City of Grasse.

The sky was always gloomy, with a large number of factories entrenched in the suburbs, using child labor and the like, and the new capitalists trying to squeeze the workers in every possible way, leaving no stone unturned in reducing costs.

Such a sweatshop, known as an adult, will never live for five years after entering, but it is also they who together create the glorious grand occasion of Innsman.

In the center of the city, there are many spire-like Gothic buildings, and a huge bell tower chimes the time.

There was always a rush of people on the streets, black bowler hats, gray coats, and a civilized stick, forming the mainstream clothing of gentlemen at this time.

An ornate carriage pulled by two black steeds crosses the bridge in a classical style.

Donald frowned when he opened the window and saw a foul-smelling, apparently heavily polluted river filled with black trash.

As an oceanomancer, he hated places like this, especially those that endangered the water in such a way.

It's a pity that he's just a newly famous economist, and even if he comes forward to criticize, it won't play much role at all, because this is the trend of a big era.

The carriage continued on its way, stopping in front of a magnificent palace-like manor.

The birds are singing and the flowers are fragrant, and the servants are flocking.

All this made Donald have a strong sense of trance, as if he had gone from hell to heaven all at once.

"Is it Mr. Donald?"

A butler in a tuxedo personally pulled the car door and bowed slightly: "Lord Duke has been waiting for a long time!" ”

This is the residence of the Duke of Ham.

At this time, Innsman was ostensibly ruled by the royal family, but in fact, a large part of the power was concentrated in the hands of the parliament and the prime minister.

Of course, as a king, he also has a lot of power, and the royal power and the relative power are in a delicate balance.

The Duke of Ham line, not only has royal blood, but is also an evergreen tree in the political arena, with several prime ministers and countless political allies, and is the top nobleman in Innsman.

Such a big nobleman wanted to meet Donald, and Donald naturally had to come obediently.

On a lawn, Donald meets the present-day Duke of Ham.

This is a white-blonde haired, energetic old man, who is wearing a loose silk robe at this time, leisurely enjoying afternoon tea.

"Mr. Donald...... I have had the pleasure of reading your "Wealth of Nations" for a long time, and many of its ideas are really impressive! ”

After seeing Donald, the Duke took the initiative to get up and greet him: "Pour a cup of black tea for my guests, I have a new pastry chef here, and the things he makes are very good, try it!" ”

"Thank you!"

Donald expressed his gratitude reservedly and took the delicate porcelain teacup.

The porcelain here comes from the Oriental Continent, with the color of glazed enamel, which is as exquisite as a work of art.

The black tea comes from another large colony of Insman, the Kingdom of Qilan.

There are also sugar cubes, which are the product of tropical plantations.

"Wishing the great Innsman ......"

All of this seems to tell the story of the rise of a powerful nation, and Innsman seems to be taking advantage of this great sea to become the king of the world!

"Best wishes to our Queen!"

Duke Ham smiled and took a sip of black tea: "Mr. Donald, I wonder if you know what I mean by inviting you here?" ”

"Of course!"

Donald stood up and bowed again: "I am honored to be the personal advisor of Lord Duke!" ”

"That's great...... There's been a lot of annoying things lately, and with your help, I'm much easier......"

The Duke smiled and handed over a piece of newspaper.

Donald cautiously took it, knowing that this was the assessment.

He froze and looked at the first edition.

The fragrance of the ink emanated from it, but it did not touch the hands at all, and the huge title on it was unusually conspicuous - "Atrocity! The port of Dearborn was ransacked by pirates!! ”

Underneath the title, there is also a black and white photo, although it is a little blurry, but a large number of ruins and corpses can be vaguely seen.

“…… It is reported that the Port of Dearborn was attacked by pirates, accompanied by a civil riot, and the Royal Navy has sailed to Port Dearborn to calm the situation...... Losses counted, more than a thousand civilians were killed or wounded, and the family of Viscount Dearborn was wiped out...... As a result, the shares of several companies that trade with Dearborn on the stock exchange today plummeted......"

"Pirates, damn pirates again!"

Duke Ham covered his forehead and sighed, "Look at it...... What has become of our seemingly glorious kingdom? Hey...... Citizens rioted, who doesn't know that the most common thing in Port Dearborn is pirates! That viscount can be regarded as lifting a stone and shooting himself in the foot, but ...... The majesty of Insman does not allow desecration, and in any case, the pirates who kill the nobles of Insman must pay the price! ”

"I wonder which group of pirates did this?"

Donald asked, steady.

"It seems to be a group of newly rising pirates, the leader is nicknamed 'The Sorcer', a transcendent being, whose abilities seem to be very complex, and who reveal many strange methods......"

Under today's communication conditions, it is enough to know a lot of information, which is enough to see that this duke is not simple.

“…… Several consortia whose interests have been damaged have joined forces to promote and form a resolution to arrest the pirate for an amount of ...... Ten thousand gold Galleons! ”

Donald nodded, knowing that this magician was about to become famous.

After all, it's rare for a pirate to get such a huge bounty right away.

"Frequent piracy is only one aspect, and on the other hand, it is the rise of other countries to catch up......"

Duke Ham continued: "Our country has gained a huge amount of wealth in the maritime trade, which has long aroused the covetousness of other countries on the continent of Ofar, like Sissel, who has expanded the scale of the shipyard one after another, claiming to build an ace fleet of hundreds of warships and more than 10,000 seafarers in the next three years!" ”

"At the same time, countries are also easing restrictions and encouraging private capital to go overseas...... Their marine capitalists will be the biggest opponents of our Insman businessmen in the future! ”

……

The Duke seemed to be old, and his speech was a little rambling, but the meaning was very clear.

Donald was silent for a moment, then thought of Fang Yuan's revelation before, and couldn't help but say: "Pirates and foreign countries, these seem to be two problems, but in fact, they are just two sides of the same problem, both revolving around the hegemony of the sea!" The true king of the world, all it takes is one! ”

"That's right, and it could only be us!"

Duke Ham said without hesitation.

"Honestly...... Our Innsman is an island country, with a unique location, and with the previous accumulation, it is also very difficult for other countries to catch up with us, and there are still those killer weapons in the major shipyards? ”

Donald blinked.

"Even so, even if we have an invincible fleet, maintenance and maintenance are a big problem, we can't drive warships to trade, and we can't block all the oceans!"

Duke Ham said that if Donald only had this level, it would undoubtedly be a disappointment for him.

"Yes, so we need to fight piracy, and by the way, the merchant ships of various countries......"

Donald whistled playfully: "But God, Insman, we are in such a good position, like an unsinkable ship, guarding the waters off the continent of Ofar...... If my memory is correct, Innsman's own nationals make up a significant portion of the pirates who are active in the coastal seas, and even in the Nightmare Seas? ”

"Indeed!"

Because it is an island country, it has formed a tradition to go to sea, and a large number of fishermen are used to begging for a living at sea, and they don't mind making extra money.

"In fact, not only the fishermen, but also the bankrupt aristocrats, seem to have joined some not-so-good trades......

Donald sneered: "Then it's simple, what about the pirate license we issued to our own country?" As long as they don't rob our own ships, but only the ships of other countries, then their interests can be protected in Innsman! ”

"License?"

Duke Ham was a little dizzy: "You mean...... We make peace with pirates? No...... No......"

"The pirates in the ocean are a powerful force, and if we can subdue some of them, it will be very beneficial to our expansion!" Donald said firmly: "Moreover, they can be used to block the development of other countries' oceans, even if they fail, they will not feel distressed!" At critical moments, these forces can also be called up to join the naval battle...... Even, when the pirates are old, or want to be good, we can collect taxes from them in exchange for the power of amnesty......"

In Fang Yuan's previous life, this was the case in England.

It's just that the British Navy at that time was not strong, and it was only an expedient measure that had to be carried out in order to deal with Spain, a maritime power.

And in this world, Innsman, the world's largest naval strength, can still choose to do so, in order to combat the development of the navigation industry in other countries!

Although the starting point is different, the ultimate interests are the same.

Therefore, even if Duke Ham shook his head again and again, Donald was very confident.

"Okay...... I think this idea needs to be discussed...... Duke Ham flickered, "Hmm...... Mr. Donald, how about inviting you to dinner with me? ”

The butler holding the teapot next to him shook his hand, knowing that the person who could be invited to dinner by the Duke was even more intimate, and he couldn't help but glance at the economist.

"That's my pleasure!" Donald smiled and bowed.

"What if...... I'm just saying that if ......" the Duke of Ham asked slowly, "what do you think should be the name of the permit proposal?" ”

"Privateer license, I think the official name is very good!"

"And those pirate ships that have privateer licenses, with some support from our navy, may be called ...... Pirate Royal?! ”