On 28 February 1639, while the northern part of the Trolley was being carried out, four ships of the East Coast Exploration Fleet left the pier of the Fort d'Rau, and headed for the next target, the island of Mozambique.

It was the end of summer, and the sea between the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Agulhas was not as violent as in winter, and the wind and waves were much lighter. The expedition fleet passed through this dangerous sea area relatively smoothly, and then, on March 25, on the day of March 25, reached the Portuguese island of Mozambique again.

The commander of Sebastian Castle in Portugal is said to have taken people to Cape Delgado to quell the rebellion, which is really "busy". As soon as Sergio, the island's tax officer, saw the ship of the people from the east coast coming, he immediately ran over and demanded that the people from the east coast declare the goods. When the island commander returned last year and learned that Sergio had failed to collect taxes from the people on the east coast, he was furious and reprimanded Sergio. So this time, when he saw the four ships of the people from the east coast docking again, Sergio ran over as soon as possible.

When Sergio came running over with a look of courage and righteousness, his "old friend" Navy Second Lieutenant Juan did not embarrass him this time. He handed over to the tax collector Sergio a list of the contents of the East Coast Exploration Fleet's cabins: 25,000 pieces of East Coast Calico, 5,000 pieces of dyed cloth, 200 pieces of armor, 2,000 sabers, 2,000 flintlock rifles, 30 light artillery pieces of the army, and a number of hardware and farm tools.

Guo's adjutant, Second Lieutenant Giwen, paid about 3,000 yuan in taxes at the Mozambican island's 2.5 percent entry tariff. This tax is actually a preferential price, and the tax officer Sergio and several of his entourage have greatly reduced the valuation of the goods of the East Coasters after collecting a benefit fee of dozens of yuan from the East Coasters.

The island is much more prosperous than it was last year when people from the east coast came. This is due to the northeast monsoon that prevails in the northern Indian Ocean every winter and spring. Ocean currents circulate counterclockwise. As a result, many ships from East Asia, India, and the Arabian Peninsula can easily travel south along the coast of East Africa. Then dock at the island of Mozambique for supplies and trade.

Ships from India brought spices, precious stones and calico, ships from East Asia brought tea, porcelain and silk, and ships from the Arabian Peninsula brought dates, slaves and livestock. This small island, which is just over a square kilometer in size, is now home to thousands of long-term and short-term residents who travel from north to south, as well as dozens of ships from various countries.

After a month's voyage, the officers and men of the exploration fleet were extremely tired. At this moment, with the approval of the officers, they began to disembark in batches and go into the city to play. Each person is limited to six hours, and those who fail to return within the time limit will be subject to heavy fines. At the same time, small quantities of goods began to be put up for sale to test local spending power.

News of the arrival of the East Coast soon reached the ears of the Muscat merchants in the city as the East Coast sailors entered the city for recreation. They had been arriving for half a month, and they were so excited that several of the selected trade representatives hurried to the docks with a group of black retinues, asking to meet with the fleet commander of the East Coasters to discuss business.

Guo Zili met with them quickly, and in fact he was trying to contact them as soon as possible. According to the plan, after completing the population deal with Muscat merchants on the island of Mozambique, the merchant ship "Abbot" in the exploration fleet will return to the mainland by the high-speed cruiser "Chaoyong" through Fort River, South Africa. The remaining battleships "Free Trade" and the armed transport ship "Exocet Galicia" will travel north along the coast of East Africa in May when the winds in the North Indian Ocean change direction, heading to the Ottoman port of Suez on the Red Sea coast – with a possible landing expedition in Djibouti on the way.

In the middle of last year. Bordeaux's East Coast trading station in Florence contacted John again. Khornisian, an Armenian businessman, confirmed that the previous agreement was still valid. Thereafter. An east-coast merchant ship sailed into the Ottoman port of Smyrna (i.e., Izmir) via the Mediterranean, becoming yet another pagan state to knock on the door of the Islamic Empire. The goods brought by merchant ships from the East Coast were very popular in the Ottomans. Cotton, woolen and other textiles are better than similar European products in terms of strength and air permeability, and the brightly colored dyed cloth is the dyed cloth imported from India at a high price, and more importantly, the price of these high-quality products is still very cheap, which is a third to half cheaper than other national products sold in China in the past.

In addition to textiles, dyed leather goods are also making a splash in Turkey. It is important to know that the Anatolian leather goods of the Ottoman Empire are also very famous in the Near East, especially for their saddles. However, they are now faced with dyed leather goods produced on the east coast, black, blue, red, brown, etc., and the brightly colored leather goods amazed the Ottoman merchants who came to buy, and the small amount of leather goods shipped over was sold out on the same day.

The last thing that the Turks loved was the artillery brought by the people from the east coast. The prestige of the "Tatartan Cannon" was heard even in Asia Minor, and the Ottoman generals were desperate to have an artillery capable of suppressing the pagan countries of the West, and the "Tatartan Cannon" was undoubtedly the most suitable.

Pasha of Aleppo in the Ottoman Empire, the umbrella of the Hornisian family, specially purchased ten artillery pieces to be equipped with his army, and some more were sent to Istanbul for trial by the Sultan Janissaries. Once they were sure that this kind of artillery was exactly what they needed, they could imagine how huge the military order would be for the East Coast Republic of China. As for arming the Turks, the people on the east coast have no psychological pressure at all, and it should be the Persians, Russians, Poles and Austrians who are in a hurry.

Since the potential market of the Ottoman Empire was so large that it could even vaguely surpass that of the Kingdom of France, which is now the largest export destination on the eastern coast, it was necessary to explore another safe route, after all, the route from the Atlantic Ocean to the Strait of Gibraltar to the Mediterranean Sea was too fragile.

Therefore, Guo Zili was actually in a hurry to complete the population deal with these Muscat merchants in front of him at this moment, and then he still had enough time to complete the supply and find guides locally, and then lead the fleet north in late April and early May to find a route to the Ottoman Empire.

Last time, the middle-aged merchant Said stood up to negotiate with the people on the east coast: "Distinguished guests from afar, this time we have brought the Persian slave girls and children you need, as well as a batch of camels that you have designated for purchase, which have been shipped to the island, and I hope we can complete the transaction as soon as possible." To be honest, we encountered their cavalry and lost a lot of men when we captured the Persians this time, but we still decided to keep the previous price unchanged in order to cherish our friendship. These people and livestock spend a lot of money to eat and drink every day they spend here, and sometimes they even have to face the unreasonable extortion of the Portuguese, the 'Avriti' (meaning devil)! So for the sake of friendship between our two sides, please complete the transaction as soon as possible! ”

After listening to Second Lieutenant Juan's translation of Said's words, Guo Zili nodded reservedly and approved the Muscat merchant's request: "I agree to your request, Muscat, now please tell me how much cargo you have brought?" ”

"There were 609 Persian slave girls, all of whom were young and middle-aged women who could give birth; There are 204 children, and most of them are over 12 years old. In addition, there are 20 camels, which you also need. According to our previous agreement, the total amount converted into your currency is 31871.6 yuan. You can pay in cash and of course you can also pay for the goods, but the price of the goods needs to be decided by both of us. Said said as he took out a ledger from his hand and flipped through it.

"Of course we are willing to pay for the goods." Guo Zili waved his hand, and his adjutant Second Lieutenant Jiwen also handed over a ledger - this was a list of all the cargo carried by the exploration fleet.

After Guo Zili looked at the list, he immediately took a pen and circled the list a few times, and said to Said: "I know that the thing you need most now is weapons. Do you have any objection to two thousand flintlock rifles, two thousand sharp sabers, and a hundred collars of light and sturdy armor to settle the full price of the goods? If not, then we can trade now. ”

After hearing this, Saeed discussed it with a few companions around him, and then saw him staring at Guo Zili with burning eyes, and asked, "May I ask if the Tatartan cannon is not on the list for sale?" If so, I think we can buy a few. ”

"Unfortunately, this batch of cannons is not on the list for sale. This is the artillery we are going to bring to the Ottoman Empire for sale, if you really need it, you can ask for it separately, and next time we will bring some cannons to trade with you, but not this time. Guo Zili said.

He knew very well whose army these Muscat merchants bought weapons back to equip them, and he didn't bother to care about the mess, but this batch of artillery really couldn't do it. It was a greeting gift from the East Coast to the Ottoman Pasha (governor) stationed in Cairo. In the future, to open up the trade route of the African route, it is indispensable to contact this senior official, and it is impossible not to make investments in advance.

"Okay, then please bring at least ten cannons next year, we need this weapon very much." Said was a little disappointed, but said, "Well, we can trade now." (To be continued......)