The Sun and the Lion

While the Vice-President was laying the foundations of Portuguese India at Cochin, Lorenzo de Almeida, the young Vice-President's son, was stationed as commander of the squadron at Anjadeep Island, where The northernmost fulcrum currently selected by the Portuguese court is less than 100 kilometers north of Goa. It is regarded as its territory by the Sultan of Bijapur. It is also an outpost with excellent conditions in the eyes of the Portuguese. By deploying the fleet here, they can control all parts of India. Shipping between ports.

However, this island is very barren, not rich in products, and sparsely populated.

In addition to following orders to build a fortress here, he was also meeting with a special guest, Demogi, a local pirate leader who was quite powerful on the Malabar coast.

This man claimed to have been born in Goa until he left the place on his own initiative after the Sultan of Bijapur conquered it. He mainly made a living for the Hindu monarchs by hijacking Muslim horse traders and controlling the pepper trade between the Malabar coast and Gujarat. He also claimed that It had two thousand well-trained warriors and fourteen warships.

For some reason, he was very enthusiastic about the Portuguese who broke into the Indian Ocean. He took the initiative to negotiate with Vasco da Gama when he first came to India. However, the cautious commander suspected his intentions and his identity as a spy and refused. accepted his overtures.

Demoji spent the next few years observing these pagans. After discovering that the Portuguese did not come to India by chance but arrived in a well-planned and regular manner, he became more determined to establish cooperative relations with these outsiders. However, He did not seize the opportunity to meet the deputy king, but fortunately Lorenzo's squadron was not far from him.

The pirate leader, dressed in luxurious clothes, walked into the captain's room and greeted Lorenzo and several other captains who were present through the translator.

"Mr. Demoji, this is not our first meeting. You don't need to be so reserved." Lourenco asked the pirate leader to sit down, and then continued: "I guess your purpose of coming this time is to go to Cochin and Meeting with my father?”

"Yes, Your Excellency, it is an honor for you to understand my thoughts."

Regarding Demogi's attitude that could be called flattery, Lorenzo thought that he still couldn't figure it out, so he could only reply cautiously: "I have already written to Cochin regarding your request. You don't have to be impatient and there is no need to Worry, His Excellency the Vice-Prince will definitely not reject your kindness."

"Well, I believe in your goodwill." The pirate leader nodded in acceptance.

Next, Lourenço asked Demogi a few questions. In the last meeting, the pirate leader only told him about the strength that he thought was somewhat doubtful, and did not mention any information that would help Portugal's expansion.

Demoji knew the political and economic conditions of the Malabar Coast at his fingertips, which saved the Portuguese a lot of trouble. But then the pirate leader changed his subject: "But I saw a ship exactly like yours in Goa, so I went directly to the port to berth for supplies. There are many construction sites on the island. It looks like they are repairing fortifications or something. of……"

He knew much more than that. Previously, when the pirates under his command hijacked a merchant ship and sold the horses to the Hindu prince at a high price as usual, they happened to encounter two Safavid warships ordered to attack the pirates. They were two Caravels. The pirates wanted to hijack these ships together, but the hulls and masts were smashed by Persian cannons, and many people were killed.

Obviously, this blocked his financial path. Regarding this new force in the Indian Ocean, Demoji spent a lot of time collecting information to understand these new enemies who were as terrifying as the Portuguese.

The more he learned about Ahsan and the navy he commanded, the stronger Demogi's desire to rely on Portugal became. He knew that it was difficult for him to fight alone with such a powerful court as the backing.

This news made Lourenco alert, and he immediately asked: "What did you say? A Karak appeared in the port of India? Fortresses and forts are still being built, in the name of God."

Lourenço was extremely worried. He and the leadership of the entire fleet had known for a long time that Venice was suspected of colluding with the Mamluks to deal with Portugal. Unexpectedly, they encountered reinforcements sent to India by the Saracens just before they had established a foothold. What a bad luck. . The fort at Anjadeep Island would take some time to become operational, and it would be dangerous if Goa sensed that there were intruders entrenched in its territory.

"You son of a bitch Venetian, looking for a bunch of bastards who have betrayed their parents, souls and beliefs." He cursed secretly in his heart, disgust and anxiety slowly appeared on his face, very obvious .

Demoji didn't know what the other party was thinking, but he could see that the other party felt it was very important, so he continued along this line of thought: "You also understand the importance of this information. Let you and your colleagues and superiors know it in time. It’s a great achievement, and this will give you time to think of a solution.”

Lorenzo learned more from him, and the misunderstanding was resolved. The unknown warships seen as a threat did not belong to the Mamluks, but to the Persian King of Kings, a man he had only seen in the Old Testament. Words that are both familiar and unfamiliar.

"A descendant of King Cyrus who defeated the King of Babylon and liberated the Jews?" Lorenzo and the other two captains were immediately confused. For them, this word was much more unfamiliar than John the Priest.

"Your Excellency, Commander, a letter from Cochin." The guard at the door informed everyone in the room of the arrival of the messenger.

Demoji looked at the door most actively, watching the letter being placed on the desk. He couldn't read Latin letters and could only wait for the result in silence. Asking now was an offense and harassment.

"His Excellency the Vice-Prince is very interested in your proposal. He hopes that you can go to Cochin to meet with him. If you don't mind, we can go together immediately. Mr. Demoji, I estimate that we will become colleagues soon." Lorenzo placed the letter on the messy pile of papers on the table.

Demoji responded enthusiastically: "If I set out now, I can only meet with His Excellency the Vice-Prince in a hurry. I still need to be well prepared for the first meeting with His Excellency the Vice-President, so as not to be rude."

The meeting between the two ended quickly, and they devoted their time and energy to their respective to-do items.