The Imperial Navy was, in reality, Totnes’s private army—or rather, that of the governor of the eastern provinces.
The true significance of Totnes’s research into cannons lay here. Equipping ground troops with them was rely an experint.
No pirate dared to act recklessly in their presence. The prosperity of the harbors and coastlines demonstrated their power—a prosperity difficult to protect without real strength.
"Have you sailed this route before? What’s the situation like en route? Are there any extre conditions?"
Lance knew that ships had passed along this route before the bandits invaded and wreaked havoc. Even though Hamlet had already fallen into such decay, a town, after all, still hosted considerable comrcial activity.
Although he had learned so information from Tiffany previously, he made it a habit to understand and learn thoroughly. Only by acquiring more intelligence could he gain control of the situation.
"Of course, I have sailed this route..."
Once they reached the open sea, things beca much easier. During the otherwise tedious journey, the old captain didn’t mind telling Lance about this particular route.
Totnes was in the eastern part of the Empire, while Hamlet was at its northeastern tip. Many settlents had sprung up along the Empire’s lengthy coastline.
From a purely comrcial standpoint, it was actually quite good, as the route passed through several cities and towns. Among these were three large cities, each with a population of 50,000, not to ntion the nurous fishing villages of various sizes along the coast.
It was very convenient for both resupplying and for trading goods to earn a profit on the price differences.
However, a very troubleso issue had disrupted this trade route.
Pirates—an ancient, yet undiminished profession.
"Originally, this route was flourishing, but then Hamlet declined, and pirates from who knows where started appearing here.
Those scoundrels were as cunning as water snakes, hiding from the Totnes Navy but pouncing on rchant ships to plunder them. It was the persistent pirate attacks over the past decade or so that caused this once-prosperous route to decline. Only those with enough confidence in their own strength dared to travel this way."
As the captain spoke about the pirates’ brazenness, he grew increasingly angry, recounting so incidents from the old days.
"Back when the Hamlet Navy was strong, where did those ruffians get the nerve to swagger about? I personally killed no fewer than ten pirates! They took to their heels whenever they saw our flag raised.
But then, more than a decade ago, those damned bureaucrats started pocketing the military funds, issuing us nothing but junk for equipnt. If our ships got damaged, they wouldn’t be repaired or updated; instead, they were just patched up repeatedly to extend their service life.
In contrast, those pirates—God knows who’s backing them—had equipnt even better than our Navy’s. Their ships were even better and faster than ours!"
"We had to pay a much heavier price to keep those pirates at bay. Brother after brother fell because of the inferior equipnt—n who could have survived!
One of our warships, due to extended use and lack of maintenance, even broke in two in the middle of the sea during a pirate chase. Of the 134 brothers on board, fewer than ten made it back."
The old captain’s voice, filled with sorrow and anger, attracted the attention of many sailors, but these young n had heard too many similar stories from him already.
They had not experienced these events, and so weren’t even natives of Hamlet, so they didn’t pay much attention.
But Lance knew that the decline of the Hamlet Navy was just a microcosm of Hamlet’s overall decline. And the one backing those pirates was none other than that ancestor of his, the spendthrift, who, in his pursuit of Supernatural Power, had squandered the entire family fortune. Moreover, to cover his tracks, he had hired pirates as his proxies to scour various lands for Extraordinary items, rare cultural relics, remains, and ancient texts. This, in turn, led to the pirates growing stronger while his own family’s navy weakened. It was self-explanatory where the money had gone.
"It’s all the fault of those corrupt bureaucrats and decadent noble lords! Those scumbags never cared if we lived or died!
In the end, when the city was breached, they still owed us three years of unpaid wages, and they expected us to risk our lives for them?
PAH!"
The old captain then gestured towards Lance as he continued, "If they were like you, sir, how could those pirates have ever gotten the upper hand? Our brothers would’ve slain them long ago!"
The captain’s passionate words drew Lance’s attention back; anyone could feel his strong disapproval of those individuals.
Lance, however, felt rather embarrassed. Although it wasn’t his doing, he was, after all, the legitimate heir of Hamlet. He quickly changed the subject.
"Is there a chance we’ll encounter pirates on this trip?"
"There aren’t that many pirates around. Besides, we’re still within Totnes’s controlled waters. Those rascals vanish at the re sight of a naval flag!"
The old captain spoke casually, obviously unafraid, but looking at the Totnes naval ships, he couldn’t help feeling envious.
"If only we had that back in the day... When will I see our flag raised again..."
"You’ll see it," Lance said, himself moved. Despite his disappointnt with those people, he couldn’t conceal his affection for Hamlet; it was, after all, the place he had devoted his youth to protecting, a place whose forr glory he had witnessed.
The old captain, snapping out of his reverie, noticed Lance’s solemn expression. Thinking Lance was worried about pirates, he offered so reassurance.
"Don’t worry, sir! Even if the pirates co, this old body of mine can still take down a good dozen or twenty of them!"
The captain’s words were taken as bravado by the young sailors, who couldn’t help but tease and laugh.
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