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Chapter 1115 Cafe

Port Suez, Riyadh Arab Tavern. This is the largest Arab tavern in the city, run by the Piyali family, with a history of 100 years. It is very famous in the local area, especially loved by Mamluks and Arab nobles, and is always crowded from afternoon to night.

According to Islamic teachings, Muslims are not allowed to smoke or drink because both of these substances can stimulate the human nervous system, making people addicted and losing their minds.

But Arabic wine is not an alcoholic beverage, but coffee. Since Muslims are not allowed to drink alcohol in public, violators will be severely punished or even killed, so they use coffee as a substitute and jokingly call it Arabic wine.

Coffee originated on the plateau of Abyssinia (Ethiopia) and was introduced to the Arabian region around the 7th century. The Arabs gradually created a way of consumption that was closer to that of later generations.

In the 17th century, most Europeans did not know the existence of coffee. Only the Venetians imported a small amount through Egypt and the Ottoman Empire and opened coffee houses in a few European cities. Coffee was only consumed by the aristocracy.

Coffee has only been grown in East and Southeast Asia for a short time. It was first brought to Batavia by the Dutch and then introduced to the Ming Empire after it was discovered by the Ming Navy. There are only a few plantations in Annan and Xiaoliuqiu, and the output is not very large.

The main reason was that the people of the Ming Dynasty had little interest in this bitter drink, and if they planted too much, there would be no place to export it. The few plantations had royal shares, and they were mainly engaged in breeding and improvement, not production.

The second and third floors of the Liad Café were all private rooms of various sizes, which were used by people of status to meet and talk with guests. At this time, the large private room on the third floor facing the street was a little crowded, with more than a dozen men sitting cross-legged on the carpet. The sweet aroma of coffee and Arabic hookah filled every corner, making people a little drowsy.

"God bless you, my friends, the cargo has arrived!"

Suddenly, the door was pushed open from the outside, hitting the wall with a dull thud. Then a short and fat figure rushed in, yelling at everyone in the room. His voice was very low, but his expression was very interesting, and his head was shiny with oil.

"Brother Piyali, have you seen the goods with your own eyes? How is the quality?" The originally dead atmosphere immediately became lively, and people kept asking questions with anxious expressions on their faces.

"Not only did we look at them, we also tried them out at sea. They were all brand new and good quality, better than the British ones used by the Ottomans. I heard they were the latest products of the Dutch. A total of 1500 guns were shipped this time, and there were also three cannons that could be transported by camels.

With these goods, plus the soldiers we have recruited, it will be easy to capture the city of Suez. Once we defeat the defenders in the city and capture Hussein Pasha, we can notify the Bedouins to launch an attack on the port of Tours. Brother Muhammad, are you ready?"

Piyali, who was short, fat and balding, found a spot against the wall, sat down cross-legged, took the coffee cup, took a big sip, took a deep breath, and then began to talk about his experience of going to the sea outside the port to pick up the goods in person at great risk.

When they decided to take risks to preserve their status and property, their main hope was still on the Bedouins. These tough nomadic tribes moved quickly in the interior of the peninsula and fought with the Ottomans for hundreds of years. Although they never defeated the enemy, they became an important force that the Ottomans feared.

As for the assistance mentioned by the Portuguese captain named Pianjiabuliu, we cannot ignore it completely, but we will not invest too much energy in it. For more than a century, these pagan adventurers from Europe have been coming and going in the Red Sea and Arabia, one after another, like a revolving lantern, just for profit, and integrity is not what they are good at.

But when the sailors they sent clearly stated that they would provide weapons and pay for them after use, people could not help but have expectations.

Although the Ottomans allowed the Beys to have their own tribal private armies, they imposed very strict restrictions on muskets and artillery. Officials were stationed in all ports along the Mediterranean coast to specifically check the goods coming in and out, and any ships found carrying firearms would be severely punished.

Without the supply of goods from Europe, the tribal armed forces in Egypt and the Arabian Peninsula could only continue to use scimitars and bows and arrows. This was one of the reasons why the local people, who had a larger population, were unable to resist the rule of the Ottoman Empire. They really couldn't win!
As long as they have similar weapons, it is not realistic to defeat the Ottoman Empire, but it is not difficult to establish a separatist regime somewhere in Egypt. When the time comes, they can negotiate with Murad IV with this, which will not only allow the family to continue to retain its current privileges, but may even allow them to go further.

What to do if the siege fails or the negotiations fail? It's very simple, just flee south with your family. The Ottomans only occupied the cities and some villages in northern Egypt. The area south of Egypt was a power vacuum, and whoever was stronger would survive.

The current situation is such that even if you don't resist, you will end up like this. Since the result will be the same whether you do it or not, why not fight to the death for the future of your family?

"Brother Piyali, the Bedouins have always valued credit and will not change a word of the promises they have sworn to Allah. But there are some questions I haven't figured out yet, so I would like you to explain them in more detail.

First of all, the source of the goods. I don't believe that anyone would give good things away for free. If you give, you must give back. Now please make it clear. If we accept these gifts, what do we want in return?"

Muhammad was a bearded man, wearing the most common robe of the Bedouins. He was very old, and his dark face was covered with grooves like those cut by knives and axes. But his eyes were clear, and he was not affected by the joyful atmosphere in the room. He raised his question slowly.

"Brother Muhammad is right. It is very dangerous to take benefits from strangers. I didn't go into details before because I was not sure whether the goods would be delivered. Now I can tell you.

The Pianjiabuliu brother was an excellent captain, often driving a Portuguese sailing ship to the port of Colombo. He was also a magical businessman, never buying ordinary goods, but selling whatever was the most profitable and in short supply.

My family had merchant ships that regularly traveled to the port of Colombo, mainly purchasing sugar, cocoa tea, chocolate, spices and gems. I met him unintentionally while doing business with him, and it has been more than five years.

During this period, he helped the Piyali family purchase scarce goods at the Port of Colombo many times. The local Portuguese, Ming people, Dutch and Danes all had close contacts with him and were willing to provide convenience. I also went to the Port of Colombo to meet and talk with him and personally expressed my gratitude.

It was during the casual conversation that he learned about our plight and came up with the idea of ​​providing weapons. There was only one condition: after the capture of Suez, we would sign a contract with his company to rent part of the port area as an exclusive dock, and use the rent to pay for the purchase of weapons. "

(End of this chapter)