if they wanted to get involved in the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Peninsula, there was no need to go to such great lengths. The Port of Hormuz was not the best choice, and the Port of Muscat on the other side was more suitable. The Portuguese would not and would not dare to refuse the request of the Ming Empire. Wouldn't it be nice to be able to dock at a port with just a few words?
But the more you can’t figure out something, the more uneasy you become. There are often huge risks lurking behind it. From the Danes’ behavior, we can also see that they came with confidence this time.

"... notify company employees to pack up their personal belongings immediately and load as much goods in the warehouse as possible onto the ship... do we still have a few ships that can sail far away?" After meditating for half a cigarette, Victor finally made up his mind to live a peaceful life.

The result of desperate resistance is 100% death, and it will not benefit the company at all. If all employees and most of the goods can be taken away, it should be the best choice for both the company and individuals.

"There are still three barques and two schooners, all of which can sail, sir!" The clerk stood still, waiting for the moment that would decide his fate. When he heard the order to load the ships, he immediately came to life and gave a very specific answer without wasting even half a second.

"Fill the boat as full as possible and leave the port tomorrow afternoon!"

Seeing the clerk's reaction, Victor knew that he had made the right choice. The soldiers and sailors outside should have the same feeling. If he insisted on fighting the Danes to the death, they would probably kill him first and then withdraw anyway.

Similar to the change of ownership of the Port of Colombo, less than five days later, the Port of Hormuz also changed its owner and became the headquarters of the Danish East India Company in Asia.

However, this incident did not attract as much attention from all parties as the capture of Colombo. Even the British East India Company itself did not make any statement, nor did it send anyone to ask the Persian leader in Bandar Abbas why he betrayed his friendly forces.

Vidor took the remaining ships and sailors, filled the warehouses with valuable goods, sailed around most of Africa and finally arrived safely at Plymouth Port. When he encountered a storm at the Cape of Good Hope, he took shelter in Port Ennis for two days.

For this reason, the British East India Company specially sent a merchant ship to deliver a letter of thanks. I wonder how the British would feel if they knew that the Ming Empire was behind all this.

In fact, even if they knew, it would be useless. On the surface, the two East India Companies of Denmark and Britain were competing with each other, but in the Seychelles Islands, more than 3000 kilometers to the south, there was a fleet on standby, ready to support Port Ennio at any time. If the Danes were too useless, or the Persians went back on their words, or the nearby Arabs or Ottomans made unusual moves, resulting in the failure to obtain Port Hormuz as planned, there was also the risk of exposing the mastermind behind the scenes, and the Imperial Navy, which had been hiding behind and making bad plans, would have to step forward.

First block the exits from the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf, then place the warships outside the port of Hormuz, and discuss with the Safavid dynasty the steps to deal with the Ottomans together.

The reason is easy to find. Last year, two Brunei merchants rented a Ming Dynasty ship to go to the Red Sea for normal trade. In addition to ordinary goods, the ship also carried dozens of boxes of tobacco.

However, the ship was intercepted and inspected by Ottoman warships in the waters near Chittagong. The captain and sailors thought it was nothing serious and stopped the ship.

But in the end, it led to a tragedy. The Ottoman soldiers found tobacco in the cabin, and then they beheaded the captain and the owner of the cargo according to the ban issued by the Sultan. The rest of the people were flogged and forced to do hard labor for half a year before being released.

Murad IV was the 17th Sultan of the Ottoman Empire. His upbringing was rather rough. When he was 5 years old, his father Ahmed I died. His biological mother did her best to prevent her half-brother from ascending the throne, and instead let her uncle take the throne, named Mustafa I.

However, this uncle had been under house arrest by Ahmed I for more than ten years and had some mental problems. He worked for a year but was unable to do the job. He had no choice but to pass the throne to Murad IV's brother, Osman II.

According to Han Chinese tradition, Osman II was the eldest son and should have inherited the throne. However, the customs of the Turks were closer to those of nomadic peoples, with the tradition of the younger brother succeeding the elder brother and the capable becoming king.

Osman II was also raised by his parents as a prince since he was a child, and it is said that he is quite talented in literature and art. Unfortunately, when this kind of talent appears in a king, it is likely to turn into a tragedy.

After only a few years in office, Osman II was defeated in a battle with the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and was forced to sign a rather humiliating armistice treaty. As a result, he was regarded as incompetent by the military and was killed in a coup.

But at that time Murad IV was still young and unable to govern the country. But the country could not be without a ruler for a day, so he had to push the crazy Mustafa I to take the throne temporarily.

Half a year later, the military and the nobles finally reached a consensus, allowing Murad IV, who was only 11 years old, to succeed to the throne early, and his mother would be in charge of government affairs, that is, ruling from behind the scenes.

Nine years later, Murad IV's mother had a rift with the military again, which led to a coup. This time, Murad IV was not overthrown like his brother, but instead made a big comeback, executed the leader of the rebellion, and took the opportunity to reorganize the military aristocracy, showing his ability as a king.

After he came to power, he fought another war with the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Although he did not win, he did not lose either. The two sides signed an armistice agreement again, agreeing to work together to deal with the harassment of the Black Sea coast by the Cossacks and the Crimean Khanate, and became strategic partners.

Murad IV deeply realized that the Ottoman Empire could no longer take care of both the East and the West as before, and the final choice was the East. In 1630, he restarted the war with Persia, captured Tabriz in one go, beheaded Fakhruddin II, and occupied Lebanon and Syria.

Generally speaking, Murad IV was a very politically savvy, strategically savvy, and relatively strict king. Under his rule, the Ottoman people were not allowed to use psychoactive substances such as alcohol, tobacco, and cocoa tea.

It was this ban that put the Ottoman Empire in danger, because there was a big empire in the east, which was the main source of these things. If alcohol, tobacco and cocoa tea could not be sold to Europe by land, it would be like breaking one of the two legs, which would be very hurt.

As the saying goes, to cut off someone's financial resources is like killing their parents. Murad IV probably did not realize that the distant Ming Empire would take action against the Ottoman Empire because of this ban, and all his attention was focused on the Safavid Dynasty of Persia.

The Ming Empire always required merchants from other countries entering the country to abide by Ming laws, but in turn it never abided by the laws of other countries. Ming laws were the standard wherever they went.

Now, the captain of the Ming merchant ship was killed and the cargo was confiscated, which became the reason for seeking revenge and going to war with the Ottoman Empire. According to the laws of the Ming Dynasty, the sale and use of alcohol, tobacco, and cocoa tea were normal behaviors. The death of merchants from other countries was not a problem, but the execution of the Ming captain was not a problem!
Of course, this is only the last resort. Emperor Jingyang of the Ming Dynasty often said: Problems that can be solved with money are not problems, and troubles that can be solved by means other than war are not troubles.

As long as the Danes don't mess things up and successfully take the Port of Hormuz, and there is a crack to infiltrate into Persia, the Imperial Navy will not come to seek revenge openly, and the death of the captain of the Ming merchant ship will no longer be mentioned.

But we will not forget it, and it will become an excuse for war when we need it. Even decades later, as long as we want it, it will still be effective, and it has a long shelf life.

(End of this chapter)