The slime on the gold coins was really not “a little dirty”. In order to keep this secret for the King, the Duke of Buckingham had no choice but to call over the royal guards after a moment of contemplation.

At first, the royal guards who received the clean-up order thought they were going to perform some kind assassination mission, and they all looked very solemn. But the result was that when they arrived, they discovered that the clean-up order was really “cleaning” in the literal sense.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

The Duke of Buckingham stood in front of the warehouse majestically and nodded to them without a smile, indicating that they could start.

Royal guards: …..

They felt that their career path had been declining step by step away from being the ruthless overseers of the officials.

But soon, the royal guards discovered that the slime on these gold coins was really not something just anyone could handle. They were extremely corrosive, and when they dripped on the ground, the stone surface would be corroded with small holes. They had to carefully scrape off the slime from the gold first, and then meticulously clean them.

The King did not leave but watched on the side with the Duke of Buckingham.

“Oh, that’s right, don’t throw these things away.” The King thought for a while, “Keep it stored and send some for our Mr. Pharmacist to analyze the properties.”

The King was very interested in the biological components of hell. From the slime of the Lord of “greed and ill-gotten wealth”, he might be able to analyze some properties that made humans and inhumans different.

After all, these slime were the same as the gold coins. To a certain extent, they were hard to come by. Even if it were to be disposed of, that would have to wait for the King’s scientists to judge that it was of no use before being thrown out.

Could the collision of science and mystery bring about something different?

The King possessed some hopes and expectations.

The wealth in the palace of that Lord of hell was piled up like a mountain. Unfortunately, as the Devil said, these gold coins had been piled up in hell for too long, and had been deeply branded by hell. If he took out too much at one time, it would cause unnecessary trouble. Even the current batch of gold coins couldn’t be used directly after washing off the slime.

It was necessary to let the former knight commander of the Templars to further dispel the evil energy remaining on the gold coins.

The process was a bit troublesome, but it was all worth it.

They alleviated the King’s immediate urgency.

“Take a count, and then report the specific number to me.”

The King ordered. He must start thinking about how to allocate these gold coins in advance.

With a focus on the navy while also taking into account the construction of new military weapons and castles, as well as the early investment of the Southeastern Free Chamber of Commerce that he intended to carry out.

The specific number would not be known until the count was completed, but based on estimates, it would be enough to provide preliminary funds for the construction of the royal navy that the King intended to carry out——and only preliminary. The price of building a royal navy was high enough to drive any royal family crazy.

The current Legrand Royal Fleet was formed in the reign of the Mad King Henry.

After the Mad King Henry withdrew the church’s privileges to the Five Port Alliance, a period of turmoil was caused. Although it was put down in the end, the rebellion undoubtedly left a deep impression on the Mad King. The royal family then invested in the purchase of more than fifty galleys, which were organized into three detachments, and those in charge were called “galley captains”[1].

In the early stage of formation, the mighty royal family navy did play a great deterrent effect, but soon, the royal family found that it could not afford to maintain the fleet, so two-thirds of the fleet ended up being sold later. Instead, they continued to requisition large-tonnage merchant ships as wartime armed warships. [2]

This phenomenon of merging the use of merchant ships and military warships had lasted for a long time, so long that it strengthened the arrogance of the Five Port Alliance. It was not until William III unified the 36 states and the royal family’s control increased that the number of royal fleets rose steadily again.

So long as one looked back on the duration of this long period of gradual progress of the royal navy development history, one would be able to understand just what a money burning pit this was.

The King could already hear the sounds of these batches of gold coins being thrown by him into the sea.

He sighed helplessly.

This was the case with the military. Only by burning money could a frightening army be burned from the ashes.

“Aren’t you going to see Charles?”

The Duke of Buckingham said to the King.

“He has arrived?” The King was a little surprised.

He remembered that he allowed Captain Hawkins to convey his permission to Charles to visit the place where William III was buried. But only one night had passed, and Charles had already arrived.

The Duke of Buckingham nodded slightly.

The King understood that the duke had already met Charles.

A dead Legrand King, a current royal duke, a crazy captain, a legendary first mate in charge of the entire pirate fleet…..Such a mismatch of four people actually maintained an unimaginably deep friendship.

“I will go see him.”

The King took over the cloak from the Head of the Households.

………………

St. Wyth Cathedral, the cemetery of William III.

The King wore a red cloak as he stood outside the eternal resting place.

The tomb of William III did not seem to fit his identity as the generation’s most glorious King of Legrand. Although impressive, it was undoubtedly rudimentary in terms of royal specifications. On the tall tombstone, the relief head of William III coexisted with the cross.

A person was standing in front of the tombstone.

The first mate of the Walway pirates, Charles.

His gray hair was combed back and his eyes as blue as the sea. He wore a black coat and his aura was rather gentle and could even be called “cultured”. It was hard to imagine that he was the main person in charge of the infamous Walway pirates from appearance alone——he was more like an old professor at the Royal Academy than a pirate.

“Good day, Your Majesty.”

Hearing the King’s footsteps, he turned and bowed to salute the King respectfully.

“Good day, sir.”

The King stepped forward and stood before the tombstone next to him.

“Thank you for your permission, Your Majesty.”

Charles said. His attitude towards the King was respectful with more traces of gentleness. He was about the same age as the Duke of Buckingham, but the Duke of Buckingham felt like a steel knife that could be pulled out at any time, while he was like fine wine that had settled over time.

“I think this should also be what he wanted.”

The King replied.

“William…..I’m sorry, please forgive me for my impoliteness. But,” Charles stared at the tombstone with sea blue eyes, “This was what he once requested. He hoped Hawkins and I could continue to call him William.”

“Please continue to call him that way.” The King said. He was not familiar with this kind of friendship, so after a brief pause, he changed the subject, “I can pardon the curse for you all at any time.”

“Thank you for your kindness.”

Charles placed a hand on his chest, and he bowed to express his gratitude to the King.

“I think it must not have been easy for you to get along with Mr. Hawkins for so many years.” The King raised his eyebrows. It was hard to imagine how a person like Charles could endure thag crazy pirate captain.

A complicated look appeared on Charles’s face: “…..Probably because of such a captain, I have to stay at Walway all the time.”

It looked like along with the Duke of Buckingham, he also felt a headache towards Captain Hawkins.

“You being willing to keep him as Legrand’s admiral really is a great help to Walway.” Charles said sincerely, “I am really worried that one day I will wake up and find Walway’s captain hanged from the mast by his sailors.”

After Charles couldn’t help but express a complaint, he probably also wanted to maintain at least some face for the pirate captain and so changed the subject by beginning to talk about the royal fleet with the King.

The King was not surprised that he knew of his intention to transform the royal fleet.

“Do you have any suggestions?”

“Your current warships are likely based on that of the Five Port Alliance.” Charles slowly explained his suggestions to the King, “With the Ross family’s “Lavelle” as an example, merchant ships generally erect very tall platforms, and you know that this is to defend against pirate attacks. When sea battles occur, these platforms can be used for shooting and defense.” [3]

“But as far as I know, they didn’t play a big role in the sea battle of Koszoya, and the speed of Walway’s ships seemed to be faster.” The King made his doubts known.

“Yes.”

Charles smiled.

“We demolished the tall platforms, thereby increasing the speed of the ship. Of course, this is a change made out of the consequences that come with our identity, but it may also be a useful idea for you.”

“Tell me.”

“The artillery that your scientist brought.” Charles replied, “If your scientist can continue to improve them, you may consider building a fast warship with artillery in the future. I think this should be what you need.”[4]

“A fine and practical method.”

The King thought for a moment and expressed his approval.

“It is a great honor to receive your approval, Your Majesty.”

Charles seemed to be happy that he could help the King.

The King keenly discovered that Charles’s attitude towards him was a little too amiable, and he succinctly said: “You don’t need to transfer your friendship with my father to me.”

Charles smiled gently: “You are as sharp as William, just as Hawkins said.”

“And?”

The King looked at the elegant old man inquisitively.

“It may be presumptuous to say this.” Charles was silent for a moment, and then smiled helplessly. “He once wrote to me asking if I would be your godfather…..He is really audacious, isn’t he? Having a notorious and disreputable pirate be a noble prince’s——and now the King’s——godfather.”

“However, my letter of reply was too slow.”

Charles raised his head, and the wind ruffled the gray hair on his temples.

“He failed to receive my letter.”

The person who made the invitation had already passed away, so there was no pirate in this world who could be the godfather of a King.

“En…..”

The King pondered for a moment.

“Perhaps being the godfather of a notorious and disreputable tyrant is even worse? The pirate will only be scolded for a lifetime, but the tyrant will be scolded for hundreds and thousands of years into the future.”

“You are not a tyrant, Your Majesty.”

Charles reached out his hand to touch the tombstone of William III, turned his head and smiled at him.

“You will be his pride.”

The King did not answer.

“I came here this time to convey a word to you, Your Majesty.”

Charles stood in front of the tombstone of William III and he stared deeply at the epitaph. There was only a short phrase——for the glory of the Rose.

“Please go ahead.”

“Please be careful of the Holy Court.”

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

AN: [1] The data and structure of the royal fleet during the time of the Mad King Henry refer to the structure of the royal fleet during the time of King John.

Galleys had high demand for oarsmen and oars. Therefore, the Mad King Henry was forced to reduce the royal navy in the later period because of his inability to support the high fleet, and once again rely on the Five Port Alliance.

[2] In the Henry VII period, in order to encourage the construction of merchant ships suitable for combat, a “shipbuilding bonus” was even established, stipulating that a subsidy for the construction of ships with a displacement of more than 100 tons should be provided at 5 shillings per ton——Liu Jinghua. “The sun never sets.” Beijing: China Literature and History Publishing House. 1999.

[3] The structure of the “Lavelle” is based on the “Sovereign” and the “Regent”, and the naval battle at that time was an extension of the land warfare, and the ship platforms played an important role.

[4] The warship reform carried out during the Elizabethan era was based on this idea and achieved remarkable results.

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