Naval Academy

January 30, 1641

When Adams, neatly dressed and with short haircut, walked into the newly formed Naval Academy, he did not expect it, not even of the other Dutch sailors who had been hired.

Within a few days, the Australians had made a great change in their status, from captives to respectable external teachers, as the officer had said, and that they would henceforth be treated with the same respect as the scholars of the European universities.

Not only that, but they also gave themselves good food and drink, and even gave them a hiring agreement, hiring themselves and others to help them train the sailors who control the sailboat.

It's incredible, the Australians' ship has no sails, and it runs faster than their own boat, but why the Australians still have to learn the skills of sailing, I can't figure it out, Adams and a dry sailor can't figure it out. The only thing that can be thought of is that the Australians may be able to judge more accurately what the other side is doing next time they deal with the Dutch warship.

"Okay, Mr. Adams, please take a seat, I believe you have already read the employment agreement, I won't say more, from today onwards, you and twenty sailors will officially become foreign instructors hired by the Australian Admiralty to teach our people sailing skills, is there a problem?"

You Nanzhe, who was sitting in the office of the dockyard repair plant, kept turning the pen in his hand and looked at the other party and asked: "But I hope you have no problem, I think you know your identity, you are still a detainee, you are on parole, if you have any misdeeds, what awaits you is not just the work of the mining site, but the gallows." ”

Wang Yanian, who was standing on the side, gave him the original translation of You Nanzhe's words, and specially instructed them that if they behaved well, their sentences would also be commuted.

The interrogation of Adams and others was almost over yesterday, and given that they entered the country illegally and were carrying offensive weapons, they could be sentenced to 20 years of hard labor under Australian law, and if they did not want to continue to return to the mining plant, they would have to accept the conditions of the Australian Admiralty to train a group of sailors who could skillfully override sailing ships.

As long as they are normal people, most people decisively choose to teach at the Naval Academy, isn't it to help train sailors, this is too simple for them, just tell the Australians everything they know, and they only need to move their mouths, which is much better than working in a mining field.

Although they are still on parole, their rights and benefits are clearly written in the agreement, needless to say, three meals a day, monthly salaries, and accommodation, but only one clause, they are not allowed to leave Australia until they have completed their sentences.

In addition, in order to facilitate communication, Adams and others were also forcibly required to learn Mandarin, so during the day they were teachers, and at night the students became teachers who taught them Mandarin, of course, it was also good for encouraging them to learn Mandarin well, and they could be raised or commuted.

In addition to employing these Dutchmen as foreign teachers, some other internal positions were held by some sailors of the Qianhai Blue, and Wang Tiehammer was appointed president of the Naval Academy after stepping down from his post as a member of the committee.

The first batch of students was set at 30 people, mostly between the ages of 16 and 22, and the main source of this batch of students was through the Zhongzhong and Ming Dynasty immigrants. In addition, all active Navy personnel, including Wang Tiezhu, were required to enter the academy to learn override sailing techniques.

In the unforeseeable future, once the Sea Blue is broken, then the navy will lose its combat effectiveness, and in addition to mastering the sailing override technology to deal with unforeseen needs, one of the main reasons is that Manchester City has bought some transport ships like the Dutch.

Although sailing ships were as slow as snails in this era, the Manchester City base was not yet capable of building its own steam sailboats. In addition to the lack of shipbuilders, there is also a shortage of firewood needed for shipbuilding.

In a separate 50-square-meter classroom, a group of teenagers between the ages of 16 and 22, dressed in neat white Naval Academy uniforms, are standing waiting for the arrival of teachers.

"Hello children, it's a pleasure to have me as your instructor, and I'm sure many of you already know that I was hired by your government to teach you how to override sailing. During the lesson, I want you to listen carefully to every word I say, and during the training I ask you not to touch anything on the boat without being instructed by the instructor, including something as small as pulling the reins. ”

Adams' first lesson did not teach the students the techniques of overriding sailboats, but told them some do's and don'ts and the story of how he became a captain until the bell rang for the end of class. The trainees still listened with relish, full of reverie about the adventures and miracles at sea that Adams said, and they wished to board the training ship and go to sea immediately.

"Does this old Dutch man have the potential to be a teacher, it is rare for those children to listen to him so quietly for so long, and there is no noisy situation, it seems that our choice is right." You Nanzhe handed a cigarette to Wang Tiehammer and said with a smile.

"Well, that's good, at least he didn't say some annoying jargon as soon as he opened his mouth, and the skills that need to be mastered to override the control, but said something that children are interested in as a guide, it seems that he still has some ability to be a captain." Wang Tiehammer said affirmatively.

"I heard Lin Youde say that you are going to carry out a modification experiment on that Dutch sailing ship, and you want to install a 60-horsepower steam engine on it, is there such a thing?"

"You will know the news so quickly, You Nanzhe spit out a smoke ring and asked with a smile: Isn't it that the leaders of the executive committee are worried that your Hailan will lose external contact once it strikes Australia, so more ships are urgently needed, we can't build ships now, but you can get a steam engine to do some experiments first, and it is not bad to accumulate some experience in shipbuilding in the future."

"Will the crew training be affected?" Wang Tiezhu is still more concerned about the affairs of the Naval Academy.

"It's not big, don't worry, we just put a steam engine on it, and maybe Lao Yang will install some cannons on it, and the sails and others will not change much, and your students can also take this opportunity to familiarize themselves with the steam warships of the future Australian Navy."

"In this way, then I will be relieved."

Wang Tiehammer looked at the Dutch galleon that had been named the Mermaid not far away.