That afternoon, Vitus summoned the Portuguese envoy.
When the envoy had set out from Lisbon, he had not yet learned that the outpost on India's west coast had fallen.
His mission was to sound out Vitus's views on East Africa and define their respective spheres of influence. If he could persuade the Eastern Roman Empire to boycott Arab merchants and leave all the business to Portugal, so much the better.
However, after arriving in Constantinople and reading the Golden Horn News reports on the fighting in Calicut, the envoy added two requests on the spot:
The two sides should form an alliance and jointly attack the Arab powers in the Indian Ocean.
Second, the Eastern Roman Empire should open the Sinai Peninsula to Portuguese couriers, allowing them free passage. This would greatly shorten communication times between Lisbon and East Africa or India.
Vitus had countless affairs to attend to. He had no time to mock or threaten the man opposite him, and simply replied:
"I refuse all the requests above. Is there anything else?"
In Red Sea trade, the Eastern Roman Empire worked in partnership with Arab merchants. These merchants were loosely organized and lacked the ability to establish a monopoly.
If Portugal replaced them, its next move would be to monopolize the goods, jack up prices, and ruthlessly harvest the Eastern Roman Empire's profits.
For Alfonso V to make such a demand, he clearly took Vitus for a fool he could hoodwink.
After dismissing the envoy, Vitus took out the Indian Ocean map and briefing submitted by the Red Sea Fleet.
From north to south, India's west coast was chiefly controlled by three major powers.
The Gujarat Sultanate occupied the northwest, the Bahmani Sultanate the center, and Hindu Vijayanagara the south.
Numerous port cities dependent on maritime trade