1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 3675

For Persia and the Mughal Empire, this place was a remote frontier far away from the center of the empire, with few people and few resources, and had only limited military value.

In fact, winning or losing in this place does not mean much to either country. So although the two countries use this as a boundary and have stationed troops, they are just pretending to use it to declare sovereignty and prevent the other side from quietly encroaching on their territory. They have no intention of really starting a war in this place.

So when the garrisons of both sides saw such a large armed fleet appear near the coast, they subconsciously thought that it was the enemy's troops and hurriedly prepared to fight.

Qian Tiandun also saw through the telescope that the defenders on the coast were adjusting the muzzles of their guns and aiming towards his position.

However, he was not worried about this at all. The artillery used by these garrison troops were all old-style muzzle-loading artillery with extremely limited power and range. They could not hit the Hai Han fleet at all at the current distance.

Seeing this scene, Li Yuande couldn't help but sigh: "They really treat this desolate mountain area as a treasure! They don't even think about the fact that there are not even any trees here. Who would go to the trouble of sending troops to attack here!"

Qian Tiandun smiled and said, "To us, this is just an endless desert, but to them, this is a land that must be defended! Seeing our fleet approaching, they did not abandon their duties and flee. This is commendable courage!"

However, Qian Tiandun had no intention of attacking here. He was just curious and wanted to see what the border fortresses of the two countries looked like. Seeing that the defenders showed obvious vigilance, he ordered the fleet to stop approaching the coast to avoid unnecessary conflicts.

At this distance, the telescope can already roughly see the situation on the shore. It's a pity that Qian Tiandun is now old and can no longer climb up the mast to look out like he did when he was young, so the field of vision is not particularly ideal.

The two fortresses on the coast are about five miles apart. The yellowish earth walls should be built with local earth and stones. They are covered with dense battlements, shooting holes, and gun positions every ten feet or so.

The fortress was built according to the terrain, with low outside and high inside, showing a multi-layer defense layout, which can form a three-dimensional firepower output in wartime.

However, probably due to local conditions, the fortresses built by these two countries were not large in scale. In Qian Tiandun's opinion, being able to station a thousand people was already the upper limit.

Qian Tiandun had no interest in going ashore to visit a small place like this. After taking a general look at the situation, he ordered to continue moving westward.

After leaving the port of Surat, along the way, there were few ports or even fishing villages on the coast, and there were very few ships traveling on the sea. It was nothing like the bustling coastline of Hai Han.

Dong Shangyi and Li Yuande also went from being excited when they first set out to being lazy, because there were so few ports in this area that the environment was simply the worst that could be for cross-border maritime trade.

However, they also knew that Qian Tiandun must have had a purpose in setting up this route, and there were actually quite a few Persian merchant ships traveling between the East and the West, which could be seen in almost all major ports in the South China Sea. This meant that Persia must also have large ports similar to regional trade centers.

As they expected, after passing this desolate coast, the fleet entered a huge strait, which was more than 100 miles wide. The middle section of the southern coast pierced out like a sharp corner, making the terrain of the strait take a sharp turn here. According to the mark on the nautical chart, this place is called the Strait of Hormuz.

After arriving in this sea area, the number of ships on the sea surface increased visibly, and there were also Portuguese merchant ships that they were very familiar with. "The Portuguese came here a long time ago, and some people say that the place name here was given by the Portuguese, because the place they occupied here was called Hormuz Island."

Seeing that they had arrived at one of the most important destinations of this trip, Qian Tiandun took the time to give the young people around him a general description of the situation here.

The area north of the Strait of Hormuz is the territory of Persia, while the Arabian Peninsula to the south is currently under the jurisdiction of the Ottoman Empire. To the east of the Strait is the vast Indian Ocean, and to the west is a huge semi-enclosed bay called the Persian Gulf.

"How big is this bay? It's roughly equivalent to two Fujian provinces. I think you have an idea of ​​how big this bay is!"

Dong Shangyi was secretly astonished when he heard this. Such a huge semi-enclosed bay is indeed rare in the world. The Strait of Hormuz is the only sea route in and out of the Persian Gulf. Its importance can be imagined. No wonder the waterway here is so busy.

Li Yuande then raised a question: "On the way down, I observed the land on the north bank. As far as the eye can see, it is all mountainous desert. Is it said that the powerful Persian Empire was built in such a place? Since the Strait of Hormuz is so narrow, why didn't Persia raise troops to cross the sea and occupy some land on the south bank of the Persian Gulf?"

Qian Tiandun smiled and said, "The answer is actually very simple, because the geographical environment on the south bank is not much better, and it can even be said to be worse, because the Arabian Peninsula on the south bank is thousands of miles in radius, and most of the area is a desert with no grass growing!"

This answer was completely beyond Li Yuande's expectations. After a moment's pause, he asked, "If that's the case, then there aren't many people living on the southern coast of the Persian Gulf?"

Qian Tiandun nodded and said, "The living conditions are poor, the land is vast and the population is sparse, and there are not many places suitable for settlement. You can still see some green along the coast outside the Strait of Hormuz, but after crossing the strait, the southern coast is all sand."

Li Yuande frowned and said, "What business can we do in such a desolate place? If we leave the ship empty after traveling so far, we will lose a lot of money!"

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Qian Tiandun was confident about this and said, "Don't worry about this problem. As long as we can establish a foothold here, our descendants will live here for hundreds of years. There is no need to worry about running out of money."

Li Yuande was surprised and asked, "Could it be that there are mountains of gold and silver buried under this ground?"

Qian Tiandun smiled and said, "Although it's not a mountain of gold and silver, it's almost the same. As for what treasures are buried there, you will know in the future."

The underground energy in the area around the Persian Gulf will still be inexhaustible even after hundreds of years. It is equivalent to a treasure trove containing endless wealth.

Although many people in Hai Han understand the value of this place, only a few can actually come here and organize colonization and development. Qian Tiandun was the first to come here, which is equivalent to seizing the initiative. In the future, this place will definitely have a place for the descendants of the Qian family.

Although Li Yuande and Dong Shangyi did not know the details of this place, they knew very well that Qian Tiandun never lied. When he said that there were priceless treasures in this place, it must be true, and their hearts immediately warmed up.