Chapter 1539: The Chinese Expeditionary Force

King Afonso's words were translated into Urdu. After listening, Aurangzeb nodded and said with a smile, "Since the King of Portugal is resolved, I can provide funding for the restoration of Portugal's rightful monarch! Of course, the funding is not unconditional. I need to recover Goa!"

The moment he heard he would have to trade Goa for funding, King Afonso grew anxious. Goa was the only territory he had now! If he gave it up, he would become a king without land.

"Your Majesty Alamgir—"

King Afonso had barely raised his objection when Aurangzeb raised a hand to stop him. Aurangzeb continued, "King Afonso, Goa belongs to India! And Portugal belongs to you! As the sovereign of India, I have an obligation to recover every inch of land that belongs to India, just as you have an obligation to retake the Kingdom of Portugal. And right now there is an opportunity for you to return to Portugal and seize power once more. All you need is a large sum of money to raise an army fit for an expedition!"

Aurangzeb's words were quickly translated into Portuguese. King Afonso seemed somewhat tempted, and asked, "Your Majesty Alamgir, could you tell me exactly what this opportunity is?"

Aurangzeb nodded. "My ambassador in Istanbul has written to tell me that the Ottoman Empire has completed most of its war preparations. By next spring at the latest, the six-horsetail banner and the three-horsetail banner will be raised in the courtyard of Topkapi Palace. A holy war aimed at seizing Vienna and destroying the Habsburg dynasty in one blow is about to begin!"

The six-horsetail banner was the standard of the Ottoman Sultan, while the three-horsetail banner belonged to the Grand Vizier. If the six-horsetail banner and the three-horsetail banner were raised together in the courtyard of Topkapi Palace, it meant war had begun!

King Afonso was so astonished he could barely speak, and simply stared at Aurangzeb with his mouth open.

Aurangzeb was silent for a moment, then said, "As an emir who believes in the True God, I must contribute my strength to this holy war. King Afonso, this is also your chance to return to Europe and become King of Portugal once more!"

Aurangzeb's words were translated into Portuguese. King Afonso was stunned speechless, and for a moment could not utter a word.

"Afonso," Zhu Hengli said in French the moment he saw the King of Portugal's expression, "this is the only opportunity. It cannot be missed. Otherwise Maria will never be able to become the true Queen of Portugal!"

Maria's full name was Maria de Albuquerque, a native-born Goan Portuguese woman of Persian and Indian descent. In the hierarchy of Goan Portuguese, native-born Portuguese with Persian and Indian blood were considered rather lowly, and by rights she was not qualified to marry the exiled King Afonso.

But this Maria was an exception! Because her surname was Albuquerque, and her ancestor was none other than the conqueror of Goa and Malacca, the Duke of Goa, Afonso de Albuquerque, who had laid the foundation of Portuguese hegemony in the East!

The colony of Goa had been opened up for the Kingdom of Portugal by this very ancestor of Maria's!

During the years Afonso de Albuquerque ruled and built up Goa, he had worked to promote intermarriage between Portuguese colonists and local women, branding Goa as "sacred and inseparable from Portugal." It was precisely this policy that made the Kingdom of Portugal's rule over Goa extremely stable, lasting in history all the way until the end of 1961.

And the Duke of Goa himself, of course, had to lead by example in marrying a local woman! So despite his age and frailty, he resolutely wed the daughter of a Persian merchant doing business in Goa (who had converted to Catholicism), and had a son with her.

Although this son did not inherit Afonso de Albuquerque's title (the Duke of Goa had other sons), he was a legitimate child of the marriage, and so was able to inherit the Albuquerque surname, and also received all the property Afonso de Albuquerque had acquired in Goa.

Later, King Manuel I of Portugal, in recognition of the Duke of Goa's achievements, granted this mixed-blood son large tracts of land and made him a knight—a genuine nobleman!

After that, the Albuquerque family grew and prospered in Goa. By the time King Afonso went into exile in Goa, the Albuquerque family was already the foremost great house of Goa, and Maria was the only surviving legitimate child of the previous Albuquerque knight (the leader of the Goan Albuquerque family), and thus naturally the current Albuquerque knight.

When King Afonso arrived in Goa, this Goan beauty, then only twenty-three years old, had actually been married before, but her husband had recently died of malaria, so she was a widow.

Through the matchmaking of Shi Baoluo and several other Portuguese great houses in Goa, Maria became King Afonso's wife.

King Afonso was a wandering king without power or influence, and had no roots in Goa. That he could now live like a king was entirely supported by Maria's money. Moreover, around Afonso there was a whole host of illegitimate-son knights of the Goan Albuquerque family—wealthy and powerful Portuguese men in Goa commonly took concubines, and so all had large numbers of illegitimate sons. The Albuquerque family was of course no exception. Though the legitimate line had only the single heir Maria, the collateral line made up of illegitimate sons and their descendants was numerous and powerful, including quite a few "mercenary captains"—enough to raise an army for King Afonso!

And the vast Albuquerque family had married their mistress to the fallen King of Portugal precisely to gamble on a "sky-high fortune." If King Afonso was unwilling to cooperate, then he would likely be abandoned by his wife a second time—and the Goan Portuguese were far more ruthless than the Portuguese back home. When that time came, he might not merely be a prisoner, but "die of malaria"!

Having already suffered once before, King Afonso, once reminded by Zhu Hengli, knew to be afraid.

He immediately swallowed his words of refusal, but he did not dare agree at once either. Instead he asked cautiously, "What does this matter have to do with me? I am a Catholic! The Portuguese could never accept a king who has converted to the faith of Arabia."

Aurangzeb shook his head. "No one wants you to convert. And the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire has no intention of sending an expedition to Portugal—that place is far too remote for the Ottoman Empire. But he is willing to support a legitimate King of Portugal in reclaiming his power. To that end, he can open a North African route, allowing you and your army to return to Portugal through the Strait of Gibraltar!

King Afonso, I trust you do not imagine there is any other route back to Portugal?"

Indeed there was none!

If King Afonso still wished to return to Portugal and reclaim the throne, he could only go through North Africa. What else could he do? Take the Indian Ocean–Atlantic route?

That was utterly impossible!

"I understand. This is indeed an opportunity that cannot be given up." King Afonso was still somewhat uneasy. "But what does the Ottoman Empire gain from this?"

That was obvious!

Once King Afonso returned to Portugal, King Louis of France would have to go clean up the mess for his distant niece Lia Francisca.

This would, to a certain extent, tie down French strength, helping the Ottoman Empire stabilize the situation after defeating the Holy Roman Empire.

But Aurangzeb was unwilling to waste words on King Afonso, whose wits seemed rather lacking, so he simply pointed at Zhu Hengli, who looked agreeable enough.

"King Afonso, have King Henry go to Goa to recruit a mercenary army, and then have King Henry lead them to join the Ottoman Sultan's forces."

Having said this, Aurangzeb did not wait for King Afonso to answer, but said to Zhu Hengli, "King Henry, after much consideration, I have concluded that an Indian expeditionary force would not be enough to give the Ottoman army the greatest encouragement—but a Chinese expeditionary force would achieve that effect! I am willing to provide funding to help you recruit mercenaries in Goa. Goa is full of native-born Portuguese willing to sell their lives for money; they will fight for anyone who pays!"

(End of Chapter)