The Sun and the Lion

The newly arrived fleet was not hostile to Aden, and took the initiative to identify itself in order to dock for supplies: "We are the fleet of Malik of Egypt and Syria, and the guardian of the Holy Land, Kansu Gauri. We came to Aden to protect the Holy Land. We hope that Guigang can provide us with supplies for our pilgrimage route."

The Mamluk fleet that set out from Suez can be said to have withstood many tests. The governor of Jeddah, Hussein Kurdi, was appointed as the commander of this fleet. He first asked the fleet to arrive in Jeddah to consolidate the defense of the Holy Land. During this period, he also had to He took time to suppress the rebellious Bedouin tribe and lost a lot of manpower. As well as Cairo's arrears in paying the sailors, another group of soldiers fled and mutinied, plus the losses and accidents that occurred during the voyage, the Venetians helped build six galleys and six carracks in Suez, a total of twelve ships. By the time they arrived in Aden The remaining sailors can only scrape together more than half to operate six ships.

After reporting the identity of the fleet and commander, the governor of Yemen lowered his guard and sent a pilot to guide the Mamluk fleet to anchor and provide supplies, and planned to host a banquet to welcome Hussein's arrival.

"Master Governor, the port of Aden welcomes friends." The messenger sent by the Governor of Yemen conveyed to him the friendship and goodwill from Safavid. Hussein was surprised when he accepted these friendships. He accompanied his soldiers without changing his expression. The messenger landed and rode to the governor's palace.

On the way, he asked the guide about the changes in Aden: "Before coming here, I heard that the owner of Aden was Tahir Sultan Zafir. What is going on?"

"It's different now, Mr. Governor, the Port of Aden and even the whole of Yemen are now surrendered to the rule of the King of Kings..." The guide proudly introduced the changes in Yemen to Hussein. Due to time constraints, he could not understand it yet. too much.

Out of curiosity, he strode into the governor's palace. The guards and servants on both sides of the courtyard and the road paid respectful tribute to the distinguished guests. When he walked into the hall, the governor of Yemen who was sitting in his honor stood up to greet him and greeted Hussein diligently: "May I Huda bless you. The distinguished guests have come from far away, and it must be very hard for them to travel and travel. If you appreciate me, you might as well rest in Aden for a while."

Hussein looked around. Except for the Governor of Yemen and himself, there were only a few attendants present. There were no other high-ranking officials or dignitaries in the city attending the banquet. After a little speculation about the nature of the banquet and the motives of the Governor of Yemen, he decided Accept the friendliness of the other party: "May Huda bless you. Since the host is so enthusiastic, it is not easy to shirk me as a guest."

The wine, coffee and delicacies used to entertain the guests were served one by one, and the two sat face to face on the carpet. Hussein looked at the food placed on the carpet and hesitated at the small glass of dark liquid in front of him: "What is this?"

"Oh, this is coffee, a specialty of Yemen." The governor of Yemen introduced the guest thoughtfully: "This drink is my monarch's favorite, and now it has become a palace fashion. It tastes bitter, but it can refresh the mind. , if you are not used to it, you can ask the waiter to add sugar or change it to wine."

Hussein took a sip. He was not used to the taste of the new drink and could not understand why Ibrahim liked to drink it. The governor of Yemen asked his attendant to bring a small jar of sugar to him. He did not accept this novelty until the sweetness of the sugar overcame the bitterness of the coffee.

The two talked for a while about other trivial matters. After the governor of Yemen promoted the reputation and martial arts of the King of Kings, they turned to his true intention of showing goodwill to Hussein.

"You led the fleet to Aden, presumably because of the Franks who were causing chaos on the Hajj route, right?" The governor of Yemen looked at Hussein and asked.

"Yes, it is the duty of the guardians of the Holy Land to protect the Hajj route." Hussein admitted the other party's speculation.

The governor of Yemen, who confirmed the other party's intention, suddenly said: "I wonder if you have seen it. The fortress responsible for protecting this port is covered with traces of shelling. This was caused by the Franks. Just yesterday, they tried to conquer this place. Fortunately, Huda protected it. , our soldiers fought bravely to prevent Aden from falling into the hands of the Franks."

"You mean..." Hussein became alert. He did not expect that the Portuguese were already capable of trying to conquer the ports around the Red Sea. If Aden fell, they could go north along the coast to attack Jeddah and find Shuyuan www. zhaoshuyuａan.com Then they entered the Holy Land.

"Although this attack was repelled, such passive defense is not an option. I am determined to take the initiative and drive all these bold Franks out of the Red Sea." The governor of Yemen looked at Hussein and extended an invitation to him.

Originally, the Governor of Yemen was still distressed by the reality of insufficient troops on hand. He was very worried that a more powerful Portuguese fleet would arrive soon. Originally, he wanted to write a letter to Hormuz, hoping that the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy could supplement and increase the Yemeni Navy. military strength, but the sudden arrival of the Mamluk fleet gave him another option.

In his opinion, as long as the Mamluk fleet can be persuaded to join his battle plan, not only will Aden's defense force be sufficient, but it will also be able to take the initiative to attack the enemy fleet as far away as Socotra Island - this is from the captured From the mouths of Portuguese sailors and officers during interrogation.

After the governor of Yemen told Hussein his intentions, he waited for the other party to think. Hussein considered in his heart: "The order I received from Malik was to expel these Franks who pose a threat to Red Sea shipping and accept the Iranians. The invitation happens to be on a mission, and Iran and our country are still friendly countries, so Malik will definitely approve of my alliance with the Iranians."

"I have carefully considered your opinion. We have a common enemy, and our two countries are also friends with good relations. There is nothing wrong with such cooperation." Hussein's reply made the governor of Yemen happy: "The Sultan of your country Hiring you is truly the most correct decision."

Then the two sides began to exchange intelligence, letting Hussein know the current situation in the Indian Ocean and the status of the Safavid fleet in Aden. The governor of Yemen also knew the situation and original destination of the Mamluk fleet.

The attendant removed all the tableware from the table and replaced it with a chart. Both of them looked at Socotra Island.