Chapter 25: High Finance, redux

That was without question the best meal I’d had since we stepped into the bank at Widemouth. It was clearly good to be king here. The company was delightful, too, with three clean and attractive women present. Of course, I wasn’t sleeping with any of them, but it was still a very pleasant meal. Maybe I could bring Ceecee along if I was ever invited back again.

Actually, it wasn’t just the clean women. This whole place smelled a lot better than Widemouth did, too. Didn’t Eric say that no one here understood sanitation? Something to ask about, but maybe not while we were eating.

Some dishes I recognized, but others I didn’t. I didn’t ask what any of the food was. Eric had taught me that, too. There were things I just didn’t want to know.

When we were done with the meal, we sat around the remains and continued the discussion. I wasn’t about to think that this display of wealth was all for me. They wanted to know where Widemouth stood.

“You should understand that I can’t really speak for Widemouth. I live there, and most of my crew are from there, but I am not a town leader. At best I can say that they will listen to my opinion.”

Jono interrupted me. “He ALWAYS says that. Whenever he wants us to do something he always starts out saying ‘I know my opinion doesn’t mean much, but I really think that’ and then he tells us what we should be doing. And it always makes sense. He was the one who showed us how to make those catapults and other engines. He was the one who organized capturing the Pirate’s Gift. He showed the Guard how to combine shield men in front, spearmen behind them, and archers in the back to make a force that the pirates could not overrun. He showed the town how to trap the pirates where they could all be killed. He showed the town how the old council was stealing from us all. If he tells the town council that they should do something they will do it. If for no other reason than that the townspeople will kill them if they don’t.”

“You can’t depend on me. I won’t always be here. You have to make decisions on your own.”

“Yes, of course, but if you tell us what the decision should be we’re going to agree with whatever you say. I’m not convinced that you’re smarter that all of us, but you have wisdom.”

“I’m not convinced that I’m smarter than ANY of you, but yeah sometimes I have good ideas.”

Lady Philipmina said to the queen “He is just like King Tom and Lord Paul. They claim to be nothing special at all. Then they go prove that they are special.”

Queen Eleanor said “Yes, you are right” to her, and then to me “Very well, Lord Jason, what do you think? Should Widemouth accept King Tom as their ruler?”

“Right now? Actually, no. They have fought for their freedom and they will not give that up without good reason. The town asked for help and never got it. They will resist being asked to send taxes to a king who does nothing for them. Understand, Sir Tony showed up with his force just about a day too late to be of any help at all. We had won completely on our own and were chasing the surviving pirates back to their last ship when we met him on the road. If he had arrived a day earlier, he could have claimed a part in our victory, and his wishes would have carried much value. If he had arrived three days earlier, he would have been hailed as the town’s rescuer and they would have done whatever he said.”

“As it was, they had to settle for me as their rescuer and I’m happy seeing them remain free. I see no benefit in bowing down to anyone as their king. And, I believe that the town agrees with me. They had to defend themselves and the surrounding area with no help from anyone else, and they won’t want to give up their autonomy. Your King Tom will have to do something that they see as worth giving up their freedom for.”

“Do you have any suggestions on what he should do?”

Yeah. Set up a navy and better roads and a postal system and courts and all the stuff that a central government should do, and invent telephones and refrigeration and urban water supplies and food inspectors and all that, so that life really is better for his subjects.

“I have heard that he is improving the roads and sending out patrols to root out all the bandits, to make his land peaceful and productive. Most people just want to be left alone to live their lives. If he protects them and improves the roads, that’s about all he should be doing.”

“It appears to me that you are doing the King’s work yourself, if you are going out to destroy the pirate ships.”

“Well, yeah, but I see it as protecting Widemouth and the surrounding land that looks to Widemouth for protection.”

“If you are doing the King’s work, the King should help you as you need. What would help you with your task?”

That squadron of A-10s. And all the fuel and bombs and bullets it would take to keep them flying for a year.

“The people need to be safe to live their lives. What I really want is a fleet of warships that can patrol around the island and sink any pirates before they land. Is that something you can provide?”

“No. Still, this is something that my husband has said he wants, so if you can create such a fleet we will help you pay for it.”

“Well, if I can get enough officers and men, I can create the fleet by capturing the pirates’ ships and using them as our own. That’s one thing, Widemouth doesn’t have enough seamen to man a fleet. Do you?”

“No, but we have many refugees from the mainland. There may be some who want to be seamen. We will ask them, and they can be trained. In fact, the King can help pay the expenses of a trading ship that is used to train seamen for his fleet. How does that sound to you, Philipmina?”

“That sounds very good. We will pay for the ship and the cargo and our crew, while the King pays for any extra people carried for training.”

I added “You will also want to carry soldiers, men who don’t want to be seamen but know how to fight. Otherwise, the pirates or the Brotherhood or someone else will take your ships away from you.”

“Yes, of course. Can you teach them how to fight at sea?”

“I and my men, yes. So, I have three ships for sale. How many do you want?”

They all laughed, but then Jono stopped when he realized that I was serious. Who had the money to buy more than one ship? Well, a successful merchant might. And a king probably would, too.

Eleanor said “Lord Jason, the King will buy the one that you think will be best for a warship. Philipmina, dear?”

“We will buy the other two, if they are suitable for trading.”

“All four of them were built as cargo ships. Three of them were captured by pirates and converted for their use. The fourth one was recaptured by us soon afterwards and still has its cargo. That ship, at least, does have a cargo that may be of value.”

“What does it carry?”

“An assortment of items. Food, cloth, pottery, metal wares. My prize captain has a list.”

“We will go over that at the shipyard. I assume that we will want to empty it out before repairs?”

“Yes. It should be completely empty before pulling it out of the water. Even if it is repaired in the water, it must be emptied to get to the hull from the inside.”

“So all cargo and supplies must be removed. We will look at the cargo and offer you a price for each item.”

“That will work for us. Understand that I have promised my men a share of their value so I must get as much as I can for them.”

“We will try to be fair, but we must pay less than we get or we cannot make a profit and feed our own people.”

“I understand. Now, what do I do with the pirates I have captured? You have told me that slavery is not allowed here but I’m not willing to simply let them go and I don’t want to just kill them.”

“You can keep them for your own use. King Tom and Sir Tony call that “prisoners of war”. You can turn them over to us as indentured servants. You can take them to the mainland and sell them there as slaves.”