_ 208 _ help if he should need it and encouraged him to proceed with the attack. The King of Cannanore was very pleased with this reply and as it was the month of April, the beginning of winter and the best possible time for him to execute his plan, he began to make preparations. He counted on the fact that the fortress could not be rescued during winter because navigation along the coast was very dangerous during that time. He therefore dug a trench between the city and a well which was near the city and which our men used to drink from. This trench stretched from one side of the coast to the other, and the king gave orders for his men to leave only a very narrow space between it and the well. Lourenco de Brito didn't know what this was for, but thanks to Our Lord he found out from the Prince of Cannanore and his uncle, both of whom were very good friends of his and informed him of the king's plans, telling him to keep a lookout. They told him that the path which led from the trench to the well was to be used to prevent our men from getting any water and to fight them. Moreover, some houses were to be built opposite it, where the enemy would keep their artillery. The prince and his uncle also warned him about the help the King of Calicut had sent the King of Cannanore, and that the latter now possessed a force of 60,000 men.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTg0NzAy