This pirate land is big

The night was very clear tonight, and under the stars, a ketch slowly sailed into the dimly lit port.

Even if it is only a short voyage, the act of "returning to port" will still give people an inexplicable sense of solidity.Compared with the sea, which is empty and lonely, and sometimes has the characteristics of an abyss swallowing everything, the bright lights, pedestrians and bustling voices of the port show the atmosphere of life, which is enough to dilute the sense of emptiness brought by sailing.

When the ship was about to approach the dock, a small sampan sailed out of the inner harbor, and it came straight up to meet it.Later, under the light signal of the pilot on the sampan, Su Mei docked the boat at a berth on the side of the pier.

As rumored, this port city is quite prosperous. The bright lights in the city are one proof, and the berths filled with sailing ships of all sizes are another proof.

As soon as Su Mei parked the ship, two uniformed port staff climbed up the gangway and came to the deck. After seeing Su Mei, they quickly walked up to him.

There were two people, an old one and a young one. The older one just took a look and reported the accurate data: "A Caravel ketch, 31 meters long, 7.5 meters wide, 3 meters draft, estimated tonnage 270, It is a medium-sized sailing ship and needs to pay a port fee of 5 gold pounds. It can stay here for 3 days. If it is still stranded from the 4th day due to something, it will have to pay a berth fee of 10 pence per day."

The old port manager held an official book in his left hand, and kept writing and drawing on it with a pen in his right hand.Su Mei looked around for a moment and found that this man was carrying a gun on the left side of his waist and a knife on the right side. He looked like he could talk about various things.

"Medium sailing ship?" he asked.

The old port manager glanced at him and explained calmly: "The length is more than 25 meters, the number of masts is greater than or equal to 2, and the sail area is more than 200... Yes, it is a medium-sized sailing ship."

Su Meixin said that the career of managing ports is indeed much more promising than being a pirate. Although everyone is openly robbing, the difference is that you can't resist the latter.Before he figured out the situation here, he couldn't do anything drastic and could only pay honestly.

However, he didn't know that this kind of reasonable port staff was a rare kind person.

Su Mei took out the money bag from his pocket. He took out three more golden coins and placed them on the open official book of the old port manager with his palm. Then he put his index and middle fingers together and pushed the pile of gold coins forward.However, after giving out three coins, he did not raise his hand. Instead, he bent his fingers to the arched palm, and then straightened them again. Then, two more silver coins were pressed under his fingertips and pushed away. come out.

"You two, you've had a hard night, I'll treat you two to tea."

The two portmen glanced left and right. The old portman closed his official book, and the silver and gold coins slipped through the cracks into his palm. One went into the public account and the other into the private pocket.

After getting the bribe, the old port manager's attitude immediately improved a lot, which can be said to be a worldly thing.

"Brother, sailing at night is hard work. We also need to know why you entered the port?" As he asked, he picked up his pen again.

"Selling some private goods, if necessary, we will sell this ship."

"Selling goods? This needs to be checked to see if there are any prohibited items."

"Of course, please come with me. The cargo is in the bilge...the so-called living creatures are just high-quality workers who work hard and don't need to be paid. There are no prohibited things." Su Mei said with a smile.

The old port manager paused immediately, and then he twitched his lips unnaturally: "I understand, I understand, slave, right?"

He observed Su Mei again, and this time he seemed much more cautious. This person dared to participate in the slave trade at a young age. He was definitely not a good person... Thanks to his many years of experience in this business, he did not offend the other party just now.

Su Mei led the two of them to the bilge. He opened the hatch and a foul smell came out.

The cabin was filled with tightly bundled people, all of whom seemed to be breathing out but not taking in.

"This... boatman's boy, you are a slave who has lost fat and meat and is half dead. You probably won't be able to sell it at a high price."

"Thanks for the reminder, but these slaves are strong men who are used to running on the sea. They are currently weak. Because I have been sailing for several days and forgot to feed them. Counting the time, they have been without water and food for five days."

After going without food or water for five days, the port manager believed Su Mei's words. If she hadn't been strong, she would have been tortured to death.

"Slave-catching ships need to pay double the port entry fee..." the young port manager said, but before he could finish his sentence, he was interrupted by the old port manager's glare.

The old port manager turned around, and this time he said with a smile: "Brother, the boatman, if you make a deal with the merchants in this port, you will have to pay an equal amount of tax."

"Tax? Oh, tax, I understand. Don't worry, I am a businessman who abides by the rules."

Su Mei was a little surprised that this man didn't care about the origins of the slaves, nor was he worried that these slaves were local nationals.

In short, after the old port manager finished admonishing these things, he pulled the young man behind him to get off the boat in a hurry. After they returned to the sampan and landed on the dry shore, the old port manager breathed a sigh of relief.

The young man was a little confused and asked, "Master, why did you interrupt me just now?"

"Shut up, stop meddling, you must know that trouble comes from your mouth... Look more, talk less, who do you think those slaves are?"

"who."

"Pirates."

"what?"

"That little brother is not an ordinary person. Didn't you notice? He is the only one on the boat."

"This……"

How does one manage such a sailboat? Could it be...

The young man seemed to have thought of something. He shuddered and, as expected, stopped asking about what happened on the ship.

After Su Mei completed the entry procedures, he didn't worry about the ship being stolen, so he got off the ship and went ashore... There was no need to worry about theft on the ship. The only ones valuable were some weak slaves, and it was not an easy task to take them away.

The port of this wharf is surrounded by a bustling street market, with people coming and going, seemingly unaffected by the night. Among them are travelers of all kinds, travelers arriving at the port, merchants coming and going, fishermen returning to port, sailors off their jobs, and so on.

Su Mei was a little hungry, and what he ate during the voyage was dry food, which was tasteless. At this time, he already missed the food on land, so he went straight to a restaurant.

After entering the restaurant, he found a seat and sat down. After picking up the menu, he quickly ordered a few delicious-looking dishes.

After only a short while, the food was already on the table in front of Su Mei.

This time seems to be the busiest time in the store. Not only is it full of customers, there is also a person who seems to be playing the role of a "storyteller". He is telling stories vividly for the entertainment of the guests.

Su Mei is thinking about how to start her own business on this island. There is no doubt that the first step is to sell the goods and ships to obtain a start-up capital, but what next?

At this time, he listened casually and was immediately attracted by the story being told, because the other party was not just telling a story, but also "politically important".

"But it is said that the East China Sea is not peaceful at this time. In addition to the countless pirates, big and small, who are wreaking havoc everywhere in sunny and rainy days, disturbing the peace everywhere, a bigger war is also brewing among the waves."

"There are more than [-] countries, large and small, in the East China Sea. Most of them have limited power, but two countries are different. Now the East China Sea is actually a situation where two powers are fighting. Both countries are members of the World Government, but each other The contradiction has reached an irreconcilable level... The world government only collects birth dates, but how can it care about the detailed affairs of each country?"

"Would you like to ask those two strong men?"

"The first is the Britannia Empire, a large country in the northwest. This country has a vast territory and abundant military virtues. The Qiao family is the ruler of both the military and the people. The current emperor is named 'Buji' and is called 'Holy Emperor Qiao Buji III'."

"The first is the Fogox Empire, a large country in the southeast. This country faces us across the sea. It has fertile fields thousands of miles away and a long country. The Lu family is the emperor. The current monarch is nicknamed 'Dayi' and is named 'Emperor Lu Dayi Sixteenth'." World'."

"There are countless battleships between these two countries, and they are all equipped with powerful troops. There will be a battle in the future, and it will be a life-or-death battle..."

Su Mei listened with interest at first, but then he glanced at the "storyteller" and saw a newspaper under his arm. Only then did he realize that this person was not a political official, he was clearly just reading the newspaper.

He immediately lost interest.

"Come here, pay!"