Chapter 604 Rapidly developing Anglo-French trade (please read later)

Chapter 605 The rapid development of British-French trade (seeking follow-up reading)

Seven or eight carriages slowly arrived at the dock.

On the "Leisure", several people jumped out immediately. They shouted loudly and asked the crew to load the contents of the car onto the ship.

Demville and dozens of sailors rushed forward, unloaded boxes of goods from the carriages and carried them onto the ship.

Demville weighed the two wooden boxes on his shoulders. They were not heavy. He looked at his distant relative Maderno beside him—the latter was an old sailor and served as the second-class sailor on the "Leisure"—and asked in a low voice: "What is in this? It won't bring us anything." Danger of the gallows?"

No matter how stupid he is, he can still think of paying so much wages, loading goods near dark, and not going to those big ports. This is definitely not a serious business.

"It's silk." Maderno said with a relaxed expression, "You can earn 300 francs by shipping the two boxes in your hand to England. This business is not dangerous. I have gone to sea four times with the ship, and everything went well."

"Silk?" Demville looked at the carriages, "Are they all covered with this stuff?"

"That's about right. There are also some high-end wines."

"God, how much is that worth?!"

"I don't know, it must be at least 60,000 francs."

"It seems our boss is very rich..."

"That's not necessarily the case," Maderno pretended to smile mysteriously, "I heard that as long as you can hook up with the 'Puls Gang', you can get goods from France on credit, and you only need to pay a small deposit. "

As he spoke, he gestured towards the "Leisure" with his chin: "Even this ship was borrowed from the 'Puls Gang'. It is said that as long as you make 12 successful business trips, you can buy it at a very low price. This ship."

"Really?!" Demville's eyes widened, "Is the Purs Gang so powerful?"

"Of course it's true." Maderno whispered, "There are big names behind the Purse Gang.

"Let me tell you, when I save enough money, I also plan to borrow a ship and run some 'business' on credit. By then, you will be my boatswain, oh, if you are qualified."

Demville's eyes flashed with joy, and then he said nervously: "After talking for a long time, what kind of 'business' is this?"

"Anyway, we're going to sea tomorrow, so it doesn't matter if I tell you. This ship will smuggle these silks, wines, and cosmetics to the UK. Well, it's the kind that doesn't pay customs duties."

"You mean... smuggling?!"

"Don't be so serious, we call this 'private transactions'. If you take these things to the UK, you can easily earn 30% profit!"

"But if you get caught..."

"Don't worry, you won't be caught. Purse's helper is very knowledgeable." Maderno said, patting him on the shoulder, "And even if the worst happens, your sister will still get 4,000 francs in insurance money." . Someone will work to rescue you later.”

Throughout the night, the carriages from Brujas kept coming, loading carts of goods onto several ships parked next to the simple dock.

During the day, all activities were suspended until dusk fell again. The "Leisure" and the two schooners next to it raised half sail and began to slowly leave the shore.

The three ships were about 2 nautical miles apart, heading northwest, and arrived near Norfolk, England, a few hours later.

The sea conditions in the English Channel are very good, and with year-round trade exchanges, the pilot has long memorized the waterway, and as long as there is a little light, he will not deviate.

"Youxian" took the lead in furling its sails and stopped. After waiting for about an hour, they saw a few bright lights flashing on the sea in the distance.

Maderno and the third mate rowed the famous dinghy towards the light spot. After a while, they returned, and the third mate handed a note to the captain.

The captain immediately issued an order: "Sail due west and set sail in 25 minutes. Lower the sails 10 nautical miles from the coast at 4:20. Maintain strict light control."

Demville grabbed the distant relative who was passing by and asked in a low voice: "What did you do just now?"

"Get the 'pass'." Maderno winked proudly, "There are British anti-smuggling ships everywhere around here. If you don't pay attention, you will be hit.

"So, the Puers Gang arranged for serious merchant ships to constantly observe their movements nearby and find a route that can avoid them all."

Demville opened his mouth in surprise.

Little did he know that the powerful Puers Gang was actually one of the several "vests" of the "Special Trade Association".

These "vests" include gangs, smuggling organizations, and even chambers of commerce. They recruit a large number of smuggling ships in the Southern Netherlands and northern France. The industrial development fund provides them with supplies, and the French intelligence agency provides cover.

In recent months, the scale of "special trade" has expanded 12 times, with an average monthly trade volume of 5 million francs, and it continues to surge.

At the same time, thanks to strict organization and unified management, no smuggling ship has been caught by the British anti-smuggling fleet so far.

This is the power of state behavior!

As expected, the "Leisure" easily avoided all British anti-smuggling ships and successfully docked on a deserted beach in Norfolk.

In fact, it cannot be considered a deserted beach - a simple pier was built here with wooden planks, and a broken road passed through the grass and shrubs, leading directly to a church 8 miles away.

After receiving monthly benefits of 5 to 20 pounds, all the priests in the church will even help move goods together during busy times.

The church's cellar has been expanded more than ten times and is used for temporary storage of goods.

On the simple dock, hundreds of "workers" quickly unloaded the goods on the ship and then loaded them onto trucks to transport them to the chapel.

Every Monday and Thursday, British caravans would transport a large number of goods from farmhouses near the church and then sell them in markets in Norfolk, Essex and even London.

You should know that the current British excise tax is a core tax.

From the birth and baptism of children to marriage and housing, various supplies, including windows, saddles, cosmetics, dried fruits, oil, etc., are subject to tax. As for tobacco, alcohol, tea, sugar and the like, the tax rate is even higher.

Therefore, when these "duty-free" goods shipped from the Southern Netherlands entered the British market, all goods from legitimate channels were immediately beaten without any resistance.

Smuggled goods are almost always sold at 80% to 90% of the market price, and the quality is absolutely guaranteed. Even so, these goods can still make a 30% profit. It can be seen how high the consumption tax and tariffs in the UK are.

Starting from Norfolk, legitimate shops have been bankrupted.

However, savvy businessmen soon discovered the "trick" and switched to purchasing goods through special channels.

During this period, the British people were very happy - their daily expenses dropped significantly.

British businessmen were also very happy - especially those who "did not follow the usual path" - they easily beat their competitors with their price advantage, and their sales soared.

The only unhappy ones were the tax officials in several British cities - their tax revenue in the past three months dropped by 35%!