In the mid-seventeenth century, when a mob had breached the capital of the Ming Empire and driven the Chongzhen Emperor to hang himself on Coal Hill, leaving most of northern Ming territory fallen and the south mired in turmoil and factional infighting, several princes of the Mughal dynasty were waging an equally fierce battle for the throne here in the Indian Ocean, also known as the Little Western Ocean. They paid no heed to the many large and small princely states that still held vast stretches of land, much less to the British colonists slowly invading and eyeing this land of India.
At this time, India was mainly within the sphere of British merchants. They had been allowed to establish a trading post in Bombay long ago, and the French had followed close behind, soon monopolizing the trading posts along the coasts of the Indian peninsula and keeping other powers out. Meanwhile, India's spices, gums, sugar, and other specialties had gradually begun appearing in shops across Europe.
Of course, none of that mattered.
Today, five enormous warships bearing the flags of the Ming Empire and the Li family appeared. They were even larger than the biggest giant Arab ships in the harbor and the great, many-masted, square-rigged ships of the North Sea. The moment they showed up, they drew the attention of the officials, merchants, and dockworkers at the port of Calicut.
But no matter how long they stared at those five Li family ships, it made no difference. Once the vessels had sailed away from the docks and anchored, a troublesome little girl was the first to take a small boat ashore. She brought her little sidekick and second-in-command, Song Yifeng, along with several lackeys from the crew, all armed with guns and swords. Then she curiously surveyed the