Reborn As a Pirate

With the rotation of the winch, the brand-new anchor sank into the water with a clatter, pulling the red and white scale, and pulling out a pink mist in people's eyes.

Bell crouched on the side watching intently, until the winch stopped with a click, then he stood up and swayed out of the cabin.

Lorraine waited with his back against the mainmast.

Bell saw him and grinned: "Bridgeton Port, what a good port."

"The port area is 1,571 meters long, has seven berths, and a water depth of 9.6 meters. It has a wide view and no obstacles to entering and exiting. Except for a slight defect in sheltering from the wind, it can be called a top-level deep-water seaport in all aspects."

"The memory is still so good. Didn't you hurt your head when you took the risk..." Bell spread his hands in frustration, "But I never thought that even if you left the army, you would still be willing to serve for the British Empire."

"This sentence itself has problems." Lorraine raised two fingers: "First, I did not leave the army voluntarily. You know this matter very well. A wish is a wish, and reality is reality. Second, I As a businessman, as long as it is profitable, any adventure can be considered, just like you, didn't you also have a close relationship with bandits?"

"Huh? Bandits? I know bandits?"

"Don't you know?"

Bell dragged Lorraine back with a serious face: "Tell me, which bandit did I have a close relationship with?"

"There are as many bandits and pirates in the Caribbean, how do I know which one you are close to?"

"This is slander! Where did you hear that!"

"Is this important?"

"Very important!"

"It's important..." Lorraine gently shook off Bell's hand, and stretched lazily, "This is a temptation. Since ancient times, mountains and seas have been incompatible, and privateers are also part of pirates, so according to the rules, we need to treat you Take the test."

Bell's eyes almost rolled to the sky: "Do you think I will believe this kind of excuse?"

"It's not an excuse. If there was any hesitation in your answer just now, I will arrange a merchant ship back to England for you. Pirate ships are isolated islands, and the standards for going to the island are much stricter than you imagined."

Using lame reasons to change the subject, Lorraine disembarked alone, and before he walked out of the pier, a young man dressed as a sailor ran up to him.

"Excuse me, is it Mr. Lorraine Drake, the president of the Drake Chamber of Commerce?"

Lorraine stopped suspiciously: "Excuse me?"

"Fran Rebier, second officer of the HMS Badger, lieutenant of the Royal Navy. Under the orders of the captain, Lieutenant Colonel Nelson, I am waiting for Mr. Drake at the pier."

...

Not long after, Lorraine went to a hotel in the dock area under the guidance of Lieutenant Rebier, and successfully met Nelson who was playing cards and another young officer with a short round face.

"Lorraine Drake, my good friend. I'm glad you showed up in time before I left." Seeing Lorraine, Nelson smiled, "Let me introduce you, this is Cuthbert Colin Major Wood, captain of the HMS Wasp, my best friend in the military, a reliable soldier worthy of entrustment."

reliable?

Lorraine looked at the hesitant young officer opposite Nelson who was holding a card in surprise.

He looked very young, with an oval-shaped face, a small face, with a little baby fat on his cheeks, and a short and slender figure.

With this baby face, he can't find the slightest bit of evil spirit and destructive power of a soldier,

He seems friendly and easy, even for a person like Lorraine who is not good at judging people by their appearance, it is difficult to associate him with the word reliable.

Could it be that people cannot be judged by their appearance?

Lorraine turned these thoughts around for a moment, saw Collingwood put down the cards, turned his head, and smiled at Lorraine reservedly: "I have long heard your name, Mr. Drake, I am Collingwood, Cuthbert Cole Lynwood."

"Lorraine Anason Drake, Mr. Major, nice to meet you."

After a brief introduction, Nelson and Collingwood ended the half of the game. Nelson, who was vigorous and vigorous, didn't even ask Lorraine why he came, and directly began to introduce the current situation to Lorraine.

A great war is imminent, and the cause of the war is still on land.

In 1778, General Clinton, the new commander-in-chief of the British colonial army, met with Sir Parker in secret, planning to take advantage of conditions such as the large number of "loyalists" in the south, and its proximity to the West Indies, which was conducive to naval intervention, to transfer the main force to the south. New York, the stronghold in the north, responded from afar to contain the north and end the war, and Sir Parker generously agreed.

After obtaining the support of the New World Fleet, General Clinton dispatched Lieutenant Colonel Archibald Campbell to lead 35,000 British troops to the south from New York by sea, and launched an amphibious offensive to Savannah, the capital of Georgia, in December. .

Savannah thus became an important fulcrum for the British army on the south coast of North America.

Relying on her, the British army began to launch a powerful offensive in the south. The Battle of New Orleans, which ended not long ago, was one of the components of this spring offensive, and it was also one of the few regional battles that failed to achieve results.

The reborn active performance of the British army brought tremendous pressure to the American Continental Army and its most important ally, the French. The strongholds were lost, the sergeants were killed, and the blockade of the sea by the New World Fleet made the important smuggling channels wither.

The United States and France are eager to reverse the unfavorable situation, which means that they must break the sea-land connection between Sir Parker and General Clinton. The key to this is the powerful sea power of the New World Fleet.

Defeating the New World Fleet is of great significance. It can not only cut off the communication channels between the North and South British armies, leaving the two armies alone, but also allow unimpeded smuggling and quickly strengthen the resistance of the Americans.

To this end, the French launched the Battle of the Windward Islands.

At the end of February, the French Navy and its ally the Dutch Navy began to assemble in an orderly manner to Fort-de-France, the capital of Martinique, and organized a powerful fleet of 28 ships within a month, including 3 third-tier battleships and 6 A fourth-tier cruiser.

Sir Parker detected the French's campaign plan in time, and immediately ordered the powerful New World Main Fleet to attack Barbados and join the Windward Islands Squadron stationed here to form a combined fleet of 22 ships, including second-level battleships and the flagship of the New World Fleet. HMS Duke of Wales, Tier 3 battleships HMS Endeavor, HMS Son of Poseidon and 4 Tier 4 cruisers.

Since mid-April, the two powerful fleets left the port respectively, and began to search for fighter planes in the waters inside the Windward Islands. There have been three skirmishes in the outer fleet so far. The Royal Navy has won one and drawn two, and sank a Dutch frigate in the St. Vincent Inland Sea, which was the first victory.

Hearing this, Lorraine interrupted Nelson's narration suspiciously.

"Lieutenant Colonel, you said that Sir Parker's fleet has been out to sea in the middle of the month, and the frigate is patrolling the periphery of the main fleet, which should be an important scout and escort force. In this case, why did you and Mr. Major..."

"In a battle of this level, even if the Badger does its best, it is impossible to play the leading role. This is not what I want, and it is not what Cuthbert wants."

Nelson smiled coldly, opened the chart and drew a long arc along the Atlantic Ocean.

"So Cuthbert and I spoke to Sir together and proposed a supplementary campaign plan for the flank raid on Martinique. Sir agreed. The Badger and the Wasp are the executors of this independent mission."

"Two 28-gun Tier 6 frigates raiding Martinique, the home of the French?"

"It's three ships. You forgot about your Golden Hart." Nelson waved his hand domineeringly, "Three warships, one hundred guns, and our excellent army partners, launched a surprise attack on the French's battle base camp together. It's going to be a fun ride, we're going to knock on Frenchmen's doors, like it's Halloween, trick-or-treating."