Boston. Pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info

"Freedom, freedom is not subject to taxes?"

Norton, the governor of Massachusetts, stood at the window of his office and sneered at the protesting crowd on the street outside.

The British Parliament has just passed the stamp duty bill that appeared more than 40 years after the original history, to put it simply, all documents, books and even marriage certificates must be taxed according to different circumstances, and then stamped with a seal that represents that the tax has been paid, otherwise it will be sent to prison immediately if it is found, and before that, the notorious bills in the original history were basically added, such as the sugar law, and even granted the franchise of tea, kerosene and other commodities in the North American colonies to the British East India Company.

Previously, these things were originally monopolized by the East India Company, after all, they were the ones who did the Eastern trade.

But now the influx of the Universal and the French East India Company has completely ended their dominance, especially the lower-priced Universal Company, those large schooner clippers flying with blue flags are now like a nightmare on the head of the British East India Company, because the ship is fast and can be loaded directly in South Africa, the East India Company transports back a shipload of goods from Daming, and the ship of the Universal Company can even bring three ships, which brings a huge cost advantage. Although the British government has set up a variety of tariff barriers, there is no smuggling of this thing, and the people of those colonies do not care about the difficulties of their home country, they rely on the emperor to ignore the law and regard smuggling as their main business, so that in the end, 90% of the tea in the North American colonies is actually smuggled, and the shareholders of the East India Company are about to vomit blood with anger.

The East India Company was the heart and soul of the British, and in the end the British government simply played a one-size-fits-all game.

Then the people of North America were outraged.

Especially those who get rich by smuggling, this is simply cutting off their livelihood.

Then this stamp bill became the fuse that ignited the anger of the people of the North American colonies.

"Order the army to prepare!"

His Excellency looked at the crowd burning the portrait of George I in the streets, and said grimly: "These bastards are becoming more and more disrespectful, and it is time for them to know the majesty of royal power, and it is time for them to know who they are." ”

"Your Excellency the Governor, the consul of the Ming Kingdom asks for a meeting."

That's when an official reported to him.

Daming has consulates in Boston, New York, Philadelphia and other places, after all, more than half of the crew of the Universal Company is now basically Daming, and a large number of Ming citizens set foot on the land of New England every year, so more and more foreign affairs are brought about.

"Tell him I don't have time right now."

Governor Norton said impatiently.

"He said the situation was urgent, and that the Seahawk, a merchant ship of Universal Corporation, was under siege by a large number of pirates a hundred nautical miles east of Boston, and asked us to send warships to the rescue."

The official said.

"Universal Company? Let them die! ”

Governor Norton, who owned a large number of shares in the East India Company, roared.

Of course, the official must not reply directly like this, he went out and regretfully told the Ming consul in Boston that His Excellency the Governor is currently busy dealing with the protests of the people, and has no time to meet with His Excellency the Consul, as for sending warships to rescue, we will contact the Royal Navy, but the sailors of the two battleships of the Royal Navy in Boston have gone ashore to suppress it, so it will definitely take a little time, in short, it is difficult for the battleships to go to sea before the protests subside, as for the trouble of the Sea Hawk......

Let's pray for them!

"It's such a shame and I hope you understand what that means!"

Zhang Cheng, the consul of the Ming Dynasty in Boston, said very dissatisfied.

Then he turned and left.

Looking at his back, the official shrugged his shoulders indifferently, what else could that mean? He wished that the pirates had robbed all of the merchant ships of Universal Company, and that the British Navy had no duty to protect them.

"Sir, what are we going to do?"

At the same time, on a luxury version of the four-wheeled carriage outside, the secretary asked Zhang Cheng cautiously.

"What should I do?"

Zhang Cheng sneered and said: "Send a telegram to the Sea Eagle, tell them to find a way, and send a report to Jinshan City, let them report to the country, this is not good, this is the fifth merchant ship to encounter pirates this year, the Swedish Navy has no base in North Yinzhou, our merchant ships from the Mediterranean Sea cannot be effectively protected at all, and a certain number of navies must be maintained in this area." ”

According to the agreement between Yang Feng and Charles XII, the security in the Atlantic was protected by the Swedish Navy, but before Globe's merchant ships mainly went to the coast of Africa, or went straight to Brazil and then north from the coast of the Americas, and the Swedish Navy had warships on the Danish colonies in West Africa and the Caribbean to provide protection for these merchant ships. However, with the capture of Egypt by the Ming Dynasty, especially the improvement of the road from the port of Suez to Cairo, the loading of goods in Alexandria and the North Atlantic route in the Mediterranean Sea has become the choice of more merchant ships, which has also made the pirates of the Americas smell the wind. With the deliberate connivance of the British, most of them were based off the coast of Nova Scotia, and when they landed, they were ordinary British immigrants, and after they went to sea, they were pirates, and even the East India Company was still providing them with information, anyway, the goal of the East India Company was to squeeze out the Universal Company, and they couldn't do it themselves, so they could only instruct the pirates.

As soon as he finished saying this, a series of gunshots suddenly came from behind him.

"They're going crazy!"

The secretary looked behind him and said in surprise.

There, guards in front of the Governor's Palace were shooting at the crowd trying to storm the Governor's Palace, and the first few protesters fell to the sound of gunfire.

"If you want the government to protect them, but you don't want to pay taxes to the government, such a Diao people should teach a lesson, how can there be such a good thing in this world, if I want me to say that the British should withdraw their troops from here first and let the Yin people come over to kill a circle, then see who dares not to pay taxes!"

Zhang Cheng said with a sneer.

Half an hour later.

"Lin, we're in trouble."

On the steel three-masted schooner Seahawk, Larsson, a Swedish captain, said to Lin Hao, a Ming escort, communications officer, and Jinyiwei commissioner, with a solemn face.

This is an ocean-going cargo ship belonging to the Universal Company, sailing from Alexandria, because Yang Feng strictly forbade the use of steam engines to sail through the Cape of Good Hope, and the old sail merchant ships are too backward, so the shipyard of the Ming Dynasty specially built this new type of schooner for the Universal Company, which is actually the famous North American schooner. It's just that the Ming Dynasty is made of steel, while the Swedish is made of wood, but there is no difference in the type of ship, and this kind of schooner flying a flag similar to the United Nations of later generations can be seen everywhere in the Atlantic Ocean today. And like the embassies and consulates in various places, they are equipped with radios, this thing Yang Feng is not afraid of Europeans stealing learning, it is not at all what the current European industrial strength can make, he just gave one to the British, and the latter stared dryly.

"Captain, believe me, they're in trouble!"

Lin Hao looked at the sea in the distance and said.

Eight small brigs were rapidly closing in, the Sea Hawk was slow with loads, the eight pirate ships were getting closer and closer to them, and they could even see the faces of the pirates on board with binoculars, these guys were roaring with knives and guns like wolves hunting reindeer, and the cannons on the side of the ship were pushed out of the cannon doors, and soon the muzzle of the nearest pirate ship first erupted flames, and the solid cannonballs whizzed across the sea, hitting the side side of the Sea Eagle, and then ......

"Look, I'll just say they're in trouble!"

Lin Hao said with a smile.

The shell was just ejected.

The Sea Eagle is a steel hull, and the outside is a steel plate more than an inch thick, even if it is a civilian shipbuilding steel plate, it is not something that can be penetrated by those twelve-pound smoothbore gun ball cast iron shells on the pirate ship, and on the pirate ship in the distance, the captain even rubbed his eyes in disbelief, but at this time, it was their turn to be unlucky.

"Fire!"

Captain Larson roared aboard the Sea Hawk.

Of course, the Sea Eagle will not be unarmed, this large merchant ship with a displacement of thousands of tons is equipped with forty cannons, although it is also a twelve-pounder smoothbore gun, but this power is not something that a pirate ship can withstand, and the unlucky pirate ship was instantly smashed to pieces. The ship's pirates desperately fought back with their guns, but their shells, despite the constant landings on the Sea Hawk, could only make a dent in the steel plate at most, and could not penetrate the inch-thick steel plate at all, and some of the shells simply shattered in the impact.

The shells on the Sea Hawk could easily cause serious damage.

Such a battle is desperate.

Just a few minutes later, the battered pirate ship had to flee into the distance.

At this time, more pirate ships arrived, and two of them even bravely closed the distance, trying to rush the Sea Eagle by the broadside battle, but unfortunately the rifled rifles in the hands of the crew and the shells loaded in the cannons were not easy to provoke, and those pirates were beaten and fell into the sea before they could get closer, but the solid cannonballs were not flowering shells after all, and the two pirate ships were still closing the distance with the Sea Hawk.

"Turn the rudder, bump!"

Lin Hao suddenly shouted.

Captain Larson rushed to the steering wheel and turned the rudder suddenly, the Sea Eagle began to turn around at sea like a monster, and a pursuing pirate ship behind it also hurriedly turned its rudder, but in the end it still failed to avoid it, the two ships collided fiercely together and sent out a violent friction, the result of the steel hitting the wooden plank was self-evident, although the riveted hull of the Sea Eagle was slightly deflated, but the side of the pirate ship broke in an instant.

"Throw!"

At the same time, Lin Hao shouted.

The ship's crew immediately threw out the burning bottle, and then the pirate ship turned directly into a blazing torch.

The remaining pirate ships turned to flee as fast as they could.

"It's not easy for pirates to mix up these days!"

Looking at the fleeing pirate ship, Captain Larson sighed heartily.

The next day, Nanjing.

"Pirate, I forgot, this is the golden age of pirates, is that Blackbeard dead?"

Yang Feng said.

"Your Majesty, Blackbeard is dead, and the biggest pirate leader in the Atlantic at this time is Barthalomew-Roberts, and he is the one who colluded with the East India Company, according to intelligence, the East India Company built him a special schooner pirate ship, and then his subordinates specially robbed the ships of the Universal Company, and the goods on board were handed over to the East India Company to sell the stolen goods, and the East India Company guaranteed that the British Navy would not attack him. However, his current base in Nova Scotia can only harass the North Atlantic route, and the West African coast and the Caribbean route are under the protection of the Swedish Navy. Moreover, the pirate group in the Caribbean Sea has a tacit understanding with the Universal Company, they are responsible for smuggling our goods from the Danish territories, and the local British smugglers in North Yinzhou are responsible for receiving the goods, so Roberts's people do not dare to go over, and the pirates in the Caribbean Sea will not let him destroy the business. ”

Lu You said.

He was surprised that His Majesty the Emperor knew about Blackbeard, Edward. It is indeed amazing that Tiqi's feats can reach the ears of the emperor back then, in fact, this time is in the golden age of piracy, and a large number of famous pirates have risen in recent years. He even set up a pirate republic in the Bahamas in Nassau Harbor, but was also pirated by the British Governor Woods. Rogers was suppressed, and the most indispensable thing in this era is pirates, not to mention men, even women still have bandits who roam the seas, such as Anne. Bowley had just been hanged.

"In other words, there is only the North Yinzhou route."

Yang Feng said.

"Yes, only the routes from Gibraltar to New York, Boston, and Philadelphia, the Swedish Navy is too far away, whether from the Caribbean or West Africa or Europe, it is very far away to maintain cruises, but it is of little use, Roberts's men are on the territory of the British, as soon as they come ashore, they become normal merchants or farmers, and it is impossible for the Swedes to attack Nova Scotia."

Lu You said.

"Then escort and send our fleet to escort it."

Yang Feng said.

What a resounding reason to fight pirates.

He was worried about how to let the Ming fleet enter the Americas, now the Ming military port has been built to Cape Town, and the small base in the Falkland Islands has also been established, of course, this base has no practical significance, so he needs to really extend his tentacles to the Atlantic, especially North America.

"But if we want to escort the ship, we must have a base, and Yinzhou has basically been carved up by the Europeans."

Lu You said.

This is very important, European countries whether Britain and France will not welcome the Ming army over, that is to say, they will not provide any supplies for the Ming army, just like the original history of the Russian Baltic Fleet, and only the Danish territory under the control of the Swedes can, Denmark in West Africa, that is, the modern Ghana trading post, the Ming fleet can get supplies there when it goes north, and then go north into the Mediterranean Sea to Alexandria, Egypt, where the Ming Dynasty belongs.

It could serve as a home port for the Ming fleet.

But the problem is that the escort is not good!

There are still 20,000 miles from Alexandria to North America, so you can't let the Ming warships follow one merchant ship after another, right? The only option is to get a base in that area, and then use it as a base to cruise around the pirate's main activity area, but the problem is that there are no borderlands in North America.

"Who said there wasn't?"

Yang Feng said with a smile: "There are lands in North Yinzhou that do not belong to Europeans. (To be continued.) )