Chapter 100

On January 5, the "East Coast Eagle," returning from Colonia, also entered the naval shipyard for its final repairs. The main repairs included applying a layer of a mixture of beef tallow and sulfur to the hull (to prevent shipworms and other marine organisms), replacing damaged sails and broken gun carriages, and repairing leaky planks.

Under Wang Qian's promotion, the Joint Staff Headquarters also began secretly recruiting a few taciturn and experienced veterans back into service, forming two detachments. In addition to them, 150 volunteers were recruited from the police and militia systems in Dongfang County and Duck Lake. These two groups, totaling 314 people, were equipped with all the standard army combat gear and would temporarily be under naval command for joint operations.

On January 20, the Pasquale family's merchant ship, the "Butterfly," returned from Buenos Aires. Minister of Trade Xu Xin, Deputy Factory Manager Ming Hui of the textile mill, and a representative of the Foreign Ministry, Sun Bo, boarded the 500-ton armed merchant ship. They were to conduct a field investigation on Hispaniola Island and, if possible, follow the "Butterfly" back to Bordeaux to explore the French market.

At noon, after a grand farewell banquet, the "Butterfly" set sail from Dongfang Port, accompanied by the East Coast Republic's two gunships, the "East Coast Eagle" and the "Red Trout," and slowly headed northeast on its return journey.

The two gunships, now fully refurbished, were loaded with water, food, gunpowder, cannonballs, spare cannons, sails, and planks. The entire fleet carried 35 sailors and officers, 40 apprentice sailors and cadets, 220 gunners, 164 regular army soldiers from two detachments, and 150 security troops from one company, totaling 609 people. This force was formidable enough to overwhelm most small Spanish towns. However, to maintain secrecy, the穿越者 (穿越者 refers to the time travelers or modern people in a historical setting) had no immediate plans for a landing operation.

Wang Qian and the Navy Department put a lot of thought into selecting the personnel for this mission. They reviewed all the穿越者 officers who were familiar with navigation and had combat experience, and found only a handful, including Lu Ming and Wang Tieshui. Among them, only Lu Ming and Wang Tieshui had experience as ship captains and in naval battles. After much consideration, Wang Qian decided that Lu Ming was the most reliable choice.

Originally, the most senior captain, Lu Ming, had resigned from his position as the captain of the "East Coast Eagle" to focus on the new year's recruitment and teaching plans for his navigation school. However, considering that Wang Tieshui lacked his reliable experience in commanding a sailing warship and that there were many apprentice sailors from the navigation school on board, he was reluctantly brought back.

Thus, the total commander of the small two-ship fleet, internally designated as the "Privateer Squadron," would be Navy Lieutenant Commander Lu Ming. The deputy commanders were two: Navy Lieutenant Wang Tieshui, the new captain of the "East Coast Eagle," and Army Captain Xie Hansan, the commander of the accompanying army detachment. Lu Ming would use the "East Coast Eagle" as his flagship, and Navy Lieutenant Julien de Aubry would serve as the first mate. The bulky and large "Galician Flying Fish" was left behind to serve as a transport ship, as the transportation tasks between Zhenhai Fort, Dongfang Port, and Colonia were also heavy.

On January 22, the three ships made a brief stop at Zhenhai Fort, where the "East Coast Eagle" unloaded a batch of building materials and cannons for the construction of a battery. Then, the three ships continued north.

On February 15, the fleet docked at Recife in northeastern Brazil, which was now occupied by the Dutch. After resupplying with some food and fresh water, they set sail again.

On March 20, after nearly two months of long-distance navigation, the fleet finally arrived at their destination—the French Cape (now known as Cap-Haïtien) on the northwest coast of Hispaniola Island.

The French Cape is located at the mouth of a river. The port area consists of a small residential area, with a population of less than 500, mostly French, with a few Spaniards and British. The French mainly operated farms and plantations, buying black slaves from British and Spanish merchants to work the land in the inland areas south of the French Cape.

Xu Xin and his group had a general idea of what the navy's two ships were there for, so they didn't say much and parted ways in the French Cape. The three of them took a carriage with Julian and Mathilde to the Pasquale family's estate for the inspection, while Lu Ming and his group replenished fresh water and food at the dock, with a particular focus on vegetables and fruits to prevent scurvy among the crew.

After resupplying, the two ships weighed anchor and set sail, leaving the French Cape and entering the warm Caribbean Sea.

In recent years, the Caribbean Sea had not been peaceful, with frequent and sensational pirate attacks. For example, "Dutch Drake" Piet Hein attacked a silver fleet from Veracruz in 1627, capturing over 800,000 pounds. In 1629, a Dutch fleet led by Piet de Bitter plundered the coasts of Cuba, Puerto Rico, and Santo Domingo. In the same year, Jans attacked Trinidad. In 1630, Dirk Dirksz and Piet Heyn even blockaded the Florida Strait...

The success of pirates in the Caribbean attracted more impoverished sailors to the region. When Drake returned to England with hundreds of thousands of pounds of loot, he was welcomed as a hero. At the time, almost everyone in the taverns was talking about sailing and wealth, and this trend quickly spread from England to the European continent, leading countless young people to join the lucrative profession of piracy.

The pirates in the Caribbean were numerous. In the 1630s, the largest pirate gathering place was probably Tortuga Island, about twenty nautical miles west of the French Cape. This small island of over 100 square kilometers was home to hundreds of ships, thousands of pirates, and many unscrupulous merchants and licentious dancers. It was both a haven for pirates to sell their loot and a place for them to rest, resupply, and exchange information. The Spanish Navy had organized several fleets to attack it, but they were unable to eliminate the pirates.

The East Coast Republic's privateer squadron naturally would not visit Tortuga Island, both to avoid unfamiliar territory and to prevent exposure. They also had a few former pirates from Britain and the Netherlands as navigators, so they were not unfamiliar with the sea conditions. After leaving the French Cape, they sailed north, passing the Turks and Caicos Islands and following the eastern coast of the Bahamas, then turning northwest toward the east coast of Florida.

By late March, the Caribbean region was already quite hot, but the cool sea breeze made it bearable. The new first mate of the "East Coast Eagle," Julien de Aubry, patrolled the entire warship. Having been promoted to first mate, he was in high spirits. Moving from the captain of a transport ship to the first mate of a warship was not only a promotion in rank but also a significant step forward.

Moreover, this privateering mission in the Caribbean would not only allow them to continue to earn merit but also likely fill their pockets. According to the rules set by the Executive Committee, half of the loot would go to the treasury, 30% would be used for shipbuilding and naval talent (including shipbuilders) development, and the remaining 20% would be distributed as rewards to the participating officers and soldiers, with officers receiving more than the soldiers.

At this time, a southwest wind was blowing, and the ship was sailing smoothly. The sailors were idly scrubbing the deck, while the lookout remained vigilant, scanning the horizon. The gunners, wearing white cotton round-neck shirts, sat on the deck chatting, some chewing on tobacco leaves they had bought from the locals in the French Cape, which was quite effective for staying alert. The officers were chatting in small groups on the third deck of the stern, as this was the pirate-infested Bahamas region, and Lu Ming had ordered everyone to come up from the lower deck officers' quarters and stand by.

Neither the officers nor the sailors were wearing naval uniforms but instead wore unmarked white cotton round-neck shirts to conceal their identities.

The Bahamas at this time had only a few scattered settlements among its more than 700 islands. The population was small, and most were former pirates who had turned to farming. They had intricate ties with the major pirate forces operating in the Caribbean. Pirates who had committed crimes often came here to hide, waiting for the heat to die down.

Of course, some powerful pirate groups also used these islands as bases to launch attacks on Spanish Florida or to ambush ships traveling from Mexico and Cuba to St. Augustine, Florida. These pirate groups ranged from a few to a dozen ships, operating stealthily in the complex waters, making it difficult for the Spanish to defend against them. Many towns in Florida were forced to pay tribute to notorious pirates to avoid being attacked.

Several seabirds circled above the "East Coast Eagle," indicating that the ship was approaching some islands. According to the sea chart, the ship should be sailing between New Providence Island and Eleuthera Island. This was always a dangerous area, as pirate ships might be hiding in the hidden bays of these islands.

Sure enough, the lookout soon spotted some activity.