Chapter 237 Malcolm’s Dilemma

Business competition is as cruel as a real war.

Malcolm knew very well where Karina's weaknesses were. This time, he changed his previous aggressive attitude and began to actively give in. The bait he offered was something that the businesswoman could not refuse.

If Karina wants to develop, she cannot rely solely on the Jackdaw. Whether she is establishing a second-hand goods trading office or making private transactions with pirate ships belonging to the Black Merchant Alliance, the purpose is to deal with Marco. Mu had blocked her, so this time a ready opportunity was in front of her, and she had no reason to retreat.

In fact, if Karina was given another half year, with her learning ability, she could solve most of the troubles she was encountering and turn losses into wins, but Malcolm obviously would not give her this time.

"How much money do you have left now?" Zhang Heng asked.

"We need at least seven hundred gold coins to get the business running again, but I don't know what's the point of continuing. Our losses are huge. The business used to be just not very profitable, but now... now every day, We are losing money every hour, every minute." There was a rare hint of frustration and exhaustion in Karina's voice.

The recent period has also been the most difficult time for her business on the island. What is even more frightening is that although she is running around all day, she has no hope of turning losses into profits. The problems Karina encounters are all-round. , because the expansion speed is too fast, the talent reserve and capital reserve cannot keep up, the original market cannot accommodate so many shipments, customs price increases, and resistance from local businesses, these cannot be solved in a short time.

"The 800 gold coins that I promised you to invest in the future can be given to you now. In addition, I can also lend you another 200 gold coins." Zhang Heng said. After this trip to sea, the Jackdaw returned with a full load. Zhang Heng After a rough calculation, as the captain and the first group of veterans, he can probably get an income worth almost 1,200 gold coins, which is undoubtedly a real huge sum of money.

Even if he quits now and buys two farms or plantations on the island, he can still live comfortably. However, considering that Roger Wood will bring a fleet to regain Nassau in a few years, Zhang Heng will not Don’t want to hang your life or death on the kindness of others.

Historically, Roger Wood, the first governor of Nassau, eventually pardoned most of the pirates on the island after he led a fleet to occupy Nassau. However, given Zhang Heng's current situation, it may be difficult for him to end well once the British troops arrive on the island. He has now killed two naval battleships, the Scarbury. His current pirate ship, the Jackdaw, was also snatched from the navy. He also participated in the Queen Anne's Revenge's previous bombardment of Charleston. Not long ago, he also took down the Scarbury. Walden, the British supreme commander in the Caribbean, was also killed.

And now that Blackbeard Teach is missing, Black Prince Sam is killed in battle, and Honig retires, Zhang Heng and the Jackdaw he leads have become the most powerful pirates on the island.

If Nassau is really captured by Roger Wood, considering that the development of Nassau requires a lot of young and strong labor, other people may be able to save their lives, but Zhang Heng will definitely be the first batch of people to be liquidated. As long as Luo Jay Wood is not stupid, he will definitely use his head to scare the monkeys.

Therefore, although Zhang Heng has completed the main mission, he cannot take a vacation, and now he is no longer alone. As the captain of the Jackdaw, everyone under his command points to him for meals. He has to take care of Anne and Karin. Without his support, the competition between Na and Malcolm would have been over.

At this point, it was difficult for him to stay alone or retreat from the rapids.

"But in return, my shares will be increased by another 10%." Zhang Heng paused and continued.

"There is no problem with this, but are you sure you want to continue? At least in the short term, there is no hope of profit."

"What if Malcolm's external threat is eliminated?" Zhang Heng asked.

Considering the huge income brought by this voyage, the sailors of the Jackdaw should have been tired for a long time, so it will be a long time before the next voyage, and after this legendary battle, it will basically be This established the status of the Jackdaw in Nassau.

Zhang Heng has enough time and energy to deal with the final opponents-the Black Business Alliance and Malcolm.

Although the results show that Karina's business conditions during this period were very bleak, she did complete her previous strategic arrangements and brought external pressure to the Black Business Alliance, regardless of whether the current concessions were made on Malcolm's initiative. , but it is an indisputable fact that it has caused a large-scale expansion of second-hand goods trading offices.

There may not be doubts within the Black Business Alliance, but Malcolm is strong enough, and he is sure that he can afford it but Karina cannot.

However, as Zhang Heng came back with a large sum of gold, the situation was completely different. On the other hand, the Black Merchant Alliance lost five more powerful pirate ships, especially the Black Prince Sam and his Vader. No., this undoubtedly had a great impact on the Black Business Alliance.

Malcolm's current situation may not be much better than Karina's.

In the early days of the establishment of the Black Merchant Alliance, the purchase prices offered to each pirate ship were very favorable, which was the lowest profit period. Now that the number of powerful pirate ships is decreasing sharply, it is foreseeable that the valuable loot will also decrease in the future. , which will also intensify the internal conflicts of the black business alliance.

Zhang Heng later had a secret meeting with the black gladiator Laeri, and the meeting place was still in Smoked Fish Lane.

The latter also gained a lot during this period. With Leah as his inner presence, there were almost no secrets in Malcolm's study. Leah took advantage of the opportunity of cleaning the room to silently go through the letters in the study. In order to avoid In order to alert the enemy, Leah did not take out the letters this time. Instead, she picked out the useful information and wrote it down in notes. Then she found someone to bring the notes to Laeri.

Zhang Heng took the notes and looked through them. He did see some interesting information on them. In addition, there were a lot of Leah's impressions and analysis of Malcolm, which was helpful for a comprehensive understanding of Malcolm. However, The only news related to Karina's father Fagan is the previous letter.

Although it was confirmed from that letter that Malcolm's family did have contacts with Earl Slaughter, who framed Fagan, it was difficult to accuse him due to the lack of substantive content. On the contrary, there was a previous letter from Malcolm. He once quietly invested in a member of Parliament in Whitehall, and the latter and Raymond's son-in-law were political enemies.