Link poured the gunpowder powder in the cylinder container onto the table, held up the candle used for lighting, and leaned closer.

"Sheep"

A burst of sparks flashed across the desktop.

Smelling the strong smell of gunpowder in the air, Link took a deep breath intoxicatedly.

"Ahem..."

Hiding the butter sticks close to her body, Link pushed open the door and left the room.

.

On the deck, Ashley was busy calling her subordinates and ordering them to keep an eye on the evening.

She had to treat her carefully in the old continent where the Snake Cult was rampant, and she had old grudges with the former navy.

"When are you ready to leave?"

"Wait for two more days."

Ashley frowned, her perky nose twitched twice, but she was unable to say anything against her.

Link's previous promise hit her weak point, forcing her to surrender.

"What are you going to do next after you return to the empire?"

Link turned to look at Ashley. This stubborn and resolute noble lady was the only one he saw in his life.

Even now he is wearing a straight naval commander uniform.

"Strike pirates, arrest smugglers, set up observation points on routes from the old and new continents, and report every move of the Snake Cult at any time.

I want the big men in the Council Hall to know that men can do what they can do, and I must do better than them!”

Ashley said firmly, and a strong woman's aura came to her face.

Link glanced at her helplessly and turned his head.

‘I thought there was only Teresa in the group, but I didn’t expect there was a big feminist Ashley.’

"The result of you want to do anything like this is that you can't do anything well.

I suggest you find a goal to do it first, and if you do it well and achieve results, the big names in the council hall you mentioned will naturally be impressed by you.

What you said about attacking pirates and arresting smugglers is a problem that your imperial navy has so many fleets and hundreds or thousands of ships cannot solve. Do you think it can be done with this small fleet of more than fifty ships in your hands?"

Link's words hit Ashley's heart, and the naval consultant appointed by the Admiralty also told her.

But she was arrogant and became a naval fleet commander at the age of twenty, which was extremely rare in the history of the imperial naval, even if it included the destroyed old Bass Empire.

So Ashley longs for her to do something that matches her experience.

Saving the remnants of the empire, thwarting the Snake Cult conspiracy, and offering forbidden alchemy to Emperor Maurice are all manifestations of Ashley's desire to prove herself.

But when she really took action, she realized that one problem after another kept arose.

Even though he used the influence of his father, Consul Barrons and the strong support of the family's financial resources, Ashley still failed to recruit all the crew members in a limited time.

Those old seamen who have rich experience in fighting at sea don’t believe that this young noble lady can accomplish anything.

So even under the banner of Consul Barence, he could not recruit many sea warriors who were willing to serve her.

After joining Link, he relied on Link's help to gain a foothold in the old continent. Without Link's soldiers, Ashley felt that she could not see the shadow of Ankara City.

That's fine, after all, Link is also his own friend and will develop into a partner in the future.

But the next time, he guessed the appearance of the alchemist, but he still failed to save the other party.

The ambition Ashley hit a wall on one problem after another, consuming her confidence.

The fleet has been built for a month, but she still feels no sense of direction, only one blow to defeat her heart.

"Then what should I do?"

Ashley finally let go of her inner arrogance and took the initiative to ask Link for advice.

If it were facing the naval consultant, Ashley would definitely not be able to bear the slightest face, after all, in name, the other party was his subordinate.

But facing Link, that's fine.

"Piracy and anti-smuggling are old problems facing the empire, right?"

"Yes, my father is very troubled by the smuggling problem of Dilinggang. Every year he spends arresting the golden snake coins of these smugglers, he almost catches the value of their smuggled goods."

"Where there are money to make, there are smugglers and pirates, which is impossible to eliminate.

When the old Bass Empire still existed, countless pirates were raging in this sea area.

If you want to take action from these two points and achieve results that can make people admire you, I am bluntly speaking, it is even more difficult."

Link looked at Ashley and said confidently and calmly. As a former pirate, he felt that he was qualified to educate Ashley.

"Besides, over the years, pirates and smugglers must have been everywhere on Dilinggang and the surrounding islands. It is not practical for you, a newcomer, to deal with these local tyrants who have been entrenched for many years.

It’s better to change the goal and think from another perspective.”

"What goal?"

Ashley was interested in being said, and all the naval officers, including her father's staff advised her to take action from a small group of pirates and slowly accumulate her military achievements.

Link proposed another idea at this time.

"How is the relationship between Empire and Nord?"

Instead of giving the answer directly, Link asked a question that seemed irrelevant.

“There are frictions at the border, but they are all restrained.”

Ashley thought about the military newspapers she saw in her father's study since she was a child. It seemed that there had been no major conflict between the two countries for a long time.

"What about the sea?"

"On the sea? The Empire and Nord do not border on the sea, but I heard that Nord's maritime tax is very high, and the maritime merchants all complained."

Ashley remembered what the family chamber of commerce manager said. The reason why the Barence Family Chamber of commerce went far and did not choose convenient shipping, but instead struggled to open up the land transportation business road, was that all non-Northod merchant ships would be charged heavy taxes when entering Nord waters.

These taxes are high enough to support them in reopening onshore trade routes.

There is no way, the sea trade routes are on the road that must be passed, and the tax collectors are backed by the Nord Navy, so the big and small maritime merchants have to surrender.

"I'll change the question, who does the Imperial Navy really serve?"

Ashley was about to speak, but Link waved his hand to interrupt:

"I know you must be talking about Emperor Mario or the Navy, but in fact, the real service targets of the Imperial Navy are those who pay taxes.

Without them paying taxes diligently every year, even Emperor Mallor could not generate tens of thousands of golden snake coins out of thin air to support the huge navy of your empire.

Think about it, am I right?"

Ashley thought about it carefully and it made some sense.

My father’s most concerned every year is pirates and anti-smuggling issues. He never gets tired of it, and he does this every year.

This is especially true for the empire's naval fleet. Except for taking vacations and maintaining in the docks, they are all escorting and capturing smuggling ships at other times.
Chapter completed!