Chapter 607 At the End of 1488 AD, a Letter From the East, the Seres!

Gold candlesticks hang on the four walls of the hall, showing the wealth of the Portuguese royal family. The candlelight shines brightly, illuminating the large oil statue of the Virgin, like the presence of the Holy Spirit. The Virgin's benevolent smile, with the light of humanity, was looking at the two people in the temple. This is the latest sacred painting from the city-states of the Apennine Peninsula. It completely breaks through the rigidity and abstraction of traditional icons and makes the saints come to life!

Under the gaze of the Virgin, Dias lowered his head and carefully read the precious letter in his hand. This letter took more than half a year and traveled more than 8,000 miles before arriving at the court in Sintra, bringing precious eastern intelligence.

"My esteemed Majesty, your loyal knight, Pero da Covilhã reports to you that for the grace of the Lord and the glory of the kingdom, I am about to set off from Cairo to the most important holy place of the stars and the moon, I have already learned many rumors about India and Seris from the merchants who traveled to the place where the holy book first appeared in the legend, and there will be more detailed news about sea routes on the more eastern coast!"

"Chevalier Pero da Covilhã? It's him!"

Seeing this, Diaz's expression flashed, thoughtfully. He thought of a young face, with Moorish features, pious and fearless.

"Well. Little Perot was born in the Kingdom, a native of Beira, and once served for the younger brother of the Duke of Medina Sidonia. A few years ago, he became my knight squire and took care of my horses. Even though I have canonized him As a knight, he still considers himself a squire."

Speaking of this, Joao II smiled. Little Perot's loyalty was the reason why he chose the other party as the envoy and spy of the Kingdom of Portugal.

"Little Perot has Moorish ancestry in his ancestors. He is very proficient in Arabic and his appearance is easy to confuse. Dias, two years ago, you sailed a sea ship from the southern continent to the east. And little Perot Then go to Egypt, infiltrate the Arab caravans, and search for specific information about India and Seris from the traditional Silk Road. What you discover is the kingdom’s top secret!”

Hearing this, Dias nodded slowly. He looked forward to it and continued reading.

".The Egyptian Mamluk generals and the Ottoman army have just concluded a battle that lasted several years in Adana in the north of the Syrian province. Tens of thousands of Mamluk troops mobilized and defeated two Ottoman armies. , and captured the other party's army commander. The Ottomans' ambition to expand into Syria was temporarily repelled. As I write this letter, Cairo is holding a victory celebration and distributing free bread."

"It's just that the Egyptian generals have deep conflicts and frequent internal fights. This ancient Pharaoh's country seems to be full of a stale flavor. In contrast, the Ottoman Sultan has a formidable fighting spirit like lightning. Phew! There is no distinction between good and evil in pagan wars, they are all fought by devils, and of the two devils, I prefer the new one."

Seeing this, Dias frowned. Because of the fall of Constantinople, God's people generally hated and feared the rapidly rising Ottomans. The Mamluk generals in the southern continent have long lost their aggressive spirit and no longer pose a threat to the world of God. In fact, the Kingdom of Portugal and the Mamluk generals of Egypt even had secret business relationships. And this precious letter was delivered back through such channels.

"Your Majesty, in the process of talking with Egyptian merchants, I discovered the source of their spices and heard more accurate news from the East. Their spices are all from the trading node in the southeast of the Red Sea, connecting the port city of Aden in the southern continent Come here. You can find merchant ships traveling to and from India, and this pagan port city will also be my next goal!”

"The port city connected to the southern continent, Aden?"

Dias was slightly startled. He had a vague premonition that it was the northernmost point on the east side of the southern continent.

"When I arrived in Aden, there were not only ships going to India, but also ships going to the east side of the southern continent. According to another businessman in Lower Egypt, all the way south from Aden, the entire east side of the southern continent. They are the dark-skinned tribes who believe in the stars and the moon. And the legendary kingdom of King Solomon, where the Gate of Alexander and the Fountain of Youth are located, the Kingdom of Elder John, is surrounded by the dark-skinned tribes of the stars and the moon!”

"Your Majesty, after my repeated calculations, the location of Elder John's Kingdom is at the southernmost end of the upper reaches of the Nile River, somewhere between 15 degrees north latitude and the equator, west of the port of Aden!"

"Ah? Between 15 degrees north latitude and the equator!"

Seeing this exact description, Dias was shocked. He finally understood the reason why the king asked about the latitude of the voyage. It turns out that from the Cape of Good Hope east to north, along the edge of the southern continent, you have to travel a full 40 latitudes to find the country of Elder John!

"Dias, little Pero told me that the eastern side of the southern continent, which stretches for thousands of miles, is a black-skinned country that believes in the Star and Moon. There are many merchant fleets of the Star and Moon Sect there, especially the coastal Oman It is said that there is a Malik dynasty in the east of the peninsula near India!"

Speaking of this, João II looked solemn and spoke in a deep voice.

"These pagan merchant fleets control the spice trade in India. If the kingdom's merchant fleet wants to go north, they must be defeated!"

"Omanis?."

Dias nodded and remained silent. The kingdom's expedition fleet worked hard to circumvent the southern continent and head north. Unexpectedly, in the end, we would still bump into the fleet of Xingyue Pagans!

"So, the kingdom should build maritime bases along the southern continent, but don't be too aggressive. Before accumulating enough strength, don't advance too much and attract the pagan navy."

John II lowered his eyes and set a new maritime strategy. The route to East Africa is too far, blocked by the storms of the Cape of Good Hope, and the enemy is too powerful. At this stage, it is still necessary to consolidate the interests of the West African coast, build more fortresses and bases, and control the coastal states and gold mines.

Hearing the king's implication, Dias was a little anxious. He spoke again earnestly.

"Your Majesty! The route to India is only the last step away! I am willing to lead the fleet and go to sea again"

John II stretched out his hand to stop the royal steward's request.

"Dias, don't be impatient. Read on. Little Perot will sneak into the Omani fleet and follow them to India. Moreover, he will record the latitude and signs along the way to provide more accurate information for the kingdom's future navigation!"

".Yes."

Dias pursed his lips and looked at the damaged letter in his hand again. For the navigators of the Kingdom of Portugal, the East has never been so close.

"Your Majesty, I learned from an Indian sailor that the lands once conquered by Alexander the Great are now occupied by the Kingdom of the Star and the Moon! The Star and the Moon have penetrated into the rich India. The Mongolian Khan who once defeated the Ottomans and occupied Persia and northwest India has died for many years. His empire has also been split apart"

"And in Mesopotamia, the Turkmen Aries Dynasty is also falling into division and civil strife. The threat from the Ottomans in the East has all disappeared, and there is no longer any check and balance"

Seeing this, Dias's expression became solemn. He sighed secretly and looked at the end of the letter again.

"May God bless you! Your Majesty, at the end of the letter, I have one last piece of good news! That is the information about the Silk Kingdom of the East, the Seres!"

"More than fifty years ago, the emperor of the Seres sent an unusually large merchant fleet to the port of Aden! It is said that the fleet had one or two hundred large carracks, more than ten thousand sailors and soldiers, fully loaded with expensive silk and porcelain from the East, coming from the southernmost part of the Indian continent. The huge wealth brought by the fleet made the Omani caravans, even half a century later, never forget it!"

"What! One or two hundred large carracks, more than ten thousand sailors and soldiers?"

Dias's face was full of shock. After a moment, he shook his head and laughed. Such a huge navy is even more than the sum of all Western European countries at this time. It must be a rumor that has been spread by word of mouth! However, the silk and porcelain of the Seres

Dias raised his head and looked at John II. Both of them flashed with an extremely eager light in their eyes! A thin Byzantine silk short coat is worth two hundred Venetian ducats, almost a hundred times its own weight. And a silk robe that really comes from Seres, that value is enough to drive the nobles of the kingdom crazy!

"The Silk Country where the Seres of the East flow with wealth"

Dias held the letter paper in his hand carefully, just like holding the exquisite and expensive silk of the Seres. He couldn't wait to look at the end of the letter.

"Merciful Lord, bless the kingdom! Your Majesty, I will take the Omani merchant ship to the Holy Land of Stars and Moon, and then go to the port of Aden to find the rich India and Seres!"

"I also bought some Seres paper from the Omanis, on which there are poems composed of a thousand Seres characters, which are said to be for the enlightenment of young children. And in the future, if the kingdom wants to trade with the Seres, it must master their characters. May the Lord bless me and let me return safely!"

"A thousand enlightenment characters? Seres poems?"

Dias looked at the king with curiosity in his eyes. The Seres have been looming in ancient epics for thousands of years. Everything about them seems to be covered with a veil. In addition to the silk and porcelain that symbolize wealth, they also seem to have a very ancient and splendid civilization.

"Well. The writing of the Seres is the same as that recorded by ancient Roman scholars. It is a strange block text that looks like a mysterious picture."

John II nodded and smiled faintly.

"I have asked the royal court envoy to study it carefully. The kingdom's fleet keeps moving forward. One day, we will meet the Seres and obtain the real wealth of the East!"

Pêro da Covilh, the first Portuguese explorer to reach India by land and sea during the Age of Exploration. Well, he is also a great spy of Portuguese civilization. (つ)つ