"It's so hot!" Although he had lived here for several years, Captain Ashto was still not well adapted to the hot climate, even though it was only May.

He was accompanied by a humble-looking Indian, of modest origin, a "kunbi" (a group of landed Shudras) who admired the famous poet Tukram and the son of a small merchant on the Deccan plateau, who was also from Kumbi, and often boasted in front of the people on the east coast how powerful this man was, so much so that Captain Achto knew the man's poetry—

“…… You've done a great job, god! Tuka dances and rolls at your feet. ”

“…… Our servants of Vishnu are softer than wax, yet strong enough to crush thunder and lightning. Dead but alive, asleep but awake, no matter how claimed, we always continue to give. ”

Captain Ehito was a little "strange" about these poems, which may have been incomprehensible due to his different cultural backgrounds, and he always felt that the content and idea of some of the poems written by Tukram were a little strange, although many people admired him. But so what? The people of the East Coast will not hold him and get used to him, I don't care what books you usually read and what poems you read, now you have to work hard for me, don't be lazy!

It is said that there are more than 5,000 Indian inhabitants on the island today, most of whom are Rajputs, who make a living from farming, raising livestock, fishing and commerce. Then there were a number of Portuguese and Indo-Portuguese people, numbering more than 1,000 people, who were mostly merchants, priests, soldiers, sailors, nobles or government officials, occupying the upper middle classes of society, even the Brahmins.

Now, of course, there is a new class on this island, which is very close to the mainland. The Brahmins must have disliked it, because they already had a Portuguese on their heads, and now it is said that there is a class even better than the Portuguese—this and this, is this not to relegate them to the third estate? Every time I think of this, those Indian clergy, big businessmen, and landlords on Diu Island can't help but feel sad, and their status has been lowered!

Captain Ashto had little interest in the bizarre and deep-seated hierarchies in the minds of Indians, but he acknowledged that they divided Indian society as a whole, pitting the various classes against each other and unifying them, which was very conducive to the rule of foreign colonizers. Historically, there were white people from the north, Mongolians and Portuguese from the nearest, and now people from the east coast have also come by big boats, and the life of Indians is really "colorful".

To be sure, the Portuguese showed great sincerity in sharing the so-called familiar land of Diu with the people of the eastern coast. Because it has undergone more than 100 years of construction, the infrastructure cannot be said to be the best, but it is definitely not bad, lighthouses, batteries, docks, warehouses, roads, military camps, hospitals, government facilities are all available, and it has cost the Portuguese a lot of effort and financial resources.

Captain Ehito had carefully examined the stone forts, forts, and docks built by the Portuguese, which had survived the wind and rain and were still in use today. He pondered that now the new funds allocated to them by the local government for the Diwu merchant station will soon be in place - grandma's, this fund process has been going on for almost a year, and it is impossible to see through the autumn water - he has full authority on Diu Island, and he intends to work with the Portuguese to take a good inventory of the various buildings built on the island more than a hundred years ago, the demolition and reconstruction of the demolition and reconstruction, the repair of the repair, the need to modernize the infrastructure such as lighthouses, forts, and docks should also be put on the agenda, in short, this island shared by both sides- Of course, the people on the east coast may have seen it as their own monopoly – a radical makeover is expected to cost more than $60,000, and that's with the massive hiring of seasonal Indian day laborers on the mainland across the island.

The New Huaxia Island, which hosts the trading post on Diu Island, has instructed that if there are insufficient funds to repair the premises and hire people, part of the trade profits can be withheld and used, but the accounts must be properly accounted for. This promise further enhanced the financial resources of the Diu Island Trading Station, so that they had more money to do other things - don't believe it, after several years of construction and promotion, the Diu Island Trading Station has begun to gradually exert its strength, through the Portuguese distribution network, continue to sell many East Coast specialty commodities including weapons, military materials, hardware products, vehicles, medicines to the northwest of India, and then buy a large number of horses, dried fruits, spices, opium, The annual trade volume of raw silk, precious stones, perfumes, tapestries and other Indian specialties exceeded 200,000 yuan last year and is expected to reach a new high this year.

The Indian subcontinent is not peaceful, and wars cannot be said to be frequent, but they are definitely not small, so there is a lot of demand for weapons and military resources. The flintlock pistols produced by the East Coast people are of good quality, long life, high accuracy, cheap and most importantly, stable supply, which is very popular with Indians and sells a lot. Of course, there is also a lot of military money indirectly flowing into the hands of the nearby Moorish countries, after all, these groups are more capable of tossing than Hindus, and it is common to fight two wars in three days, so business is very prosperous.

It is worth mentioning that, thanks to the protests of the Xinhuaxia Island to the mainland many years ago, the trading companies that now sell the goods sold to other places through the island's entrepot trade must be registered in Xinhuaxia Island. The practice of registering in a port on the mainland (which means that taxes and profits will also fall on the mainland) and then setting up offices and business addresses to conduct entrepot trade on the island has been strictly prohibited, in order to appease the discontent of the island and not to make people feel that the exploitation is too serious.

These trading enterprises, which are mainly registered in Xinhua County, have basically spent all their money after selling many special commodities bought from the mainland to India, and have purchased a large number of various commodities needed by the mainland of New China, South Africa, and South America, and have made a lot of profits. Needless to say, in the East Coast Republic of China, where consumption power is increasing, the people's resistance to goods from India is also very poor, and the goods at every Indian specialty exhibition will be snapped up, making the wholesalers laugh from ear to ear, and the government will naturally receive a soft hand in collecting taxes.

Such a hot trade situation has naturally aroused the interest of many people, so the increase in investment in the Diu Island trading station, whether at the government level or the private level, is naturally a voice of approval. India has now become the darling of many businessmen on New Huaxia Island.

Naturally, the navy would be happy to see India's trade become another high-speed growth point for the economy of New Huaxia Island. On the one hand, because their home port is on Xinhuaxia Island, they naturally hope that the economy here will prosper and the people will be stable and prosperous; On the other hand, the more prosperous and prosperous the trade in the Indian Ocean, the more important their Second Fleet becomes, isn't it? After all, how can this business be done without the ships of the Second Fleet to escort them? Therefore, it is reasonable to strengthen investment in the Second Fleet in the future, and this matter has already been approved by the Joint Staff Headquarters at the local executive committee level, and the second fleet is included in the new round of naval capital increase and construction plan.

The trading station on the island of Diu, where Captain Ehito and the others are currently located, is also technically an asset of the Navy's Second Fleet. Of course, there was a separation of military and political affairs, and the merchant post itself was to be managed by professionals, and the attached fortresses, lighthouses, batteries, and ports were to be managed by the navy, that is, Captain Eihito.

The main task of this early Italian immigrant, who is already quite young, is to build an armed force of about 1,000 people with less than 100 backbone veterans and non-commissioned officers from Xinhuaxia Island that he currently has at hand.

The presence of this force is actually very important. First of all, the people on the eastern coast could not always rely on the Portuguese for protection, and their armed forces on the island of Diu were also very pitiful, only about 300 men, and less than a third of the professional soldiers, so the combat effectiveness can be imagined. Most of these people were the lucky ones who survived under the white-knuckle assault when Yang Liang led people to raid Diwu Island, and they had already been frightened, and now it is a day by day, and the safety of the entire island is handed over to them, which is really not very reassuring, so it is necessary to have a reliable armed force that is directly controlled by themselves.

Secondly, according to the plans of the local high-tops, the future is to take over the entire island of Diu from the Portuguese - what? Could the Portuguese be reluctant? No, their opinion doesn't matter! It doesn't matter at all! It's a big deal to give a compensation of 100,000 and 200,000 yuan - and at the same time, according to the changes in the situation in the Indian subcontinent, we will see if we can find an opportunity to enter the mainland, so that the benefits of trade and other aspects will probably be much greater.

And speaking of this, it is impossible not to mention the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, who is now in the middle of the day. This guy is honestly very personable and a very tough person. It would be quite difficult to pry a piece of Indian land out of his hands. The Portuguese, who now own the most land in India, also rushed early, defeating the princes of the local princely states before the Mughal dynasty even rose up, and gained a lot of land. After the establishment of the Mughal Dynasty, due to various factors, the Portuguese also tacitly accepted the occupation of these lands by the Portuguese, and did not necessarily send troops to recover them.

Therefore, in such a context, it was not easy for the easterners to gain a foothold in India, unless they were willing to go to all-out war with the Mughals. But that would be extremely stupid, because even if the war is won (which is unlikely), it is difficult to say whether the business will continue or not, so it is very undesirable.

From this point of view, it is indeed a great favor for the Portuguese to pull people from the east coast to set up a trading post on the island of Diu, and it is not an exaggeration to say that it is a stepping stone to directly enter the Indian market. With Diu, the people of the east coast have a foothold in India, and the rest can be taken care of. Today, the Mughal dynasty flourished like flowers and fire, but years of continuous war have exhausted the country's national strength. In the event of any change in the future, such as the death of the powerful monarch Aurangzeb, etc., then the various contradictions that had been suppressed in the country are likely to erupt in a short period of time, and then cause great damage. I dare not say that the country will fall apart because of this, but local rebellions will definitely break out one after another, and then it will be an opportunity for the people of the East Coast, and of course it will be an opportunity for all interested foreign colonists.

Think of the Indian subcontinent, with its population of more than 100 million, what a huge fortune! With such a population, even if there are no natural resources on the continent – which is impossible to implement, India is very rich in resources – the wealth that can be created by this 100 million people alone is enough to make people dizzy. From this point of view, the value of the trading station on the island of Diu is even more immeasurable.

Captain Ashto, as the chief of the Diu Island trading station and the attached batteries, was also well aware of these conditions. Therefore, he understood the importance of raising a force of the right size in the hands of the East Coasters themselves. At present, he has recruited more than 200 Rajput soldiers from Diu and the opposite continent, bringing the total number of soldiers in this reserve force called the Diu garrison to more than 300 - many of the Rajput soldiers recruited are former soldiers who were dismissed by the Portuguese before the rainy season, and the people on the east coast recruited them as professional soldiers and paid them for a long time, these people are still very grateful, although the Portuguese may not be happy, but who cares?

In the next step, Captain Ehito plans to find a way to get some Ottoman soldiers who have been exiled to New Huaxia Island, and the number of soldiers will be controlled at about 200. He planned to report to his superiors for the remaining shortage of nearly 500 people, and use the "Liangjiazi" militia from the counties of Xinhuaxia Island to fill the position, and eventually make up the establishment of 1,000 people - the living conditions of the militia of Xinhuaxia Island are good, and they may not be willing to go across the ocean to serve in India, so in the end, most of this matter will be in the form of compulsory assignment in various counties in turn.

After the formation of the Diu garrison, a considerable number of artillery had to be recruited. The number of Portuguese battery gunners left is not very large, and many of them have very problematic skills and levels, so they continue to be replaced and replenished. This matter also has to fall on the side of Xinhuaxia Island. And only when the troops and batteries were completely replenished could they deal with threats from all sides, such as the Dutch East India Company.