At night, the hall of the governor's mansion in Goa was brightly lit.
His Excellency Governor Joao Cordino sat at the head of the round table, banging the table with an angry expression, roaring loudly at the Portuguese nobles and merchants around him. He kept shouting and asking, "Why? Why? Why didn't anyone find out about this? There's actually a military fortress suddenly stuck in our throats. Why didn't anyone report to me? "
Lord Mohammed stood in the corner of the hall with his hands hanging down. He and a group of Arab merchants behind him bowed their heads very obediently and did not make a sound, but they could feel the anger of the governor.
Before sunset in the afternoon, Lord Mohammed, accompanied by his butler, hurried on horseback to the Panjim region in the west. He did not dare to approach because he could see many well-equipped cavalrymen walking on the road from a distance of several kilometers.
In fact, he did not need to approach because he could see the fortress watchtower that suddenly appeared on the opposite side, as well as the hot air balloon tied to the watchtower. That's right. Xu Bing felt that the sudden appearance of a fortress was not shocking enough, so she sent the artillery observation balloon to Zhou Qingfeng. With it, he could monitor the surrounding movements day and night.
Only a blind man would not be able to see such an incredible spectacle with such a hot air balloon floating dozens of meters in the air. Lord Mohammed was so scared that he almost had a heart attack. He returned home and did not know what to do for a long time. Even the other Arab merchants in Goa fell into a state of sluggishness. No one would have thought that the easterners who had been eating and drinking with them a few days ago would make such a big scene.
It was not until nightfall that Lord Mohammed gritted his teeth and made a decision. He sent someone to secretly contact Zhou Qingfeng's fortress, wanting to find out how much weight this sudden appearance of power had. At the same time, he reported to the Portuguese governor of Goa, because the business of the Arab merchants was completely dependent on these Europeans.
But there was no need for Lord Mohammed's courtship. The Portuguese in Goa were already in a mess. The hot air balloon that rose before sunset caused a sensation in the whole city, and the flames of the hot air balloon were still bright after sunset, causing the first crisis in the Portuguese occupation of Goa in the past hundred years. The archbishop of the city, Francis Xavier, believed that it was the devil coming to the world.
The flames on the hot air balloon were the burning eyes of the devil.
Faced with this unprecedented situation, Governor Joao Cordino, who had just taken office this year, was extremely furious. He questioned Lord Costa, who was in charge of the army, and demanded an explanation. But Lord Costa could only blush to express his extreme anger and humiliation, and could not say a word.
After a long time of the governor's scolding, Archbishop Xavier finally asked something meaningful. "Have we sent someone to check it out?"
"Yes." "I sent a squad to investigate, but only half of the dozen or so of our best musketeers came back. They said that the west side was occupied by an army of Easterners. The enemy was also armed with firearms and patrolled by cavalry. Our men were shot down before they could even make contact with the enemy.
The soldiers saw with their own eyes that there was a devil running amok in the world. It turned into a cloud of black smoke and ambushed our people. We were unable to defend at all. Priests and priests must accompany them, so that the soldiers will have the courage to set out again. "
"We have enough clergy at our disposal." Archbishop Xavier said. "The judges of the Religious Court of Inquiry in the city are the best exorcists. It is their duty to eradicate evil."
After the Portuguese occupied Goa, they used the poverty of the natives to lure them into preaching, forcing them to demolish the native temples and slaughter the local religious personnel. In order to rule the majority of the natives, the few Europeans used force as a means to maintain order, and religion was their weapon of power.
There were dozens of churches in Goa, and a large number of clergy had accumulated rich experience and great strength in dealing with the heretics. Now they had become the ballast in the eyes of the Portuguese, enough to stabilize the hearts of the people.
Archbishop Xavier's statement put Lord Costa at ease. He scolded fiercely, "As long as we have enough clergy to help us drive out the devil, we are confident that we can send those Easterners who suddenly appeared back to hell. We will capture their leaders and interrogate them about how they suddenly appeared by our side. "
"Can we carry out an operation tomorrow?" The governor asked.
"Of course." Lord Costa said confidently, "There are a thousand excellent Portuguese musketeers in the city, and two thousand native soldiers. We can also mobilize cannons to assist in the battle. Those Easterners must have never tasted the feeling of being bombarded. According to tradition, the moment the cannons sound, their army will collapse. "
The lord was speaking proudly, but he quickly stopped talking. He subconsciously equated the Easterners who suddenly appeared today with the ignorant natives he had seen in the past, but in fact, his men had just been taught a lesson by the enemy with firearms. He had to take back what he had just said. "But I have to admit that the Easterners today are a little special. We need to take them seriously."
During the whole meeting, the Portuguese did not ask the Arabs a word. At most, after the meeting, they asked the Arabs in the city to provide two hundred slave cavalry to fight together tomorrow.
After leaving the governor's office, Lord Mohammed hurried back to the Arab guild hall. The Arab merchants in the guild hall were already anxiously waiting for news. The order from the governor's office was not surprising, and it was also expected that the Arab merchants would provide cavalry. The focus of everyone's attention was actually on the result of the contact with the Easterners.
"Master, the leader of those Easterners is indeed the young man who made a deal with us a few days ago." Mohammed's butler said vividly, "The fortress that suddenly appeared is very strong, and I saw huge cannons installed on the walls. Their soldiers are very well trained, and all of them use firearms. "
Hearing that the fortress was strong and there were cannons, the Arab merchants were amazed. This kind of strength was already very powerful. The butler continued, "They have about a thousand men, and the defense is very tight at night. The fortress is still under construction, and it looks like they are preparing for war.
I was lucky enough to be taken into the fortress to see it, and their internal facilities are very complete. They are close to the river, so there is no shortage of water, and there is a lot of food stored, which can last at least a month or two. I asked the leader of the Easterners what would happen if the food ran out. He smiled and said that if there was a day when there was a shortage of food, he would lead his troops out to grab the food. He would grab whoever had the food. "
"Wow …" The merchants were in an uproar.
Lord Mohammed frowned and thought hard. After a long time, he said, "The books left by the prophet once said that the Easterners are very good at making all kinds of magic devices, and they even have artifacts that can control time and space. The one we met must be the king from the East. He has shown the ability to take things out of thin air before, and now it is nothing more than replacing this ability with a fortress. "
"Ah …" The merchants were even more amazed. Someone asked in confusion, "Didn't they say that this kind of artifact disappeared long ago?"
Someone even asked, "Have we ever had this kind of artifact?"
Lord Mohammed shook his head. "These are all legends, and it is difficult for us to know the truth. The king of the Easterners certainly did not make a fortress casually. He must have come to Goa because he was confident. The Portuguese of Goa are also very strong, and they are not easy opponents to defeat. Our problem now is how to deal with the problem at hand. "
The butler interrupted, "Master, the king of the Easterners said that they came only to seek trade. The war is also to let the Europeans recognize their strength, so that they can live in peace. He told us not to worry too much, that the victory or defeat on the battlefield will not affect the subsequent trade? "
"Really?" Lord Mohammed could not believe it. At present, the Arabs only had the ability to do business. He was actually worried that the arrival of the Easterners would shrink the already shrinking market again. But what if the Easterners did not want to eat alone?
The Europeans liked to eat alone, and they wished that they could take all the benefits. After they blocked the route to the east, even the route to the west was closed. The once powerful Ottoman Empire declined because of this, and slowly became the sick man of West Asia. If the Easterners could break this stalemate …
Lord Mohammed asked again, "What do the Easterners want?"
"We want to provide horses and female slaves. The king of the Easterners said that they would buy food, cotton, and other agricultural products from the king of India, as well as gold, silver, and other precious metals from the Europeans. Of course, they also want ores, but I'm afraid that has little to do with us, "the butler said.
Hearing this, Lord Mohammed's heart sank again. The king of the Easterners did not seem to want to break the status quo. He would continue to do business as usual. The butler added, "I've seen the horses of the Eastern cavalry, and they are obviously not as good as ours. Maybe that's why he wants to buy horses. But he said that if we don't sell horses, he will find someone else. "
Lord Mohammed hated merchants like Zhou Qingfeng who had many trump cards and a lot of choices. This was simply slippery, and there was no way to grasp the other party's weakness. He couldn't think of any particularly good way, so he could only sigh and say, "Let's see tomorrow. Governor Codino can't stand anyone challenging his authority. He will definitely fight back with all his might."
Almost no one could sleep that night. The Portuguese and Arabs were either annoyed or worried, while Zhou Qingfeng's subordinates were excited. The people selected for this expedition were all the backbone of the army, and even the soldiers had at least a junior high school diploma. They were not ignorant people, but they knew that they were crossing half the continent to launch an expedition to a foreign country.
With the help of the propaganda system, a strong sense of mission and pride brewed in the army. Many people had to compete for the opportunity to go abroad to fight. For them, who used to be a bunch of bumpkins, it was something to be proud of for the rest of their lives. The expedition allowance given by the administrative department was also something to be proud of.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
