our family is gone

Chapter 812 Contrasting Life
What is a pirate?

There are too many so-called works praising pirates, regarding them as symbols of freedom, unconstrainedness and doing whatever one wants, and relying on fantasy to attribute to them elements such as oppression, resistance to authority, romance, chivalry, etc.

If Lance were to say it, it's bullshit!

Those who burn, kill and loot are pirates.

The foolish and crazy ones are the pirates.

Pirates are also cruel and bloody.

Hamlet has captured many pirates and obtained a lot of relevant information during the interrogation process.

Some of them may be those who went to sea because they could not bear the exploitation of the nobles, but their main job was not to fight against those nobles or plunder them, but to target ordinary people.

Fishermen and merchant ships along the coast, who were on the sea and unable to protect themselves, were all their targets for plunder. However, they did not even dare to look at the navy of Totnes and ran away from them.

At the same time, pirates would fight and plunder each other, but they would run away when they encountered a fleet of big pirates. They were simply bullying the weak and fearing the strong.

There are many rules on the ship. Most of them are superstitious about beliefs related to the sea, sailing, and ships. They pray for a little comfort and also hope that the next robbery will be successful.

It is not easy to make a living on the sea. Merchant ships will also have guards, so there will be casualties in every robbery. Therefore, after occupying a merchant ship, the captain will gather the survivors on the deck.

Some valuable ones would be asked for ransom, while women would be taken away for sexual gratification or sold, but there were very few women. As for the ordinary men, they would be left behind and let them fight each other, and those who survived would become the new pirates.

Of course, they would also go to plunder along the coast. Fishermen and villages would be robbed in a similar way, and then forced to kill familiar people and join the pirates.

During the interrogation process, many pirates killed their relatives to join. In that situation, they would either be killed or die. The pirates enjoyed watching them collapse.

This is the freedom of pirates. They turn their knives against the weak and vent the twisted emotions in their hearts, as if it is a cycle.

But can they really do whatever they want?

There are also classes among pirates. The captain's words are orders and everyone must obey. If they disobey, they may be fed to sharks or hung up and tortured.

Below them are the first mate, second mate, boatswain and the like, with a strict hierarchy, and they will also suffer from oppression from above.

Of course, there are also cases where crew members team up to kill the captain, and it is even very common, especially when they think that the captain cannot lead them to wealth, or wants them to die.

The crew is afraid of the captain, and the captain is also wary of the crew. So it is not surprising that they appear crazy because they are in a high-pressure environment for a long time.

Even here, in the so-called pirate paradise, they still need to abide by the rules, and their freedom can only be used against those weaker than themselves.

Burning, killing and looting are the daily routines and the barbaric concept that force is the rule is still very attractive to some people, but in fact most pirates are just a group of wild dogs on the sea, with no food to eat.

If you are lucky, you can rob something, but some of them are just like before, they are directly destroyed by two rounds of gunfire. For example, those large merchant ships go out to sea in groups.

After hijacking a ship, only 30% of the cargo can be sold after discount, and 70% belongs to the pirates. Even though it is a considerable amount of money, the consumption here is also very high, especially for food, alcohol and beverages, which have to be shipped from outside and are all monopolized by the big pirates.

As they are wanted, they can only spend money here, which means that no matter how much money they earn, it will all go into the pockets of the big pirates, and they are still being exploited.

The pirates that can be seen everywhere here are all pale and thin. Some of them look to be in their thirties, but may actually be less than 20 years old. You can basically not see women and old people here. As for the reason, you don’t need to guess.

As Lance walked through the streets, he felt that they were the streets occupied by gangsters from the outer city of Totnes, and of course, it was like a refugee camp.

I didn't even think about going in. I walked all the way up through those dilapidated wooden buildings, and finally the sunlight really shone in. The buildings here finally looked much more normal, like a small town on a hillside.

The pirates here seem to be more robust, they are either following more powerful captains, or they are guys under the banner of those big pirates.

But it was also very messy, with guys hanging everywhere. Some were still alive, but some had turned into bones. It looked like they were being dealt with because they had caused trouble.

Brothels, casinos, and bars can be seen everywhere, and basically all of them are for entertainment purposes, and they never stop even in the winter.

Lance glanced over calmly. He could feel the price behind this excitement.

The place where news circulates is always the tavern. Lance randomly picked one and went in. The building blocked the cold wind, but the smell was really not good. As for the noise, it was even noisier, with rude shouting and bragging.

They brag about how much they have robbed, how many women they have slept with, or how they tortured a person... mixed in with their stories are also attempts to sabotage each other or to compare with each other.

As for the food provided here, don't think too much about it. This is a small island, and most of it is made of stone. It cannot produce food by itself. The looted food certainly cannot provide all of it. So with so many people here, there must be a stable supply of food. As for who supplies it, it is naturally the guys who accept the stolen goods.

The black bread that Hamlet provided to the prisoners was the staple food here. As for vegetables, they were even more of a luxury. It was good enough to have some stewed beans, carrots, and onions. Otherwise, how could people going out to sea lack vitamins?

There were barrels of rum displayed, but Lance knew something was wrong with the stuff as soon as he smelled it. It was of poor quality and had been mixed with water. But that was indeed how it was drunk.

Even if fresh water from the sea is stored in barrels without the concept of disinfection, it will soon go bad, so wine needs to be added to make the water drinkable. Even Hamlet's fleet is like this. The most that is added is that the wine is purer and better.

But it's a bit too much to do this on land, and it's so expensive.

Lance originally wanted to try the authentic pirate set meal, but after coming in, he completely lost his appetite.

"Would the guest like anything?"

When Lance sat down at a corner of the bar, someone finally noticed him. The bartender wanted to sell their drinks, but was interrupted.

"Our ship just came back from outside. Tell me what fun we had recently?"

Lance secretly took out a silver coin from his hand. Throwing it out here would be asking for trouble.

"That's definitely Hamlet!" The bartender took the silver coin with an excited look on his face. "This waterway is not protected by the Totnes Navy's large ships. Now they are all heading there. Many people have made a fortune there recently." Lance knew that with so many merchant ships gone, in addition to the pressure from Totnes, these pirates would be another means of transportation.

If you don't understand the advice, let the pirates talk to you.

"Who is there?"

Everyone knew that Lance was just making a list by asking these questions, and the bartender unknowingly told him all the information he knew.

Lance can indeed control them through [Voice of Seduction], but he never likes to use force because it will cause problems.

But now, it only takes a silver coin to open the topic, and the influence is slow and subtle, which is the most silent. Even he himself does not think that he is being controlled, but does so willingly. This is the most terrifying thing.

The bartender who stayed here really knew a lot of information, and the interesting thing was that the pirates who robbed merchant ships were all ordinary ones, and the big pirates had not shown up in Hamlet recently.

After further investigation, Lance discovered that he was the cause.

The man nicknamed "Red Beard" had a fleet, as well as territories and industries. He was considered a famous pirate in the vicinity.

But the problem is that his fleet was killed by Lance after he dealt with the Deep Divers. Although no one could escape and the news could be suppressed for a while, just don't underestimate those guys. This situation will soon be discovered.

Then, of course, there was the much-anticipated feast. Those guys were like sharks that smelled blood. They soon began to scramble for those properties. There were even many fights, and the whole place was in turmoil for a while.

It is also because of this that the big pirates have no time to care about Hamlet and just eat what is in front of them first.

In other words, the interests have only recently been redistributed, and it is estimated that those big pirates will soon take action against Hamlet.

Why did Lance feel like someone intervened and stopped the fight? Otherwise, how could the money-grabbing incident end so easily?

"Do you know those merchants who often come here?"

Both food and drinks require contact with the outside world. Not to mention that he actually knows some of them, but they are all agents and he cannot get in touch with the ones behind them.

But at this time, the noise coming from outside even disturbed their conversation, and some pirates were attracted over, including Lance of course.

When I walked out, I found that a lot of people had gathered in the open space not far away. There was a simple platform covered with rags, and a pirate was talking in the middle.

If you get closer, you can hear that they have just completed a robbery and are now selling the stolen items by holding a makeshift auction.

Their main cargo is people. Yes, there are specialized brokers to handle bulk commodities, but some pirates are unwilling to deal with them because they force the price down too much.

So this kind of simple auction will actually get a better price.

Lance's gaze fell on the people tied up and shivering behind the pirate. It was unclear whether they were cold or scared. They were basically women. From their clothes and appearance, it could be seen that they were ordinary people. They should be the "trophies" of looting a coastal village or town.

They are all teenagers. When they are young, as long as they don't look too weird, they are fine. They have been screened before being brought back instead of being fed to the fish. Of course, they have also endured inhuman abuse.

It is a rule not to leave women on the ship, so after playing, they can only sell them. The ones who take over are mainly the brothels, because to put it bluntly, prostitutes are just tools to make money for them, and the loss of these things is actually very large, especially when dealing with pirates, they will do a lot of crazy things to vent.

Sometimes killing another pirate would result in hatred and would be subject to rules, but torturing a prostitute to death would not result in any punishment, at most they would have to pay compensation.

This is the freedom they desire, but unfortunately Hamlet cannot provide it to them.

Of course, women are needed in other places. Pubs need a few female waiters, and casinos also need to attract business.

Lance watched the pirate dragging people out one by one, while the guests picked them up like they were picking out livestock, from their teeth to their bodies. It was somewhat pathetic that the word "appearance" used to describe livestock was used to describe humans.

The terrified and numb faces of the women formed a sharp contrast with the pirates' hideous smiles.

Lance did not intervene, but just watched silently. Perhaps the sanatorium should be expanded...

He didn't come here to look for this, he just stopped to take a quick look and then turned and left. Following the bartender's introduction, he found the broker who was active here.

These guys are not pirates, but ordinary people can't do this. They all have backgrounds and are equivalent to spokespersons, responsible for connecting those people. In some cases, they are also a form of insurance, making it easier for those who don't want to reveal their identities to complete transactions.

For example, if pirates steal a shipload of goods, they need to find them when they need to sell it, and they will then contact the buyers behind the scenes. This can also be considered a monopoly.

Of course, there are also missions issued to ask pirates to do something. Sometimes merchant ship routes can be purchased from them. You can imagine how powerful they are.

"I have a business to discuss with you."

"Guest, please come this way."

Lance went straight to the point when he found the broker. The broker was a middle-aged man with thinning hair, but he was dressed very formally. His etiquette made him look very unique in this ghost place.

He was not negligent because of Lance's sudden appearance. On the contrary, he received him very kindly. It turned out that those who can make it in this line of work are all sales champions.

But after isolating himself from the others, Lance stopped pretending and directly controlled him by force.

The guy behind him was one of the big pirates. As a broker, his information ability was much stronger than the bartender's. From him, he learned that the dispute that had just calmed down in the past few days was indeed caused by external interference.

The Hamlet Channel, which also appeared here recently, was also hyped up by them. Several copies of the nautical chart have been sold, and everyone is gearing up to make a big buck.

Lance asked about the previous transactions, and sure enough, many goods went to Totnes at a 30% lower price, and several of the major chambers of commerce had their own cooperative pirates.

So the pirates colluded with the merchants, this is the truth...

Thanks to [Lie Feng] for 500 rewards