"This is an order from the stronghold, and there's nothing I can do about it!"
Second Lieutenant Maurice spread his hands with a helpless expression on his face.
When Wang Hao saw this, he snorted in his heart, unable to discern the other party's intentions.
He even saw what Maurice and Hercules thought were obscure actions. These two guys had probably reached a consensus and obviously didn't want his action to go too smoothly this time.
Hercules might just want to get some extra benefits, but Maurice probably felt guilty in his heart, but could not regret it, so he had to set up some obstacles for Wang Hao in his actions.
In terms of character, Second Lieutenant Maurice was naturally more noble, but Wang Hao dared to conclude that in terms of future achievements, Maurice was far inferior to Hercules.
No matter the nature of the matter is good or bad, once you have decided to do it, you should carry it out resolutely. The consequences for the two ends of the snake can only be that neither party can be happy, but it is not as good as the behavior of a real villain like Hercules.
Come simply.
After experiencing this, Wang Hao's favorable impression of Maurice plummeted. Maybe the other person was a very responsible person, but as a partner, he was quite a failure.
For the time being, Wang Hao didn't want to stalemate the relationship between the two parties. After all, there was still one last military stronghold that needed the other party's help, so despite complaining, in the end he returned to the "Gordon" within the time specified by the other party.
Regarding Wang Hao's performance, Maurice and Hercules had different reactions. The former was pleased, while the latter showed a little regret. If Wang Hao was willing to offer more benefits, he would definitely stand beside Wang Hao.
Hao's side.
In any case, most of the task has been completed, excluding that disharmonious sound. The smooth progress of things was far beyond Wang Hao's expectations. As long as the last conch is placed in the military stronghold numbered 004,
In the next period of time, Wang Hao noticed that during the last part of the journey, Second Lieutenant Maurice looked a little restless. At first, he thought that the other person was suffering from conscience, so he didn't pay much attention to it.
, but he soon learned that was not the case.
"Friends from the East, why don't you go visit another base?" Because he had already received a deposit from the other party, Second Lieutenant Maurice felt somewhat lacking in confidence when he said this.
The thing I was most worried about happened.
Wang Hao took a deep breath to calm down, and asked calmly: "What's wrong, Second Lieutenant, is there something wrong?"
"It's not that, how can I put it... Within our border guard army, the higher the number, the more tightly guarded the military strongholds are. If your plan included the top three strongholds, I would immediately reject it, because
That is almost an impossible task. Although the difficulty of stronghold 004 is slightly lower, the risks of this trip are very high." It can be seen that Maurice's words are not blindly evasive. Obviously, this last stronghold is a bit beyond the limit.
beyond his ability.
When Wang Hao heard these words, the doubts in his heart were finally explained, and he knew that this task would not be so simple. It turned out that there was still a final difficulty waiting here.
"Can't even your internal ships get close to supply supplies?" He pondered for a while and said.
"In principle, it is not allowed. These high-numbered strongholds are state secrets. If you hadn't provided the specific coordinates, and I had asked some NPCs with whom I have good connections, I wouldn't even know where this stronghold is."
In order to dispel Wang Hao's thoughts, Second Lieutenant Maurice did not hide much about this matter, and even revealed some information from within the patrol fleet.
"In principle?" Wang Hao had a playful expression on his face. Speaking of word games, the other party couldn't keep up with the Chinese people. How could Wang Hao be confused? "Does that mean there are special circumstances?"
Even though he was reluctant, under Wang Hao's compelling gaze, Lieutenant Maurice nodded with difficulty. Before the former could ask, he said it himself, "You know, people like us are usually very
If you can rarely leave the port, you will naturally be unable to do business, and the subsidies provided by the system are not enough, so some of us occasionally do some business privately. I have heard other people talk about it, but I have never done it myself."
Seeing the other party's somewhat nervous expression, Wang Hao had an idea flash in his mind and blurted out: "Smuggling? Someone in your fleet is smuggling goods?"
This is too fast. In Wang Hao's memory, this phenomenon will only appear after at least the middle stage of the game. He didn't expect people here to start smuggling so early.
This is Wang Hao's own problem. In fact, smuggling activities in various countries have appeared very early, but because the participants are all NPC natives, the operation has always been very confidential, so there are not many people who know about it, until more players participated later.
, this matter became an open secret.
What are the benefits of smuggling?
If you put it in the last world, if you asked someone this question, the other person would definitely slap you in the face and think he was a fool?
Naturally, the purpose of smuggling goods is to make money, and the returns are not generally high.
You must know that high trade taxes are levied between countries. Depending on the distance and the quality of the relationship, cross-border trade can be levied a trade tax of up to 50%.
For example, a product shipped from China sells for 10 gold coins in Lisbon, but the tax rate may be 50%. It could have earned 9 gold coins, but after paying the tax, it can only earn 4 gold coins.
, the profit difference is really too big.
If it is smuggling, this tax can be exempted.
Of course, this is tantamount to undermining the country, and all countries take severe crackdowns on smuggling.
Despite this, the high profits from smuggling have driven people to join it one after another.
The offshore fleets of various countries are often the largest maritime smugglers. While they crack down on private smugglers, they use military armed smuggling. Part of the money earned is invested in the upkeep and maintenance of the fleet, and the other part is invested in a certain organization.
The private pockets of a group.
Officials from various countries have turned a blind eye to this, but if the former makes too much noise, they will not hesitate to find a group of people for surgery. This is also an important reason why maritime smuggling has been repeatedly banned.
"Since you also know, I don't need to say more." Second Lieutenant Morris smiled bitterly. This was not a glorious thing after all, so he quickly changed the topic, "This stronghold is very heavily defended.
Even if we are allowed to dock, at most I will only be allowed to disembark alone, so I advise you to change places!"
As he said that, he shrugged his shoulders, showing that it wasn't that I didn't want to help, but that he was really helpless.
Do we still need to think of other ways?
Wang Hao could hear that Maurice's words were sincere, but if he couldn't even deal with the other party. If he wanted to sneak in alone, it would be extremely difficult.
The "Gordon" gradually slowed down, and Maurice and the others looked at Wang Hao and waited for the other party's reply.
What to do?
Wang Hao anxiously walked up and down the deck, thinking about how to board Military Stronghold No. 004.
He seemed to have remembered something, and immediately opened his inventory and looked at the items inside. A confident smile finally appeared on his face.
Although they don't understand the meaning of that smile, Hercules still has the simplest ability to observe words and expressions.
"Did you think of a way to get in?" Hercules was the only person present who knew Wang Hao's identity, so he still had some concerns about the latter.
"Even I can't do it, how could he possibly be able to do it!" Although these words were not spoken, Maurice almost showed them all on his face, making it impossible for others to miss them.
Wang Hao looked at everyone calmly and said softly: "Let's set sail, we don't have much time."
"Does this guy really have a way?"
Seeing Wang Hao's calm and calm look, Maurice couldn't help but start to murmur in his heart.
In the end, Hercules couldn't help but ask: "Just tell me what solution you have. Let everyone help give advice. Maybe there are some loopholes in it?"
"Speaking of which, Second Lieutenant Maurice reminded me that since there are people in the stronghold who are responsible for smuggling, why don't we dock under the banner of smuggling goods?"
Hearing Wang Hao's method, Hercules' eyes lit up. Brick looked at Maurice, but the latter curled his lips and looked like he wasn't too cold, "What do I think is a good idea?
It's lightweight, but it's very difficult in practice. First of all, where do the smuggled goods come from? There is no need to take out those goods from nearby countries."
Hercules' expression became even weirder when he heard this, "Man, you just came from England, you should have brought something good, right?"
Hearing Wang Hao's origin, Maurice looked at him in surprise, and then showed a thoughtful look, "It is somewhat possible to say this, but Britain is famous in Europe for its woolen textiles and armaments. Well, now
The port is not prosperous enough, and the most valuable cannons have not yet been released. As for other pistols, German products are more popular. As for woolen textiles, I heard that people at Stronghold 009 are collecting them, but it still doesn’t work!”
I don’t see that this guy is so clear about this. Has he been planning on this for a long time?
Noticing the strange expressions on the faces of the people around him, Lieutenant Maurice gave a wry smile without any intention of covering it up, "They are all driven by money, they are thinking of ways to make money!"
Compared with betraying the country, smuggling carries a much smaller burden in his heart, or even almost none. He has not been thinking about this for a day or two. It is just that he lacks start-up capital on hand, and secondly, he still lacks some channels to purchase goods.
So it was never launched.
Hercules' eyes flashed, not knowing what he was thinking.
"Hey, even though I'm from the UK, I didn't say that the goods were also brought from the UK." Wang Hao gave it a try and was not in a hurry to tell the answer.
"Ah?" Maurice couldn't help showing a disappointed look when he heard this, but at the same time he showed a little bit of happiness, "If the goods are from France, Spain and other countries, their value will be much lower, and the goods on the shore will be much lower.
Those guys have been fattened up, and ordinary things can’t be looked down upon.”
"I don't believe it. No matter how high-minded those people are, they can't even look down on the products from the ancient Eastern and Western countries!" Wang Hao smiled proudly. Fortunately, he was too busy during this period and did not sell those things. Otherwise,
Now he really can't come up with suitable contraband.
Lieutenant Maurice was obviously stunned, and then showed an expression of ecstasy. He took two steps forward, grabbed Wang Hao's shoulders with both hands and shook his head: "Ancient Eastern country? India? Southeast Asia. Or China?"
No matter which one of them it was, he knew that this was a good opportunity for him.
If all this is true!
"How is this possible? I haven't heard of anyone in the East who can cross several oceans and reach Europe! Where did you get this product?" Hercules asked from the side.
Wang Hao smiled and said nothing, and just pointed at the soles of his feet.
"Under the sea? Shipwreck?"
Second Lieutenant Maurice's reaction was not slow and he quickly guessed the answer. He looked at Wang Hao with eyes full of envy and jealousy, "You are really lucky."
"What kind of goods are they? Don't try to tantalize us. Just tell us."
Seeing the two people raising their hands in a gesture of surrender, Wang Hao didn't give in. "This is a batch of porcelain from the Ming Empire in East Asia. There are 10 units in total."
Naturally, these were what he got in the treasure space, and he gave half of them to Merlin. He threw the rest in the corner of the inventory and almost forgot about them.
As he spoke, he took out two wooden boxes retrieved from an ancient shipwreck. Each wooden box contained 5 pieces of porcelain.
"Wow, look at the luster it emits. It's so beautiful. This is definitely the best porcelain."
Maurice seemed to know something about Chinese porcelain. At this moment, his eyes were shining brightly as he looked at the items in the box. He was mumbling something, and he looked like he couldn't put it down.
Tsk! Regarding this foreigner's words, Wang Hao could only describe his mood as speechless. He was familiar with history and naturally knew where the top-quality porcelain was.
If the domestically produced porcelain is divided into four grades, the first grade is naturally for the royal family, the second grade is for daily use by princes, ministers and the top rich, the third grade is mostly used by some wealthy families, and the fourth grade is for some crudely made products.
Used by the people at the bottom.
At that time, the sea routes between the East and the West were not calm, and the risks were very high. In order to minimize losses, most of the porcelain transported to Europe was fourth-grade porcelain. Third-grade porcelain was very rare, let alone second-grade and first-grade porcelain.
Compared with the reality that some companies sell their best products to Europe and the United States, sell inferior products to Hong Kong, Japan and South Korea, and keep the worst products for Chinese people, the contrast between the two is really huge.
In Wang Hao's view, the porcelain in the box can only be classified into the third-grade category at best.
Since the foreigners in front of him didn't know what they were talking about and didn't know how to pretend to understand, Wang Hao naturally wouldn't explain it to them.
"It should be worth a lot of money, right?"
After hearing what Maurice said, Hercules immediately asked the topic he was most concerned about.
"More than you think."
Maurice closed his mouth after saying this, and other people's faces immediately showed different expressions, and they became quiet for a while.
It’s not like Wang Hao didn’t know what these people were planning. If he wanted to share the benefits, he could, but he had to finish the business first.
"I believe that with this piece of porcelain clearing the way, it won't be a problem to enter the port. As long as my affairs are taken care of, no matter how much money I make from the final sale of the porcelain, Second Lieutenant Maurice will get 20%, and Hercules will get 10%. What do you think?
How about next?”
Almost no one can refuse such an offer.
Sure enough, Maurice showed an expression of surprise on his face. He opened his hands and walked forward and gave Wang Hao a warm hug. "Oh, my friend, you are like God. Your generosity is so great."
It’s very touching, don’t worry, I’ll take care of that matter, and I will definitely help you achieve your wish no matter what.”
Under the stimulation of huge amounts of money, to hell with any national honor and interests.
Maurice's chest beat loudly, indicating that there was nothing wrong with what Wang Hao told him and he would definitely help him complete it.
Hercules was also very happy about this. Although he was greedy, he was self-aware. Although Maurice took more than him, he hardly contributed to this matter. It was already very impressive to get 10% for nothing, not to mention that the other party wanted more.
Compared with his assistants, he did not suffer much loss.
"Go forward, no matter who stands in front of us, we will kick them away."
Under the offensive of huge profits, the morale of the "Gordon" suddenly increased and it sailed towards the No. 004 stronghold at an extremely fast speed.
At this time, even if the King of Portugal appears in front of them, it cannot stop their determination to make a fortune, especially in the name of smuggling, which is far more effective than giving them hundreds of gold coins directly.
