The Sun and the Lion

"May your country prosper until the Day of Judgment." The Ottoman envoy bowed and exited the hall. Ibrahim stood up directly and walked towards the small door, intending to leave.

"It's... a lot of nonsense and no nutrition." Ibrahim ruthlessly complained about the Ottoman envoy just now, who had been complimenting him on his victory without any nutrition.

At the same time, Bayezid also prepared valuable gifts for Ibrahim, including gold and silver vessels, gemstones and crystals, various jewelry, and luxuriously decorated horse gear. According to the messenger, its total value exceeds one hundred thousand Akche.

In contrast, the Ottoman envoy did not shoulder any more important diplomatic tasks, which was equivalent to giving him free money. Bayezid once again implemented his policy of appeasement of Safavid.

Despite this, Ibrahim resisted the idea of ​​causing friction to test the bottom line. Bayezid is a restrained master, but his son Selim is not. If the conflict escalates, the situation will be difficult to control.

Once it escalates into a local war, it will be difficult to handle. No matter whether he wins or loses, it will disrupt his plan. It will take time to expand armaments, win over allies, and contact believers.

Moreover, according to Venetian intelligence, the Portuguese have broken into the Indian Ocean, which will inevitably affect Indian Ocean trade. Stepping up the construction of navy and coastal defenses is the current top priority. Even if the worst situation comes, the Indian Ocean hegemony will not be contested, and at least the dominance of the Persian Gulf coast will be maintained.

Ibrahim walked quickly to the study and ordered the clerk to sort out all the reports from Hormuz to him. He also wanted to summon the Venetian ambassador Francesco, but the Venetians could not give him more at this time. For help, I had to give up first.

In order to strengthen control, routine exchanges of official documents between the local government and the palace have become very frequent. The administrative system, supervisory system, army and caddis will each report local affairs to the palace on a regular basis. The four tasks are different, and the focus of the official documents is also different. However, various departments supervise each other and will not only write about their respective tasks.

The clerks found many documents from Hormuz among the complicated piles of official documents, the most important of which was the governor's report. Only here would a detailed report on the naval situation be given.

At this time, the Safavid Navy was divided into two parts. One was the inland river fleet, which was mainly responsible for the safety of the waterways in the lower reaches of the Shatt al-Arab, Karun, Euphrates and Tigris rivers. Fortunately, the rivers were very calm, unlike the Turkmen bandits in the Caspian Sea. rampant.

The second is the Persian Gulf Fleet. After Ehsan obtained sufficient budget and Italian shipbuilders, he expanded the fleet aggressively. Among the warships, there were 20 light galleys with a crew of less than 100 people, 6 heavy galleys with a crew of several hundred, There were 8 caravels and 3 carracks - the largest of which became his new flagship.

The original traditional sailing ships that were difficult to carry guns were converted into fleet supply ships and transport ships, and were no longer used as the main combat force.

Ibrahim was pleasantly surprised as he read through the battle reports and official documents. He didn't know what made this old pirate change his mind. However, judging from the official document in which he requested to allocate more artillery to meet the demand, Ehsan and his men The little bosses have become loyal fans of firearms.

These changes all occurred when he was actively suppressing his former colleagues still stranded in the Persian Gulf. The artillery can easily damage the hull of the enemy ship and smash its sails and rigging from a safe distance. Even if you want to engage in a gang battle, you can install the swivel gun at the back first to clean the deck efficiently. It will be easier for small players to capture the enemy ship. many.

After several clearing operations, Ahsan and the captains felt that the more they used it, the more they liked it and the more it became more useful, so that the modest gunpowder reserves in the warehouses in Hormuz and Kuwait soon ran out of money.

It's just that the sailors are not very proficient in the operation of firearms, and they often forget to pay attention to heat dissipation during combat. Fortunately, the several battles are just torture, and there will be no long-term artillery battles to test the life of the barrel.

The surrender of the pirates added a lot of manpower to Ahsan's fleet. At the same time, he was recruiting experienced sailors and cheap and easy-to-use supplies. He was not only limited to the coastal areas of the Persian Gulf, but also took advantage of Ibrahim's reputation. Spread the news through business travel to attract talents (pirates) from further away to invest.

The expectation of sufficient or even surplus manpower, the expansion of the logging industry in the Zagros Mountains and the Caucasus to the southern coast of the Caspian Sea, the palace's funding, and the prosperity of the Port of Hormuz are the foundation for Iran's naval construction. From that conversation, he learned about the broad ambitions of the King of Kings. A fleet that could only maintain the security of the Persian Gulf was not what he wanted. Find Shuyuan www.zhaoshuyuan． ｃcom This is the need for Iran's naval expansion.

At the same time, the construction of forts and new fortresses is also in an orderly manner. The Port of Hormuz, which is the entrance and exit of the Persian Gulf, can already deploy artillery to defend the sea. The fortress, which is the governor's residence, has been renovated with heavy funds. The city walls and towers have room for accommodating artillery, but there is still room for artillery. It did not adopt the bastion design that would be familiar to later generations. From the overall layout, it still did not break away from the category of traditional fortresses.

After all, the bastion is still in its infancy in Europe, and Italian military engineers cannot be expected to understand and use the engineering knowledge possessed by their descendants.

After hearing that Ibrahim had ended his campaign in Central Asia, Ahsan reported his battle plan to the palace non-stop. The goals included controlling the southern coast of the Persian Gulf such as Bahrain, Qatar, and Muscat, and claimed that it was not needed. With an extra soldier from the court, the navy alone could bring the rulers of these ports to their knees.

He was not worried about how much power the local rulers could use to resist, and was immediately ready to approve Ahsan's battle plan, but he wrote down many of his ideas in subsequent instructions.

The southern coast of the Persian Gulf is not dominated by Persian-speaking people, and the ports divided by the Bedouin tribes in the inland desert are isolated islands. Based on these realities, Safavid only maintains a vassal relationship with them and does not interfere in the city's internal affairs, beliefs and defense. In exchange for huge autonomy, the vassal port must first grant Iranian merchants a series of trade privileges such as exemption from tariffs, and then abolish or upgrade them. hand over their respective armed fleets, and maritime security is guaranteed by the Safavid Navy.

After the arrival of the Portuguese, the Safavid fleet will probably not be the most powerful water force they have ever seen, but at this time Ibrahim and Ahsan will become the Muslim merchants against the Frankish invaders the greatest reliance and hope.