Chapter 379 Eastern Crossroads
Time passed, and the year 1476 came to an end in the snow and the new year had arrived.
In the past year, the European continent was far from peaceful. The Iberian War ended because of a marriage. The armies of the two superpowers, the Eastern Roman Empire and the Kingdom of France, all withdrew from Castile, leaving behind a pile of debris. The power of the feudal aristocracy was strengthened, the Vatican was expanding its influence, and the extreme trials of the Inquisition displaced a large number of citizens and industrialists. Old trading cities such as Granada, Valencia and Barcelona fell into decline, but Lisbon, Seville and La Coruña prospered rapidly due to the shift of economic focus.
The death of Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, did not bring any improvement to the chaotic situation in Western Europe. Maximilian von Habsburg, the "last knight", entered the Netherlands with the help of his engagement 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 captured a large amount of territory in Burgundy and Franche-Comté, and the strength of the Kingdom of France continued to grow.
At the end of 1476, the Hungarian King Matthias Hunyadi, who had ended the Bohemian War, stationed his troops on the Danube River and began to harass the border provinces of the Archduchy of Austria. Many castles west of Vienna had fallen into the hands of the Hungarians, but the nominal first Catholic monarch Frederick III was unable to put up any effective resistance.
On the distant plains of East Europe, the Grand Duchy of Moscow conquered the Novgorod Republic and unified northeastern Russia. Grand Duke Ivan III of Moscow once again rejected Batu Sarai's request for tribute, determined to completely smash the Tatar shackles that had been entangled with the Russians for hundreds of years.
Ahama, the "last Khan of the Golden Horde", was worried about the rise of Moscow, and was also wary of the Cossack and Circassian Kingdoms in the southwest. The era of the Mongols and Tatars had passed, and even though he had ideals, he could hardly resist the tide of history.
The legacy of Batu's western expedition and the glory of Yuejibe Khan were passed on to him, but only a few pastures and a few scattered herds of cattle and sheep remained.
Of course, the legacy of the ancestors has not been exhausted, and Khan Ahmad is not a foolish and licentious ruler. He is actively contacting the Poles and Lithuanians, and two major military alliances are being formed in the Black Sea and Eastern Europe region, in which Moscow and the Eastern Roman Empire will confront the Golden Horde and Lithuania.
The Kingdom of England in northwestern Europe seemed to be emerging from the shadow of the Hundred Years' War between England and France and the War of the Roses. The infighting among the nobles strengthened the power of the industrialists and businessmen. After the English royal family lost its territory to France, English nationalism began to take root.
It is undeniable that Edward IV of the York Dynasty was a wise ruler. Having achieved success at a young age, he had the ambition of a lion. He restrained the nobles internally and promoted industry and commerce, and made peaceful compromises externally. He no longer interfered too much in the situation on the European continent. The fall of his "old ally" the Grand Duchy of Burgundy did not win his sympathy and assistance. Under his leadership, the Kingdom of England entered a period of rapid recovery.
Edward IV took advantage of the chaos after the War of the Roses to strengthen centralization. He boldly appointed small and medium-sized nobles and lower-class civilians, attracted a large group of literary scholars from continental Europe, and the Kingdom of England also began its own Renaissance.
In addition, Edward IV also engaged in a "cult of personality", portraying himself as God's spokesperson through various means, carrying out "divine propaganda", and calling himself the "second King Arthur", who would bring permanent stability and peace to the people of England. The emergence of this trend of thought greatly influenced the fate of the English royal family.
However, it is also undeniable that there was a considerable crisis in Edward IV's reign. The internal conflicts within the York dynasty were still fierce. The "illegal" marriage between the king and the queen made it difficult for their offspring to wear the crown of glory. Henry Tudor, the orphan of the Lancaster family, never gave up hope of returning to London and was accumulating his strength in Brittany on the European continent.
During this year, the power of the Vatican seemed to have grown. Pope Sixtus IV established a "family dynasty" linked by blood. The power of the Holy See expanded unprecedentedly in central and northern Italy and the Iberian Peninsula, and it seemed to have entered a "glorious era" again.
As for the increasing number of peasant uprisings in Germany, the increasing number of reform ideas in the Catholic Church, and the undisguised corruption within the Vatican, perhaps for senior clergy, these were commonplace and not worth mentioning.
Since the Holy See was at its peak, Sixtus IV also ordered the construction of a large number of religious and literary buildings. A large part of the orders for these buildings were contracted to several large construction companies in the Eastern Roman Empire. In the eyes of the bishops, that group of "Greeks" not only built quickly and required less labor, but they also knew how to take care of things every time. From the Pope to the cardinals to their mistresses and illegitimate children, everyone could get a share of the money, and everyone was happy.
Still short of money? Don't worry! I don't ask you to be less greedy, just go ahead and get a loan from the Royal Bank of Palaeologus. You don't need to use the castles or lands you desperately cling to as collateral, just use the proceeds from indulgences as collateral. Anyway, you are exploiting the blood and sweat of the Catholic people.
The people are dissatisfied? The peasants are revolting? Don't worry! Just let them come to the Eastern Empire. Sharing the worries of fellow Christians is an essential quality of a good Christian.
Now, the Eastern Roman royal family spends a lot of money every year to bribe cardinals and fund goodwill, trying to turn the Vatican under the rule of the Rovere family into a tool for the Eastern Roman Empire to exploit the Catholic world in Western Europe and help its own economic take-off and territorial expansion.
After the signing of the Treaty of Toledo in 1476, several quarrels still broke out within the Vatican over the issue of Sicily. The pro-French faction represented by the Borgia family did not want to see the continued expansion of the Eastern Roman Empire in Western Europe, and the Palaeologus cooperation faction represented by the Rovere family also had 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 the ownership of Sicily and Italian affairs.
Of course, the discussion was just a formality. The Vatican delegation spent a whole month in Eastern Rome, enjoying delicious food and drinks, taking a cruise on the Golden Horn, trying all the delicacies of Constantinople, visiting several seminaries, meeting with several indigenous priests from the colonies, enjoying the hot springs in Pamukkale, and before leaving, they took away a large number of jewelry, jade, gold and silver jewelry specially given by the royal family.
The end result was that the Eastern Roman Empire believed that Sicily was not part of the Italian peninsula, and promised not to expand in the Catholic world except for the Doge's District of Venice and the Free City of La Spezia. It would continue to launch a holy war against Muslims in the East, and part of Sicily's annual church taxes still belonged to the Vatican.
When the delegation returned to Rome, the Eastern Roman diplomats who accompanied them naturally made arrangements. Sixtus IV was quite satisfied with the result. He waved the agreement signed with the emperor's name and showed it to each cardinal.
"I brought an era of peace!"
So said Sixtus IV.
Thus, the Italian peninsula continued to enjoy hard-earned peace and tranquility until the end of 1476.
At the end of 1476, the Duchy of Milan was in turmoil again. As the rule of the tyrant Galeazzo was unpopular, everyone from nobles and wealthy businessmen to ordinary people had long been tired of this duke who "did not look like a king", and conspiracies and tricks were quietly brewing.
On December 1476, 12, two young humanist nobles who hated autocracy joined forces with Carlo Visconti, who had been humiliated by Galeazzo, to strike at the tyrant in the Basilica of San Stefano, killing Galeazzo on the spot.
After Galeazzo was assassinated, several noble assassins who were determined to restore the republican traditions failed to gain a response from the citizens and were soon captured and executed by the Sforza family's army. Galeazzo's seven-year-old youngest son Gian inherited the title of Duke, and Duke Gian's mother served as regent.
With the ruler being young and the country in doubt, the situation in Milan became increasingly chaotic. The cities of Genoa and La Spezia revolted one after another. The former was quickly suppressed by the local garrison, while the latter received the support of the Eastern Roman Empire and insisted on breaking away from the control of the Duchy of Milan.
In the years since it was separated from the Eastern Roman Empire's trade system, the once prosperous La Spezia fell into decline, as the city relied almost entirely on transit trade and had no handicraft system of its own. Citizens suffered from the tyranny of the Milanese at all times, the commodity economy stagnated, taxes and labor increased, and the living standards of citizens dropped sharply... Over the years, even Milan's original supporters fell silent and began to miss the good life they once had.
In the past few years, the former mayor Dimarco Gattilusio has not been idle. He has been in contact with various forces in La Spezia and helped many Italians who were willing to immigrate to the Eastern Roman Empire to achieve their goals. After the Duke of Milan was assassinated, Dimarco immediately went to the Eastern Roman Concession area of Florence with the intention of subverting the rule of the Milanese.
On January 1477, 1, at the invitation of the Free Government of La Spezia, the Eastern Roman Empire's ambassador to Florence marched towards Milan. The Second Latin Marine Regiment of the Foreign Legion was also on standby in Carthage, ready to land in La Spezia at any time.
As Milan was in a panic, everyone was either busy trying to fish in troubled waters or fighting for power, and the Eastern Roman Empire's diplomatic requests received no response. However, Galeazzo's orphans and widows obviously did not have the ability to cope with a full-scale war, and 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 of the matter.
In any case, the new year has begun and the wheel of history rolls forward, bringing new opportunities and new challenges.
At the easternmost end of the Indian Ocean, an Arab sailboat flying the Mamluk flag was sailing eastward in the wide strait. The closer it got to its destination, the more sailboats came and went on the sea.
"It's really prosperous. Just looking at the number of ships, it's probably not much less than the Golden Horn Bay!"
The warm spring sun shone on the deck. A middle-aged man dressed as an Arab businessman squinted his eyes and looked at the bustling port.
"The population of this city is probably over 100,000."
"If you include the suburbs and affiliated towns, there might be 150,000."
Beside him, another young man dressed in Arab clothes responded.
"Islamic forces colonized the Indian Ocean for hundreds of years. Even though they declined in the West, they still had large tracts of reservations in the East."
"Now, Granada and Fez are no longer viable. This city is probably the second largest Sunni city after Cairo."
"Hehe, it's really weird when you think about it."
The middle-aged man smiled.
"The second and third Orthodox cities were not Carthage or Thessalonica, but Elysium and M'banza Kongo."
"Especially the city of Elysium, which already has a population of nearly 300,000. If the natives can reproduce, it may even surpass Constantinople in the future."
"Elysium? You mean New Constantinople?"
The young man thought about it.
“There are so many Orthodox people there?”
"Yes, because both the natives and the immigrants like the name Elysium, so no one cares about the official name."
The middle-aged man said.
"The natives who were unwilling to convert were not blessed and basically died of disease. The remaining ones were at least orthodox Christians on the surface, although they still worshiped those false gods in secret."
"I heard from the governor that Elysium is now ruled by Archbishop Valens and is carrying out a campaign to popularize the Greek language."
"The indigenous people on the Mexica Plateau are very different from those in other places. Their administrative and educational systems are quite complete. The empire did not completely destroy them, but directly inherited them and used them as a tool to lay eggs."
"Now, more than a third of Elysium's annual output will be used for cultural assimilation, and in a few generations, Greek will be the common language, at least in the big cities."
"As for the Kingdom of Kongo, they are also peculiar. I don't know why they like foreign religions so much. From the king to the nobles to the merchants, everyone helped to spread the religion and volunteered to learn Greek. There was a war a few years ago, so not many missionaries were sent over, and they were very unhappy."
The middle-aged man laughed again.
"Then I'm a little curious, how do they explain slavery?"
The young man was a little confused.
"As a rule, Orthodox Christians are not allowed to be enslaved."
"Your Majesty's Charter of Citizenship also states that we need to analyze each case on a case-by-case basis. The slave trade in Congo, Guinea, and Circassia has a long history. If they want to sell, then it's up to them."
The middle-aged man said.
"If we really abolished the slave trade in the Congo, the most angry people would be their king and nobles."
"Forget it, this has nothing to do with us. Let's focus on the task at hand."
The middle-aged man looked at the approaching port.
"Robert, you are from the Prometheus department, right?"
"Well, yeah, nothing to hide."
Robert nodded.
"But I just joined. I was just a college student studying horticulture."
"I was sponsored by the Mavro family and studied horticulture at Bilinchi University for three years, planted golden trees for a year, and studied oriental herbal medicine for two years... After graduation, I was found by an officer from the intelligence department and became a member of Prometheus, responsible for the, uh... introduction of new crops and new livestock."
"I came with you this time mainly for tea."
Robert said.
"You know that drink? It's the leaves that Oriental people love to soak in water and drink."
"Of course I know. Tea is one of the most valuable 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 high-quality tea varieties or tea-growing bases. The same is true for Siam in the north."
"Your Majesty seems to have sent some agents before, but they failed to make any breakthroughs. They only traveled around Southeast Asia, and the tea seeds they brought back were of very poor quality."
"Yes, I know, but this time I plan to go to Japan, also known as Dongying."
Robert replied.
"Ming is the largest producer of tea, but they have already issued a strict maritime ban policy, and the political structure is basically intact, so it is difficult for outsiders to enter, let alone steal high-quality tea varieties and kidnap skilled tea farmers."
"Besides them, only the Japanese have some skills in tea planting." "Now, they are in the Warring States Period, this is a good opportunity."
"There is also India. His Majesty said that India also has native tea species, but no one has used them. Some agents have gone to look for them accompanied by Indian natives."
"Well, I wish you success."
The middle-aged man said.
"Once we acquire our first base in Southeast Asia, our ties with Eastern countries will be strengthened. It doesn't matter if Ming 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 acted recklessly and directly robbed our goods and imprisoned our people. I'm afraid he won't be so easy to deal with."
“No, I am not here to convince the Muslims, but to contact the opposition forces in Malacca.”
Mohandar shook his head.
"Governor Albuquerque believed that the people of Malacca no longer wanted to resolve the issue peacefully, but the country was not monolithic. In addition to the upper-class Muslim rulers, there were also many lower-class Hindus and Buddhists who could be won over."
"Besides, the Sultan Mansu Shah who brought Malacca to its peak is already seriously ill and he probably won't live long. By then, there will probably be another struggle for power and the situation will probably be very chaotic..."
Having said this, Mohandar suddenly stopped talking and looked a little depressed.
"what happened?"
Robert looked at this elder with some worry. He was optimistic by nature but often worried.
"Oh, nothing... It's just that the envoy who was imprisoned by the Malacca people is my wife's younger brother. He grew up in my house... When I set sail, I promised her that I would bring the child back to Sfax intact."
Mohandar smiled bitterly.
"In the eyes of Muslims, we North African Orthodox Christians are particularly hateful. I am afraid that the child will be killed... even though he has been an Orthodox Christian since birth and has never betrayed."
"I volunteered to come here this time, disguised as this ghost, because I wanted to contact the Buddhist and Hindu forces in Malacca and see if I could ask them to persuade the Sultan to release the innocent child. He just wanted to prove his worth because he was the first to learn Malay..."
"He'll be fine."
Robert comforted them, and the two of them stopped talking. The Arab sailboat flying the Mamluk flag slowly docked under the guidance of the pilot and arrived at Malacca, the capital of the Malacca Sultanate.
To the south of Malacca is the famous waterway between the Malay Peninsula and Sumatra Island - the Strait of Malacca, the famous "Crossroads of the East".
The Strait of Malacca has been a busy place of commerce since ancient times. It is the shortest route connecting the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea. It connects the four civilizations of Arabia, Persia, India and China, and greatly promotes the exchange of goods and civilizations.
Although the Arabs had the smallest population among the four civilizations, the great mission of establishing the Eastern Route was gradually accomplished in their hands. Hundreds of years of trade, missionary work, colonization and slavery left a profound imprint of Arab culture and Islam throughout the Indian Ocean. From the Persian Gulf to Malacca, from Singapore to Quanzhou, Arab merchants left their own legends.
The Malacca Sultanate, occupying the southern part of the Malay Peninsula and the northern part of Sumatra Island, was an emerging country. In the late 14th century and early 15th century, it was a vassal of the Ayutthaya Dynasty of Siam. It later gained independence by paying tribute to the Ming Dynasty and was known as the "Malacca Kingdom" in the East.
The Ming Dynasty had a profound impact on this Southeast Asian country. Not only did they receive their own titles from the Ming emperor, they also provided assistance to the Ming fleet when Zheng He sailed to the West. Relying on maritime trade, the country continued to grow stronger and stronger, and its national strength advanced by leaps and bounds. The capital Malacca quickly became a distribution center for Arab, Persian, Indian and Ming goods, and a variety of cultures blended here.
The glory of Zheng He's voyages to the West was brilliant but short-lived. The Ming Empire's maritime ban policy became increasingly stringent, and the number of Eastern merchants going to the Malacca Kingdom decreased. They were basically all desperate criminals and smugglers with pirate characteristics.
At the same time, the influence of the Ming Empire in Southeast Asia weakened rapidly. The Old Port Xuanwei Office was captured by Majapahit, the huge fleet disappeared, and the relationship between the Malacca Kingdom and the Ming Empire gradually faded, and it began to pursue its own ambitions.
In 1445, Muzaffar, the fourth monarch of the Malacca Kingdom, established Sunni Islam as the state religion, abandoned the title of "King" conferred by the Ming Dynasty, and changed his title to "Sultan", calling himself "the Lord of the Universe, the Savior of Islam". Confucianism from the Ming Dynasty failed to take root here, and the native Buddhism and Hinduism were also ignored. Another moon flag rose slowly in the land thousands of miles away from Mecca.
Subsequently, the diplomatic focus of the Malacca Sultanate changed from the East to the West. It began to actively contact other Islamic forces in the West, while suppressing popular pagan beliefs. It relied on the huge wealth brought by the Arab trade routes to make up for the shortage of trade in the East and expanded rapidly in all directions.
Later, the Malacca Sultanate reached its peak under the leadership of the current monarch Mansour Shah and the current Prime Minister Perak Dun. It owned two-thirds of the land along the Strait of Malacca. Although trade revenue was not as high as during the Yongle period due to stricter maritime bans, the political system and governance system had basically been established.
In the original time and space, this country "made it because of Islam and also failed because of Islam". Islam brought the country a more advanced governance system and an alternative to Ming Dynasty merchants, but it also laid the groundwork for its demise. The successive monarchs' vigorous promotion of Islam made the lower-class people who believed in Hinduism and Buddhism very dissatisfied. After the country's power declined, religious conflicts intensified.
In addition, they took the initiative to get involved in the disputes between Christians and Muslims in the Indian Ocean, disregarding their own national strength, insisting on standing on the side of Islam and defending their faith until their death.
In the original time and space, after the Portuguese navy defeated the Arab coalition fleet, due to its weak power, it initially harbored some fear of the Sultanate and temporarily only proposed to take over the position of the Arabs and Persians and establish a trading post in Malacca.
However, the Sultan of Malacca was bewitched by extreme Islamic forces. He first pretended to agree, and then tried to lure the Portuguese envoys to the palace and kill them all. In the end, the conspiracy was exposed and only a few Portuguese were killed.
After the conspiracy was exposed, the Sultan of Malacca began a large-scale purge, and a large number of non-Muslim groups were subjected to unwarranted trials, which directly led to the final "betrayal" of Indian and Chinese businessmen.
Finally, there was the Siege of Malacca. With the help of Indian and Chinese merchants, the "Caesar of the East" Albuquerque captured Malacca with very few casualties, and immediately began to massacre the city. The Muslim community was cleansed, while the Indian and Chinese escaped because of their "betrayal".
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, who were supposed to provide assistance to the Arabs, were wiped out. In the Battle of Diu, the Arab United Fleet was defeated even more miserably.
Subsequently, the Governor-General of East India, Albuquerque, formulated the ruling policy of "uniting Hindus to fight against Muslims" and successively acquired the ports of Cochin and Goa on the Indian subcontinent. Although they did not go deep into the interior, they were completely sufficient.
Prior to this, Albuquerque had sent spies on Arab sailboats to inspect Malacca many times. He believed that his previous contempt for Malacca was incorrect and that he should pay more attention to his opponent tactically, so he decided to engage in peaceful exchanges first.
In early 1475, three sailing ships from the East India Fleet arrived in Malacca, bringing a handwritten letter from Albuquerque, hoping to establish a trading station in Malacca, allow Christian ships to enter the port, and impose the same taxes as Muslim ships.
However, the Malacca Sultanate was in its so-called golden age at that time, with a powerful ruler and wise ministers in power. They were so confident that they did not allow the East India ships to enter the port, nor did they care about the warning in Albuquerque's letter. They directly drove away the three sailing ships and detained the messenger as a hostage.
As a result, war became inevitable, and Albuquerque began to contact Indian merchants and Ming Dynasty merchants traveling in the Strait of Malacca. They did not believe in Islam and were their best and only allies.
Of course, the so-called Ming Dynasty merchants were actually just born in the territory of the Ming Dynasty. From the moment they went to sea, they became wanted criminals of the court, pirates and desperadoes.
At the same time, Albuquerque also entrusted Arab merchants to help him convey a message, hoping that the Sultan of Malacca would release the envoy, and even if he did not release him, he had to guarantee his life safety, otherwise he would bear the consequences.
Such diplomatic exchanges and secret communications lasted for nearly two years. During this period, a captain named Blair under Albuquerque 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 scarce and there was no natural harbor, it was almost of no value.
After consulting the emperor and learning that the central government of the empire had no desire to acquire it, this place became the private fiefdom of Captain Blair and his sailors and was under the jurisdiction of the Governor-General of East India. Although it was not of much value, the archipelago was rich in Andaman rosewood, and some money could be made by purchasing some slaves to mine it.
At the end of 1476, Sultan Mansu Shah of Malacca was seriously ill. Upon learning the news, Albuquerque believed that the time had come and accelerated the pace of capturing Malacca.
The Mamluk ship that Mohandar and Robert were on slowly stopped. A Malacca port attendant came over and looked at the Mamluk flag flying on the ship.
"We are merchants from Cairo, all devout believers in Allah, coming here to buy pepper and cloves!"
The Mamluk captain spoke in Malay and handed the harbor attendant a document that was truly from a Mamluk merchant.
"Pepper and cloves?"
The harbormaster gave the captain a strange look.
"The Greeks seem to be cracking down on Muslim ships near Malacca, buying pepper from India and cloves from Zanzibar, and no longer buying from us. You are lucky that you didn't encounter Greek pirate ships..."
"Hehe, of course there are some ways."
The captain thrust a few silver coins into the hands of the harbor attendant, who then returned the documents to him.
After weighing the silver coins, the harbor attendant was somewhat satisfied and quietly approached the captain.
"Let's leave as soon as we finish our business. Malacca is not very peaceful recently..."
"what happened?"
The captain frowned.
"We are also planning to continue to the Japanese archipelago from Malacca."
"Alas, the Sultan has passed away."
The harbor attendant sighed somewhat sadly.
"The princes are fighting for power, and all forces are trying to fish in troubled waters. The old prime minister is the one who truly loves this country...but why does he have to support the youngest prince?"
"Some extreme mullahs took advantage of the Sultan's death and dragged the Greek envoy out of prison. They sentenced him to death in public a few days ago... Look, the body is hanging over there."
On the deck, Mohandar had already seen the body of the envoy hanging outside the city gate. He was emaciated, without a single piece of healthy skin on his body. It was obvious that he had suffered inhuman torture during his lifetime.
"what happened to you?"
Robert looked at Mohandar with some confusion. He clenched his fists and trembled all over.
"I've been reading for a long time and my eyesight is not good... What did you see?"
Mohandar turned his head slowly, his eyes red, gritting his teeth, and speaking word by word.
"I saw death, eternal destruction."
……
In early 1477, Mansu Shah, a great ruler of the Malacca Sultanate, died of illness. As the Malacca Sultanate adhered to Islamic law, conflicts soon arose over succession disputes. Various religious factions and political forces supported the heirs who represented their own interests, hoping to gain more rights under the new order.
If there had been no external interference, this succession dispute would eventually have been forcibly suppressed by the respected Prime Minister Perak Dun, with the former Sultan's youngest son ascending the throne and the Prime Minister continuing to assist in the administration. But now, they no longer have this opportunity.
On January 1477, 1, the news of the envoy's killing was sent back to the Port of Cochin. The Governor of East India, Albuquerque, was very angry and summoned the captains to give a speech. He believed that the envoy of a big country was superior to the monarch of a small country, not to mention that it was the people of Malacca who took the initiative to provoke trouble. In the name of God and the emperor, he formally declared war on the Sultanate of Malacca, demanding the elimination of all Islamic colonists and the handover of all murderers. Otherwise, the fight would not stop until one is dead.
That night, Albuquerque signed a transfer order requiring all ships of the Governorate of East India, the Governorate of East Africa and the Governorate of Mozambique as well as the naval fleets of affiliated forces to arrive at the port of Cochin as quickly as possible and be incorporated into the Indian Ocean Combined Fleet under his command.
More than forty years after Zheng He's voyages to the West, another massive fleet is about to hover over the crossroads of the East. However, this time, they are not sailing for such flashy reasons as promoting imperial power and peaceful exchanges, but for superficial revenge and deeper practical interests.
No matter how powerful the emperor is or how good his reputation is, the people have to pay a penny in taxes. Although robbery and plunder are destined to be infamous for eternity, they are enough to reduce the burden on the people in the country, allowing everyone to pay less taxes, wear warmer clothes, and eat more.
On February 2, Albuquerque led a total of more than 15 Eastern Roman warships and more than Arab sailboats, and rushed towards the Strait of Malacca.
(End of this chapter)
Time passed, and the year 1476 came to an end in the snow and the new year had arrived.
In the past year, the European continent was far from peaceful. The Iberian War ended because of a marriage. The armies of the two superpowers, the Eastern Roman Empire and the Kingdom of France, all withdrew from Castile, leaving behind a pile of debris. The power of the feudal aristocracy was strengthened, the Vatican was expanding its influence, and the extreme trials of the Inquisition displaced a large number of citizens and industrialists. Old trading cities such as Granada, Valencia and Barcelona fell into decline, but Lisbon, Seville and La Coruña prospered rapidly due to the shift of economic focus.
The death of Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, did not bring any improvement to the chaotic situation in Western Europe. Maximilian von Habsburg, the "last knight", entered the Netherlands with the help of his engagement 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 captured a large amount of territory in Burgundy and Franche-Comté, and the strength of the Kingdom of France continued to grow.
At the end of 1476, the Hungarian King Matthias Hunyadi, who had ended the Bohemian War, stationed his troops on the Danube River and began to harass the border provinces of the Archduchy of Austria. Many castles west of Vienna had fallen into the hands of the Hungarians, but the nominal first Catholic monarch Frederick III was unable to put up any effective resistance.
On the distant plains of East Europe, the Grand Duchy of Moscow conquered the Novgorod Republic and unified northeastern Russia. Grand Duke Ivan III of Moscow once again rejected Batu Sarai's request for tribute, determined to completely smash the Tatar shackles that had been entangled with the Russians for hundreds of years.
Ahama, the "last Khan of the Golden Horde", was worried about the rise of Moscow, and was also wary of the Cossack and Circassian Kingdoms in the southwest. The era of the Mongols and Tatars had passed, and even though he had ideals, he could hardly resist the tide of history.
The legacy of Batu's western expedition and the glory of Yuejibe Khan were passed on to him, but only a few pastures and a few scattered herds of cattle and sheep remained.
Of course, the legacy of the ancestors has not been exhausted, and Khan Ahmad is not a foolish and licentious ruler. He is actively contacting the Poles and Lithuanians, and two major military alliances are being formed in the Black Sea and Eastern Europe region, in which Moscow and the Eastern Roman Empire will confront the Golden Horde and Lithuania.
The Kingdom of England in northwestern Europe seemed to be emerging from the shadow of the Hundred Years' War between England and France and the War of the Roses. The infighting among the nobles strengthened the power of the industrialists and businessmen. After the English royal family lost its territory to France, English nationalism began to take root.
It is undeniable that Edward IV of the York Dynasty was a wise ruler. Having achieved success at a young age, he had the ambition of a lion. He restrained the nobles internally and promoted industry and commerce, and made peaceful compromises externally. He no longer interfered too much in the situation on the European continent. The fall of his "old ally" the Grand Duchy of Burgundy did not win his sympathy and assistance. Under his leadership, the Kingdom of England entered a period of rapid recovery.
Edward IV took advantage of the chaos after the War of the Roses to strengthen centralization. He boldly appointed small and medium-sized nobles and lower-class civilians, attracted a large group of literary scholars from continental Europe, and the Kingdom of England also began its own Renaissance.
In addition, Edward IV also engaged in a "cult of personality", portraying himself as God's spokesperson through various means, carrying out "divine propaganda", and calling himself the "second King Arthur", who would bring permanent stability and peace to the people of England. The emergence of this trend of thought greatly influenced the fate of the English royal family.
However, it is also undeniable that there was a considerable crisis in Edward IV's reign. The internal conflicts within the York dynasty were still fierce. The "illegal" marriage between the king and the queen made it difficult for their offspring to wear the crown of glory. Henry Tudor, the orphan of the Lancaster family, never gave up hope of returning to London and was accumulating his strength in Brittany on the European continent.
During this year, the power of the Vatican seemed to have grown. Pope Sixtus IV established a "family dynasty" linked by blood. The power of the Holy See expanded unprecedentedly in central and northern Italy and the Iberian Peninsula, and it seemed to have entered a "glorious era" again.
As for the increasing number of peasant uprisings in Germany, the increasing number of reform ideas in the Catholic Church, and the undisguised corruption within the Vatican, perhaps for senior clergy, these were commonplace and not worth mentioning.
Since the Holy See was at its peak, Sixtus IV also ordered the construction of a large number of religious and literary buildings. A large part of the orders for these buildings were contracted to several large construction companies in the Eastern Roman Empire. In the eyes of the bishops, that group of "Greeks" not only built quickly and required less labor, but they also knew how to take care of things every time. From the Pope to the cardinals to their mistresses and illegitimate children, everyone could get a share of the money, and everyone was happy.
Still short of money? Don't worry! I don't ask you to be less greedy, just go ahead and get a loan from the Royal Bank of Palaeologus. You don't need to use the castles or lands you desperately cling to as collateral, just use the proceeds from indulgences as collateral. Anyway, you are exploiting the blood and sweat of the Catholic people.
The people are dissatisfied? The peasants are revolting? Don't worry! Just let them come to the Eastern Empire. Sharing the worries of fellow Christians is an essential quality of a good Christian.
Now, the Eastern Roman royal family spends a lot of money every year to bribe cardinals and fund goodwill, trying to turn the Vatican under the rule of the Rovere family into a tool for the Eastern Roman Empire to exploit the Catholic world in Western Europe and help its own economic take-off and territorial expansion.
After the signing of the Treaty of Toledo in 1476, several quarrels still broke out within the Vatican over the issue of Sicily. The pro-French faction represented by the Borgia family did not want to see the continued expansion of the Eastern Roman Empire in Western Europe, and the Palaeologus cooperation faction represented by the Rovere family also had 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 the ownership of Sicily and Italian affairs.
Of course, the discussion was just a formality. The Vatican delegation spent a whole month in Eastern Rome, enjoying delicious food and drinks, taking a cruise on the Golden Horn, trying all the delicacies of Constantinople, visiting several seminaries, meeting with several indigenous priests from the colonies, enjoying the hot springs in Pamukkale, and before leaving, they took away a large number of jewelry, jade, gold and silver jewelry specially given by the royal family.
The end result was that the Eastern Roman Empire believed that Sicily was not part of the Italian peninsula, and promised not to expand in the Catholic world except for the Doge's District of Venice and the Free City of La Spezia. It would continue to launch a holy war against Muslims in the East, and part of Sicily's annual church taxes still belonged to the Vatican.
When the delegation returned to Rome, the Eastern Roman diplomats who accompanied them naturally made arrangements. Sixtus IV was quite satisfied with the result. He waved the agreement signed with the emperor's name and showed it to each cardinal.
"I brought an era of peace!"
So said Sixtus IV.
Thus, the Italian peninsula continued to enjoy hard-earned peace and tranquility until the end of 1476.
At the end of 1476, the Duchy of Milan was in turmoil again. As the rule of the tyrant Galeazzo was unpopular, everyone from nobles and wealthy businessmen to ordinary people had long been tired of this duke who "did not look like a king", and conspiracies and tricks were quietly brewing.
On December 1476, 12, two young humanist nobles who hated autocracy joined forces with Carlo Visconti, who had been humiliated by Galeazzo, to strike at the tyrant in the Basilica of San Stefano, killing Galeazzo on the spot.
After Galeazzo was assassinated, several noble assassins who were determined to restore the republican traditions failed to gain a response from the citizens and were soon captured and executed by the Sforza family's army. Galeazzo's seven-year-old youngest son Gian inherited the title of Duke, and Duke Gian's mother served as regent.
With the ruler being young and the country in doubt, the situation in Milan became increasingly chaotic. The cities of Genoa and La Spezia revolted one after another. The former was quickly suppressed by the local garrison, while the latter received the support of the Eastern Roman Empire and insisted on breaking away from the control of the Duchy of Milan.
In the years since it was separated from the Eastern Roman Empire's trade system, the once prosperous La Spezia fell into decline, as the city relied almost entirely on transit trade and had no handicraft system of its own. Citizens suffered from the tyranny of the Milanese at all times, the commodity economy stagnated, taxes and labor increased, and the living standards of citizens dropped sharply... Over the years, even Milan's original supporters fell silent and began to miss the good life they once had.
In the past few years, the former mayor Dimarco Gattilusio has not been idle. He has been in contact with various forces in La Spezia and helped many Italians who were willing to immigrate to the Eastern Roman Empire to achieve their goals. After the Duke of Milan was assassinated, Dimarco immediately went to the Eastern Roman Concession area of Florence with the intention of subverting the rule of the Milanese.
On January 1477, 1, at the invitation of the Free Government of La Spezia, the Eastern Roman Empire's ambassador to Florence marched towards Milan. The Second Latin Marine Regiment of the Foreign Legion was also on standby in Carthage, ready to land in La Spezia at any time.
As Milan was in a panic, everyone was either busy trying to fish in troubled waters or fighting for power, and the Eastern Roman Empire's diplomatic requests received no response. However, Galeazzo's orphans and widows obviously did not have the ability to cope with a full-scale war, and 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 of the matter.
In any case, the new year has begun and the wheel of history rolls forward, bringing new opportunities and new challenges.
At the easternmost end of the Indian Ocean, an Arab sailboat flying the Mamluk flag was sailing eastward in the wide strait. The closer it got to its destination, the more sailboats came and went on the sea.
"It's really prosperous. Just looking at the number of ships, it's probably not much less than the Golden Horn Bay!"
The warm spring sun shone on the deck. A middle-aged man dressed as an Arab businessman squinted his eyes and looked at the bustling port.
"The population of this city is probably over 100,000."
"If you include the suburbs and affiliated towns, there might be 150,000."
Beside him, another young man dressed in Arab clothes responded.
"Islamic forces colonized the Indian Ocean for hundreds of years. Even though they declined in the West, they still had large tracts of reservations in the East."
"Now, Granada and Fez are no longer viable. This city is probably the second largest Sunni city after Cairo."
"Hehe, it's really weird when you think about it."
The middle-aged man smiled.
"The second and third Orthodox cities were not Carthage or Thessalonica, but Elysium and M'banza Kongo."
"Especially the city of Elysium, which already has a population of nearly 300,000. If the natives can reproduce, it may even surpass Constantinople in the future."
"Elysium? You mean New Constantinople?"
The young man thought about it.
“There are so many Orthodox people there?”
"Yes, because both the natives and the immigrants like the name Elysium, so no one cares about the official name."
The middle-aged man said.
"The natives who were unwilling to convert were not blessed and basically died of disease. The remaining ones were at least orthodox Christians on the surface, although they still worshiped those false gods in secret."
"I heard from the governor that Elysium is now ruled by Archbishop Valens and is carrying out a campaign to popularize the Greek language."
"The indigenous people on the Mexica Plateau are very different from those in other places. Their administrative and educational systems are quite complete. The empire did not completely destroy them, but directly inherited them and used them as a tool to lay eggs."
"Now, more than a third of Elysium's annual output will be used for cultural assimilation, and in a few generations, Greek will be the common language, at least in the big cities."
"As for the Kingdom of Kongo, they are also peculiar. I don't know why they like foreign religions so much. From the king to the nobles to the merchants, everyone helped to spread the religion and volunteered to learn Greek. There was a war a few years ago, so not many missionaries were sent over, and they were very unhappy."
The middle-aged man laughed again.
"Then I'm a little curious, how do they explain slavery?"
The young man was a little confused.
"As a rule, Orthodox Christians are not allowed to be enslaved."
"Your Majesty's Charter of Citizenship also states that we need to analyze each case on a case-by-case basis. The slave trade in Congo, Guinea, and Circassia has a long history. If they want to sell, then it's up to them."
The middle-aged man said.
"If we really abolished the slave trade in the Congo, the most angry people would be their king and nobles."
"Forget it, this has nothing to do with us. Let's focus on the task at hand."
The middle-aged man looked at the approaching port.
"Robert, you are from the Prometheus department, right?"
"Well, yeah, nothing to hide."
Robert nodded.
"But I just joined. I was just a college student studying horticulture."
"I was sponsored by the Mavro family and studied horticulture at Bilinchi University for three years, planted golden trees for a year, and studied oriental herbal medicine for two years... After graduation, I was found by an officer from the intelligence department and became a member of Prometheus, responsible for the, uh... introduction of new crops and new livestock."
"I came with you this time mainly for tea."
Robert said.
"You know that drink? It's the leaves that Oriental people love to soak in water and drink."
"Of course I know. Tea is one of the most valuable 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 high-quality tea varieties or tea-growing bases. The same is true for Siam in the north."
"Your Majesty seems to have sent some agents before, but they failed to make any breakthroughs. They only traveled around Southeast Asia, and the tea seeds they brought back were of very poor quality."
"Yes, I know, but this time I plan to go to Japan, also known as Dongying."
Robert replied.
"Ming is the largest producer of tea, but they have already issued a strict maritime ban policy, and the political structure is basically intact, so it is difficult for outsiders to enter, let alone steal high-quality tea varieties and kidnap skilled tea farmers."
"Besides them, only the Japanese have some skills in tea planting." "Now, they are in the Warring States Period, this is a good opportunity."
"There is also India. His Majesty said that India also has native tea species, but no one has used them. Some agents have gone to look for them accompanied by Indian natives."
"Well, I wish you success."
The middle-aged man said.
"Once we acquire our first base in Southeast Asia, our ties with Eastern countries will be strengthened. It doesn't matter if Ming 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 acted recklessly and directly robbed our goods and imprisoned our people. I'm afraid he won't be so easy to deal with."
“No, I am not here to convince the Muslims, but to contact the opposition forces in Malacca.”
Mohandar shook his head.
"Governor Albuquerque believed that the people of Malacca no longer wanted to resolve the issue peacefully, but the country was not monolithic. In addition to the upper-class Muslim rulers, there were also many lower-class Hindus and Buddhists who could be won over."
"Besides, the Sultan Mansu Shah who brought Malacca to its peak is already seriously ill and he probably won't live long. By then, there will probably be another struggle for power and the situation will probably be very chaotic..."
Having said this, Mohandar suddenly stopped talking and looked a little depressed.
"what happened?"
Robert looked at this elder with some worry. He was optimistic by nature but often worried.
"Oh, nothing... It's just that the envoy who was imprisoned by the Malacca people is my wife's younger brother. He grew up in my house... When I set sail, I promised her that I would bring the child back to Sfax intact."
Mohandar smiled bitterly.
"In the eyes of Muslims, we North African Orthodox Christians are particularly hateful. I am afraid that the child will be killed... even though he has been an Orthodox Christian since birth and has never betrayed."
"I volunteered to come here this time, disguised as this ghost, because I wanted to contact the Buddhist and Hindu forces in Malacca and see if I could ask them to persuade the Sultan to release the innocent child. He just wanted to prove his worth because he was the first to learn Malay..."
"He'll be fine."
Robert comforted them, and the two of them stopped talking. The Arab sailboat flying the Mamluk flag slowly docked under the guidance of the pilot and arrived at Malacca, the capital of the Malacca Sultanate.
To the south of Malacca is the famous waterway between the Malay Peninsula and Sumatra Island - the Strait of Malacca, the famous "Crossroads of the East".
The Strait of Malacca has been a busy place of commerce since ancient times. It is the shortest route connecting the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea. It connects the four civilizations of Arabia, Persia, India and China, and greatly promotes the exchange of goods and civilizations.
Although the Arabs had the smallest population among the four civilizations, the great mission of establishing the Eastern Route was gradually accomplished in their hands. Hundreds of years of trade, missionary work, colonization and slavery left a profound imprint of Arab culture and Islam throughout the Indian Ocean. From the Persian Gulf to Malacca, from Singapore to Quanzhou, Arab merchants left their own legends.
The Malacca Sultanate, occupying the southern part of the Malay Peninsula and the northern part of Sumatra Island, was an emerging country. In the late 14th century and early 15th century, it was a vassal of the Ayutthaya Dynasty of Siam. It later gained independence by paying tribute to the Ming Dynasty and was known as the "Malacca Kingdom" in the East.
The Ming Dynasty had a profound impact on this Southeast Asian country. Not only did they receive their own titles from the Ming emperor, they also provided assistance to the Ming fleet when Zheng He sailed to the West. Relying on maritime trade, the country continued to grow stronger and stronger, and its national strength advanced by leaps and bounds. The capital Malacca quickly became a distribution center for Arab, Persian, Indian and Ming goods, and a variety of cultures blended here.
The glory of Zheng He's voyages to the West was brilliant but short-lived. The Ming Empire's maritime ban policy became increasingly stringent, and the number of Eastern merchants going to the Malacca Kingdom decreased. They were basically all desperate criminals and smugglers with pirate characteristics.
At the same time, the influence of the Ming Empire in Southeast Asia weakened rapidly. The Old Port Xuanwei Office was captured by Majapahit, the huge fleet disappeared, and the relationship between the Malacca Kingdom and the Ming Empire gradually faded, and it began to pursue its own ambitions.
In 1445, Muzaffar, the fourth monarch of the Malacca Kingdom, established Sunni Islam as the state religion, abandoned the title of "King" conferred by the Ming Dynasty, and changed his title to "Sultan", calling himself "the Lord of the Universe, the Savior of Islam". Confucianism from the Ming Dynasty failed to take root here, and the native Buddhism and Hinduism were also ignored. Another moon flag rose slowly in the land thousands of miles away from Mecca.
Subsequently, the diplomatic focus of the Malacca Sultanate changed from the East to the West. It began to actively contact other Islamic forces in the West, while suppressing popular pagan beliefs. It relied on the huge wealth brought by the Arab trade routes to make up for the shortage of trade in the East and expanded rapidly in all directions.
Later, the Malacca Sultanate reached its peak under the leadership of the current monarch Mansour Shah and the current Prime Minister Perak Dun. It owned two-thirds of the land along the Strait of Malacca. Although trade revenue was not as high as during the Yongle period due to stricter maritime bans, the political system and governance system had basically been established.
In the original time and space, this country "made it because of Islam and also failed because of Islam". Islam brought the country a more advanced governance system and an alternative to Ming Dynasty merchants, but it also laid the groundwork for its demise. The successive monarchs' vigorous promotion of Islam made the lower-class people who believed in Hinduism and Buddhism very dissatisfied. After the country's power declined, religious conflicts intensified.
In addition, they took the initiative to get involved in the disputes between Christians and Muslims in the Indian Ocean, disregarding their own national strength, insisting on standing on the side of Islam and defending their faith until their death.
In the original time and space, after the Portuguese navy defeated the Arab coalition fleet, due to its weak power, it initially harbored some fear of the Sultanate and temporarily only proposed to take over the position of the Arabs and Persians and establish a trading post in Malacca.
However, the Sultan of Malacca was bewitched by extreme Islamic forces. He first pretended to agree, and then tried to lure the Portuguese envoys to the palace and kill them all. In the end, the conspiracy was exposed and only a few Portuguese were killed.
After the conspiracy was exposed, the Sultan of Malacca began a large-scale purge, and a large number of non-Muslim groups were subjected to unwarranted trials, which directly led to the final "betrayal" of Indian and Chinese businessmen.
Finally, there was the Siege of Malacca. With the help of Indian and Chinese merchants, the "Caesar of the East" Albuquerque captured Malacca with very few casualties, and immediately began to massacre the city. The Muslim community was cleansed, while the Indian and Chinese escaped because of their "betrayal".
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, who were supposed to provide assistance to the Arabs, were wiped out. In the Battle of Diu, the Arab United Fleet was defeated even more miserably.
Subsequently, the Governor-General of East India, Albuquerque, formulated the ruling policy of "uniting Hindus to fight against Muslims" and successively acquired the ports of Cochin and Goa on the Indian subcontinent. Although they did not go deep into the interior, they were completely sufficient.
Prior to this, Albuquerque had sent spies on Arab sailboats to inspect Malacca many times. He believed that his previous contempt for Malacca was incorrect and that he should pay more attention to his opponent tactically, so he decided to engage in peaceful exchanges first.
In early 1475, three sailing ships from the East India Fleet arrived in Malacca, bringing a handwritten letter from Albuquerque, hoping to establish a trading station in Malacca, allow Christian ships to enter the port, and impose the same taxes as Muslim ships.
However, the Malacca Sultanate was in its so-called golden age at that time, with a powerful ruler and wise ministers in power. They were so confident that they did not allow the East India ships to enter the port, nor did they care about the warning in Albuquerque's letter. They directly drove away the three sailing ships and detained the messenger as a hostage.
As a result, war became inevitable, and Albuquerque began to contact Indian merchants and Ming Dynasty merchants traveling in the Strait of Malacca. They did not believe in Islam and were their best and only allies.
Of course, the so-called Ming Dynasty merchants were actually just born in the territory of the Ming Dynasty. From the moment they went to sea, they became wanted criminals of the court, pirates and desperadoes.
At the same time, Albuquerque also entrusted Arab merchants to help him convey a message, hoping that the Sultan of Malacca would release the envoy, and even if he did not release him, he had to guarantee his life safety, otherwise he would bear the consequences.
Such diplomatic exchanges and secret communications lasted for nearly two years. During this period, a captain named Blair under Albuquerque 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 scarce and there was no natural harbor, it was almost of no value.
After consulting the emperor and learning that the central government of the empire had no desire to acquire it, this place became the private fiefdom of Captain Blair and his sailors and was under the jurisdiction of the Governor-General of East India. Although it was not of much value, the archipelago was rich in Andaman rosewood, and some money could be made by purchasing some slaves to mine it.
At the end of 1476, Sultan Mansu Shah of Malacca was seriously ill. Upon learning the news, Albuquerque believed that the time had come and accelerated the pace of capturing Malacca.
The Mamluk ship that Mohandar and Robert were on slowly stopped. A Malacca port attendant came over and looked at the Mamluk flag flying on the ship.
"We are merchants from Cairo, all devout believers in Allah, coming here to buy pepper and cloves!"
The Mamluk captain spoke in Malay and handed the harbor attendant a document that was truly from a Mamluk merchant.
"Pepper and cloves?"
The harbormaster gave the captain a strange look.
"The Greeks seem to be cracking down on Muslim ships near Malacca, buying pepper from India and cloves from Zanzibar, and no longer buying from us. You are lucky that you didn't encounter Greek pirate ships..."
"Hehe, of course there are some ways."
The captain thrust a few silver coins into the hands of the harbor attendant, who then returned the documents to him.
After weighing the silver coins, the harbor attendant was somewhat satisfied and quietly approached the captain.
"Let's leave as soon as we finish our business. Malacca is not very peaceful recently..."
"what happened?"
The captain frowned.
"We are also planning to continue to the Japanese archipelago from Malacca."
"Alas, the Sultan has passed away."
The harbor attendant sighed somewhat sadly.
"The princes are fighting for power, and all forces are trying to fish in troubled waters. The old prime minister is the one who truly loves this country...but why does he have to support the youngest prince?"
"Some extreme mullahs took advantage of the Sultan's death and dragged the Greek envoy out of prison. They sentenced him to death in public a few days ago... Look, the body is hanging over there."
On the deck, Mohandar had already seen the body of the envoy hanging outside the city gate. He was emaciated, without a single piece of healthy skin on his body. It was obvious that he had suffered inhuman torture during his lifetime.
"what happened to you?"
Robert looked at Mohandar with some confusion. He clenched his fists and trembled all over.
"I've been reading for a long time and my eyesight is not good... What did you see?"
Mohandar turned his head slowly, his eyes red, gritting his teeth, and speaking word by word.
"I saw death, eternal destruction."
……
In early 1477, Mansu Shah, a great ruler of the Malacca Sultanate, died of illness. As the Malacca Sultanate adhered to Islamic law, conflicts soon arose over succession disputes. Various religious factions and political forces supported the heirs who represented their own interests, hoping to gain more rights under the new order.
If there had been no external interference, this succession dispute would eventually have been forcibly suppressed by the respected Prime Minister Perak Dun, with the former Sultan's youngest son ascending the throne and the Prime Minister continuing to assist in the administration. But now, they no longer have this opportunity.
On January 1477, 1, the news of the envoy's killing was sent back to the Port of Cochin. The Governor of East India, Albuquerque, was very angry and summoned the captains to give a speech. He believed that the envoy of a big country was superior to the monarch of a small country, not to mention that it was the people of Malacca who took the initiative to provoke trouble. In the name of God and the emperor, he formally declared war on the Sultanate of Malacca, demanding the elimination of all Islamic colonists and the handover of all murderers. Otherwise, the fight would not stop until one is dead.
That night, Albuquerque signed a transfer order requiring all ships of the Governorate of East India, the Governorate of East Africa and the Governorate of Mozambique as well as the naval fleets of affiliated forces to arrive at the port of Cochin as quickly as possible and be incorporated into the Indian Ocean Combined Fleet under his command.
More than forty years after Zheng He's voyages to the West, another massive fleet is about to hover over the crossroads of the East. However, this time, they are not sailing for such flashy reasons as promoting imperial power and peaceful exchanges, but for superficial revenge and deeper practical interests.
No matter how powerful the emperor is or how good his reputation is, the people have to pay a penny in taxes. Although robbery and plunder are destined to be infamous for eternity, they are enough to reduce the burden on the people in the country, allowing everyone to pay less taxes, wear warmer clothes, and eat more.
On February 2, Albuquerque led a total of more than 15 Eastern Roman warships and more than Arab sailboats, and rushed towards the Strait of Malacca.
(End of this chapter)
