Taking advantage of the time to spy on the Portuguese cargo merchant ships, Isabel took the maritime lieutenant to the artillery deck on the lower level of the open deck. No sooner had she descended the stairs than she heard a harsh roar coming from the swaying lights of the gun deck, "Stand up! ”

On closer inspection, it turned out to be the order given by Fast, who was standing in front of a bronze front-loading gun on the starboard side, and the remaining guards and gunners of the Duke of Richmond's Court all stood in their positions with their chests straight. And the gunners who worked for the Hawkins family also stood up to welcome the arrival of the captain and the maritime lieutenant.

Isabel smiled lightly and nodded, pacing to the center of the gun deck. He looked around at the 14 bronze front-loading guns on the two gun emplacements, and then looked at the gunners, "Guys, how are these falcon guns prepared?" ”

"It's all ready, Captain."

Isabel nodded, and said calmly, "Very well, what if I order you to lay down your artillery and take your arquebuses and bring justice and justice to the shores of the Portuguese?" ”

"I will be brave against strong enemies!" Except for the gunners who worked for the Hawkins family, the rest of the gunners replied loudly in unison.

With the light coming from the oil lamps, Isabel noticed that the Hawkins sailors were just roaring like wild beasts. Calmly walked up to a gunner with a thick beard, and said with a smile, "Gunner, are you wondering why these people say the same thing?" ”

The gunner swallowed, glanced at the duke's guards who were standing tall and motionless, and hurriedly smiled at her and said, "Captain, you are a noble lady from the north, and they are your retinue, so they are probably well trained. ”

"Well, you've been with them for so long, you should know what their life was on land before, right?"

Ever since these southern gunners heard some of their previous life experiences from the guards of the Duke's Palace, most of them were very envious of the life of the noble retinue who had no worries about food and clothing, and received a generous honorarium. Although William Hawkins, as the patriarch of the family, would not treat these gunners badly in terms of remuneration and treatment, their lives could not reach the standard of living of the Duke's palace guards.

As soon as they heard Isabel's words, several civilian gunners of the Hawkins family immediately responded strongly, shouting one after another, "Captain, I didn't expect to be able to live such a comfortable life as a nobleman's retinue. I should have known that I should have joined the nobles earlier. ”

"Brother, you're right. Captain Hawkins was very nice to us, but he was not a nobleman, and we were ordinary sailors. ”

"But, captain, we will only operate these guns and arquebuses. I don't think the aristocracy of the north will accept us like this. ”

The young gunner, who had spoken to Isabel earlier, sensed a hint of good signs in her words, and hurriedly looked at her flatteringly while the others had finished speaking, and asked, "Captain, do you have a way to make us the nobles' retinue?" ”

Isabel stood with a smiling gunner and glanced at it and did not immediately answer. But that's what she did. However, she did not consider the position of a noble retinue, but a completely new kind of duty that appeared in the Duke's House of Richmond, which also had a name: "Naval Infantry Regiment of the Duke of Richmond and Somerset".

The Naval Infantry Regiment (Marine Corps) is a commonly used term today, at least when the Royal Marines were born on 28 October 1664, when it was called the Duke of York and the Albany Naval Infantry Regiment. Considering the Duke of Richmond's status, title, and future status at court, Isabel borrowed the old name of the Royal Marines.

Needless to say, the idea of establishing a naval infantry regiment and the significance of its establishment are, after all, a naval infantry regiment is one of the important branches of the navy that is responsible for landing operations. Since these gunners, who had served as gunners on the Nemesis and assisted the Navigator in the replenishment of ships, had learned to use arquebuses, the appearance of naval infantry regiments was inevitable.

Captain Isabel Walton smiled and turned to the center of the gun deck, glanced at all the gunners from left to right, and said, "I wonder how many of the gunners who serve Captain Hawkins are willing to become the nobles' guards?" ”

The gunners present understood her subtext and immediately rushed to her and shouted, "I do, I am willing to ......"

"Very well, I hear you. Now, you can get back to your place. Isabel said a few words calmly. Then, as the gunners were back lined up on either side of the deck, she told the crowd what she had in mind, "Whether it's His Highness's guards or Captain Hawkins' gunners, I'm going to make you a special army. ”

"Special troops?" Most of the guards, including the Duke of Richmond, cast curious glances at her.

"Guys, do you remember the battle that took place in Pirate Paradise a few weeks ago? Isabel looked at the crowd with her arms folded over her chest.

"Captain, speak quickly, whatever you want us to do, we will respectfully obey your orders." Artillery commander Fast spoke anxiously on the side.

His appearance and words provoked another burst of laughter, and Isabel waited for everyone to laugh and naturally explained: "On board, you are heroic gunners. On land, you are the musketeers who bravely fought against the Spaniards or the Portuguese with arquebuses. From now on, this army of your kind is called the Naval Infantry Regiment! ”

"Naval Infantry Regiment...?" Fast stood there and muttered to himself, and hurriedly looked at Isabel, "Captain, this navy... What did the infantry regiment do? ”

Isabel glanced at him, thinking she had just said a bunch of nonsense. With a light sigh, he had to say aloud again: "When our merchant ships plunder Portuguese or Spanish ships, you will bravely rush aboard their ships to kill the enemy. When we need to occupy another pirate paradise or port, you will take to the land with arquebuses and destroy all those who want to kill you. Do you understand? ”

"Understood, Captain." Everyone present immediately replied loudly.

Isabel nodded in satisfaction and glanced at everyone, "Guys, you have to fight for justice and justice!" Fight for the good of His Majesty and the royal family! Fight for your honor! Let every Spaniard or Portuguese know that you are a naval infantry regiment that no one dares to provoke easily! ”