Bantaan Islands.

The blue sea and blue sky, a white sail rides the wind and waves across the sea.

On deck, a sailor plays the flamenco guitar, a musical instrument unique to the Kingdom of Castile, expressing his uncontrollable homesickness.

Melodious singing lingered throughout the merchant ship.

"The ship's name was 'Teapot,' and as the wind blew, she set sail. Blow it, blow it hard.

It won't be long before the 'Teapot' is coming, bringing us sugar, tea, and rum."

A flock of seagulls chirped to accompany him.

Old Tom, the captain of the ship with a beard, looked at the Yucatan Island that was gradually moving away behind him, and a group of natives who were waving enthusiastically on the shore, and his heart was mixed:

"I really didn't expect that there were wise people among those natives who quietly deceived everyone.

On the surface, it seems that it has been exterminated by the smallpox plague, leaving an empty city, which turned out to be just to lure the snake out of the hole and lure the two overlords into a big fight.

In the end, the two forces lost their wives and lost their troops, and they no longer had enough force to forcibly take the land of Yucatan.

Most of the colonists of the entire Bantaan Islands have temporarily restrained their robber nature, and have had to turn back into civilized people and honestly do business with the natives.

Moreover, many city-states also openly profess to believe in a new god [Father of Medicine], and they will never be afraid of any plague in the future, and they don't know if it is true.

Anyway, I heard that the grotesque bird-beak plague doctor roaming the island seems to be on the verge of dissipating itself.

However, these are all things that the big guys have to think about, and they have nothing to do with us lower-class sailors.

Although there were twists and turns, this trip our 'teapot' finally came back safely with the goods. ”

Old Tom's mood now can only be described as mixed.

The good news is that this time I went to Yucatan Island to buy a large number of indigenous specialties through regular transactions.

The worry is that, unlike before, those city-states have all set up a foreign trade department, and a special person is responsible for unified trading.

And the business is skilled, as if suddenly from the original Stone Age, into a modern regular army.

Old Tom even felt that their temperament had a faint hint of a Remitte.

The market for common goods is all treasured.

What is the price in Bantaan, and what is the landing price in the port of Valencia and Felixstowe in the old continent, he is even more familiar with it than his old captain.

"I wonder if any of them have taken up the [Golden Eye] of the Golden Yuan Sequence, and they don't look like a group of natives at all.

The profits of this ocean trade are reduced by a cut, and I hope not to meet Shanghai again when I return home."

Bell, bell, bell

But before they could sail off the coast of Yucatan, the lookout on the mainmast suddenly sounded the alarm.

"Oh no, there are pirates!"

In the chaos on the ship, the captain Tom, whose heart twitched suddenly, hurriedly raised his brass monoculars to look at the pirate ship that sailed out of a pile of reefs.

The pirate flag on the mast had been raised high, and the main body was a dragon head skeleton dripping blood from the corners of its mouth, and below it was a knight's sword and a pirate scimitar crossed by each other.

There was a sudden bitterness in his mouth:

"Unlucky, that's the privateer fleet of the Pioneer Pilot Colony Company of the Kingdom of Hattings!

And it's also the flagship of that pirate general, Byron Tudor, the Sea Hunter.

Legend has it that this was the fastest pirate ship in the whole of Bantaan.

We can't run away. ”

The henchman and follower sent by the shipowner beside him suddenly screamed:

"Can't run away? Then organize the sailors to revolt, Captain Tom! ”

The nine-tailed cat took off its waist, and nine thin whips waved in the air, making a terrible roar.

Roaring at the sailors behind him, most of whom were of different races but were mostly in rags:

"You damned pigs, get the artillery out, and if the pirates steal the goods, I'll throw you all into the sea to feed the fish."

The captain and the surrounding group of sailors looked at this guy who often punished the crew as if they were looking at a fool.

If it weren't for the fact that he was a first-order transcendent, let him shut up forever now.

"Stop the ship, lower the sails, lower the anchor, raise the white flag, and we surrender to the [Golden Deer]."

The captain Tom Sr.'s order made the crew breathe a deep sigh of relief.

There was a hint of happiness in the fear.

This time is different from the past, during this time the [Sea Hunters] have seized the vacuum of Castilian defense, and have made their name spread all over this east-west route.

This supports privateers with privateering licenses in the Kingdom of Hattings, and the most distinctive feature is that they are very well-behaved.

I heard that as long as you don't resist, your means are much gentler than those of other pirates.

But once they dare to "violently resist taxes", yes, what they heard in the tavern was a word that should not have appeared in the mouths of pirates.

The blood flag will be unfurled, and the resistors on the merchant ship will regret it for life!

"Tsk, now that I finally have time to come out and rob in person, the targets I encounter are becoming less and less challenging.

This is already the fourth ship of the day, and there is not even a single one who resists.

It seems that after working hard and overtime some time ago, the new rules on this east-west route are about to be erected. ”

On the back deck of the Golden Deer, Byron saw the white flag raised by the Teapot, put down the telescope in his hand, and sighed helplessly.

"Yes, Captain, you came out to rob it in person, it's to collect taxes, it's too dedicated."

"I think this year, when our pioneer pilot company evaluates the business model award, we must award you a special award."

"Seconded, you must not refuse, this award is actually an honor for this award, all to encourage the backward to keep up with you"

The group of midshipmen who followed him immediately sent a compliment.

The flagships are all elites, and just listening to what they say, you know that they are very promising in the future.

After upending the Bantaan's power structure, Byron finally had time to get to the bottom of his job.

Pirate hunting is mostly not an aimless roaming of the shipping routes, as many people think.

Instead, they planted their own eyeliner on the shore, and even allowed pirates to infiltrate the sailors recruited by merchant ships to act as internal agents.

Coincidentally, the clerks of the "Ministry of Foreign Trade" in the indigenous city-states were all employees of the Pioneer Pilot Colonial Trading Company.

Although they have not yet had time to build a fortress and send troops, they have no problem urgently training a group of indigenous pirates to take up posts.

With them providing information, it is natural to be on the road that the merchant ships must pass through.

The front hand sells goods, the back hand robs, one fish and two eats, and it is delicious.

Trample!

Soon Byron boarded the ship with a group of elite pirates, and his boots stepped on the deck, as if they were on the tip of the hearts of the merchant sailors.

As the strength and power of the [Sea Hunter] became stronger and stronger, and the majesty on his body became more and more profound, he just asked casually:

"We all know the rules of the Pioneer Pilot, right?"

Captain Tom Sr. and a group of sailors nodded their heads one after another:

"I've heard, I've heard that a quarter of the value of the goods delivered for the first time can get a looting exemption for your company and all your allies.

If you go to your company's office to pay taxes before you set sail, you can only pay one-fifth.

It's all because we ran this route for the first time, we are not familiar with the process, and we bother you to do it yourself, and we will take the initiative to pay taxes next time. ”

As he spoke, he glanced at the shipowner's henchman beside him reproachfully.

The reason why they did not file their taxes in advance was purely because the merchandisers were lucky and reluctant to give up the one-fifth of the taxes that could make them unimpeded.

Some pirates were extremely cruel, often tortured and tortured their rebellious captives, and the ferocity of these pirate captains spread in the Bantaan Islands to stop children.

For example, Byron's two former captains [Bloody Eye] Salman and [Redbeard] Edward.

But there is also a category of pirates known as "righteous thieves".

The discipline was much better, and the Robin Hood of the sea, who robbed the rich and gave to the poor, generally took only gold, silver, and supplies needed after grabbing merchant ships.

In many cases, the boat itself will be returned to the original owner, and some trophies will even be given away at parting.

In this process, there will be no abuse or murder.

Compared with them, the one-stop service of Pioneer Pilot Company can be called a righteous thief among righteous thieves.

It is too conscientious to run at least 155% of the profits, as long as a quarter of the tax revenue will not be robbed a second time.

We'll come back next time!

"I'm most annoyed by the robbers, they don't have any technical content at all.

In this world, only death and taxes are inevitable.

You see, the captains are very reasonable. ”

When Byron said this, no one dared to correct him with violence.

Now is the golden age when there are no tigers in the mountains and monkeys are kings.

The Castilians suffered heavy losses, and the defense was seriously reduced.

Before the next batch of support from the "World Serpent Celestial Circulation" arrives locally or deep into the south, it will be a carnival of various countries.

In order to compete for the fat sheep, the major pirate gangs also fought fiercely.

The Pioneer Pilot Colonial Trading Company, relying on its superior geographical location, upstream and downstream connections and considerate service, won the control of the east-west route in the waters of Yucatan in one fell swoop.

You don't have to go to the main road of the first circulation belt with the pirate city of Black Sail Harbor, but you can eat all the fat except for the high-quality pork belly.

Although you have to give a share to your allies, you will earn much more than you originally had to earn.

Continue to convert wealth into strength, and when the Castilians come back in the future, this place will not be what it used to be.

False pirates: "Give all the money." ”

Real Pirate: "Sir, please sign here." ”

This set, the pirate and former nobleman Mr. Byron Lancaster, is very familiar with it.

Just as the quartermaster took out a hand-to-hand bill of lading that was directly summoned by the city-state's "Ministry of Foreign Trade" Feigull and filled out a handover form.

Very intimately gave it to the captain to prove that they had indeed been robbed, so that it was time to give the owner an explanation.

A discordant voice suddenly sounded:

"Your Excellency Sea Hunter, I want to join your privateer, I have requested a public trial, and I am going to accuse this ship of mistreating the crew!"