The room was quiet except for a grandfather clock ticking.
This is the Commander office at the Franklin Harbor naval headquarters. It is different from the extremely monotonous office of a certain count. There are several potted plants that can be seen to have been carefully cared for at a glance. There is also an oil painting hanging on the wall, and a red sun is rising slowly from the vast sea.
The owner of the office - Navy Commander Austin is sitting on the chair behind the desk, closing his eyes and relaxing.
Navy Commander's brain will definitely not be idle at this time. There are too many things for him to consider recently.
First there is the matter of shipbuilding.
A new batch of Slupp ships is being built intensively in the shipyard's dock. The reason why it is called a batch is because two ships were started at the same time this time.
The newly built Throop ship is certainly not a simple copy of the "Hope".
On the one hand, Lord Lord Greiman came up with a new word after personally experiencing the trial voyage - "ergonomics".
He requested that the comfort of the crew on board should be improved as much as possible (relatively speaking) without affecting the combat effectiveness of the ship. For example, the furnishings on the deck should be as neat and orderly as possible, and should not be messy and cause headaches at first glance. The sail operating procedures should be improved and simplified, and other aspects.
In short, it is best to make the sailors feel like "home". Of course, small boats like the Slupp have little potential for improvement in this aspect, but the lord requested that this design concept be continued to the large ships built later.
Everyone knows the reason for this. It is relatively easy to maintain a good mood and physical strength in a relatively comfortable environment.
"What I'm saying is that without affecting combat effectiveness, combat effectiveness is the foundation of everything." Earl Greiman emphasized in the end.
On the other hand, although the sea trial of the "Hope" was generally successful, some flaws were gradually discovered during the subsequent frequent training by Quirk and others.
These flaws and some improvement suggestions put forward by naval officers and soldiers were fed back to the shipyard immediately, so that Rubin and Benjamin and others could modify the design in time and make improvements on the new ship.
The above two aspects have created considerable challenges for the craftsmen of the shipyard.
Then there is the issue of pirates.
Not only Earl Greiman, Austin himself also suspected that there were Loach Gang spies lurking in or near the Navy. He had assigned Navy Provost Corps's Captain Valk teamed up with Cecil's intelligence officer Duran, who was stationed at Franklin Harbor, to investigate the matter. It was not known when the results would be obtained.
If there were indeed spies, the fact that the Navy was about to take the initiative might have been leaked.
"Beep!" A knock on the door interrupted Austin's thoughts.
He opened his eyes and shouted, "Come in!"
After the door was pushed open, two people walked in, none other than intelligence officers Captain Valk and Duran.
Austin motioned for the two of them to sit down and said, "I hope what you two bring me is good news."
The two looked at each other and Duran made a gesture of invitation to Valk.
Provost Corps Chang Zhengse said to Austin, "Commander, there is good news and bad news."
Austin immediately said, "Let's talk about the bad first!"
At least there is good news later to comfort myself.
"The navy does have spies planted by pirates."
Ah, this isn't too bad. I thought it was a nine out of ten possibility before.
"So, what's the good news?"
"We have identified who the spy is."
Captain Valk handed a stack of documents to Austin.
Austin browsed it hurriedly and said with a little helplessness, "Well, it seems that Lord Greiman pays Soldiers a lot of salary. They actually have spare money to do this kind of thing."
The spy planted by the pirates in Franklin Harbor turned out to be the owner of the only brothel in the town, named Clement.
The means he used to obtain naval intelligence can be imagined.
"Is the evidence conclusive?"
"It's very conclusive. We sent people to follow a contact person."
"How many people in the Navy have been to his store?"
"So far we have confirmed that a total of 48 people have been there, including six officers."
With so many people, Austin's face gradually stiffened, and he felt very annoyed. There must have been many bastards who were tricked into talking in bed.
"Kick out all those who have been to brothels from the army!" "No one in the army will be allowed to go looking for women in the future."
Austin was just about to shout out, but after thinking about it, he gave up and ordered, "Find out the specific person who leaked the information, and do whatever the military regulations say."
Captain Valk responded, "Yes, Commander."
The Duran intelligence officer on the side said, "Should we directly ask City Hall to cooperate in closing this brothel?"
Austin waved his hand and said, "No, I'm worried that I won't have a chance to catch Loach. Maybe this is a good opportunity to use this spy to set a trap for Loach."
"Anyway, let's have a good talk with this Clement boss first."
Clement was tied up and hung in a secret room in his brothel.
He whimpered hard with his gagged mouth, but it had no effect at all. People outside the room could not hear him at all.
After all, he put a lot of effort into soundproofing the room for the convenience of his clients.
One person said, "Open his mouth, Clement, if you dare to shout, hum!"
The towel blocking Clement's mouth was pulled out.
The guy took a few greedy breaths and begged for mercy, "Gentlemen of the Navy, I'll take them all. I'll take them all."
The man just now smiled slyly, "Hey, are you guilty of committing a crime so quickly? What are you trying to do?"
"I..." Clement was speechless for a moment.
Today is the most unlucky day for Clement. Business was doing well, and several naval officers and soldiers came in a group. He once again thought of taking the opportunity to gather some information.
Several navy officers and soldiers reserved a room alone and invited the girl to eat, drink and have fun in it. Unexpectedly, they got into a quarrel inside and smashed a lot of things. As the boss, Clement naturally wanted to go over and have a look.
The officers and soldiers kicked out the young lady who was drinking with them, and then asked the boss to judge them.
Who would have thought that these guys would close the door and rush forward to restrain him.
Then he became what he is now.
Clement said squeakingly, "I... I... I'm responsible for tax evasion."
"Pah!" A loud slap slapped the brothel owner until the fat on his face trembled.
An officer lowered his voice and asked, "We don't care whether you evade taxes or not. Tell me! Are you a spy planted by the pirates in Franklin Harbor? Speak to me in a lower voice."
"It's unfair. How could I have a deal with those vicious bastards?"
Clement wanted to quibble, but the navy officers and soldiers quickly produced evidence that made him jaw-dropping. Coupled with the flashing knife on his face, the brothel owner finally admitted that he had a connection with Loach Gang in Pirates.
The officer came over and patted his meaty face, as if patting a pig about to be sent to the slaughterhouse.
He smiled and said, "According to our Austin Commander's wishes, you will be executed on the spot as soon as you admit it."
Clement showed a strong sense of fear. He was about to ask for mercy, but his mouth was immediately covered tightly.
But I heard the officer continue, "Just listen to me. Now there is a chance to live in front of you. I don't know if you can seize it."
Clement, whose mouth was covered after hearing that he could still survive, nodded vigorously.
Thanks to the book friend "Dan? Ding" for the reward!