Chapter 143： Nanfang

Allen stood at the end of the queue, his expression was very nervous, he looked at the gate of the shipyard for a while, and lowered his head to check whether his collar was tidied up.

Captain Quick patted his head, "Hey, kid, what are you doing, don't move around, just stand still."

"Um... yes!" The young man's reddish face froze, and he stopped moving his eyes.

Last night, I received a notification from the Navy Headquarters that some important figures were coming to inspect the shipyard, so that the crew of the original Nozomi and another ship stationed at the shipyard for acceptance of new equipment should be ready to welcome them.

It wasn't until after dinner this morning that the shipyard learned that the person who was coming to inspect was the lord of Arda, Paul Grayman.

As soon as the scheduled time came, the officers and soldiers in the factory were gathered in line to welcome them. Rubin, the person in charge of the shipyard,

The young Allen had just joined the navy for a few days. He was unfamiliar with many people and things, and he was cautious in everything he did. Hearing that Lord Arda was coming to inspect them, he couldn't help feeling flustered.

He has grown up so big, the biggest official he has ever seen is the mayor of a nearby town, and the person closest to the lord is the tax collector who comes to the village to collect taxes. He has never seen a real nobleman, let alone a territory the actual ruler of the country.

According to the grown-ups, he is someone who can determine the fate of civilians like them with his words and deeds.

What does the lord of Arda look like? Does he have one nose and two eyes like ordinary people?

Just as he was thinking wildly, an announcement came from the door: "Earl Greiman is here!"

"All of them—stand at attention!"

Following Quick's order, all the officers and soldiers changed from resting to standing attention immediately.

Then a group of people walked in from outside the gate.

"salute!"

Accompanied by the second order, the officers and soldiers saluted in unison.

Among the group of people who came in, Allen recognized one of them as Admiral Austin, and at this moment he and the other person also raised their hands to salute the officers and soldiers.

As for the other person, seeing how respectful the people around him were, it was not difficult to guess that he was the lord of Arda, Earl Greiman.

Allen was a little surprised. The earl seemed to be about 16 years old. He had dark brown and almost black hair and eyes, and his appearance was plain. Because he grew up in a noble family, he looked stronger than his peers in the village. , Is such a young person the supreme ruler of the Earl of Arda?

Behind the earl was a woman with green hair. Twelve-year-old boys have begun to pay attention to the appearance of the opposite sex. Ellen has never seen such an attractive big sister. The girl he met in the pirate stronghold was also very beautiful. , but compared to the one in front of me, it can only be regarded as a young apple.

"This is our midshipman?" Earl Greiman saw a row of teenagers standing neatly.

"A midshipman?" Austin was a little strange when he heard it.

"Aren't you going to use children to train reserve officers? I've decided to name them 'officer candidates' now."

"That's a good name, my lord. From now on they will be our Navy's 'Midshipmen.'"

The young earl came to several young candidates and said, "I learned about your experiences in Austin's report. I hope you can regard the Navy as your second home."

He looked at Alan, who was obviously the youngest, and reached out and patted him on the shoulder: "What's your name?"

"Alan... My name is Alan, my lord."

The young man blushed and replied anxiously.

Paul laughed, this is the seed for his navy to grow in the future.

He patted the boy on the shoulder: "Don't be nervous, can you adapt to life on a warship?"

Allen replied: "Accommodating, I feel good on it."

Paul nodded in relief, but Allen recalled the previous home, the home where his mother was always busy.

No matter how good the life on the warship is, how can it compare with that at home?

There are a lot of miscellaneous rules and mistakes-even forgetting to salute the officer, and you have to take off your pants and expose your bare buttocks to be slapped by the picket. , but with a thick board for real beating, the buttocks will be swollen for a long time after beating.

I heard from the seniors on the ship that this is already an excuse for their underage students to go online.

To deal with adult sailors, there is another tool that makes people talk about it—the nine-tailed whip. The right to use this terrible torture tool can only be controlled by the captain of the ship. The reason for the punishment and the amount of punishment are also determined by the captain. During the specific implementation process, all personnel on the ship were required to gather on the deck to watch the execution process, which played the role of killing chickens and monkeys, and also made the entire execution process full of ritual sense through steps such as drumming, whipping, and drinking water. .

In short, living on a warship is a tense and orderly life, not at all as comfortable as at home before.

But Allen never regretted joining the Arda Navy. After he returned to the village with his companions who were taken captive by pirates, the people in the village had buried his mother who was killed by pirates. He swore in front of his mother's tombstone that he would wipe out the entire world. Of all the pirates in the world, only Arda Navy can help him realize his wish.

At this time Paul said, "Take us to the new ship to have a look."

Austin guided from the front: "This way please, Lord Graeman."

Everyone walked towards the pier, and several candidates followed them as temporary attendants.

Two sloops, larger in appearance than the Hope, and with six gun ports on each side of the ship, lay quietly at the quayside.

"Do they have names?"

"The ship that is about to go south is named 'South', and the other ship has not yet been named."

When everyone boarded the South, Paul carefully stroked every part of the ship that passed by.

"Have you confirmed the crew who will go south to open up a new route?"

"Considering that this is an unfamiliar voyage, we asked the crew on the original Nozomi to drive the ship to the south. After all, they have the most experience in handling this type of ship."

Paul looked at Quick: "You and your crew have a great responsibility."

Quick saluted him: "Yes, we must live up to expectations!"

Paul suddenly thought of something and asked, "What are you carrying on board? Such as food?"

Austin replied: "We want to test the endurance of this ship to the limit, and try to keep her from docking for supplies on the way, so I prepared a lot of cured meat, biscuits, and canned food, which are easy to preserve. Of course There is also fresh water, but fresh water is easy to spoil, so alcohol is also essential."

"There are also plans to keep two hens on board to provide fresh eggs for possible sickness, and a cat to catch mice that sneak onto the ship."

"In order to deal with possible dangers at sea Nanfang will be equipped with 12 cannons and 4 spare barrels, which will be placed in the ballast below."

After eliminating Garden and his gang, the pressure on the navy almost ceased to exist, and the remaining scattered pirates voluntarily surrendered or fled away one after another, so Austin boldly equipped most of the artillery on the South.

However, Paul pulled the Admiral's sleeve and pulled him to a corner. After confirming that there was no one around, he asked in a low voice, "Do you know about scurvy?"

Austin didn't understand why the lord was so mysterious, and said, "I haven't had it, but it is said that it is a terrible infectious disease that will break out after a long time at sea."

Paul shook his head in denial. "Infectious disease? No, it's not contagious."

"According to my research, if you don't eat vegetables for a long time, you will suffer from this disease. So you must bring more vegetables, and dry them if you want to preserve them for a long time. Anyway, it is better than nothing. Once you eat Don’t worry about endurance tests, go ashore to replenish, I don’t want to kill people.”

Strange Austin, the Earl still has research on this?

However, seeing the lord's serious face, he didn't seem to be joking at all, he nodded vigorously: "Of order, I will definitely remember your instructions."

Paul added: "By the way, citrus, oranges and other fruits in the south can also prevent scurvy. Let them bring more when they return."

Then the topic changed: "Attention, this should be listed as one of the confidential matters of the navy, only the high-level officers will know, and it must not be passed on to the outside world. I don't want future maritime opponents to know this measure that can greatly avoid attrition. Keep it as long as you can."

"Please rest assured, I will be careful."

It seems that the material preparations on the Nanfang need to be adjusted.