Clayton King accepted the recommendation letter. "It might take some time to gather everyone to vote. It's easier for the others, but captains like you aren't on the island right now. However, they should be back in a month's time. By then, you'll have officially joined the council."
"Thank you, Mr. Clay," Zhang Heng said.
The brothel owner smiled. "When you officially join the parliament, how about we hold a banquet here to celebrate? The ladies here have heard a lot of your stories, and they're very curious about you. Please do come."
Before he could finish, he saw a girl of about seventeen or eighteen with a beauty mark on the side of her mouth poking her head out. She asked curiously, "They said that you can summon dolphins in battle and ride them to chase after the enemy. Is that true?"
"No, the version I heard is that the ropes on their decks are magical, and they can fly up and trap their enemies. One of his crew told me that," said a voluptuous woman.
"When are you going to tell us the story of your battle with the skeletons? I heard that you encountered a skeleton ship when you were sailing. There were more than 300 skeletons on it. You and your crew fought them off bravely …"
The ladies chattered until the madam chased them away.
"I didn't know I had so many stories," Zhang Heng said.
"Don't mind them. Every captain who rises to the top will have a series of legends that they themselves have never heard of. Clayton King put his pipe in his mouth and took two puffs. "When Captain Sam took over the Quidah, some people believed that he was a descendant of King Arthur."
… …
Before he set sail, Zhang Heng went to the secondhand trading center to look for Karina. Unfortunately, she wasn't there.
Jim, on the other hand, came to greet him. After he was cleared of suspicion, Karina gave him a raise and made him the person in charge of the trading center. It was a blessing in disguise for the bookkeeper.
After asking around, Zhang Heng found out how decisive Carina was. She had already chosen the location of the grocery store in Nassau, right next to the market. Carina was planning to open her store the next day. After thinking about it for a while, Zhang Heng decided not to disturb her.
On the first day of sailing, the port was bustling with activity.
This was the largest joint hunt in Nassau in the past few years. The participating pirate ships were all famous. Ever since Blackbeard Teach disappeared, Black Prince Sam and his crew had become the strongest pirate group in the area. Black Prince Sam's partners were all famous pirate groups. Black Prince Sam's partners were all famous pirate groups.
Zhang Heng and his Jackdaw were the only relatively inexperienced pirates in Nassau. However, they were now the most popular pirate group in Nassau. They were also the pirate group that every man on Nassau wanted to join. On their three consecutive voyages, the Jackdaw had brought back a huge amount of loot. They had even annihilated a pirate group that outnumbered them three to one. Although the Jackdaw had only been established for a short period of time, every step they took was legendary.
Even among the famous veteran pirate groups, no one would ignore their existence. On the contrary, when they saw Zhang Heng at the port, many of the captains took the initiative to greet him.
Other than that, Zhang Heng also saw Malcolm. This was the first time he saw him since the banquet, and he didn't look much different from before. Malcolm only stayed at the port for a short while. After saying a few words to Black Prince Sam and wishing them a successful operation, he got ready to leave.
Before he left, he saw Zhang Heng standing not far away. He stopped and nodded at Zhang Heng.
Zhang Heng returned the gesture politely. Those who didn't know better wouldn't be able to tell that they were enemies.
Black Prince Sam looked at the six pirate ships docked at the port with excitement. He couldn't wait any longer. Last night, he had already told the captains of the other five pirate ships about the route of the Spanish treasure ship.
There was no need to keep this operation a secret. With the firepower of the enemy, there was no way anyone would go back on their word and attack alone. Doing so would be no different from committing suicide.
"Let's begin. If we succeed this time, even the Queen in London will know our name. From now on, all the merchant ships that pass by will lower their flags when they see them."
…
"Rats were found on the ship?" In the captain's cabin, Zhang Heng put down the Dutch learning notebook in his hand and looked at the quartermaster and chef in front of him.
"Let Mr. Ramsey tell us," Dufresne said.
"Strictly speaking, I didn't see those little things. However, the kitchen has been losing food, and it's getting worse," the chubby chef said, wiping the sweat off his neck.
Rats were definitely one of the most annoying things on a ship. Not only did they accelerate the consumption of food and water, but they also gnawed at the cables and planks of the ship.
However, that wasn't the most troublesome thing. The real danger was that they could cause a plague.
This was a highly contagious disease. At first, it usually started with a headache and fever, but soon, nausea and petechiae would appear on the skin. Then, the lymph nodes would begin to swell and quickly fester. Within three to five days, the patient would die from severe toxemia, pneumonia, or sepsis.
In this era, the only way to control the spread of the plague was through quarantine. There was almost no effective treatment.
Zhang Heng knew better than anyone else how dangerous the plague was. In the 14th century, the Black Death killed 25 million people in Europe, about one-third of the continent's population. The last plague occurred in London more than 40 years ago, and it caused a lot of panic.
"Didn't anyone check the ship before we set sail?"
"It's my fault," Dufresne said. "I checked the ship the day before we set sail, but I didn't check again after the supplies arrived. If the rats were on the ship, they might have been transported with the food or wood."
"It's not your fault. We didn't have much time. I heard that you were still looking for people to gather. Fortunately, we found out about this early. Let's solve this problem as soon as possible," Zhang Heng said.
"The last time I went ashore, I bought a cat to deal with situations like this. I'll bring it and search the cabin again."
After that, Dufresne left the captain's cabin with the chef. To his surprise, they still couldn't find the rat that stole their food, even though they had brought the cat with them. Left with no other choice, he mobilized everyone on the ship to search every nook and cranny.
When they reached the wood storage room, they finally found something.
Zhang Heng didn't know whether to laugh or cry, especially Anne. Her expression changed when she saw what was inside.
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