Chapter 1405 Cruisers and Preparations for Fighting Pirates

After all, Beihai Kingdom is a German country, dominated by landlubber Germans. So far, there are only 80,000 to 90,000 fishermen in Beihai. Among them, nearly half of the fishermen were selected by Marin from inland German refugees to learn how to fish. Its water quality and adaptability to the sea are not to be mentioned. It is estimated that they will have to wait for their second generation to become a family of fishermen who truly adapt to the sea.

The other half of the fishermen are mainly Frisian, but unfortunately the number is too small, only 40,000 to 50,000 people. Although it is said that these 80,000 to 90,000 fishermen can also make up 20,000 to 30,000 strong men in wartime. However, half of them are actually German land ducks that have just been in the water for a few years. It is a fool's dream to expect these landlubbers who have not gone to sea for a few years to grow into excellent sailors. If you rush into a naval battle, it is estimated that the combat effectiveness is comparable to that of the French sailors.

Therefore, if they really want to fight a naval battle, Marin can recruit up to 10,000 old Frisian fishermen and young men as sailors. However, among them, there are only a few thousand strong and adaptable to naval warfare. After all, not all young fishermen are suitable for sailors.

England is different. England is surrounded by sea, with a population of nearly 3 million and more than 400,000 fishermen. Even if many fishermen and sailors were separated by others, Marin could still recruit tens of thousands of talented sailors as sailors in England. If all the English fishermen were allowed to recruit soldiers from Marlin, it is estimated that twenty or thirty thousand young fishermen who were suitable for sailors could be recruited. And this is also the strong foundation that England has always ensured that the mainland will not be invaded by France. Anyway, Marin is going to rule England in the future. England's heritage, it is better to use it early to serve yourself...

As for why not build a shipyard and recruit fishermen in Newcastle? This is also impossible. Because, England in this era, the population is mainly concentrated in the southeast coast. The vicinity of Southampton is a place where English fishermen are very concentrated, and it is easier to recruit poor fishermen.

Speaking of which, not only are there many fishermen in England, but the price of salt is also relatively cheap. Because the English have learned to cook salt with coal. Currently, salt prices in England remain at 4 shillings per quart (12.7 kilograms). Although it is not low, it is generally much cheaper than the German side.

It stands to reason that it should be easier for English fishermen to get salted fish. But the fact is the opposite, because the fishermen in England lack large fishing boats, and it is difficult to go deep into the sea to fish. They can only use small boats to fish in the offshore waters, and the catch is naturally limited. Therefore, the salted fish industry in England is not developed.

Moreover, England and France have forged a deep feud because of the Hundred Years War, making it difficult for English products to open up the market in France. On the contrary, England has to import a lot of wine from the French Aquitaine region every year. As for the Netherlands, which has a good relationship with England, although the herring fishery has not yet risen to the top because of the migration of herring fishing grounds to the North Sea, after all, they invented the fish-cutting knife, and they have no shortage of salted fish.

Therefore, England has abundant fishery resources and relatively cheap salt prices, but it is difficult to develop the salted fish industry.

If Marin can provide a loan,

Getting English fishermen to buy big boats to go deep into the ocean would definitely increase the catch. Moreover, providing the service of buying salt on credit can also fully ensure that fishermen can pickle the fish they catch into salted fish in time.

For example, in the process of fishing at sea, the women accompanying the boat can rub the fish with salt on the boat and marinate it well. Otherwise, if you wait until the shore to marinate, most of the fish will already stink and have to be thrown away.

The big fishing boat is such a feature, it can go deep into the sea to fish and get a larger catch. But at the same time, because you can't land on the same day, if you stay at sea for a few days, the fish that are caught first may stink. Unless, in advance, bring a lot of salt on the boat, while fishing, and pickling. Only in this way will you get enough salted fish.

And Marin's move to issue a boat loan and buy salt on credit at the same time solves the two biggest problems at once, and will definitely greatly increase the output of salted fish.

Also, Marin intends to extend the Dutch fish cutter to England. In this way, the English can also easily kill and pickle fish on the boat during the fishing process...

...

Of course, Marin's "lunch" is by no means free. Whoever wants to take out a loan to buy a boat and buy salt on credit must provide a strong man to join Marin's fleet and serve Marin for at least ten years. Unless he was killed in battle or retired due to injury, Marin would take back the fishing boat and make the other party pay double compensation. And this loan, under the normal contract, can be repaid in ten years.

However, this strong man is not provided casually. If offered an unqualified sailor or coward, Marin will not accept. To this end, he will also set up a review agency to review whether the strong men provided by loan applicants have the ability to serve for ten years. Only after passing the review, can you get preferential services for boat purchase loans and salt credit purchases.

It should be pointed out that this boat loan is very favorable, with zero down payment, and the repayment period is ten years. Ten years later, with the retirement of the strong man provided, the ship payment will be settled. The annual interest is also very fair, which is the lowest 10% in this era, which is not conducive to rolling profits.

All in all, Marin wants those poor fishermen who have more than one strong family and want to make a fortune to serve ten years in exchange for the prosperity of the whole family. This transaction, in this era, is also very fair. To describe it in one sentence - sacrifice one, a happy family... Moreover, that one may not be sacrificed during the ten-year service period...

As for how many sailors to recruit, Marin expects the plan to be 10,000. Then, once the North American side starts to explode, those 10,000 people will become Marin's naval force.

So, what is the purpose of these ten thousand navy? Marin intends to use them to patrol trade routes and fight pirates...

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Why prepare tens of thousands of people to fight pirates? This is because, Marin has a hunch - the age of pirates is coming...

What is the purpose of pirates? Of course robbery. Without oil and water routes, pirates will not appear. Conversely, on the route of oil and water, sooner or later, pirates will appear.

Historically, the rise of pirates in the Atlantic was because Spain obtained a large amount of gold and silver from the Americas and transported them back to the mainland with a fleet of treasures. Then, islands in the Atlantic Ocean came into being. Both the English and the Dutch have robbed Spanish treasure ships. Among them, the British played well in the field of pirates, and a large number of famous pirates emerged in the 17th century. For example, Captain Kidd, Drake, William. Dampier and so on.

When these pirates appeared, they turned the world's seafaring trade into a mess. In order to protect the safety of maritime trade, the British Parliament formally passed the "Maritime Patrol and Escort Act" in 1708, began to vigorously develop fast cruisers, and established a bounty court to reward pirates. After years of hard work, most of the pirates were finally wiped out. At its peak, England had thousands of sailing warships active on important routes around the world, specializing in combating pirates and enemy merchant ships, fully guaranteeing maritime interests and maintaining maritime hegemony.

Marin's plan was to learn from the later England, vigorously develop brisk cruisers, spread them all over the main navigational routes, and make every effort to fight against pirates and enemy ships, and protect the safety of the routes.

Today, Marin's North Sea country has replaced Spain, gaining the advantage of dominating the Americas. But in the same way, those who suffer from pirate harassment in the future will also become North Sea countries. After all, profit makes the mind faint, and the gold and silver of America will eventually attract pirates.

Therefore, Marin took precautions and decided to develop a cruise fleet with a scale of tens of thousands of people before the rise of pirates in the Atlantic Ocean. When they see pirates, they will die to ensure that their maritime interests are not lost...