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Chapter 1314 Betrayal
"Dear Governor, we should have been enjoying our retirement life on the plantation in Manila. You are asking for trouble! Carl, did you count it?"

As soon as Cohen's figure disappeared in the stern deck, William's expression changed 180 degrees. He put away his indifference and walked to the navigator with a serious look and asked in a low voice.

"21 three-masted sailing ships, 19 brigantine ships, and 33 rowing ships. This is probably the maximum transport capacity that the Ottoman Navy can mobilize." The navigator Carl is a tall, handsome man with blond hair and blue eyes. He is just dressed too sloppily, with a strong sailor style, but his smile is still sunny.

"Have you found the contact person?" William was indeed not very good at military affairs, and he didn't feel anything when he heard the string of numbers. He just wanted to complete the task as soon as possible.

"He was sending out contact signals half an hour ago. The paddle boat with a red striped canvas is 330 degrees directly in front of the shore." Carl turned his head to look at the helmsman who was at the helm and the second mate standing on the left side of the steering platform, without pointing his finger to indicate the direction.

"Send a signal, I'll divert their attention." William knew who Carl was worried about without looking back, so he took out a cigar from his arms, touched his jacket pocket, and seemed to have no lighter, so he turned and walked towards the steering table.

"……" Seeing the helmsman and the second mate each holding a cigar and lighting a cigarette with William, Carl took out a small round mirror from his arms, looked up at the position of the sun, aimed it at the paddle boat in the shallow water near the shore and shook it a few times.

A few seconds later, the light refracted by the mirror came from the paddle boat. He put away the small round mirror, put his hands on his chest, and arranged his ten fingers in different positions rhythmically.

"Record! The destination is confirmed to be the Port of Kaffa, and the transport force remains unchanged. A new Ottoman transport fleet has been discovered traveling in the opposite direction, full of the Guards Corps, with an unknown destination, and 21 three-masted sailing ships..."

At this time, in the stern of the two-masted paddle boat that was slowly moving in the shallow water, three men dressed as Greek merchants were working together. One of them held a telescope and stared at Carl's gestures through the porthole, muttering in sync.

One of them was writing furiously at his desk, recording each word in Latin-like letters, while the other was standing by the porthole on the other side, keeping an eye on the nearby sea and shore.

Carl repeated the gesture twice and stopped only after receiving the reflection signal from the mirror. He glanced around and found that no one was paying attention to him, so he left the stern deck as if nothing had happened.

Seeing Karl leave, William stopped chatting with his two colleagues and seriously performed the work of the temporary commander of the fleet. He shouted at the sailors to prepare the sails and rigging and wait for the Ottoman fleet to leave before setting sail.

The two-masted paddle boat in the shallow water quietly adjusted its sails, left the channel and slowly approached the Port of Istanbul. Everything happened without anyone noticing.

However, the number of troops sent by the European coalition forces to Crimea and the deployment of the Ottoman Guards Corps will be on the desk of the Statistics Department of the Naval Staff in a month.

That's right, William, Karl, and the three Greek merchants in the schooner were all spies of the Naval Statistical Office. Compared with the Royal Advisory Office, the Naval Statistical Office started later and was not very experienced, but it also had an advantage, that is, the sea.

In the Asian waters, the Ming Navy was second only to God, and its actual status was higher than that of the Ming Emperor. After all, the emperor's authority was too high, and it was rare for the people to feel the pressure. The navy was different. It cruised in the defense zone, stationed in the port, and traveled along the coast every day. It was impossible to hide.

In the overseas territories of the Ming Dynasty, the people could still seek help from the local government when they encountered troubles. Outside the overseas territories, no government anywhere was as useful as the Ming Dynasty Navy, because their ships were filled with truth, both young and old, and were used to speaking truth.

With enough deterrence, there will naturally be enough attraction. For example, a merchant ship from Italy suffered losses due to various reasons, but was unwilling to be ruined by creditors after returning home. So it had a bad idea and temporarily played the role of a privateer to attack its peers, intending to rob them to make up for the losses.

But his luck was still bad, and he was caught by a navy cruiser and was caught red-handed. According to the Ming Dynasty law, anyone who killed or robbed people in Asian waters would be sentenced to life hard labor, and most of them would have to spend their lives in a primeval forest or mine.

But there are exceptions. For example, if there happens to be personnel from the Naval Statistics Department on board the warship, they may be recruited as intelligence officers and avoid a tragic situation worse than death.

Of course, this also comes at a price, such as signing a personal confession to admit the crime, sending family members to live in a designated place, betraying the ethnic group and the country, and providing all kinds of intelligence.

But compared to hard labor, most people are willing to choose this path. In fact, only a few people have the opportunity to choose this path. It is not enough to just be willing. You also need to meet the conditions and be selected.

Over the past decade, the Navy Statistics Department's European intelligence officers have grown to more than 300 people, covering almost all countries and regions in Europe. Although they are not from high social classes, they can still attract and force high-ranking nobles to join in small numbers through their social circles.

William and Karl were included in the Naval Statistics Department in this way, but they were not pirates, but smugglers. As a confidant of the Governor of Batavia, William's status was not low, but his income was not high. Seeing businessmen spending money lavishly, buying houses and land all day long, it would be strange if he could feel balanced.

However, Cohen was very strict with his subordinates, only allowing them to smuggle a small amount of goods and not to embezzle public funds. The two of them could not resist the money offensive of the merchants, and secretly used their connections and power to smuggle spices without the knowledge of the governor.

All this was not discovered by Cohen, but was inadvertently known to the Navy Statistics Department. If it was just an ordinary staff member of the Batavia Port, it might not be a problem. After all, it was not the Navy's money that was stolen, and it was not the Navy's turn to intervene in the East India Company's affairs.

However, their relationship with the Governor and their positions became a catalyst, forcing the Naval Statistics Department to intervene. If they were obedient and undercover, smuggling could not only continue, but also expand in scale.

If they disobeyed, they would be sent to the Governor of Batavia as a model example of the Navy and the East India Company jointly building a civilized cooperative unit, and they would have to ask the General Staff for credit afterwards! Anyway, the Navy Statistics Department would not suffer any loss, and the only ones who were in a state of extreme contrast were William and Karl.

Anyone who can resist corruption in such a situation must be called a saint. Neither William nor Karl wanted to be a saint, so they became intelligence agents planted by the Naval Statistics Department next to Cohen.

(End of this chapter)