Chapter 626 There is also a priest on the pirate ship
Seeing Morrow's bewildered expression, Xiao Peng frowned and said, "You really don't know Francis Drake? You don't even know such a famous figure in British history?"
Moreau asked in return, "Why should I study the history of the vulgar English?"
Xiao Peng's face was filled with black lines. This answer was very French.
He coughed dryly twice and said, "We need to know a lot in this line of work. It's not enough to just know where the shipwrecks are."
Moreau saluted and said, "Yes, Boss! Then tell me about it! What's the story behind this Drake? You said he was a naval commander? How did he become a pirate?"
Xiao Peng thought for a moment and asked, "Then let me ask you, where was the first 'empire on which the sun never sets'?"
"I'm not an idiot!" Moro complained. "Boss, this question is too simple, isn't it? Of course it's Spain!"
Xiao Peng then asked, "Then why and how did Britain replace Spain to become the 'Empire on which the Sun Never Sets'? Who was the greatest contributor?"
Morrow's eyes widened. "Could it be the Francis Drake you were talking about?"
"Use your brain!" Xiao Peng said angrily, "Of course it's the 'Virgin Queen' Elizabeth I! Without her, how could there be the British Empire?"
Moro surrendered: "Boss, starting tomorrow... no, starting today I won't read One Piece anymore. I'll concentrate on reading. Please stop torturing me, okay?"
Xiao Peng laughed and said, "That's about right. Okay, enough teasing. The richest man in Europe at that time was undoubtedly King Philip II of Spain, the head of the Habsburg family. They had already occupied South America. How rich was Spain at the time? Let's not talk about others, just Philip II. Every year he received two million gold coins from the colonies! Two million! Not two hundred! And that was just one year! At that time, the entire Western European countries probably didn't earn as much as Philip II alone!"
Moreau whistled: "He's too rich, isn't he?"
Xiao Peng explained, "He is rich, but this man has the luxury of monopolizing his wealth. He controls all shipping lanes and prevents other countries from sailing. This is understandable, but many people are bound to be jealous of him, right?"
"Boss, don't talk about the people back then. I feel jealous just listening to them now," said Moro.
Xiao Peng said, "At the time, Queen Elizabeth I, the 'Virgin Queen,' was also very jealous. However, the disparity in national strength between the two sides was too great, so Elizabeth I came up with a solution. She encouraged people to become pirates, but these were truly 'Royal Pirates.' They issued 'Letters of Marque' to pirates, allowing them to attack and rob Spanish cargo ships with impunity. Of course, this practice wasn't unique to Britain; almost all countries did so at the time, but Britain was the most ruthless. At that time, Britain was full of pirates. To put it bluntly, they sent others to their deaths, and any loot they robbed was shared with the country. The most famous pirate in Britain at the time was Francis Drake. Elizabeth personally met with him, bestowed upon him the title of 'Royal Knight,' and even made him the mayor of Plymouth. This made piratehood an honor for all the British. You know the Drake Passage in South America? It's named after him."
After hearing this, Moreau snorted coldly and said, "This is what the British are like. They call themselves gentlemen, but at heart they are robbers!"
Xiao Peng laughed and said, "What about the French? They claim to be romantic, but at heart they are hooligans!"
"Boss! This is a personal attack!" Moreau protested, "But I agree with you!"
Xiao Peng burst into laughter and said, "And Drake was the second person in the world to sail around the world. To be more precise, he should be the first. After all, Magellan died on the way, while Drake returned alive. But he was different from Magellan. Magellan wanted to sail around the world, while Drake was forced to do it. He offended Spain so badly that the Spanish fleet had nowhere to go, so he was able to circle the world."
"This is a ruthless man." said Moro.
Xiao Peng nodded. "Yes, he was indeed a ruthless man. Queen Elizabeth I later appointed him commander-in-chief of the British Royal Navy to fight against the Spanish Armada. There are countless rumors about the hidden relationship between the two throughout history! And Drake did not disappoint Elizabeth's expectations. In the early stages of the war, he relied on his private fleet to launch a surprise attack on Spanish ports and docks, staging a British version of the 'Burning of Red Cliffs'. This bought Britain time to develop, and it was under his command that the British fleet defeated the Spanish in Britain's first battle against the Armada. However, his end was quite tragic. He fell out of favor due to the failure of his command of the Kronner-Lisbon Expedition and eventually died of dysentery in Panama."
Moreau clapped his hands and said, "Since he belongs to the British Navy, it's not surprising that a priest conveyed the whereabouts of his treasure to the British bishop in Latin!"
Xiao Peng shook his head and said, "No, no, no. At that time, there were priests on pirate ships. A ship can be without a doctor or a cook, but it cannot be without a priest."
"A group of people who are the least likely to obey God's will are taking a priest out to sea?" Moreau asked in confusion.
Xiao Peng snapped his fingers. "Your summary is good. If this treasure map was written by a pirate, I might treat it as a joke, but if it was written by a priest, it would be credible. The person who wrote the letter is called Bower, and he claims to be a subordinate of Bishop Lewis of England. He wants to send this letter to the Archbishop of Canterbury, hoping to serve him and become his subordinate in the future. So this is also a 'letter of allegiance'. But I wonder, is this priest named Bower really so stupid as to tell the truth right away? That's why I question the authenticity of the contents of this letter."
Moro said, "Boss, can't we just investigate whether it's true or not?"
Xiao Peng curled his lips and said, "This matter is difficult to investigate. According to the record in the letter, the treasure should be hidden in the Lesser Antilles. Is that a troublesome place?"
"Trouble?" Moreau was confused.
Xiao Peng smiled bitterly and said, "The Lesser Antilles isn't very large, just a bunch of small islands. All of them combined might not be as big as Corsica. Yet, it's occupied by fifteen countries. Britain, France, and the Netherlands all have colonies there, and the power of each country is complex. Hundreds of years have passed, and a lot has changed. Investigating this matter isn't easy... Even if we want to investigate, we should at least wait for Pascal to resolve the matter and let him go. He's more suitable to go than me."
Moro nodded and suddenly asked, "Boss, are you sure it's because he's more suitable and not because you want to be lazy?"
"Do you want another bonus?"
"Pascal is the best person to go!"
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