The night passed, but the smoke still lingered.
Anthony clutched his aching chest as he walked back to Goa from the frontline. In the past, he was the son of a noble who was served by servants whenever he went out. But today was the day he tasted pain. It was only a few kilometers, but he still couldn't make it back to the city after walking all night.
When the light of dawn shrouded the land again, Anthony was still walking on the road. He returned to the temporary camp of the Portuguese army and saw the mess on the ground and many indigenous people who came to pick up their belongings. When the black and thin indigenous people saw a white man, they all ran away in fear. But when they realized it was a white man who was injured and couldn't move, they surrounded him again.
"Get lost, bastards!" Anthony was still holding a sword in his hand, waving it to chase away the indigenous people. In the past, these black and thin untouchables would only look at him with subservience and flattery, but now they looked at him like he was a dying beast. The untouchables were still afraid of the white man, but they also felt an inexplicable excitement at the white man's pain.
Last night, Anthony had a large number of Portuguese army companions with him. However, after the surprise attack of the fire arrows, everyone dispersed in shock and disappeared without a trace. The horse that Anthony was riding on was also taken away. At that moment, no one cared whether he was the Lord's nephew or not. But now, he wanted to return to Goa alone, but he was faced with a group of untouchables who were like wild dogs.
Before Anthony appeared, the indigenous untouchables had already insulted the white man's body in the military camp. Now that a living white man had appeared, their interest was piqued. They picked up a few spears and carefully poked Anthony's body with the spears.
No matter how Anthony resisted, he would be poked by one of the spears. Every time he was poked, Anthony would scream in pain, and the untouchables would laugh out loud. The untouchables were not in a hurry to kill Anthony. They were like wild cats who had caught a mouse, enjoying the joy of killing their prey.
Despair, grief, Anthony tried to use madness to intimidate these lowly indigenous people, but it only made them laugh even more wildly. He suddenly remembered that wasn't what the Portuguese army often did when they wiped out indigenous villages for fun. Just as he was thinking if he should just commit suicide to avoid the pain, a cavalry came from the direction of Goa …
The sound of horse hooves rang out, and the untouchables immediately threw away their spears and fled in all directions, slipping away faster than rabbits. Anthony, who was covered in wounds, stood in the middle of the road, holding a thin dagger, his body trembling. He thought that it was his compatriots who had come to rescue him, so he cried and trotted in the direction of the cavalry. However, when he got closer, he found that it was a group of Arabs.
In the past, when the Arabs met the Europeans, they were at least gentle and courteous, if not respectful. But today, these Arabs were unexpectedly arrogant. When they saw Anthony, not only did they help him, but they also looked at him with ridicule and ridicule. There were more than ten people in the cavalry, and they didn't even slow down as they galloped past. Anthony was the one who carefully moved to the side of the road.
"Hahaha …" Anthony's caution made the Arabian cavalry laugh.
"Wait." An old man in the cavalry shouted, and the cavalry that was about to rush west immediately stopped. "You're Lord Costa's nephew, aren't you?" the old man asked, turning around to take a closer look. I remember your name was Anthony. "
"No, you've got the wrong person." Anthony felt a deep sense of humiliation. He refused to admit his identity, and just wanted to turn and leave.
But the old man didn't let Anthony go. He laughed and said, "I'm Muhammad, I saw you in the governor's mansion. Your uncle even introduced you to me, and told me to take good care of you. By the way, where's your uncle, Lord Costa? Where is he? "
"I don't know what you're talking about." Anthony just wanted to leave. He slowly turned around and continued on his way to Goa alone.
But Muhammad shouted, "Young Master Anthony, I don't think you need to go to the city anymore. You need to go to the eastern fortress now. "
Anthony stopped in his tracks. He was desperate to know the situation in Goa. Perhaps he could get some information from this Arabian businessman.
Muhammad continued, "Last night, the eastern king sent his army to attack Goa. More than half of the churches in the city were damaged, including the Santa Catarina Church and the Mercy Jesus Church. The priests who used those two churches as their source of power have all died.
The easterners also attacked the governor's mansion. Although they didn't succeed, it was discovered this morning that Governor Cordino had fled with more than a thousand Portuguese soldiers, leaving all the Portuguese merchants and residents in the city behind. Some say they took a detour to the nearby port of Murmogao, while others say they went to the local king for help. In any case, there are no more Portuguese troops in the city.
Now the city is in chaos. Robbery and rape are everywhere. The Portuguese merchants came to me and begged me to seek a solution from the easterners. They all said they were willing to accept a new ruler, as long as they could protect their property. "
Old Mohammed laughed out loud after he said that.
Since the Renaissance, Europe's power had been growing day by day. Even if the European countries fought each other to the death, the weakest of them was still stronger than the Arabs. The Portuguese were already a second-rate power in Europe, but they could still command the Arabs around. In the past hundred years, no one had treated them as fiercely as they did last night.
The Portuguese couldn't figure out the easterners' intentions, but they weren't willing to give up Goa and the wealth they had accumulated here for a hundred years. So they sent the Arabs to scout out the situation, hoping to avoid the disaster.
Meeting Anthony on the way, Muhammad couldn't help but want to show off his sudden rise in status. The Portuguese were in trouble, but the others were elated, even happy to see it happen.
"Take him and give him a horse. We need to see the King of the East. Perhaps he will be of some use. "Old Mohammed tilted his head, and his men immediately captured Anthony like wolves and tigers.
The cavalry continued forward, and soon came to the position where Lord Costa had set up the artillery position last night. There were more than two hundred craters of various sizes, and each crater was surrounded by either scattered corpses or tilted cannons.
The militia of the fortress was cleaning up the battlefield. They were very interested in the bronze cannons and planned to take them all away to make copper coins. Old Muhammad and his entourage subconsciously slowed down as they passed by. Even Anthony, who had been captured, couldn't help but look up. There were many versions of the meteor shower that had happened in Goa last night, and all of them were horrifying.
Muhammad saw the traces of explosions all over the ground, and there was nothing else he could think of other than shock. No one knew how such a huge destructive effect came about, but it had raised the abilities of the easterners infinitely.
"I'm Muhammad from Goa. Please bring me to pay my highest respects to the King of the East. I hope to be granted an audience with him." Old Muhammad personally raised the white flag and shouted to the guards who were in charge of guarding.
There were only a few people in Goa who knew Mandarin, and even if they did, they weren't very good at it. The only one who could translate fluently was Santos Jr. The child was currently leading a dozen children in language training, hoping to get a few more translators. It was easier for children to learn a language than adults.
The sentinel quickly called Santos Jr. over, and with his help, Muhammad was able to get closer to the fortress. However, Santos didn't bring them into the fortress. Instead, he went to an open space outside the fortress.
There were a dozen corpses lying on the open space. Zhou Qingfeng and Wen Ruolan were personally holding a funeral for the dead. In the battle last night, the Imperial Guard had achieved great results, but there were also some casualties. The dozen people in front of them were the soldiers who had died in battle.
The trumpeter blew a mournful tune, and Zhou Qingfeng took the lead to bid farewell to the corpses. Goa was hot and humid, and the corpses couldn't be preserved for long. The Imperial Guard even stipulated that all those who died in battle should be cremated. The ashes of the dead would be preserved for burial.
Muhammad stopped not far away, thinking that some important general had died. But when Santos said that they were the most common soldiers, he felt extremely strange. He waited for more than half an hour. After the funeral, Zhou Qingfeng walked towards him.
"Ah … Isn't this Master Muhammad?" Zhou Qingfeng smiled. He wanted to shake hands, but the old man knelt down and held the back of his hand, wanting to kiss it. "Ah … There's no need to be so gay." Zhou Qingfeng didn't want to let an old man kiss his palm. He pulled Muhammad up by force and shook his hand.
Santos couldn't translate this sentence at all, and could only relay that "kneeling is not popular in the East now." Muhammad didn't really understand, and once again explained the current situation in Goa, and asked Zhou Qingfeng to go to the city to be the ruler. He even gave Anthony to Zhou Qingfeng as a gift, and pointed out the person's noble status.
"I'm very happy to be the ruler of Goa. I hope to build Goa into a free trade zone, and anyone can come here to trade. As long as they trade with us, there won't be any taxes.
I will also gradually invest in Goa, building shipyards and ports, so that the trade of goods here will be more convenient. So, let the merchants and residents of the city send their representatives to attend the banquet I'll be holding tomorrow night. You will feel my sincerity. "
Zhou Qingfeng clapped his hands, indicating that his request wasn't that high. As for his "sincerity," all of Goa had experienced it last night. Muhammad asked with emphasis, "Can the Portuguese come too?"
"Anyone, I said anyone. As long as they abide by the laws I've set, anyone can come and do business with me. In fact, I've prepared a lot of goods, and I'm just waiting for someone to come and make money. Please contact as many merchants in Goa as possible, including the local king. I just want to trade goods without restrictions. "
Zhou Qingfeng treated business with an open attitude, and Old Mohammed laughed along with him. But after the old man laughed, he asked, "Your Highness, can I buy some … weapons from you?"
Zhou Qingfeng was stunned, and asked, "What weapons do you want? Where should they be used? We're still conservative about the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. "
Muhammad quickly said, "I hope to buy a batch of guns and cannons for use in the Near East and Egypt."
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