The Sun and the Lion

The Holy One naturally has his foresight to think so.

Ahmed and Hussein walked out of the palace side by side. After the imperial meeting, the two leaders of civil and military officials briefly discussed the content of the imperial meeting. Differences of opinion with the King of Kings were quickly put aside, and they did their duty as servants of the King.

It was the military vizier and the Grand Emir who were busy assisting the Barbary pirates. A list of supplies was quickly drawn up - at the top of the list were various types of firearms, from heavy matchlock guns to breech-loaded revolving guns, and A heavy gun that could only be mounted on the bow of a galley.

However, the trouble is that Anatolia's productivity has been almost completely destroyed, and many craftsmen have been taken to Iraq and Azerbaijan. In the absence of waterways running from east to west, it was difficult to argue that it was more convenient to transport artillery and gunpowder from Baghdad to Izmir than from Tabriz.

If it were to be transported from Georgia to Izmir by waterway... this plan would be unparalleled. Not to mention the potential danger of the Ottoman navy intercepting the passage, the right of passage of the Bosporus is still in the hands of the other party. Among the preparations made by Sultan Fatih for the conquest of Constantinople, he built a fortress and set up artillery on the west bank of the narrowest part of the strait to prevent reinforcements from the Black Sea to Byzantium. A Venetian merchant ship once tried his best, and in During the war, it tried to force its way through with food from the Black Sea, but was sunk without any suspense. The surviving captain and crew were fished out and executed with sharp wooden stakes in public display.

The coastal defense fortification named Rumburg - also metaphorically called Cutthroat Fort - is still in operation. Any merchant ship passing through the strait must pay a toll at this customs office. The two countries are still maintaining a state of war. Unless Iranian ships sail on dry land, it is impossible to pass through the strait under the gunfire of the Ottomans.

The only way at the moment is to send pack animals across the desolate peninsula, transport supplies to Izmir, and immediately begin to restore the supply of local raw materials, and directly move a group of craftsmen from Baghdad and Tabriz to Izmir. Earth-cast cannon.

After firearms and gunpowder, the supplies are armor and ship equipment. The protective gear given to Barbary pirates is mainly chain mail shirts and iron helmets. This level of protection is similar to that of Iranian sailors serving in the Indian Ocean.

Considering transportation costs, everything that can be obtained locally in Anatolia will be allocated to Roma as much as possible. Except for the copper and iron used for making guns and cannons, charcoal and wood needed for shipbuilding, local labor must be recruited for expansion. Naval facilities and other projects.

Since it was the first time, the amount of aid delivered was not very large. After Ibrahim reviewed it, he approved the list and the suggestion to relocate craftsmen to produce ordnance locally.

The large-scale construction of sea ships in Izmir not only benefits the Barbary pirates, but Armenian merchants are also cheering for it. In the past, they also needed to rent Italian merchant ships and pay taxes and bribes to greedy Mamluk officials to maintain trade with various Western European trading posts. With their connections, they can now get rid of constraints and transport goods to various ports in the Mediterranean on their own.

When Ibrahim ordered to build a navy in the Mediterranean, the royal merchants of the chartered trade guild took action. The Safavid army captured many civilian ships from various port cities, most of which belonged to Greek merchants under the Ottoman rule. It was impossible to return the spoils of war, so how to cash in all the captured merchant ships?

Armenian businessmen specializing in European trade seized this opportunity and came to the door. They jointly bought all the merchant ships that originally belonged to Greek merchants. Due to the favoritism of the Iranians, even wealthy Greek businessmen who were willing to pay more to redeem these properties were rejected.

The Greeks who still lived in Anatolia could only dare to be angry and dare not speak out, allowing the red-headed conquerors to extort and profit. However, after the chaos and carnival of the war, when the ruling order was slowly restored, their Dhimmi status It was still recognized by the conquerors, and daily life was generally similar to that under Ottoman rule, without any earth-shaking changes. However, the Shah preferred Caucasus Christians, and the Ecumenical Patriarch was still at the mercy of Osman Padishah in Costantiniya. The newly appointed officials and the qadi often suspected that they might be spies across the strait.

As for the wealthy Christian merchants who stayed in Rumelia, the situation was miserable. Not only had all their properties in Asia Minor been confiscated, but the high-ranking officials who were in financial difficulties were still knocking on their bones and sucking their marrow. After their private contact with Safawi was revealed, Selim directly used the excuse of collaborating with the enemy to extort money and even directly arrested and ransacked his house. This was a naked killing of the goose that laid the goose and the egg was laid.

The grumblings of the Greeks could not kill the proud Armenians and Jews. Even though pirates were raging in the Aegean Sea, the merchant ships belonging to the royal merchants still successfully transported raw silk from Izmir to Marseille, and delivered all the goods ordered by the French merchants on schedule.

The royal merchants are discussing the next commercial expansion at the guild headquarters in the Armenian district. They are no longer satisfied with the Mediterranean coast. Looking for Shuyuan www.zhaoshuyuan.com The Armenians who have developed commercial relations with European merchants already have a basic understanding of Western Europe. With his understanding, there are still Jewish merchants who have been recruited by chartered trade guilds, and it is no longer a fantasy to take the initiative to carry out trading business in Europe. Perhaps you can go north from Marseille and enter the lowlands through the Rhône Valley, or you can land in Genoa and cross the Alps to the Rhine Valley.

The strength of the Safavid state and the abundance of trade goods were bargaining chips for them to negotiate with local rulers. Iranian merchants exchanged silk, spices, cotton, leather, glass, metal, coffee and other commodities for gold, silver and other goods and shipped them back for trading. The more goods there are, the more tariffs His Majesty the King can extract, right? If trade prospers, won’t the territory’s economy prosper?

The biggest foreseeable competitor is Venice. She is undoubtedly the biggest beneficiary of the monopoly on maritime trade and will actively oppose any changes that are unfavorable to her. Venice cannot directly resort to violence against the royal merchants, but there is no guarantee that some merchants will use any means to try to get the Eastern merchants who carry their own goods to withdraw voluntarily, thereby maintaining the status quo - the Governor is the consul of the Republic, but this does not mean that he will And it can restrain and control the competition between major families and trade guilds.

I think His Majesty's funding of the pirates in the Maghreb is a good move. Even if they are notorious, the Frankish countries will not cut off their trade with our country. This is equivalent to having an extra fleet that can protect us.

It's just that Constantinople is still in the hands of the Ottomans. Not only can they not enter Rumelia, but shipping between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean has also been cut off. Alas...

Whether it is to defeat the Ottomans or conquer the Levant, naval cooperation is required. For future trade, it is natural to actively support the expansion of the empire in the Mediterranean. It is best to copy all the advanced experience in the Indian Ocean.