Pirate Kingship.

Chapter 103: The Fleet Sets Sail with an Ambition

"The Pirate General is also going to take an exam?"

When the time came, Byron, who was wearing a brand new navy uniform, shook his head helplessly.

He exchanged a glance with the other six men, all with bitter looks on their faces, and walked into the naval base at Felixstowe Port.

It has now been three days since Bill and Catherine's "first meeting".

Because the one responsible for guarding Catherine was the Inquisition warship that was returning to the royal capital, which was loaded with a ship full of [Inquisition Knights].

During the nearly two-day journey, the two people did not show any abnormality, and they did not even have a chance to be alone together.

But after confirming with their own eyes that the other party was safe and sound, they felt relieved.

There is no need to rush, there is still a long time to come.

When the group arrived at Felixstowe Port, the rest of the ocean-going fleet had basically arrived.

The next day saw the appointment ceremony of the pirate general.

The personal strength of the candidate is secondary.

As long as you are not a mid-sequence transcendent with tactical-level abilities, in looting activities using warships as the basic unit, being at the first or second level will have little impact on the battle situation.

They also want to recruit third-level pirates.

But those people are really disappointing. If they were determined to fight overseas, why would they need to wait for the York family to recruit them? They would have gone there long ago.

Finally, based on their reputation among privateer pirates, the Admiralty selected seven famous pirates who were the most loyal and devoted to the House of York and awarded them the title of Pirate General.

Because "Bill" performed well when the Wild Hunt occurred in Anchor Bay.

Many extraordinary captains on the ships hid on the "Vengeance" for refuge because they were afraid of death, but left the crew aside.

In contrast, [Executioner] Bill stayed with them conscientiously.

Such a reliable person was naturally highly regarded by the pirates.

In addition, he was originally a member of the navy and had a clean background, so it was natural for him to occupy a place in the navy.

The only thing that bothered everyone except Byron, who had been a naval captain, was that to become a pirate general, one had to pass an exam from the Navy Department?!
When a group of seven pirate generals took their seats in a conference room.

The three senior naval captains who were in charge of the assessment were already waiting there and comforted them:
"Don't be nervous, everyone. This is just an ordinary lieutenant promotion exam.

Whether you pass the exam or not will have no impact on whether you can take up the position of Pirate General. "

The hierarchy on warships is extremely strict, and lower-level sailors have no human rights at all. Being abused and executed is commonplace.

Take the stark difference in living environment, for example.

Those living in the tall stern had to be officers of at least the rank of lieutenant, those living in the front cabin were ordinary sailors who either volunteered or were forced to join the army, and those in the middle lived in reserve officers.

The status is clear at a glance.

Is there any way to climb up from the bottom?
Yes, there is a promotion exam for lieutenant officers!
If you perform well, you will be recommended by the captain as a candidate officer. Once you meet the service requirements and pass the lieutenant promotion examination, you can become a glorious captain and join the ranks of officers.

If he has a successful career, he could easily become an admiral.

But even for those who are trained professionally, it is very difficult to pass it in one go, let alone these unconventional pirates.

Unfortunately, before they could breathe a sigh of relief, the examiner smiled meaningfully:

“But whether it passes or not will have a great impact on your initial funding, as well as whether you can obtain continued funding support and tax exemptions from the Ministry of the Navy in the future!

The test results are ranked.

The seventh place will receive a starting capital of 1000 pounds, the sixth place will receive 2000 pounds, and so on. The first place will receive 7000 pounds, and can also choose an additional item from the Navy Treasury."

The crowd, who had been indifferent at first, suddenly straightened their backs and stared.

The head of the brutal and murderous gourmet [Blood Eyes] Salman is worth 4300 pounds. If you get first place, that's 1.6 Salmans!

As long as he had 8000 pounds of starting capital, Byron could build a real "Tudor sailing ship" in a shipyard in the colony that could only produce small sailing ships.

Increase the normal speed to 13 knots, and the title bonus speed to 15 knots.

Even if you encounter those strange warships that focus on speed, you can still leave them far behind!
'Yes, what I love most in my life is taking exams.'

The examiner saw the hostility that suddenly spread among the seven pirate generals, and secretly thought of a plan. He coughed lightly:
“Then the examination begins.

In order to save time, we adopted the quick response mode, where candidates pressed the bell to answer and the scores were counted uniformly.

The first question is to briefly describe the main ingredients, uses, advantages and disadvantages of white materials and black materials. "

Ding!
Before anyone else could react, Byron, who had taken the test once when he graduated from the Royal Naval Academy and was extremely familiar with the procedure, had already rang the bell at a rapid speed.

"The thick fat of marine animals such as seals and whales is mixed with lime, sulfur and other substances to make 'white material'.

The 'black material' is made by mixing gum and tar with sulfur and horse hair.

Used to coat the bottom of ships to prevent parasitic erosion by marine organisms such as barnacles.

The former works better, the latter is cheaper, but either way, it will be overgrown with marine organisms within a year, and the coating must be scraped off and repainted. The poor condition of the ship's bottom is also one of the biggest pressures on maritime logistics support.

A mature colonial fleet must build enough dry docks to ensure the fleet's combat effectiveness at all times."

Of course, Byron also knew a permanent solution, which was to wrap the bottom of the warship with copper, which could increase the speed of the warship by 10% on the original basis.

But there is no need to say it now.

I will find an opportunity to present it to Edward IV in the future to show my loyalty. By the way, don’t forget to use iron nails to nail the copper sheet!

"Full marks! The second question is about the wind speed range in which a boat is suitable for sailing and how to quickly adjust the sail rig at different wind speeds."

Ding!
Ding.
The three senior captains took turns to randomly ask questions during the interview, covering navigation, mathematics, astronomy, geography, and racial history.
Naval officers trained in this way not only have a certain theoretical foundation and practical ability, but also have rare combat experience.

In terms of personnel quality, we are superior to other countries.

It was also an innovation of the Lancasters after the Age of Discovery began.

For the old captains, theoretical questions were their weak point, and Byron almost conquered them all.

You certainly know the answers to practical questions, but it is not so easy to express them accurately, and losing points is common.

This gave Byron another opportunity to show his prowess in public.

After an hour of examination, when the seven pirate generals walked out of the conference room, most of them looked as if they had lost their parents, with pale faces, except Byron, whose face was glowing.

He put a deposit certificate of 7000 pounds issued by the Remit Bank into his pocket so that he could withdraw it at any time after arriving in the colony.

There is nothing much to say about the strange objects.

After all, York has been upgraded to a royal family, and the human and material resources at its disposal are beyond the imagination of outsiders.

Byron can get something from Salman, but he can never get anything from them.

I honestly chose a one-and-a-half-hand sword [Rare Item·White Frost] from the treasure house.

But Captain Byron didn't mind.

The York family used their own money to support the rebellion of this "traitor". What kind of spirit is this?
From then on, I started to be a salary thief and felt very happy.

I will come back to take the exam in the future!
The three senior captains looked at the seven pirate generals' departing backs with inexplicable expressions on their faces.

"Eat, eat more.

Your Majesty is wise. It is most cost-effective to kill the pigs only after they have been fattened up."

This assessment is obviously not just as simple as allocating start-up funds.

First, giving the pirates a warning and letting them see the gap between themselves and the regular army is only a secondary purpose.

Second, use limited resources to sow the seeds of division among these unruly pirate generals from the very beginning.

If things don't develop well, they will only blame it on the lack of good starting resources and feel dissatisfied with others.

Even if they go to distant overseas, they will not easily unite, which will lead to a situation where they are too big to be eliminated.

The York family, who had just rebelled and came to power, were apparently also good at stirring up trouble.

Third, since the future assessment model will refer to the "Lieutenant Officer Promotion Examination", the number of people who pass the examination each year is even stipulated.

The seven generals will inevitably follow suit and implement the Hastings military system in their own privateer fleets.

Since the army is built to the same standards, it will naturally be able to be seamlessly connected when the York family takes over in the future.

It is like a country exports manufacturing standards upstream, making the world's industrial chains exactly the same as its own, so that they can naturally adapt perfectly and support itself in the end.

The pirate generals were concerned about the funding of the Admiralty, but the Yorks were concerned about their entire fortunes!
This was not enough. The leading general said to the attendant expressionlessly:
"In the pattern of the contract they are about to sign, we will use the extraordinary Hittite solar script obtained from the Bantaan Islands and add overbearing clauses to eat them to death."

"As ordered."

the next day.

Byron looked at the contract document with the Hittite sun pattern trap hidden in the pattern in front of him, and the [Navigation Log] automatically interpreted it:
“The weapons that the pirate general purchased from the kingdom at a low price were actually leased and must be returned when due. The wear and tear during this period will be borne by the pirate general.
If the kingdom suffers a loss in investment, the pirate general must return the money in full, and if the assets are still insolvent, he will be sold into slavery;

The Kingdom has the right to collect debts from the families and descendants of those responsible."

There are seven or eight items in total.

Byron read it and said nothing, but gave a pertinent comment:

"Everyone who sees this will kneel down. I've learned it. I'll do the same next time!"

Then the outlaw signed his name "Bill" with a stroke of his pen.

This wave he is in the atmosphere.

clang!clang!clang!
Soon, as the heavy bells of the port rang out, an ocean-going fleet consisting of 200 sailboats of various types finally set sail, with the destination: the Bantaan Islands.

(End of this chapter)