A month passed quickly. On November 5, 1677, northeasterly winds began to dominate in the northern Indian Ocean, and the currents changed to a counterclockwise direction, which meant that the "Fubo Wanli" was ready to leave for home.

Over the past month, Moree has visited all aspects of Goa City and has gained a general but comprehensive impression of the Portuguese as the center of Indian rule. In the last few days, he even had the privilege of visiting a training session for Portuguese soldiers, which gave him a more intuitive understanding of their combat effectiveness and also illustrated the sincerity of the Portuguese governor.

Morelli observed that the Portuguese military organization was somewhat primitive – at least on the part of the Indian colonies – because the number of armies in the hands of the government was small, but the armies in the hands of the nobility were numerous, very different from the form of the Dutch East India Company, which directly controlled almost all armies.

Taking the current colonial government as an example, the army in the hands of the governor and supported by the colonial treasury is only 300 people, these people only have basic weapons, such as bayonets, spears, muskets, armor, etc., but many of them have been damaged over the years, but for various reasons can not be replaced, so the level of equipment is really not very good, and it is no wonder that the Portuguese are in a hurry to import from the east coast this time to improve the equipment of the soldiers.

Compared to the army in the hands of Viceroy Pedro de Almeida Portugal, the soldiers in the hands of the nobles were much better equipped. These were basically soldiers who were in a very poor economic situation in Portugal and had some battlefield experience, and they got on ships in Lisbon and traveled thousands of miles to Goa and other Indian cities, alone, without food and clothing, except for some shabby wooden houses provided by the sea temporarily, and even eating was very problematic, because the government would not provide food.

At this time, there were three ways to save them from starvation, one was to supplement the shortage of troops directly under the local government through the assessment of the conscripts in each colonial city, the second was to have the local church or big businessmen provide alms to help them through the initial difficulties, and then switch to other jobs, and the third was to become the followers of the local nobles, who supported and paid salaries and served the nobles at the same time.

The last one, in particular, absorbed the largest number of Portuguese soldiers. According to what Moree has seen in Goa these days, on average, each nobleman or gentleman provides food and equipment for about 30 people to serve their own interests. For example, the aristocratic Sylvella family, who owned an entire street of houses in the small town of Rua Direta near Goa, supported almost a full hundred followers. He divided his followers into groups, then distributed uniform and weapons, and placed them around his dwellings and shops to serve his own interests, and to some extent his private army controlled these areas, and even the viceroy of Portugal had to be afraid of him.

Whenever the nobles rode around the city or went to church for religious ceremonies, these followers became an important part of their entourage. And if the nobleman is insulted or treated unjustly, or if for some reason he wants to take revenge on someone and it is not convenient for him to pass through the official scene, then these diners can play a role, many times negatively, because they will disrupt the order.

In addition, the nobles were usually the military governors of many military forts or cities, or the commanders of some ships, and whenever there was an invasion or the need to go on a campaign, the governor of Goa only had to recruit the nobles, as they would set out with a large number of heavily armed followers, so that the government could save a lot of money.

This way of organizing the army of the Portuguese has a great remnant of the medieval feudal system, which is contrary to the general trend of establishing standing armies in various countries today and weakening the fiefdoms and military power of the nobility. And what's even more terrifying is that the government or the aristocracy doesn't always provide for everyone all year round (at least not everyone wants to)! When the summer rainy season came, the government would disband a considerable part of the soldiers, and the nobles would dismiss most of their followers and leave them to fend for themselves. Because this was often the time when the ships had just arrived in India, and the weather was more harsh, rainy, humid, and plagued, the threat of the Dutch from the south would be minimized, so greed (or stupidity?) The nobles were not willing to continue to spend money on a large number of idle soldiers. They would disband most of the people and save money by keeping only the ones they considered the most loyal or skilled in combat.

At this time, in the Portuguese-controlled cities such as Goa and Diu, many of the dejected-looking soldiers would hand over their weapons and equipment, take only a set of clothes and the only possessions they had, and leave the city to work at the docks or work in the surrounding countryside in order to support themselves. It's not that they don't insist on staying in the city, but most of these people, except for a few lucky ones who are hired by merchants for a short period of time, are begging for food, and their lives are very difficult.

It was not until the time of re-enlistment in late September that the nobles opened their purses and re-recruited soldiers to make up for the shortfall in their followers. To be sure, these soldiers were on the road for a subsistence throughout the rainy season, and their training must have been wasted, so that when they regrouped in September, it was difficult to guarantee their combat effectiveness, let alone morale, and it was no wonder that they had repeatedly suffered from years of fighting with the Dutch East India Company, and that such unprofessional soldiers could not be of much use.

Of course, not all nobles did this, and Morreel knew that the same Mr. Sandro who had accompanied him for a long time had provided for more than sixty soldiers, and insisted on providing them with food and shelter during the rainy season. Sometimes, if a soldier is short of daily necessities or sick, he will also sponsor them, which is very good for these people. Therefore, he had a very good reputation among the soldiers, and he was always able to follow the best soldiers, and whenever war came, and when it was necessary to recruit soldiers in large numbers, those poor people were more willing to follow nobles like them with a good reputation, which was also responsible for themselves.

Mo Lie's eel once assessed the combat effectiveness of the more than 60 men under Sandro's command, and finally came to the conclusion that it was on the same level as the militia on the east coast of Xinhuaxia Island, but not as good as the militia of the more strictly trained local county security regiments. From this point of view, it can also explain why Yang Liang led a mixed battalion to land in Diwu Port so easily, and occupied the entire city with a night white-knuckle raid, which is really because the enemy's combat effectiveness is seriously insufficient, and the combat effectiveness of those people is even far inferior to the Portuguese soldiers in Macao, which makes people very speechless.

Therefore, after realizing that these Portuguese land forces could not cause any trouble to the people on the east coast, out of various considerations, Moreel also made a proposal to the Governor of Goa, Mr. Portugal, that is, to greatly increase the number of professional soldiers (i.e., there is also food and pay during the rainy season, and to insist on training armed personnel), and try not to let the backbone elements become day laborers, beggars, coolies or thieves during the rainy season, because this will not only reduce the security troubles, but also increase the defense of Goa and other cities, What if the Dutch have their brains pumping out for the rainy season?

It did not seem to be the first time that the Portuguese governor had received such advice, and he first expressed his gratitude to Morree, but also said that it seemed difficult to persuade the nobles to do so, given the circumstances of the Indian colonies today, which would obviously lead to a sharp increase in their expenses. As for the fact that the colonial government should bear this part of the expenditure, it is simply impossible, because of the special institutional problems of the Indian colonies, the government has very little revenue, and it is losing money every year, so that it has to rely on donations from the nobility and the church to fill the hole. In such a situation, how is it possible to risk financial bankruptcy to expand the army? From this point of view, Portuguese India is really inferior to some Portuguese colonies in Mozambique, Mombasa, Angola and West Africa, although those places are not very profitable, but the manpower and material resources that the government can control are not small at all, so they can organize some armies with decent combat effectiveness, but as the Portuguese governor said, this model cannot be replicated in India, which is a historical legacy and can only be slowly changed through time.

After hearing this, Mo Liege expressed his understanding, thinking that the Goan government seemed to be really short of money, no wonder it was in a hurry to do business with the people on the east coast this time. You know, every business has been levied several taxes when it is in Goa City, and then the export duty is even larger, and the import duty is not a small amount, as long as the trade volume goes up all the way, the financial situation of the Goa colonial government should be greatly improved, and it will not need subsidies from the nobility and the church to maintain, which should be of great help to improve the conditions of the local army.

Therefore, doing business with the Portuguese should focus on raising the agenda, which is not only a question of how much money to make, but also good for the country's strategic layout. After all, it was in the interests of the East Coast Republic of China that the longer the Portuguese held out in India, the stronger they were (and the more powerful they should be, of course, below a certain limit), and the more they could contain the Dutch East India Company (saving them from being "cranky" because they had no decent opponents).

On 8 November, after initialling an agreement with the Viceroy of Portugal, Moreeg bid farewell to the Goan merchants and nobles he had known during this time, and then sailed the battleship "Fubowanli" under the gaze of the Portuguese, leaving the port of Goa, following the ocean current and the northeast monsoon, towards the island of New China.

Halfway through, near the Gulf of Oman, this mighty warship once again approached the port of Muscat, captured a small Arab galleon (which was later abandoned, leaving only about twenty Omani prisoners, because the ships were too small and dilapidated), and then approached the port, shelled a few times from afar, splashed a column of water on the sea, and then turned around beautifully and left the open sea - to tell the truth, the Omanis have never been taken seriously by the people of the east coast, because their country is too small in population and too weak, Unfortunately, this country is a bit stubborn, and the Sultan is not very good at using his brains, so it is really unwise to turn against the people on the East Coast because of some religious aspects and commercial interests in East Africa, so it is inevitable that they should be punished appropriately.

Almost half a month later, the "Fubo Wanli" arrived at Xinhua Port (on the way to Djibouti on the way, sending some supplies to the poor people stationed there), and it was also the home port of the Second Fleet. As soon as he returned to the port, Mo Lie's eel did not delay, and immediately came to the office of Huang Yi, the captain of the New China Pioneer Team, intending to report the results of this voyage.

At that time, Huang Yi's secretaries and attachés were packing up their things and sorting out the files, because their boss Huang had been elected as a member of the new local executive committee and would soon return to their local office.

"Sit down, Captain Qiu (that is, Qiu Haiyang, the former commissioner of the Yicheng District Administration, who is about to take over Huang Yi's position) will arrive by boat in the next few days, if you come back a few days late this time, I'm afraid you won't be able to see me." Let's talk about it, what agreement was reached this time, although these things may not be my hands, but after many years of struggle here, I am willing to listen to any good news about New Huaxia Island. Huang Yi pulled over a chair and said after sitting down.

"There is good news indeed." Mo Lie also found a chair and sat down, and reported: "The matter of starting trade with the Goan side has basically been negotiated, and the prospect should not be underestimated, and it should bring great benefits to the island." Their governor, Pedro Portugal, had agreed to have a monopoly on the East African Transport Company, and these were some of the documents of the negotiations, and they had not yet had time to find someone to translate or transcribe them into official texts, but that was probably what they meant. ”

"Good news indeed." Huang Yi sighed lightly and said: "Hurry up and find someone to translate and transcribe the official documents, while I have time in the past few days, I will approve it, and I will also attach my opinions, and in the future, Captain Qiu will not embarrass everyone." Once such an agreement is implemented, the island's business will surely become more prosperous, attracting more talents and capital to open up the wasteland. Our warriors use their swords to open up land for the country in the front, and more people in the rear need to use plows to manage the land, so that it can be thoroughly digested and used by us. I heard that according to this year's statistics, the population of Xinhuaxia Island is already close to 200,000? Alas, if it weren't for the great plague a year ago, it would have broken 200,000 this year. However, it is not bad, after the trade with India gradually becomes large-scale, the competitiveness of New China will reach a new level, and the population will naturally not have to worry too much. ”