My British Empire

Chapter 488 The provocation of the English

Three pirate ships and a merchant ship sailed recklessly in the sea, waves were broken, and seagulls flew in the sky.

On the deep blue sea, merchant ships coming and going are driving intensively. Merchant ships of different tonnages and colors are moving slowly, telling the gift of the sea to them.

"Slow down a bit, the Portuguese can't catch up anymore!" The masked pirate leader standing on the deck said casually.

"Yes, boss!" The pirate on the side agreed tactfully.

Looking at the port slowly emerging in front of him, Drake took off his mask, and his long brown hair spread out, revealing a pair of black and white eyes.

With slender eyebrows and a short beard on his chin, he looks very soft, like a harmless boy next door, which makes people feel good about him unconsciously.

The young man's name is Francis Drake. He has been a well-known pirate in the entire sea area for the past three years. He has as many as three pirate ships under him.

Just as Drake was staring at the port ahead, his lips moved slightly, and he didn't know what he was muttering.

At this time, a man with a musket on his back suddenly walked beside him, with an unshaven beard, like Drake, staring at the gradually clear port, and sighed: "Francis, after finishing this vote, next, you Any plans?"

"What else can I do, keep going! I want to become the biggest pirate in England! The king of pirates!"

Drake looked at the undulating sea, blood suddenly appeared on his face, he opened his hands, and said excitedly.

"And you? My dear Captain!" Drake asked, looking at his captain.

"Me! I'm ready to go home!" The captain said with a bitter smile on his face:

"You also know that there are several sons in my hometown, and a wife who keeps arguing. When I came out with you, I came out to make money to support the family!"

The wrinkles on his face suddenly stretched out at this moment, like a blooming chrysanthemum, unconsciously revealing some warmth.

"In the past three years, I have also saved some money. I plan to go home and buy dozens of acres of land, and then send my son to study. If there is an official in the future, it will be God's blessing!"

Seeing his captain's expression of anticipation and longing, Drake persuaded him with some distaste:

"Barton, you can stay with me for a while! There are not many people I trust, and you are one of them!"

"No, you know, Drake, my wife is still waiting for me to go back! Besides, pirates are still too dangerous!" Captain Barton shook his head and refused.

"Do you want to go back with only money? Go back as a pirate and tell your son: 'Hey! I paid you to study with the money of being a pirate!', what else do you have? Dignity? What will your neighbors think of you?"

Drake looked at his capable captain, and still persuaded him persistently. An experienced captain is very important to pirates.

"Dignity? They are all pirates, how can they have dignity like nobles!"

"How do you know that we won't become nobles?" Drake said proudly with a smile on his face.

"Look, what is this?" As he spoke, Drake took out a parchment full of English and handed it to Captain Barton.

Captain Barton's eyes were fixed immediately, he took the parchment, and looked at it carefully:

"To all citizens:

All citizens of the United Kingdom, as long as they have the courage and perseverance to face the great king, will be able to meet the great king, personally receive the letter of commission, go to the wild lands that are not affiliated with any Christian country, occupy and expel The place of the heathen.

Whether it is an island or a town, as long as it is an occupied pagan territory, it will be recognized by His Majesty the King, and will be given a knighthood as appropriate!

If you fail to occupy it, but discover the unknown territory for my king, you will also receive rewards and title rewards! "

Captain Barton glanced at the parchment, and then at Drake, who looked expectant, and asked in surprise:

"Do you want to go to the New World?"

"No, I want to find unknown regions! The New World has been discovered by the Spaniards, and I don't have the mind to build any colonies! The sea is my life!"

Drake shook his head, opened a pair of black and white eyes, and said.

"Barton, only by looking for unknown and undiscovered lands for His Majesty the king can we get the most benefits! Sir? Baron, or earl, it's all possible!"

"Forget about the baron or something! I'm already satisfied to get a knight!" Some expectations suddenly appeared in Barton's eyes, and then dimmed.

"And the unknown land, how can it be so easy to find!"

"If you don't try, how do you know it's impossible?" Drake said with a half-smile, and then turned his gaze to the sea ahead.

But Barton looked at the confident Drake, and for some reason, he suddenly had some words from the young pirate leader.

At the beginning of January 1564, His Majesty the King issued only three privateer licenses, and by June, there were thirty.

In half a year, His Majesty the King issued nearly a hundred privateering licenses at once, that is to say, pirates with legitimate robberies. It has reached one hundred, and the combined number has reached more than ten thousand.

During this period, the Portuguese were the first to be impacted.

A large number of Eastern trading ships were robbed by pirates, causing heavy losses to Portuguese merchants.

What makes the Portuguese government displeased is that after the gold ship in America was robbed, the Portuguese government and royal family, who spent a lot of money, panicked.

After half a year, the loss of the royal family alone reached 500,000 Duerts, which made it unbearable for the upstart Portuguese royal family.

"Enrique, what's the matter with the English?" Queen Dowager Catherine, who is also the grandmother of the current Portuguese King Sebastian I, frowned at this time, and asked about Enrique, the archbishop in red who is also in power. .

"Dear Queen Mother, I don't know the specific situation. But I sent someone to question the King of England, but he said that this is an act of pirates and has nothing to do with England!"

The fifty-two-year-old regent, Archbishop Enrique, who is also the uncle of the current king, also frowned and said softly.

"It's full of lies. Without the cover of the English, those pirates would have been wiped out by the navy long ago. Where would they be rampant!"

The wrinkled Queen Mother was full of anger, then looked at her brother-in-law, and said directly and loudly:

"This is an act of provocation against us Portugal, we must retaliate with an eye for an eye!"

(end of this chapter)

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