No businessman likes competition, because competition means loss of profits. Whether it is to increase the purchase price to grab customers, or to fund ambitious people to seize power, it will undoubtedly increase their costs. According to Dufresne, it was not the case before. People have considered establishing a business alliance, but the problem of interest distribution within the alliance has never been resolved, because no interest distribution plan can satisfy everyone.
So those who were dissatisfied continued their previous practices, raising the purchase price, and increasing their partners through bribery and planning rebellions. Soon the businessmen who joined the alliance couldn't stand it anymore, and watched helplessly as their original partners were eliminated one by one. No one could sit still after being dragged away, so everyone put their previous agreements behind them. In the end, the new alliance, which had been established for less than three months, was disbanded in a vigorous battle to snatch people.
This incident happened three years ago. It stands to reason that the memories of those black market merchants would not be so short, so there is no reason to hit the wall again. There is obviously something that happened that they are not aware of.
Dufresne on the side said, "I'll go investigate this matter tomorrow and see what's going on."
Zhang Heng nodded. Without knowing the specific situation, he had no other options.
The two then went to visit the weapons dealer on the island as planned, because what Zhang Heng and the others grabbed was a naval frigate. The weapons and equipment on the ship were very complete, including fifty muskets and sabers. There are also sixty weapons. There is no need to purchase weapons for the time being, but as future battles occur, the ammunition reserves will definitely decrease, and they will need to be replenished from time to time.
Zhang Heng was looking for Barr, who he had worked with once before. The four short pistols and a rifled gun he had on him were purchased from the latter. The two parties had dealt with each other and knew each other well.
Compared with the previous black marketeers, Barr's attitude was much more enthusiastic.
Not only did he personally invite the two people into the house, but he also asked the maid to make coffee. He first congratulated Zhang Heng on becoming the captain and getting the Jackdaw, and then got down to business.
However, after hearing the purpose of the two men's visit, Barr couldn't help but frowned, "Everything else is easy to say. The shells of the 24-pound cannon are a bit troublesome. Most of the artillery on civilian ships are 6-pound and 9-pound. They are very rare, and the 24-pounder gun is basically only used by the navy."
Zhang Heng knew that what Barr said was the truth and was not intended to raise prices intentionally.
This should be considered a happy trouble for him. The firepower configuration on the Jackdaw far exceeds that of ordinary merchant ships, with 12-pound artillery as the main force. In addition, there are 8 more powerful 24-pound cannons, but how to collect them? Cannonballs have also become a worry. Fortunately, Barr's words are not as deadly as he said.
The weapons dealer paused and continued, "I have some connections in the navy. I can help you think of a solution for the cannonballs, but there is no guarantee of success, and the price may not be cheap."
Zhang Heng expressed his understanding of this. The Jackdaw currently has sufficient ammunition reserves, so he was not too anxious about this matter. After that, Dufresne and Barr began to check the purchase prices of weapons and ammunition item by item. The former had served as the commander of the Sea Lion for five years. The quartermaster was very familiar with the market environment on the island, and there was no question of who was cheating the other, so the whole process went smoothly.
This is why all pirate ships want to hire experienced professionals. If it weren't for the power struggle on the Sea Lion, Zhang Heng would have had to rely on luck to find crew members like Dufresne and Billy.
There are far fewer weapons dealers on the island than black market merchants, and the competition is not that fierce. However, even so, Barr was in a good mood after getting a long-term customer. Seeing that it was getting late, he invited the two of them to stay for dinner, but Zhang Heng was and Dufresne declined.
The quartermaster's wife and children were on the island. They had not had time to go home after disembarking. Seeing that everything was almost completed, Zhang Heng remembered that Anne should still be out without eating, so he decided to look for the queen. By.
However, when he came to the beach, he heard from people nearby that the red-haired girl showed great power today. Not only did she beat the two subjects responsible for the assessment until they surrendered, but she also used one hand to defeat several people who stood up to challenge her. Individuals and finally a group of people were convinced and ran to the pub to drink together.
Zhang Heng was not surprised at all by this result. This kind of thing sounded very Anne-like. She was probably the only one who could win the respect of other crew members so quickly in this way. In fact, if it wasn't for gender, how would she feel about it? They shouldn't be in such a miserable state.
But no matter what, with the previous incident, not only Billy and others have nothing to say, but Anne will also receive much less criticism for becoming a boatswain.
Zhang Heng didn't go to the tavern to find the red-haired girl, and he wasn't worried about what would happen to her. After staying on the island for so long, there wasn't a day when Annie didn't cause trouble, but Zhang Heng had never seen her suffer any loss, and she only drank alcohol. And speaking of it, there should be no one in Nassau who could be her opponent.
So Zhang Heng went directly to the pier and returned to his place of residence. However, when he was about to reach the door, he suddenly stopped.
Zhang Heng frowned. He noticed that the door was ajar. With Anne's carefree personality, there were only two possibilities for her to go out, either to close it tightly, or to simply leave it wide open, which was almost impossible. There is a third possibility.
In addition, Zhang Heng also saw the curtains drawn behind the wooden window. This was also not something Annie would do.
Zhang Heng pulled out a short musket from his waist, but he was a little confused. He didn't have any enemies in Nassau now. At most, he had some entanglements with Fraser because of Owen's matter, but the Queen Anne's Revenge has not returned yet. , it stands to reason that Fraser would not know what happened above so quickly.
What's more, even if he knows, he should first worry about Blackbeard and Orff's revenge on him, instead of seeking death to provoke himself who already owns a battleship.
Therefore, Zhang Heng couldn't guess who the uninvited guest was tonight.
Or just a common thief?
However, Zhang Heng did not relax his vigilance. He didn't know if the guy was still in the house, so he gently opened the door with the saber in his hand, but then he bent down and rushed towards the wooden window. Zhang Heng took over the house. The house was completely renovated, but he couldn't help but be a little lazy afterward. There was a wooden window that was already loose and unattractive. Seeing that it could be supported a little more, Zhang Heng ignored it.
Unexpectedly, this window was now used in another way. Zhang Heng easily broke in through the window.
