Since the autumn of 1599 James. Lancaster led a fleet to establish the first trading post in Java, and as the British economy prospered, Oriental trade began to enter the eyes of the mainstream British merchants. In this context, the "Companies and Adjudicators of London Merchants Trading in the East Indias" (the full name of the British East India Company) came into being.

By 1636, the company had organized dozens of voyages between the East Indies and the mainland, reaping huge profits. In addition, the company established more than a dozen trading posts in the territory of the Mughal dynasty and the territory of the South Indian kings. Among them, the trading posts in Surat, Transquíbal and other places were fortified and defended by dozens of British soldiers.

Of course, the company's maritime strength is also very strong. According to historical records, between 1600 and 1640, the company owned 76 ships, 49 of which had a tonnage of more than 300 tons, and some even exceeded 1,000 tons.

Such a powerful company was naturally remarkable in England, and perhaps only the Levant Company, which traded in Turkey in the Eastern Mediterranean, could hold back the East India Company. Of course, many of the East India Company's shareholders were themselves Levant shareholders.

Nicholas. Green is such a big businessman with great energy. The thousands of pounds he invested in the Turkish company (the predecessor of the Levant Company, which merged with the Venice Company to form the Levant Company) in his early years have now brought back him dozens of times the return, and in recent years, his investments in the Moscow Company, the Virginia Company and the East India Company have made his assets rise steadily.

His success in business led him to gain much praise among London merchants and aristocrats, and some nobles and even the king's close retainers secretly sought him out to trade with the shareholders of India. It made him feel very good, and everyone thought of it, including himself. He was able to keep succeeding. Until a bad news this morning.

"What do you say? William died? "Nicholas. Green angrily asked Nick, who was standing in front of him. The slightly trembling voice showed the violent fluctuations in his emotions at the moment.

"Yes, Venerable Mr. Green." William. Clifford's former close aide, the first mate of the armed merchant ship "Lucky Gianny". "Captain, who blames himself for his recklessness in provoking war with the people of the East Coast," said Wernum, "is determined to sink with the Lucky Janny, and to compensate the captains of his fellow ships for their losses. ”

"William, he's such a character!" Green slapped the table hard, then looked at Nick indifferently and said, "Newcastle people, can't you ten ships take down five ships from the East Coasters?" And then it also caused my nephew William to be defeated and self-sinking? What a ridiculous thing! ”

"God testifies!" Nick. "I regret a hundred times that I didn't follow the captain at that moment," Wernum excitedly argued, "but I have a more important mission. For two years in a row, the people of the East Coast of the New World intercepted merchant ships attacking the kingdom in the vast expanse stretching from the Gulf of Massachusetts in the north to the Chesapeake Bay in the south. They also competed with the kingdom in La Plata, Brazil, and New Spain, and many of the kingdom's merchants had their trade volume shrunk dramatically, and they had to move to other regions, which in turn disrupted the economic order elsewhere. Mr. Greene, you are the veteran of the Levant Company and the Senator of the East India Company, and you have your cargo in the merchant ship of the Warrior of the Virginia Company, which has been sunk in battle, and I ask you to unite with the other damaged shipowners and companies as soon as possible to put pressure on the Council and the King to take decisive measures to stop the bad deeds of the people of the East Coast. ”

Green stared coldly at Nick for several minutes. Then he adjusted his mood and reluctantly asked, "Which ships have you lost this time?" ”

"The East India Company's 'Lucky Janney' was sunk, the 'Lemon' was defeated and captured, the Virginia Company's 'Warrior' was sunk, the Merchant Adventure Company's 'Asuka' lost two-thirds of its cargo, and the Virginia Company's 'Prosperity' was badly damaged. Requires major repairs; In addition to this, we lost about four hundred sailors in total. Nick said 1510 that he had counted them when he returned to Portsmouth.

Nicholas. Green pondered for a long time before asking, "Why are you sure that the people from the East Coast did it?" ”

"Their guns were fast and accurate, and ships of the same tonnage carried twice as many guns as the kingdom's, and according to the judgment of the captains, they all agreed that they were 'Tatartan cannons'. And the navy-type East Coasters of the 'Tatartan Cannon' never sell it, they always keep it for their own use. Therefore, it is almost certain that the enemy we encountered this time was the people from the East Coast of the New World. These reasons mentioned by Nick are also the unanimous opinion of the captains after the war, and even according to the description of a sailor who has boarded the battleship of the East Coaster, he even saw the face of the Oriental in the battle, combined with the analysis of intelligence from all sides, this is obviously a high-ranking officer of the East Coaster.

"Did the East Coasters come last year?"

"Yes." Nick nodded affirmatively, "Three Virginia ships laden with tobacco disappeared last year, and we have good reason to suspect that this was also done by the East Coasters. ”

Nicholas. Green fell into a longer silence when he heard this.

"The kingdom will not go to war now." After a long time, Green slowly spoke, "The king's attention has always been fixed on the Habsburgs, and the small naval battles in the New World are far from his interest. Last year, trade in the Mediterranean accounted for 45 percent of the Kingdom's total merchandise exports, and exports to traditional markets such as Western Europe, Northern Europe, the Baltic Sea region, and Russia accounted for 47 percent. In contrast, exports to the New World and the Far East accounted for only 8% of the Kingdom's total merchandise exports. Naturally, the king and the gentlemen will be able to distinguish between the more important and the more important. ”

Nick closed his eyes in disappointment. Mr. Green has made it clear that the King and the big men will not go to war with other countries over such a small dispute, especially at this time when the finances of the Crown are in great financial difficulty.

In order to support Sweden in fighting the war with the Habsburgs, the king not only imposed a large amount of exorbitant taxes at home, but even sold the dowry of his wife, Princess Maria, the sister of Louis XIII, which shows the financial constraints of Britain. At this time, another costly expedition to the New World was launched, and Nick knew on his toes that it was impossible.

"War at the national level is out of the question, but we can think of other ways." Nicholas. "I'm not in the textile business," Green said suddenly. But I also know that cotton textiles from India now make up an increasing proportion of the East India Company, and now the East Coast sells textiles everywhere, even in London. South France has become a carnival for merchants on the east coast, and many councilors in the company have been dissatisfied with this for a long time. Now that the textiles of the East Coast are slowly but surely eroding the market that was once dominated by Indian cotton, it is time to put an end to their golden days. ”

"What will the gentlemen of the East India Company do?"

"What else can I do?" Nicholas. Green glared at Nick: "As long as their goods can't reach the ports of France, then how are they going to do business?" We have never been merciful to our competitors, whether they are Dutch, Venetians or East Coasters! Also, there are a lot of joint stock companies on the docks in Portsmouth, London, etc.(1) and you can go to them and tell them how wealthy the people on the East Coast are, and how busy the merchant ships are between the East Coast and the Old World. Don't worry, someone will be tempted. ”

Nick nodded knowingly.

"No one can continue to get away with hurting my nephew!" Nicholas. Green muttered as he looked out the window at the rainy day in London.

The whole of the following month spent the whole of London in an atmosphere of restlessness.

Relations between Scotland and England have been strained by the king's appointment of the Archbishop of Canterbury by requiring the Church of Elders of Scotland to adopt the Anglican prayer book in their prayers. The king wanted to raise taxes to finance the military crusade against Scotland, but the terms put forward by the members of the parliament were so harsh that the king did not agree, and the two sides continued to quarrel endlessly.

At a time when these political events attract the attention of the vast majority of people, passing by Nicholas. Green's relentless campaign brought together representatives of the East India Company, the Virginia Company, the Massachusetts Bay Company in London, the Bermuda Company, the Plymouth Company, and a number of less influential companies such as the Canadian Company, the Provence Company, and the Guyana Company. After several rounds of negotiations, the companies with their colonial and commercial interests in the New World reached a tentative agreement that they must resolutely curb the privateering activities of the Easterners off the east coast of North America, impose the necessary penalties on them, and actively demand that the Easterners compensate them for their previous acts of piracy through diplomatic means.

Many of the companies had colonies in the Americas, and they were keenly affected by the pirate infestation of the Easterners, and the East India Company had a high degree of commercial competition with the Easterners, so they soon came to a plan to send a combined fleet to attack the Coasters' sea lines, and even attack the Easterners themselves.

As for the specific details of the plan, because it involves the number of warships, personnel, and materials sent by various companies, as well as the method of raising funds, it may not be clear for a while, but things are moving forward in an irreversible way.

(1) Partnership joint-stock company: At that time, there were two main forms of companies, namely the charter company and the joint-stock company. A partnership joint-stock company is generally composed of several investors and several ships, and the consent of the other shareholders is required for any shareholder to transfer the shares. Generally speaking, such companies do not get the concession to operate a certain commodity in a certain place, and they all secretly conduct trade, disrupting the trade order of large companies, so they are also a thorn in the side of large companies, and they are severely suppressed. Many of the shipowners and sailors of the joint-stock partnership were outlaws, and in many cases they engaged in piracy. (To be continued......)