"Arthur, you're here so early!"

When Colonel Fitzroy saw Arthur coming, he got up from the walnut armchair with a smile on his face, and enthusiastically introduced to several colleagues on the side: "This is the Arthur Hastings I mentioned to you before. ”

The two admirals glanced at each other, and the one of them, with his well-proportioned body and short black hair, asked, "The one who knows the Mediterranean half-sword technique and plays aggressively, the one who resembles the fighting style of General Rotherram?" ”

Fitzroy smiled and nodded, "It's him." ”

When the other party heard this, he couldn't help but smile and stretched out his hand to Arthur: "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Hastings." George Elliott, Royal Navy Attendant and Captain of HMS Victory, had a great time meeting you. I'll tell you the truth, this isn't the first time I've met Hastings, who has a talent for fighting at sea. ”

The more rich, 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, with family support and his own ability. However, the bad thing is that he violated the naval regulations, and in order to be able to return to the Royal Navy, he had to join the 'Atonement Fleet' in Corcoran to aid Greece.

But gold shines everywhere, and his brilliant results there are proof of that. If he survived until the end of the Greek War of Independence, he might be able to be reused by the Admiralty when he returned home. Unfortunately, he, like Lord Byron, ended up dying in Mysolonzion for the independence of the Greeks. ”

Hearing this, Arthur politely asked, "May I ask who you are?" ”

When the round-faced officer heard this, he also smiled and stretched out his hand to him: "John Franklin, it's a pleasure to meet you." The three of us have talked about you before, but I don't care about your Fiore as much as Elliott does, I care more about your academic contributions.

Because I actually prefer exploration to war, and if you and Mr. Faraday can make a warship powered by electromagnetism, maybe the Admiralty will be able to find the coveted Northwest Passage. ”

When Colonel Fitzroy heard this, he also hurriedly introduced Arthur: "Arthur, let me introduce you. Colonel Franklin, like me, was tasked with the Navy's exploratory mission. My mission was to circumnavigate the globe, and Colonel Franklin was tasked with finding the legendary Northwest Passage that could lead from the North Atlantic through North America to Asia.

You should know that the Cape of Good Hope from Africa is currently only possible to get from Europe to Asia, and if we can find this Northwest Passage, then according to the London Geographical Society's estimation of the Earth's radius, we will shorten the distance to Asia by at least 2,000 nautical miles, and you should understand how much commercial benefit this will bring to Britain. ”

When Arthur heard this, he immediately became interested, and he asked, "Is the opening of the Northwest Passage still going well?" If I do find that waterway, I will certainly be quite interested in investing in when Colonel Franklin wants to open a shipping company. ”

Franklin just smiled wryly: "Alas...... If only it were that easy to open up. Since I was first tasked with opening the Northwest Passage 12 years ago, I have continued to explore the North Atlantic and Canadian coastlines in the northwest direction several times.

For the first time, we were unfamiliar with the sea conditions and returned home from the Arctic in the ice. The second time, due to monsoon and climatic factors, it could not continue to go deeper. The third time we learned wisely, and instead of setting off by boat, we went on a road expedition along the Kopman River in Canada's northwest Territories to find out the distribution of the coastline first. ”

Arthur nodded, "Sounds like a very wise choice. ”

Franklin grinned as he grabbed his coffee cup and laughed, "Wisely, so this time we walked on and off for months, longer than the previous two expeditions." ”

"And then?"

As soon as Arthur said this, he saw Colonel Fitzroy and Sir Elliott beside him look unbearable.

When Franklin saw the two of them like this, he shrugged his shoulders helplessly: "It's not a big deal, isn't that how to go on an adventure?" However, my failure was also tragic in the expedition, 11 of the 20 people died, and the remaining nine men were eaten lichens 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 that I will never forget the colorful Northern Lights and the blizzard that whistled all night. ”

When the Red Devil leaning on the sofa chair heard this, he couldn't help but shake his head and mocked: "What an irrational human being, like a moth pounced on a bonfire, if you want to embrace your beloved things, you must first consider whether you have this ability." Arthur, I promise you, that one day it will be the blizzard he loves that will take his life. ”

Arthur saw the glint in Franklin's eyes, and couldn't help but admonish: "The Northwest Passage and the North Pole are beautiful, but if you go there next time, please be prepared." ”

Who knew that Franklin laughed when he heard this: "Don't worry, Mr. Hastings, I won't die in vain." With the lesson of the last time, the Admiralty guys also understood that it would not be so easy to find the Northwest Passage. If they don't give me a hundred men and three years of supplies for the next expedition, I won't be able to leave even if they expel me from the Royal Navy. ”

Speaking of this, Franklin couldn't help but look at Fitzroy on the side sympathetically: "Robert, with me as a reference, you must stock up on enough vegetables and citrus when you conduct a global expedition, and you must also do a good job in route planning, and you must have a plan in mind in advance where you can add something." When you ask the Admiralty for money, you don't have to lose your face, you don't ask for money and resources now, and when something goes wrong in the future, the Admiralty can't support you across a few oceans. ”

As soon as Colonel Franklin finished speaking, he heard a lazy voice from the door of the lounge: "Money? Who is going to ask the Admiralty for money? ”

Everyone looked back, and standing in the doorway was a middle-aged and elderly gentleman with curly brown hair, a slight wrinkle on his forehead, a tuxedo that he had taken off, 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 just looked relaxed, twitched slightly, and the colonels straightened their backs one by one, and saluted the old gentleman in unison: "Good afternoon, General Corcorran!" ”

Colonel Fitzroy then hurried forward to take his tuxedo and hang it on the coat rack for him, while Franklin and Elliott did not dare to be idle, one of them poured tea for Corcoran and the other brought a sofa chair for Corcoran.

The actions of the three colonels made the maids who entered the door with all kinds of small food stupid.

They could not have imagined why the always proud Royal Navy Captains would be tamed like a few docile rabbits.

Arthur was also curious about it, but he couldn't ask at this time.

Just when he was embarrassed and didn't know what to do, he suddenly felt something tapped him on the shoulder from behind.

"Arthur!"

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

Arthur looked behind him and asked, "Why are you alone?" What about your aunt and sister? ”

Elder took out his pipe and lit it nonchalantly, muttering as he lit it, "There are two rest rooms in General Codrington's house, one for men to smoke and one for women to gossip, and they go to the ladies' side." It's you, Arthur, who don't give yourself a light on, what kind of good gentleman are you here? ”

Without waiting for Arthur to reply, he reached into Arthur's coat pocket and found a pipe for him and stuffed it into his mouth.

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

Corcoran tapped the floor with his cane and shouted, "Elder." ”

"Huh?" Elder walked around Arthur's body and stretched out his head to take a look, but he was almost so shocked that his pipe fell to the ground, and the tobacco was spilled on the ground: "General Corcoran? When did you come back? ”

"It wasn't long after I came back." General Corcoran glanced at him, and the old man tapped his pipe with his finger: "Light it for me in a moment." ”

Elder was sweating all over his face, and he replied with a sneer, "Wait a minute, I'll be right here." ”

He hurriedly took out the matchbox in his pocket and stepped forward, but he rummaged through it and found that there was not even a match left in it.

Elder only felt his heart rise to his throat, and he replied tremblingly, "Report! I'm out of matches! ”

Hearing this, Corcoran took out a shilling from his pocket and flicked it into his palm: "Hurry up and buy it." ”

Eld stood up and saluted, Arthur had never seen this kid show such a serious expression in his life: "Obey!" ”

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

Elder glared back at the break room fiercely, and scolded in a dry mouth, "Fuck! These old things, what a bad luck today! ”

Arthur asked, "What is the origin of that General Corcoran?" ”

Elder frowned and scolded in a low voice, "Arthur, haven't you heard of the name of 'Crazy Corcoran'?" ”

"Is he famous?"

Elder sighed helplessly: "Also, he may not be so famous in the UK. But if you go to South America, whether it's Brazil or Chile, the people there will tell you that the best admiral in all of South America, and the first naval commander of those two countries, is Admiral Thomas Corcoran. ”

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

Elder replied angrily: "Because he committed a crime in the country, and someone reported that he was suspected of manipulating stock trading for profiteering, so he was removed from the House of Commons and the Admiralty along with the Admiralty." As a result, this guy was so angry that he went to South America to help Chile defeat the Spanish navy, and later went to Brazil to help them defeat the Portuguese fleet.

Chile and Brazil's independence from their respective suzerains was inseparable from Corcoran, and their navies are still commanded in English. ”

When Arthur heard this, he was even more puzzled: "Doesn't General Corcoran sound quite capable?" Why do you say he's crazy? ”

Elder glared and said, "If he's not crazy, no one is crazy." Regardless of what he did in England and the Admiralty.

After this guy arrived in Chile, he helped Chile capture Valdivia, and captured the Spanish Navy's strongest warship in South America, the Esmeralda, and naturally became the first vice admiral in Chile's history, and was awarded the Chilean Value Medal, which represents Chile's highest honor, to say that this day is not bad, but he is not satisfied, and it was not long after Chile's independence that he broke with the Chilean consul O'Higgins.

After the quarrel, he went to Brazil again, led the Brazilian navy to defeat the Portuguese South American fleet and the expeditionary fleet, became the commander of the Brazilian navy, and was made a marquis for his military exploits. But not long after, he fell out with Emperor Pedro I of Brazil, and led his fleet to rob all the Brazilian merchant ships near St. Louis. The Brazilian Navy sent ships to engage him, only to have a frigate towed away by him.

Corcoran couldn't get along in South America, so he desperately wanted to go back to Britain. At that time, it was the Greek War of Independence, and it was difficult for us to announce direct intervention, so the Admiralty saw that he was so capable of fighting, so they pinched their noses and sent him to Greece, so that he could help the newly independent Greece train its navy to resist the invasion of the Ottoman Empire.

This time, he did a decent job and didn't cause any trouble. So after the end of the Greek War of Independence, the Admiralty reinstated him to the rank of Rear Admiral of the Royal Navy for the sake of his past exploits in the Napoleonic Wars. But looking back, if he had been honest and didn't cause trouble, he might have touched the side of the admiral by this time.

Listen to his resume, and his stinky temper, he is not a madman, who else is a madman? ”

Elder had just finished pouring out his bitter water, and before he could catch his breath, he saw an old man swaying slowly with a cane in front of him.

As soon as he saw the other party's face clearly, he couldn't help but slap himself in the face: "Fuck, I take back what I just said, if you want to talk about the madman in the Admiralty, this one is similar to General Corcoran." General Codrington's inviting some fucking people today? ”

(End of chapter)