Wearing British clothes as a second-generation aristocrat

The sound was so loud that everyone on deck looked in Stephen Deckard's direction.

The young man's face was flushed, his chest heaving violently, and the weariness in his eyes was gone, replaced by the fierce spirit of a soldier.

In fact, others also heard Dugan's sarcasm.

However, what they didn't know was that Stephen Decker's father was the first captain of the Philadelphia, so Stephen Decker had a deep affection for the Philadelphia.

Dugan's teasing hit right at his most painful and untouchable bottom line.

However, despite his anger, Dekat finished all the food on his plate before standing up abruptly and saying to Dugan, "Mr. Connby, thank you for your hospitality. I will remember this favor."

Then, Deckard said to Captain Sparrow, "Captain, I implore you! At the next port of call, let me disembark immediately!"

Captain Sparrow was taken aback, his face showing surprise: "Go ashore? Young man, you are weak and penniless. The wisest choice for you is to go to Europe with the ship and wait for the consulate to take you home!"

"I can't go back! I absolutely refuse to slink back to America like this!"

Dekat continued, "My three companions and I escaped by boat, but we weren't the only four who escaped! There were 307 of us captured in Tripoli prison back then. This time, at least a hundred more escaped!"

Dekat gazed at the vast ocean. "The four of us are just one group. There's a high chance other comrades have been rescued. I need to find them! I need to bring them back together!"

At that moment, everyone on deck stopped what they were doing and watched the young American officer in silence.

"The USS Philadelphia is a mainstay frigate of the U.S. Navy, well-equipped and formidable in combat. My father was its first captain, and my feelings for the Philadelphia are beyond the comprehension of others. Now that it has fallen into the hands of the Barbary pirates, I will never allow a warship belonging to the U.S. Navy to become a weapon of piracy!"

Dugan interjected coldly, saying, "As far as I know, there are 25000 pirates in Tripoli, 115 cannons on the city walls, and 10 two-masted ships with 10 cannons each in Tripoli harbor, two galleys each with 100 men, and 19 gunboats each with an 18-pounder or 26-pounder cannon. Unless the entire U.S. Navy comes to Tripoli, you have absolutely no chance of taking it back."

Dekat waved his hand and said, "If I can't take it back, I'll at least destroy it!"

Captain Sparrow was moved by Deckard's words and couldn't help but say, "Young man, you need to think this through. Tripoli is heavily guarded and teeming with pirates. You're all alone. Even if you find some scattered companions, how many will you have? It's good to have courage, but you can't just throw your life away."

"I understand!" Decatur replied without hesitation, her eyes unwavering. "Thank you for your kindness."

Dugan watched Dekat, who was full of vigor and enthusiasm, quietly reflecting on his own experience.

Indeed, those who have performed feats that have shocked Europe and been praised by Nelson have never been people who are afraid of death.

Dugan slowly rose and broke the silence, his tone tinged with admiration: "Captain, in my opinion, let him have his way. In fact, I think a large force is not necessary; a few dozen well-trained soldiers can do the job."

In 1803, American sailors and marines were largely untrained, at the level of militia. Their fighting ability was naturally far inferior to that of the Barbary pirates who roamed the Mediterranean for years.

Otherwise, how could the heavily armed Philadelphia have been captured by a group of Barbary pirates who were only equipped with scimitars and spears?

"Mr. Dugan, are you kidding me?" Captain Sparrow laughed. "It's impossible for dozens of people to pilot a warship."

"I mean destroy it..." Dugan said. "All we need to do is set the Philadelphia on fire. I'm confident the crew of the Ceylon can handle that."

This was during the Napoleonic Wars.

Britain and France were locked in a full-scale standoff, and the entire Atlantic and Indian Oceans became covert secondary battlefields.

Unlike the common perception of merchant ships as merely engaged in trade and following established rules, the British East India Company's ocean-going merchant ships were never simply trade vessels, but rather a group of fully armed maritime forces with wartime privileges.

These East India merchant ships, often weighing thousands of tons, were equipped with 20 to 36 standard cannons year-round, and their crew ratios were comparable to those of regular warships.

Moreover, every major merchant ship that set sail held a privateer's license issued by the British Crown and the Governor-General of India.

The East India Company's merchant ships engaged in three common types of maritime plunder.

The most legitimate method is legal privateering authorized by the government, which is in full compliance with British military law and maritime regulations.

For example, if the ship encounters merchant ships, armed transport ships, or even small warships from hostile countries such as France, Spain, and the Netherlands during its voyage, these armed merchant ships can take the initiative to attack and capture them.

The spoils of war would be registered and auctioned in a unified manner, and divided according to established rules. Thirty percent would be handed over to the British Royal Family, while the remaining seventy percent would be distributed among ship owners, officers of all ranks, and ordinary crew members according to their military positions. This was the most lucrative legal income for ocean-going crew members besides their salaries.

Secondly, there is the normalization of self-defense and counterattack.

For example, the return voyage from India to London inevitably passed through dangerous waters such as the West African coast, the Cape of Good Hope, and Cape Verde, which were teeming with French privateers, North African Barbary pirates, and West African indigenous bandits.

If a merchant ship is attacked by pirates, it can fight back with all its might, sink or capture the attacking ship, and take all the seized property into the company. This is considered an achievement in suppressing pirates, and the merchant ship will not only be innocent but will also be recorded and rewarded by the company.

The third type is the unspoken gray area.

In remote waters far from the main shipping lanes and outside the supervision of the Royal Navy, East India Company merchant ships would often take advantage of the situation to intercept merchant ships of small, isolated, and poorly armed hostile nations, secretly plundering their goods and seizing their gold and silver.

For the crew, capturing enemy ships and dividing the bounty was the most anticipated event during the long and tedious ocean voyages.

A successful raid can often net a lowly sailor the equivalent of several years' wages.

Dugan had dealt extensively with people from the East India Company in India, so he naturally knew some of the ins and outs.

Sparrow's expression shifted slightly, but he remained cautious in his words: "That's true, but that was the Yankees' war; the Barbary pirates didn't attack us first."

Stephen Decker, standing to the side, frowned, seemingly understanding Dugan's urging of Sparrow.

Although he had no idea why the young British brigadier general was doing this, Deckard decided to throw out a bait and try.

Dekat sighed and said, "Actually, the most regrettable thing about destroying the Philadelphia isn't the ship itself, but the fact that hidden in the Philadelphia's cargo hold were the annual salaries of our more than 300 officers and men—a considerable sum. In addition, the ship also contained gold, silver, and jewelry that we seized from various Barbary pirate strongholds during our previous Mediterranean patrols. That's the real pity."

Upon hearing this, Sparrow's pupils contracted slightly, but he quickly feigned nonchalance and said, "The Philadelphia has been in the hands of the Barbary pirates for so long, this compartment was probably discovered and looted long ago, wasn't it?"

As a merchant ship captain who spent his life on ocean trade and profiting from storms and adventures, what he couldn't resist most in his life was this kind of unclaimed windfall at sea.

Dekat shook his head. "Impossible. That compartment is very well hidden. Only the captain, the first mate, and I know about it."