"Captain, when do we set sail?" Jack Sparrow asked Li Qingyuan impatiently, inside the highest castle in Port Royal.
For half a month, Li Qingyuan hadn't shown any sign of going to sea. Instead, he'd turned the entire Port Royal upside down.
Port Royal had become a haven for pirates, and the British Soldiers guarding it had transformed from enforcers of the law into accomplices.
After all, there were only a few soldiers who weren't afraid to die. After clearing out hundreds of troublemakers with a swift and brutal hand, the remaining eight hundred British Soldiers obediently turned their guns around and swore their allegiance to Li Qingyuan!
As for the various officials and nobles from England in Port Royal?
Except for a few lucky ones who managed to escape, most of them were thrown into the sea to feed the sharks!
And by the way, half of their property was confiscated, and the other half, along with their women, was given to the soldiers who had surrendered.
Initially, many soldiers only surrendered to the Eastern pirate under threat of their lives, and they had no loyalty whatsoever.
But now!
Those soldiers immediately transformed and became his most loyal lackeys.
It might take a lifetime of effort to teach someone to be good, but it only takes a day to turn them bad.
Drinking fine wines they could never afford, with pockets full of gold and silver coins, plus the opportunity to toy with the ladies and misses who would be high and mighty in the future, this was a life those soldiers could never have dreamed of before.
Li Qingyuan knew absolutely nothing about political maneuvering. If he were to engage in a battle of wits with those nobles using normal methods, he would undoubtedly be devoured, leaving not even a bone behind.
However, although he lacked political skills, he hadn't studied all those historical figures for nothing.
The development model of Chuang Wang Li Zicheng's army was definitely the best way to break the current deadlock.
Money and women might not be able to create the world's top-tier iron army, but they were enough to build a loyal second-rate army in a short amount of time!
"Wait a few more days, what's the rush!" Li Qingyuan said without looking up, carefully studying the sea chart in front of him.
For Jack Sparrow, he was a pure pirate, and he would feel uncomfortable all over if he didn't get on a ship for a few days.
But Li Qingyuan didn't have his masochistic personality and spirit.
Wasn't it more pleasant to stay on land?
Ships in this era, whether in terms of comfort or hygiene, were simply incomparable to those of later generations.
His task was just to become the Pirate Emperor, not necessarily to be a pirate.
At first, he had considered using the HMS Dauntless's powerful firepower and his own abilities to slowly sweep away all the pirates in the Caribbean Sea, and then concentrate his forces to force the other Nine Pirate Lords to acknowledge his Pirate Emperor status.
Just after taking Port Royal, Li Qingyuan suddenly felt like he might have boxed himself in.
Who said a Pirate Emperor had to be at sea?
If he just built up Port Royal to become a trade hub between Europe and the Americas, becoming a Pirate Emperor would be a piece of cake, wouldn't it?
Port Royal had a unique geographical advantage. Any merchant ship traveling from Europe to the Americas had to pass through here, or else they'd have to take a detour of nearly ten days!
After drifting at sea for two months, a ten-day detour was unbearable for anyone, not to mention the loss of supplies and the dangers it entailed. Otherwise, the British wouldn't have spent over twenty years wresting this place from the Spanish.
As for this nonsense about a Pirate Emperor needing to be elected by the Nine Pirate Lords at Shipwreck Cove?
That was all bullshit!
So-called pirates were all a bunch of guys who looked fierce but were actually very afraid of death. Li Qingyuan didn't believe he couldn't reason with them.
Forget about everything else. Once Port Royal becomes the center of all Atlantic maritime trade, and I monopolize the entire Western economic route, who would dare to refuse to elect me as Pirate Emperor?
Otherwise, if I just say I'll cut off all his supplies and cargo sales, his crew will probably mutiny and chop off the captain's head.
Only profit is eternal in this world. Expecting a group of pirates to have integrity?
Forget about it!
So, these past few days, I've been gathering my subordinates and studying Port Royal's terrain, preparing to add bricks and tiles to my plan.
"Marquis, Captain Barbossa of the Black Pearl requests an audience!" Just as Jack Sparrow was about to say more, Vincent, the newly appointed Minister of Armed Forces of Port Royal, knocked and walked in.
Vincent's original position was an Ensign in the Royal Navy. In fact, with his ability and experience, he should at least be a Captain. It's just that Vincent didn't have Norrington's background, so he was still just an Ensign at forty-something.
Black market dealings, are nothing new anywhere!
"Show him in!" Li Qingyuan shrugged. He hadn't expected Barbossa to take so long.
After all, he hadn't anticipated that the other man would go to Tortuga first, making a huge detour at sea.
"Greetings, Marquis!" Barbossa, led by Vincent, entered the castle and bowed to Li Qingyuan, who was seated in the main chair.
In those days, Europeans only believed in the so-called theory of bloodlines, so Li Qingyuan continued to fabricate an identity for himself.
His current identity was the Marquis of Pacifying the Seas of the Ming Dynasty!
"Barbossa, you bastard!"
When enemies meet, their eyes are red with fury. Seeing the first mate who had stolen his ship appear before him, Jack Sparrow was instantly filled with rage, ready to rush forward and fight the man.
However, Li Qingyuan slightly extended a finger, and Captain Jack abruptly stopped in his tracks.
These days, Jack Sparrow had already experienced his opponent's prowess several times. Any small movement on his part, even a secret attempt to leave Port Royal alone, would immediately be met with heart-wrenching pain.
There was no help for it. After all, Captain Jack, the great, never cared about personal hygiene. He always had all sorts of fleas and mosquitoes on him, so he never paid any attention to a few extra little critters!
"Yo! Isn't this my old friend, Jack Sparrow? What are you doing here?" Barbossa's face showed a look of surprise, as if he really didn't know Jack Sparrow was present.
"Captain Barbossa, let's put aside the grudges between you and Jack Sparrow for now," Li Qingyuan waved his hand, signaling the two of them to be quiet.
Jack Sparrow had suffered a lot these days, so he could only grunt and stop talking.
Barbossa, however, watched the scene before him with great interest. To see the fearless Jack Sparrow reduced to this state, it seemed the mysterious Eastern Wizard before him was definitely more powerful than he'd imagined.
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