As the winch turned, the new anchor sank into the water, pulling the red and white ruler and pulling out a pink mist in the human eye.

Bell crouched to the side and watched intently, until the winch clattered to a halt, and he stood up and staggered out of the cabin.

Lorraine waited with her back to the mainmast.

Bell saw him and grinned, "Bridgerton Harbor, what a good port." ”

"The length of the port area is 1,571 meters, there are seven berths, the water depth is 9.6 meters, the view is wide, and there is no obstacle to entering and exiting. Except for a slight defect in sheltered from the wind, it is a top-notch deep-water seaport in all respects. ”

"My memory is still so good, didn't I hurt myself too much when I took risks......" Bell spread his hands depressedly, "but I really didn't expect that even if you left the army, you would be willing to serve the British Empire." ”

"There is a problem with this sentence in itself." Lorraine raised two fingers: "First, I didn't leave the army voluntarily, you know this matter very clearly, wishes are wishes, and reality is reality." Second, I'm a businessman, and as long as it's profitable, any adventure can be considered, just like you, don't you also have a close relationship with bandits? ”

"Huh? Bandits? Do I know a bandit? ”

"Don't you know?"

Bell dragged Lorraine with a serious face: "Tell me, which bandit I have a close relationship with?" ”

"There are as many bandits in the Caribbean as there are pirates, how do I know which one you are close to?"

"This is slander! Where the hell did you hear that? ”

"This is important?"

"Very important!"

"Important...... Lorraine gently shook off Bell's hand and stretched his waist lazily, "This is a temptation, since ancient times, mountains and seas have been incompatible, and privateer merchants are also part of pirates, so according to the rules, you need to be tested." ”

Bell's eyes almost rolled to the sky: "This kind of excuse, you think I will believe it?" ”

"It's not an excuse, if you hesitate in your answer just now, I will arrange for you to return to England. Corsair ships are isolated islands, and the standards for going to the island are much stricter than you think. ”

Diverting the topic with a lame reason, Lorraine got off the boat alone, and before he could get out of the dock plank road, a young man dressed as a sailor came running in front of him.

"Excuse me, it's Lorraine, the president of the Drake Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Drake? ”

Lorraine stopped suspiciously: "Excuse me?" ”

"Fran. Rebill, HMS Badger Second Officer, Royal Navy Lieutenant. On the orders of the Captain, Lieutenant Commander Nelson, I was waiting for Mr. Drake at the docks. ”

……

A short time later, Lorraine was guided by Lieutenant Ray to an inn in the docklands, where she met Nelson, who was playing cards, and another short, round-faced young officer.

"Lorraine. Drake, my good friend. I'm glad you showed up in time for my departure. Nelson smiled at Lorraine, "Let me introduce you, this is Cuthbert. Major Collingwood, Captain HMS Wasp, my best friend in the military, a reliable warrior to be trusted. ”

Reliable?

Lorraine looked in surprise at the hesitant young officer across from Nelson, holding up a sign.

He was very young-looking, with a goose-egg-shaped face, a small face, a little baby fat on his cheeks, and a short and lean stature.

This baby face made him unable to find the slightest bit of military evil and destructive power, and he seemed friendly and easy, even for a person like Lorraine who was not good at judging people by their appearance, it was difficult to associate him with the word reliable.

Is it because people are not disfigured?

Lorraine turned these thoughts around for a moment, and saw Collingwood put down his cards, turned his head, and smiled reservedly at Lorraine: "Long admire the great name, Mr. Drake, I'm Collingwood, Cuthbert. Collingwood. ”

"Lorraine. Arnason. Drake, Mr. Major, it's a pleasure to meet you. ”

After a brief introduction, Nelson and Collingwood finished halfway through the game, and the resolute Nelson didn't even ask Lorraine what he was doing, and began to explain the situation to Lorraine straight away.

A great war is imminent, and the cause of the war is still on land.

In 1778, General Clinton, the new commander of the British army in the colony, had a secret meeting with Sir Parker, preparing to take advantage of the fact that there were more "loyalists" in the south and were close to the West Indies, which was conducive to naval intervention and other conditions to transfer the main force to the south, first to control the southern states, and then to echo with the northern stronghold of New York to contain the north and end the war.

After gaining the support of the New World Fleet, Admiral Clinton dispatched Archibald Anderson. Lieutenant Colonel Campbell led 35,000 British troops south by sea from New York, and launched an amphibious assault on Savannah, the capital of Georgia, in December, and won a resounding victory.

Savannah thus became an important fulcrum for the British army on the south coast of North America.

Relying on her, the British began to launch a powerful offensive in the south, and the recently concluded Battle of New Orleans was one of the components of this spring offensive, and it was also one of the few regional battles that did not achieve results.

The reborn viability of the British army put enormous pressure on the Continental Army and its most important ally, the French, with the loss of strongholds, the loss of sergeants, and the blockade of the New World fleet by sea and the weakening of important smuggling routes.

The United States and France are eager to turn the tide of the situation, which means that they must break the land and sea link between Sir Parker and General Clinton, and the key to this is the powerful naval power of the New World Fleet.

The defeat of the New World Fleet was of great significance, as it could not only cut off the communication channels between the British forces in the north and the south, so that the two armies could be left alone, but also smooth smuggling and quickly expand the resistance of the Americans.

To achieve this, the French launched the Battle of the Windward Islands.

At the end of February, the French Navy and its ally, the Dutch Navy, began an orderly build-up to Fort de France, the capital of Martinique, and within a month organized a formidable fleet of 28 ships, including three battleships of the third rank and six cruisers of the fourth rank.

Sir Parker detected the French battle plan in time, and immediately ordered the powerful New World main fleet to attack Barbados, and joined up with the Windward Islands Squadron stationed there to form a combined fleet of 22 ships, including the 2nd class battleship, HMS Duke of Wales, the 3rd class battleship HMS Endeavor, HMS Poseidon and 4 4th class cruisers.

From mid-April, two powerful fleets left port and began to seek fighters in the waters inside the Windward Islands. There have been three skirmishes between the outer fleets so far, with the Royal Navy winning one and drawing two, sinking a Dutch frigate in the Inland Sea of St. Vincent.

Hearing this, Lorraine interrupted Nelson's narration in confusion.

"Lieutenant Colonel, you said that Sir Parker's fleet has been out to sea in the middle of the day, and the frigates are cruising on the periphery of the main fleet, which should be an important scout and escort force. In that case, why are you and Mr. Major ......"

"In a battle of this level, even if the Badger tries his best, it is impossible for the Badger to play the leading role, which is not what I want, and it is not what Cuthbert wants."

Nelson smiled coldly and flipped through the chart and drew a long arc along the Atlantic Ocean.

"So I joined Cuthbert and I in proposing a supplementary plan for the flanking raid on Martinique, and Jazz agreed, with the Badger and the Wasp being the ones to carry out this independent mission."

"Two 28-gun sixth-class frigates raiding Martinique, the lair of the French?"

"It's three, you forgot about your Golden Deer." Nelson waved his hand domineeringly, "Three battleships, a hundred guns, and our excellent army partners will launch a surprise attack on the French campaign base camp together." It's going to be a fun ride, and we're going to knock on the door of a French guy and trick-or-treat, just like we did on Halloween. ”