Half an hour later, the Venice fleet left the offshore sea, and Felix took the crew back to Scala to count the remaining cargo in the cabin.
Suffering continuous shelling from enemy ships, the cabin suffered many damages. The precious porcelain was shattered by the shells, and wooden barrels containing spices and tea were scattered everywhere and soaked in the cold sea water.
"The trophies that the brothers worked so hard to grab are just gone."
Felix inspected the condition of the hull and returned to the deck along the stairs. Now, Scala has lost hope of repair, and the most valuable parts of the entire ship are these cannons.
He asked the crew to temporarily build a tripod: the top was fastened with an iron ring, and the bottom was spread out and supported on the deck. The cable passed through the pulley at the top, with the gun ear of Nine-Pounder Cannon tied to one end, and the other end was dragged by more than twenty sailors.
Under the action of ropes and crowbars, a Nine-Pounder Cannon broke away from the gap in the deck and slid on the inclined deck. The sailors desperately held the rope and let it slowly fall into the shallow water from the breach in the side.
Immediately afterwards, sailors on standby nearby swarmed up and dragged the artillery on the beach with ropes.
Not far away, Boranov looked at these hard-working friendly troops and said to himself in a very low voice:
"The Navy is really hardworking. I feel that none of the Army's various arms can compare with them."
At dusk, Felix moved some of the artillery pieces to the coastal woods, and then stayed in a nearby village for one night.
The next day, Felix continued to clean up the remaining supplies of Scala. Before leaving, he disassembled the steering wheel and reluctantly said goodbye to his old friend. After losing Scala, the surviving sailors were generally depressed. After wandering at sea for several years, everyone regarded the ship as their home. Even if they achieved great victory, they could not make up for the emptiness in their hearts.
As Army and Boranov found it difficult to understand this emotion, they squatted beside the rocks not far away and flipped crabs until the friendly forces concluded the farewell ceremony.
With the help of Militia, everyone cleared a passage in the forest and used Harness Horse to drag the artillery back to Agrinion.
The moment he entered the city gate, Boranov felt suddenly relaxed. Then he thought about it, this battle involves the navy, and a long and detailed report needs to be written, and he couldn't help but complain:
"We have to write a report again. We have to write this crap every time we fight. Why can't we let the battalion headquarters clerk do the writing instead?"
Not only Boranov, but also Scala officers have to write reports and send them to their respective superior units: Dragon Cavalry Brigade, Ionian Squadron.
In the middle of November, Felix received an official document, and the squadron commander asked him and the crew to go to Constantinople to report on their duties and wait for the allocation of new ships.
In the past few days, Boranov became familiar with them, and took the initiative to come over to check the situation and comfort Felix and the other four officers.
"On this voyage, you looted two merchant ships, sank a fishing boat, and then attacked the enemy's troop transport fleet, sinking three Medium Galleys, and sent more than 400 people into the sea to feed the fish, causing countless casualties.
Although you lost Scala, the results achieved far exceeded that of one Cruiser. Admiralty has a high probability of promoting you.
Speaking of which, when I was promoted from Deputy Battalion Commander to battalion commander, I went to Central Administration once. The canteen there was very good. It tasted even better than the canteen in Bursa back then."Felix put away the official document and sighed, "It doesn't matter, as long as Admiralty allocates me a new ship, whether it is Cruiser or Double-Deck Warship, I will accept it."
The next day, Felix handed over Scala's artillery and remaining supplies to the officers of the squadron, then left the town with the remaining crew members and rushed to Constantinople by land.
With Ionian Squadron's transfer order and service certificate, Felix can obtain supplies from towns or inns without carrying too much luggage.
Even so, it was already late December when they arrived at Constantinople.
"It's all Venice's fault for cutting off Aegean Sea's shipping. If we had taken a boat, we would have arrived long ago." Felix looked up at the falling snowflakes and felt the coolness of the melting snowflakes falling on his face.
At this time, the city guards saw a large group of noisy sailors and took the initiative to come over and ask, "Which army do you belong to?"
"Ionian Squadron, Scala. The battleship has run aground. The Commodore asked us to come over and pick up the new ship."
After a brief inspection, the guards allowed these dusty sailors to enter the city and at the same time sent someone to inform Admiralty.
A month ago, Admiralty received relevant reports from the squadron and Dragon Cavalry Brigade, believing that Scala had successfully achieved its combat objectives and the gains outweighed the losses.
According to the procedure, Admiralty held a routine inquiry and required Felix and the remaining officers to arrive on time.
December 26, early morning. A group of people left the naval camp in the south of the city, wearing beaver cylindrical hats and thick black winter uniforms - the same color and style as the summer uniforms, except that the fabric was thickened to keep warm.
"Hey, there's a new Railway Carriage here."
Felix's original plan was to hire a private carriage, but in order to save money, he squeezed into Railway Carriage's carriage and asked the coachman to set off quickly.
"Don't worry, we'll leave when the seats are full." The coachman recognized the identities of these officers from their epaulettes, and his reaction was very dull.
He once carried Black Sea Fleet's admiral and Cavalry Brigade's financial officer. These five officers could only be regarded as ordinary passengers, nothing surprising.
Finally, the carriage was filled with twenty people. The coachman flicked his whip and the carriage began to move smoothly. Felix leaned against the window in a daze, thinking about the next meeting process.
At eight o'clock, the group arrived at the south entrance of Central Administration. They showed the guards the written order from Admiralty and then underwent body search.
Soon, Admiralty's staff came over to sign, and then led these officers through the city gate to the waiting room on the first floor of the Admiralty main building.
Felix is no stranger to Admiralty. When he was promoted twice, he underwent face-to-face assessment at Admiralty, as did other officers.
"The furnishings here remain unchanged."
Felix was sitting on the seat by the window, looking at the grass and trees in the courtyard through the glass, and his breath condensed into white mist on the surface of the glass.
After a while, four young officer candidates walked into the waiting room with cautious expressions. They chose seats in the corners and began to look through the notes they carried. Admiralty is holding the officer qualification examination?
Felix is in doubt:
"This is not a normal exam time. Admiralty holds an exam temporarily. There are only two possibilities: the frontline navy has suffered heavy casualties and is in urgent need of additional personnel. Or the shipyard has launched many new warships and needs to temporarily promote a group of officers."
It is winter now and the sea conditions are bad. It is impossible for the two sides to have a decisive battle at this time. Felix thinks it should be the second situation.