The Sun and the Lion

Albuquerque recounted the forces he had on hand - seven carracks loaded with artillery but in poor condition, a caravel captured from the Muslims, the garrison of two hundred men, and more than a thousand sailors.

Moreover, the poverty of Socotra Island was beyond the imagination of the chief captain of the Arabian Coast. Originally, he was prepared to rely on plunder to support the sailors, but the garrison commander reported to him: "Your Excellency, this place is extremely dry and surprisingly barren. The locals are not willing to cooperate. We cannot be self-sufficient even with the most basic food and water. If you still intend to maintain the existence of the fortress, I ask you to continue to deliver supplies to Su Ke."

To this end, he did not risk a direct raid on Aden. Instead, he led his fleet to other Arab ports that had not yet been brought under Safavid rule, and made the locals submit through intimidation and raids. He raised a lot of supplies through this method.

After some "requisition" of supplies, Albuquerque ordered the ship's craftsmen to inspect and maintain the warship after returning to Socotra. At the same time, he urgently repaired a captured small dhow. He planned to use This disguise scouts Aden.

The dhow disguised as a merchant ship sailed westward into Aden. The Portuguese sailors immediately began to survey the local hydrological conditions and observe Aden's defenses.

"The Port of Aden is located in a semi-enclosed water area. The sea area between the two shores is not wide. The entrance and exit are divided by an island. The lookout can clearly see the forts on the island. There are gun muzzles aimed at both internal and external directions. , and there are no artillery on the city walls of Aden. If we raid the port, seizing the island fort is the top priority and the most important thing."

"There are very few warships in the port. I only saw one Muslim round ship. There is no need to pay attention to other ships. It may be that other round ships are deployed in other ports or out on patrol. On the waters, my ship encountered hanging ships one after another. The round ship with the pagan flag.”

After exchanging the East African belongings brought in the cabin for the supplies needed by the fleet, the Portuguese merchant ship carried all the supplies and information back to Suker.

Albuquerque and the captains looked at the sketch of Aden Port and discussed the next battle plan to attack Aden: "The fleet came out in full force and headed west to Aden as fast as possible, crushing all the Muslim ships it encountered. , our primary target of attack is the fort on the island and the Muslim round ship. If we remove this point, the Muslims in Aden will be unable to fight back."

"As long as their reinforcements arrive later, or not at all."

After thinking about it, the chief captain said: "I plan to let the captured Karavel be on guard. If a fleet of suspected reinforcements is found approaching Aden, he will fire a warning shot."

After completing the battle plan, it was the final voting session. Whether it was the attack on the Aden Port or the previous battle plan, the captains unanimously approved it.

After a week of pre-war preparations and sailing, the Portuguese fleet successfully arrived at the Port of Aden through the Gulf of Aden, and attacked several merchant ships to obtain supplies on the way. Although the weather was fine along the way, the patrol fleet still passed by the Portuguese.

Seven Karak ships lined up and entered the port area directly, close to the fort in the Port of Aden. The Safavid lookouts who had been to Socotra to raid the Portuguese stronghold saw the Portuguese royal flag hanging on the mast and the painting on the main sail. The cross quickly warned: "This is an enemy! It is a ship of Frankish pagans!"

Before the gun position was ready, the Portuguese warship's naval guns fired fiercely at the fort. However, the first round of shelling mostly hit the wall and did not cause much damage to the gun position and the wall.

At the same time as the bombardment, the small boat was lowered into the water, and the Portuguese sailors who were preparing to land and seize the fort climbed off the Karak ship through the rope net. When a small boat was filled with sailors, everyone paddled towards the shore.

After intense preparations, the Safavid gunners aimed the prepared coastal defense guns at the Portuguese warship and then fired. The shells from the coastal defense artillery quickly flew out in an arc and hit the most conspicuous flagship.

"Go and take a look. What's the extent of the damage to the hull?"

"Your Excellency... all the Muslim shells hit above the waterline. There were only casualties and no artillery damage." The captain and shipwright who went down to check the condition of the ship came panting to report to Albuquerque.

The chief captain looked at the fortifications not far away. Although the number of artillery guns of the seven Karak ships far exceeded the coastal defense battery in front of him, it was not a good deal for the warships to shoot at the coastal defense batteries. It cannot compete with a solid fortress. Fixed shore defense guns are more stable and easier to control than floating gun positions on the water.

Therefore, the opportunity to break the situation now is to land the Marine Corps and see if these brave sailors can seize the forts and coastal defense guns before all their own ships are sunk.

The Safavid sentry is not blind, look for the book www.zhaoshuyuan.com When the news that a group of small boats filled with people was gradually heading here was reported to the garrison commander, he immediately organized the musketeers to set up defenses behind the stacked walls.

The shells flew in the opposite direction above the heads of these Portuguese sailors. The walls were constantly damaged due to the shelling. The Safavid naval infantry who lost their bunkers still stood firm and shot at the small boats that had not yet docked. Several Portuguese sailors immediately Killed in action due to this round of shooting.

The Portuguese on the small boat immediately returned the favor. The rear-mounted swivel gun on the bow began to spit out gunpowder smoke, and the small solid bullets accurately killed the Safavid soldiers who were not protected by the wall. When the distance got closer, Portuguese matchlocks gradually joined the firing ranks.

"God bless Portugal! Saints bless us!"

After a brief prayer and the incitement of religious slogans, the sailors jumped out of the boat and stepped onto the shore. Facing the stone wall on the shore, a long ladder was set up directly to the damaged sections of the crenellation wall, and the grappling hook was thrown onto the crenel to secure it. The ropes underneath were used by Portuguese sailors to climb.

The exchange of firearms between the two sides created an opportunity for the Portuguese sailors who were trying to climb the city wall to break through. The sailors holding scimitars climbed to the top and quickly rushed towards the nearest enemy to fight with them.

Several gaps immediately fell into melee. The Safavid sailors, who were generally equipped with breastplates, could hardly lose their combat ability due to the hacking of the Portuguese sailors. However, in terms of combat skills alone, the Portuguese sailors were much stronger than the enemies in front of them, and because of the city wall, The limitation of width made it difficult for the more numerous garrison to deploy. On this local battlefield, the Portuguese sailors gradually gained an advantage in close combat.

The garrison commander ordered the musketeers to be dispatched to the nearest high place to focus fire on the Portuguese who were already standing on the wall. Especially after the leading Portuguese officer was killed or injured, the Portuguese attack was not as difficult to resist as before. .