In the ninth year of Taiping, September 28th,
As the dazzling red sun appears over the land of India in the east, the sky over the Indian Ocean gradually becomes brighter. Off the coast of Goa, the blue sea is dotted with seagulls and the blue waves are undulating, a peaceful and peaceful scene. Several small fishing boats with triangular sails were casting nets on the sea to catch fish. The Indian fishermen with dark skin on the boats were doing their business passed down from generation to generation while curiously looking at the fish who didn't know when they would appear in the fruit. There are more than twenty ironclad ships in the outer sea with smoke billowing out!
What kind of good day is today? I woke up early in the morning and found that the originally empty Goa port was suddenly crowded with more than 20 ironclad ships as huge as water castles! After leaving the Port of Goa, I saw about twenty large warships wandering in the sea outside the port, and they were lined up in a column. They also pointed their crude cannon barrels at the Port of Goa. What does this mean? Are you going to bombard Goa?
These Indian fishermen were thinking in their hearts: "It must be the Portuguese masters in Goa who have offended these large warships? When the bombardment comes later, can they be more accurate? It is best to fire at the good houses where the Portuguese masters live." Don’t blow up the shabby Indian slums by the harbor.”
Major General Zhuge Weidao, who commanded these large warships, would not know what the Indian fishermen were thinking. But he did not intend to bomb the slums, or even bombard the good houses of the Portuguese colonists. On the one hand, it was because the orders of the Admiralty and Naval Staff did not allow him to enter the territorial waters of India, let alone the territorial waters of Goa ruled by the Portuguese; on the other hand, it was because the Portuguese peninsulas protruded on both sides of the Gulf of Goa. Two forts that looked like door gods were built on it, and a 240 mm 45-diameter shore gun produced by Jiangnan Heavy Industry of the Ming Dynasty was also installed.
Therefore, Zhuge Weidao now just wants to lay mines on the high seas outside Goa Port to block those Royal Indian Navy warships that do not respect martial ethics, dare not fight at night, and hide in the neutral Portuguese Port of Goa!
This is really annoying. Zhuge Weidao's strategy of defeating the enemy in a night battle, which he had calculated for so long, was actually defeated by the Indians by using one move and thirty-six strategies to hide. It really lives up to Sun Tzu's famous saying in The Art of War - you can't afford to offend, you can afford to hide!
And Zhuge Weidao has nothing to do with them!
Because his request to lay mines outside the Goa port was, as expected, rejected by the Admiralty and the Naval Staff.
"Admiral, Portugal is a neutral country, and we have not declared war on the Indian Empire. Yesterday's naval battle has been classified as a border conflict by the court."
"Border conflict? It turns out that the border between Ming Dynasty and India is in the Arabian Sea!"
“Yes, yes, it’s in the Arabian Sea.”
Guo Xiaobao, who was explaining the situation to Zhuge Weidao with a copy of the telegram, glanced at his livid boss and continued: "Headquarters ordered us to continue the mission of occupying the Persian Gulf and not to stay on the coast of India for a long time.
In addition, the telegram from the headquarters also stated that the two Hero-class battleships on their way to Europe will return to the Ming Dynasty through the Sunda Strait and will not be incorporated into the Persian Gulf Fleet. Admiral, it seems that the imperial court is willing to accept the favor again. We are soldiers, and it is natural for us to obey the orders of our superiors."
Zhuge Weidao heard this, glanced at Guo Xiaobao, and said with a smile: "Baozhi, it was my suggestion to occupy the Persian Gulf. This is the most important task. Compared with the Persian Gulf, the whole of India is nothing!"
Guo Xiaobao breathed a sigh of relief and nodded repeatedly: "Yes, yes, what the admiral said is true. Can we head to Muscat Port in the Oman Empire? The speed of the Oman Empire is Said bin Sultan. We are old friends of the Ming Empire, and as long as we get his support, there will be no difficulty in occupying the Persian Gulf."
"Yes, I know. I heard the Queen Mother say this." Zhuge Weidao nodded and said with a smile, "When I said goodbye to the Queen Mother before leaving Beijing this time, Queen Mother Zheng asked me to bring a generous gift to this Sultan. To thank the Oman Empire for its continued support to the Ming Dynasty!"
The Ming Palace is inseparable from the Oman Empire. It sounds a bit strange, but since King Zhuge Wuzhong banned the castration of Ming people as eunuchs and adopted the black eunuch system in the Ming Palace, the Oman Empire is the Ming Palace's black eunuch The only designated supplier!
The eunuch Black Whirlwind, who had a good relationship with Zhuge Weidao, was bought from Samba Gir, a slave port in East Africa, by the royal traffickers of the Oman Empire, and then sold exclusively as tribute. Oh, it should be a tribute to the Ming Dynasty.
London, 10 Downing Street.
When the Duke of Wellington was having breakfast in his private dining room, Cabinet Secretary Huck walked in holding a red wired mobile phone.
Huck stood next to the Duke, then handed the phone to him and said with a smile: "Prime Minister, the phone number of the Admiralty."
"Thank you," Duke Wellington smiled, "I guess there must be good news from India."
With that, he picked up the phone receiver and said, "Hello, I'm Arthur Wellesley."
Over there was the voice of Admiralty Secretary George Elliot: "Duke, I am George Elliot. I have just received good news. The Indian fleet in Goa harbor repelled the Ming Dynasty naval formation that attempted to invade and successfully defended India. The freedom, independence and sovereignty of the empire. After the defeat, the Ming naval formation is fleeing to the northwest!"
"Well, very good." Duke Wellington smiled, "It seems that they can only fail to seize the Persian Gulf!"
George Elliot said: "Yes, they have completely failed! Is the Navy Department going to issue a statement to the public about the Battle of Goa?"
"No, no need," Duke Wellington said, "That was a border conflict between the Indian Empire and the Ming Empire. It has nothing to do with us."
"Yes, Prime Minister."
The Duke of Wellington then hung up the phone and said to Harker: "Put me through the Grand Trianon."
"Yes, Prime Minister." Huck nodded and immediately dialed the Royal Mail's international wiring center. After a while, the phone receiver was once again handed over to the Duke of Wellington.
"Is your Royal Highness here? I am Arthur Wellesley." Duke Wellington said very proudly, "I have just received news that your fleet is sailing away from the coast of India!"
Zhuge Weijiu's voice came from the phone receiver: "I also got the news that our fleet is heading to the Persian Gulf. In fact, they were originally going to the Persian Gulf. The rampant piracy activities in the Persian Gulf have seriously affected the passage of time through Hall. International trade conducted through the Strait of Muz. As the most powerful industrialized country in the world, our Ming Empire has the obligation to safeguard that international trade can proceed safely and freely."
"Oh," the Duke of Wellington laughed. "You want to protect the free trade of oysters from the Qatar Peninsula and Bahrain Island?"
Zhuge Weijiu said seriously: "Oysters are an important seafood and we use them to produce oyster sauce! In addition, the salted fish from Qatar and Bahrain are also very good! There are also dates from Iraq, which are big and sweet."
"Really?" said the Duke of Wellington, "but I regret to inform you that the Royal Indian Navy will block the Malacca route until your Persian Gulf Fleet leaves the Indian Ocean with oysters, salted fish and dates!"
"Duke, I would like to remind you that the Indian Empire's blockade of the Malacca Channel violates the Malacca Joint Development Treaty signed 100 years ago by the Ming Empire and the British Empire. If the Indian Empire really blocks the Strait, we will resume the Malay The peninsula exercises sovereignty! By then, the entire Malay Peninsula, including Temasek Island and Malacca City, will return to the Ming Dynasty!"
Wellington lowered his voice: "Your Highness, if you really dare to attack the Malay Peninsula, then a full-scale war will break out! It is not a full-scale war between you and the Indian Empire, but between you and the British Empire, the Indian Empire, and the United States. Total war between the United States, and other British allies!”
Zhuge Weijiu laughed and said: "As long as the Indians don't block the waterway, there will be no all-out war. Duke, you'd better advise the Indians! In addition, you can blockade Malacca, and our Persian Gulf Fleet can also blockade it." Gulf of Aden!"
(End of chapter)
