The Sun and the Lion

The fleet from Lisbon to rescue Cochin arrived a few days after the siege of Cochin. This support force had 14 karaks, carrying thousands of sailors and soldiers and dozens of artillery pieces.

Originally, they all pessimistically believed that the trading post in Cochin had been destroyed, so they prepared artillery in advance in case of emergency. But he didn't expect that Caravel from the lagoon took the initiative to greet him.

After confirming that it was not a disguise, the commander of the fleet was surprised to see Pereira in the main building. He asked how the other party managed to persevere under the pressure of a powerful enemy. Pereira just laughed disdainfully and said perfunctorily: "It is God's grace and miracle that prevents these Hindus from crossing the lagoon."

The news that the Portuguese army in Cochin had been strengthened caused more panic. One of Calicut's vassals, Cannanore, was the first to make a bet and sent an envoy to Cochin to surrender to Portugal. The fleet immediately detached its ships and headed north to arrive at the port for supplies.

With the new port of Cannanore, the Portuguese fleet was able to expand its scope of activities northward. In addition to the routes between India and the Red Sea coast and the East African coast, the direct connection from the Indian coast to the Persian Gulf was also under the threat of Portuguese artillery. .

After sending away the Safavid envoys, Yusuf received multiple reports from the Governor of Goa about attacks on merchant ships, which forced him to reconsider the proposal of having the suzerain build a fort and garrison troops.

However, he classified this measure as a "no alternative", and he still planned to send a messenger to Hormuz to convey the news to Ahsan - the messenger once said that he could consult the naval commander about maritime operations. It was the area that Ibrahim authorized him to govern.

He planned to use Safavid's help to build a fleet capable of cleaning up pirates, which would also increase his value and status to Safavid.

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Looking back to Makran, in the months since Ismail arrived in Bam, the Safavid army has continued to sweep deep into the hinterland of Baluchistan. The Baloch people under Safavid rule provided Mirza with a lot of help, including guides and translators, so that Ismail would not get lost directly.

The Safavid army bypassed the mountains and deserts and entered various settlements, which attracted the attention of the Baloch leaders. The tribes immediately formed a coalition to resist the outsiders. After the Safavid army defeated several ambushes and raids, the two armies The duel started on the shore of the lake in the hinterland.

Due to the rush of time, the Baloch tribal coalition did not have such a big advantage over the Safavid army in terms of numbers, and the equipment level was backward and uneven, and the coordination was even more chaotic.

Seeing the enemy's attack, Ismail first ordered to attack the tribesmen with bows and arrows and camel cannons, and then personally led the cavalry to charge and fight with the Baloch tribesmen.

The previous round of shooting had thrown these tribesmen into chaos. They were obviously the ones taking the initiative to attack, but now they could only passively bear the impact of the Shah's friends.

Several Baloch chiefs who came to join the battle with troops were soon beheaded by Mirza's sharp blade. Ordinary tribesmen who lost the leadership and organization immediately collapsed. Ismail thus easily won the victory.

When news of the defeat spread, the Baloch tribe, which had been hesitating before, made a choice at this time. Its leader took the initiative to bring his personal guards to the temporary camp of the Safavid Army on the shore of the lake and explained his intention to the sentry in charge of the alert.

Ismail met these people who knew the current affairs in the camp tent: "Tell me your purpose of coming. Do you intend to surrender or to resist to the end?"

The leaders are not fools. If they cannot give a satisfactory answer to the other party here, they may not even be able to escape, so they will be detained in this tent.

"We surrender to you on behalf of our respective tribes. The strength you have shown is enough to impress us, and we are willing to accept you as our suzerain. But a remote place like Moklan is not worthy of your country sending troops to conquer."

Ismail first corrected the other party: "You have admitted your mistake. The suzerain you want to serve is not me, but my royal brother, the king of all Iranians and non-Iranians blessed by Huda. I was just assigned Come and declare authority to you heretical forces, spread the right faith, and take the right path.”

As for whether Mokran is worth conquering, it doesn't matter to Ismail. In his view, even heretics living in the ends of the earth must change their beliefs and must not escape; Recognize the authority of the Safavid family and accept dominance.

He didn't bother to explain this truth to the leaders of these frontier tribes and there was no need to let them understand. The humble two-legged beast only needed to know how to fear Shah's sharp blade.

Mirza still tried hard to hide his disdain and implement Ibrahim's rule. First, he asked them to give up their original beliefs and convert to the orthodox faith. Then they promised that they would not deprive them of their right to rule over the tribal people, as long as they did not attack the people and merchants under Safavid rule, pay symbolic tribute, and allow their young people to be hired by officials to join the army. .

Such conditions were acceptable to the leaders, who thanked him one after another and praised the King of Kings for his "generous mercy."

Ismail then mobilized these Baluch tribes who had surrendered to help attack and persuade other tribes that had not yet surrendered. More and more leaders came to beg for surrender, and only a few planned to hide in the lifeless barren mountains to avoid the limelight or move their families to Sindh.

He succeeded in pacifying all the tribes in the interior of Maklan before winter arrived, and withdrew his troops and returned to Bam to spend the winter. He first wrote a battle report and sent it to Tabriz, and waited for new instructions and the arrival of subsequent personnel to take over the affairs of the area.

At the same time, spies and scouts were sent to secretly explore the Maklan area. He wanted to know the true attitude of these tribes towards the Safavids.

At sea, Ehsan's progress was equally smooth. The Baloch rulers in the ports were unable to resist the warships from Hormuz and simply recognized the Safavid suzerainty over these ports.

The governor and the main force of the fleet were stationed in Gwadar Port at this time. After inspection by technical personnel, it was found that the conditions here were good and it was possible to invest in the construction of a large port. Ehsan was immediately ready to report the matter to Ibrahim, request funding and set the seat of Makran Province here.

For merchant ships traveling between India and the Persian Gulf, the construction of Gwadar Port can provide a new supply point for the route. At the same time, although the local products are not considered rich in the eyes of the merchants, there are rich fishery resources of all kinds, which is considered Few highlights.

But no matter what, Moklan is still a desolate and barbaric place in the eyes of most people. Conquering and governing this place is really thankless.