Chapter 123: [INTERLUDE]Trade must continue
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POV of Karl von Rügen first moon 285 AC
I observe the multiple rocks outside the mine, I observed that the mineral they were extracting seemed to be some kind of gem.
'I'll need to get an expert who can enlighten us with the information.'
I entered the mine and observed that it was quite narrow, and even with the few men guarding it, we would suffer too many casualties.
"Check the area, look for more entrances," I told my men as I pondered how to get those pirates out of there.
"Any ideas?" I asked my officers, who were also considering the same problem.
"No rush, we starve them; they must have escaped with the bare minimum. In two weeks, there won't be any problems," said a captain.
"We need to establish order on these islands as soon as possible. We can't waste men guarding the mines until they surrender," I responded to the officer.
"I read the history of the Lannisters; Lord Tywin drowned a rebellious house. We could do the same with seawater," suggested a sergeant.
"We're on a hill; I don't think it's possible with what we have on hand to flood the mine. Besides, the mine has valuable gems. We can't flood it, as it would hinder the mining of those gems for a long time until we manage to extract the water," I said, rejecting the idea.
Seeing one of the bonfires in the area gave me an idea. "Gather everything that can burn and produce a lot of smoke.
''We'll fill the mine with smoke, and those wretches will suffocate. It should be ready in just one day," I said, giving my orders, and I saw several heads nodding in agreement.
We gathered everything we could find, such as pieces of wood and herbs. When information came from my sailors that it was the only entrance in the area, we started the fire. I left several men in the area, constantly burning things and ensuring that the smoke entered the mine.
With our mission almost complete, I went to the coast to return to my galleon. From there, I began to organize the construction of a port where we could dock the powerful galleons of the Prussian Navy. After giving the order, I opened confidential documentation that I could only open when the mission was complete. They were future orders from the king that Von Roon had given me in his boxes.
"Ha, ha, ha, how paranoid they are, they're encrypted!" I said to myself as I read the letters that alone meant nothing.
I used my cipher book and began to decipher the king's message.
"Well, well, well."
The king's orders were quite interesting. I must send messengers to the Free Cities informing that, from now on, the Stepstones are under the protection of Prussia, but the status quo remains. From now on, ships must pay a toll depending on their cargo or ship size, and we must not do anything against slavery. Since we don't want to give reasons to the slave-holding Free Cities to expel us, it's better for them to keep fighting among themselves. Very wise. I must give a discount to the cities of Lys, Tyrosh, and Myr to avoid problems for a while, until diplomats work their magic and make them understand that our presence and toll are much better than dealing with pirates.
While organizing everything from my ship and my men began unloading construction materials we carried on some galleons, I received reports of the other attacks. Apparently, pirate resistance was minimal, and the attacks were successful. We only had to clean the islands of their presence and attack the smaller islands. But on this night, we had dealt a lethal blow to piracy in the area. We only lost around two hundred men and four hundred wounded, incredible numbers considering that we captured over a hundred pirate ships.
They could be used in various ways. They could be immediately incorporated into the commercial fleet of King's Landing and the North, or sold to Prussian merchants to promote private trade. Well, and extremely anti-piracy laws. Anyone with a commercial or sentimental relationship with pirates who has not reported them will share the same fate as piracy, giving me the possibility to execute the entire population of the islands for collaborating with pirates.
I made sure that the construction of the port had priority before my trip to King's Landing to proclaim these lands for my king, and I sent war galleys to all the Free Cities, as the king ordered, to ensure that no one could claim ignorance of the toll. The next day after our arrival, we began crucifying the pirates who were more injured, as the rest of the population and the pirates in good condition were forced labor helping with the construction. And if they survive, we'll throw them into the mines to avoid wasting time on executions and let them die working for our interests.
So, three days passed where my main concern was the progress of the construction of a port and starting trade relations with some lords of the Stormlands, mainly with House Mertyns, which already sold a considerable amount of wood for naval construction to our arsenal. We just need to add new orders for trees for repairs and start building fortifications on the islands, as the king wanted the small islands to become fortress islands and the larger ones into cities with various levels of fortifications to prevent any leader of the Free Cities from considering attacking us a good idea.
On this busy day, several of my men approached me, bringing several chests, which they dropped and opened, showing large amounts of coins ranging from copper, silver, gold, and even some very ancient ones made of the valuable Valyrian metal, as well as jewels and many gems from the mine. "Did the resistance in the mine end?" I asked my men.
"Yes, admiral. The day before, it was determined that the pirates were dead, and we waited for the air to lighten a bit before entering and checking if there was anything valuable. There were several chambers in the mines separated with various treasures.
''What do we do with this find?" asked an officer who gave me the report.
"Hand it over to the supply officers; it will be distributed according to the law... But tell the officer that the Valyrian steel must be part of what belongs to the king," I said, pointing to the supply officers who were working on tallying the loot from the pirates to be distributed.
'It seems we've made a good loot.'
Twenty percent for the king, twenty percent for the Prussian State, twenty percent for me, the military commander, ten percent for the officers, and thirty percent for the soldiers... With a bit of luck, I'll have a small personal fortune that would allow me to invest in the lucrative ventures of the engineers' inventions."
I waited two more days supervising the construction and beginning to prepare and organize how the ships should patrol the waters to prevent merchants from avoiding paying the toll when it began. It was then that I decided it was time to go to the capital and report this event before the rumors got there.
With a galleon and ten war galleys, I sailed towards King's Landing. But within minutes of setting sail, we encountered a substantial fleet approaching the Stepstones.
I had left the warg on the islands, so determining where they were from was more difficult. In the moment they noticed a massive wooden ship ahead, they started maneuvering to get out of the way. But, unfortunately for them, they had the wind against them.
While they desperately tried to escape, we calmly descended into the waters, letting the strong wind at our backs push us towards them. And within a few minutes, we were catching up, where I could see their rowers paddling at an accelerated pace just for us to slowly position ourselves alongside them.
We signaled with flags, but it seemed they didn't understand the message, and we had to rely on getting their attention to show we had no hostile intentions.
When our galleys finally blocked their path, they stopped and tried to converse.
About thirty ships, but they were not warships; they were merchant vessels carrying just the right and necessary crew. If we wanted, we could take control of all the ships, but that would cause a political scandal that would cost me my head.
It was time to put my Latin studies to use.
"Greetings, I would like to parley with the leader of this naval convoy," I said in my best Latin.
"Ah... there's no clear leader. We are a group of merchants who joined to pass through the Stepstones with less danger," replied one of the men dressed in fine clothes in broken Latin that I understood.
"Well, gather everyone; I want to talk," I said as I gave orders for everything to be prepared for descending by a rope.
"But... well... of course," said the man and walked to the other side of his ship to talk to the others.
The merchant ships made several bridges between them and gathered to talk, and I descended holding onto a rope.
"Greetings, I am Admiral Karl von Rügen, in service to His Royal Majesty, the King of Prussia," I said to the fearful merchants.
"So, you're not pirates?" a merchant asked his group.
"OF COURSE NOT, DUMMKOPF! We are mariners of the Royal Prussian Navy. From now on, these waters are under the protection of King Wilhelm von Hohenzollern, and we have eradicated the pirate threat. These waters are now safe," I said aggressively to the merchant who made that foolish statement, making him hide his head.
"If you approach Bloodstone, you will see several pieces of wood with pirates impaled on it, proving that the Stepstones are now controlled by the Kingdom of Prussia, and anyone who wishes to pass must pay the toll," I said, looking at the merchants.
There was a collective sigh of relief when I said those words.
"And... when would this toll be?" asked an old and tall merchant.
"For the moment, nothing. The toll won't be collected until next month until all the Free Cities have been informed of the change in the tax regime. But in the future, you will have to pay, or you will end up like them," I said, pointing to Bloodstone, where the pirates were crucified.
"That's very good," said some merchants.
"Yes, very good. I just want to remind you that slavery is prohibited in Prussia, and we will punish severely for it. If you're lucky, you'll spend your lives in the mines; if not, you'll be crucified, and we'll make sure you live as long as possible to suffer. And if you're unlucky... well, some ships need rowers all the time, and I see you have strong arms," I said to the group of merchants.
Saying those words, I saw how several of them turned pale.
"Well, I want to see your cargo, precisely this ship," I said, pointing upwards so they could see my sailors with their crossbows ready to make them understand that there was no possibility of refusal.
The owner of the ship hesitated for a moment and, trembling with fear, led me to the holds trying to excuse what he had in the cargo.
When we descended, I found that the ship was full of caged slaves.
"Ah, the decay of morality, slavery," I said, looking with a smile at the merchant who almost fainted from fear.
"Imagine... you with chains and shackles all over your body, forced to row for eighteen hours or more a day, how your skin would peel off from the sea salt. But well, don't worry, the slave trade will continue without problems. We're not stupid. But if you try to sell them or use our territories to inventory this merchandise, you know the punishment. Don't tremble; nothing will happen to you. Just warn your companions," I said to the merchant, giving him a pat on the cheek before heading to the exit.
"Well, I'm leaving. I entrust you with the mission of announcing that these waters are now safe, and be careful with that merchandise," I said, pointing to the ship's hold, and grabbed the rope to climb up.
After this encounter, we sailed back to King's Landing.
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