The Sun and the Lion

The prisoners were quickly dragged out by the guards, and the hall suddenly became empty. The guard handed the document to Kamran, who was standing next to Ibrahim. As the clerk closest to the King of Kings, Ibrahim would often appoint him to read out various documents.

"The commander of the navy and the governor of the Persian Gulf Islands, Ahsan, was awarded the title of Sultan, fifty thousand silver coins, and One carpet, two tapestries, two horses..."

After the reading was completed, Ahsan took the document and glanced at it hastily.

The property awarded to him was not carried into the hall and displayed in front of him on the spot. As soon as Ahsan put away the documents, he took the belt, the gold brooch and feathers inlaid with gems from the guards, as well as the title deed to the mansion.

After taking control of Tabriz, the Safavid regime gradually became more formalized. When issuing official uniforms, Ibrahim started with the most conspicuous wear to reflect the official's rank.

The official uniforms issued by the palace are mainly robes, belts and boots. The materials and dyes used in robes of different levels are different. Senior bureaucrats will also reward expensive accessories and dresses.

Whether they are senior civil servants like the Vizier or senior military officers such as Bey, Sultan, or Khan, they all have robes sewn with silver and gold buttons, dyed with precious dyes, and decorated with embroidery. If it is winter, they It can also be covered with a layer of fur imported from the north.

On the headscarf, pins and feathers are used to decorate it according to preference. Boots and belts were made from rare animal hides and decorated with precious metals and gemstones.

And they can also customize their own flags according to specifications. As long as it does not blaspheme religion and is not consistent with the flag of the King of Kings, there is no limit to the pattern of the flag.

Just when he thought that was the end, Kamlan came over to him and said, "His Majesty will talk to you in the study later. Collect the reward and go there immediately. Don't keep your Majesty waiting too long."

Ahsan looked at Ibrahim who was leaving the hall, asked the guards to help hand all the belongings to the soldiers who were waiting in the courtyard, and then followed him.

When they came to the study, the attendants had already laid out relevant information in advance. There was a chart of the Persian Gulf hung on the wall, which was sent along with Ahsan’s battle report. There were also battle reports, the spymaster and Investigation reports submitted by royal merchants and other documents relating to Indian Ocean trade and the navy.

As soon as he entered the room, Ibrahim said to Ahsan: "Seeing this, you must have guessed what you and I are going to chat privately."

After the two sat down, Ibrahim first asked: "My naval commander, you are the only one in my court who understands naval and maritime affairs. I have to learn a lot from you before assigning tasks to you. "

Ahsan replied respectfully: "Please give me your Majesty's instructions."

Then Ibrahim asked him like a barrage of questions: "How are the port cities along the Persian Gulf? How is the trade situation? How many forces and troops are there in the coastal areas and islands?"

"Your Majesty, the maritime trade in the Persian Gulf is temporarily depressed due to the war. Many pirates like me have planned to take advantage of this year's monsoon to go south to the Red Sea and even the Swahili coast and rely on the trade network there to continue to survive. However, pirates do not only rob In addition to robbery and extortion, they also rely on smuggling to survive.

"As for the ports along the Persian Gulf, the largest port under your rule is Basra, but it will only take a while for the business of the Port of Hormuz to recover soon. In addition, there is also a famous trading port It’s the Muscat of Oman.”

After briefly describing the general situation of the Persian Gulf, Ahsan immediately suggested: "Your Majesty, if you want to control trade, I need enough small boats. The Persian Gulf is a closed sea area, and only small boats with maneuverability can do the job." combat mission."

For Ahsan, he guessed that the next task assigned to him by Ibrahim was roughly to protect trade and deal with the pirates still entrenched in the Persian Gulf.

"I understand. I will allocate funds for you to build a ship. I will give you enough resources to remove those parasites from my inner sea."

Ibrahim attached great importance to this new source of wealth, and he could not tolerate customs losses due to piracy and smuggling trade. This is the fulcrum of Safavid's active intervention in the Indian Ocean trade network.

His pattern is not limited to just one corner of the Persian Gulf. Now the two Iberian courts are already funding sailing expeditions, especially the Portuguese court. They have made huge profits from West African trade. Driven by dual economic and religious motivations, they will only move forward, not retreat.

This is why he spent a lot of money to introduce firearms and shipbuilding technology from Venice. Safavid must make good use of this time difference to build a navy from scratch that can project powerful power in the Indian Ocean. At the very least, the inland sea of ​​the Persian Gulf cannot be invaded by European colonists.

Then he picked up the battle report and said to Ahsan: "You mentioned the firearms on the ship many times in the battle report. What do you think of the firearms?"

"Your Majesty, I have to say that these magical machines are really very useful weapons!" The performance of the breech-mounted swivel cannon and bronze cannon at Qeshm Port left a deep impression on him. "I would like to ask if there are more Transfer relevant craftsmen to Kuwait. Find Shuyuan wwwｗw.zhaｏshuyuaｎ.com ”

Based on the performance of breech-mounted swivel guns on the streets of Qeshm Port, Ahsan used his understanding of gang-hopping warfare to deduce that a highly maneuverable boat can deal with pirates by carrying a large number of breech-mounted swivel guns on the side of the ship. It only takes one or two rounds of shotgun to clear the enemy deck, and no matter how many sailors are standing on the deck, they will take heavy damage.

"It seems that you quite recognize the role of firearms in war? The navy's demand for firearms is as important as the army's. I plan to build a firearms workshop directly in Basra based on Tabriz to mainly supply the needs of the fleet." Then Yi Brahim began to instill his ideas in Ehsan. Although the navy in the 16th century could not eliminate gang-hopping fighting, the role of firearms could not be ignored.

The navy needs to install a large number of firearms and eliminate bows and arrows, and the sailors also need to gain weight. The tradition of Muslim pirates is to travel lightly, which allows them to fight flexibly on the swaying deck, but it will be difficult to face the Christian enemies who are coming next. Big loss.

In order to deal with the Christian knights standing on the deck, all Ibrahim could think of was to use a large number of firearms and increase the armor coverage rate.

"As the naval commander of Shahr of Iran, you need to pay attention not only to the small area of ​​​​the Persian Gulf, but to the vast sea area from the Red Sea to Malacca City, Kuwait, Basra, and the slipway of Hormuz. Not just small ships, but huge ships that can cross oceans.”

In the following discussion, Ahsan was surprised by Ibrahim's extensive geographical knowledge and his ambition to control the ocean. The former was not surprising, but he had never seen a monarch or aristocrat care about ocean affairs. Elucidating so many insights.

The discussion between the two was not long, but it was enough for Ahsan, who had already walked out of the study, to digest it for a while.