The Sun and the Lion

Cochin, which is thousands of miles away from Samarkand, was not immersed in the joy of the celebration banquet and award ceremony like Ibrahim, because the monarch of Cochin accidentally learned some fatal news.

Perera, who was left behind in Cochin, was suddenly invited to the palace by the Cochin monarch. Although he was confused, he set off immediately out of respect and importance for this ally.

Pereira, who entered the room, took off his hat and bowed to the Cochin monarch through an interpreter: "Dear ally, why are you so anxious to find me?"

"Your Excellency Pereira, I recently learned that Calicut Zamorin has assembled a large army and is preparing to attack Cochin. Can you tell me how much strength you have now?" the Cochin monarch said with a heavy heart. The bad news was told to him.

Albuquerque left after completing the shipment of spices, leaving only Pereira to command two caravel sailing ships to defend the trading post in Cochin. Faced with unknown dangers, he had to wait until the turn of summer and autumn. Lisbon's fleet arrives.

Although he wanted to appease his allies, he decided to tell the truth: "Unfortunately, there are only 2 caravels, 3 boats, 1 fort and 150 men."

The monarch of Cochin sighed in despair: "Although the trouble started because of you, I don't want to betray my allies, nor do I want your sacrifice to be in vain. Take advantage of the fact that Zamorin has not yet laid siege to the city, and the wind is favorable, so hurry up and pack it up." Please go to the other side of the ocean and take shelter.”

"What are you going to do?" Pereira asked.

The monarch of Cochin shook his head slowly: "I do not intend to make unnecessary resistance and increase casualties. If I have no choice, I can only humbly kneel before the tyrant of Calicut and beg for his forgiveness."

Such a negative answer made Pereira feel a heavy responsibility. He knew that he stayed to defend Portugal's interests. If he fled without a fight, Portugal's diplomatic reputation and prestige in the Indian Ocean would be irreparably damaged. Like Malindi The number of collaborators such as Cochin and Cochin will be greatly reduced, and even the ports that originally showed goodwill to Portugal will succumb to Calicut. This is very inconvenient for Portugal with limited delivery capabilities.

"What are you saying? Are you trying to induce our army to cowardly abandon our allies? I swear in the name of God that I will never abandon Cochin. If the situation requires it, I and all my subordinates will serve you until death." Hold on until Zamorin is defeated,” Pereira categorically assured the Cochin monarch.

The Portuguese's answer made the Cochin monarch think they were crazy, but Pereira ignored the surprised attitude of the Cochin monarch. He continued to ask: "Dear ally, how many soldiers and supplies can you provide for the war with the enemy now?"

Unknowingly, Pereira had become the backbone of the Cochin court. All matters related to defense were decided by him, and the Cochin monarch became a go-between.

The monarch of Cochin gave an uncertain number: "At most... eight thousand, which is more than enough to fill the castle's warehouse with building materials and military supplies."

Pereira was not optimistic when he heard this number. The maximum number was eight thousand, which was less than this number. Moreover, it was estimated that the fighting spirit was not high and the quality was insufficient, so he would definitely not be able to be used as the main force.

But he still comforted the monarch of Cochin and said: "Don't worry, it will be our side that wins in the end."

After leaving the palace, he summoned all the Portuguese to the Cochin fort and announced to them that war was coming: "Compatriots, we who stayed in Cochin are about to be tested again. Commander Albuquerque left the fort for us. Next, we must rely on the courage and wisdom given by our loving God to overcome all the difficulties that come next.”

As soon as these words came out, the crowd below started to make noise. The agents in the trading houses were worried, and the missionaries and military officers were enthusiastic about the coming holy war against the infidels. They came to the Indian Ocean with the ideas shaped by the Reconquest.

After finishing his speech, Pereira climbed to the top of the castle to survey the terrain again, looking down at the earth to plan the layout of the defense line.

Because of the existence of moats and lagoons, the Cochin Fort at the top of the peninsula was in an advantageous position. Pereira determined that "this is the Thermopylae of Portugal, and the decisive battle will determine the life and death of Calicut and Portugal."

"Sir, we only have 150 people. How are we going to defend this?"

Pereira looked at the water network outside the city wall and explained his idea to his subordinate officers.

Under the command of this temporary commander, the Portuguese and Cochin Indians began to be busy for the next war.

…………

Also busy with the war was Calicut. Find Shuyuan www. zhaoshuyuan.com Zamorin was determined to win at this time and felt that he had a great advantage - he had assembled a total of 50,000 troops and 300 elephants, all of which came from his direct territories and vassals. At the same time, because the presence of the Portuguese seriously damaged the interests of Muslim merchants, they were fully supportive of Zamorin's military operations. The Calicut army's baggage and equipment were quickly prepared, and there were enough large and small ships to block the Cochin Port. Nearly 200 ships.

In addition to these traditional preparations, Zamorin also tried to make innovations to keep the army up to date. In addition to the two consultants left by the Safavid mission, he also purchased some artillery through Muslim merchants and asked Persian consultants to help Some artillery were trained, but due to tight time and resources, simple conditions, and very different artillery shapes, it was difficult for these Indian gunners to say what they had learned in the limited time.

Zamorin was sitting on an elephant cart, inspecting the army that was about to go on the expedition. The Nair warriors gathered below were holding weapons and were full of energy and morale. The musicians were playing trumpets and drums, and the boundless military formation gave the impression of His magnificent, powerful feeling.

"I heard that a new fort was built in Cochin." Zamorin confirmed to the attendants under the elephant carriage, and he received a positive reply.

Regarding the new developments in Cochin, Zamorin only had disdain in his heart: "If I can destroy Cochin once, I can naturally destroy it a second time."

He already understood the pattern of the Portuguese fleet's comings and goings, and he had enough time to attack Cochin. And this time, he had to wait for work and eliminate all the Portuguese reinforcements that came to rescue, so that these pirates would not dare to invade the Indian Ocean again.

After several days of final preparations, Zamorin personally led the Calicut army to march towards Cochin. The stampede of Indian elephants was about to crush the Portuguese poisonous snakes drifting from the sea.