The merchant ship "Swan" sailed down the river and sailed into the sea two days later on a sunny morning.

Like a dragon entering the sea, Sean's mood changed for the better with the broadness of his horizon. He spent 20 silver louis to buy a pair of fishing rods from a sailor, and resumed his few hobbies, which made the sailor a fortune.

Every morning at sunrise, he would show up on the deck on time and practice pull-ups, push-ups and frog jumps under the watchful gaze of others.

After a shower, after breakfast, he would be on deck again, fishing, smoking, and in a daze until the next meal.

Sometimes fishing was rewarding, and he would pay the sailors to get him some barbecue materials, and he would throw a barbecue on the deck, and invite Miller steward and tax collector Bess to taste it together.

Both of them were also very knowledgeable, as if they had made an appointment, and one of them would always come with a bottle of wine or some other food.

With plenty of rest, consistent exercise, and protein-rich food, after a week, Sean found that he had gained a lot of weight, and he was not in the bad physical condition he was in when he was in Als, but was more fit and more energetic.

Baker, the tax collector, is still so talkative, and after learning Sean's identity, his language skills have become much richer.

In the presence of a third party, Miller's butler does not talk much, but he always smiles, can say concise and appropriate words at the right time, and even occasionally makes a joke, so that the guest and the host do not feel cold.

This is a very good housekeeper, who knows his identity, knows how to measure, and is more observant.

Miller was also secretly observing Sean, and he found that Sean was no different when he learned that he might become a member of the aristocracy:

It is ridiculous to be able to maintain a regular exercise every day and be able to laze on the deck all day, to be able to talk to himself about the running family, which is always very inspiring, to be able to talk to Baker about the imperial tax system, and to ridicule the existence of the tax system, and to achieve tax equality before seeking so-called political equality, and he can even squat on the deck and mingle with the sailors, exchange expensive cigars for the other party's inferior tobacco, and then let the other party get him a free beer, as if he had taken a great advantage.

This is a very knowledgeable, approachable, and eccentric man - he doesn't mind the difference in status and wealth.

After five days of heading south, the merchant ship began to sail along the coastline after passing through the open sea where the Longjiang River flows. One is because there are many reefs, and the other is because it is also a place where pirates haunt.

The expressions of the captain and the sailors began to become nervous, and even the passengers were affected by their emotions.

"Are pirates rampant?" Baker looked nervous, "Didn't you say that Admiral Younas's fleet had wiped out the pirates' lair?"

"Yes, that's right, and it's accurate. "The den is indeed gone, so all the little mice are scattered." ”

The captain is also the owner of the ship, named David Alfonso, a scruffy guy with a lot of body hair.

"What do you mean?" Baker was puzzled. Sean says:

"What the captain means is that the navy has not been able to catch all the pirates, so that the pirates are scattered, and without the restraint of powerful men, they rob their own people, and they go around in an irregular manner, which is even more difficult to exterminate. ”

"Captain, will they keep an eye on our ship?" asked Baker.

Captain Alfonso hesitated, "We are so close to the coastline, we usually don't encounter pirates. But so what, in case of bad luck, the navy will not fly. All we can do is be careful and careful. ”

"Oh my God, the Empire's coastal defenses are so fragile, it's no wonder that the volume of overseas trade is dwindling, it's because piracy is rampant, why don't the damn newspapers mention it?" Baker gried, "how did I think of taking a ship? God, I'd rather ride in a carriage and endure the bumps than be so afraid." ”

"Mr. Baker, please don't worry too much. We're on full alert, just in case. Captain Alfonso reassured him.

Sean suddenly asked Miller's butler at this time:

"Steward Miller, can you tell me how much cash the Countess brought with her on this trip back to Genoa?"

"This ......," Miller hesitated.

"Miller, tell him. The Countess suddenly appeared on deck, and she was visibly a little uneasy.

"Not much, only five hundred louis. Miller replied. This amount is indeed not much for a rich person, and Sean has more than three hundred with him.

"So, ma'am, can I know how much money you've cashed out in the Holy City?" Sean stared directly at the Countess's exposed veils, which were blue and beautiful like sapphires.

It's just that Sean's momentum is a little aggressive.

"Mr. Connelly, isn't that what you should ask?" Miller stopped.

The Countess glared at Sean stubbornly and said, "Connery means that my every move in the Holy City has long been in the eyes of those who care about it, or that they are in the same league as the pirates?

This is a very smart woman, Sean secretly appreciates. Just listen to the Countess continue:

"If that's the case, then a fortune of 500,000 is enough to attract the attention of pirates. ”

The merchants gathered on the deck secretly sighed to themselves, wealth is indeed the root of all evil, and it is all liked.

Captain Alfonso then said: "Dear Countess, if you do not object, I have decided to come to the shore, which is not far from Pumao Harbor. ”

The Countess pondered for a moment, and said to the passengers, "For the sake of safety, I think we should take the land route to the shore, and as for your losses, my butler will compensate you." ”

Her tone was tougher and she didn't consider whether others were against it. Everyone was silent, which was considered a tacit acquiescence, as if the nobles should be like this.

Captain Alfonso breathed a sigh of relief at this, fearing the opposition of the other passengers, which would not be easy for him to be caught in the middle.

The merchant ship immediately changed direction, and a large merchant ship appeared in front of it, and the lookout who climbed up the mast shouted:

"Captain, that's the Pearl sailing ship. ”

Captain Alfonso looked bad and said, "The 'Pearl' departed two days before us, and its destination should be the Great Xia Kingdom, and it should not appear here." ”

Sean said, "That ship may have been controlled by pirates, I suggest bypassing it, and quickly!"

"Mr. Connelly, you're right!" Captain Alfonso nodded, looking up at the wind, and suddenly roared, "Quick, take advantage of the crosswind." ”

All the water hands are up, and the southwest wind is blowing at this time, and by adjusting the rudder, the course is at right angles to the cross wind, and the wind is blowing from the side, and the sail is the most stressed, and the thrust it gets is also greater and the speed is the fastest.

The Swan cleaved the waves briskly and easily rounded the Pearl sailing ship in front of it. Then the lookout on the mast shouted:

"Captain, the 'Pearl' has raised the pirate ship, and it is coming after you!"

"Leave it alone, take care of the rudder, hold it steady!" roared Captain Alfonso!

The Swan maintained a high speed, and because of the opportunity, the Pearl was left far behind.

However, the crowd did not rejoice for long, and they spotted another sailboat on the left, this Shark-type sailing ship had been in ambush for a long time, and due to the headwind, it adopted a zigzag tactic and outflanked it in a roundabout way.

It was a long-planned killer move, and its sudden appearance made everyone on the Swan very bad.

Captain Alfonso struggled to maneuver the shark and keep it from getting closer. His sailors were also very hard-working, turning the rudder or manipulating the sails, and were very skilled.

With a rifle on his back, Sean pulled out a cigar and gave the captain another:

"Captain, you can see that you are an experienced captain, are you from the navy?"

Captain Alfonso took the cigar and said with a smile: "In the great battle with the Xia Navy in 1810, I was a captain on a battleship. ”

"Why didn't you do it later?" asked Sean.

"Because I slept with the captain's wife, haha!" the captain laughed bummerfully.

"I have a plan, I don't know if you dare?" Sean said at this time.

"Listen, Mr. Connery, I know you've been a former soldier, and you're obviously better than I am. Captain Alfonso said, "Well, this is a good cigar, high-class goods." ”

Connery and the captain were at the helm for a while, and Sean shouted to everyone on deck:

"The Countess has just said that if you can unite and escape from the clutches of the robbers, she will reward each of you fifty louis, which is a great sum of money, and will you accept this reward?"

"Yes!" the sailors cheered.

For these sailors who begged for a living on the water all year round, life was not only boring and boring, but also poor, and fifty louis was enough to make them work hard.

"If you want to, then follow your captain's orders, and we will win!"

"Wan Sheng!"

In the room, the Countess was comforting her son, her trembling voice of comfort indicating her nervousness and uneasiness.

Listening to the words relayed by the housekeeper Miller, the countess's face was slightly fixed.

"Mr. Connelly is on his own and has not consulted me, ma'am. Miller said with some concern.

But the Countess said:

"If it is true as Mr. Connelly says, we will win at all, and the reward will be doubled, one hundred louis each. ”

"Yes, ma'am!" replied Miller respectfully.