European Financial Emperor

041 Second Journey (2)

Lee Hwan and Ben-Heren were invited to the mansion of Taigo Pujato.

He was supposed to come back to get information from here this evening.

On the way to the mansion in a wagon at night, Lee Hwan was surprised by the well-maintained road than he had imagined.

“Urbanization is progressing rapidly.”

“That’s because we Brazilians worked hard and diligently under Portuguese rule.”

Casemiro, secretary of the Merchant Union of Taigo Pujato, seemed to be very proud of his country, and he was proud of Brazil in every word he said.

Lee Hwan also felt awkward at first due to his excessive pride, but as a descendant of a country that has been liberated from colonial rule, he has developed a sense of sympathy.

Ben-Heren lifted Lee Hwan in front of Casemiro.

“Ah, come to think of it, weren’t you assigned to be in charge of the Royal Dutch Road Construction?”

“Yes, it was. Perhaps by now, road construction pavements are being used to construct roads that have been maintenance-free for at least 10 years.”

“Huh, no maintenance for more than 10 years?”

East Stella, who already had the technology to obtain asphalt, has been paving the road by mixing asphalt with gravel for road construction right after Lee Hwan left.

Perhaps by now, the world’s first asphalt pavement was constructed.

Casemiro’s eyes twinkled as soon as he heard about the pavement.

“… … It’s a paved road.”

“Since the road is perfectly leveled, no matter how much you load the wagon, you won’t have to worry about stranding or breakdown. Even if the speed increases, no worries.”

“Hey, I didn’t know such a skill existed.”

“The original technology is supposed to develop naturally with the passage of time. Our East Stellar Company is just making remarkable progress with the flow of the times.”

“If we build a road from the Midwest to the South and North and drill a road through central Brazil, trade will develop much faster than it is today. If we could build a road to the center of Brazil… … !”

South America is a continent with a lot of jungle and mountainous terrain, and although it is rich in water, there is currently no canal large enough to connect central, western and eastern parts of Brazil.

If there is no need for people or animals to cross the mountain slope with their burdens on their backs even through several transshipments, that alone may bring a new wind to logistics.

Casemiro decided to actively cooperate with Lee Hwan.

“I will help with the investigation. I know a lot of local sources.”

“Oh, would you please?”

“Instead, if you finish this case and return to your home country, please take me with you. I want to see the condition of the road with my own eyes.”

“It’s not that difficult.”

“If only Suzy is right, I want to build a road.”

“Are you going to build a road by an individual?”

“Is it possible? We will provide information on road construction to the Brazilian imperial family and caravans and attract construction work.”

“Ohh… … ?”

Unexpectedly, the number of guests increased.

That evening.

In Taigo Pujato’s mansion, he was able to obtain an enormous amount of information than he had expected.

Casemiro had a crush on Lee Hwan, so he was able to sense the subtle atmosphere of the back alley.

Recently, there have been rumors in the back alleys that British troops are seizing South American merchant ships.

Ederson, a sugarcane exporter, told the story in great detail.

“At first I thought it was just a merchant ship, but it turned out to be a disguise. There were as many as 30 guns and it seemed to have almost 400 crew members.”

“If more than 400 people aboard a sailing boat… … .”

Richard Ben-Heren gave the answer to Yi-Hwan’s recitation.

“At least it’s bigger than our flagship.”

“Hmm… … .”

“It must not have been easy to find a ship of that size among the existing battleships. So far, the dragon hasn’t been caught.”

Lee Hwan had many questions about Ederson.

But I asked the most important thing first.

“Did the government say nothing after being looted like that?”

“Of course, I reported it to the government. But the British military government said they didn’t know. It is said that a trap that big in South America right now is not even roaming around.”

“It wasn’t that I was ignorant, it was that I really didn’t know. They are pirates disguised as British soldiers.”

“Huh!”

This should have already been noticed in the UK, but they haven’t done anything about it.

If it had been informed sooner that there were people impersonating the British Army, there might not have been people who were looted or killed like this.

‘It’s a frustrating situation.’

A merchant ship is a merchant ship with no more than 200 crew members moving around without a gun.

If such a merchant ship was looted in the middle, it was bound to be stolen.

Lee Hwan thought that these guys should be slaughtered for future trade.

“Are there any areas that you think are their home base?”

“I don’t know, but I’ve heard of a British base near Belmonte.”

He pointed to the eastern end of Minas Gerais on the map.

Belmonte was a bridgehead connecting the Zecicignonya River and the South Atlantic Ocean, and had sufficient harbor facilities for ships.

However, the map indicated that a lush jungle stretched out just an hour more by boat from Belmonte.

Lee Hwan asked, pointing his finger at an area slightly to the left of Belmonte.

“Is there any area in this area that is deep enough for large sailing ships?”

“I do not know. First of all, the water at the beginning of the Zekitchinonia River is quite deep. However, beyond that midstream, there is a sandbar area. Well, in the rainy season, if the water rises, it seems like you can force it in.”

“Hmm.”

Ben Heren, who was quietly listening to Lee Hwan’s questions and their answers, proposed a hypothesis.

It’s just the stomach.

“It is possible that the sailing ship was moored in the port and moved by land transport to establish a base. It’s disguised as the British Navy and sometimes as a merchant ship, so what’s the big deal to get a pass?”

“iced coffee!”

“I’ll probably have to investigate this area. Michael, get ready.”

“Yes, I understand.”

Lee Hwan immediately ran to the fleet and started selecting marines to go search the enemy camp.

In fact, the strategies and tactics that can be used in land warfare were one of the basic disciplines for the Royal Rifle, but if more than a thousand people rushed in, there was a high possibility that the enemy would notice.

Because of this, Lee Hwan decided to form a force specialized in infiltration and reconnaissance with excellent cross-country capabilities.

Lee Hwan decided to organize a search team of 50 marines to find the enemy himself.

The officers were quite skeptical of the staff’s direct search.

“Does the Lord really need to participate in the operation?”

“Because my main specialty is search.”

“Are you special?”

For Lee Hwan, a former Marine Corps reconnaissance officer, search and reconnaissance were important enough to discuss the identity of the class.

Therefore, there was probably no one here who had a better search ability than Lee Hwan.

Before leaving the fleet, Lee Hwan hired four hunters familiar with the terrain.

Lee Hwan, who handed them two bags of gold coins, explained the additional compensation.

“If you accompany me from now until the end of the operation, you will be paid twice as much.”

“good. let’s go.”

Hunters taking the lead with only one dagger in their matchlock guns used only in the 16th century.

They were more reliable than any compass because they were warriors selling meat and hides alone in the jungles of South America.

As Lee Hwan left the main camp, he instructed the officers to keep the main unit in a combat-ready state.

“Prepare for battle, so that I can explain in detail when the Gong returns.”

“Yes, I understand.”

Lee Hwan and a 50-person reconnaissance team set out on a small fishing boat.

***

While the boat was going up the river, Yi Hwan gave the soldiers some instructions.

In any case, keep your prayer secret and if you find an enemy, do not shoot and come back.

“Our goal is search and reconnaissance. Rather than killing the enemy, the main task is to observe their movements without being detected by the enemy. Killing should be avoided unless absolutely necessary.”

“Yes, I understand.”

“Everyone wears a Pia identification band on their left shoulder and reads the password.”

When you start the search, you will be in pairs of 12 people, forming a total of 4 squads.

Now, there is no common firearm to support the squad and there is no special optics equipment, so a single mistake could be life-threatening.

Therefore, Lee Hwan was trying to use the maximum possible means to distinguish his allies.

“Today’s password is octopus, fish, and lightning. Never forget it.”

Lee Hwan handed the soldiers one by one as well.

Tick-tac will also come in handy when identifying peers.

“If you make one tick, tick tock, stop, and if you make two ticks and ticks, wait there. And if you make a sound three times in succession, tick-tock, tick-tock, it starts handing over for identification or password identification. Please bear in mind that if you do not do this, a catastrophe in which everyone will die.”

“Yes, I understand!”

The hunters who were carefully rowing called for Lee Hwan.

They informed Lee Hwan that they had found a trace.

“I left the box. I got sugar. There is only one case of throwing away such a specialty.”

“Did he run away?”

“No, I think the owner is dead. Either that or they were taken as slaves.”

“Hmm.”

“As you can see from sugar farming, it is not easy to grow sorghum and ship it without pests. It is unacceptable to throw away a box of it.”

Even Lee Hwan thought it would never have been possible to just throw away the sugar cane powder that would have been a means of livelihood for his family.

He decided to set up a boat in the vicinity and start a search.

The soldiers docked the boat on the riverbank, camouflaged it well with bushes, and then packed their things.

Lee Hwan decided to divide the soldiers into two.

He empowered Sergeant Oliver, who had followed him, to lead Squad 2.

“Squad 1 follows me, Squad 2 follows Sgt Oliver.”

“Yes, I understand.”

“From now on, we will use sign language instead of speech. Do you understand?”

The soldiers folded their palms at Lee Hwan’s words and sent a sign saying they knew it.

Lee Hwan created sign language by combining gestures that are rarely used in any area, most of which have nothing to do with human behavior.

‘let’s go.’

As Lee Hwan led the squad out, Oliver also led the soldiers to the other side.

Lee Hwan, who made the column in two rows, had one group on the left and two groups on the right.

Lee Hwan entered the gap between the columns and began to command the troops.

‘Be vigilant in all directions.’

According to Yi Hwan’s instructions, the soldiers searched the area they were assigned to, and moved forward slowly.

At the forefront of each group were the hunters, who would be responsible for stopping the soldiers when danger appeared.

In the pitch-black darkness, all I could see was the stars and the moonlight.

Nevertheless, the hunters were finding their way quite well.

Lee Hwan wanted to know what kind of know-how they had, but that wasn’t the case.

The hunters stopped their ranks for a moment.

Lee Hwan lowered his posture and approached them.

“what happened?”