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Chapter 604: Rapidly Developing Anglo-French Trade

Seven or eight carriages slowly arrived at the dock.

Several people immediately disembarked from the Leisure. They bellowed orders, directing the crew to load the items from the carriages onto the ship.

Demuville, along with dozens of sailors, swarmed forward, unloading boxes of goods from the carriages and carrying them onto the ship.

Demuville hefted the two wooden crates on his shoulder; they weren't heavy. He glanced at Madeno, his distant relative, who was an experienced sailor serving as a second mate aboard the Leisure. "What's inside these?" he whispered. "Surely, it won't land us on the gallows, will it?"

Even if he was dull-witted, he could tell that with such high wages, loading cargo near dusk, and avoiding major ports, this certainly wasn't legitimate business.

"Silk," Madeno replied with a relaxed air. "Those two crates in your hands, once delivered to Britain, will fetch 300 francs. This business carries little risk; I've sailed with this ship four times already, and everything has gone smoothly."

"Silk?" Demuville asked, looking at the carriages. "Is that what's in all of them?"

"More or less," Madeno replied. "And some high-end liquor."

"Good heavens, how much is all that worth?!"

"Our boss must be quite wealthy..."

"Not necessarily," Madeno grinned conspiratorially. "I hear if you get connected with the Puls Gang, you can get goods on credit from France, requiring only a small deposit."

He gestured towards the Leisure with his chin. "Even this ship was borrowed from the Puls Gang. Word is, if you successfully complete twelve runs, you can buy the ship at an incredibly low price."

"Really?!" Demuville's eyes widened. "Is the Puls Gang that powerful?"

"Of course, it's true," Madeno whispered. "The Puls Gang has powerful backing."

"Listen, once I've saved enough money, I plan to borrow a ship myself, get some goods on credit, and run a 'business'. Then, you'll be my bosun—that is, if you're up to the task."

A flicker of joy crossed Demuville's eyes, then he asked nervously, "You've been talking all this time, but what exactly *is* this 'business'?"

"We're setting sail tomorrow anyway, so it won't hurt to tell you. This ship will secretly transport these silks, wines, and cosmetics to Britain—the kind that doesn't pay tariffs, you see."

"You mean... smuggling?!"

"Don't be so serious," Madeno chuckled. "We call it 'private trade.' Take these goods to Britain, and they can easily yield a 30% profit!"

"But what if we get caught..."

"Don't worry, you won't get caught. The Puls Gang has connections everywhere," Madeno said, clapping him on the shoulder. "And even in the worst-case scenario, your sister will receive a four-thousand-franc insurance payout. Someone will even work to get you out afterward."

Throughout the entire night, carriages from Bruhas arrived in an uninterrupted stream, loading cart after cart of goods onto several ships moored at the makeshift dock.

During the day, all activity ceased. It wasn't until dusk fell once more that the Leisure and two adjacent brigantines raised their half-sails and slowly pulled away from the shore.

The three ships, about two nautical miles apart, headed northwest, arriving near Norfolk, Britain, several hours later.

The sea conditions in the English Channel were excellent, and thanks to years of constant trade, the pilots knew the shipping lanes like the back of their hands; as long as there was even a faint light, they wouldn't stray off course.

The Leisure was the first to furl its sails and stop. After waiting for about an hour, they saw a light flash several times on the distant sea.

Madeno, accompanied by the third mate, rowed a small boat towards the light source. They returned shortly after, and the third mate handed a note to the captain.

The captain immediately issued orders: "Course due west. Depart in 25 minutes. Furl sails at 4:20 AM, ten nautical miles from the coast. Maintain strict blackout conditions."

Demuville grabbed his distant relative as he passed by, whispering, "What were you doing just now?"

"Collecting our 'pass'," Madeno said, winking proudly. "This area is crawling with British customs ships. If you're not careful, you'll run right into them."

"So, the Puls Gang arranged for legitimate merchant ships to constantly observe their movements nearby and find routes to avoid them all."

Demuville's jaw dropped in astonishment.

Little did he know, the resourceful Puls Gang was actually one of several "fronts" for the Special Trade Association.

These fronts included gangs, smuggling organizations, and even merchant guilds, recruiting a large number of smuggling vessels across the Southern Netherlands and northern France. The Industrial Development Fund provided them with goods, and the French Intelligence Bureau provided cover.

In recent months, the scale of "special trade" had expanded twelvefold, with an average monthly trade volume of five million francs, and was still rapidly increasing.

Thanks to tight organization and centralized management, not a single smuggling vessel had been caught by the British customs fleet to date.

Such was the power of a state-backed operation!

The Leisure indeed easily avoided all British customs ships and successfully docked at a secluded beach in Norfolk.

It wasn't entirely a secluded beach, though—a makeshift dock had been built with planks, and a rough track wound through the overgrown shrubs, leading directly to a church eight miles away.

All the clergy in the church, after receiving a monthly kickback of five to twenty pounds sterling, would even help move the goods during busy periods.

The church's cellar had been expanded more than tenfold to temporarily store the merchandise.

At the makeshift dock, over a hundred "workers" quickly unloaded the ships and transported the goods to the small church.

Every Monday and Thursday, British merchant caravans would transport large quantities of goods from the farmhouses near the church, for sale in the markets of Norfolk, Essex, and eventually London.

It's important to understand that currently, Britain's excise tax was a core source of revenue.

From a child's baptism to goods for marriage and housing, including windows, saddles, face powder, dried fruits, and oils—all were subject to taxation. As for tobacco, alcohol, tea, and sugar, the tax rates were astronomically high.

Consequently, when these "tax-exempt" goods from the Southern Netherlands entered the British market, all legitimately sourced goods were utterly decimated.

Smuggled goods were sold at 80% to 90% of the market price, with guaranteed quality. Even so, these goods still yielded a 30% profit, which clearly demonstrated just how exorbitant Britain's consumption taxes and tariffs were.

Starting in Norfolk, legitimate businesses began to go bankrupt continuously.

However, shrewd merchants quickly discovered the "trick" and began sourcing goods through special channels.

During this period, the British public was quite pleased—their daily expenses had significantly decreased.

British merchants were also happy—especially those who "strayed from the beaten path." They easily defeated their competitors with a price advantage and saw their sales skyrocket.

The only ones unhappy were the tax officials in several British cities—their tax revenue for the past three months had plummeted by 35%!