Several carriages slowly made their way to the dock.
Several people immediately jumped off the "Leisure," loudly shouting for the crew to load the goods from the carriages onto the ship.
Demville, busy with dozens of sailors, surged 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—who was an old sailor serving as the second boatswain on the "Leisure"—and asked quietly, "What's in these? They won't get us hanged, will they?"
He was not the sharpest tool in the shed, but he could guess that paying so much, loading at twilight, and not going to major ports, meant this was definitely not legitimate business.
"It's silk," Maderno said relaxedly. "You can earn 300 francs from those two boxes alone in England. There's nothing dangerous about this business. I've been out to sea with this ship four times, and everything went smoothly."
"Silk?" Demville looked towards the carriages. "Is that what's in all these?"
"Mostly, and some fine wines too."
"My God, how much money is that worth?!"
"Not sure, but at least sixty thousand francs."
"It seems our boss is quite wealthy..."
"That might not be the case," Maderno said with a mysterious smile. "I heard that if you can get in with the Pulse Gang, you can buy goods on credit from France with just a small deposit."
He pointed with his chin towards the "Leisure" and continued: "Even this ship is borrowed from the Pulse Gang. I heard that if you successfully run this business 12 times, you can buy this ship at a very low price."
"Really?!" Demville widened his eyes. "Is the Pulse Gang that powerful?"
"Of course, it's true." Maderno whispered. "The Pulse Gang has some big backers behind it.
"Let me tell you, once I've saved enough money, I plan to borrow a ship and buy goods on credit to run the 'business.' If you're up to it, you will be my boatswain."
A flash of joy crossed Demville's eyes, but then he grew nervous again. "After all this talk, what exactly is this 'business'?"
"It doesn't matter if I tell you now since we're heading out to sea tomorrow. This ship will carry the silk, wine, and cosmetics secretly to England, uh, without paying customs duties."
"You mean, smuggling?!"
"We call it 'private trading.' These goods once in England can easily make a 30% profit!"
"But if we get caught…"
"Don't worry, we won't get caught. The Pulse Gang has connections everywhere," Maderno commented, patting his shoulder. "And even in the worst-case scenario, your sister would receive 4 thousand francs in insurance money. Someone would work to get you out."
All night, carriages from Brusas continuously arrived, loading goods onto several ships moored at the makeshift dock.
During the day, all activities stopped until twilight fell again, and the "Leisure" along with the two nearby schooners hoisted half sails and slowly moved away from the shore.
The three ships, about 2 nautical miles apart, headed northwest. After a few hours, they arrived near Norfolk in England.
The sea conditions in the English Channel were good, and with constant trade all year round, the navigators knew the sea lanes memorized, ensuring they would not drift off course as long as there was a little light.
The "Leisure" was the first to take in its sails and stop, and after about an hour, faint lights twinkled a few times on the distant sea surface.
Maderno, along with the third lieutenant, rowed a small boat towards the light, and soon returned, handing a slip of paper to the captain.
The captain immediately issued an order: "Steer due west, set sail in 25 minutes. Drop sails 10 nautical miles from the coast at 4:20. Strictly maintain light discipline."
Demville grabbed his passing distant relative and asked in a low voice, "What did you guys just do?"
"Got the 'pass,'" Maderno said proudly, narrowing his eyes. "There's British anti-smuggling ships all around. One wrong move and you hit one.
"So the Pulse Gang arranged for legitimate merchant ships to continuously observe their movements, and find a route that avoids them completely."
Demville's mouth fell open in surprise.
Little did he know, the far-reaching Pulse Gang was actually one of several "fronts" for the Special Trade Association.
These "fronts" included gangs, smuggling gangs, and even chambers of commerce, which recruited large numbers of smuggling ships in Southern Netherlands and northern France. The Industrial Development Fund provided them with goods, and the French Intelligence Bureau provided cover.
In recent months, the scale of "special trade" increased by twelve-fold, with an average monthly trade amount of five million francs, and it was still soaring.
Meanwhile, thanks to tight organization and unified management, not a single smuggling ship had been caught by the British Anti-Smuggling Fleet to date.
This is the power of state action!
The "Leisure" easily evaded all the British anti-smuggling ships and smoothly docked on a deserted beach in Norfolk.
Actually, it wasn't quite a deserted beach. There was a makeshift dock made of planks, and a broken road led from the bushes 8 miles to a church.
Every clergyman in the church, after receiving a monthly bribe of 5 to 20 British Pounds, would even help move the goods during busy times.
The church's cellar had been expanded more than tenfold to store the goods temporarily.
On the makeshift dock, hundreds of "workers" quickly unloaded the ship, then loaded the goods onto carts headed for the small church.
Every Monday and Thursday, a British trade caravan transported large amounts of goods from the farmhouse near the church, and then sold them in markets from Norfolk and Essex to London.
You see, consumption tax was a core tax in England. From baptism at birth, to weddings, housing, and various other items, consumption tax had to be paid.
Windows, saddles, makeup powder, dry fruits, oils, and more were taxed, and as for cigarettes, alcohol, tea, sugar, and the like, the taxes were sky-high.
So, when these "duty-free" goods from Southern Netherlands entered the English market, all goods from official channels were absolutely outmatched.
Smuggled goods were almost always sold at 80% to 90% of market price, and quality was absolutely guaranteed. Even so, these goods still made a 30% profit. This shows how high the consumption taxes and tariffs were in England.
From Norfolk onward, legitimate shops began to go bankrupt continuously.
However, shrewd merchants quickly found the "trick" and began to stock from special channels.
The British public, however, was very happy as their daily expenses significantly dropped.
The very thought of customs officials made the smugglers' hearts pound. If customs officials discovered drugs or firearms, they would arrest the smuggler and seize the smuggled goods.