Sheyan's objective in this auction was merely to disgust others. Upon seeing such a price, he immediately gave up. If this item was a black grade or silver storyline grade equipment that contestants could use, Sheyan would naturally bid for it. However, it appeared to be a storyline grade equipment that hadn't been appraised yet. Therefore, to Sheyan who possessed the 'plundering' ability of a captain, it wasn't worth it.
Following that, Yurena strolled out once again. Just as she was about to speak, an attendant suddenly trotted in and whispered a few words to her. Immediately, this female revealed a startled expression as she hurriedly walked out after confirming. When she returned, she was already holding a package wrapped in oil paper. On top of the bag, there were still drops of fresh blood that were still dripping down!
Yurena cleared her throat and announced.
"Due to a well-known reason (referring to Norrington's promotion and thorough establishment), the underground trade in Port Royal is predicted to be at a low ebb for a long period of time. Therefore, one of our senior clients has hurriedly offered us a priceless treasure during this auction! Of course, everyone can tell that the process of acquiring this item wasn't smooth sailing. He must have paid a heavy price and offended many people. Therefore, he immediately left after obtaining the bid for the auction. "
"Next, we shall begin the auction for this treasure that was added in midway. The voyage log of a Portuguese captain who had ventured thrice to Japan's Ishikami Ginsan, a second-class noble, Jaime Gama! The starting bid is a hundred thousand guineas. Every bid increment cannot be less than ten thousand guineas. The authenticity of this item will be guaranteed by our trading company. If there are any problems, we will compensate you tenfold! "
As Yurena spoke, she opened up the blood stained oil paper package in her hands, revealing an old notebook that wasn't thick at all. Written with a quill pen was written on it. The cover of the notebook was smeared with speckles of blood that resembled splashes of ink. It was a ghastly sight to behold.
In this era of navigation where there were no satellites, no radars and only the compass, Europe was in an upsurge of exploration. Columbus and Magellan were well-known and well-known figures. However, no one had ever announced the exact route to the mysterious east. That was because the profits from silk and tea leaves were exceedingly immense. Every route to the east was soaked with blood, greed and riches.
At that time, the only way to pass on the route was to rely on the oral teachings of experienced captains! Of course, there was also his logbook. This was because navigators could face the threat of death at any time, and their lives were too fragile.
In other words, if he could get his hands on this logbook, he would be able to make a fortune by sailing to the rich east! How could they not be excited?
Of course, to contestants from the future, at least 99% of them knew how to navigate the Caribbean Sea to places like Hangzhou and Osaka. But knowing it didn't mean that you could make a nautical manual and sell it for money.
There were many differences between ancient and modern times. First of all, the transport capacity of ships nowadays was limited. If they carried more goods, they would be able to transport less supplies. It was impossible for merchant ships to carry goods from one port in Europe to another in Asia. It was impossible for them to have the ability to travel point to point. Then, how many ports did you know about along the way? Could you directly find them in the vast sea?
Secondly, ships now mainly rely on wind and ocean currents to navigate. Do you know where the wind blows in which direction? Where could he borrow the strength of the ocean currents?
These few problems could be solved. But if you were a nameless nobody on the sea, why would others believe that you were speaking the truth? At the very least, one would need to build a fleet for a long voyage. Adding on the cargo, the total investment would exceed a hundred thousand pounds … Unless the realm had arranged for you to be a rich second generation or the son of an official the moment you entered, no one would believe your empty words.
Most importantly, according to the convention of that time, whoever provided the new route, would have to follow the ship! If not, they would have to rely on the Governor's Mansion as their backer, the Sherfield Trading Company, and promise to compensate them tenfold! Alright, a round trip to China would take two years. This was under the condition that the journey was smooth sailing. Which contestant would dare to waste so much time???
Those who were able to participate in this auction were all people of high status. Or rather, they carried huge sums of money on them. Even though the high price of 100,000 guineas was called out, it instantly soared to 150,000 guineas!!
Those who already owned the eastern route wanted to monopolize their trade. Naturally, they weren't willing to let others take a share of the profits. They had to snatch this item. Others who wanted to break their monopoly would also have to snatch this item. Hence, although the bidding speed had slowed down, there were still several parties who were determined to obtain it.
Sheyan observed them scrambling like ducks, and noticed that the gypsies had only called out a token before dropping their cards. Thus, he became even more certain of his judgement. Witnessing Fernandez directly raising the price to 200,000 guineas, the others hesitated. Instead, Xue Sha wasn't willing to be outdone. He slammed the table and stood up, raising his hand.
"210,000."
At this moment, the arabian Wahab unexpectedly shouted out.
"250,000!"
Sheyan couldn't help but be startled when he heard this figure. 250,000 guineas, was enough to construct a 7-masted battleship armed to the teeth!! Such a battleship could be counted with one's fingers even in the british fleet. Sheyan didn't expect an eastern route to soar to such a price.
However, Sheyan didn't expect Fernandez to bluntly call out.
"300,000!"
The entire audience was dumbfounded. More shockingly, Xue Sha actually stammered his lips while facing such a scene.
"310,000."
Skrtel had previously raised the price several times within the range of 200,000, but had now given up. Looking at this scene, he sighed and said.
"Damned Norrington. It's not easy to dispose of stolen goods now. That pirate Xue Sha seems to have thoughts of retiring, and wants to purchase this route to become an armed merchant ship. Forget it, I'll give him this opportunity. "
Although Xue Sha had exhausted all his resources to fork out 310,000 guineas, Fernandez's expression remained unchanged. He didn't raise the price further, allowing Xue Sha to purchase this expensive nautical manual.
Yurena had just won a huge auction, and wisely ordered the waiter to pour coffee to ease the atmosphere. She wanted to appease the depressed mood of those who didn't manage to win the bid, and also soothe the atmosphere.
"Ladies and gentlemen, don't be too anxious. The auction has just begun, and the climax is at the end."
Sheyan continued reading. The next auction item was a red official kiln ware from China's Jingdezhen. This item should be stolen goods. What it lacked was a proper channel. Those with connections naturally profited handsomely, and finally, it was sold for 10,000 guineas. One could tell how much China porcelain was sought after in Europe. No wonder its price was comparable to gold.
Of course, these items didn't pique Sheyan's interest. He sat there, sipping his coffee as he leisurely browsed through the auction. The auction items were a dazzling line-up. Apart from porcelain, silk, tea leaves and others, Sheyan even discovered the title deed of a Tortuga shop!
This was sufficient to indicate that Norrington's crackdown on smuggling had indirectly affected Tortuga's prosperity. Merchants no longer had confidence in this place, which was why they were willing to sell off their lifeblood goods.
Sheyan waited for a while. Probably due to exhaustion from her explanation, the beauty Yurena ran to the backstage to rest. He swapped in a substitute. At this time, he took out some interesting things that were not very clear about the purpose of the items he brought out.
For example, there was a monocular. Its effects could be used to treat the commonly known 'Rotten Crotch Disease'. In modern terms, it was the male genital eczema.
Sailors or pirates often operated at sea, and their crotch wasn't convenient for hygiene. Such a disease was common and difficult to treat. Using this monocular to focus sunlight to disinfect, it was actually a proven method. Hence, this item was fought over by many, and was sold for a high price of 10,000 guineas.
Another example was a lemon that was being auctioned off. This lemon was enchanted with dark witchcraft, and its juice could be squeezed out daily. Carrying this lemon on the sea could prevent several people from contracting scurvy.
Apart from that, there was also an 'Endless Water Flask'. A single flask could actually contain close to 4 barrels of rum. A gun that would never kill. This gun couldn't be loaded with bullets, but the sound of its trigger being pulled was rather loud. Its use was to prevent sailors from being enticed by the singing of mermaids … ….
While Sheyan was feeling bored to death, several black slaves strenuously carried crates over. Sheyan casually glanced over, and couldn't retract his gaze after that.
Because between the gaps of those hastily nailed crates, Sheyan shockingly caught sight of a strand of dark-gold radiance seeping out! In that instance, he instinctively rubbed his eyes, as though he couldn't believe what he was seeing. Yet after a few more careful observations, Sheyan finally confirmed that he wasn't mistaken. That's right! It was indeed a dark-gold radiance!
In that instance, Sheyan had already mentally prepared himself to bleed profusely.
The auctioneer kicked open the lid of the crate and exclaimed.
"This is a precious item brought back by the April Flower (Haha, can anyone guess the origin of this ship's name) exploration fleet after a long journey. It's said to have been discovered on a desolate island, and to obtain this item, they paid the price of blood. The starting price is 1,000 guineas. Every increment must not be less than 500 guineas. "
Naturally, this auctioneer didn't feel that this item was precious. Regardless of his attitude towards this item, or his words, they were all careless. Obviously, this person's professional standards were still lacking, and didn't understand the importance of stirring up emotions. (To be continued.) If you like this work, you are welcome to come to qidian.com to vote for me. Your support is my biggest motivation.)
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