Chapter 142 - An Intruder (1/2)
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Businessmen abhorred compet.i.tors, where having compet.i.tion was equivalent to earning less profit. Whether it was about getting more customers by increasing the buying price or funding ambitious pirates to help them with their quest for the throne, it was undeniable that these things were going to cost them a large sum of money. According to Frazer, they had thought about setting up a business alliance, but they could not solve the problem of sharing its profits. Without getting a unanimous decision on the profit-sharing proposal, the plan of setting up a business alliance was deemed to fail.
For those unhappy with the proposal, they did what they would usually do. As usual, they increased their buying prices to attract more potential customers in the hopes that they’d deal with them instead. Soon, other black market merchants that stuck to the rules could stand it no more after seeing their business partners leaving them for unethical black market merchants instead.
In the end, everyone realized that the rules did not benefit them at all. Thus, the business alliance that had been set up for only three months fell apart. This incident happened three years ago, still fresh in the memory of the black market merchants. It made no sense for them to try their luck right now. There must be something that they still had not figured out.
“I will go and investigate the incident tomorrow. We need to know what is going on,” said Dufresne.
Zhang Heng then nodded, knowing that there was nothing he could do before he could figure out the whole thing. After that, the two of them went to visit the arms dealers on the island. The firearms on the corvette that Zhang Heng took possession of recently was equipped with a s.h.i.+pload of weapons. In total, the vessel carried 50 guns and 60 sabers. For now, they did not need to purchase any more. However, Zhang Heng knew for sure that the ammunition they used would definitely deplete in no time. It was crucial that he stocked the corvette with extra ammunition.
For that, Zhang Heng went to Baal, the arms dealer who sold four blunderbusses and one rifle to Zhang Heng earlier. As compared to other black market merchants, Baal was much friendlier. Not only did he invite the two to enter his house, but he even instructed his maid to make them some coffee. First, he congratulated Zhang Heng for becoming the captain of the Jackdaw. After that, he went straight down to business.
“I can easily get all the other stuff that you want. However, it is quite difficult to acquire ammunition for the 24-pound cannon. Most of our cannons here are six-pounders and nine-pounders. A 12-pound cannon is rare. And then, only the navy would use a 24-pound cannon.”
Zhang Heng knew that Baal telling him the truth and wasn’t trying to deliberately increase its price. This was a ma.s.sive problem for him, where his corvette’s primary weapon was the 12-pound cannon. However, he had eight 24-pounders equipped on the s.h.i.+p as well. This kind of firepower far outgunned any ordinary merchant s.h.i.+ps. All these powerful cannons brought Zhang Heng another big problem. It was not going to be easy for him to buy ammunition for all these. Nevertheless, it seemed that Baal might just be able to figure out a way to acquire them.
“I have some connections in the navy. I might just be able to get you the ammunition you want. That said, I must tell you that I cannot guarantee you that I’ll get them. Also, please understand that it’s going to cost you a lot.”
Zhang Heng agreed with Baal. As for now, the ammunition on the Jackdaw was still sufficient, and he wasn’t too concerned. After that, Dufresne started to check out the price of the sh.e.l.ls that Baal offered to them. Before becoming a pirate, Dufresne was a quartermaster on a navy vessel, which explained why he knew the market quite well. The conversation between Baal and Dufresne went as smooth as silk considering none of them had any intention to cheat the other.