After the rain, the second escort squadron of the First Fleet was sailing on the calm sea.

Today is December 25th, and 19 days have passed since the last naval battle on the rainy night. That night, the battleship "Common Market" was like a fierce general galloping on the battlefield. Not only did it kill its locked opponents, but it also drank a group of enemies, majestic and arrogant.

After fighting that rapid naval battle and obtaining the first sinking record of the battleship "Common Market", the entire fleet sailed north for three days and then turned east, and finally got rid of the British pirate ships that had been in disarray since leaving the port of Recife, Brazil.

Wang Tiechhui's nervousness, anxiety and uneasiness along the way were all thrown into the Atlantic Ocean with the naval battle. At this moment, he was in a very comfortable mood. The entire fleet has been safe for the past twenty days. After occasionally encountering several ships suspected of pirate ships, they immediately turned to the distance and ran as far as they could after seeing their powerful lineup.

The front is not far from Cape Verde, where the fleet will be replenished for a day, then head north along the coast of Africa and head towards the Bay of Biscay. If there is no accident, the entire escort squadron will arrive in Bordeaux at the end of January 1637.

On December 26, the entire fleet sailed into the Port of Playa in the Cape Verde Islands in a low-key manner. Playa means a beach and is the ruling center of the Portuguese in the Cape Verde Islands. The East Coast Republic has a good relationship with the Portuguese at this stage, and ships from both sides can basically be parked and supplied in the other party's commercial port.

Wang Tiechui did not allow sailors to enter the city to enjoy themselves. It is an extraordinary time, and the escort is under great responsibility and there is no need to be careless. Therefore, he just sent two officers to the dock to negotiate with the Portuguese to replenish fresh water, vegetables, fruits, and spirits as soon as possible. If possible, he still wanted to leave the port today and head towards Bordeaux.

After all, this place is too close to the stronghold of British New Africa Company near the Gambia River, and maybe you will be given some situation at any time.

The Portuguese rowed a boat to deliver supplies. The sailors cheered and poured out the meat of white maggots and the rotten fresh water in the wooden barrel, and replaced it with fresh lamb, vegetables, and poultry eggs.

Some wine barrels filled with brandy were also hung up by pulley booms. The sailors picked up military kettles with the officer's smile, pouring a little to each person to drink first.

"Sir, don't you come some?" Johnson, an intern at the 33rd class of Navigation School, wiped the wine stains on the corner of his mouth with his greasy sleeves, and grinned at the eldest mate An Chu.

"No, I'm on duty now. Thank you for your kindness, Johnson." An Chu smiled and shook his head, turning his eyes to the sea in the distance.

"That's a pity." Johnson took another sip, and then said, "I have had enough of the meat pie with maggots and the smell of fresh water. Wuliang Tianzun was on the boat. Although the livestock sailors from the Caribbean (former pirates) on the boat had a great time eating, I still felt that it was a torture. I really missed the wonderful time in the Navigation School."

"Johnson, don't discriminate against those sailors. Don't forget that those silent sailors fought side by side with us that night." An Chu corrected Johnson's statement and said, "They are not wood. They have their own feelings and joys and sorrows. As a sailing and cable trainee officer, you should try to understand them and try to get along with them, which will be good for you. As for your complaints about food and drinking water, I feel deeply. But the good news is that Commander-in-Chief of the Squadron has decided that we can fill half of the water tank with beer as our drinking water on the return journey."

"Ahhh..." Johnson slapped his thigh with joy and said excitedly: "What a wonderful idea! I finally don't have to drink the so-called 'freshwater' that I want to vomit. Hey, what is that, St. George's flag!"

"English!" An Chu was also shocked and looked at the place Johnson pointed. He saw three warships equipped with a large number of artillery slowly raised a St. George's flag on the east side of the port, and then began to raise sails and turn, as if ready to leave the port.

"Strangely, the British had a business station at the nearby Gambia estuary. Why did they come to the Portuguese? Could it be that they were here to repair the ship?" An Chu said to himself in confusion. Perhaps there was only one explanation, because the British did not have the facilities and materials to repair the ship at the merchant station at the Gambia estuary.

"I'll ask." Johnson put down his military kettle, then climbed the rope ladder next to the deck and went down to the Portuguese supply ship below.

"Hey, Senna, what are those British guys doing here?" Johnson said in a half-baked Portuguese.

"They?" The Portuguese merchant Senna turned his head and looked at it, then said with a blank expression: "The vessel of the Guyana Traders Company came here the day before yesterday. It is said that it had leaked and needed repairs. Now it seems that they have finished repairing and are ready to return to London."

"Guyana Trading Merchant Company..." Johnson read the name in his mouth and said, "Thank you, Senna, if I pass by here on the return trip, I'll give you a drink."

"For the sake of your glass of wine that you don't know if you can cash, I will send you a message." Senna lowered her voice and said mysteriously: "The Guyana Traders Company was established six years ago. She even owns shares in the British royal family. The company has obtained a 31-year trade right from Cape Blanco to Cape of Good Hope. Of course, their business is limited to trading around the Gulf of Guinea and... digging gold. Yes, they established a stronghold in the Gambia, and while exchanging cheap goods and local stupid natives for gold, they mined and refined it themselves. Just last year, they transported back tens of thousands of pounds of gold from here."

"What an interesting news, I think it might be worth two bottles of Bordeaux wine." Johnson smiled, "I will bring it to you on the return trip, haha." After saying that, Johnson climbed onto the deck of the "Common Market" and then told An Chu the news he had found.

"Gold?" When Wang Tiechhui, who was drinking green tea leisurely, was struggling for a while, then shook his head gently and said, "Forget it. You said that those are three warships, not those thin-skinned pirate ships. The waterline deck of a few meters thick cannot be blasted out in a short while, and their fighting will is probably much stronger than those pirates. Forget it, our fleet is carrying 50,000 cotton pads, 800 tons of potatoes, dozens of cannons, hundreds of sets of armor, and thousands of sabers. The total value is probably no less than the tens of thousands of pounds of gold on their ship. Although I like to bet on luck, this bet is not worth it. Forget it, I give up."

"I understand." An Chu nodded and said, "But knowing that they are so valuable in the Gambia gold mine, I will tell the Admiralty after I go back that my private fleet can consider coming here for a walk."

Just as Wang Tiechong and An Chu were talking about the three ships of the British Guyana Traders Company, the British on the three ships were also silently watching them.

A young English officer was slowly retracting his monocular telescope on the three-masted sailboat "It's an East Coast! Banjul Merchant". The flying flags on the top of the mast of the other ship clearly indicated their identity.

"Sir, their flagship has 66 artillery pieces. God, how could it be so many!" Another young officer shouted in surprise: "Two frigates, one French armed merchant ship, two Frute merchant ships, they seem to be no weaker than us. Sir, our ship is loaded with forty thousand pounds of gold, which is the property of the king and all gentlemen. I think we'd better not take risks."

"You're right, James." The young officer carefully put the monocular into a wooden box, then took a last look at the East Coast fleet, which was still anchored at the dock to supply food, and said indifferently: "The East Coast people have such powerful double-deck battleships, but we still don't even have a ship over 800 tons. How can this protect our interests?"

"The gentlemen of the company's board of directors should face our situation." Another young officer also felt deeply: "The West African AG almost went bankrupt under the competition and suppression of the despicable Dutch people. Isn't this the reason for our lack of powerful warships? Mr. Chris, it's time to make suggestions to the board."

"I'll think about it." Chris nodded reservedly and said.

...

After the British warships left, the Second Escort Squadron of the East Coast Republic did not delay. After supplying food and freshwater, the entire fleet left Playa Port overnight and turned to the northeast to drive directly towards Bordeaux.

When they passed by the Canary Islands, they saw the pirates of various countries. Fortunately, these pirates were still quite tactful. They were only interested in gnawing the fat piece of merchant ships, and were not interested in gnawing the hard bones of the fleet with warships escorted. Moreover, after seeing the mighty and majestic hull of the battleship "Common Market", no one would even get up to get into trouble.

In late January, the fleet sailed smoothly to the coast of the west side of the Iberian Peninsula, only a few days away from the Port of Bordeaux in the Bay of Biscay. The officers and sailors finally let go of their hearts that had been holding before. It was only a few dozen nautical miles away from the coastline of Portugal. There were many ships coming and going along the way, which was extremely busy. There would never be any pirates who came here to rob them openly, as it would be too horrible.

However, sometimes things are always so unexpected.

"I understand." An Chu nodded and said, "But knowing that they are so valuable in the Gambia gold mine, I will tell the Admiralty after I go back that my private fleet can consider coming here for a walk."

Just as Wang Tiechong and An Chu were talking about the three ships of the British Guyana Traders Company, the British on the three ships were also silently watching them.

A young English officer was slowly retracting his monocular telescope on the three-masted sailboat "It's an East Coast! Banjul Merchant". The flying flags on the top of the mast of the other ship clearly indicated their identity.

"Sir, their flagship has 66 artillery pieces. God, how could it be so many!" Another young officer shouted in surprise: "Two frigates, one French armed merchant ship, two Frute merchant ships, they seem to be no weaker than us. Sir, our ship is loaded with forty thousand pounds of gold, which is the property of the king and all gentlemen. I think we'd better not take risks."

"You're right, James." The young officer carefully put the monocular into a wooden box, then took a last look at the East Coast fleet, which was still anchored at the dock to supply food, and said indifferently: "The East Coast people have such powerful double-deck battleships, but we still don't even have a ship over 800 tons. How can this protect our interests?"

"The gentlemen of the company's board of directors should face our situation." Another young officer also felt deeply: "The West African AG almost went bankrupt under the competition and suppression of the despicable Dutch people. Isn't this the reason for our lack of powerful warships? Mr. Chris, it's time to make suggestions to the board."

"I'll think about it." Chris nodded reservedly and said.

...

After the British warships left, the Second Escort Squadron of the East Coast Republic did not delay. After supplying food and freshwater, the entire fleet left Playa Port overnight and turned to the northeast to drive directly towards Bordeaux.

When they passed by the Canary Islands, they saw the pirates of various countries. Fortunately, these pirates were still quite tactful. They were only interested in gnawing the fat piece of merchant ships, and were not interested in gnawing the hard bones of the fleet with warships escorted. Moreover, after seeing the mighty and majestic hull of the battleship "Common Market", no one would even get up to get into trouble.

In late January, the fleet sailed smoothly to the coast of the west side of the Iberian Peninsula, only a few days away from the Port of Bordeaux in the Bay of Biscay. The officers and sailors finally let go of their hearts that had been holding before. It was only a few dozen nautical miles away from the coastline of Portugal. There were many ships coming and going along the way, which was extremely busy. There would never be any pirates who came here to rob them openly, as it would be too horrible.

However, sometimes things are always so unexpected. It is only a few dozen nautical miles away from the coastline of Portugal, and there are many ships coming and going along the way, which is extremely busy. There will never be any pirates who are bold enough to come here to rob them openly, which is too horrible.
Chapter completed!