_ 517 _ which we are placed when a fortress is besieged in India. Unless God is merciful to us, we should not be sufficient to defend it, and moreover, if we could maintain it, anyone with any experience and knowledge of warfare knows how little afraid the Turks would be of passing with their fleets the length of this fortress or facing its artillery. In short, Your Highness must not give orders for the capture of Basra, because in my view it cannot be captured and it cannot be maintained, nor if both these things were possible, could the Turks be prevented from building a fleet if he has the timber. I am astonished that anyone experienced and knowledgeable about warfare should think the contrary, but as the Italians say, it is variety that makes nature beautiful. Your Highness should command that Ormuz be made very strong and that there should be in the Strait a fleet sufficient for all its needs, and that there should be in Ormuz as Captain, a man who can stand up to Shah Tahmasp and the qizilbashi. You must have reliable information about the State of Basra, its fortifications and the condition of the Turks and their neighbours, and accurate information about the timber he is said to have. For my part, I do not believe that it is as much nor as good as is said, or that he seeks only to make use of these
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