Chapter 379 Eastern Crossroads
Time passed, and the end of 1476 AD was in the wind and snow. The new year has come.
In the past year, the European continent has no peace. The Iberian War ended because of a marriage. The two powerful armies of the Eastern Roman Empire and the Kingdom of France all evacuated Castilla, leaving behind a piece of residue here. The feudal aristocracy was strengthened. The Vatican Church expanded its power greatly. The extreme trial of the Inquisition displaced a large number of migrant workers and businessmen. Old-established trade cities such as Granada, Valencia and Barcelona fell into decline. Lisbon, Sevilla and La Coruna flourished rapidly due to the shift of their economic center of gravity.
The death of the Duke of Burgundy boldly did not bring any turning point to the chaos in Western Europe. The "Last Knight" Maximilian von Habsburg entered the Netherlands with his engagement that year and held a grand wedding with Mary of Burgundy. The plan of King Louis XI of France was not completely successful, but he still easily won a large number of territory of Burgundy and Francheconte, and the strength of the Kingdom of France continued to grow.
At the end of 1476, Hungarian King Hungary Magash, who ended the Bohemia War, fought on the Danube and began to harass the border provinces of the Austrian Grand Duchy. Many castles west of Vienna had fallen into the hands of the Hungarians, but Frederick III, the nominal first Catholic king, failed to make any effective resistance.
On the distant Eastern European plains, the Grand Duchy of Moscow conquered the Novgorod Republic and unified the Northeast Ross. The Grand Duke of Moscow Ivan III once again rejected the tribute request of Badusale, which would inevitably completely crush the Tatar shackles that had been wrapped around the Ross for hundreds of years.
"The Last Golden Horde" Aheima was worried about the rise of Moscow, and was also afraid of the Cossacks and the Kingdom of Cherks in the southwest. The times of the Mongols and Tatars were all over. Even though he had ideals, he could not resist the tide of history.
The legacy of the Western Expedition of Badu, the glory of the moon is Beihan, passed to him, leaving only a few grasslands and sporadic herds of cattle and sheep.
Of course, the heritage of our ancestors has not been exhausted yet, and Aheima Khan is not the lord of incompetence and debauchery. He is actively contacting the Polish Lithuanians. Two major military alliances in the Black Sea-Eastern Europe are being formed, and Moscow and Eastern Rome will fight against the Golden Horde and Lithuania.
The Kingdom of England in northwestern Europe seems to be out of the shadow of the Hundred Years of War in Britain and France and the Red and White Roses War. The infighting of the nobles strengthened the power of industrialists and businessmen. After the English royal family lost France's territory, England's nationalism came to its foreground.
It is undeniable that Edward IV of the York Dynasty was a wise lord. He was successful at a young age and had a lion-like ambition. He restrained the nobles internally, promoted industry and commerce, and made peace and compromise externally. He no longer interfered too much in the situation on the European continent. The demise of the "old ally" Burgundy Grand Duchy did not receive his sympathy and assistance. The Kingdom of England entered a period of rapid recovery under his leadership.
Edward IV used the mess after the Roses to strengthen centralization, boldly appointed small and medium-sized aristocrats and lower-class civilians, and attracted a large group of literary and artistic scholars from the European continent. The Kingdom of England also began its own journey of Renaissance.
In addition, Edward IV also started "personal worship", shaping himself into the spokesperson of God through various methods, conducting "divine propaganda", and claiming to be the "Second King Arthur", which will bring permanent stability and peace to the people of England. The emergence of this trend of thought has greatly affected the fate of the English royal family.
However, it is also undeniable that there is a great crisis in the rule of Edward IV, and the internal conflicts of the York dynasty are still fierce. The "illegal" marriage between the king and the queen makes it difficult for the two children to wear the crown of glory. Henry Tudor, the orphan of the Lancaster family, has never given up the hope of returning to London. Henry Tudor, is accumulating his own strength in Brittany on the European continent.
During this year, the power of the Vatican Church seemed to have increased. Sithus IV established a "family dynasty" with blood ties. The power of the Vatican Church expanded unprecedentedly in Central and Northern Italy and the Iberian Peninsula, and seemed to have entered a "glorious era".
As for the increasing number of peasant uprisings in the German region, the increasing reform ideas of the Catholic Church and the uncovered corruption within the Holy See, perhaps for the senior priests, these are ordinary things and are not worth mentioning.
Since the Holy See was in its prosperous era, Sithus IV also ordered the construction of a large number of religious and literary buildings. A large part of these buildings were contracted by several large construction companies of the Eastern Roman Empire. In the bishops' view, the group of "Greeks" not only had fast construction speed and required less wages, but they would also be very conscious of each other. From the Pope to the Cardinal to their mistress and illegitimate children, everyone could share the money and everyone was happy.
Or are you short of money? Don't be afraid! You don’t ask you to be less greedy. Even if you lend a loan to the Royal Bank of Valleo, you don’t need to use the castle or land you are holding as collateral. Just use the proceeds of indulgences to guarantee it. Anyway, it is also the exploitation of the Catholic people’s blood and sweat.
The people are dissatisfied? Peasant uprising? Don't be afraid! Even if they come to the Eastern Empire, sharing the worries of brothers of the same clan is a necessary quality for a good Christian.
Now, the Eastern Roman royal family spends a lot of money every year to bribe the cardinal and fund goodwill, trying to turn the Vatican Church under the rule of the Rovere family into a tool for the Eastern Roman Empire to exploit the Catholic world of Western Europe and help their economic growth and territorial expansion.
After the signing of the Toledo Peace Treaty in 1476, several quarrels broke out within the Vatican Church on the issue of Sicily. The pro-French faction represented by the Borgia family did not want to see the forces of the Eastern Roman Empire continue to expand in Western Europe. The Valleoluo cooperative faction represented by the Rovere family also had some concerns about the expansion of the Eastern Roman Empire in Italy. The two sides finally decided to send envoys to the Eastern Roman Empire to discuss Sicily's ownership and Italian affairs.
Of course, the discussion was just a formality. The Vatican delegation visited Eastern Rome for a whole month. They took a cruise in Golden Horn Bay, ate all the food in Constantinople, visited several seminaries, met several indigenous priests from the colonies, and enjoyed the taste of hot springs in Pamukkale. Before leaving, they also brought a lot of jewelry, jade, gold and silver jewelry specially given by the royal family.
The final result was that Eastern Rome believed that Sicily did not belong to part of the Italian Peninsula and promised that except for the Governor of Venice and the Free City of La Spezia, there would be no expansion in the Catholic world and that it would continue to launch jihad to Muslims in the East. A part of Sicily's annual church taxes still belong to the Vatican Church.
When the envoy returned to Rome, the diplomats of the Eastern Romans who followed him naturally also made arrangements. Sithus IV was quite satisfied with the result and waved the agreement with the emperor's name and showed it to every cardinal.
"I brought peace to an era!"
The Sithus IV said so.
Thus, the Italian Peninsula continued to enjoy the hard-won peace and tranquility until the end of 1476.
At the end of 1476, the Principality of Milan was in trouble again. Because the rule of the tyrant Galeazo was unpopular, from nobles and wealthy businessmen to ordinary people, everyone had long been tired of this duke who "did not look like a king" and conspiracies were quietly brewing.
On December 26, 1476, two humanist aristocratic young men who hated autocracy and dictatorship joined forces with Carlo Visconte, who had been humiliated by Galeazo, to swung the butcher knife at the tyrant in the Cathedral of St. Stefan, and Galeazo died on the spot.
After Galeazzo was assassinated, several noble assassins who were determined to restore the republic tradition did not receive a response from the citizens. They were soon arrested and executed by the Sforza family's army. Galeazzo's seven-year-old son Ji'an inherited the throne of Duke, and the mother of the Duke of Ji'an served as regent.
Under the suspicion of the young kingdom, the situation in Milan became increasingly chaotic. Genoa and La Spezia revolt one after another. The former was quickly suppressed by the local garrison, while the latter was supported by the Eastern Roman Empire and insisted on breaking away from the control of the Principality of Milan.
In the past few years since the trade system of the Eastern Roman Empire, since the city relied on transit trade almost entirely on trade and had no own handicraft system, the once very prosperous city of La Spezia immediately fell into decline. Citizens suffered from the tyranny of the Milanese people at all times, the commodity economy stagnated, tax and labor increased, and citizens' living standards dropped sharply... After a few years, even the original Milan supporters remained silent and began to miss the beautiful life they had once been.
In recent years, the former mayor Dimarco Gattilucio has not been idle. He has been contacting various forces in La Spezia, helping many Italians who are willing to immigrate to Eastern Rome to achieve their goals. After the Duke of Milan was assassinated, Dimarco immediately went to the Eastern Roman Concession area of Florence, intending to subvert the Milanese rule.
On January 3, 1477, at the invitation of the Free Government of La Spezia, the Minister of the Eastern Roman Empire in Florence marched towards Milan, and the Second Latin Marine Corps of the Foreign Legion was also waiting for the battle in Carthage, ready to land in La Spezia at any time.
As Milan was in a panic, everyone was either busy fishing for troubled waters or fighting for power and profit. The diplomatic demands of the Eastern Roman Empire received no response, but Galeazzo's orphans and widows obviously did not have the ability to deal with a full-scale war. The Kingdom of France also focused on Burgundy and the Netherlands, and could not give them much help. There was a possibility of a peaceful resolution.
In any case, the new year has begun, and the wheels of history roll forward, bringing new opportunities and new challenges.
At the easternmost end of the Indian Ocean, an Arab-style sailboat with Mamluk flag sails eastward in the wide strait. The closer you get to the destination, the more sailboats come and go on the sea.
"It's so prosperous. Just looking at the number of ships, I'm afraid I won't give in to the Golden Horn Bay!"
The warm spring sun was spread on the deck, and a middle-aged man dressed in Arab businessman narrowed his eyes and looked at the bustling harbor.
"The population of this city is probably more than 100,000."
"If you count the suburbs and affiliated towns, you might have a total of 150,000."
Beside him, another young man dressed in Arab responded.
"Islamic forces have colonized the Indian Ocean for hundreds of years. Even if they declined in the West, they still have tracts of reservations in the East."
"Now, Granada and Fez are not good anymore. This city is probably the second largest Sunni city after Cairo."
"Hehe, it's really strange to think about it."
The middle-aged man smiled.
"The Orthodox cities ranked second and third are not Carthage or Thessalonians, but Elysion and Mbanza Congo."
"Especially, the city of Elysion has a population of nearly 300,000. The indigenous people can live, and may surpass Constantinople in the future."
"City of Elysion? Do you mean the New Constantinople?"
The young man thought about it.
"There are so many Orthodox people there?"
"Yes, because both natives and immigrants like the name Elysion, so no one cares about the official name."
The middle-aged man said.
"The natives who did not want to convert to their beliefs were not blessed and basically died of illness. The rest were at least openly Orthodox people, although they would still worship those false gods in secret."
"I heard from the Governor that Elysian is now under the jurisdiction of Archbishop Valens and is carrying out a Greek popularization campaign."
"The indigenous people on the Mexica Plateau are very different from other places. The administrative and educational systems are quite perfect. The empire did not completely destroy it, but directly inherited it and borrowed a chicken to lay eggs."
"Now, more than one-third of Elysion's annual output will be used for cultural assimilation, and in a few generations, at least in big cities, Greek will be the common language."
"As for the Congo Kingdom, they are also strange. I wonder why they like foreign religions so much? From kings to nobles to merchants, they all helped preach and all volunteered to learn Greek. In the past few years, they did not send many missionaries to come over, and they were still very unhappy."
The middle-aged man smiled again.
"Then I'm a little curious, how did they explain slavery?"
The young people were a little confused.
"In theory, Orthodox people are not allowed to be regarded as slaves."
"Your Majesty's civil rights charter also states that the specific situation is analyzed. The slave trade between Congo, Guinea and Cherks has a long history. Since they want to sell it, let them do it."
The middle-aged man said.
"If we really abolish the Congo slave trade, the most anger will be their kings and nobles."
"Forget it, it has nothing to do with us. Just focus on the tasks in front of us."
The middle-aged man looked at the harbor gradually approaching.
"Robert, are you from the Prometheus department?"
"Well, yes, there's nothing to hide."
Robert nodded.
"However, I just joined. I used to be just a college student who studied gardening."
"I was funded by the Mavro family, studied horticultural cultivation at Billingch University for three years, planted a golden tree for one year, and studied Oriental herbs for two years... After graduation, I was approached by intelligence officials and became a member of Prometheus, responsible for the introduction of new crops and new livestock, uh...."
"I'll come with you this time, mainly for tea."
Robert said.
"Do you know that kind of drink? It's the leaves that Oriental people like to use to soak in water."
"Of course I know that tea is one of the most precious commodities in the Indian Ocean."
The middle-aged man nodded.
"Where are you going? Although this archipelago also has a tradition of drinking tea, it basically relies on imports. There are no excellent tea varieties and tea planting bases, and the same is true for Siam in the north."
"In the past, His Majesty seemed to have sent some agents, but he failed to make any breakthroughs. They only went around Southeast Asia, and the quality of the teas they brought back was very poor."
"Well, I know, but this time I'm going to Japan, that is, Japan."
Robert replied.
"Ming is the largest producer of tea, but they have issued a strict maritime ban policy, and the political structure is basically intact, so it is difficult for outsiders to get in, let alone stealing excellent tea varieties and kidnapping skilled tea farmers."
"In addition to them, the Japanese have some tricks in growing tea." "Now, they are in the Warring States Period, which is a good opportunity."
"And India, Your Majesty said that India also has native tea varieties, but no one has used it, and some agents have gone to search for it with the indigenous Indians."
"Well, I wish you success."
The middle-aged man said.
"After we obtain the first base in Southeast Asia, our ties with Eastern countries will be strengthened. It would be fine if the Ming Dynasty is unwilling to open the sea. There are so many smugglers anyway."
"What about you, Mohandar?"
Robert looked at the middle-aged man.
"The Sultan of Malacca is arbitrarily and directly robs our goods and locks up our people, I'm afraid they are not that easy to talk to."
"No, I'm not here this time to convince those Muslims, but to contact the opposition forces in Malacca."
Mohandal shook his head.
"Governor Albukirk believes that the people of Malacca no longer want to resolve the problem peacefully, but this country is not a monolithic. In addition to the upper Muslim rulers, there are also many lower-class Hindus and Buddhists, who can win strength."
"Besides, the Mansu Shasudan who brought Malacca to the top is already seriously ill and probably won't live long. At that time, it's probably another battle for power and profit. The situation will probably be very chaotic..."
Speaking of this, Mohandal suddenly stopped talking and looked a little depressed.
"What's wrong?"
Robert looked at this elder who was optimistic but often worried.
"Oh, nothing... It's just the envoy who was locked up by the Malacca people. He is my wife's younger brother. He has been growing up in my family since he was a child... When I set sail, I promised her that I would bring the child back to Sfax City intact."
Mohandal smiled bitterly.
"In the eyes of Muslims, we North African Orthodox people are particularly hateful. I am afraid that the child will be killed... Although he has been an Orthodox since he was born, he has no say of betrayal."
"This time I volunteered to come over and disguise myself as a ghost. I also wanted to contact the Buddhist and Hindu forces in Malacca to see if I could ask them to persuade the Sultan and let that innocent child go. He just learned Malay first and wanted to prove his worth..."
"He will be safe."
Robert comforted the two of them no longer spoke, and the Arabic sailboat with Mamluk flag slowly docked under the guidance of the pilot and arrived at the capital of the Sultanate of Malacca, Malacca City.
To the south of Malacca City is the famous waterway between the Malay Peninsula and Sumatra Island - the Strait of Malacca, the famous "Eastern Crossroad".
The Strait of Malacca has been a busy place for commerce since ancient times. It is the shortest route to communicate between the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea. It connects the four civilization systems of Arabia, Persia, India and China, greatly promoting commodity exchange and civilization exchange.
Although Arabs have the least number of people among these four civilizations, the great mission of establishing the Eastern Shipping Road was gradually completed in their hands. Hundreds of years of business, missionary, colonization and enslavement left a deep mark of Arab culture and Islam in the entire Indian Ocean. From the Persian Gulf to Malacca, from Shigang Singapore to Shitong City, Quanzhou, Arab merchants left their own legends.
The Malacca Sultanate, which occupies the southern part of the Malay Peninsula and the northern part of Sumatra, was an emerging country. It was a vassal of the Siam Ayutthaya dynasty in the late 14th and early 15th centuries. It then gained independent status by tribute to the Ming Dynasty, and was called the "Mantaga Kingdom" in the east.
The Ming Dynasty had a profound impact on this Southeast Asian country. Not only did they get their titles from the Ming emperor, but they also provided help to the Ming fleet when Zheng He voyages to the West. Relying on maritime trade, the national strength has been growing rapidly. The capital Malacca City quickly became a distribution center for Arab, Persia, India and Ming commodities, where multiple cultures blend.
Zheng He's voyage to the West was glorious and short-lived. The Ming Empire's maritime ban policy became increasingly strict. There were fewer oriental merchants going to the Kingdom of Malacca, and they were basically all outlaws and pirate smugglers.
At the same time, the influence of the Ming Empire in Southeast Asia quickly weakened, the Xuanwei Department of the Old Port was captured by Manzhe Boyi, and the huge fleet disappeared. The relationship between the Malacca Kingdom and the Ming Empire gradually faded, and they began to pursue their ambitions.
In 1445, Muzaffar, the fourth monarch of the Kingdom of Malacca, appointed the Sunnis of Islam as the state religion, abandoned the title of "king" enthroned by the Ming Dynasty, and changed it to "Sultan", calling himself "the Lord of the universe and the savior of Islam". Confucianism from the Ming Dynasty failed to take root here, and local Buddhism and Hinduism were also ignored. Another moon flag rose slowly on the earth thousands of miles away from Mecca.
Subsequently, the diplomatic focus of the sultanate of Malacca changed, turning from the east to the west, and began to actively contact other Islamic forces in the west, while suppressing folk pagan beliefs, relying on the large amount of wealth brought by the Arab trade route to make up for the shortcomings of Eastern trade, and expanding around.
Later, the Sultanate of Malacca ushered in great prosperity under the leadership of the current monarch Mansu Sha and the current prime minister Pili Dun. Two-thirds of the land on the coast of the Strait of Malacca were owned by it. Although the trade income was not as good as during the Yongle period due to the stricter sea ban, the political system and governance system had been basically established.
In the original time and space, this country "success is Islamic and failure is Islamic." Islam has brought this country a more advanced governance system and a substitute for Ming merchants, but it has also laid the foreshadowing for it. The behavior of monarchs in history to promote Islam has made the people of the bottom class who believe in Hinduism and Buddhism very dissatisfied. After the decline of the country's national power, religious conflicts have intensified.
In addition, they also took the initiative to get involved in the dispute between Christians and Muslims in the Indian Ocean, ignored their national strength, insisted on standing on the side of Islam, and defending their faith until they perish.
In the original time and space, when the Portuguese Navy defeated the Arab Joint Fleet, due to its weak power, he initially felt a little afraid of the sultanate. He temporarily proposed to replace the Arabs and Persians and establish a commercial station in Malacca City.
However, the Malacca Sultan was bewitched by extreme Islamic forces. He first pretended to agree, and then tried to trick the Portuguese envoys into the palace and killed them all. In the end, the conspiracy was exposed and only a few Portuguese people were killed.
After the conspiracy was exposed, the Sultan of Malacca began to fight back, and a large number of non-Muslim groups were tried for no reason, which directly led to the final "betrayal" of Indian and Chinese businessmen.
Finally, the siege of Malacca. With the help of Indian and Chinese businessmen, "Oriental Caesar" Albukirk captured Malacca City with only a few sacrifices and immediately began to massacre the city. The Muslim community was purged, and Indians and Chinese escaped due to their "rebellion".
Now, due to Isaac's interference, the Eastern Roman Empire began its plan to explore the East twenty years ago. The Roman East India fleet was stronger than the Portuguese East India fleet. The Ottomans and Venice, which should have provided assistance to the Arabs, were destroyed. In the Battle of the Diwu Sea, the Arab United Fleet was even worse.
Subsequently, the Governor of East India, Albukirk, formulated a ruling policy of "unified Hinduism and fighting against Muslims" and successively obtained the Port of Kochi and Goa on the Indian subcontinent. Although it did not go deep into the inland, it was completely sufficient.
Previously, Albukirk had sent a spy to conduct many inspections on Malacca City on an Arab sailboat, believing that his original contempt for Malacca was incorrect, and he should pay attention to his opponents tactical attention and decided to engage in peaceful exchanges first.
In early 1475, three sailing ships of the East India Fleet arrived in Malacca City and brought Albukirk's handwritten letter, hoping to establish a commercial station in Malacca City, allow Christian ships to enter the port, and impose the same taxes as Muslim ships.
However, at this time, the Sultanate of Malacca was in their so-called golden age. The heroic lord was in power and the virtuous ministers were on the throne. They were full of confidence and did not allow East Indian ships to enter the port, nor did they care about Albukirk's warning in the letter. They drove away three sailboats and seized the messenger as hostages.
As a result, war became inevitable, and Albukirk began to contact Indian merchants and Ming dynasty merchants who were in contact with the Strait of Malacca. They did not believe in Islam and were the best and only ally.
Of course, the so-called Ming Dynasty merchants were actually just born in the territory of the Ming Dynasty. From the moment they went into the sea, they became wanted criminals of the court, pirates and outlaws.
At the same time, Albukirk also entrusted Arab businessmen to help him with the message, hoping that the Sultan of Malacca would release the envoy back. Even if he did not, he would have to ensure his life safety, otherwise he would be responsible for the consequences.
Such diplomatic exchanges and secret communication lasted for nearly two years. During this period, a captain named Blair of Albuquerk also discovered the Andaman Islands between the Indian subcontinent and the Indochina Peninsula. Because it was covered with mangrove swamps and exposed rocks, the indigenous people were very rare, and there was no natural port and almost no value.
After asking the emperor for advice and learning that the central government of the Empire had no desire to acquire, it became the private fiefdom of Captain Blair and sailors, and was under the jurisdiction of the Governor of East India. Although it was not of great value, the archipelago was rich in Andaman redwood. It was possible to earn some money by purchasing some slaves for mining.
At the end of 1476, Sultan Mansu Sha of Malacca was seriously ill. After learning the news, Albukirk believed that the time had come and accelerated the pace of conquering Malacca.
The Mamluk ship where Mohandal and Robert were stationed slowly stopped, and a Malacca port servant came over and looked at the Mamluk flag flying on the ship.
"We are merchants from Cairo, all devout believers of Allah, come here to buy pepper and cloves!"
The captain from Mamluk spoke in Malay and handed the port servant a document that really came from the Mamluk merchant.
"Pepper and cloves?"
The port attendant glanced at the captain with a strange look.
"The Greeks seem to be cracking down on Muslim ships near Malacca, buying pepper from India, collecting lilacs from Zanzibar, and no longer buying from us. You are lucky that you didn't meet Greek pirate ships..."
"Hehe, of course there are some ways."
The captain stuffed several silver coins to the port steward, who then returned the documents to him.
After weighing the silver coins, the port servant was a little satisfied and quietly approached the captain.
"Just leave after business, hurry up. Malacca City has not been very peaceful recently..."
"What's going on?"
The captain frowned.
"We are also preparing to continue from Malacca to the Japanese archipelago."
"Alas, Sultan has passed away."
The port servant sighed with some sadness.
"The princes are fighting for power, and all forces are taking advantage of the situation. That is, the old prime minister truly loves this country... But why does he have to support the youngest prince?"
"Some extreme mullahs took advantage of the Sultan's death without restraint and pulled the Greek envoy out of the prison. He was sentenced to hang him in public a few days ago... Now, look, the body is hanging there."
On the deck, Mohandal had seen the corpse of an envoy hanging high outside the city gate. He was already skinny and had no good skin on his body. He was obviously suffering from inhuman torture during his lifetime.
"What's wrong with you?"
Robert looked at Mohandal, who was clenched with fists and trembling all over his body with some confusion.
"I have been reading for a long time, but my eyes are not good...What have you seen?"
Mohandal slowly turned his head, his eyes were red, he gritted his teeth, and paused every word.
"I saw death, eternal destruction."
...
In early 1477, Mansu Sha, a great leader of the Malacca Sultanate, died of illness. Due to the practice of Islamic law, the Malacca Sultanate soon had conflicts due to inheritance disputes. Various religious sects and political forces supported the heirs who represented their own interests, hoping to gain more rights under the new order.
Without external interference, this inheritance dispute will eventually be forcibly suppressed by the respected prime minister Pili Dun. The youngest son of the former Sultan ascended the throne and the prime minister continued to assist in the government, but now, they do not have this opportunity.
On January 30, 1477, the murder of the envoy was sent back to Kochi Port. The Governor of East India, Albukirk, was very angry and summoned the captains to deliver a speech, believing that the envoys of a great country are higher than the king of a small country, and the people of Malacca took the initiative to provoke trouble. In the name of God and the emperor, they formally declared war on the Sultanate of Malacca, demanding that all Islamic colonists be eliminated and all the murderers were handed over. Otherwise, they would not die.
That night, Albukirk signed a transfer order requiring all ships of the East India Governor's District, the East Africa Governor's District and the Mozambique Governor's District, as well as the naval fleets of affiliated forces to arrive at the Port of Kochi as fast as possible and be incorporated into the Indian Ocean Joint Fleet under his command.
After Zheng He's voyage to the West for more than 40 years, another large fleet was about to overtake the Eastern Crossroads. However, this time, they were not to promote the flashy reason of imperial power and peaceful exchanges, but to superficial revenge and deep practical interests.
No matter how powerful the imperial power is and how good the reputation is, the people's tax revenue is very much. Although forced robbery is destined to be infamous for thousands of years, it is enough to reduce the burden on the people in the country, so that everyone can pay less taxes, wear warmer, and eat more.
On February 15, Albukirk led a total of more than 30 Eastern Roman warships and more than 40 Arab sailboats, rushing towards the Strait of Malacca.
(This chapter ends)