Chapter 599 Arab friends, we must unite.

Off the coast of Goa Harbor, there are densely packed ships, most of which are Arab dhows, large and small.

The larger ones are estimated to be seven or eight hundred tons and can be called giant Arab sailing ships. There are about thirty of them.

There were also more than forty giant galleys.

This type of ship is called a Gallaeside warship in the Mediterranean. The most famous one is the “Venetian gunboat”. Later, the Ottomans learned it and used it widely in the eastern Mediterranean, the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea.

However, several naval battles proved that it was no match for the carrick and galleon.

Leon roughly counted that the Arab fleet had about three hundred warships.

Condorcet next to him exclaimed, “Arabs, my God, so many Arab warships, have the Arabs gathered all their warships here?

Diu, Surat, God, these two northern ports are not in trouble already.”

Leon calmed down. “No, it’s not easy for the Arabs to gather so many warships. They just want to catch us off guard, so they went straight to Goa Port, not Diu and Surat Port, or any other port of our Portuguese in India.”

“My Lord, why is this?”

“Because if they go to other ports, the news may leak out, allowing us to prepare in advance.”

Condorcet understood, “In order to keep it secret, they secretly gathered so many warships in the Arabian region and then came directly to Goa.

How come these cunning, profit-seeking Arabs suddenly made up their minds to pull out all their warships and fight us to the death? “

Leon couldn’t help but look to the east. “That’s because the Arabs received accurate news that Governor Calderon’s fleet was completely destroyed.”

Condorcet turned his head and looked at Leon in horror. “Sir, are you saying that the Arabs learned the news and immediately planned this action, summoning all the warships they had, hoping to take advantage of the situation and drive us out of India and Arabia?”

“That’s right. In order to collect taxes, we do not prohibit Arab merchant ships from entering or leaving any of our ports. Many of our noble officers are good friends with Arab merchants.

They know exactly what we are doing in India.

Governor Calderon has taken away nearly all our ships and two-thirds of our army, leaving us with insufficient numbers to resist an attack from the sea.

These Arabs know better that Goa is the center and brain of us Portuguese in India and Arabia. If we capture the port of Goa, the system we have operated in this sea area for decades will collapse.

The ports and markets that we took from the Arabs decades ago will be taken back by them.”

Condorcet turned pale.

The fortress officer next to him was so scared that he broke out in a cold sweat. “Sir Leon, what should we do now?”

“The Arabs are at the gate. What else can we do? Keep firing the signal cannon and send someone to the castle to report the news!”

“Yes!”

The people in the port also noticed something was wrong, and two Carrick sailing ships hoisted their sails and weighed their anchors, rushing out of the port in a majestic manner.

How dare you come to our Portuguese port to provoke us?
Do you know how to write the word death?
As soon as the two small carrick sailboats sailed out of the port, they saw the dense Arab warships in the outer sea, turned around smoothly, and went back to the port.

Oh my god, I was too impulsive just now.

The left cape fort fired three more rounds, finally causing a response from the city of Goa.

A cannon shot from the west tower, and the sound of the cannon came over. On the wall, a helmet was seen swaying, flashing in the sun. It was a high-topped infantry helmet specially made for the Portuguese and Spanish armies, flat and with two raised ends, like a ship.

The tips of spears flashed coldly in the sun, muskets were placed on wooden racks behind the city wall, and cannons were slowly pushed out, with their pitch-black barrels sticking out of the parapet.

Two galleys slowly sailed out of the Arab fleet and headed towards Goa Port with a white flag hanging on their masts.

“The Arabs have sent people to negotiate.” Condorcet turned to look at Leon, “Should we talk?”

Leon narrowed his eyes and replied, “Of course we have to talk. Now we are no longer the wolves we used to be, but a group of sheep.

The Arabs outside have transformed into a group of hyenas.”

The fortress officer next to him was named Suarez. He asked in confusion: “Sir Leon, why are the Arabs willing to negotiate with us?

You just said that they knew our strengths and weaknesses very well, knowing that all our warships had gone to the East, and that we only had more than 3,000 land forces, and were unable to resist an attack from the sea.

“These Arabs out there are more like pirates than navy, and more like merchants than pirates. Their ideas are definitely different from our navy.”

“Sir Leon, what’s the difference in thought?”

Leon replied: “Our navy’s idea is to complete the mission and achieve the goal at all costs. Merchants are different. They only think about achieving their goals at the lowest cost.

When faced with a castle, our first thought is to find its weaknesses and try every possible means to break it. Their first thought is to negotiate first. As long as the price is right, they don’t mind spending money to buy the castle.”

Condorcet and Suarez said in unison: “It’s incredible.”

“There’s nothing incredible about it. The Arab fleet is made up of various pieces. They come to Goa Port to get the most profit, not to lose their capital here, so they hope to talk first.”

The Arab envoy ship slowly sailed into the port, and a team of cavalry and carriages galloped out of the city of Goa and headed towards the fortress.

After a while, under the gaze of everyone, the team ran to the gate of the fortress. More than twenty people came down, all of them were missionaries, officers, and nobles.

They opened the door breathlessly and hurried over to Leon.

“Sir Leon,” it was Father Rianke who spoke. He was the archdeacon of Goa Diocese, a highly respected man, and had a good relationship with Leon.

“Hello, Father Rienke.”

“We have unanimously agreed in the city that in the absence of Governor Calderon, you will be the interim governor to lead us, the military and civilians of Goa, to overcome this difficult time together.”

Before Leon could answer, Condorcet next to him blushed, “What do you want to do?
When Lord Leon tried to dissuade Governor Calderon from going to war, you mercilessly ridiculed him and called him a coward. Now Governor Calderon’s life and death are uncertain, and the Arabs have united to threaten us.

At this dangerous moment, you nominated Lord Leon as the interim governor and asked him to take responsibility.

Get through this together?
How to spend it?

It’s nothing more than signing a surrender agreement with the Arabs to save the lives of all the people in Goa. Don’t I know what you are thinking? No one wants to sign this surrender agreement, so they nominate Lord Leon to be the scapegoat! “

“Well, Condorcet!” Leon shouted, “As a naval officer sent to India by His Majesty the King and a viscount personally appointed by His Majesty, if I don’t stand up when the people and interests of the kingdom are endangered, when will I stand up?”

He raised his hand, stopping Condorcet and Suarez from speaking. “No need to say more, I now accept this nomination and appointment. I just want to confirm again, are you willing to obey my orders?”

The group of people who had just come over stood up and said, “The Portuguese Army Sai Ya Infantry Regiment swears to God that it is willing to obey the orders of the interim governor Leon.” “The Portuguese Indian Chamber of Commerce swears to God that it is willing to obey the orders of Leon.”

Father Enrique nodded and said to Leon: “Leon, go ahead and do it. The church will fully support you.”

“Thank you for your support. Now I will convey my first order to transfer 500 musketeers and half of the gunpowder and cannon balls to this fortress.”

Seeing that everyone was confused, Leon explained: “The artillery in this fortress poses the greatest threat to the Arab fleet attacking from the sea.

They must conquer this fort before they can safely enter Goa Harbor. From now on, I will stay in this fort until the danger is over. “

Everyone looked at each other, and finally all agreed.

Everyone said goodbye to Leon one by one, and Father Enrique was the last one to walk up to him.

“May God be with you, kid.” He looked around and saw no one around, so he whispered, “Leon, was the fleet led by Calderon really wiped out?”

“Father, the Arabs are more informed than we are. If the fleet led by Calderon was just defeated and is hiding somewhere, they can come back at any time. Will the Arabs dare to attack us?”

Enrique sighed, “It seems that the Ming Kingdom is as powerful as you said. We made a mistake of arrogance, but I don’t know how much we have to pay to make up for this mistake.”

“I don’t know. But I only know that we need to have a good talk with the Arabs now.”

“What to talk about?”

“Father, the Ming people will not stop after defeating the fleet led by Governor Calderon. Soon, a group of lions, no, the Ming people prefer tigers, a group of tigers will rush into the Indian region.

By then, we Portuguese will be prey, and so will they, the Arabs.”

Enrique’s eyes lit up, “Leon, you want to use the threat of the Ming people to persuade the Arabs to form an alliance with us instead of becoming our enemies?”

“Father, the Arabs have been sailing and doing business in this sea for hundreds of years, and they also started dealing with the Ming people hundreds of years ago. Before we came, there was a eunuch named Sanbao from the Ming country who came here with a large navy.

So they know the strength of the Ming people better than we do. Father, I will try my best to convince them. “

“Okay.” Enrique held Leon’s hand, “May God bless you.”

Looking at Enrique’s receding back, an absurd thought suddenly came to Leon’s mind. In the vast seas and lands of the East, God is not as powerful as the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty.

The Arab envoys docked at the port and were invited into the fortress by the Portuguese garrison.

Through the interpreter, Leon communicated with the Arab envoy for more than ten minutes and roughly understood the situation.

The person who organized the attack on Goa was Hussein, a big merchant from Basra.

Hussein was the fifth son of Muqamis, the chief of the Muntafi tribe who previously ruled the Basra region.

Previously, Basra was under the rule of the Safavid dynasty of Persia, but the actual control has always been in the hands of the Montafi tribe, which is in an autonomous state.

Twenty years ago, the Ottomans defeated the Safavid dynasty and seized the entire Mesopotamian region. Muqamis was appointed governor of Basra by the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman I.

Later, due to his participation in the rebellion, he was removed from the post of governor and Basra was directly under the Ottoman central government.

But everyone knows that Basra is still ruled by Mukamis, the chief of the Montafi tribe.

Hussein took advantage of this unique advantage and combined it with his outstanding business acumen, and soon became a famous businessman in the Arab world.

The person who came to negotiate was Hussein’s assistant Jighar.

He got straight to the point and said, “Sir Leon, the fleet led by Governor Calderon was completely destroyed in the Strait of Malacca. Some of us saw it with our own eyes and luckily returned to Basra.”

Leon replied calmly, “I know. We were just suspicious at first. But when we saw your fleet, we were sure.”

Jighar said proudly: “That’s right. You should know the current situation very well. Now please hand over the trade and tax collection rights in the Indian region, and we will guarantee the safety of all of you.”

Leon looked at his negotiating opponent sitting opposite him and asked bluntly, “Mr. Jighar, do you think you have a sure win?”

Jighar raised his head, “Isn’t it? Is victory not in our hands?

What reinforcements do you have? Portugal thousands of miles away? Or the Mughal Sultan Akbar in Delhi?
If it weren’t for the urgent matter, there would be no time to send a letter to Delhi. Akbar would have led his army to attack Surat and Diu. “

Leon waited for Jighar to finish speaking, then suddenly asked, “Ming people, how come you have forgotten the Ming people?

They were able to defeat the fleet led by our Governor Calderon. What are your warships in their eyes? “

Jighar was stunned for a moment and his expression became very solemn.

Leon struck while the iron was hot, “I know you guessed that the Ming people wouldn’t come so quickly, so you wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to seize all our ports and interests first.

“What if you take it? Can you win against the Ming fleet alone?”

Jighar narrowed his eyes and looked at Leon, “Do you want us Arabs to unite with you Portuguese to deal with the Ming people together?”

“The Indian market is only this big, and our two companies are just the right size. Now a giant has squeezed in, won’t we have much left?”

Jighar stood up immediately, “I need to go back and discuss this with the leader.”

“Well, please make sure to explain the key points to Chief Hussein. Portugal and Arabia will survive if they unite, and die if they separate.”

Jighar nodded solemnly and turned to leave.

Soon, he boarded the galley and headed out of the harbor.

At this time, three Arab merchant ships anchored in the port, perhaps after successful negotiations, left the port together and soon disappeared into the vast sea.

Most of the day passed, until evening, and Jighar still hadn’t returned to reply.

Leon sighed, “The greedy nature of Arab merchants makes them waver. This will kill them sooner or later.”

“Will they agree, sir?” asked Condorcet.

“Hussein is not an ordinary man. He will agree eventually. But he needs time to convince his companions. Go to sleep. There should be news tomorrow.”

The next morning, Leon, who tossed and turned and fell asleep at dawn, was awakened by the rumbling of cannons off the coast. He jumped out of bed and rushed to the city wall without even putting on his shoes. He saw a scene that he would never forget.

(End of this chapter)