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    Chapter 775: A disaster brought about by oneself… (10)


    The n leader and other captains expressed doubts about the proposal of Jonathan Brow, the captain of the gship ship leading the fleet.


    “Saving ves?”


    “Captain Brow. Are you trying to use ves as sailors?”


    In response to a barrage of questions, Captain Jonathan Brough exined his thoughts step by step.


    -Nowadays, it is not easy to find a sailor even if you add more money as a down payment.


    -If you are unable to properly hire skilled sailors, you will have to hire people with little or no experience as sailors.


    -Then, it would be a good idea to buy ves and use them as sailors.


    -If you promise freedom to ves in return for a sessful voyage, they will work hard with only the lowest pay.


    The n leader and other captains nodded at Brow’s exnation.


    “It seems like a good method…”


    “The problem is the cost of buying ves. “If you do it wrong, it could cost you more money than paying extra to save the crew.”


    Captain Thomas, who was listening to the n leader’s point, answered on Captain Brow’s behalf.


    “There will be virtually no cost overruns. “It is rumored that the ve market in Ceuta is overflowing with ves these days.”


    “Ceuta is overflowing with ves? why?”


    “It is said that the railway to be built in Suez is nearingpletion. They say that thanks to this, ves who are no longer needed areing back to the market.”


    “Hmm… Then aren’t there just things that don’t work properly?”


    Captain Brow responded to the representative’s concerns.


    “Probably not. ording to rumors, people from the ‘Land of Flowers’ take good care of their health and work well. It is said that those who could not work werepletely removed at the beginning of construction. It is said that the people of ‘Land of Flowers’ were thorough in that part.”


    “Hmm…”


    Hearing Captain Brow’s exnation, the n leader stroked his beard and began to calcte in his mind.


    As Captain Brough said, those dispatched from the empire did their best to manage ves.


    In the early days of construction, ves were managed by people sent from Portugal and the Ottomans.


    But their management was a mess.


    ves had to do harshbor while eating poor meals. If you were injured in an ident during construction, you could not even dream of proper treatment, so it was not umon for you to be crippled and be abandoned in the desert.


    Seeing this, railroad construction workers dispatched from the empire stood up.


    “Shit! “If we do it that way, any construction project will fail!”


    In the end, railroad construction workers even took charge of the management of ves. All the Alliance had to do was supply ves.


    The reason railroad construction workers took on the management of ves was for both practical and superstitious reasons.


    “Even cows must be fed properly before they are put to work!” “If I feed you like that, will you be able to work properly?”


    “If you are injured, you should treat it properly and think about using it again! Or don’t miss the chance and provide ves on time!”


    If ‘smooth progress of construction’ was the realistic reason, Superstition was fear of the vengeful spirits of dead ves.


    Just as sailors believed in all kinds of superstitions and jinxes, those working on the railroad also believed in superstitions and jinxes.


    Regardless of whether it was the headquarters of the empire or the new northern territories,ying a railroad was a life-threatening task.


    The scene was a ce where not only all kinds of wild beasts and bandits, but also all kinds of heavy equipment and gunpowder roamed around.


    Even the slightest carelessness could lead to death or disability, and because of this, those in charge of construction were sensitive to superstitions and jinxes.


    Before starting construction, it was basic to hold a prayer to pray for safe progress, and when looking at indigenous religious facilities simr to Seonangdang, it was basic to divert the route or hold a grand ceremony and demolish them.


    This was the same in Suez.


    First, a farewell service was held to pray for the empire’s sessful construction, and priests and imams offered blessings to the site.


    In this situation, it was natural for the people of the empire to go into an uproar when they saw ves dying indiscriminately.


    “Even if the thieves attacked and died! But no matter how much those five ghosts are ves, they shouldn’t be killed like that! How can I appease their vengeful spirits? “What are you going to do when the sun breaks on theid railroad tracks?”


    “It’s sad that you die or get injured, but if you die like that, I’ll do it even if it means turning into a ghost!”


    As practical reasons and superstitions ovepped, the imperialists took full responsibility for the management of ves.


    As the imperialists took full charge of ve management, the treatment of ves changed significantly.


    Immediately, the quality and quantity of food eaten by ves improved. Additionally, work was stopped when it was too hot and ample rest and water were provided.


    ves who were injured in idents or suffered from illness were able to receive sufficient treatment, and if they lost their lives, they were buried respectfully and a joint memorial service was held.


    As the imperialists stepped forward, the construction of the Suez railway elerated and progressed smoothly.


    * * *


    “It’s okay, but the catch is that they are ves who can only move when controlled with a rod.”


    Seeing that the n leader was still skeptical, Brow added.


    “All you have to do is pick the useful ones and then let them choose. “Would you rather be a sailor or go to a sugarcane farm?”


    At Brow’s words, the n leader nodded with a bright face.


    “ah! “There was a way!”


    The ces that bought the most ves at the ve market in Ceuta were sugarcane ntations located in the Azores and Portuguese colonies in Africa.


    Sugar produced from sugar cane ntations in the Azores and Africa was the main source of ie for the Portuguese nobility.


    Sugar produced from sugar cane farms was a valuable product sold not only in Europe but also throughout the empire.


    Of course, there were people who suffered damage from this sugar. There were hundreds of sugarcane farmers.


    The price of sugar produced using ves was cheaper than sugar produced by Ming Dynasty farmers. Thanks to this, as time passed, Portuguese sugar began to increase its market share in the imperial and Japanese sugar markets.


    To go one step further, Portuguese sugar began to encroach on the Ming sugar market as well, and Ming began to think about countermeasures.


    * * *


    In the end, the n leader epted Brow’s proposal.


    Fortunately, the minimum number of crew members needed to move the ships in the fleet was secured.


    “Then let’s go! Where should you go first? Is it also Ceuta?”


    When asked by the n leader who joined the voyage, Brow shook his head.


    “no. Cises first.”


    “Why Cis?”


    “We must join the trading ships going to Italy. “It’s to avoid pirates.”


    At this time, Cis was an English territory. And it was Ennd’srgest trading port. It was a gathering ce for English trading ships heading to Italy, Alexandria, and various parts of the Mediterranean.


    The trading ships gathered at Cis passed through the Mediterranean in groups.


    This was due to the Barbary pirates who settled in North Africa, especially Moro and Algeria.


    The area at the entrance to the Mediterranean Sea has long been home to many pirates.


    As time passed, Muslims and Jews who were pushed out during the Reconquista’s recovery of the Iberian Penins joined the pirates, and their power grew stronger.


    In order to prevent the attacks of pirates, which became more powerful, trading ships chose to organize and move inrge fleets.


    Brow exined in more detail.


    “The total number of ships in our fleet is five. The bigger problem is that there are too few sailors. “It is best to bury it on board the fleet departing from Cis.”


    “Hmm… I see. “Then let’s go to Cis first.”


    Three dayster, Brough’s fleet departed the port of London.


    It was a fleet consisting of two Karak ships and three caravels, and was the first exploration team to set out to find the ‘Western Route’.


    Many Londoners gathered at the Port of London to watch the departure of the exploration team, which was called the ‘Brough Fleet’ after thest name of Brough, the chief captain of the fleet.


    “Wow~.”


    “God bless you!”


    “I wish you sess!”


    The fleet moved towards Cis with the support and blessings of London citizens.


    Members of other ns were busy moving as they watched the fleet getting further and further away.


    “You may have missed the title of ‘first’, but you must not miss the title of ‘sess’!”


    “Go to the shipyard right away and check the situation!”


    * * *


    The captains of the ‘Brow Fleet’ that arrived in Cis were busy.


    On the one hand, I inquired about the departure date and size of the fleet departing for the Mediterranean Sea, and on the other hand, I went around looking for additional sailors to join the voyage.


    Naturally, as the captains were busy moving around, rumors spread, and upon hearing these rumors, a group of schrs approached them.


    “You said you would join the voyage?”


    “That’s right.”


    “Why schrs?”


    “If the existence of the ‘Western Route’ is proven, it will be asting achievement in academia. So please make sure to join us.”


    After hearing the schrs’ request, Captain Brow and the n representative looked at the schrs with suspicious eyes.


    The schrs who saw that expression quickly added words.


    “We are not French!”


    “I’ll even finance it!”


    Five schrs seemed to like the second answer and joined the voyage.


    * * *


    The ‘Brow Fleet’, which spent 15 days in Cis, joined the fleet heading to Italy and departed.


    As he slowly headed south and passed the ‘Pirs of Hercules’, Captain Brough spotted ships in the distance and took out his monocle.


    “They are Portuguese.”


    Brow checked the gs hung on the masts of ships in the distance and gave orders to the sailors.


    “Raise the g! Make it clear that we are an English ship!”


    “yes!”


    At Captain Brough’smand, a g with a red cross on a white background was raised to the top of the mast.


    Brow exined the situation to the representative.


    “In some ways, the Portuguese and Spanish are simr to pirates. If you don’t know the nationality of the ship in front of you or if it looks easy, you will attack it without fail. No, even if you know, they attack you.”


    “Even if you know, they attack you?”


    “Trade ships traveling between Africa and the Mediterranean make money. So you must not be left behind until you reach Ceuta.”


    At Brow’s warning, the n leader looked at the Portuguese ships in the distance with a face full of worry.


    * * *


    The Brow fleet, which safely passed the entrance to the Mediterranean Sea, parted ways with the trading fleet near Ceuta.


    “Be careful from now on! “Now it’s really just us!”


    “yes!”


    Brow’s fleet headed for Ceuta at the fastest possible speed, keeping watch in all directions.


    The Brow fleet, which safely arrived in Ceuta, soon caught the attention of Ceuta’s merchants and the Portuguese navy.


    “Why did the English shipse?”


    “There are quite a few ships for saving ves, right?”


    “The ships are all brand new.”


    Soon, rumors about the purpose of the Brow fleet began to spread, and the expressions on the Portuguese’s faces became strange.


    “Western route?”