Chapter 53 Hassan Returns

Hassan nodded slightly in agreement. After a moment of silence, he suddenly said to Davos: "Can you hand over the pirates you captured before to me? Anyway, if you take them back, they will just be hanged by Lord Stannis."

After hearing this, Davos thought for a moment and said: "You can take part of it back, and I need to give the rest to Lord Stannis. The name of the cruel "Gavin" has long been spread across the strait, but it is different from Compared to Lord Stannis, those pirates are lucky to be in the hands of Lord Gavin."

Hassan quickly joked: "Sir Gavin doesn't like the title given to him by these pirates. At that time, I saw with my own eyes the process of him reorganizing those pirates. Those pirates were wild and untamable, and they even rioted and ran away. If Sir Gavin hadn't I’m afraid it will be difficult to control through some means.”

Davos nodded slightly and said: "Lord Stannis does appreciate Lord Gavin's opening up the Stepstone Islands, but he still has some criticisms about the reorganization of pirates. Lord Stannis believes that he should be hanged in accordance with the law. die."

Hassan took a sip of wine and responded: "This is really in line with Lord Stannis's behavior. There is no way to recruit pirates. We have a small population that can be recruited there. After boarding the ship, we have to train them. After all, these pirates They are all skilled sailors and can use them as they come.”

The two of them talked to each other, talking about the situation at sea, their own experiences, and their future plans. Time passed unconsciously, and the sky outside the window gradually darkened.

"This conversation has already reached nighttime." Davos said while looking out the window.

Hassan stood up and stretched, "Yeah, time flies so fast. I had a great time chatting with you today, but it's time for me to go back to my ship."

Davos also stood up, "Let's meet again another day, and be careful along the way."

Hassan smiled and nodded, then turned and walked out of the captain's cabin, disappearing into the night.

Hassan's visit was precisely because of Petyr's visit more than half a year ago. Not long after Petyr left the Stepstones and returned to King's Landing, Gavin received news from Petyr.

With his extraordinary eloquence, Petyr succeeded in convincing Stannis, who had always been stubborn and stubborn, to be willing to speak up for Gavin at the Royal Council.

In return, Gavin did not hesitate to send a large sum of gold dragons to purchase the so-called dragon bones.

Then Gavin sent his confidant, Fleet Commander Hassan, to lead a fleet of thirty warships to Dragonstone Island and obey Stannis's command.

Under Stannis's orders, Hassan assisted the royal fleet in clearing most of the Strait trade routes of pirates and smugglers.

Both parties agreed that the ships and prisoners captured by each would belong to each other. Not only that, in order to express his sincerity in supporting the kingdom, Gavin also generously donated 100,000 golden dragons to Stannis's royal fleet.

After the fleet set off, Stannis sent his subordinate Davos Seaworth to accompany Hassan.

It was only during the operation to eliminate pirates and smuggling ships that Hassan and Davos got along quite happily.

During the chat, Hassan learned that Davos was once a smuggler. He was made a knight by Stannis just because he successfully smuggled a boatload of onions and salted fish to Storm's End.

Davos also learned that Hassan was just a mercenary captain before. After being rescued by Gavin, he was promoted to fleet commander.

The two people, who came from the same lower class, seemed to have found each other's soulmates, got along very harmoniously, and gradually became good friends who talked about everything.

After the two led the team back to Dragonstone, Stannis was very satisfied with the clearing operation and allowed Hassan to lead the fleet back to the Stepstones.

The afterglow of the setting sun shines on the vast sea, giving the waves a layer of golden color. The sea breeze blows gently, bringing a salty breath. Hassan led the fleet and finally arrived at Bloodstone after a month-long route. island.

The port was busy, people were coming and going, shouts and trumpets were intertwined. Workers loading and unloading cargo are busy, and the masts of the ships are like a forest of spears.

When Hassan's fleet appeared in people's sight, the entire port boiled instantly.

The ship docked, the sailors skillfully tied the ropes, and the prisoners were driven off the ship. They looked tired and huddled together in a noisy group. The soldiers responsible for the handover shouted loudly and tried to maintain order.

Hassan stood on the bow of the ship, scanning the chaotic scene with his eyes slightly frowning. After the initial arrangements for the ship and the prisoners were made, he hurriedly jumped off the ship and rushed towards the city lord's palace.

Along the way, the streets were filled with the smell of sea water and fish, and the cries of vendors kept coming. Hassan couldn't care about these, and only wanted to report the results of this battle to Lord Gavin as soon as possible.

After rushing to the city lord's palace and seeing Gavin, Hassan bowed and said, "Lord Gavin, this cooperation with Stannis is temporarily over. Lord Stannis asked me to express my gratitude to you on my behalf." , Hassan handed over a letter from Stannis.

Gavin took the letter, opened it and browsed it quickly, then raised his head and asked, "You have been to Dragonstone Island. How do you feel about the current strength of the Royal Fleet?"

Hassan thought for a while and replied: "Although the Royal Fleet claims to have more than a hundred ships, I see that at least thirty of them are seriously aging and have not been maintained for a long time. Moreover, there are insufficient personnel and the ships that can move are not enough." Halfway through, many of the ships were captured Ironborn longships, and there were not many real sailing warships.”

Then, Hassan took the initiative and said: "Sir, in this naval battle, I also found that the captains in the fleet are not very good."

Gavin said helplessly: "That can't be helped. Most of the original pirate captains have been dealt with by me. The rest are low-level sailors. It is inevitable that some of them are unqualified when they are promoted temporarily."

Then, Gavin said to Hassan: "I plan to open a naval school to train these captains, first mates, boatswains and other personnel in turn. What do you think of this idea?"

Hassan responded: "My lord, this idea is very good. When I was young, I worked as a sailor in the Purple Fleet of Braavos for two years. There are similar institutions in the Purple Fleet that specialize in training these personnel. Can we invite some people from there at a high price to teach the captains of our fleet?"

Gavin nodded and said: "Okay, you can do this. In addition, regarding the problem of insufficient manpower, I have an idea. Can we buy them from Slaver Bay and let them develop some sailor skills in a targeted manner?"

Hassan said: "My lord, many jobs on the ship are repetitive and mechanical. I think those slaves can also do it."