The Sun and the Lion

The coalition's wait and wait on Socotra failed to produce results. Seeing that he and the captains could never reach an agreement on the battle on the Arabian coast, Albuquerque simply went to India to report to the deputy king, replenish manpower, and repair the ship. wait.

After his patience was gradually worn out, Hussein led the Mamluk fleet to leave early and go to Diu Port in Gujarat, preparing to contact the local rulers in the name of jihad to support the anti-Portuguese cause.

The two fleets heading to India criss-crossed the vast sea, never encountering bad weather, and successfully reached their respective destinations. The governor of Yemen returned to Aden and continued to protect the surrounding sea routes.

The battle reports of the battles in Aden and Socotra Island were first sent to Ahsan, and the replenishment of the Yemeni garrison was quickly arranged. The captured Portuguese Karak ship was directly integrated into the command of the Governor of Yemen.

The sorted and polished news was quickly sent to Isfahan by royal messengers through the post system.

"This Frank is really rampant. After being frustrated on Anjadeep Island, he planned to seize Aden to regain his position. He even sent an envoy to show his kindness to me to let me relax my vigilance. They are really cunning."

After condemning the Portuguese in his heart, Ahsan immediately held a combat meeting and asked his staff and subordinates for their opinions.

The chart of the Arabian Sea - also known as the Sea of ​​Oman and the Persian Sea - was slowly unfolded, with the known Safavid and Portuguese fortresses on both sides of the strait marked on it. Everyone gathered around this chart, thinking about the next battle plan.

Nowadays, Portugal's power is mainly concentrated on the Malabar coast. If you want to attack enemy strongholds, the most suitable starting point is the port of Goa. Hormuz and Thatta are still some distance from South India.

The Commander-in-Chief first took stock of the current armaments. Although there were nearly 20 Karaks and Caravels in active service, and 30 large and small galleys in total, the garrison needs of each port caused the fleets that could not be underestimated to be dispersed. Open, without neglecting the garrison, warships that can maneuver around have no numerical advantage over the current Portuguese army.

"Everyone, our army has just defeated the enemy's intention to seize the city in Aden, which shows that these Franks can threaten our country and cause trouble to coastal security. Moreover, our country is a responsible big country. India has suffered from Frank pirates for a long time. Attack them and start from foreign countries. Liberating Muslims who are being persecuted for no reason from the clutches of believers will bring good name to the King of Kings and our army." Ahsan expressed his position simply. Even so, he personally prefers to take the initiative.

No one objected to the judgment and decision of their superiors. Compared to the army, the navy had too few opportunities for meritorious service. It mainly focused on escort work. There were almost no promotion opportunities for combating piracy and anti-smuggling, and the spoils gained had to be handed over to the public for redistribution. Therefore, everyone is looking forward to the Portuguese who are making trouble on the Malabar coast. These are no ordinary pagans. They have achieved military exploits on the sea and gained heavy blows.

Seeing that all his subordinates were very active in the war, Ahsan, who felt that his military morale was useful, praised everyone's loyalty and patriotism, and then discussed combat matters in a harmonious atmosphere.

"Hormuz is too far from India. It is very time-consuming and laborious to send troops from here to the Malabar coast. Fortunately, with the foresight of the King of Kings, our army has a base with excellent conditions like Goa to use. I plan to use the fleet The main force will be moved to Goa first, and I will also go to Goa to coordinate the campaign."

Then he started thinking and planned to make good use of the authorization given by Ibrahim: "When fighting in India, it is inevitable to negotiate with the local Sultan. It just so happens that we can take the opportunity to make more people surrender to the King of Kings. In this way, Military supplies can also be raised locally, and Indian soldiers can be recruited or the sultans can send troops to help besiege and attack enemy fortresses."

He formally proposed the recruitment of local sailors after learning about the establishment of Gulam of the East. Since the King of Kings is willing to use Afghans to guard the Indus River, he will not require the sailors not to recruit Indians. The current Safavid navy is mixed with Persians, Arabs, a small number of Portuguese defectors and occasionally freed slaves from East Africa and the Caucasus.

Most of the Portuguese rebels have now become instructors in naval schools. Their current main task is to teach the Portuguese navigation knowledge and skills they have accumulated for decades to active officers and sailors and to serve as advisors to Ehsan. The navigation technology brought from Europe was novel to the Muslim sailors, scholars, and cartographers serving the navy. After being exposed to it, they learned according to their needs.

"Your Excellency, who do you plan to stay in Hormuz?" Several senior officers looked at each other. In fact, they did not want to stay in Hormuz. They stayed here to inspect the shipyard, barracks, warehouses and There is no chance of arranging fleet patrol and escort.

Ahsan carefully selected the admirals who stayed behind to be 10 or even 90% reliable. After all, Hormuz is of great strategic significance, and the vast sea is very vast. In case of these despicable Portuguese, If we plan to directly raid Hormuz, wouldn't it be a farce of changing families?

After much deliberation, he selected a confidant he believed to be reliable: "After all, Hormuz and Shah Port are very important, and defending here is also a very honorable task. I plan to leave the security of the rear to you, Humayun."

"Yes, Your Excellency, Hormuz will not be lost in the hands of the general." The selected Humayun accepted the appointment calmly, making the colleagues present breathed a sigh of relief.

"In that case, you should go back and prepare the fleet for sailing first." Ahsan announced the end of the meeting and waved the admirals to leave. He had other things to deal with.

The spies sent by Turgut to Hormuz had just arrived. Ahsan welcomed this. Maritime operations require spies to collect intelligence. At present, the navy's intelligence work only collects extraterritorial information through merchant ships and dispatched warships. , lacks the ability to proactively collect intelligence within enemy territory.

He immediately invited the secret agent to the office for a detailed discussion and asked when the other party could start work. The other party replied: "If you want me to go to India to collect information for our army, then please help me arrange a dhow as a Merchant ship…”

The spy who planned to be dispatched reported the identity he wanted to disguise and the funds he needed one by one. The commander-in-chief, who did not understand intelligence work, felt that this man was very professional and did not cost much, so he agreed simply. .

The staff who were originally responsible for collecting information under the commander-in-chief now had to manage the communication with the spies and sort out and screen the intelligence sent by them. Ahsan chose to let them discuss specific matters about maintaining contact.

Finally, he thought of the Mamluk fleet reported by the governor of Yemen. Should he contact the other party?