Chapter 339： shocking news

Just before dawn, a rush of horseshoes broke the tranquility of the morning. The rider anxiously beat the horse under his crotch and galloped through the streets of Huxin Town. Fortunately, most of the residents were still asleep at this time, and the streets were empty. one person. The rider quickly passed the bridge and came to the old town on the island in the middle of the lake.

With the expansion of the ruling area and Paul's improvement of his bureaucratic team day after day with reference to the memories of his previous life, the administrative system of Arda has also expanded rapidly, and many institutions have established independent offices. The closed nature of the island in the center of the lake has unique advantages in terms of confidentiality and security, and the castle where the lord Paul lives daily is also located here, so most of the government offices of the departments also choose to build on this island. Residents on the island are also dominated by many affairs officers and their families. As for those "old Huxin Town people" who used to live on the island, they have happily moved to their new houses on the south bank with the "demolition money" issued by the Government Affairs Council. The new houses given to them by the Government Affairs Council are even bigger. , newer and more comfortable. In this era where the lord's authority is extremely powerful, no one dares to be a nail household,

In fact, when the residents on the island learned that the Government Council would give them a sum of money (of course not a lot) in addition to building new houses for them, everyone was shocked and knelt down and shouted long live the lord.

The rider continued to whip his horse and walked along the street to the gate of the Ministry of Intelligence. Suddenly he remembered that the Ministry of Intelligence was not on duty at this point, so he turned his horse and galloped again.

The rider quickly arrived at the gate of Cecil's residence, jumped off his horse and slammed on the gate vigorously. Cecil's servant opened the door to receive the unexpected guest with a murmur.

Twenty minutes later, Cecil rushed out of the house in disheveled clothes, rode on the horse that was still tied at the door, and rushed towards the lord's mansion.

"What's the matter? Are you in such a hurry?"

Paul yawned, bleary-eyed. Just now, she was still dreaming sweet dreams in the bed, but she was suddenly pulled out of the bed by Philip butler. What a crime on such a cold winter morning.

"My lord, there is shocking news from Jingyao."

Cecil handed Paul a document, "You must immediately send someone to inform Port Fulan to stop those merchant ships that are about to set off southward."

"News about Jingyao? What does it have to do with merchant ships?"

Paul took the document with a puzzled expression, and from the anxious expression on Cecil's face, he had a premonition that something was wrong.

Sure enough, when he opened the document, the text that caught his eyes made his heart skip a beat—"Pirates raided Westport, and the sea power of the kingdom stationed in the cluster was completely wiped out."

After being stunned for a few seconds, he remembered Cecil's suggestion just now. He summoned an attendant and ordered: "Quickly, send a message to Mayor Theodore and Commander Austin in Port Fullland, asking them to stop all Ships heading south may encounter pirates."

"Yes, my lord!"

Paul added: "Let the navy call back the ships that didn't go far! Just do it in plain text, and the sooner the better."

The servant turned and hurried out.

Paul and Cecil immediately convened an emergency meeting with the high-level military and political leaders of Huxin Town to discuss countermeasures. Whether it is going to the south of Aldo or to the corner bay, Westport is an important target port or midway supply point. It is controlled by a force with malicious intentions, and it is undoubtedly choked by the throat of the Northwest Gulf, which is increasingly dependent on sea transportation.

"Lord Earl, you should immediately dispatch the navy to retake Westport for the kingdom!"

Hansel was very excited when he heard the news.

"Hmph! Your Excellency, Director of Agriculture, you don't understand military matters, so it's better not to interrupt."

Bryce snorted coldly. Many local military and political officials in the Northwest Gulf, represented by him, were very dissatisfied with Hansel. This guy ignored Arda's interests whenever the kingdom was in trouble, and asked the Earl to do this and that. Why didn't he think about it, did the title of "royal commissioner" bring him any practical benefits? Who pays you a salary? Earl Greiman? Or King Rodney?

The two men quarreled, which disturbed Paul even more.

Ladi Setia beside him pulled his clothes quietly, and said quietly: "Betty sent me a telegram two days ago, and she is about to set off on a merchant ship. In other words, her ship has already left." It's two..."

Paul's face darkened.

Ladi asked nervously, "Can the navy's schooner catch up?"

Paul worried: "The merchant ship is slow and loaded with cargo. It should be able to catch up... Bless you."

The meeting was still going on, and when it was time to discuss whether to send troops south, Schroeder, the chief of staff, reported the situation of the navy: "My lord, the first two sailing warships that entered service—the Hope and the South—are undergoing major repairs in Port Flanders. , We can now dispatch a total of 12 galleys and 6 other sailing warships—including two newly commissioned square sailing ships.”

"Overhaul? Why? Hope and Nanfang were built just the year before last?"

"Uh... At that time, because of the eagerness to test the practicability of sailing ships, the wood for their construction was not fully dried, which caused the hull to erode quickly..."

"Okay, I understand. So our combat power is temporarily reduced a lot?"

"It can't be like this. The two newly commissioned two-masted sailing ships have larger hulls and stronger firepower. They are equipped with two rows of 12-pound guns on their sides, which can blast enemy warships into hornets' nests from a distance—the speed is zero. But only relative to the schooner."

Paul breathed a sigh of relief: "I'm relieved."

After a long discussion , everyone felt that the sea trade route could not be cut off, because the current economy of Arda is seriously exporting. Under the suggestion of the military, the first priority is to find out the strength of the pirates entrenched in Westport. The pirates who can annihilate the kingdom's sea power cannot be ordinary pirates.

In addition, the connection with the kingdom's army is also a top priority. If the pirates are too powerful, it is obviously unwise for the Arda navy to challenge them single-handedly, and the kingdom's government cannot allow such a dangerous force to wreak havoc along its own coast.

The result of the meeting made Hansel overjoyed, and he volunteered to go to Jingyao to contact "His Majesty's government".

Everyone knows his thoughts: if he is the representative to contact, the big shots in Jingyao will easily think that he has contributed to Arda's naval service king, and they will look up to him even more.

Seeing Hansel's enthusiasm, Paul simply agreed to his request. But Hansel insisted on going south by land, and he did not agree to take a naval warship to go south. On the one hand, he had no experience of long-distance sailing, and on the other hand, he was afraid of possible pirates. In order to hurry up, he decided to set off tomorrow.

The specific actions of the navy will have to be discussed in detail after the arrival of the generals of Fulan Port.

In private, Paul secretly worried about "Betty" and silently prayed that the boat she was on would be recovered.

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