Free Trade

The task of selecting the envoy was left to Lucien, since the Ministry of Truth had the most swindlers, even more than the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Of course, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs also had its advantages, namely that many of its staff received salaries from both the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and secretly from the Ministry of Truth, or from the Ministry of Police, or even from three departments simultaneously.

Lucien found a very capable guy in his department. Last time, this guy helped him expose a bunch of people who were physically in the Ministry of Truth but mentally in the Ministry of Police, who were paid by the Ministry of Truth but received bonuses by the Ministry of Ministry of Police. Therefore, he caught Lucien's eye.

After speaking with this man, Lucien was even more convinced that he was a very capable fellow worthy of being trusted. This man's hands were calloused from his time as a craftsman, and he could readily adopt a seemingly honest but foolish demeanor when necessary. However, he spoke five languages, had received a very good education, and, more importantly, was remarkably clear-headed, able to clearly see where his own interests lay. Moreover, he was incredibly bold, unafraid of death, and unafraid to let others die. Or to put it more bluntly, this man was a born conman and robber.

This guy's name is Victor de Treville. Well, just by looking at the name, you know he's a nobleman. But while one's birth is not one's own choice, one can choose one's path. Just like in * Ninety-Three *, where the nobleman Gauvain steadfastly stood on the side of the revolution, Victor is also, or at least appears to be, a progressive nobleman who betrayed his birth and firmly stood with the vast revolutionary masses. He severed ties with his brother, who remained in the reactionary camp. He played a significant role in the crucial battle to suppress the noble rebellion that led to Napoleon's ascension to the First Consulship, and now he is one of the Ministry of Ministry of Truth's top agents.

So when he received this task, Lucien immediately thought of him.

Victor also knew that although he was highly valued, he faced a major problem: he had always worked in a secret department.

Many people believe that working in a secret service is incredibly powerful and prestigious, so much so that one's name cannot even be mentioned. However, this is a complete misconception, a result of being misled by various sensationalist dramas. The more someone's name is forbidden to be mentioned, the more likely they are to be sacrificed—since no one will know if they are killed. Even those with names, like the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, are practically insignificant compared to regular civil officials, especially those who rose through the ranks of the Hanlin Academy.

To truly climb to the top, one must find a way to get on the right track and become someone whose name appears in the newspapers. Victor knew that this trip to Saint-Domingue as Napoleon's special envoy might just be such an opportunity.

Upon receiving the mission, Victor immediately went home to prepare. He only told his wife, "I'm going on a mission," before packing his pre-prepared luggage—because he often needed to leave immediately for a mission, there was always a set of luggage already packed in a suitcase at home, ready to be picked up and taken away—and left.

His wife, already used to all this, didn't ask where he was going or when he'd be back. Because most of the time, these were "secrets." Victor himself added, "This time I might be gone for a long time." And as he left, his son Edgar said in his childish voice, "Daddy, remember to bring me back some paints, I'm almost out."

Victor smiled and responded before leaving.

A carriage was already waiting at the entrance.

"To Russell Wharf," Victor said to the driver as he boarded the carriage.

Russell Wharf was a dock on the Seine River, where steamships bound for Le Havre departed. To protect the secret of the propellers, civilian steamships, except for naval warships, were still only permitted to use paddlewheels. This naturally slowed down the ships, but because they ran day and night, it was still the fastest way to travel from Paris to the Atlantic Ocean coast. Of course, if you were to reverse the direction and travel from the Atlantic Ocean coast to Paris, it would be faster to take a mail train.

When Victor arrived in Le Havre, the staff of the Ministry of Truth had already prepared a ship for him to go to Saint-Domingue.

This is a large steam-powered frigate named "Free Trade," with three towering masts and two large funnels. As a large steam-powered frigate, it is the French Navy's newest experimental warship, with a displacement of about 2,300 tons, which is equivalent to that of a second-class battleship.

In addition to the significant increase in drainage capacity, she also used many new technologies. The first was the steel keel.

In this era, the keel needed to build warships was a hard-won strategic resource. Although keel splicing technology existed, the strength of spliced keels was obviously no match for that of a fully grown giant tree, and the use of splicing was also very limited. Therefore, keels severely restricted the size of warships and other vessels.

However, the advent of cheap steel changed this situation. Steel is stronger than any wood, and it can be made as thick and long as desired. The only problem is that steel rusts very easily in the marine environment. While most other parts of a ship can be replaced, the keel cannot. Once the keel is severely corroded, it almost certainly means the entire ship is ruined.

Of course, this isn't without solutions. For example, adding chromium to steel can create stainless steel. In fact, stainless steel has already been developed in the Military-Industrial Complex's laboratories. However, chromium has only recently been discovered, and its extraction is not easy, making stainless steel quite expensive. Moreover, the stainless steel that the Military-Industrial Complex has currently produced in laboratories does not have sufficient corrosion resistance to withstand the salt spray environment at sea, and its strength is also relatively weak compared to ordinary steel. Therefore, this technology is not suitable for manufacturing the keel of warships.

Another related technology is galvanizing the entire steel keel. On Earth, zinc reserves are far less than chromium, but its refining is not difficult. A certain mysterious Eastern power was already able to produce large quantities of metallic zinc about a thousand years ago, and until the nineteenth century, metallic zinc was one of the major export products of that power.

Zinc has a very low melting point, which makes the galvanizing process quite simple; it doesn't require electroplating or anything like that, just a hot-dip method.

The keel of this warship was constructed using this technology.

The use of steel keel actually reduced the cost of this massive structure weighing over two thousand tons, while the savings in construction time were even more significant.

This ship still used a hybrid power of steam and sails, but it was equipped with two larger steam engines and twin propellers.

Of course, the steam engine and coal bunker took up a lot of space, so the ship still only had one complete gun deck and a very short low gun deck.

However, compared to the previous "Equality", the "Free Trade" was much more powerful. It had a total of twenty 110mm breech-loading rifled guns. Two of them were mounted in the bow, and the other eighteen were distributed on both sides of the warship. There were seven guns on each side of the upper gun deck and two guns on each side of the second gun deck.

Although the number of cannons only increased by two, the rate of fire and power of each cannon increased significantly.

The Free Trade has already completed numerous sea trials in coastal areas, but this is its first time voyaging across the Atlantic Ocean. This long-distance voyage was designed with the purpose of reaching the New World to protect free trade between the Old and New Worlds.

In fact, the ship was not fully prepared for such a long voyage, but the changing situation in Haiti created an urgent need for a warship that could command respect. It was only then that Napoleon requested the navy to allow the "Free Trade" to embark on its long-distance voyage ahead of schedule.

The ship sailed out of the harbor that very night after Victor boarded, heading out onto the vast ocean.

The Free Trade was not fast, averaging only about 7 knots, because they did not use steam engines and relied entirely on sails. Although the Free Trade had large coal bunkers, they were not enough to support an Atlantic Ocean voyage.

Victor had never traveled far by sea before, so he was initially quite fascinated by life at sea. However, the novelty wore off quickly, and the days soon became monotonous and boring. The Atlantic Ocean voyage took more than a month, and during that month, all Victor could see was the blue sky and the blue sea, and nothing but the blue sky and the blue sea.

Occasionally, they would encounter one or two other ships, but most of these ships would avoid them from a great distance. Occasionally, one or two would get a little closer, but after seeing the size of the "Free Trade, they would immediately change direction and sail away.

"Mr. Treville, is this your first time on such a long voyage?" Captain Zola asked, noticing Victor gazing at the sea alone, looking bored.

"Yes, this is indeed my first time on such a long voyage. I've been on ships before, but only in the Mediterranean Sea, from Marseille to Genoa. Back then, I already thought the ocean was incredibly vast, but now, compared to that, I realize how small the Mediterranean Sea is. By the way, Captain, how much longer until we reach Saint-Domingue?"

"Ah, Mr. Treville, you've asked this question more than once. Maybe tomorrow, maybe the day after, in any case, we'll be there soon," Captain Zola replied.

Victor smiled sheepishly, about to say something, when the lookout shouted, "Ship sighted, eleven o'clock!"