Smuggling Ship

Under Joseph's persuasive words, Wybicki handed over all the money within his authority. Wybicki even complained that Toulon was so remote that he couldn't find a single Jewish loan shark. (Actually, Toulon originally had some money, but it had been wiped out by Couthon and then by Fouché, so it hadn't regenerated yet.)

Joseph then introduced Wybicki to the guerrilla warfare technical training he offered, adding that if the Poland were willing to pay, they could also provide military technical training. Wybicki was very interested. The two signed a contract, with Wybicki paying half the deposit, agreeing on the approximate time and place for delivery, exchanging contact information, and then taking his leave.

Joseph then arranged production while simultaneously summoning Napoleon.

After Napoleon arrived, Joseph recounted the whole story to Napoleon in detail, and Napoleon said:

"Sending the goods to Denmark isn't difficult. Although your Black Pearl have had some rough seas, our people have made several trips to Norway (to purchase caustic soda). The North Sea is rough, but it's not impossible to get there. The only issue is that you mentioned providing military training; do we have such a project?"

"No," Joseph said, "But Napoleon saw the opportunity to make money was right there, and didn't he seize it? Don't you think that's a waste of opportunity? Besides, we really need money right now, don't we?"

"So you mean we should assemble such a team now?" Napoleon asked. "But there might not be enough time. I don't have much faith in those Poland. Even if you've poured so much stuff into their heads, I don't think they can accomplish anything. What you're talking about sounds simple, but we all know how much organizational ability is required to achieve it. With these Poland? I don't think they can do it. They're no match for Suvorov."

At this point, Napoleon shook his head.

"I know that too. Perhaps in a few months, at most next year, they will be militarily collapsed," Joseph said. "But if guerrilla warfare can be launched, even if it is not successful, it can tie down our enemy and create more wealth for us. As for the issue of training personnel..."

Joseph thought for a moment and said, "After the Red Army returned to its original state, you still maintained contact with those people in the Red Army, right?"

"Yes, they are all our old subordinates. How could we not keep in touch?" Napoleon replied.

"They must be having a tough time right now. And Carnot simply doesn't have the funds to train his troops through live-fire exercises. Carnot's reluctant to send them to the battlefield, but he can't afford to use them for normal purposes. So, we can propose to him that we pay to rent some Red Army soldiers to do this. See? That would solve the problem, wouldn't it?"

"Yes, Joseph, that's certainly a good idea!" Napoleon's eyes lit up, and he quickly said.

As per the signed contract, a little over a month later, Wybicki returned to the Bonaparte Institute. He would be traveling with the smuggling ship, escorting the goods, to Denmark.

This was the Bonaparte Institute's first major foreign client, so Joseph and Bonaparte attached great importance to this operation. They arranged for the best smuggling ships and the most outstanding sailors.

"Mr. Wybicki, this is our best captain—Captain Van der Daken. He is a Netherlands and doesn't speak much French, only Lowland and English. But he is our best captain; in this world, when it comes to sailing, the Netherlands is always the best." Joseph introduced the captain of the ship they had been assigned, named "Flying," to Wybicki.

"Hello, Captain Daken," Wybicki said in English to the somewhat balding Netherlands. He noticed that the captain had only one eye.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, sir. On behalf of all the sailors, I welcome you to join us." The one-eyed captain tried to put on a friendly smile to welcome his passengers. He laughed heartily, the sunlight shining into his wide-open mouth, making his large gold teeth gleam.

Wybicki knew that many France smuggling ships were actually pirate ships in the past. The people on board, from the captain to the sailors, were all vicious pirates. Later, the revolutionary government needed to carry out smuggling activities, so they recruited them. Now, looking at Captain Daken's one eye and the sailors around him, none of them seemed like good people. Wybicki then mentally labeled the captain and his crew as "pirates."

The cargo had already been loaded onto the ship under Wybicki's witness, and Wybicki followed Captain Dyke aboard. The ship was a typical clipper ship, slightly larger than the original "Black Pearl," but still only about five or six hundred tons. The ship wasn't big, so Captain Dyke took Wybicki around the entire cargo ship in less than ten minutes.

Captain Dyke eventually led Wybicki to his cabin.

"Mr. Wybicki, this is your room," Captain Dyke said as he opened the door. "Our ship is small and space is limited, so it's quite cramped. You'll have to bear with it."

To lower the ship's center of gravity, almost all the cabins were below deck, making them exceptionally dark. With the help of the captain's lantern, Wybicki saw that the so-called rooms were actually as small as pigeon coops. There was only one bed, about a meter wide, and if someone sat on the bed, the door couldn't be closed.

There were two red ribbons on the bed, which were very eye-catching.

"Our ship can be very rough at sea. Sometimes it can even toss people up. So when you're sleeping, you'll need to use these two ropes to tie yourself to your bed for safety," Captain Dyke explained.

"Then, will those Little Melon be alright?" Upon hearing this, Wybicki immediately thought of the Little Melon on the ship.

"Ah, those Little Melon are all tightly bound; after all, we're afraid of dying too," Captain Dyke laughed.

Seeing that Captain Dyke seemed to be in a good mood, Wybicki asked again, "Why haven't I seen any cannons on the ship?"

In this era, almost all ocean-going ships were equipped with a certain number of cannons. This was because it was still an era rife with piracy. Although laws and order existed on land, the vast ocean remained a dark forest. Not to mention the pirates who roamed the shipping lanes, some even with official support (the Britain Spain, in order to combat France, allowed civilian ships to attack and capture vessels flying the France flag. Of course, the France followed suit, allowing any civilian ship to attack and capture any vessel flying the flag of Britain or other countries at war with France), even ordinary merchant ships frequently resorted to piracy when encountering vessels significantly weaker than themselves.

Therefore, any cargo ship on a long voyage must carry several cannons for its own protection.

"Our ship doesn't need cannons. Of course, it can't be equipped with cannons either. You'll understand once we set sail," Captain Dyke replied.

"May I go and see how this ship sails in a bit?" Wybicki asked.

"Yes, you can come with me now. Also, can you swim?" Captain Dyke suddenly asked.

Yes, it will.

"That's fine. If you can swim, you can go up on deck. But once you're out of the Strait of Gibraltar, you shouldn't go up on deck unless absolutely necessary," Captain Dyke said.

"Then please come with me."

That afternoon, the "Flying" left the dock and sailed into the open sea. After only an hour, the lookout sent a warning. "Spain warships spotted! Spain warships spotted!"

Wybicki immediately tensed up. He looked around but saw nothing. Then he looked at the sailors on the ship and found that they were all calm and collected, continuing with their tasks as if they were completely unaffected.

"What a bunch of ruthless bandits!" Wybicki mentally labeled the sailors again, then turned to Captain Dyke, who was pouring brandy into his mouth, and asked, "Captain, where are the enemy warships? Are you alright?"

"Look, over there..." Captain Dyke casually pointed to the starboard side. Seeing Wybicki craning his neck and widening his eyes, he handed him a pair of brass binoculars. "Over there, at two o'clock."

Wybicki took the binoculars, leaned against the railing next to the helm, and continued to look in that direction. Sure enough, he saw several white sails.

"Judging from the mast, it's a Spain frigate," Captain Dyke explained, knowing that Wybicki wasn't familiar with naval affairs. "Frigates are relatively small vessels, with only about forty cannons, but they're relatively fast. But it's alright, they pose no threat to us."

By this time, the three masts of the Spain frigate had fully emerged above the sea, and then its imposing hull was revealed... However, after a while, even Wybicki could see that the Spain frigate was not approaching them at all, but continued to move forward along its original course, as if they had not seen the "Flying" at all.

"How is that possible? Although the 'Flying' isn't a large ship, its masts are very tall and its sails are quite impressive. There's no way they could have missed it," Wybicki couldn't help but ask.

"They've chased us before, and they know they can't catch us, so they don't want to waste their energy," Captain Dyke said. "We're at least four or five knots faster than them. Even if they broke their masts, they still couldn't keep up with us. Chasing us is like a tortoise trying to catch a hare—no, like a tortoise trying to catch a seagull flying in the sky. It's a complete waste of energy. If I were in their shoes, I wouldn't chase after them either."

Just as Captain Dyke said, the Spain showed no intention of giving chase; their gun ports weren't even open. Wybicki even saw through his binoculars that sailors on the Spain ship were waving in their direction.

"Now you know why we don't need to equip ourselves with cannons, right?" Captain Dyke said smugly to Wybicki, while removing his feather-decorated hat and waving it at the Spain.

"I understand, I understand," Wybicki nodded. "This is a truly magnificent ship, a miracle ship indeed."

"Oh, really? I hope you'll still think that way after we've passed Gibraltar," Captain Dyke said, putting his hat back on.

The HMS Flying Scots passed through the Strait of Gibraltar late at night. This is the gateway from the Mediterranean Sea to the Atlantic Ocean and one of the most important military bases of the Royal Navy. Unlike the Spain, the Britain, like mad dogs, would often chase you relentlessly even when they knew they couldn't catch you. Captain Dyke initially enjoyed deliberately leading the Britain on aimless chases, but now he felt that this low-skilled game of cat and mouse was utterly pointless. He even suspected that the Britain were using the chases to train their sailors. So now he preferred to navigate the strait at night, rather than be a free sparring partner for the Britain.

As soon as the Flying Ship left Gibraltar, Wybicki immediately understood the meaning of what Captain Dyke had said to him earlier.

By then, Wybicki was already asleep in his little bed. The slight rocking of the ship even felt comforting to him. In his dream, he returned to his childhood, to his mother's arms, where she held him and gently rocked him...

Then, the mother in the dream transformed into the bearded father, who tossed little Wybicki high into the air, caught him gently, then tossed him up again, and then... this time he missed him, and with a thud, Wybicki was jolted awake.

It was pitch black all around, and he couldn't see anything. He could only feel the ship being suddenly pushed high into the air and then falling back down, rocking violently back and forth and side to side. Wybicki felt dizzy and couldn't help but open his mouth and vomit...

The next morning, Wybicki, feeling weak from vomiting, saw Captain Dyke again. This time, however, he was lying in his own bed, while Captain Dyke stood beside him with the ship's doctor.

"Hey, Mr. Wybicki, what's wrong, seasick?" Captain Dyke chuckled. "That's just how this ship is; to go fast, you have to accept this drawback."

"I was thinking that later... ugh... ugh..." Before he could finish his sentence, Wybicki started gagging again.

"We have special seasickness medication on board, you can drink some..." Captain Dyke said.

After being seasick for several days, Wybicki finally felt a little better. He was even able to get up and go to the captain's cabin, where he saw a wave coming and the seawater rushing down the deck.

"Don't worry, there's nothing wrong with the ship," Captain Dyke said. "This is normal."

"Ah, I understand why this ship can't be equipped with cannons..." Wybicki said.