Allen stood at the end of the queue. He looked very nervous. He looked at the door of the shipyard for a while, then lowered his head to see if his collar was straightened.
Captain Quirk patted his head and said, "Hey, kid, what are you doing? Don't move around, just stand still."
"Um... yes!" The young man's slightly red face had a stern look on his face, and he looked ahead and stopped moving.
Last night, I received a notice from the Navy Headquarters that a big shot was coming to the shipyard to inspect, so the crew members of the Hara Nozomi and another ship stationed at the shipyard for acceptance of new equipment should be prepared to welcome them.
It was not until after dinner this morning that the shipyard learned that the person who was coming to inspect was Paul Greiman, the lord of Arda.
As soon as the scheduled time arrived, the officers and soldiers in the factory were gathered together to welcome him. Rubin, the person in charge of the shipyard,
The boy Allen had just joined the navy a few days ago. He was unfamiliar with many people and things and was cautious in everything he did. When he heard that Alarda Territory was mainly here to inspect them, he couldn't help but panic.
Growing up, the biggest official he had ever seen was the mayor of a nearby town, and the person closest to the lord was the tax collector who came to the village to collect taxes. He had never seen a real nobleman, let alone an actual ruler of a territory.
According to the adults, that person is the one whose words and deeds can determine the fate of civilians like them.
What does the Arda lord 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!"
"Everyone - stand at attention!"
With Quirk's order, all the officers and soldiers immediately changed from a resting state to standing at attention.
Then a group of people walked in from outside the gate.
"Salute!"
With the second order, the officers and soldiers raised their hands in salute.
Among the group of people who came in, Allen recognized one of them as Navy Commander Austin. At this moment, he and the other person also raised their hands to return the salute to 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 Earl Greiman, the lord of Arda.
Allen is a little surprised. The earl seems to be about 16 years old. He has dark brown and almost black hair and eyes. His appearance is plain. Because he grew up in a noble family, he looks stronger than his peers in the village. Is such a young man the supreme ruler of Arda Earl Territory?
Behind the count was a woman with green hair. The twelve-year-old boy had already begun to pay attention to the appearance of the opposite sex. Allen had never seen such an attractive elder sister. The girl he met at the pirate stronghold was also very beautiful, but compared to the one in front of him, she could only be regarded as a young little Apple.
"Is this our midshipman?" Earl Greiman saw a row of teenagers standing neatly.
"Midshipman?" Austin felt a little strange after hearing this.
"Aren't you going to use children to train reserve officers? I have now decided to name them 'Officer Candidate'."
"This is a good name, sir. From now on, they will be the 'Officer Candidate' of our navy."
The young earl came to several equally young candidates and said, "I learned about your experiences from Austin's report. I hope you can treat the Navy as your second home."
He looked at Allen, who was obviously the youngest, and reached out to pat his shoulder. "What's your name?"
"Allen... My name is Allen, sir."
The young man blushed and answered with great anxiety.
Paul laughed, this is the seed for the future development of his navy.
He patted the young man on the shoulder. "Don't be nervous. Can you adapt to life on a warship?"
Allen replied, "Getting used to it, I feel good up there."
Paul nodded happily, but Allen recalled his previous home, the home where his mother was always busy.
No matter how good the life on a warship is, how can it be compared with that at home? There were a lot of miscellaneous rules, and he made mistakes - he even forgot to salute the officer, and he had to take off his pants and expose his bare buttocks to be slapped by the picket. It was not just one or two slaps like his mother had punished him before, but a real spanking with a thick paddle. After the spanking, his buttocks would be swollen for a long time.
I heard from the seniors on the ship that this was because they were still underage and were surfing the Internet.
To deal with adult sailors, there is another scandalous tool - Nine-Tailed Whip. The use of this terrible torture instrument can only be controlled by the captain on the ship. The reason and amount of punishment are also decided by the captain. During the specific implementation process, the entire ship's personnel were required to gather on the deck to watch the torture process, which served as a warning to the monkeys. The entire torture process was filled with a sense of ritual through steps such as beating drums, flashing whips, and drinking water.
In short, living on a warship is a tense and orderly life, not at all as comfortable and comfortable as the previous home.
But Allen never regretted joining Arda Navy. After he returned to the village with his companions who were kidnapped 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 must eliminate all pirates in the world. Only Arda Navy could help him realize this 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 Greiman."
Everyone walked towards the dock, and several candidates followed them as temporary attendants.
Two sloops docked quietly at the edge of the pier. From the outside, the two ships were larger than the "Hope", with six gun ports on each side of the ship.
"Do they have names?"
"The one that is about to go south is named 'South', and the other one has not yet been named."
Everyone boarded the Nanfang and Paul carefully touched every part of the hull they passed.
"Has the crew been confirmed to go south to open a new route?"
"Considering that this was an unfamiliar voyage, we asked the crew of the original Hope to sail the ship to the south. After all, they have the most experience in operating this type of ship."
Paul looked at Quirk: "You and your crew have a heavy responsibility."
Quirk saluted him. "Yes, we will definitely live up to expectations!"
Paul suddenly thought of something and asked, "What do you carry on the boat? For example, food?"
Austin replied, "We want to test the endurance of this ship to the limit and try to keep her from docking for replenishment on the way, so we have prepared a lot of cured meats, biscuits, canned food, which are easy to preserve, and of course fresh water, but fresh water can easily go bad, so alcohol is also essential."
"There are also plans to keep two hens on the ship to provide fresh eggs for possible sick patients, and a cat to catch mice that sneak onto the ship."
"In order to deal with possible dangers at sea, the Nanfang will be equipped with 12 cannons and 4 spare gun barrels, which will be placed in the bottom ballast."
After the Gaden group was eliminated, the pressure on the navy almost ceased to exist. The remaining scattered pirates surrendered or fled away one after another, so Austin confidently and boldly equipped most of the Artillery on the South.
Paul pulled Navy Commander's sleeve and pulled him to a corner. After confirming that no one was 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 voyage at sea."
Paul shook his head and denied. "Infectious disease? No, it is not contagious."
"According to my research, if you don't eat vegetables for a long time, you will get this disease. So you must bring more vegetables. If you want to store them for a long time, dry them. Anyway, it is better than nothing. Once they are eaten or rotten, forget about the endurance test and go ashore quickly to replenish them. I don't want to kill anyone."
Austin Daqi, the count still has research on this?
However, seeing that the lord's face was solemn and not joking at all, he nodded vigorously. "Yes, I will definitely remember your instructions."
Paul added, "By the way, fruits such as citrus and oranges in the south can also prevent scurvy, so let them bring more when they return."
Then the conversation changed. "Please note that this must be listed as one of the Navy's confidential matters. Only senior officers should know about it and it must not be spread to outsiders. I don't want future maritime opponents to know about this measure that can greatly avoid attrition. I will keep it as long as possible."
"Please rest assured, I will definitely be careful."
It looks like we need to adjust the material preparations on board the Nanfang.