Zhang Heng knew very well how important the maiden voyage was to a rookie captain, not to mention that he and his Jackdaw were still the target of Nassau.

Since he returned to the island, countless pairs of eyes have been watching his every move, the combination of a powerful battleship and an overly young and inexperienced captain is as delicious as a muffin in the eyes of many people.

Therefore, before landing on the shore, Zhang Heng had to consider the worst possibility, he did not doubt the loyalty of Billy and the others, at least after the Kidd Treasure Incident, these sixteen people would not betray him in the short term, but he had to take into account the possibility of Billy and the others being used by others.

Especially when the information of the perfume ship and the Duffy appeared, and the location of the two happened to be on an unpopular route, Zhang Heng felt that this matter was a bit too coincidental, and then contacted the tough attitude of the Black Business Alliance, Zhang Heng could already have a hunch that this maiden voyage would not be too smooth.

But fortunately, he also has a card in his hand, Karina is an outsider on the island like him, especially when the Black Merchant Alliance is established, it is even more devastating for her who intends to inherit her father's business and earn ransom, at this time she needs Zhang Heng's Jackdaw to provide her with loot, and Zhang Heng also needs someone who can cash in the loot he grabs every time he goes to sea.

Unlike Billy and others, Zhang Heng had no intention of cooperating with the Black Merchants Alliance from the beginning, not just because there was a shadow of Fraser behind it, many people did not realize the danger of this soon-to-be-established organization, once Nassau's trade channels were monopolized, the pirates on the island did not just lose their bargaining power.

The captain of a pirate ship may be chosen as the captain because of courage, force, or experience, but in the final analysis, it is because of their ability to create wealth for the crew, and the loot that cannot be realized cannot be called wealth, in other words, when the black merchant alliance really monopolizes the entire Nassau trade, they can easily achieve the purpose of removing the captain of a certain ship by refusing to accept the spoils of war from that ship.

And with such rights, the status of black merchants and pirates will also change.

This is undoubtedly what Zhang Heng doesn't want to see, in fact, other captains may not have been aware of this, but the conditions offered by the Black Merchants Alliance for them are difficult for them to refuse, in addition to the higher purchase price than the market, the Black Merchants Alliance also promises that this price is only valid when they are the captains, in other words, when their crews are ready to overthrow them later, they have to consider the losses that this move will cause.

This will help to make their position more secure, and most people are prepared to think about what will happen later, and few people in a high-risk profession like piracy will bother with what will happen tomorrow.

But Zhang Heng can't be so short-sighted, not to mention that the current existence of the Black Merchant Alliance has hindered his development, and Karina's appearance provides him with a possibility.

Billy and Di Freina felt that the latter was too junior and lacked roots on the island, so they were not optimistic about her, but Zhang Heng was the opposite, he hoped that he could dominate when choosing a partner, and having a channel that he could completely control and steadily realize the loot was of great strategic significance to him.

Karina is the most suitable partner he can find at this stage, but before that, Zhang Heng needs her to prove his ability first.

The Jackdaw arrived at sunset on Tamsui Island, a small island of less than twenty hectares and uninhabited.

There are thousands of such islands in the Caribbean, most of which don't even have names, and Tamsui Island got its name because Magellan stopped here on his round-the-world trips.

For many years, people were often confused by the name of the island, but there was no fresh water on the island, and Magellan called it because his fleet docked here just in time for a torrential rain, which allowed the water-starved fleet to receive enough fresh water.

After knowing the truth, this small island, which was already uninhabited, became even more barren.

Zhang Heng asked the Jackdaw to anchor not far from the island, and he took four people, including Anne and Billy, to the island in a small boat.

Everyone jumped off the stranded boat, stepped on the soft sand and walked under the coconut tree, Zhang Heng soon found traces of human activity nearby, he didn't go any further, whistled as agreed, and soon after, a figure walked out of the woods.

Zhang Heng was also a little surprised when he saw the visitor, he and Karina agreed that the latter would send a subordinate to bring the news, but he didn't expect it to be the businesswoman herself.

The latter looked a little embarrassed, she had probably been living on the island for a day or two, and although the boat that had brought her had left her with enough food and water, it was remarkable that a woman could live alone in such an environment for so long.

Karina was also very excited to see Zhang Heng, because the transport ship that sent her here had already returned to Nassau, considering that this was not a popular route, in other words, if Zhang Heng couldn't pick her up, she might even die here.

The businesswoman shuddered, "I have checked according to your request, there is a ship that you should be interested in, it set sail from North Carolina half a month ago, and it is full of spices. ”

"Spices?"

"Yes, it's nutmeg from the Spice Islands, and the ship's appearance in the colonies of the New World was a complete accident, and they plan to return to Europe, and I heard that in London, this thing is worth about as much as gold."

"How far are we from that ship now?" Zhang Heng immediately asked.

"I asked the captain of my transport, and he said that with the speed of your ship, it could take more than ten days to catch up with them if the wind was good."

"Get on board." Zhang Heng didn't talk nonsense, and took the lead to the boat by the beach.

And Billy was still immersed in the news that shocked him, and he still didn't know what was going on in front of him.

It wasn't until the six of them got on the boat that Zhang Heng explained, "I asked Miss Karina for a favor and asked her to use her connections in Boston to help me find out what prey was worth our hands on this route." ”

"Yes...... But wasn't she in Nassau? Billy's mouth widened.

"She returned to Boston as soon as we finished talking that day, and I chose this location because it was the closest uninhabited island to Boston on our route, but I must admit that Miss Karina's efficiency was admirable, and I had a tight time for her, and that she was able to come here so quickly means that she had only been in Boston for less than a day."