Old Matters

Edmund's generosity impressed both of them.

The group finished the bottle of wine in the cabin and then stopped drinking, as they still had important work to do.

Tesla and Gilles also prepared to bid farewell to Edmund, as they needed to return to their own ships to better command the fleet.

"Captain Edmund, just give us your orders. We will do our utmost to help you complete this mission."

Gilles readily agreed, and Texera nodded in agreement.

Edmund simply smiled. "Not for me, but for all of us, for the Kingdom Navy, and for the entire Raine Kingdom."

Our mission is of great significance to the kingdom. We must help the opposition within the Grand Duchy of Vera, support them in overthrowing the rule of the Silver Maple Ducal House, and open up a new direction for the kingdom's expansion.

With this new direction for development, domestic conflicts can be alleviated, and His Majesty the King can take this opportunity to reintegrate the power of the Raine Kingdom.

At that time, we reformers will also be able to expand our influence and power in this great wave, and our ideas will be promoted and valued within the kingdom. This is the greatest goal we reformers pursue; only when we are in power can the Raine Kingdom be made great again.

Edmund's words greatly excited the three people present. Not to mention the two old naval officers who considered themselves reformers, even Bertley, who was still a commoner, longed for the scene Edmund described.

Bertley had followed Edmund for a long time, starting as an ordinary sailor. When Edmund became captain, he saw that Bethel was young, experienced at sea, and had excellent naval combat skills.

Edmund promoted Bertley to be his bodyguard and advisor. Edmund relied on Bertley from the beginning, but later, after Edmund discovered Bertley's strengths, he promoted him directly to First Mate.

Edmund's flagship, the HMS Leiban, had never had a captain, or rather, Edmund held the position. After Bethel became the first First Mate, Bertley became the captain of the Leiban.

Within the Kingdom Navy, there is an unwritten rule regarding the captains of the flagships of both the squadrons and the main fleet: they are referred to as noble reserves.

This is a manifestation of status, and Bertley is working very hard with the goal of becoming a nobleman. For a second son of a minor nobleman like him, this is a rare path to success. Even if he doesn't succeed in the end, Bertley is open-minded and will accept a life knighthood as a knight.

Fortunately, Bertley was lucky. He had just joined the Navy and became Edmund's subordinate. He was valued and trained, and now he was participating in this special mission with Fleet Commander Edmund.

Captain Edmund has already made numerous contributions, and Bertley could benefit from just a little bit of credit; he might even have a real chance to become a nobleman.

Bertley was far more excited than the other three. His face was flushed. He wanted to say something, but when he stood up, he couldn't utter a single word.

Edmund looked at him with puzzlement. He had only prepared a bottle of Grape, not a strong liquor, so how could Bertley be so drunk? He wasn't usually such a low drinker.

Just as Edmund was filled with doubt, Gilles and Texera exchanged a knowing smile. They could tell what was going on just by looking at Bertley's expression; they were experienced enough to understand this situation.

They helped Bertley sit down and started chatting with Edmund. Although their work was important, time wasn't so urgent, and building a good relationship with Edmund through conversation was the best thing for them.

This all started with the concept of a reserve noble for the flagship captain. In the early years, after the Kingdom Navy fell into the hands of the reformists, the first batch of reformist members entered the Kingdom Navy system.

They certainly couldn't start as common soldiers; they had to become officers. However, the Kingdom Navy was very small at the time, consisting of only one fleet with a total of just over 100 ships, most of which were small coastal vessels used only to catch merchants smuggling goods and evading taxes. They had virtually no combat capability.

Of course, there were no enemies in the seas surrounding the kingdom. After all, the Tears of God Inland Sea, which was full of thunderstorms, was a forbidden area for the coastal countries at that time.

The leader of the reformists at the time, who was also a Duke of the kingdom, simply discussed it with the king and, in the name of the naval commander, divided the entire Kingdom Navy into two fleets and eight squadrons. Each fleet was further divided into four squadrons, and each squadron had 15 to 20 ships, with the largest ship serving as the flagship.

The first batch of reformist members who entered the Kingdom Navy numbered only a few dozen. Apart from those who became fleet commanders, the rest were all capable of starting as ship captains.

However, most of them were of noble birth, so they certainly couldn't become captains of small ships. They were mostly captains of the flagships of various squadrons, which allowed them to stay by the side of the fleet commander and learn from him while ensuring their safety.

Later, these people also benefited from the development of the Kingdom Navy, and even noble children without inheritance rights accumulated merits and became nobles.

However, Texera and Gilles are exceptions. They are not from noble families, but are the sons of maritime merchants who chose to join the Kingdom Navy in order to try their luck.

As luck would have it, the two of them joined Laou Allen's squadron. At that time, Count Laou Allen's family had not yet risen to prominence and their strength was limited. Even though Laou Allen was the eldest son of the family and the heir to the title, he could not provide Laou Allen with any assistance.

So young Laou Allen changed his mind and decided to select a few men from the Navy's new recruits to be his trusted confidants.

Gilles and Tesla were chosen from among them. First, they were both sons of merchants, with the means to receive cultural education and were literate and arithmetic, making them rare talents. Second, they had both traveled with their families on ships since childhood and were very familiar with the Tears of God Inland Sea.

Laou Allen valued the two of them highly. At this time, the number of the first batch of reformers was not large, and even fewer joined the navy. After the naval reforms, although everyone had an officer position, some positions were still vacant, which meant that Laou Allen's squadron's flagship was without a captain.

However, it's impossible for Laou Allen to promote the two of them directly to captain. After all, if two new recruits suddenly joined the army and were promoted by him, people would think they were his illegitimate children.

Laou Allen simply appointed them as First Mate and second mate, temporarily assuming the duties of captain and deputy captain, respectively.

Thus, with the help of Laou Allen's favor, the two gradually grew up and eventually reached their current level, even becoming true nobles.

After listening to their words, Bertley was deeply moved and began to admire them as role models.

At this moment, Edmund suddenly asked a question, "You two seniors, since you have followed Commander Laou Allen from the beginning, you must know a lot about the Commander's affairs. How did Commander Laou Allen get to where he is today, being entrusted with important responsibilities by the King and becoming the Vice Commander of the Navy?"

Gilles and Texera were both taken aback, not expecting Edmund to suddenly ask this question. Moreover, this question was actually very difficult to answer. As Laou Allen's confidants, they couldn't just tell him every secret. Even if they dared to tell him, would Edmund dare to listen?

Fortunately, Edmund realized that his words were inappropriate and quickly corrected himself. "My esteemed elders, I only wish to learn about the illustrious deeds of Count Laou Allen in his youth. I am eager to learn some of his strengths and virtues from Count."

This time, Texera answered first, "When he first joined the navy, the Count was quite young. He couldn't swim at all, and to avoid embarrassing himself, he asked us to teach him to swim every night. Unfortunately, for some reason, Count couldn't learn until..."

Gilles continued, "Until one day, the Count saw someone fall into the water at the dock. It was a girl. Somehow, he suddenly learned to swim and saved the girl. Later, he learned that the girl was the Duke's daughter."

"Could it be..." Edmund asked with a hint of gossip.

"Just as you expected, that girl became Count, and Count Laou Allen also gained the Duke's favor, eventually rising to his current position."

Edmund was fine after hearing this, only marveling at Count Laou Allen's good fortune, while Bertley looked disappointed, somewhat unable to accept that Count Laou Allen had become a relative by connections.

Texera saw through Bertley's thoughts and explained, "The Count's father-in-law did help him a lot, but without the Count's own efforts, he wouldn't have reached his current position. Good luck is important, but having the ability to seize opportunities is even more important."

"Captain Edmund, I believe you can do it. Gilles and I will do everything in our power to support you."

Gilles nodded in agreement.