Chapter 312: Open Day

Name:The Fox of France Author:
Chapter 312: Open Day

On the very first day when the "Free Trade" entered the port of London, it wasn't entirely open to the British public. That's quite natural considering the ship had just arrived; there's always a bit of chaos and busyness in such situations. And indeed, there was a bit of an incident. It involved a French naval chaplain who disembarked from the ship and immediately encountered a journalist. The journalist asked, "Chaplain, what do you think of those French streetwalkers on the streets of London?"

"What? There are French streetwalkers in London?" The chaplain was taken aback.

Later that afternoon, a certain evening paper carried this headline: "French naval chaplain in a rush to inquire about streetwalkers in London upon arrival."

Of course, what such tabloids say hardly concerns anyone. Moreover, a chaplain accompanying the troops, assisting and rescuing the souls of streetwalkers, is a noble deed, nothing substantial to fret about.

Though the "Free Trade" wasn't officially open for public visits that day, people could still come close and observe as long as they didn't board. Some individuals gathered around to get a glimpse of the ship.

This brought an immediate answer to a puzzling question about the "Free Trade" — why it possessed such outstanding defensive capabilities. Despite the black-brown paint coating the steel plates affixed to the ship's exterior, making it resemble wooden planks from afar, at such close proximity where one could almost touch, the distinction between the steel plates and wooden boards was quite evident.

"So, they really did outfit it with iron plates," a special agent from the Sixth Investigation Division remarked, marveling at the close proximity of the "Free Trade." The Sixth Investigation Division had sacrificed several colleagues just to unravel the secrets behind this ship's defenses. Now, here it was, presented before them without any cost — it was perplexing and almost made one question the meaning of life.

"Considering the French expertise in steelmaking, these are likely steel plates, aren't they?" remarked a British naval officer while observing the "Free Trade."

That day, these were the only secrets the British managed to uncover. On the following day, the first batch of visitors stepped onto the deck of the "Free Trade." These were mostly British naval officers, ranging from commanding officers to various technical personnel.

Overall, these officers were quite disciplined. They refrained from touching anything without the host's permission on the French warship. Although later, in some British newspapers, stories emerged about "reaching out and finding dust on cannons," aiming to denigrate the French, in reality, the British behaved themselves.

However, when it came to questioning, the British were forthright. They asked any and every question, knowing there would be no harm in doing so. Surprisingly, most of their inquiries were met with responses from the accompanying French.

"Captain Lefebvre, I've noticed the 'Free Trade' is fitted with external armor plates. I wanted to ask if these plates are wrought iron or steel?" inquired a British military officer with the rank of major on his shoulder.

"They are steel plates," Captain Lefebvre replied.

"May I ask about their thickness and how you ensure they don't suffer severe corrosion during voyages?" continued the British major.

"I can tell you about the thickness, roughly around 20 millimeters. As for the rust prevention, that falls under the technical secret of the Lorraine Steel Company. We're not privy to it. If you wish to know more, you should approach them."

"I did. The structure isn't overly complicated, but there might be some difficulty in craftsmanship, leading to higher costs," the "gunner" replied. "But considering one cannon can function as three, I believe it's worth it."

"Given the space saved, even if it's just equivalent to 1.5 cannons and the price triples or quadruples, it's still worthwhile," another "gunner" chimed in.

However, the British thought claiming a four to five times increase in firing speed was an exaggeration because the French provided them with sectional ammunition for training. In reality, these cannons could utilize fixed ammunition for faster loading.

After exploring the cannons, the French took the visitors to the lowest level of the warship, situated below the waterline. Here was something else worthy of showcasing to the British — the "Free Trade's" steel

keel.

As experts, when they saw the steel keel, the British visitors immediately reached a conclusion: "As long as the French steel production is sufficient, it's incredibly easy to disrupt the enemy fleet. The critical material restriction has been surpassed."

This marked the final part of the British visit. Some British officers requested to see the steam engine, but Captain Lefebvre promptly refused, stating, "No, there are many secrets with the steam engine."

"Isn't it said that we are friends, and friends shouldn't have secrets?" jestingly remarked a British person.

"Well, theoretically, that's true," Captain Lefebvre replied. "If it were solely naval matters, it would be possible, but within that space, there are also commercial secrets of our civilian enterprises. For them, aside from customers, everyone else could potentially become future competitors. So..."

The British shrugged, and that was the end of it. In truth, the British had seen more than enough that day, perhaps even exceeding their expectations.

"The French aren't really that impressive. It's all about having an abundance of steel," remarked a British technical officer upon disembarking. "Honestly, how much steel did this ship use? They're not treating steel as steel; it's almost like wrought iron. It's extravagant!"

"Did anyone understand their steel's rust prevention technology?" someone asked.

"It seems like just painting it?"

"The exterior armor plates might be because those are clearly detachable. But what about their keel? Can it be rust-proofed just by paint?"

"We really need to intensify our research on this."