040 Second Journey (1)
Lee Hwan said when Shirleyburn questioned her intimacy with commoners.
“Without loyalty, a corpse, a person shouldn’t do that.”
“Is that also because of Jeong?”
“It’s like that.”
“Jeong is really scary.”
“Nevertheless, it’s really good.”
Billion Shirleyburn seemed to be a little more interested in Lee Hwan’s easygoing appearance.
He sat next to Lee Hwan and asked about everyday things while eating.
“Do you know the life or death of your parents in your home country?”
“No, it looks good. Actually, I have some memory loss, so I can’t even remember my parents’ faces.”
“Wow! Memory loss, which is not uncommon.”
“They said it was like the shock of a falling horse.”
“Don’t fall… … . It’s sad. Nevertheless, it is amazing that you are demonstrating outstanding capabilities to the point where you can make a breakthrough in the military.”
“Would you say I was lucky?”
It’s a very natural thing to say, but the fact that other people don’t know about it was Lee Hwan’s memory loss.
It was because it was somewhat unreasonable to keep pouring out newspaper articles, far from becoming an idiot despite the loss of memory.
Billion Shirleyburn was probably the first person to question that.
Billion Shirleyburn seemed to feel Lee Hwan’s eyes slowly sharpening, so he quickly turned away.
“By the way, are you really not married? If you don’t have the girl you want, can I do some matchmaking?”
“Thank you, but I have no idea yet.”
“Originally, being a wife is a law that gives strength to a man. They say that marriage is the fastest way to put another power on your back.”
“Thanks for the advice.”
“If we do business with the Goldmans, we can preempt a good girl and send it to you.”
I still don’t know what the contents of the letter are, but it seemed clear to Lee Hwan about a partnership.
By the way, what part of Lee Hwan was so fascinated by the Goldman family to even talk about politics in a straight-forward way?
‘Do you value future values?’
After finishing his meal, Goldman stood up.
Then he said goodbye to Lee Hwan.
“Please, I hope that our two families will have a good relationship this time. We hope you will take our proposal positively.”
“Okay, then, go take a look.”
After waving goodbye, Lee Hwan sat down again, and the old man’s words caught his heart a little.
Did I make a speech mistake to end the conversation as if it was someone I met someday?
‘Is it because I’m old?’
Lee Hwan decided not to worry too much about it, as it could happen as he gets older.
***
In March 1823, a royal voyage led by Ben-Herren embarked on a journey from Africa to eastern South America.
While Lee Hwan joined, Ben Heren traveled around Africa collecting information, but there was something strange about it.
After the Battle of West Africa, Ben-Herren’s fleet had never faced an enemy.
Even collecting information was very difficult, and when the ‘Black Hammer Fleet’ appeared, people would disappear from the port.
Why on earth are they avoiding the Dutch fleet, which protected their compatriots and settled them in Europe?
By the time Lee Hwan left for eastern Africa, he could barely get a piece of information.
“… … inner pain?”
“Yes, it is. It seems that the British army has an insider. The reason that there were no people in the port is that if we only went near the port, the British army suddenly went to the port and said that there were no people.”
“No, who the hell would do that?”
“It is certain that an officer of at least the military rank or higher, or a person equivalent to a semi-nobleman is involved.”
The Royal Sailors, who are now more familiar with the name of the Blackhammer Fleet, have been operating intelligence units since two years ago, so the spies were quite well trained.
The information they’ve gathered has never been wrong, and they’ve done a better job than the old British spies.
It was hard to believe, but the information the spies had been asking was all true.
As if captured by a complicated mind, Ben-Heren was tapping the floor of the cabin with his stretched soles at a constant speed.
Ben Heren’s crackling footsteps.
Then, suddenly, his eyes widened.
“… … for a moment. Were there any British soldiers who looked after the slave traders?”
“Yes that’s right.”
“They risk their lives to do this, but what is the point of contact between a slave trader and a soldier to form such a deep bond?”
“iced coffee! Seeing that, I see.”
Lee Hwan was quietly listening to the officers.
Then, suddenly, a word came to mind.
The thing that Lee Hwan did in his previous life, running and running until the soles of his feet sweat like that.
“All goodness.”
“The whole?”
“Isn’t he secretly treating veterans with respect?”
“… … Are you talking about a business banned by the state?”
“Anyway, they too will be discharged one day. After the war is over, there is no need to maintain a standing army, whose ransom has increased unnecessarily. If it is not essential, it is cut down, and the positions are refilled with relatively low-paid soldiers… … .”
“iced coffee!”
“Actually, when an old soldier is discharged, no matter how much he looted the other country, how big would his pockets be? Is it really that different from being an officer unless you are actually aristocrats? Unless you have a pretty big family or you’re not wealthy enough to have money on your forehead.”
Not all nobles are the same, and officers do not live in the same world.
Even among the same class, there was a clear class.
“And a man cannot give up his lust for wealth until he dies. In the old days, it was legal to beat up and loot merchant ships and military ships of enemy countries, but now it is not. In addition, the slave trade was eradicated. If they were to cover their original expenses, they would definitely need to earn money properly.”
“… … I hope it eats the rust of the country, but I want to do that.”
“For now, it’s just my guess. Whatever the case, there is no one on this ship with greater insight than the commander, so please be patient.”
It was a fact that the whole world knew that those who ate the rust of the country were more corrupt behind the scenes.
It was unacceptable for Ben Heren, who lives to protect her pride as a nobleman.
‘It’s almost certain. Those guys, they’re fighting with the British.’
If the British military secretly looked after the slave smuggling trade from the level of courtesy, the clues to all the incidents that have occurred so far will be unraveled.
In a besieged Africa, they survived plundering or stealing, being able to plunder openly on the coast, and even committing to the slave trade without hesitation.
Ben-Heren sighed deeply.
“Hmm… … ! Where will the face of the nobility stand? It’s like things that are going to rot!”
“Corruption is everywhere.”
“… … We are here to fix that. It sprints all the way to eastern South America.”
“Yes, Commander!”
“I’m going to take this opportunity to eradicate all civil courtesy.”
Lee Hwan wanted to tell him, ‘That’s impossible.’
It is not that it is not, but surely there are people who cannot accept it.
***
It’s not that far from Africa to South America.
On the contrary, it felt like the distance from the Netherlands to West Africa was well twice as long.
Even if you run at 20 knots, you can reach it in a week, so crossing the continent wasn’t too difficult.
If there was one problem, it was carrying out the operation in South America.
The slave traders’ routes made up a vast sea route from western Brazil to Venezuela, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Cuba, and even Mexico.
It was said that they had to go through a grand campaign of 11,000 in total, but they could investigate all of them one by one.
“They have a knack for annoying people in every way.”
“Will it take at least two months?”
Indigenous peoples of areas frequently trading with Europe or under their colonial rule would occasionally bring items for bartering when Western sailing ships appeared.
However, since there is a limit to supplying such materials, it was the norm to anchor in a proper port to obtain materials.
Even if the supplies are supplied at least three times, it will take a full week, and in the process, the time to seek information must be included, so the investigation period alone will have to take about a week to a month.
Hwan Lee suggested dividing the fleet.
“Why don’t we split the fleet into three, conduct search and intelligence gathering, and destroy the enemy as soon as it is found?”
“Hmm… … . Well, it wouldn’t be very efficient for these people to go on an investigation as a group.”
Ben Heren decided to accept Lee Hwan’s offer.
He decided to bring the captains of each ship together and discuss how to proceed with the investigation.
The meeting, which began while looking at the twilight western sky, continued until deep into the night.
According to their current route, it seemed that they should be divided into a squadron going down south, a squadron going up north, and a squadron that would continue to search in central South America.
Ben-Heren changed his ubiquity over and over again to efficiently divide the manpower and match the weapon load.
Thanks to this, it took quite some time, but the most efficient ubiquity was completed.
The flagship, the Blackhammer, had three high-speed boats and one small battleship to take charge of the center, and the remaining forces were divided into two to take charge of the South and the North.
“Our temporary destination is Panama. Any questions?”
“How do I contact you?”
“There is an information guild of Ben Heren Corporation in Panama. If you put a chimney there, you will be contacted somehow.”
Ben Heren’s intelligence, wandering around the world, was unparalleled.
In fact, it was safe to say that there was hardly any way to live completely out of the eyes of the Ben Heren Information Guild on this planet.
Ben Heren believed in his intelligence and decided to divide the army.
The next day, right away, Ben-Herren divided the fleet into three and began the operation.
The Black Hammer decided to conduct search and reconnaissance starting with Natau, then continuing to João Pessoa and Recife.
Their territories of operation were in the midwest of Brazil.
Brazil declared an empire last year, and is now going through a transitional period of overhauling its constitution.
As with any newly independent country, Brazil amassed enormous wealth, but political turmoil was brewing.
As soon as the empire was declared, the southern city-states began to assert their independence, and the imperial power of the imperial power was maintained even before the constitution was overhauled.
In such circumstances, the Blackhammer gave the Brazilian monarchy a small amount of gold and was given the power to anchor free and search for the impurity.
All of this was possible because Ben Heren’s feet were so wide.
Even in the region where the Dutch imperialism trembled in the past, Ben Heren showed the power to get clearance through his outstanding diplomatic skills.
With the help of Tigo Pujato, a cotton merchant in Recife, Brazil, Ben Heren and his party set up a place in the port and decided to live on a boat and get information.