Tussela couldn''t guess Lorraine''s mind. He didn''t know whether he just interrupted and embraced the goodwill that didn''t want to embarrass the host or the malice of taking advantage of the fire.


    But whatever the purpose, tutsela has no room to refuse.


    The rich and sloppy lunch ended in a hurry. Only Lorraine ate all the food in front of the four people, and almost none of the rest could eat two.


    The servants removed the plates and replaced them with coffee. The chef came up to thank him. Lorraine politely gave a tip and played the drama of "contentment" to the end.


    It was still the long table for four, but the atmosphere became very different.


    Before dinner, tussela occupied an absolute advantage with his impeccable rogue face. Lorraine couldn''t find any flaws in him, because a hero with a family and country is invincible, which has been the case all the time.


    Later, Carmen launched a special attack on this table, using her standard Carmen pincer attack to knock the miracle Sierra out of her armor.


    Tusella remembered his selfish desires again, hoping to be recognized, squeeze into the upper class, succeed and become famous, wealth and health


    Lust is like the shadow of a hero.


    When the lust awakens and the aura darkens, Lorraine''s enemy is no longer the original incomparable hero. Now he is just an ordinary colonial governor.


    It''s time to win


    Lorraine thought so, timely ended Carmen''s attack, and took the initiative to open the final Bureau of the negotiation when tussela''s psychological flaw was the greatest.


    "Sir, what achievements do you think a qualified governor should have?"


    "Qualified governor..." tussela pondered for a moment with coffee. "Dedicated to his duty."


    "The word... In your opinion, what can be called dedication?"


    "From a soldier''s point of view..."


    "The governor is not a pure soldier." Lorraine strongly interrupted tutsela''s intention to avoid the important and take the easy. "You are in charge of a vast land equivalent to one-third of Spain. Compared with it, the Florida garrison of the two divisions is not worth mentioning at all."


    Tutsela looked discontentedly: "a strong army is the cornerstone of the kingdom!"


    "The army is the cornerstone of the Kingdom," Lorraine said, "but it is by no means the cornerstone of the governor."


    "As far as I know, the colonial powers have not much consideration for the governor, such as population, development, taxation and conquest. The governor''s positioning is more civilian. Although it is inevitably associated with the responsibility of opening up territory and stabilizing the place, your king should be more concerned about how much money you have made for him in office, rather than guarding the frontier and leaving the savage and barren land behind you without any income."


    Tusella frowned: "president, you said to talk about business, but up to now, you have not been involved in our business today."


    "In fact, every word I say is within the scope of business. I mean, Shuangying."


    "Drake chamber of Commerce has always been committed to creating a mutually beneficial business environment. This does not mean that we do not pursue profits, but we do not demand short-term profits."


    "So I and my powerful business partners jointly launched the 100 business association to provide high-quality and cheap business services to its members."


    "It is precisely because of this non compulsory profit transfer that the association has attracted 397 chambers of Commerce to join, and the hundred business association has become the most united and dynamic trade association in the pan Atlantic."


    "Last year, the total trade of the association exceeded 70 million pounds, while the top 50 members contributed only 65%, which was 15% lower than the average among guilds of the same size."


    "The same is true of the pirate campaign."


    "The association actively undertakes social responsibility. In order to clarify the trade route, there are an average of 103 armed merchant ships and more than 3000 naval guns out of production at any time, of which Drake chamber of commerce undertakes 25%."


    "We fought against pirates without asking for anything in return. Especially in the two years from the victory of York town to the signing of the peace treaty in Paris, we took over the powers in diplomatic restraint and became the absolute main force in the Caribbean against evil."


    "Why do we do this? When our companions go bankrupt because of the war, what makes us stick to it instead of shrinking our heads and being slaughtered like most of our peers?"


    "It''s a total surplus!" Lorraine stood up, waved his arms and said sonorous words. "Businessmen are profit seeking! Justice is the road we choose, because we firmly believe that the road of justice can give us more, and we firmly believe that a total surplus can give us more."


    "The same applies to Miami."


    As soon as the topic changed, Lorraine left the chair and circled along the long table.


    "Let''s first look at the needs of jazz."


    "You are a true patriotic hero. The first thing you need is absolute loyalty to your kingdom and king. Any proposals that betray the country or harm the interests of Spain will run counter to your demand, so they are repealed."


    Lorraine crossed his chest with his arms and continued.


    "The premise of our cooperation is not to hurt your loyalty. If our proposal meets the standard, we should consider your secondary needs, such as money, status, respect, political achievements, etc."


    "The governor of Spain has a term of office of three years without re-election restrictions, and your first term is only one and a half years left."


    "I wonder if you have considered whether your king will agree to your re-election after the end of your term of office. If so, what reason should he convince his Parliament and ministers?"


    "Because you put an end to British aggression during your term of office? This is obviously inappropriate."


    "After operating Florida for 20 years, Britain''s interest in this land has dropped to the lowest level in history. Your potential enemies are only your ally France and the new United States, which is also allied with your country."


    "Will they attack you? Or are you expecting the natives of the peninsula to attack the town?"


    Tutsela opened her eyes: "how can I expect a unprofitable war!"


    "Since it''s impossible..." Lorraine stopped, held Carmen''s chair back and grinned at tussela. "What irreplaceable talent do you have beyond war? Loyalty?"


    "As I said before, you hold a vast land equivalent to one-third of the size of Spain. This land is located at the heart of the trade routes between North America and the Caribbean, the land border is connected with Spain''s allies, and the sea border is included in other Spanish colonies."


    "Your territory is blessed by nature and has a good reputation accumulated by Spain for hundreds of years. Florida should become the golden field of Spain. At least, her governor should know how to develop the territory."


    "I apologize to you here." Lorraine leaned slightly to tussela. "Before coming, I made a little investigation into the revenue situation in Florida."


    "In 1784, you ruled at a low tax rate in Florida in order to reassure the people. The income tax ratio of residents was about 100 to 27. The business tax was two-way, 7% for each direction, and 11.5% after the tariff was revised."


    "The total number of residents in the six towns of Florida is less than 30000. At this tax rate, your total tax revenue in 1784 was less than 248 thousand gold coins, and only 120 thousand local taxes were paid. This amount is not even comparable to that of a town in New Orleans."


    These words really shocked tutsela.


    As governor, he personally signed all tax related documents and presided over all matters of distribution and handover.


    But even he did not calculate the burden of residents under low taxes, nor did he know the tax situation of New Orleans, even if they were close at hand.


    He couldn''t help asking himself, is this the way world-class chaebols look at the regional economy?


    He looked at Lorraine inquisitively, not angry, but just wanted to solve it, but Lorraine didn''t answer his questions directly, but continued to say at his own pace.


    "So, what''s the situation in Miami?"


    "Under the operation of Drake chamber of Commerce, Miami only collects business tax in Miami Beach, with a one-way tax rate of 4%, and is exempted from customs duties due to the adoption of the free port model."


    "Miami Beach opened its port in April 1784. Initially, there were only 14 plank roads. In that year, the total tax revenue was 3000 pounds and 24000. In 1785, the plank roads increased to 37. From January to August, the total revenue was 9000 pounds and 72000 octagonal gold coins."


    "Drake has a long-term plan for Miami. Only in Miami Beach, the terminal will be expanded at the rate of 10 trestles per year. It is planned to expand for 10 years, so that the terminal area will eventually reach the scale of 150 trestles and 500 berths, becoming the third commercial port in North America and the largest free port in terms of throughput."


    Lorraine stopped his long speech, breathed calmly, and waited for tussela to digest what he had heard before.


    After about five minutes, he finally asked, "how much do you think the tax in Miami will reach in 10 years? In the same 10 years, how much do you think the tax in the six towns can reach under your operation?"


    Tussela opened her mouth feebly.


    "But..." he said weakly, "your Miami is a disputed place between the West and Britain. Her prosperity will bring war to Spain sooner or later..."


    "That is to say, in your heart, if Britain wants Barcelona, Spain should ask for peace before the war begins?"


    "That''s different!" tucera''s eyes were red. "Barcelona is the Pearl of Spain, and her ownership is indisputable! If you have to compare her with Miami, I ask you, when Britain really attacked Miami, which side will you and your Chamber of Commerce stand on? Ancestral country? Or treason!"


    The conversation stopped.


    Tussela thought she had caught Lorraine''s weakness, raised her eyes triumphantly, and saw... Shock?


    "Sir, we seem to have overlooked a very important detail."


    "Ha?"


    "Do you really know the purpose of my visit to you today?"


    Lorraine lost his temper.


    This is a very impolite question. Even if the two sides are debating the key, he has no position to ask such a question that is close to personal attack.


    Fortunately, tutsela was not familiar with etiquette and speech. The key was the matter. She obediently set foot on Lorraine''s idea and narrowly avoided the danger of subverting the whole conversation.


    "You''re not here to send me to the mayor?"


    "That''s my goal, of course." Lorraine woke up suddenly. "I mean, why do I need a mayor to share Miami''s interests?"


    "This..."


    "It''s getting dark. When darkness is stronger than light, night will come." Lorraine began with a short poem. "Drake chamber of commerce is powerful. In the pirate world, I''m called the white flag pirate king, and I''m recognized as the most powerful pirate king of the Caribbean generation."


    "But compared with the dark forces in the whole Caribbean World, Drake is absolutely weak in piracy, smuggling, human trafficking and substandard goods."


    "History tells me that private colonial strongholds cannot always go on the right path, because evil will erode justice, bad money will open good money one by one, and the weak can do nothing about it."


    "That''s why I need to find a master for Miami, a master who is stronger than the darkness of the whole Caribbean and can bring protection and order to Miami."


    "I don''t really care who the owner is. I stand in front of you today because Spain is the least controversial choice for Miami at this stage, and even Miami can bring you considerable benefits."


    "If you don''t want to, I will persuade my motherland in five years. If my motherland still doesn''t want to, ten years later, when America grows up, I will even persuade America."


    "I am familiar with the elite of the founding of the people''s Republic of China. As long as their interests are large enough, they are willing to be enemies of the whole world."


    "This is the truth of today''s conversation. I stand here because you need it, not me."


    "Not you... But I?"