Chapter 3020
From the Governor's Palace in the city to the port on the seaside, it was actually only a few miles away, and it only took a short carriage ride.
When Costa got off the carriage, he was shocked to find that a large number of people had gathered at the port, and these people were not here to greet him, because most of them were looking at the sea outside the port, and there were certain things there. is what really draws them to the port.
"My Lord Governor, please follow me."
Lopez led the way and took Costa to a warehouse, where a ladder to the roof had been set up. Lopez took the lead in climbing up the ladder.
When Costa saw this, he understood that Lopez was taking him to a higher place to get a better view, and immediately climbed up to the roof.
When he stood on the roof and saw the sea outside the port clearly, he instantly understood the reason why Lopez insisted on bringing him here to witness it with his own eyes.
On the sea outside Malacca Port, a huge armed fleet is slowly heading north. At a glance, there are at least more than thirty warships within the field of vision, which far exceeds the total maritime armed forces possessed by Portugal in the Malacca Strait area.
As for the two largest warships, it is not difficult to tell just by looking at their outlines that they are the Majesty-class warships in the Haihan Navy.
Costa has been coveting this kind of battleship with powerful firepower output for many years. He even mentioned it to Roger more than once, hoping to purchase the design data of the Majestic-class battleship at a price acceptable to both parties, but Roger did not Never let up.
According to the information available to Costa, the naval force stationed on Star Island is the third detachment of the South China Sea Fleet, which has two majestic-class warships in its establishment.
However, recent data returned from Xingdao shows that four majestic-class warships are parked in the local military port at the same time. They are most likely affiliated with the second detachment of the South China Sea Fleet that came from the north some time ago, or the famous special warfare force. division.
The two majestic class battleships seen in front of us are most likely two of them. This also confirmed the news sent back from Star Island earlier. The Haihan people's claim to eliminate pirates was not a bluff. And with such a large-scale armed fleet dispatched so quickly, the relevant preparations obviously cannot be completed in just a few days.
Costa's face was ashen and he looked at the fleet moving on the sea in the distance without saying a word. Now there is no need for Lopez to explain, he can probably understand why Sanchez, who is not in good health, suddenly fell ill after witnessing the attack of the Haihan fleet.
Even if Costa was prepared for this, seeing such a scene would inevitably make his heart beat faster and his blood flow, making it difficult to maintain a calm mood.
Costa witnessed the entire process of Star Island's rise from scratch in Malacca City, but he had never seen Haihan dispatch an armed fleet of such a scale in the Strait of Malacca.
It’s no wonder that thousands of local people spontaneously flocked to the port to watch this rare spectacle.
Could this be the pirate eradication operation that Roger claimed? Costa could only shake his head helplessly. Such a scale of troops was enough to fight a war to destroy the country. How could it be as simple as Roger said to mobilize such a large number of troops?
Seeing the Haihan warships with two-color flags constantly appearing on the sea in the distance, Costa was almost certain that this had exceeded the original size of the garrison on Xingdao. It was obvious that the Haihan army that had previously stationed on Xingdao was also involved. of this operation.
"Mr. Lopez, what do you think the Haihan people are planning to do?" After Costa adjusted his breathing, he asked Lopez the question in as calm a voice as possible. He did not want the other party to notice his nervousness, which would damage his prestige as the governor of Malacca, not to mention that Lopez would become his successor.
Lopez responded: "Mr. Governor, I can only confirm two things now. First, the Haihan people's goal is not the city of Malacca. Attacking here does not require them to dispatch so many troops. Second, there is no force in this area. The pirate power is worthy of Haihan’s aggressive actions.”
Costa is actually somewhat dissatisfied with Lopez's first point, but he also has to admit that this is the current strength gap between the two sides.
Although Malacca City has been the focus of fighting between all parties in the past hundred years, since Haihan stationed in Star Island, it is equivalent to providing a nearby strong support for Malacca City, so the size of the Portuguese army stationed in Malacca City has also increased. It is gradually reducing its forces and deploying limited forces to other areas around the South China Sea that are more in need of defense.
As of now, the total number of land and sea armed forces stationed in Malacca City is only more than 2,000 and less than 3,000, including nearly half of the militia formed by naturalized indigenous people. The truly more effective Portuguese army only has a size of more than a thousand people.
With such a scale of armed forces, it is not a big problem to defend the surrounding small kingdoms, but if it faces an opponent like the Haihan Army, it will have no advantage at all. Moreover, the garrison strength of Sing Tao is already above Malacca City. If Roger harbors ill intentions towards Malacca City, it will indeed be difficult for the Portuguese to resist the attack of the Haihan Army.
As for the pirates, that was obviously just an excuse for Haihan to send troops. Their real purpose was definitely not that group of pirates who did not want to live or die.
Costa knew very well that Lopez could not give an answer, so he could only laugh at himself: "It seems that the only thing to be thankful for is that the target of the Haihan people is not us."
Lopez said: "I have asked people to prepare the ship and try to set off as soon as possible to follow Shanghai Han's fleet... Now I need your authorization."
Costa understood and said: "Mr. Lopez, please represent the city of Malacca and, as a military observer, make a request to the Haihan Army to participate in their operations."
Lopez bowed slightly and responded: "Yes, Mr. Governor."
According to the agreement between the two countries, they can send observers to each other to participate in military operations organized by the other party. However, Sing Tao sent troops so quickly this time that Malacca City had not had time to submit a formal application. They could only give verbal authorization first, and waited for Lopez to catch up and apply to Haihan in person.
Of course, Costa was not willing to just sit back and watch the Haihan people stage an army crossing the border under his nose, and Lopez was willing to take the initiative, which saved him a lot of trouble.
Even if Haihan's actions cannot be stopped, then at least the purpose of their actions must be understood. If there are any benefits, maybe we can get a share of the pie as allies, but in short, we can't let the Haihan family monopolize it.
At the same time, on a certain Majesty-class battleship of the Haihan Fleet, Roger was introducing the city of Malacca on the right bank to Qian Tiandun and others: "There is no decent bay in this place, and the scale of port development is limited. It has been completely replaced by Star Island. It’s just a matter of time. When we return, we will take two days to visit the Portuguese. It happens that they are about to change their governor, so we can meet with the next governor of Malacca in advance.”
(End of chapter)