Chapter 277: Conquest of the East

While Rome was fighting with Venice and Genoa, the newly established East India Company, led by Governor Mason, began to conquer the East.

Relying on the capital and a large number of entourage, Androniko Port became stronger. A large number of ships docked at the port, Andrea Island and the Indian trading post. Mason was ready to take the first step in conquering the East.

In order to ensure the smooth flow of Indian trade, it is necessary to clear the merchants and pirates of the Crescent Church, and they have two main bases, one in Aden and the other in Muscat.

As an important transit point for trade between the East and the West, Aden was naturally heavily guarded by the rulers. But in order to initially stabilize the trade line, Aden must be taken.

Now Mason can command a maximum of 3,000 soldiers, many of whom are converts to Orthodoxy. But fortunately, they have a lot of muskets, and the terrain of Aden is also suitable for shipboard artillery attacks.

In these four months, Mason launched the first war. It took 27 days to capture the trading city of Aden, not only because of the gap in weapons between the two sides, but also because the Rasouli Sultanate that ruled here was unable to gather a large army to rescue it. The local tribal chieftain controlled everything. It was a country in a nice way, but in fact it was a tribal alliance.

Daniel, the head of the company's missionary department who went with Mason and a member of the Andre Society blessed by Constantinople, used interests to persuade a small tribe to work for the company. The local unrest was quickly settled.

The East India Company built fortresses and managed trade here, and also began to preach in the Arab region. The impact of the capture of Aden has been heard in the Arab region. More than 40 tribes formed a coalition to recapture the cornucopia. Rasouli Sultan also took the field in person, and the two sides fought a decisive battle in Ayton, not far from Aden.

The battle lasted from morning to afternoon. Due to the addition of small artillery and muskets, most of the cavalry units that Arabia was proud of were destroyed. Rasouli Sultan also died in the chaos, and Rome ensured the occupation of Aden.

The company also went deep into the East African plateau and met King David, who was sidelined by the locals. He and his dynasty were nominal Christians, but their power was basically sidelined by the local forces of the Crescent Church.

David received the envoys sent by the company and generously granted them the right to trade and establish trading posts here. His idea was to let the company deal with those local snakes. If they won, they could take back the land, and if they lost, it would be nothing.

The company also knew that this was to drive the tiger to swallow the wolf, but they were also happy to do so. After all, they were not afraid of dealing with pagans.

The East India Company continued to build trading posts in India. They expanded the local scale and used religion and gold coins to make the local people submit to their rule. Moreover, they negotiated directly with local rulers, such as the rulers of the Vijayanagar Empire, to obtain a place for trade.

The company built a firearms factory, an arsenal, and a shipyard in Andronikos Port. The supply of firearms was basically guaranteed, and then it continued to expand. In Yemen, in India, and in East Africa. The company sold the local specialties to Europe, earning the difference from the price, and also collected taxes from the people under its rule to solve financial problems.

At the same time that Peter conquered Bosnia, the East India Company and the Sultanate of Ifat went to war. Sultan Yeshaq I led his army to attack Andronikos, but failed. Then the company attacked the capital, Sera, with a small number of troops. The Sultan was shocked and hurriedly fled inland with his confidants and property, and Sera fell.

Then the company sent people to advance, and took a large area of ​​land in a month. The Sultan of Ifat had to flee. The Sultanate was destroyed by the East India Company.

Mason divided these colonies into administrative areas, and each place was managed by a governor. Among them, the colony on the East African Plateau is currently the largest colony, responsible for providing the company with agricultural crops such as food and coffee. Cotton is provided near Aden, and spices are provided in India. The company set up trading houses and tax offices in various places to ensure that there is no problem with basic tax collection.

The Mamluks' desire to join the war against Rome also made the East India Company feel that they had to do something for the country. The headquarters of Constantinople is too far from the East, and Mason must hit Venice hard.

Mason took advantage of the control of the Red Sea export and began to rob and kill spice merchant ships transporting to Egypt. At the same time, he also transported spices to Egypt, and the sales price to Venice doubled. Egypt's spice trade declined, and the Sultan's income plummeted.

The Mamluks were worried. The Sultan did not expect that Rome had foreign aid in the Red Sea. And the most important spice trade was directly cut off, which put Egypt's income in danger.

However, the Sultan found that the spice trade was not cut off all at once. The foreign aid only destroyed the fleet trading with Venice, so it was aimed at Venice.

In this case, the agreement with Venice must be carefully considered. After all, they discussed the dispatch of troops with them before. There is no hindrance to the company's business in Egypt. If they want to dig something, then go.

The company's business in Egypt can provide part of the Mamluk's tax revenue every year. Relying on the transfer of rights, the company successfully won the tax-farming rights of the small city of Suez and nearby land. In this way, the company could continue to contribute to the canal project, including the black slaves purchased from East Africa, and it would be opened within fifty years.

As the first European colonial institution for oriental trade, the East India Company continued to explore the East. It bypassed the southernmost tip of India and came to a port, from which it imported gems and spices. The company set up a trading post here, which was also a way to get rid of middlemen and make a profit.

The company divided the fleet into two groups, one larger one to explore the East, and the other to explore southward along the coastline. The luxury goods such as ivory and gold harvested from the East African Plateau made the company's middle-level management believe that there was still a fertile land in the south. For this reason, an expedition was organized to explore the south.

After taking Aden, their eyes turned to the Persian Gulf. The two trading cities of Muscat and Hormuz have always been important trading nodes. From here, you can reach Basra, the most important city in Arabia, and then go upstream on the Tigris and Euphrates rivers to reach the Levant and Anatolia, which is not far from Rome.

A lot of benefits are waiting for the company, but now the company is better off continuing to operate its own property. Blind expansion has expanded the company's size a lot, but it has not been properly digested. In fact, this is all virtual. It must be transformed into good assets to serve the empire.