Chapter 332 Occupying Temasek
"Go on, everyone is ready to fight."
Mason drew his sword and began to issue close combat orders. Although many ships were destroyed by Greek fire, they were still prepared to join forces and fight.
The ships in the East have never seen this thing before, and even if they did, it would be too late now. The pirates were either burned to death or jumped into the sea.
Chen Zuyi saw that the other party was well prepared and planned to retreat, but now they were in chaos. Some people ran away when they saw the Greek fire, but the ships behind them didn't know what was going on, so the two sides collided.
"hateful"
At this time, Chen Zuyi was ready to run away, but Mason was able to make him run away and directly let people chase him. He also said that whoever catches the leader, whether it is a domestic sailor or an enemy soldier, will be rewarded heavily.
In just one day, the fleet led by Mason defeated the pirate leader who wreaked havoc in Malacca. More than 5,000 people died. The ship was filled with prisoners. Of course, the leader was also captured. Chen Zuyi could have escaped. But the people below thought that if he sacrificed him to the enemy, they might be able to let them go, so he was caught.
With the demise of the largest pirate group, Mason quickly ordered to go to Temasek to retrieve his lair.
"I saw the boat, the boss is back."
The pirates on the island cheered, and some ran directly to the dock to prepare for unloading. But as they got closer, they discovered that the ships were different from theirs and had a purple flag on them.
Then there was a battle without suspense. The remaining pirates on the island surrendered smoothly. The entire Temasek was under the management of Mason, and he raised the double-headed eagle flag of Eastern Rome here.
Here they also found old friends, several sailors who had been captured before and were taken to Temasek to work as coolies, and now they are finally free.
"Why did you come?"
This was the first thing they said after seeing the Roman fleet. Mason apologized to them and then began to collect basic information about the island.
The population of this island does not exceed 5,000, and the required fresh water must be obtained from the north. However, because it is in a relatively critical position, there are many merchant ships coming and going, which has also enriched many pirate groups headed by Chen Zuyi.
In order to get a lighter punishment, the pirates who stayed on the island volunteered to tell Mason where the pirates' stolen property was hidden.
In these years, Chen Zuyi attacked more than 50 coastal cities and robbed countless merchant ships. Of course, there is also a lot of treasure left behind. In addition to gold and silver, there are also various jewelry, jewelry, and a large number of weapons. Now these all belong to the East India Company.
After Mason arrived, he began to announce his first order: All slaves will be free from now on. This made the local slaves cheer and kneel down to thank the great master for his kindness.
"Sir, they are all thanking you."
Mason looked at the people below, and then at the current island. He knew that if he wanted to control this place for a long time, he had to build an impregnable fortress.
News of the annihilation of Chen Zuyi's pirate group spread very quickly, and a man from Old Port who claimed to be the local king sent someone to thank Mason for his contribution to regional peace.
When Mason faced these people with different appearances, he also looked for names from the biography of the Roman Empire that he carried with him. It was probably from the time of Caesar that trade between the two countries began. Oriental silk and porcelain were very popular with the Roman Empire. . Therefore, these people were named after the ancient Roman name for the eastern countries, that is, the Seris.
Seris make up the majority in Temasek, and number as many as 100,000 in the Old Port area. Most of them came here because of the war. Mason was very grateful for helping them deal with the biggest pirate. The Orthodox priests around Mason took the opportunity to vigorously promote the doctrine and prepared to build a church here.
Now that the mission was completed, Mason wanted to go back, but the previously captured company employee kept persuading the Governor to continue moving forward. We were not far from the Eastern country, so we couldn't let all our efforts go to waste.
But no matter what, Mason still can't leave for the time being. The current construction in Temasek will continue for a month or two, and he can take this opportunity to continue to add to his map.
The pirates were eradicated, and the East India Company's trading station was also established here. This was also the first time that Europe extended its influence to the Malacca area. As the number of merchant ships increased, the Mamluk city of Suez also prospered.
The various shareholders of the company already had a lot of grievances. They finally got their money back, but the governor detained it, saying it was for the expansion of the empire. If it weren't for the suppression from above, he would have to be taken to court.
Among the company's import and export commodities, pepper and spices overwhelmingly occupy the most important position. But there is one product that plays an increasingly important role in trade: Indian textiles.
As we all know, compared with today's chemical fiber products, cotton fabrics have superior moisture absorption properties, are light and dry, do not produce static electricity, are highly safe, are strong and washable, and can be made into various thicknesses. In addition, it is easy to dye and not easy to fade. Because it feels soft and comfortable to the touch, it is the perfect fabric for next-to-body wear.
Such impeccable fabric, but Europeans knew nothing about it. It was not until the 17th century that cotton fabrics gradually became popular in Europe, lagging far behind the rest of the world. Although Rome also began to spread, progress was slow due to the origin of cotton, and cotton textiles could only be imported from India to make up for the gap.
Clothes made of cotton became popular thanks to the leadership of the upper class. The cotton cloth imported from India, printed and dyed with various patterns and stripes, suddenly attracted the attention of the nobles with its rare exotic style. Wearing these chintzes in beautiful and eye-catching colors is to show that you are a gentleman with qualities comparable to your clothes. Women who were content with hard, heavy and monotonous woolen fabrics in the past have now transformed into elegant ladies dressing themselves up in colorful Indian cotton fabrics.
Since ancient times, Asian craftsmen have had high productivity, low labor costs and excellent professional skills. As a result, under the company's operations, textiles began to account for an increasing share of goods.
The trade trend brought by the company has also been supported by the Greek Chamber of Commerce. Most of them invested in the shipping industry or real estate in Alexandria. After learning about the company's canal project, they also gave a lot of support, and the luxury goods brought from the East were their reward. As long as it is transported to Genoa, Naples, Barcelona and other places, the profit will be dozens of times higher when resold. The same is true for merchants in Transylvania and Wallachia, who buy it from Constantinople and transport it to various European countries.