Tortuga Island, a small island less than 200 square kilometers, is located northwest of French Santo Domingo (that is, the western half of Hispaniola, now Haiti). There are no Indian natives on the island. Apart from some white people who switched from pirates to farm operators, there are only their black slaves. In addition, the island is filled with seasonal "inhabitants" - pirates, and by-products brought by pirates - black-hearted merchants and prostitutes.

March and April of each year are the season when the Spanish fleet "Flota" and "Gaya'anes" return to Spain from Veracruz and Havana. The Spanish sailing fleet, full of gold and American specialties, is the target of "national pirates" who have obtained privateing licenses, while the small and medium-sized pirates gathered on Tortuga take advantage of the departure of the old Spanish sailing fleet, and the new sailing fleet has not come during this vacuum period, looting merchant ships from all over the country. Even under the influence of a prestigious pirate leader, they gathered ashore to attack the Spanish towns.

This year's Spanish sailing fleet has left early, and the familiar General Inspector Romero took this ship back to Seville. Therefore, the current Tortuga Island seems extremely active. In recent times, more and more ships gathered in the port are now approaching hundreds of them. So when the Beagle sailboat was sailing in the port in a low-key manner, almost no one noticed them.

Several guys dressed like beggars on the dock threw a cable over, and the sailors on the Beagle caught it, then fixed it neatly at the bow of the ship, and at the same time lowered the tail anchor.

Xie Hansan took a whistle army and some security troops to stay on the ship to prevent accidents. Lu Ming, under the guidance of two former pirate sailors, boarded the dock of Tortuga Island. With him, he also came ashore, two students, Yuri, Taoist Shou, and Anda Fifteen, and other martial arts masters.

There were palm trees everywhere next to the pier, and some ragged guys sat under the trees. These people looked at Lu Ming and his group wearing neat round-necked cotton shirts with hungry eyes, and some were still shouting something.

"Sir, these are all poor people who have been squeezed out by prostitutes and alcohol. They were wanted in the old continent, so they can only hang out here. If a captain had a big deal and was short of people, they might hire them temporarily. If no one hired them, they might go to the nearby farm to do some farm work. In short, life is not very satisfactory. They may die in a certain sea battle in the future, or on the belly of a prostitute..." A Dutch sailor said with a sigh. It was impossible to see these former similar people spending the day so miserably. Perhaps people only saw the glory of legendary pirates like Drake, but they did not see the difficulties of most of the pirates struggling to spend the day.

"Well." Lu Ming nodded, "Maybe we can try to hire some of them to work while the ship is repaired, and if they perform well, they can stay and be sailors. By the way, Tim, where are the boatmen on this island?"

"Sir, please, these boatmen are usually working here." Tim led the way in front, and the group walked through a small palm forest, and came to some wood sheds with strange eyes, and then shouted in Dutch to the front: "Hey, Victor, you bad guy, you have business coming."

Several boatmen who were sleeping under the shed woke up. One of the bearded men looked at Tim for a long time before he hesitatingly asked: "Tim?! It's really you! Why are you back? They all said you died at the hands of the Tatans."

Tim smiled awkwardly: "Okay, Victor, find someone to repair our ship, and stop at the dock there. Our mast is damaged. Take your tools and materials with you. Damn, if we hadn't lacked materials, we would have finished repairing ourselves. Victor, why are you doing it slowly? My captain was impatient, hurry up and set off now. Listen, my captain is a generous person. If your job can satisfy him, he wouldn't mind paying you more. And, you even have a chance... Forget it, let's talk about this later."

"Tim, it seems you're rich." Victor greeted his companions, and brought the thick wood for splicing masts while packing the tools.

"Yes, Victor, envy me. I can get more than 2 Ducart salary per month now. How does it sound? Haha." Tim smiled proudly.

"It sounds good. Most of the poor people here have no copper coins left all year round, and they are all spent on sugar cane and soybeans. New faces appear here every year, and many old faces disappear every year. Tim, to be honest, stop being a pirate business. This is my advice to you for the sake of fellow villagers, but it seems that you no longer need my reminder now, you are doing well. OK, guys, let's go."

The boatmen struggled to lift the wood used for splicing masts to the berth where the Beagle was parked, and then hung it onto the deck through the pulley boom on the boat. The boatmen immediately boarded the boat through the pedals.

Lu Ming stood bored on the dock, about to call Tim to see if there were any familiar sailors here, and asked him to call some to come and help. At this time, he saw several people walking from afar from the dock, leading a short man in a tattered linen shirt, with hair growing on his open chest, and several crisscrossing scars. His loose hair was wrapped around in a red turban, and his eyes looked a little sinister.

"Hey, stranger, the first time I'm here at Pirate Island?" The short man stood in front of Lu Ming, looked at Lu Ming's white cotton shirt, and glanced at him and asked, "You guys haven't paid the admission fee yet."

"What is he talking about?" Lu Ming asked the people around him in confusion. At this time, Taoist Shou and Anda Fifteen stepped forward to block Lu Ming behind him, in case these pirates suddenly started to hurt people.

"He is asking us to pay the entry fee," Tim explained. "Sir, I swear there was no such rule here two years ago."

"I understand." Lu Ming nodded. It is not uncommon for bullying new and rootless strangers in any era. "Give him ten dollars and let him leave!"

Ji Wen handed Lu Ming the purse he put in his shoulder bag, and Lu Ming took out a gold coin from it and threw it to the short pirate.

The short man caught it, but did not leave. His greedy eyes were still staring at the purse in Lu Ming's hand. While saying, "This is not enough", he actually reached out to grab it. The pirates behind him also reached out to his waist at the same time, with their short swords or pistols pinned.

"Genai (go to die)!" Anda Shiwu shouted violently, and the saber on his waist suddenly came out of the sheath, and the sword light like a training-like slashed down. The short pirate's entire right arm was cut off to the ground.

The pirates were startled, and the hand that was exploring their waists stopped involuntarily. Lu Ming was also startled, but he quickly reacted, pulled out the pistol that had been loaded with ammunition at his waist and pulled the hammer to the firing position, and the others followed suit.

The army on the Beagle also heard the news, and three 48 musketeers came from the ground, lined up in three rows on the deck, pointing guns at the pirates on the dock.

The pirates watching the excitement around opened their mouths and looked at the scene in front of them. For a moment, the entire dock became strangely quiet, except for the short pirate who was still lying on the ground wailing.

The strange scene lasted only two minutes, and soon, more than a dozen pirates came over not far away. This time, the pirate leader walking in front was wearing a triangle hat and a sophisticated wool dress. The pirates behind him were carrying flintlock rifles and followed him vigilantly.

"Oriental?" The pirate leader was a little surprised and said in Spanish.

"No, no, don't be nervous, I'm not trying to get justice for this idiot on the ground." The pirate leader kicked the short pirate on the ground hard. He saw more and more musketeers pouring out from the deck, and he couldn't help but explain.

"So, I'm glad to know you, sir." Lu Ming did not put down his pistol, looked at the pirates carrying flintlocks opposite him with vigilant eyes, and said in Spanish: "My boat needs some time to repair it. After the repair, we will leave ourselves and will not cause any trouble to you."

"Of course, Tortuga is a free island. Of course you have the right to repair your own ships here." The pirate leader replied calmly, then leaned closer and whispered: "I am Captain Coaster, and everyone here has heard of me. Of course, maybe you have never heard of my name, but that's OK. Now I have 6 ships, and my fleet will set out for St. Augustine in 5 days. How about it? Are you interested in having a vote together? Your musketeer is very interesting. I heard that the churches and monasteries there are made of silver, haha, God's servant is such a luxury."
Chapter completed!