Chapter 846 Privateering

city ​​of glass.

The sky is always gloomy, and a large number of factories occupy the suburbs, using child labor wantonly. The emerging capitalists try every means to squeeze the workers, and they spare no effort in reducing costs.

Such sweatshops claim that an adult will never live for five years after entering, but they are also the ones that together created Insman's glorious grand occasion.

In the city center, there are many Gothic buildings like spires, and a huge clock tower sounds the clock.

There is always a rush of people on the streets. Black bowler hats, gray overcoats, and a civilized stick form the mainstream attire of gentlemen at this time.

A gorgeous carriage pulled by two black horses drove across the bridge full of classical style.

Donald opened the window, and what he saw was a river full of black garbage, foul-smelling, and obviously seriously polluted, and he couldn't help frowning.

As a sea sorcerer, he hated such a place, especially when it endangered the water.

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

The carriage continued on and stopped in front of a palace-like gorgeous manor.

The birds are singing and the flowers are fragrant, and the servants are in groups.

All of this made Donald feel a strong sense of trance, as if he had come to heaven from hell in one fell swoop.

"Is that Mr. Donald?"

A butler in a tuxedo personally opened the car door and bowed slightly: "Your Excellency has been waiting for a long time!"

This is the residence of the Duke of Ham.

At this time, Insman, on the surface, the royal family ruled the kingdom, 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. Kingship and prime minister power are in a delicate balance.

The Duke of Ham's family not only has royal blood, but is also an evergreen tree in the political arena. It has produced several prime ministers and has countless political allies. It is Insman's top nobleman.

Such a nobleman wanted to see Donald, so Donald naturally had to obediently come here.

On a lawn, Donald met the contemporary Duke of Ham.

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

"Mr. Donald... I have known you for a long time. I have the honor to read your "The Wealth of Nations". Many of the views in it are really impressive!"

After seeing Donald, the Duke took the initiative to stand up and greet him: "Pour a cup of black tea for my guest, I have a new pastry chef here, the food is very good, try it!"

"Thanks!"

Donald reservedly expressed his gratitude and took the exquisite china teacup.

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

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

And sugar cubes, the product of tropical plantations.

"To the great Insman..."

All of these seem to be telling the rise of a powerful country, and Insman seems to be taking advantage of the east wind of this great voyage to become the king of the world!

"Bless our Queen!"

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

"certainly!"

Donald stood up and bowed again: "I am honored to be the Duke's personal advisor!"

"That's really great... There are a lot of things that are annoying recently. With your help, I can relax a lot..."

The Duke smiled and handed over a newspaper.

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

He settled down and looked at the first edition.

The fragrance of the ink came out, but it didn't stick to your hands at all, and the huge title on it was extremely conspicuous-"Atrocities! Dearborn Port was looted by pirates!!!"

Below the title, there is also a black and white photo. Although it is a bit blurry, a large number of ruins and corpses can be vaguely seen.

"...It is reported that the Port of Dearborn was attacked by pirates this time, accompanied by civil riots. The Royal Navy has sailed to the Port of Dearborn to calm the situation... Lost statistics, civilian casualties exceeded 1,000, The family of the Viscount Dearborn was wiped out... Affected by this, the stocks of several companies that have trade relations with Dearborn plummeted on the stock exchange today..."

"Pirates, damn pirates again!"

The Duke of Ham sighed, clutching his forehead: "Look...how rotten is our seemingly glorious country? Hehe...the citizens are rioting, who doesn't know that pirates are the most numerous in Port of Dearborn! That viscount shot himself in the foot with a stone, but... Insman's majesty is not allowed to be desecrated, no matter what, the pirates who killed Insman's nobles must pay the price!"

"I don't know which group of pirates did this kind of thing?"

Donald collected himself and asked.

"It seems to be a group of newly-rising pirates. The leader is nicknamed 'Trickster'. He is an extraordinary person. His abilities seem to be very complicated, showing many strange methods..."

Under today's communication conditions, it is still possible to know this much information, which is enough to show that the duke is not simple.

"... Several financial groups whose interests have been damaged have joined forces to form a resolution to arrest this pirate. The amount is... 10,000 Galleons!"

Donald nodded, knowing that this trickster is likely to become famous.

After all, it is rare for pirates to get such a huge bounty as soon as they come up.

"Frequent pirates are just one aspect, and another aspect is that other countries are catching up..."

The Duke of Ham continued: "Our country has obtained huge wealth in ocean trade, which has long attracted the covetousness of other countries on the continent of Offar. It seems that Sissel has expanded the scale of the shipyard again and again. In the next three years, we will build an ace fleet with hundreds of warships and over 10,000 sailors!"

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

...

The Duke seemed to be old, and his words were a bit 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 said: "Pirates and foreign countries, these seem to be two issues, but in fact, they are just two aspects of one issue, and they all revolve around the hegemony of the ocean! King, only one is needed!"

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

Duke Ham said without hesitation.

"To be honest... We, Insman, are an island country with a unique location and previous accumulation. It is very difficult for other countries to catch up with us. Besides, don't the major shipyards still have those trump cards? ?”

Donald blinked.

"Although this is the case, even if we have an invincible fleet, maintenance and maintenance are still a big problem. It is impossible for us to drive warships for business, and it is impossible to block all the oceans!"

Duke Ham said, if Donald only had this level, it would undoubtedly disappoint him.

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

Donald whistled playfully: "But Heaven's Blessed Insman, our position is really good, like an unsinkable big ship, guarding the offshore of the Ofal continent... If my memory is correct , Insman's own nationals account for a very important proportion of the pirates who are active in the coastal waters, even in the Nightmare Sea?"

"really!"

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

"In fact, not only the fishermen, but even the bankrupt nobles seem to have joined some not-so-good businesses..."

Donald smiled sarcastically: "Then the matter is simple. What about the pirate licenses we issue to our country? As long as they don't rob our own ships, but only rob other countries' ships, their interests can be protected in Insman !"

"license?"

The Duke of Ham was a little dizzy: "You mean... we negotiated peace with the pirates? No... no..."

"The pirates in the ocean are already a powerful force. If we can subdue some of them, it will be very beneficial to our expansion!" Donald said firmly: "Also, we can use them to hinder the development of other countries' oceans, even if they fail. It doesn’t bother me either! At critical moments, we can still recruit these forces to join naval battles... Even, after those pirates are old or want to be good, we can still collect taxes from them in exchange for the power of amnesty..."

In Fang Yuan's previous life, Britain was like this.

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.

In this world, Insman has the largest naval power in the world, but he can still choose to do so, in order to combat the development of the maritime industry of other countries!

Although the starting points are different, the ultimate interests are the same.

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

"Okay... this idea, I think we need to discuss it carefully..." Duke Ham flickered: "Well...Mr. Donald, I would like to invite you to have dinner with me, how about it?"

The butler holding the teapot beside him shook his hand, knowing that the person who could be invited to dinner by the Duke would be more intimate, so he couldn't help but give the economist a high look.

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

"If... I'm just saying that if..." Duke Ham asked slowly: "The suggestion of the license is implemented, what do you think it should be called?"

"Private license, I think this official name is very good!"

Donald suggested: "And those pirate ships that have obtained a privateer license can get some support from our navy, maybe they can be called... Royal pirates?!"