Four Hundred and Thirty-Five Return to the Caribbean

The war of aggression was turned into a counter-insurgency war halfway through. This is a strange change that no one could have expected.

In view of the tense situation in the Caribbean Sea, after the war, Lorraine set off to return to the Caribbean Sea with people and things related to the lawsuit, but he left Carmen and Pierce's special service fleet in Muscat.

They will host the next negotiations related to the chamber of commerce, and more importantly, reap the dividends.

War will generate dividends. Even if the purpose of the Drake Chamber of Commerce's war is not for dividends, it will still generate benefits. The difference is only the amount.

But this time, the core bonuses are three pieces.

First, after the Chamber of Commerce took over the logistics of Fort Milani, it sent about 3,000 pounds of daily necessities to the castle, plus the modified war reparations. The old man is not deceived.

This account book was handed over to the African branch in its entirety. Eddie could choose to take it back in 12 installments, or he could partially or fully waive it in the face of greater interests, and he did not need to report to the General Chamber of Commerce for approval.

The second part is Port Zuwo.

After the capture of Masirah Island, Lorraine regarded Zuwo and its surrounding 40 square kilometers of land as his possessions. Eddie will be responsible for completing the legal procedures for the transfer of property rights. The only thing that needs attention is the formalities The time card is before the signing of the unequal treaty between the UK and the new government.

This is not for fear of the British going back on their word.

After all, based on the value of Lorraine's performance in the First World War in Muscat, whether Willow Baker presided over the negotiations or not, the British colonial authorities will not create obstacles to Lorraine's control of Zuwo.

However, there is no reason for the UK to give the concession land to the Drake Chamber of Commerce. Taking the land from the new government can save the Chamber of Commerce the cost of buying land worth tens of thousands of pounds.

Speaking of which, this principle is also applicable to the other three chambers of commerce.

It's a pity that they are different from the ready-made Zuwo. If they want to implement benefits, they need to select a site in a strange and barren land, measure, and schedule negotiations with the team headed by Elamankh and Manzeri. The time is much longer than that of Luo Lin was much more nervous.

It is almost necessary for them to pay a certain price. As the sponsors of this gold group, the only thing they can decide is the type of price and who will pay it.

The third bonus is the secret contract for the development of the Al Batinah area, that is, every time Drake establishes a company in the Al Batinah area, Hasadi will automatically receive a 35% operating bonus.

This is also the key reason why Carmen will be kept by Lorraine.

The Batinah region has unique commercial value. Its capital, Sohar, guards the entrance of the Persian Gulf. It is a major commercial port in the Arab world. The territory is also rich in mineral resources such as gold, iron, and nickel.

The secret agreement gives the Drake Chamber a certain degree of official status in this region, and the loopholes deliberately left in the contract make the value of this status unclear. The value of the secret agreement depends entirely on the greediness of the Drake Chamber of Commerce and the ability of Hasadi, or the Imam forces, to operate independently.

Lorraine has drawn two ink lines for the development of the Batinai area.

The African branch opened an exchange in Sohar, opened up trade lines in the Arab world, subcontracted and built a heavy-duty loading wharf with no less than 3 plank roads and 10 berths.

The Asset Management Company of the Federation will establish the Drake Industrial and Mining Group in Cape Town, examine and acquire two or three high-quality industrial and mining companies, and establish the Batinai Mine Operation Company within half a year, and put it into operation as soon as possible.

The first general manager of the Industrial and Mining Group has been determined to be Aziz, who is also the head of the General Assembly and the African Branch. Lorraine promised him that after the group's assets exceed 500,000 pounds and a stable profit is established, the Industrial and Mining Group will Get the same treatment as the Maritime Group and become the sixth independent economy under Drake's name.

Aziz is full of energy.

After arranging these, Valkyrie headed south on a single ship, crossed the Cape of Good Hope, and headed straight for Gibraltar after a short rest in Cape Town.

Lorraine met with Ramos there, and entrusted the Portuguese slave trader, the Sultanate mission, and the representatives of the three friendly chambers of commerce who boarded the ship together to the Northwest Branch of Europe, which was in a lawsuit with the Queen of Portugal. The latitudinal route, taking advantage of the spring trade winds, officially embarked on the return journey.

That was already March 21.

Valkyrie has the top transoceanic ability of this era, stable and high speed. After 22 days of sailing, Lorraine finally returned to his own Luxi Harbor again.

"Enter the port coordination distance!"

"The distance is 3 kilometers to enter the port!"

"Raise the flag of the chamber of commerce, and the dock pilot docks!"

"The pilot's information is confirmed, the inbound line is clear, and we will enter the flagship's exclusive berth No. 1!"

"Semaphore confirmation! Valkyrie, welcome home!"

"Enter the port!"

...

Port Lucie, Jamaica, is the home port of the fleet directly under the Drake General Chamber of Commerce and the seat of the Drake General Chamber of Commerce.

The port has seen the development and growth of the Drake Chamber of Commerce.

Recall that in 1778, when Lorraine first arrived in Lucy, there were only three small private ports and a simple fishing port with three plank roads and six berths in the entire harbor.

After more than six years of acquisition and construction, it has become a prosperous place.

The three-kilometer-long coastline is separated by a fringe reef belt.

On the west side, with Luxi Manor as the center, nine stone plank roads of different sizes are built on the 800-meter-long beach, with a total of 27 berths. It is the exclusive wharf of the fleet directly under the General Chamber of Commerce.

The one-kilometer-long beach is attached to the town of Luxi on the east side. There are 12 stone piers with a total of 43 large and small berths. It is the Luxi Commercial Port operated by the Drake Chamber of Commerce.

There are 71 chambers of commerce from 7 countries that have set up exchanges here. The contiguous warehouses have occupied almost all the plantations near the sea except Lucy Manor. The annual cargo throughput exceeds 700,000 pounds, creating a large amount of money for the Jamaican colonial authorities. taxation.

Lucy has become a dazzling pearl in the Caribbean Sea. It is the most prosperous town in Jamaica besides Kingston and Montego Bay. Even in terms of tax-making ability, she has surpassed Montego Bay the year before last, becoming Jamaica's second only to Kingston. thick wallet.

The Drake Chamber of Commerce has shown amazing strength in the operation of this port. Lorraine spent huge sums of money to buy land and expand the port, but was not in a hurry to recover the cost.

The operation here is based on the public wharf, with free entry and low overnight stays. It also provides well-run port services, fair commodity valuations, and high-paying security guarantees.

The wharf also provides complete ship repair and maintenance services. As we all know, Drake Marine Group is the most powerful shipbuilding giant in the New World.

The cost of operating the terminal in this way is obviously huge. There are nearly 100 port employees in the entire terminal. Salaries, guarantees, and huge initial investment, the limited income alone is not enough.

It has been speculated that the profits of the Drake Chamber of Commerce's docks mainly come from the operating subsidies given by the colonial authorities, which are rumored to be as high as 10% of the annual transaction tax.

But in any case, Lorraine has really provided benefits to the merchants traveling in the Caribbean Sea. Coupled with the strong influence of the Hundred Merchants Association, this place should be prosperous and more and more prosperous.

In 1784, the transaction tax in Lucey Town reached the 50,000-pound mark for the first time, and the residents of the whole town enjoyed the dividends of the port. The port area alone provided more than 500 jobs for the town.

The town speaker suggested that Lorraine run for the district councillor. After much thought, Lorraine refused to run for the election in person. Instead, he elected Leonard, who was elected with 84% of the votes in last year's re-election.

There is no doubt that the Drake Chamber of Commerce has become an inseparable part of Lucy Town, Lorraine Drake is their pride, and the Lucy Manor located in the northwest corner of the town has become a resort in the hearts of the townspeople.

Lorraine raised them, Lorraine sheltered them.

And today, their patron saint is back!

Although the weather-beaten Golden Deer was replaced by a Valkyrie that the townspeople had never seen before, the Pansy Chamber of Commerce flag that was exclusive to Lorraine and wore a crown of roses and laurel told everyone clearly that Lorraine Lin is on that giant iron-clad ship that is unique in the world!

The Valkyrie glides gracefully across the open sea outside the Merchant Harbor.

"Look, look, it's Chairman Drake's ship, he changed the ship!"

"He finally changed ships?!"

"White pansies, a Pirate King's laurel wreath on the upper edge of the pattern, and one of the seven roses blooming... It really is the flagship of President Drake, and there is no second Pirate King's flag with a white background in the entire Caribbean!"

"His new ship is so big... Heck, it's not a first-class ship, is it?"

"How can it be considered a first-class ship! The president is a law-abiding pirate gentleman. Didn't you see that she only has one layer of gun bays!"

"Ah... that is... level four?"

"It must be the fourth level, the fourth level in iron armor! I just can't figure it out, isn't the Leeward Islands still fighting? Why did the president suddenly change the flagship and come back..."

"Are you talking about the Associated Press Fleet's crusade against Skillful Driki?"

"What else? I've been fighting for several months..."

"The pledge was made in October last year, and now in April, except for the one-month suspension of Christmas, the two sides have been entangled at sea. I heard that more and more forces are involved, and even Blackbeard's fleet has been involved."

"Won't it become the third association war?"

"Who knows? The big businessmen of the Associated Press are on the front line, how much safer is the Caribbean route than before? War is war, we have Drake!"

"Yes, we have Drake!"

"Long live Drake!"

"Long live Lucy!"

"Long live the Baishang Association!"

"Long live!"