Capítulo 46: the spicy spice trade I
200 power stones, and I'll give you an extra chapter.
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Johann von Rügen POV
What a thrill, this is a dream come true, I never thought that I could have my own fleet of ships.
I had been trying since I was very young to get in touch with Friedrich III in order to convince him that a fleet was a very important element for the power of Prussia, but they never listened to me, they preferred the land doctrine, since they did not see glory in the maritime fight or in the commerce because according to some nobles we lived on land for a reason and the Baltic fleet was always left in second place, due to the fact that we could depend on our allies for its defense.
I thought that the closest I would get to command a fleet would be with the Danes who gave me the position of assistant to a galley captain where I served almost all my years in the war I saw many naval battles against the Catholic league fleet, but that was all when the war ended I returned to my position as captain of a cavalry unit where my father and my father's father served, and it was expected that I as a dutiful son would also do so until the day I died.
But everything changed when we were taken and appeared in another place we were all scared to death; however, by the quick action of the king we managed to reorganize and lead us to the events of the conquest of the reach.
My participation was relatively normal, I took many minor castles pretending to be nobles of the area.
When the rebellion of that Robert finally ended we settled in the reach by right of conquest, many soldiers withdrew, but the military service of the nobles is for life.
I found myself serving as usual until a question from my commanding officer changed my life.
I was asked if I had any knowledge of naval combat, a skill so rare in the Prussians, since the navy was not a priority for the king's army.
When I answered that I did indeed serve under the Danish navy, I was introduced to Friedrich von Roon, the king's right-hand man.
The new King Friedrich Wilhelm II, blessed is his name, was fully convinced that if Prussia wants to be a considerable power in these seven kingdoms trade is as important as a sword in war and the king was willing to invest substantial funds to build up a fleet in order for Prussia to show its muscle to the outside world.
He had begun the construction of an arsenal on the Venetian model which had the incredible capacity to build 2 galleys a day or after much work, galleons in 1 week, no doubt a wonderful thing, as far as I have heard only a free city of essos can do the same which will give us in the future all the advantage in shipbuilding.
That was when I had my conversation with Friedrich von Roon I was offered the position of admiral, and I would be in charge of controlling all the fleets the king had captured from the locals and I would also be responsible for controlling the ports and making sure customs did not bring in anything illegal, plus a considerable amount of gold I was given to build the facilities to train sailors in the skills needed to be proficient in naval combat and also know what must be done to achieve maximum speed while navigating with sails only, since the use of oars is the norm here
it was like a dream come true I had control over several dozen ships and thousands of sailors under my command, but every position has its responsibilities and the position of admiral is full of these by the fact that I am in charge of maintaining the logistics of the convoys going essos and also now the new trade route going north, but above all the growing commercial center of Neu Danzig makes it quite difficult to control that no forbidden objects are brought in because the merchants of essos for some reason like to bring in sex slaves to the brothels outside the city.
Although at first all this rank was provisional, since the king had to confirm my assignment, since Friedrich being the regent did not have the authority to give me a permanent position, and so I did my job like never before, I had worked almost without rest to prove that I was worthy for the position, I had built a facility where you could teach all kinds of rope knotting techniques, learn to climb and above all a constant practice of how to use crossbows,
I know I did not have much competition the king required a Prussian officer who could be trusted so all the locals were discarded and because the Prussians prefer to serve on land than at sea which left me the most suitable to fill the position, but that did not mean I could relax I had to give everything, as this depended on whether I could have my dream of sailing all the seas and know the world and its secrets.
Not long ago, I had my conversation with the king, and he had confirmed me as admiral of Prussia and had officially given me the most important mission that anyone could have the expedition to the summer islands because my performance as a leader of the navy had been impeccable and had exceeded the expectations of von Roon had given me, but now came the real test.
Many merchants have become rich just by going to trade with the spices that grow on those islands, cinnamon, cassia, cardamom, ginger, pepper, nutmeg, star anise, cloves and turmeric all these types of spices that can be traded and will be desired by all who have the coin to afford them, mainly nobles and merchants, but one cannot neglect to consider some members of the small folks who have enough income to afford from time to time a little pepper in their food.
One would think if someone can get so rich trading with spices because it is not so common, the reason is the presence of pirates when we were getting a translator who speaks the language of the summer islands, we were always told that these waters were full of pirates and slavers who want to get the goods and the crew.
In fact, our translator is a merchant from the storm lands who had made the trip to the summer islands several times, but on his last voyage he had bad luck and was boarded by pirates, he managed to escape with one of his several ships, but he had lost almost everything, he was very willing to help us if we would join him on the voyage.
Which is great, since according to the merchant many are deceived the first times with the purchase of spices, since sometimes they fill with sand the bottom of barrels of spices or with other elements, the sacks where they sell the spice showing the top full of spice goods, but the bottom is full of sand or dirt and the other problem the routes that pirates frequent, he also knows which areas should be avoided by the high presence of pirates.
That is why this expedition carries the largest ships ever built in these lands galleons, each can carry three hundred sailors who are trained to fight on ships and with some of the best armor that can be made in the king's smithies.
The armor we wear is not as protective as the typical gothic armor, only that we wear a steel breastplate that protects the torso area and rely on the padded doublet to protect the rest of the body parts, plus a bacinet with nose protection, all this is designed to be easy to take off in case someone falls into the sea and can sacrifice the armor and swim to the surface saving his life.
But today is the great day where I will set sail to bring wealth to my king and my name will be remembered in the history books as the navigator I have always dreamed of being.
I was heading to the docks, where the gold and the hundreds of products that must be sold on our voyage were being loaded.
''Karl, my son, I hope everything is still in order when I return we must be extremely diligent, we cannot waste the opportunity the king has given us'' I said looking at my eldest son.
''yes father, I will see to it the academy continues to function and train good sailors for his majesty's new ships'' my son Karl answered obediently.
''where is your brother he was supposed to be here early the king shouldn't wait'' I said looking at the surroundings
''Otto must be preparing his ship, remember he is supposed to patrol the route that goes north, the king entrusted him with that mission, since the route is very important to keep the arsenal running'' Karl said calmly.
''well, well, this is so exciting, can you believe it finally, I can do what I like and not get in trouble because of my feudal contract'' I said shaking my fists in excitement
''it's good, father, that you got a position in the king's government, very important it will be a good stepping stone when you want to move up to be the king's advisor'' Karl said very seriously.
''I don't want to participate in politics, I only do this because I always wanted to be a sailor, if I got the position it's an additional prize'' I said looking at my son.
''You should have more ambition, you received a very important position almost equal to Friedrich von Roon, the king has to listen to you whenever it comes to naval matters'' Karl said looking at me.
''son we shouldn't embrace more than we should, politics is complicated and cruel, many have reached the top only to be eliminated by power struggles, you should relax and be more like your brother'' I said serenely
''ignoring politics is not a good step to take and Otto just goes with the flow, he doesn't care what might happen in the future'' said Karl seriously
''but he's happy doing that and that's mainly what matters, since he doesn't have to pretend something he's not'' I said in a conciliatory way
but Karl just raised an eyebrow
''Here comes the king'' said Karl.
Quickly, we got into position and waited for the king to give us permission to set sail.
''Johann I hope the expedition goes well, remember don't make mistakes, this mission is very important'' said the king seriously.
''of course my king I will carry out your orders to the letter, I want to introduce my son Karl, he will replace me as the administrator of the academy where we train the sailors'' I said introducing my son.
''my king'' said Karl, bowing.
The king stared at me and changed his gaze from time to time to look at my son.
''a pleasure Karl, I hope you can fulfill the expectations that your father has left'' said the king serenely while looking at my son
''yes my king I will fulfill the expectations that are expected of me'' replied my son
''well Johann, everything is in order, you have permission to set sail, I wish you luck'' said the king as he was leaving.
''Goodbye son, please take care of your brother, as I said he is happy with his current life, don't force him to get into the circles of power'' I said as I hugged him.
''I will do my best, good luck with your mission, father'' said Karl.
Leaving my son in the harbor, I got on my ship, and we started to put the final touches to set sail
''ok all ready boys weigh anchor and open the sails of the ship, destination the summer islands'' I said as I took the wheel of the ship.
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