The Sun and the Lion

The news of Ismail's victory over the rebels in Bamiyan first shocked Abdul, Piri and their collaborators. When the head of leader Muhammad was placed in the camp tent, everyone fell into silence, trying to digest the facts that they could not believe.

Although some people wanted to question: "Did Mirza really make such a contribution? How to prove that this head belongs to the gang leader?" But no one dared to speak out and could only continue to remain silent in embarrassment.

The death of Chief Muhammad did not mean that the rebel tribe disappeared this time. The death of the leader only turned them into a piece of loose sand, and did not make them kneel down to surrender immediately or die on the spot.

But this was enough for Governor Piri and the reinforcements. The tribes fighting on their own could not stop the Safavid army's front. Abdul and Ismail first sent the victory report of the Battle of Bamiyan and the heads of the bandit leaders to Tabriz, and said that it would take less than half a year to make sure that no one in the Hindu Kush Mountains would dare to continue the challenge. The authority of the King of Kings.

When Ibrahim learned all this news, it was already the late summer and early autumn. He was very pleased that the situation in Afghanistan could return to calm. For this reason, he immediately commended him, first increasing Abdul's level by 150, and then directly giving Ismail a 500-level military level, and encouraged him through private letters.

After receiving such recognition, Ismail's favor for his brother increased sharply again. In the reply letter he sent, he expressed his admiration and loyalty to his brother in words that made Ibrahim feel sick. One sentence said: "My brother. How can such a trivial achievement be compared with your achievements that are enough to be recorded in the Book of Kings? If it were me, I would definitely not be able to achieve such a great achievement."

After Ismail set out with the army, stable correspondence became a routine for the two of them. Ibrahim had one more thing in his daily life - he would take the initiative to find the scribes every day to inquire about the status of the letters and give them instructions. If there is a special letter, be sure to notify him as soon as possible.

In a happy mood, Ibrahim returned his mind to Indian Ocean affairs. The updated information came not only from Afghanistan, but also from the Indian Ocean.

War broke out on the Malabar coast, and Calicut Zamorin took advantage of the weak period of the departure of the Portuguese fleet to launch a fierce attack on Cochin. The Portuguese and the monarch of Cochin could not reach it and had to flee to an island in the outer sea. Because of the two remaining Portuguese sailing ships, Zamorin was unable to pursue them to the island and eliminate all remaining enemies.

In order to scare others, the city of Cochin was burned to the ground, and Zamorin left a small force to monitor the Cochin monarch who fled to the sea before withdrawing.

The Sodre brothers, who had previously only focused on blocking the route, failed to come to support. Their fleet encountered a shipwreck. Both of them died due to the shipwreck and the subsequent crew mutiny. Only the surviving crew members told the unfortunate news. Inform the Portuguese on the island.

For the Sodre brothers, their attitude is to die: "These two brothers committed a heinous crime. The reason why God wanted them to perish in the waves was because they deliberately left their allies, the monarch of Cochin and their fellow Portuguese, alone. Faced with great danger.”

At the same time, the Safavid envoys arrived in Calicut with twists and turns under the escort of the navy. Due to problems with the ship, there were some misunderstandings with the Indians when they docked. The farcical confrontation continued until the local Iranian businessman pointed out the flag of the mast to the officer.

There was nothing much to talk about in the meeting between the Safavid envoy and Zamorin. Zamorin accepted all the assistance, including weapons and two advisers. The intervention of the big powers across the ocean consolidated Zamorin's confidence in confronting the invaders. , he knows that all countries around the Indian Ocean are very concerned about this matter.

And the assistance given by Safavid was not limited to this time, but once a year before expelling the Portuguese from the Indian Ocean.

After that, more foreign aid expenditures were added to Diwan’s books.

Ibrahim next turned his attention to naval construction. This group of shipbuilders, composed of a mixture of Italians and locals, had built many European-style sailing ships that could carry many guns in the past few years.

With a stable supply of materials and an increasing amount of allocations year by year, the fleet currently stationed on Hormuz Island has expanded to include 6 Karaks and 15 Caravels, while the galleys and delta have not changed.

Regarding these European-style hulls and sail rigging, the Safavid sailors have adapted to these new equipment through training in the Persian Gulf and several special military operations. Ahsan said in the latest report: "I can assure your Majesty that , the fleet loyal to you can now enter the ocean and destroy all enemies on the sea."

In order to show that the navy is really capable of combat, he previously arranged for the Karavel and Karak sailing ships to be stationed in Muscat to protect the route to the Persian Gulf. Find Shuyuan www.zhaoshuyuan. com However, those who were frightened by the shelling of the Iranian warships were all local pirates, and not a single Portuguese ship was seen.

The Safavid Navy's vigorous campaign against pirates has hit many local pirates. Most of those who wanted to take advantage of the chaos to cause trouble suffered. Many pirate leaders were taken to Hormuz for execution, and the forces they had worked hard to manage were also annexed.

During this series of gangsters, the merchants found that the trade routes had become safer. Under the deliberate publicity of Governor Ahsan, Ibrahim's reputation began to spread rapidly across the ocean.

Seeing that the fleet already had combat capabilities, Ibrahim felt a little relieved. At least he would not be unable to fight back against the Portuguese. At the same time, he could also consider expanding on the ocean.

He first asked the secretary to prepare an order through dictation: "In order to establish the authority of Iran on the sea and let the whole world recognize the superior status of Iran, I, the King of Kings of Iran, hereby submit to the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy and the The Governor of the Persian Gulf Islands, Ehsan, and the Director of Shipbuilding, Zhanni, ordered the construction of a warship in Hormuz that was powerful enough to demonstrate majesty and dominance. The ship was independent of the original shipbuilding plan and required all expenditures. Additional appropriations will pay for it.”

In addition to shipbuilding, he is also concerned about the construction of the naval school. The current expansion of personnel basically relies on the voluntary or involuntary compliance of pirates. However, Ahsan did not dwell much on this aspect. He only mentioned that the relevant facilities at Gomblon Port had been completed and some cartographers and navigators were recruited who were willing to serve him.

Ibrahim was not very satisfied with the sparse feedback, and he planned to immediately order the governor to write a report specifically about the naval school.

Finally, he looked at the map, scanned the coast around the Indian Ocean, and thought about the next direction of expansion.