Zhang Heng knew very well how important the first voyage was for a new captain, not to mention that he and his Jackdaw were still the target of public criticism in Nassau.
Countless pairs of eyes have been watching his every move since he returned to the island. The combination of a powerful battleship and an overly young and seemingly inexperienced captain is as delicious as a waffle in the eyes of many people.
Therefore, Zhang Heng had to consider the worst possibility before landing. He did not doubt the loyalty of Billy and others. At least after the Kidd Treasure incident, these sixteen people would not betray him in the short term. Yes, but he must take into account the possibility that Billy and others will be exploited by others.
Especially when the information about the Perfume Ship and the Duffy emerged, and the two locations happened to be on unpopular routes, Zhang Heng felt that this matter was a bit too coincidental. After contacting the Black Business Alliance's previous tough attitude, Zhang Heng could already foresee that this first flight would not be too smooth.
Fortunately, he still has a card in his hand. Karina is an outsider on the island like him. Especially when the Black Business Alliance is established, it is even more devastating for her who plans to inherit her father's business and earn ransom. At this time, she needed Zhang Heng's Jackdaw to provide her with trophies, and Zhang Heng also needed someone to cash in the trophies he grabbed every time he went to sea.
Unlike Billy and others, Zhang Heng had no intention of cooperating with the Black Business Alliance from the beginning, not just because of the shadow of Fraser behind it. Many people did not realize the danger of this upcoming organization. Once Nassau's trade channels were monopolized, and the pirates on the island did not just lose their bargaining power.
The captain of a pirate ship may be chosen because of courage, force, experience, etc., but in the final analysis it is because of their ability to create wealth for the crew, and trophies that cannot be converted into cash cannot be called wealth. In other words, when the Black Merchant Alliance really monopolizes the entire Nassau trade, they can easily achieve the purpose of deposing the captain of a certain ship by refusing to accept the spoils of that ship.
With such rights, the status of black traders and pirates will also change.
This is undoubtedly what Zhang Heng does not want to see. In fact, other captains may not be aware of this, but the conditions offered by the Black Business Alliance for them make it difficult for them to refuse. In addition to the purchase price being higher than the market price, the Black Business Alliance also promises This price is only valid when they are captains, which means that when their crews are ready to overthrow them later, they will have to consider the losses this move will cause.
This will only help to make their position more stable. As for what will happen next, most people are ready to think about it at that time. Pirates are such a high-risk profession and few people will think about what will happen tomorrow. It takes a lot of brains.
But Zhang Heng cannot be so short-sighted, not to mention that the current existence of the Black Business Alliance has hindered his development. The emergence of Karina provides him with a possibility.
Billy and Dufresne felt that the latter was too junior and lacked foundation on the island, so they were not optimistic about her. However, Zhang Heng was just the opposite. He hoped that he could take a dominant position when choosing a partner and have a partner that he could fully control. With him in hand, a channel to steadily monetize the spoils is of great strategic significance to him.
Karina is the most suitable partner he can find at this stage, but before that, Zhang Heng needs her to prove her abilities.
The Jackdaw arrived at Tamsui Island at sunset. This small island has an area of less than twenty hectares and is uninhabited.
There are thousands of such small islands in the Caribbean, and most of them don't even have names. The reason why Freshwater Island has a name is because Magellan stopped here when he traveled around the world.
For many years after that, people were often confused by the name of this island. In fact, there was no fresh water on the island. Magellan called it that because when his fleet docked here, there happened to be a heavy rain, and the ships that were short of water were The team received enough fresh water.
After knowing the truth, this originally uninhabited island became even more deserted.
Zhang Heng asked the Jackdaw to anchor not far from the island, and he took four people, including Annie and Billy, to row a boat to the island.
Everyone jumped off the stranded boat and walked on the soft sand to the foot of the coconut tree. Zhang Heng soon discovered traces of human activities nearby. He did not go any further and blew the whistle as agreed. Soon after, A figure walked out of the woods.
Zhang Heng was a little surprised when he saw the person coming. He and Karina had agreed that the latter would send a subordinate to bring the news, but unexpectedly it was the businesswoman herself who arrived.
The latter looked a little embarrassed. She had probably been living on the island for a day or two. Although the boat that sent her left her with enough food and water, how could a woman live alone in such an environment? It's already a great thing.
Karina was also very excited when she saw Zhang Heng, because the transport ship that sent her here had already returned to Nassau. Considering that this is not a popular route, in other words, if Zhang Heng could not pick her up, she might even Die here.
The businesswoman trembled and said, "I checked according to your request. There is a ship that you should be interested in. It sailed from North Carolina half a month ago, and the ship was loaded with spices."
"spices?"
"Yes, it's nutmeg from the Spice Islands. That ship appeared in the colonies of the New World was a complete accident. They planned to return to Europe. I heard that in London, the value of this thing is almost as good as gold."
"How far are we from that ship now?" Zhang Heng asked immediately.
"I asked the captain of my transport ship, and he said that according to the speed of your ship, it might take more than ten days to catch up with them if the wind is good."
"Get on the boat." Zhang Heng said nothing and took the lead towards the boat on the beach.
And Billy was still immersed in this extremely shocking news. He still didn't know what the scene in front of him was about.
It wasn't until the six of them got on the boat that Zhang Heng explained, "I asked Miss Karina for a favor and asked her to use her connections in Boston to help me check out any prey on this route that is worthy of our attack."
"But...but isn't she in Nassau?" Billy opened his mouth wide.
"She returned to Boston as soon as we finished chatting that day. I chose this place as the connection point because it is the closest uninhabited island to Boston on our route, but I must admit Miss Karina's efficiency. It's really amazing, the time I left for her was very tight, and the fact that she came here so quickly means that she only stayed in Boston for less than a day."
