Chapter 3676
Although the two sides of the Strait of Hormuz look desolate, they are not terra incognita after all. If outsiders want to settle in this place, it cannot be done casually. The first step is to deal with the local snakes here.
Although the owner of the northern shore of the strait was Persia, the Portuguese snatched an island at their doorstep. This small island with a radius of only more than ten miles was also named Hormuz Island by the Portuguese, and a fortress and trading port were built on the island.
The first stop the Haihan Fleet will make when visiting the Strait of Hormuz is the Port of Hormuz on Hormuz Island.
As the most knowledgeable person in the fleet, Qian Tiandun had to educate his entourage about Hormuz Island.
"According to the information we have, this island was the territory of the Persian state 150 years ago. The Portuguese relied on force and spent eight years defeating Persia before occupying the island."
"In recent decades, this island has changed hands many times in the tug-of-war between the two countries. It is said that the British helped the Persians fight, and they fought back and forth with the Portuguese. But in the end, the Portuguese prevailed. Continue to occupy this island.”
"This place is also recorded in Zheng He's navigation chart. It is marked as 'Hulumos' and is said to be rich in red salt stones. If you make this stone into a vessel, the food will have a salty taste without adding salt. .”
Li Yuande, who heard this, interjected: "In this way, it was the Ming Dynasty who came here before Portugal. If Zheng He had any thoughts about the Persian territory at that time, he would not have let the Portuguese take the lead!"
Dong Shangyi also agreed: "If the Sanbao eunuchs could occupy an island or something here at that time, wouldn't it save a lot of trouble today!"
Qian Tiandun said: "With our country's national and military strength, it would be time-consuming and laborious to establish a stronghold so far away from the mainland, let alone Zheng He two hundred years ago? Besides, Zheng He's mission was to tour various countries and establish diplomatic relations. , not aiming at conquest and plunder like the Europeans, he should not have considered what you said at all.”
While they were talking, the Port of Hormuz had already dispatched a pilot boat to assist the Haihan fleet to dock at the port.
Speaking of which, the Portuguese's reaction was much calmer than that of the border guards on the Persian border. They had noticed the two-color flag flying by the Haihan fleet early, and could confirm by the ship type that it was from the Haihan fleet. Naturally, they felt confident and bold. Arrange reception services.
If we measure the conditions of Hormuz Island by Haihan's standards, it is really not a good place to build a port.
The island is oval in shape and there is no natural bay on the island shore that can be used to build a port. Apart from some drought-tolerant shrubs, there are almost no tall trees on the island. The coast of the island is almost entirely covered with large stretches of sand, so it can be said that there is no danger of being defended. It is no wonder that this place has changed hands repeatedly in the past.
The only thing worthy of praise is probably the location. This island is only a dozen miles away from the nearest coast, which happens to block the main sea channel of Persia.
Although there are several islands on the Persian Gulf side to the west, and even a large island with an area ten times that, the Portuguese still chose Hormuz Island to start, probably because of its geographical location. Even though they knew that this island was easy to attack and difficult to defend, they still invested huge resources in long-term operations.
Perhaps it was precisely because of the need to face the military pressure of Persia at all times, and the port of Hormuz had no natural dangers to defend, that the Portuguese worked hard to build a seaside fortress here.
Among the many Portuguese ports that the Haihan Fleet visited during this trip, the level of city defense here is definitely the first, probably second only to Goa.
Although this place is thousands of miles away from Goa, it is still an area under the jurisdiction of the Governor-General of Goa. After meeting Qian Tiandun and others, Rui, the consul here, heard that they had visited the city of Goa before, so he unabashedly revealed his other identity - the brother-in-law of Fernandez, the governor of Goa.
Of course, he can serve as a consul on Hormuz Island, which more or less benefits from this special status.
Li Yuande immediately thought of one thing. Since Rui is a family member of the Governor of Goa, he was arranged to sit in this seat because there is a lot of money here.
But if this place is really at war with Persia every day, without a peaceful environment, there won't be much commercial activities. Where will this oil and water come from?
But after all, he had spent so much time with Qian Tiandun, and he quickly thought of the answer.
Since Portugal wants to guard this place and not let go, it is bound to allocate a considerable amount of military expenditures and supplies to Hormuz Island. As a consul, Rui only needs to move his hands and feet a little to get some oil and water from it. It is not difficult.
However, Lu Yi's introduction surprised Qian Tiandun and others. The port on this island is not only for transporting materials for personnel stationed on the island, but also has genuine trading activities, and the income is quite good.
Qian Tiandun asked curiously: "This port is across the sea from Persia. Considering the degree of opposition between your country and Persia, can ordinary merchant ships be allowed to enter and exit here at will?"
Rui smiled slightly and said: "To tell you the truth, those who do business with us are precisely Persian merchants."
Seeing the slightly surprised expressions on Qian Tiandun's group, Lu Yi was even more proud, and then revealed some inside information to them.
Rui is not bragging. Most of the merchants who maintain trade relations with Hormuz Island are indeed from Persia.
6◇9◇Book◇Bar
The protracted war between the two countries over the island of Hormuz has not delayed businessmen from making profits from cross-border trade.
Handmade carpets, turquoise jewelry, painted ceramics and other handicrafts produced in Persia can fetch quite good prices in the European market. The Portuguese shipped a wide variety of goods here from all over the world, many of which were in hot demand in the Persian domestic market.
Driven by huge profits, some people will naturally choose to take risks in cross-border trade. Of course, this is a nicer way of saying it. In fact, the nature of these underground trades is smuggling.
As a result, a strange phenomenon occurred in the Strait of Hormuz. From time to time, the two sides would have tense armed confrontations, or even large-scale conflicts.
But at the same time, after nightfall, there were still many merchant ships quietly traveling between the Persian coast and Hormuz Island. Countless goods and gold and silver were flowing between the two countries, which was a spectacle.
After listening to his introduction, Qian Tiandun immediately added: "A Persian businessman with such courage must not have an ordinary background!"
Rui admitted this frankly: "Most of those who dare to do this kind of business are just running errands for others in front of the stage, and behind them are all the various royal relatives of Persia!"