No businessman liked competition because it meant losing profits. Whether it was to snatch customers, raise the purchase price, or fund the ambitious to seize power, it would undoubtedly increase their costs. According to Dufresne, it wasn't that no one had ever considered forming a business alliance. However, the problem of profit distribution within the alliance had never been resolved because there was no profit distribution plan that could satisfy everyone.
Therefore, those who were not satisfied continued to do what they had done before. They raised the purchase price, bribed, and planned defections to increase their business partners. Soon, the merchants who joined the alliance could not stand it anymore. Seeing their original business partners being taken away one by one, no one could sit still. Therefore, everyone threw the previous agreement to the back of their minds. In the end, this new alliance, which had been established for less than three months, was disbanded in a vigorous battle to snatch people away.
This incident happened three years ago. Logically speaking, the black market merchants shouldn't have such a short memory. There was no reason for them to run into a wall again. Something must have happened that they didn't understand.
"I'll look into this matter tomorrow and see what's going on," said Dufresne.
Zhang Heng nodded. There was nothing he could do without knowing the specifics of the situation.
After that, the two went to visit the weapons merchant on the island. Since Zhang Heng had snatched a navy frigate, the ship was fully equipped with weapons. There were at least 50 guns and 60 sabers. For the time being, there was no need to purchase more weapons. However, as the battles continued in the future, their ammunition reserves would surely dwindle, and they would need to replenish their stock from time to time.
Zhang Heng looked for Barr, who he had worked with once before. He bought four pistols and a rifled rifle from Barr. Both of them had dealt with each other before, and they knew each other very well.
Compared to the black market merchants, Barr was much more hospitable.
Not only did he personally invite the two into his house, but he also asked the maid to brew coffee for them. He congratulated Zhang Heng on becoming captain and acquiring the Jackdaw before getting down to business.
However, when he heard the purpose of their visit, Barr couldn't help but frown. "Everything else is easy, but the 24-pound cannons are a little troublesome. Most cannons on civilian ships are 6-pound and 9-pound. 12-pound cannons are rare, and only the navy uses 24-pound cannons."
Zhang Heng knew that Barr was telling the truth. He was not trying to raise the price on purpose.
The Jackdaw's firepower was far superior to the average merchant ship. It had 12-pound cannons as its main force, and eight 24-pound cannons were even more powerful. However, collecting the cannons had become a problem. Fortunately, Barr wasn't as certain as he thought.
The weapons merchant paused and then said, "I have some connections in the Marine. If it's just artillery shells, I can help you find a way, but I can't guarantee success, and I'm afraid the price will not be cheap."
Since the Jackdaw had plenty of ammunition, they weren't in a hurry. After that, Dufresne and Barr began to verify the prices of the weapons and ammunition. Dufresne had served as the quartermaster of the Sea Lion for five years, so he knew the market very well. Neither of them was cheating the other, and the whole process went smoothly.
This was why all pirate ships sought to hire experienced professionals. If it weren't for the power struggle on the Sea Lion, Zhang Heng would have to rely on his luck to find crew members like Dufresne and Billy.
There weren't as many weapons merchants on the island as there were black market merchants, and the competition wasn't as fierce. Even so, Barr was in a good mood to have a long-term client. Seeing that it was getting late, he invited Dufresne and Billy to stay for dinner. However, Zhang Heng and Dufresne politely declined.
The quartermaster's wife and children were still on the island, and they did not have the time to return home after disembarking from the ship. Seeing that everything was almost done, he did not want to delay any longer. Zhang Heng, on the other hand, remembered that Anne should still be out for dinner, so he decided to look for her.
However, when he arrived at the beach, he heard from the people nearby that the red-haired girl had shown off her prowess today. Not only did she beat up the two candidates in charge of the assessment, but she also single-handedly defeated a few people who challenged her. In the end, all of them were convinced and went to the tavern for a drink.
Zhang Heng wasn't surprised at all. It sounded like Anne, and she was probably the only one who could win the respect of the other crew members in such a short time. In fact, if it weren't for her gender, she wouldn't have ended up in such a miserable state.
Regardless, not only would Billy and the others be speechless, but Anne would also receive less criticism for becoming the boatswain.
Zhang Heng didn't go to the tavern to look for the red-haired girl. He wasn't worried that something bad would happen to her. After staying on the island for so long, there wasn't a day that Anne didn't cause trouble. However, Zhang Heng had never seen her suffer any losses. When it came to drinking, no one in Nassau could beat her.
So, Zhang Heng returned to the place where he lived. When he reached the door, however, he suddenly stopped.
Zhang Heng furrowed his brows. He noticed that the door was unlatched. With Anne's carefree personality, there were only two possibilities for her to go out. Either she closed the door tightly, or she left it wide open. There was no third possibility.
Other than that, Zhang Heng also noticed that the curtains behind the wooden windows were drawn. This didn't seem like something Anne would do either.
Zhang Heng took out a handgun from his waist, but he was a little confused. He didn't have any enemies in Nassau. At most, he had a little conflict with Frazer because of Owen. However, the Queen Anne's Revenge hadn't returned yet. Logically speaking, Frazer wouldn't know what happened on the island so soon.
Besides, even if he knew, he should be worrying about Blackbeard and Orff's revenge instead of provoking Zhang Heng, who already owned a battleship.
That was why Zhang Heng couldn't figure out who the uninvited guest was.
Or was he just an ordinary thief?
Zhang Heng didn't let his guard down. He didn't know if the thief was still in the house. He used the military knife in his hand to pry open the door. After that, he bent down and rushed to the wooden window. When Zhang Heng took over the house, he did a complete renovation. However, he couldn't help but slack off a little. One of the wooden windows was so loose that it was unrecognizable. Seeing that it could still hold on for a little longer, Zhang Heng decided to ignore it.
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