Night.

In a small estate outside Baltimore, Alexandria. Colonel Hamilton and the Humpty Dumpty officer were relatively silent.

In the middle of them was a coffee table, and in the center of the coffee table was a candlestick, and the candle of the candlestick was nearly half burned, reflecting the wine glass in front of them, which seemed to be untouched.

The wine has not moved, the people have not moved, only the candle flame is flickering, like the heart of the people.

The door of the living room was gently pushed open from the outside, and a dignified woman in a shawl entered, her eyes soft but exceptionally bright.

"John, you told many people that you wanted to invite Alexander to a drink, and if he went back like this without getting drunk, tomorrow no one would say that you were simple, but that you were stingy."

The short and fat official frowned and glanced at the woman: "The country is in turmoil, and Alexander and I are shouldering the heavy responsibility entrusted by George......"

"Being slightly drunk will make your thinking clearer, and sitting dry will only make time wasted." The woman insisted.

"Abigail, you can always convince me." The short and fat officer sighed slightly and raised the wine glass in front of him, "Alexander, since it was Abigail's order, we did it." ”

Colonel Hamilton shook his head and raised his glass, touching it lightly with the stocky officer.

"If it weren't for this era, I'd be afraid that the Commander would lose the trust of the Parliament, because as long as Abigail is in politics, no one can outperform her in eloquence."

"That's why the men hold on to their rights, dear Alexander." The woman smiled and bowed in thanks, "You talk, I'll make you coffee." ”

Making coffee was just a pretext, and the woman only hoped to break the deadlock. She knew that her husband was in trouble, and there was no solution to it except to consult with a wise friend.

Sure enough, when she closed the door, the topic naturally opened.

Colonel Hamilton rubbed his brow bitterly: "John, what Mr. Kenway said, you think is somewhat true. ”

"Mostly, especially about the Drake family, I don't know of any intelligence monger who can find out so much."

"Maybe the French gave it to him?"

"Perhaps...... After all, he was related to that Count Galvis. ”

The Colonel was curious.

"Count Galvis? I remember that he was the governor of Louisiana, an ordinary nobleman, who seemed to have a bit of military talent, and who fought off the British the other day? ”

"Your intelligence needs to be updated, my friend." The short and fat official stretched his waist, "More than a month ago, I went to France on an envoy and met him at Fontainebleau. He was now a popular figure in front of Louis XVI and seemed to have a close relationship with Queen Marie. By the way, because of the victory in New Orleans, he has risen to the First Council, and is now a French nobleman, and his fief is in Louisiana. ”

"A real Earl of the New World?" Hamilton was shocked, "Is Louis XVI ready to betray the Americans?" ”

"It has nothing to do with politics, my friend, at least as far as I know, this promotion has nothing to do with politics or French ambitions. Galvez was Queen Mary's smuggling agent, and you know, Lady Deficit's obsession with gold could make her do anything crazy. ”

"Fortunately......" Hamilton let out a long sigh of relief and used his brain again, "Galvez is the Queen's agent, Edward. Kenway was Galvez's agent again...... Could it be that this price increase is at the behest of Mrs. Deficit, and from now on, we will all have to accept this woman's insatiable exploitation? ”

The Humpty Dumpty official smiled, a look of wisdom flashing across his face.

"Actually, I don't care about the queen's exploitation." He whispered, "All I care about is Shaq. Did Drake really cut off the sea access? If that's true, how can we get more arms for George? ”

"From Kenway?"

"Have you paid attention to his ship? High-speed bagh type, with winged sails attached, this ship is a spirit of the sea, once it runs, no one can catch up with her. ”

"But he only has one boat, after all!"

"As long as it's stable, a boat can give us a lot. The French are not going to give everything to the Continental Army anyway. They only want a weakened England and do not need a strong America. ”

Hamilton suddenly realized: "You plan to raise the supply by raising prices? ”

The stocky official held up two fingers triumphantly.

"Two regiments per month, 2,400 rifles, and half of the pistols, but 12 light guns must be attached, or on the premise of not affecting land transactions."

"This amount...... Can the French agree? ”

"It depends on the queen's love of money." The Humpty Dumpty official stood up and looked out the window at the dark night, "If you want to establish a federation, the future government needs absolute strength, and George also needs to build great feats, all of which need to rely on the strength of the Continental Army." ”

"We don't want a civil war, but we can't be afraid of it. If we want the British to sit down and talk, we must have the courage to pacify the British. Money is not a problem in the face of these problems, and only if it can be the key can the people's taxes not be paid in vain. ”

Colonel Hamilton bowed his head in convincing.

"You are the tyrant of politics, John. Adams. ”

……

Unfortunately, after waiting all night, Lorraine finally failed to meet the real speaker of Baltimore, John. Addams and his legendary lady.

It was still the handsome Colonel Hamilton who brought Lorraine a brand new contract, and it was not a draft, but a final one.

This shows that the Americans simply have no will to negotiate.

Lorraine could only read the conditions of the bundle in front of her.

"Each contract contains 2,400 Charville rifles at a price of £100 each; 1,200 dragoon pistols, priced at £50 each; 12 of the latest infantry light guns, the unit price is 1,100 pounds, and a boatload of consumables is included for free, no bandages, as long as the military uniform and ammunition, medicine can also be ......"

Honestly, the price is great and very affordable.

According to this contract, the monthly turnover of the Jackdaw will reach a terrifying 313,200 pounds, of which 113,200 pounds belongs to the increase share, and it is difficult to say how much Lorraine can share, but the other 200,000 pounds is a real contract income, and the sharing has long been decided.

The cost is 47,000, the profit is 153,000, and the Jackdaw has forty percent of it, that is, 61,200.

After deducting the basic expenses and deducting the four cents, Lorraine will have at least 35,000 pounds per month, and once it comes and goes, it will earn an extra benchmark amount of the Northwest European branch.

And that's just the benefits of the contract.

The supply of the raised part can only come from the part of the earl's hand for Queen Mary, and the queen's profit is definitely indispensable, so Lorraine's share can basically only come from the difference between the new contract and the old contract.

24 pounds per rifle and 8 pounds per pistol, and if Lorraine remembers correctly, the difference was 200 pounds per light cannon, all adding up...... 25,600 pounds.

Still divided into four or six, the Jackdaw is 10,240 pounds. This is not subject to expenses, and Lorraine alone has 6,144 pounds.

Personal income of 40,000 pounds per contract!

Lorraine's heart couldn't help but he couldn't help but force himself down, concentrating on the risks he would have to take to fulfill his new contract.

Risk is everywhere, starting with the source of goods.

France always controlled his imports to the Continental Army, and dividing the land and sea into seven or three was also one of the means of this control.

Because the arms transported by land cannot be concealed, based on the demand for supplies by the combat team, most or even all of them will flow into the front-line supply chain, and will eventually become war damage.

This is the most desirable way of smuggling to the French, and the number of troops in the Continental Army is up to him, and until peace really comes, the new United States can only live with his snort.

Unfortunately, however, the risk on land is too great.

Everywhere there were intertwined fronts, and the woods were infested with Indians loyal to the British, and once they lost their supplies, the Americans would certainly not recognize it, and France would have to bear all the losses.

It's different at sea.

Most of the maritime merchants are free people, adhering to the principle of the previous and the latter goods, and in the case of almost the same profit, France has truly achieved the guarantee of profit and no loss.

Because of this, even if land smuggling was more in the national interest, most of the supplies were eventually transferred to the sea, but the quantity was stuck in a special position, that is, there was a huge shortage of more than one regiment of equipment, and two regiments were built.

This number is almost impossible to support the Continental Army's preparation of a new main corps, and the ordinary line corps is acceptable, but after all, the ability to attack the fortified positions is too weak, and there is no hidden value at all.

The new contract is aimed at this kind of careful thinking of the French......

2,400 rifles and 1,200 pistols can form a full line regiment and an elite grenadier regiment, and even 12 light guns are the most mainstream standard equipment to strengthen the grenadier regiment's ability to attack fortifications.

After the two corps are completed, the line corps can be used to strengthen the front line, and the grenadier corps can strengthen the foundation of the Continental Army and build their ability to fight independently and decisive battles.

The Americans can't wait to be the real protagonists of their own war, and that ambition is evident in the brand new contract.

So will the Count of Galvez agree?

I don't know why, Lorraine vaguely felt that the answer was yes.

Because the price is so tempting.

While the strength of the Continental Army may have hurt the interests of the French, the French would benefit from it, and both the Count and the queen after him would make a lot of money from this promotion.

With such good reason, what is the count to be dissatisfied with?

The second issue is the settlement clause.

The new contract requires that the United States will use the credibility of the Continental Army as a guarantee to postpone settlement until the performance of each contract is completed, instead of using the traditional means of settling the settlement of each ship and receiving both money and goods.

This is probably a sign that the Americans are beginning to face up to the risks of HNA that Lorraine raised.

They pinned their hopes on using the new contract to build a new army, so they wanted to force Count Galvez to ensure the integrity of the contract performance by pressing the payment, so as not to lose too much to HNA and eventually give up halfway.

This is basically meaningless to Lorraine.

In the middle of two countries, Lorraine, as the weaker side, has no room for defeat.

If success is the premise, the Americans will not default, let alone default, and the payment will always be settled.

What's more, the same clause happened to be in the contract between Lorraine and the earl, which meant that the earl was the only one who really needed to bear the financial risk, and this clause only damaged the earl.

The most important thing in the new contract, and the one that Lorraine is most concerned about, is the performance period.

The traditional fulfillment period for U.S.-French smuggling is one month, which is equivalent to the time it takes to cross the Atlantic, which can ensure that trade and business will continue uninterrupted.

But Lorraine is only suitable for this smuggling, the Jackdaw, and the cargo hold and rest are all issues for him to consider.

The increased share of arms can also be addressed through the allocation of transfers.

If the Jackdaw had reluctantly given up its upper firepower and vacated the stern gun compartment and some of the material compartments, all the cargo would still be barely able to be transported in two trips, and with the addition of a shipload of consumables, the total number of rounds would still be maintained at three rounds.

Time is running out......

Without hindrance, the Jackdaw's round trip back and forth between New Orleans and Baltimore is about 9 days, and with the current sea conditions, it will take 2 more days to be safe.

This one-way 12-day itinerary is not a reference. Lorraine is interested in waiting for Bale to recover, and on the way to find out if there are any new changes to Shaq's tactics, and Little Cayman is too far away as a starting point than New Orleans......

However, the 11-day single round and 33-day contract cycle still did not allow him to complete the contract within the traditional deadline.

It is also impossible for the crew to be at sea.

Fatigue accumulates during continuous sailing, and the accumulated fatigue reduces concentration to the point of decreasing the ability to maneuver the boat, ultimately leading to an increase in the risk of going to sea......

In other words, haste is not enough.

Lorraine pondered for a moment, then looked up at Colonel Hamilton.

"Colonel, I understand your reason for taking the original of the new contract directly, but if you want me to sign it, we need a supplementary agreement."

"Supplement?" Hamilton was both unexpected and displeased.

"Yes, supplement." Lorraine didn't seem to see him, and slowly made an observation, "There are two main aspects to the supplementary agreement. First, in view of the tense situation at sea, I would like the performance period of the new contract to be 45 days, instead of the 30 days traditionally agreed. ”

Hamilton was even angrier.

"Is Mr. Kenway teasing me? Two trips in three months, our demands for arms are simply not met, and the new contract means nothing to us! ”

"No, no, no. You have to understand that the arms that were safely delivered to Baltimore were the arms of the Americans, otherwise they would have been sacrifices to the sea, and some of them would have become minions of the British. ”

Lorraine shook her finger and smiled softly.

"The training and combat of elite troops will produce attrition, and there is no benefit to logistics when it is full."

"So I have made for you the second clause of the supplementary agreement, that for every two contracts we shall carry an additional shipload of ordnance, mainly rifles and pistols, in varying quantities. It's just this ship, we have to count according to the old contract. ”