"Ah?! Then, then... that's your ship parked over there?!" Annie's jaw dropped to the ground in surprise, "Did you really find Kidd's treasure? But this isn't right, even if it happens again, If you have money, you probably won’t be able to buy a navy warship.”
"It's a long story. I'll tell you slowly when I have time. Now, let's talk about the result of my previous request for you to recruit gunners."
…………
Although the space on the Jackdaw is not small, Zhang Heng does not plan to recruit too many people for his first trip to sea. Counting Anne, he now only has a core team of eighteen people. Zhang Heng plans to recruit on the beach. Fifteen people, including technical staff such as cooks and carpenters, and then Anne would recommend seven to eight people, mainly gunners, so that the personnel structure on the ship would be relatively stable.
After going out to sea several times and getting used to it, we can gradually add more people. Although the formation of the team will be slower, the advantage is that there is no need to worry about being directly mixed in by other small groups. What Zhang Heng lacks most now is time.
Zhang Heng had already informed Billy and the others about Anne's role as boatswain. Female pirates were relatively rare in the 18th century. Everyone was generally concerned about this. However, Zhang Heng was very cautious about this matter. persist in.
Because it is the first order of the new captain, it is not easy for everyone to directly reject it or ask for a vote.
So Billy and others discussed it and finally accepted the appointment, but there was an additional condition, which required Anne's combat effectiveness to be tested.
This reason is very reasonable. After all, in addition to organizing the sailors to carry out various tasks on the ship, the bosun also has to lead by example in battle. If a bosun facing one's own side is cut to the ground by the opponent during combat, then don't expect yourself to The people here can still have the morale to fight hard.
Zhang Heng has no objection to this request. He can appoint Anne to be the boatswain of the Jackdaw, but he can only rely on the latter's own efforts to convince everyone on the ship. Fortunately, Zhang Heng has nothing to worry about except Anne. I have never worried about the latter's ability to fight.
Looking at the two opponents who were a head taller than her in front of her, the red-haired girl not only had no fear in her eyes, but a touch of excitement.
The pirates watching the excitement around them had already vacated an open space. Billy, as the referee, said to Annie, "This competition is of a sparring nature. In principle, heavy blows are not allowed, and you can admit defeat at any time, so you don't have to worry. What's next?" You can choose an opponent among them, and as long as you can defeat any of them, we will accept you as a companion..."
As a result, he was interrupted by the girl before he finished speaking. Anne took out the saber stuck in the sand in front of her, waved it a few times to try out the feel, then grinned and showed two rows of white teeth, "Don't bother, you can come together. Come on, otherwise it will be meaningless if it ends too soon."
The pirates were in an uproar when they heard this arrogant declaration.
Zhang Heng did not go to see the battle whose outcome was known in advance. He had more important things to do.
The most intuitive feeling after becoming the captain is that there are more things to do. Before, on the Sea Lion, he basically focused on learning, reading more and talking less. In order not to arouse Orff's vigilance, Zhang Heng became the sail and cable captain. Before, he hardly participated in any affairs on the ship, so he only had to arrange his own time every day. But now he needs to be responsible for an entire ship, and there are bound to be more things to consider.
Zhang Heng first found Dufresne and asked the latter to purchase a batch of green lemons before going to sea.
The dangers of the Age of Discovery came from all aspects, among which scurvy was definitely one that could not be ignored.
Limited by the technical conditions at the time, most vegetables and fruits could not be stored for a long time on board the ship. Whether it was the navy or pirates, the food was mostly biscuits and dried meat, supplemented by some seafood. There was no problem in the short term, but once it grew Being unable to get close to land will cause a series of troubles due to lack of vitamins.
It can range from physical weakness and fatigue, loose teeth, and bone pain, to serious cases that can even lead to death. When Columbus explored the New World, most of the crew died of scurvy. Two-thirds of Magellan's crew also died of scurvy during his voyage around the world. blood.
People in later generations basically know that it was caused by a lack of vitamins, especially vitamin C. However, in the era that Zhang Heng lives in today, most people have no effective means of coping except praying.
Zhang Heng had seen some people suffering from scurvy on the Sea Lion before. They looked sluggish and could only use 50% to 60% of their strength when fighting. This also reminded him that it was his turn. The first thing you should do when taking your boat out to sea is to stock up on limes.
The latter is easy to store and can be guaranteed not to spoil for about a month at room temperature. It is one of the fruits with the most vitamin C. In addition, Zhang Heng also found a newly recruited cook and asked him to bake it. Pack dried vegetables and fruits to basically prevent the risk of scurvy.
The only regret is that it was still decades after soybeans were introduced to Europe from China. This is the most easily available source of fresh vegetables on ships. Bean sprouts do not need soil to grow. They can grow wildly with just a little water. They are rich in protein and vitamins. Zhang Heng He has entrusted several businessmen on the island related to the East India Company to help him collect it, but it will take a year at the earliest.
After solving the food problem, Zhang Heng went to meet with the black market merchants on the island, mainly to discuss the issue of sharing the loot sales. Generally speaking, the larger pirate groups on the island have fixed black market merchants as partners, and the two parties establish mutual benefits. A win-win partnership.
Pirates would take their loot directly to familiar black merchants, who would also offer a more generous price than the market price. Zhang Heng originally thought that since he owned the Jackdaw, he would be favored by many black market merchants, but the actual situation of the meeting was quite different from what he imagined.
He visited several of the larger black merchants on the island. Although they were all very polite to him, they seemed to be more polite and the prices they gave were not favorable. According to Dufresne, who was traveling with him, Na said that the conditions were only a little better than those for newcomers going to sea for the first time, but they were completely incomparable to the original Sea Lion.
The answers from the other party were basically the same. They were all aware of the excellent hardware conditions of the Jackdaw. However, they were worried about the young captain Zhang Heng. Some people also heard about what happened on the beach before and thought that he hired a woman as the captain. The boatswain's approach was immature and lacked consideration, and it just confirmed their previous concerns.
Therefore, they generally hope that Zhang Heng and his Jackdaw will renegotiate the issue of sharing after several successful hunts prove that they have the ability to gain a foothold in this sea area.
Dufresne frowned after going out, "The situation is a bit wrong. In the past, when potential pirate groups appeared on the island, these guys were very enthusiastic. It seems that the rumors may be true."
"What rumors?"
"Because of the huge benefits brought by selling stolen goods, there are many large and small black merchants on the island, and the competition between them is also fierce. Sometimes they even break up, in order to win over the pirate ships that cooperate with other merchants. Here, some people will secretly fund the ambitious elements lurking on the ship and incite them to rebel and seize power. If those guys succeed, they will choose their sponsors as new partners in return. But recently I heard that the people on the island Black marketeers are negotiating to end this chaos and form a coalition."
