Chapter 606 Let’s make a fortune together
It’s late at night.
Demville was very lucky to be assigned the task of "replenishing goods", which meant that he could rest in the small church in the town tonight.
Well, the "Leisure" cannot return empty after unloading its cargo.
It will return home with wool, wood, leather and even tea purchased from Norfolk. Most of these items will be unloaded in Calais, France, and some will go directly to the port of Le Havre.
However, the Purs Gang required them to declare customs and pay taxes in accordance with regulations in France. Although this will reduce the profit of the return journey to an extremely low level, every smuggling ship has a "liaison officer" from the Purs Gang watching over it, and the captains do not dare to mess around.
The raw materials of these British specialties are purchased locally at a lower price than the official price sold to France, so the profit is barely acceptable to the captains. Anyway, the trip to England has already made a lot of money.
Demville, who had been carrying dry oak boards for half the night, let out a long yawn and was about to take a nap. There might be another batch of freight coming after dawn, so he had to save some energy. Although the salary of this job is high, it is also very tiring.
The pastor of the church thoughtfully sent blankets to the sailors on the ship.
As a devout Catholic, Demville looked at the kindly smiling Protestant priest in front of him, hesitated for several seconds, and finally took the blanket - it was too cold to sleep on the church floor.
Just when he dreamed that he had paid off his debts and had a smile on his face, he was kicked awake and a low roar came from his ears: "Something's happened, get up!"
Pool Jacques Barouin, the steward here, woke everyone up, and then went to the second floor window to look out.
Someone put a gun in Demville's hand. He carefully approached the window and saw five or six horses galloping towards the church under the morning sun, but they were obviously not here to deliver goods.
Maderno also came to the second floor and said nervously: "Mr. Baluan, isn't he from the British anti-smuggling team?"
"It's not clear yet." Baluan He frowned and shook his head.
The Special Trade Association has informants near the Norfolk Anti-Smuggling Team and the police. If any unusual movement is detected, they will immediately come to the police. There hasn't been any mistakes in the past few months.
A priest came to the door, talked to the visitor for a while, then returned to the second floor and said to Baluan: "It's not the anti-smuggling team or the police."
The latter breathed a sigh of relief: "Then who are they?"
"Well...you should ask them yourself."
Baruan inserted the pistol into his waist and came to the door of the church in confusion when he heard The well-maintained middle-aged man opposite said: "Are you in charge here?"
"I'm in charge here. Are you?"
The middle-aged man smiled and said: "I know this church runs some special business."
Baruan immediately moved his hand to Behind him, he asked warily: "So, what do you want?"
The middle-aged man made a gesture of pressing down with his hands: "Relax, friend. My boss said that your current business method is a bit... Ah, not efficient enough.
"If he could, he intended to 'agent' your shipments to Norfolk and sell them in a more efficient manner. ”
Baluan was stunned for a moment.
"How did you find this place? And who is your boss?" "There are so many high-quality bargains on the market, and those who are interested can always find their source. Please believe me, we can help you Plug this loophole."
The middle-aged man looked around and said: "As for my boss, you must have heard of him."
……
Paris.
In the Office of the Minister of Trade in the Palace of Versailles, Bayi looked through the documents sent by the "Special Trade Association" with a smile on his face.
"Lord George Hoon." He handed a report to Major Garrard, the head of the Trade Investigation Division of the Intelligence Bureau opposite, "The old Norfolk families, and the Norfolk Chamber of Commerce, the Mayor We have friendships with tax officials and many congressmen. He promised to sell our business through formal channels and double our sales in a short period of time. At the same time, he could provide protection at the police station. >
“But he asked for 20% of the profit and the pricing power of the goods in Norfolk. "
The latter glanced at the report in his hand, and then looked at the large pile of documents on Bayi's desk, his expression full of emotion.
The Intelligence Bureau had previously judged that finding "partners" in Britain and its colonies would be the biggest challenge. They planned to devote half of the manpower of the "Trade Investigation Office" and 300,000 francs to this plan.
Unexpectedly, without any effort on their part, a large number of British forces came to seek cooperation. And the asking price was much lower than their initial estimate.
"I'm starting to like these British gentlemen." Bayi handed over another report, "This is Mr. David Havers from Hampshire. Well, it just so happens that his uncle is The deputy commander of the South Coast Anti-Smuggling Team, but he has a big appetite and wants to get the market from Plymouth to Portsmouth...
“Aha, you would never guess this! Baron Henry Graves also hopes to cooperate with us. "
"Baron Graves? You mean, Assistant Governor of Newfoundland, UK? ! ”
"That's right." Bayi beamed, "He even said that he could send a ship to pick up the goods on a small island in the Atlantic Ocean, and then fly the British flag back to Canada."
In this era, Canada was just a geography Concept, the few British colonists were gathered in a small area of the Great Lakes. Therefore, the name Newfoundland is often used to refer to the British colonies throughout North America, which shows the great influence of the Governor of Newfoundland.
"Could this be a British trap?" Major Garrard asked cautiously.
“I think it’s unlikely.” Bayi pointed to a few lines in the report, “More than 60% of the first batch of goods we shipped to Canada was purchased by him personally. That’s A full 350,000 francs in wine and textiles.”
“I will send someone over there to verify...”
In just the past month, the Special Trade Association has "acquired" seven heavyweight partners in the United Kingdom and its colonies, and with their help, it has established a complete transportation and sales channel.
There are even people like the Assistant Governor of Newfoundland who take their own ships and become shareholders.
As for the Portuguese colony of Brazil, the Creoles there had been clamoring for independence and demanding free trade rights. Therefore, as soon as the cheap and easy-to-use French products arrived, they were warmly welcomed.
José Xavier, the leader of the Brazilian independence movement, personally sent people to contact the smuggling fleet, helped with sales, and also ordered a batch of tents, medicines and other military supplies.
In the Indian peninsula, Mysore, an old friend of France, serves as a "distributor". Once the smuggled goods reached the peninsula, it was impossible to control the long borders between Mysore and the princely states.
(End of this chapter)