The Sun and the Lion

The local committee did not think of Ibrahim, which made Francesco feel very inappropriate. As ambassador to Persia, the only people he could negotiate with were the prominent figures in the Safavid court. But he repeatedly checked the information about the committee and the latest letters from the mainland, but found nothing wrong with him. For the sake of performance, he decided to use his subjective initiative.

The first person to receive him was the foreign vizier. The two were already quite familiar with each other due to frequent contact. After Assad greeted him, he asked his servants to bring him drinks and snacks, which he did almost every time he visited.

Of course, the expenses incurred by this reception were incomparable to the expenses Francesco spent on the vizier's activities.

"Your Excellency Assad, this matter is very important. I need, no, I must meet with His Majesty today." Francesco handed the Vizier a document, which he had compiled and translated. Information.

The vizier put it away without opening it for inspection: "I will forward these to His Majesty. I hope His Majesty will agree to your request this time."

The ambassador waited anxiously in the room. It was not that he had not thought of other more "efficient" ways, such as bribing the eunuchs who served the King of Kings, but Ibrahim revealed his dirty deeds as soon as they met. , and said: "Do you think it is a waste of resources for me to appoint a vizier to be in charge of matters related to you and other foreigners? If you really have important matters, the vizier and I will not deliberately embarrass you. of."

After that, he had to temporarily put away the methods and routines he used to deal with Mamluk officials in Syria.

He waited under the service of the servants for nearly half an hour before someone came to inform him: "Your Majesty the Messenger, Your Majesty has agreed to receive you."

This made Francesco breathe a sigh of relief, straightened up his appearance a little, and then walked quickly to the palace with the attendant who came to lead the way.

Entering the study, he saluted Ibrahim, who was still looking at documents and maps, and said: "The foreign minister pays tribute to the most powerful and noble monarch in Persia."

Ibrahim raised his head and looked at the Venetian. He first asked the clerk on the side to help organize the scattered desk, and then said: "Mr. Messenger, I have read your document. The information in it is very valuable. Now I I want to hear what your country wants to ask of our country.”

The sudden visit of the Venetian ambassador did not create enough surprise or fright for Ibrahim. Due to the traffic environment, the contact between Francesco and the mainland was calculated on a monthly basis. If Ibrahim's news was blocked, , that’s all.

But the King of Kings is very concerned about this matter. Merchants and travelers returning from India are spreading different versions of the story in the ports along the Persian Gulf, while spies and governors of the Persian Gulf Islands who are mixed in the business roads are passing a letter along the highway. A report filled with the latest news was sent to Tabriz.

Therefore, Ibrahim discovered that he had actually read the information sent by Francesco two or three weeks ago.

"Your Majesty, I am not being alarmist. The actions of these Portuguese in the Indian Ocean are destroying the foundation of our country and your country. Our country was founded on commerce and profited entirely from the commodities imported from the East. Your country has benefited greatly from this and is the most important country in our country. Important business object, this is naked theft! Robbery! The ducats that originally belonged to you were taken away by them, and your wallet was cut with a big hole, and you can put your whole hand in and take it at will. ." Francesco used a very sincere and even excited tone to describe to Ibrahim the future under Portugal's disruption.

Regarding Francesco's "nonsense", Ibrahim expressed his deep approval, and then asked: "In the face of such a situation, does your country have any suggestions for me?"

After speaking, Ibrahim immediately showed Francesco the map of the Indian Ocean spread on the table. The Venetian envoy stared at the map. He had never seen a map of the Indian Ocean that was so accurately drawn and marked with such detail.

He couldn't help but wonder if Ibrahim knew what was happening in the Indian Ocean earlier than he did. But he had previously heard that Ibrahim went to great lengths to collect historical, military, and geographical information in the Tianfang world, and set up institutions in the palace to manage and train scholars who mastered astronomy and geography, and generously funded their work.

At the same time, Ibrahim also ordered an attempt to use imitation printing machines to print a batch of geographical atlases. The printing craftsmen lived up to expectations. Officers in the navy, standing army and palace military academy were intuitively learning basic geographical knowledge through these rough but cheap geographical atlases.

Francesco, who temporarily put aside this question and did not intend to continue thinking about this issue, replied: "The foreign minister believes that your country has enough strength to end this chaos. In the past, your Majesty recruited some shipwrights and armorers through our country. If you If necessary, the foreign minister can persuade the consul to provide assistance to your country to build a navy that can eliminate these pirates."

These words made Ibrahim's eyes light up. In the past, you had to pay for people from Europe, but now you can just do it for free. Isn't this a cruel harvest of Venetian wool?

He thought about it and looked for Shuyuan www.zhaoshuyuan. ｃcom It is impossible for Francesco to know the details of Safavid's situation, and he can use this to defraud assistance from Venice, so that she can help share the financial pressure of Safavid's naval expansion.

"Your Excellency, your sincere words have convinced me that our country really needs to step forward to eliminate these pirates, and it also needs your country's help to build a fleet. I also hope that you can reply to my opinion as soon as possible to the consul. I Soon - probably tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, I will give you a list of the assistance our country needs within a week."

Francesco happily returned to the mainland with a "diplomatic victory" to report, while Ibrahim continued to think about the next naval expansion plan and strategy.

In his opinion, considering various factors, the next major construction plan can be more conservative. On the one hand, the Portuguese fleet expedition to the Indian Ocean is not yet very large, and there is currently no need to be forced to maintain a large fleet to fight the enemy. Second, he believed that the new Safavid Navy lacked experience. He very doubted whether the naval officers could ensure the normal command system of the huge fleet. Especially in this era without radio, how many warships could the top commander coordinate and organize?

At the same time, there is no need to worry about the security of the Persian Gulf. Hormuz is already firmly in hand. All ports surrendered to the King of Kings have begun to build forts and equip fortress defenders. The Portuguese fleet cannot rely on just a few ships. The artillery of the rach can establish a solid stronghold in the Persian Gulf.

After making these preparations, Ibrahim believed that time was not particularly tight for him. It would be best if he could drive the Portuguese out of the Indian Ocean at once. Even if that failed, he could continue to gather strength in the Persian Gulf.

After drafting the next order for the navy and sending it to Hormuz, he immediately summoned Assad and Turgut to consult with them about basic information about India's coast and the operability of the rough plan in his mind.