Shadow of great britain

"Arthur, you came so early!"

When Colonel Fitzroy saw Arthur arriving, he stood up from the walnut sofa chair with a smile on his face, and enthusiastically introduced to several colleagues beside him: "This is the one I mentioned to you before. Arthur Hastings.”

The two naval captains looked at each other, and the one with a well-proportioned figure and short black hair asked: "Master Fiore style who knows half-Mediterranean swordsmanship and a radical fighting style, he looks like General Rotheram in combat." The one with the right style?”

Fitzroy smiled and nodded: "That's him."

After hearing this, the other party couldn't help but smile and stretched out his hand to Arthur: "Nice to meet you, Mr. Hastings. George Elliot, Attaché of the Royal Navy, active captain of the HMS Victory, Nice to meet you. To tell you the truth, this is not the first time I have met Hastings, who has a talent for maritime combat."

The richer round-faced officer on the side also smiled and said: "Do you remember him too? That Frank Hastings is indeed a very capable young man, and he has the support of his family and his own abilities. But the bad thing is He violated naval regulations. In order to return to the Royal Navy, he could only join Corcoran's 'Atonement Fleet' to aid Greece.

But gold will shine wherever it is, and his brilliant results there are proof of that. If he could survive until the end of the Greek War of Independence, he might be reused by the Admiralty after returning home. It's a pity that he ended up like Lord Byron. For the independence of the Greeks, two British people died in Mesolonghion in a foreign country. "

Arthur heard this and asked politely: "Who are you?"

When the round-faced officer heard this, he also smiled and stretched out his hand: "John Franklin, nice to meet you. The three of us have communicated about you before, but I'm not like Elliot. As much as I care about your Fiore flow, I am more concerned about your academic contributions.

Because I actually prefer adventure to fighting. If you and Mr. Faraday can develop an electromagnetic-driven warship, maybe the Navy Department can find the coveted Northwest Passage. "

When Colonel Fitzroy heard this, he quickly introduced Arthur: "Arthur, let me introduce it to you. Colonel Franklin, like me, is responsible for the exploration mission assigned by the Navy. My mission is around the world. During the voyage, Colonel Franklin's mission was to find the legendary Northwest Passage that could lead from the North Atlantic through North America and finally into Asia.

You should know that currently the only way from Europe to Asia is the Cape of Good Hope in Africa. If we can find this Northwest Passage, then according to the London Geographical Society’s calculation of the radius of the earth, we will shorten the route to Asia by at least 2,000 nautical miles. , you should understand how much commercial benefit this will bring to Britain. "

When Arthur heard this, he immediately became interested. He asked: "Is the opening of the Northwest Passage going smoothly? If that passage is really found, I will definitely be very interested in when Colonel Franklin wants to open a shipping company. Those who are interested in investing.”

Franklin just smiled bitterly: "Well...if only it was really that easy to open up. Since I first received the task of opening the Northwest Passage twelve years ago, I have headed northwest along the North Atlantic and Canadian coastlines many times. Keep exploring.

For the first time, we hit ice in the Arctic and returned home because we were not familiar with the sea conditions. The second time, we were unable to go deeper due to monsoon and climate factors. The third time we learned a lesson and did not set off by boat. Instead, we went on a road adventure along the Copperman River in the Northwest Territories of Canada to first understand the distribution of the coastline. "

Arthur nodded: "Sounds like a very wise choice."

Franklin held the coffee cup and laughed: "It is indeed wise, so this time we walked intermittently for several months, which was longer than the previous two expeditions."

"Then what?"

As soon as Arthur said these words, he saw Colonel Fitzroy and Sir Elliot showing a look of unbearable expression.

Seeing the two of them like this, Franklin shrugged helplessly: "It's no big deal, isn't that what expeditions are all about? However, my failure this time was quite tragic in the expedition. 11 of the 20-man expedition team died. The remaining nine people had to eat lichen and leather boots for almost two months due to lack of supplies.

But even so, I still can't forget that place. Damn it! It was so beautiful and I will never forget the colorful Northern Lights and the howling snowstorm all night long. "

The red devil, who was leaning on the sofa chair, heard this and couldn't help but shake his head and taunted: "What an irrational human being, like a moth rushing to a campfire. If you want to embrace the thing you love, you must first consider whether you With this ability. Arthur, I promise you, one day, it will be his beloved blizzard that takes his life."

Seeing the twinkling look in Franklin's eyes, Arthur couldn't help but advise: "The Northwest Passage and the North Pole are beautiful, but if you go there next time, please be fully prepared."

Who knew that Franklin laughed loudly when he heard this: "Don't worry, Mr. Hastings, I won't die in vain. With the lessons learned last time, the guys in the Admiralty also understood that it will not be easy to find the Northwest Passage." . If they don’t give me a hundred team members plus three years of supplies when they organize an expedition next time, even if they expel me from the Royal Navy, I won’t set off.”

Having said this, Franklin couldn't help but look at Fitzroy sympathetically: "Robert, let me serve as a reference. You must reserve enough vegetables and citrus for your global expedition, and you must also plan your route well. You must know in advance what you can supplement when you arrive. Don’t be embarrassed when asking for money from the Admiralty. If you don’t ask for money and resources now, there will be no way for the Admiralty to prevent problems in the future. I’ll support you with a few oceans.”

As soon as Colonel Franklin finished speaking, he heard a lazy voice coming from the door of the lounge: "You want money? Who wants to ask the Admiralty for money?"

Everyone looked back, and standing at the door was a middle-aged and elderly gentleman with curly brown hair, some wrinkles on his forehead, a tuxedo in his hand, and a rose-red vest on his body.

Before Arthur could ask, he suddenly noticed that the corners of the mouths of the three Royal Navy colonels who had looked relaxed just now twitched slightly. The colonels straightened their backs one by one and saluted the old gentleman uniformly: "Good afternoon, Ke General Crane!”

Afterwards, Colonel Fitzroy hurriedly stepped forward to take the tuxedo from his hand and hung it on the coat rack for him. Franklin and Elliot did not dare to be idle either. One of them poured tea for Cochran, and the other A sofa chair was brought in for Cochran.

The deft movements of the three colonels stunned the maid who came in carrying various snacks.

They could never imagine why the always arrogant captains of the Royal Navy could become as tame as a few docile rabbits.

Arthur was also curious about this matter, but it was difficult for him to ask at this time.

Just when he was embarrassed and didn't know what to do, he suddenly felt something tapping his shoulder from behind.

"Arthur!"

Arthur turned his head and saw that it was Elder with a row of neat teeth and a smile on his face.

Arthur glanced at the empty place behind him and asked, "Why are you alone? Where are your aunt and sister?"

Elder took out his pipe and lit it nonchalantly. While lighting the cigarette, he muttered: "General Codrington's house has two lounges. One is for men to smoke, and the other is for women to chat. They went to the women's side." . But it’s you, Arthur, if you don’t light it for yourself, why are you pretending to be a good gentleman here?”

After saying this, without waiting for Arthur to reply, he reached into Arthur's pocket, found a pipe for him and put it into his mouth.

However, before Elder could light the fire, he heard General Cochran, who was sitting on the sofa chair behind him, speak again.

Cochran tapped his cane on the floor and shouted, "Elder."

"Huh?" Elder walked around Arthur and stretched his head to take a look. He was so shocked that he almost dropped his pipe and scattered the tobacco leaves all over the floor: "General Cochran? When did you come back? ?”

"I just came back not long ago." General Cochran glanced at him, and the old man tapped his pipe with his fingers: "Light it for me later."

Elder's face was covered with sweat, and he replied with a sneer: "Wait a moment, I'll be right back."

He quickly took out the matchbox in his pocket and stepped forward, but when he turned over it again and again, he found that there was not even a match left in it.

Elder felt that his heart was in his throat, and he tremblingly replied: "Report! I have no matches!"

Hearing this, Cochran took out a shilling from his pocket and flicked it into his palm: "Go and buy it quickly."

Elder stood at attention and saluted. Arthur had never seen this kid show such a serious expression in his life: "As you command!"

Elder hurriedly pulled Arthur out of the lounge. Not long after, he heard a burst of laughter coming from inside.

Elder turned around and glared at the lounge fiercely, and cursed in a dirty voice: "Damn it! These old guys are so fucking unlucky today!"

Arthur asked: "What is the origin of General Cochran?"

Elder frowned and cursed in a low voice: "Arthur, haven't you heard of the name 'Mad Cochran'?"

"Is he famous?"

Elder sighed helplessly: "Yes, he may not be that famous in the UK. But if you go to South America, whether it is Brazil or Chile, people there will definitely tell you that the most capable navy in South America is The general, and at the same time the first naval commander of those two countries, was General Thomas Cochran.”

Arthur was puzzled: "Isn't he a general of the Royal Navy? Why did he become the naval commander of Brazil and Chile again?"

Elder replied angrily: "Because he committed a crime at home, someone reported him for manipulating stock transactions to make huge profits, so he was removed from the House of Commons and the Admiralty. As a result, this guy couldn't get angry, so he went to the South American Gang. Chile defeated the Spanish navy and later went to Brazil to help them defeat the Portuguese fleet.

The independence of Chile and Brazil from their respective sovereign states is inseparable from Cochrane. Their navies still use English to give orders. "

When Arthur heard this, he became even more confused: "Don't General Cochran sound quite capable? Why do you call him a madman?"

Elder glared and said: "If he is not crazy, no one is crazy. Let alone the things he flipped the table in the British and Admiralty departments.

After this guy arrived in Chile, he helped Chile capture Valdivia and captured the Spanish Navy's strongest battleship in South America, the Esmeralda. Naturally, he became the first vice-admiral in Chile's history. He was awarded the Chilean Medal of Worth, which represents Chile's highest honor. It was a good day, but he was not satisfied. Moreover, not long after Chile became independent, he had a falling out with Chilean Consul O'Higgins.

After the breakup, he went to Brazil again, led the Brazilian navy to defeat Portugal's South American fleet and expedition fleet, became the commander of the Brazilian navy, and was made a marquis for his military exploits. But not long after, he had a falling out with the Brazilian Emperor Pedro I and led his fleet to rob Brazilian merchant ships near St. Louis. The Brazilian Navy sent a ship to fight him, but he towed away a frigate.

Cochran couldn't survive in South America, so he desperately wanted to return to Britain. At that time, the Greek War of Independence was going on, and it was hard for us to declare direct intervention. So, seeing how capable he was in fighting, the Navy sent him to Greece to help the newly independent Greece train its navy. Defend against the Ottoman invasion.

This time he did a decent job and didn't cause any trouble. Therefore, after the Greek War of Independence, the Admiralty restored his rank of Rear Admiral of the Royal Navy in view of his past achievements in the Napoleonic Wars. But thinking back, if he had stayed honest and not caused trouble, he might have touched the admiral's side by now.

If you listen to his resume and his bad temper, if he is not a lunatic, who else is a lunatic? "

Elder's bitter water had just been poured out, and before he could take a breath, he saw another old man coming in front of him, leaning on a cane and slowly swinging over.

As soon as he saw the other person's face clearly, he couldn't help but slap his own face: "Damn it, I take back what I just said. I want to talk about the lunatic in the Navy Department. This and General Cochran are also Pretty much. Who the hell did General Codrington invite today?"