845 Privateer

Glass City.

There were numerous factories set up in the outskirts under the gloomy sky. New capitalists went to all lengths to exploit workers, including child labor, to minimize production costs.

It was said that an adult working in such a factory would not be able to survive more than five years, but it was these very factories that brought about the prosperity of Ettoman.

In the downtown area, Gothic buildings stood erect like a forest of towers, and the bell in a huge bell tower sounded to indicate the current time.

There were always people hurrying along the streets. They were wearing black top hats and grey coats and holding canes, which was the mainstream clothing for gentlemen at this time.

A magnificent carriage drawn by two black horses passed over a classical-styled bridge.

Donald opened a window and frowned when he saw a street full of black garbage giving off a foul smell and a seriously polluted river.

As an Ocean Warlock, he hated this kind of place, particularly the behavior that jeopardized water sources.

Unfortunately, he was only an economist that had just risen to fame. He could not make any difference even if he articulated his criticism because it was the trend of this era.

The carriage stopped in front of a manor that was as exquisite as a royal palace.

Birds sang, flowers blossomed, and numerous servants clustered inside the manor.

All of this made Donald feel dreamy, as if he had suddenly left hell and arrived in heaven.

"Are you Mr. Donald?" A butler in a tailcoat opened the carriage door for him and bowed slightly. "The duke has been waiting for some time!"

This was Duke Ham's house.

Superficially, the royal family ruled Ettoman, but a large portion of the power actually belonged to the parliament and the prime minister.

Of course, the king had great power as well. There was a delicate balance between the king's power and the prime minister's power.

Duke Ham's family not only had royal bloodline, but it was consistently active in the political arena as well. There had been a few prime ministers in this top noble family of Ettoman that had countless political allies.

Since such a great noble wanted to meet Donald, Donald naturally had no other choice but to make it here as soon as possible.

Donald met the contemporary Duke Ham in a meadow.

Duke Ham was a white-haired, energetic elder wearing a loose silk robe and enjoying afternoon tea.

"Mr. Donald… I've heard a lot about you. I had the honor of reading your book, the Wealth of Nations, and found many points in it very impressive!"

After seeing Donald, the duke stood up to welcome him. "Give my guest a cup of black tea. I've recently hired a new pastry chef, and he's good at making desserts. Try them!"

"Thank you!" Donald expressed his gratitude reservedly and took the delicate ceramic teacup.

The ceramics here were from the Eastern Continent. They had the tint of glaze and enamel, delicate like a work of art.

And the black tea was from another colony of Ettoman—Zealand Kingdom.

And the sugar cube was produced in tropical plantations.

"To great Ettoman…"

All of this seemed to be narrating the rapid growth of a powerful country, as if Ettoman was about to become the king of the world by means of the Great Voyage!

"To our Queen!"

Duke Ham smiled and took a sip of the black tea. "Mr. Donald, do you know why I've invited you?"

"Of course!" Donald stood up and bowed again. "I'd be honored to become your personal consultant!"

"That's brilliant… A lot of annoying things have been happening recently. My burden will be much reduced with your help…"

The duke smiled and passed a newspaper to Donald.

Donald received it carefully, knowing that it was to examine his ability.

He calmed down and read the first section.

The printing ink gave off a pleasant fragrance but was not sticky at all, and the huge title was eye-catching—"Outrage! Dearborn Port Plundered by Pirates!!!"

Below the title, there was a black-and-white photo where a large amount of wreckage and corpses could be seen despite the low resolution.

"… It was reported that other than the pirate attack on Dearborn Port, a riot erupted among the civilians there at the same time. The royal navy has set off for Dearborn Port to pour oil on troubled waters… It's estimated that there were over a thousand civilian casualties, and Viscount Dearborn's entire family was annihilated… Consequently, the stocks of a few companies that had been trading with the Dearborns slumped today…

"Pirates! It's the damned pirates again!"

Duke Ham covered his forehead with his palm and sighed. "Look… How rotten has our seemingly prosperous country become? Hehe… Civilian riot, who doesn't know that pirates make up the majority of the population in Dearborn Port! That viscount shot himself in the foot. But… the dignity of Ettoman must not be tainted. In any case, pirates who kill Ettoman nobles have to pay the price!"

Donald calmed down and asked, "Which group of pirates did it?"

"It seems to be a pirate team that has just appeared recently. Their leader is known as the 'Arcane Trickster' and is an Extraordinary. His ability looks very complex, as he has displayed many strange methods…"

Given this era's communication technologies, it was remarkable that this duke could collect so much intelligence.

"… A few consortiums that suffered losses have collaborated to push through the decision to arrest these pirates. They offered a bounty of… ten thousand gold coins!"

Donald nodded, knowing that the Arcane Trickster would most probably shoot to fame.

After all, such a huge sum was not offered for many pirates who were wanted for the first time.

"Frequent pirate activities are only one aspect of the problems. The other is the intense competition from other countries…" Duke Ham continued, "Our country has earned tremendous amounts of fortune through marine trade, and the other countries in the Opher Continent have been coveting the wealth for a long time. If I remember correctly, Cecil has been expanding the scale of its shipyards continuously, claiming that it's going to build a trump fleet that consists of over a hundred warships and more than ten thousand crew members in three years!

"Meanwhile, all countries are relaxing their restrictions and encouraging civilian capitalists to sail overseas… Their marine capitalists will become the most significant rivals of Ettoman merchants in the future!"

…

The duke was talkative, probably due to his age, but he expressed his points clearly.

Donald was silent for a moment and thought of Fang Yuan's teachings. He could not help saying, "Pirates and foreign countries seem to be two separate problems, but they're actually two aspects of one issue, which is hegemony on the ocean! There only needs to be one real king in the world!"

"That's right, and it can only be our Ettoman!" Duke Ham said immediately.

"Frankly… Ettoman is an island country with an advantageous position and accumulated experience over the years. It'll be very hard for other countries to catch up to us, and the shipyards still have their trump cards, don't they?" Donald blinked.

"But even if we have an invincible fleet, maintenance is still a big problem. We can't do all the business using warships, nor can we blockade all the oceans!" Duke Ham said. If this was all Donald was capable of, he would surely be disappointed.

"Yes. Therefore, we need to suppress the pirates and, on the way, suppress the merchant ships of other countries…" Donald whistled. "But Ettoman is blessed by the heavens. Our location is favorable, just like a huge ship that will never sink, and guards the inshore areas near the Opher Continent… If my memory serves me right, in the inshore regions, even among the pirates active in the Nightmare Ocean, Ettoman citizens make up a significant portion, right?"

"Indeed!"

Sailing was a tradition in the island country, and the many fishermen who were used to making a living at sea would not mind earning some extra money.

"In fact, not only fishermen but also bankrupt nobles seem to have taken up some dirty jobs…"

Donald sneered. "Then things are much simpler. How about issuing pirate permits to pirates from our country? As long as they plunder any ships but those from Ettoman, their profits will be protected in Ettoman!"

"Permit?" Duke Ham felt a bit dizzy. "Are you saying… that we should negotiate with pirates? No-No way…"

"The pirates at sea are by themselves a strong force. If we can bring some of them under control, it'll be highly beneficial to our expansion!" Donald said firmly. "Moreover, we can use them to hinder the maritime development of other countries. Even if they fail, we won't suffer any loss! At critical moments, we can even let them join naval wars… When the pirates get old, we can even let them pay taxes in exchange for amnesty…"

In Fang Yuan's previous world, England had adopted this strategy.

But the English navy was not very powerful at that time, and England had to do so in order to cope with Spain, which had the greatest naval power.

Ettoman had the strongest navy in this world, but it could still choose to do so in order to suppress the maritime development of other countries!

Although the initial goals were different, the final benefits were the same.

Therefore, while Duke Ham kept shaking his head, Donald was completely confident in himself.

"All right… I think this idea still needs to be discussed carefully…" Duke Ham said with uncertainty. "Umm… Mr. Donald, I hope to invite you to have dinner with me. Will you?"

The butler beside him was holding a teapot. Upon hearing this, his hand shivered, as he knew that the economist had gained a closer relationship with the duke. He felt admiration for this economist.

"It would be my honor!" Donald smiled and bowed.

"If… and I mean if…" Duke Ham asked slowly, "the suggestion about permits gets approved, what will you name it?"

"Privateer Permit. I think that using this for an official name isn't bad!" Donald suggested. "And the pirate ships with Privateer Permits can be partially supported by our navy. Perhaps we can call them… royal pirates?!"