Chapter 226: Return

Captain Alexa Copsey took off his hat, revealing his shaved round head, and said, “Forget about this depressing topic. The loot this time is quite good! Even the pension for those brave warriors who sacrificed themselves will be much more than usual!”

On the sea, blood-sucking insects like fleas spread diseases very easily. So there were specialized barbers on the ship responsible for shaving the crew’s hair clean. This was to reduce the risk of disease outbreaks.

After all, taking a bath was a rare luxury for the personnel on a warship. Even a captain could only bathe at most once a week or even less frequently. Also, due to the level of chemical technology here, seawater could not make soap foam, so the servants on the ship would often heat rainwater for the captain to bathe.

As for the sailors, if they wanted to bathe, they often had to wait for a sunny day with a gentle breeze. They would hang a sail on the side of the ship to form a seawater swimming pool that blocked shark attacks. They would clean themselves inside it.

“There aren’t many buyers for Carracks! I heard that Carrack transport in the Inland Sea is almost saturated. Plus, considering this ship’s condition, I’m afraid it won’t sell without several months of major repairs!” Purser George O’Brien still expressed his worries. After all, Carracks had been around for nearly 50 years. Although no new ship type had been able to shake its dominance in the Inland Sea, the competition among various shipyards had already become white-hot.

“Repaired ships are ready-made goods, not like those cargo ships custom-built from scratch. The sea is vast; who knows if today’s companions will still be around to drink and chat tomorrow. Any sudden storm could send the entire fleet to the bottom of the sea to feed the fish. Although the Inner Sea is relatively calm, accidents always happen, not to mention the occasional attacks by pirates. So after accidents occur, those Merchant Guilds are always in a hurry for ships; I never worry about these ships not selling.” Alexa Copsey stood up and poured himself a glass of wine. He seemed to regard this as a celebration after a victory!

After all, the construction of every large ship not only took a long cycle but also cost a lot. No shipyard was willing to pay for the construction of ships out of their own pockets to wait for sale without an order. They rarely even started work if the deposit was insufficient. The risk involved was just too great.

George O’Brien seemed to think the other party’s words made a lot of sense. He said with some regret, “If it weren’t for that last Fireball, everything would have been perfect.”

“We can only blame ourselves for this kind of thing, not just Randles, but we were also careless in this regard. We thought that after controlling the sailboat, the other side would be forced to have nowhere to escape. We didn’t expect that they would rather die together than become captives!” Alexa Copsey shook his head, obviously regretting that he had let his guard down because things went too smoothly at the time.

George O’Brien also lowered his head and said, “When we suspected they were from Lucia, we should have had concerns in this regard. Unfortunately, we looked down on him because of the Maids he brought! The most regrettable thing is those three fine young men; I still remember when they first joined this ship!”

In their view, an enemy who even brought Maids on a pirate ship, if not a dandy, was unlikely to be a determined warrior. But unfortunately, they miscalculated on this matter.

However, George O’Brien suddenly thought of something and reminded him, “Copsey, some things are fine just between the two of us. In the eyes of those below, you as the Captain should be stern and serious. If you are too approachable, you will quickly lose the respect of those sailors.”

“Yes! That’s why I only behave like this in front of you, isn’t it? Besides, I think it won’t be long before you become a Captain too. By then, on this warship, I won’t even have a single person I can speak my heart to.” Alexa Copsey was quite open-minded about this and even had the mood to tease the other party.

On the ships of this world, Captains were actually quite lonely. Because of tradition and the concepts of the bottom-level sailors, Captains always strictly separated themselves from them, creating a gap between the two sides.

As the Captain of a warship, Alexa Copsey usually had to eat alone. Although sometimes he would go to the officer’s mess to eat with the officers, or entertain them in his own dining cabin.

So having a friend on the ship who could talk to him was not an easy thing.

A gleam of light suddenly flashed in George O’Brien’s eyes, but it quickly dimmed: “Copsey, you are definitely overthinking it. Although the Lord has such plans, it is still hard to say when the second three-masted warship will form combat capability!”

“True! Since the news came out, you have been eyeing that position. Since it has been a long time, you are indeed much clearer about the news in this regard than I am.” Alexa Copsey immediately expressed his understanding of the other party’s difficulties.

Purser George O’Brien said with some embarrassment, “Originally there was no chance, but now that there is such a chance, of course I have to fight for it! The difference between a Captain and a Purser is still very obvious. And I think I have the ability in this regard.”

“I also think your basic professional ability is sufficient, and the rest can only be accumulated once you are in that position. If I can have a say in the issue of the Captain candidate for that ship, I will recommend you to the Lord. I think no one in the Territory is more suitable for that position than you.” Alexa Copsey’s words were completely from his heart.

This was not only because of their good relationship, but also because George O’Brien indeed had the ability in that regard. Most importantly, it could reduce the threat to himself.

Although there were no signs of this yet, it would be hard to say in the future. Everyone desires their own honor and to climb to a better position, don’t they?

Many times, solving the problem from the root is the best solution. And after George O’Brien left, the newly promoted Purser would need several years just to establish prestige. It was still too early to threaten Alexa Copsey’s position!

“You think so too? It seems my hope is still quite big. But to command that ship, the existing sailors are far from enough! Even if all the idle sailors in the Territory are gathered, I don’t know if they can fill such a big gap. And if we recruit foreign sailors, let alone the Lord not being at ease, even I would have doubts. Sigh!” George O’Brien said and sighed.

The conscription of sailors had always been a difficult problem that plagued Lords everywhere. Not to mention recruiting new recruits for the navy; in wartime, almost no one was willing to engage in this industry. Although the Duchy of Nohan with its military-first policy was much better, young people often yearned for the Army, the profession where they could follow behind the Knights.

Since it was like this even in the Duchy of Nohan, the performance of conscription in other places was often even worse. In some Kingdoms, whenever a warship entered the port, a press gang of eight to twelve people would be sent from the ship to specifically encourage sailors on shore to join the navy. If they refused, the press gang would capture them and force them into the army. So press gangs were very unpopular, because once people were captured by them onto a warship, they could often never escape.

Of course, this kind of forced conscription behavior, similar to that of a certain infamous ‘Transport Captain’, would often result in recruits who harbored resentment, let alone reliability. The Navy often called warships on the verge of mutiny “rolling barrel warships”. Because resentful sailors would often roll barrels on the deck to knock down unfortunate officers.

The reason why mutinies occurred on ships was not only because the Captain ordered too many whippings or other punishments for discipline violators. The resentment generated when being captured on board; and the fact that the price of failure was often just punishment for the individual alone; also led them to launch mutinies. And most powerful pirates often originated from this. Of course, the strength of this pirate group that was just wiped out could not be considered very strong; they clearly did not have the style of an army.

This was why George’s prerequisite when recruiting for the navy was locals from good families who had families. He was really scared by the sailor mutinies that occurred from time to time on the routes. In addition to material rewards, spiritual sustenance was also very important. And the family itself was a very good form of sustenance.

In fact, if possible, George even wanted to equip Priests on large ocean-going warships like in the Age of Discovery before he crossed over. Religious belief was more likely to give peace to the hearts of ordinary people. However, the Priests of this time were not as easy to recruit as before crossing over! Of course, if successful, the changes brought to the warship would be more obvious. But George, who had no suitable progress in this matter, had completely given up.

Finding that the other party seemed a bit depressed, Alexa Copsey immediately comforted him: “O’Brien, don’t worry too much. I think the Lord will definitely come up with a solution. Every time he brings surprises to everyone, doesn’t he? Just like this new type of ration, the young men all like those new things. So let’s not discuss this serious topic anymore, how about changing to a happy one, for example, the rewards we can get this time are not few.”

According to naval tradition, after a victory in battle, the government would issue equivalent bonuses based on the value of the captured ships. The warship that captured the enemy ship, all officers and soldiers on board could share a quarter of the bonus. The officers could also allocate an additional quarter according to their different ranks.

If it was an entire fleet, the Fleet Commander would also take one-tenth of the remaining value. In any case, for those senior officers on the ship, this was a large sum of money. It was common for naval rewards to exceed military pay.

“It’s a pity for those silks they robbed not long ago in the cabin below. I don’t know if they can still sell for a price after being soaked in seawater. But those boxes of silverware can make up for this loss to a certain extent. Those things were not the pirates’ loot, but one of the rewards that the Lucia Noble brought to bribe them. The remaining wood, iron blocks, and the pirates’ personal belongings will have to wait until we reach the port to find someone to appraise them. But I think the price of these things is probably not as good as the previous two.” As the Purser, George O’Brien was quite clear about the materials after inventory!

Alexa Copsey still felt a bit unsatisfied with such a battle result: “Just the bounty for this Carrack alone, I can get at least 300 Gold Coins, and you have at least 200 Gold Coins in income. The rest is just a small part. It’s a pity that opportunities to start a war like this are rare for us!”

“It’s rare now because we have few opportunities to go to sea to suppress bandits. But who can say for sure about the future!” Purser George O’Brien was quite optimistic about the future!

“Heh! Heh! You’re right about that.” Alexa Copsey also hoped so in his heart! After all, no navy wanted to be a fleet that just exists. Men of the sea always have the ambition to conquer the waves.

At the same time, in the Bolerum Territory, George was rushing quickly towards the study in the Castle.

After “Bang! Bang! Bang!” knocking sounds, George asked: “Father, are you inside?”

“Oh! George, shouldn’t you be handling government affairs right now? How come you ran back as soon as I finished cleaning up my personal hygiene.” Viscount Bolerum’s teasing voice came from the study.

After skillfully pushing the door open, George complained spontaneously: “Father, why didn’t you tell me in advance when you came back?”

“Isn’t this to give you a surprise? Besides, if I told you in advance, would you stop your government affairs to welcome me, your father? So since it wasn’t necessary, I didn’t want to disrupt your daily schedule, did I?” Viscount Bolerum smiled helplessly. Sometimes, having such an excellent son put a lot of pressure on him as a father.

“Although I couldn’t stop my daily work, I could at least prepare a day in advance, and maybe I could give you a table of food you have never tasted before!” George said with a pouted mouth on purpose, because he knew that this behavior, almost like a child acting like a spoiled brat, would make Viscount Bolerum happy.

“It’s enough that you have this intention. Besides, so many things have happened during this period. You are tired enough, and I can’t bear to let my little darling work even harder.” Saying that, Viscount Bolerum stood up from the table next to the bookshelf, took a quick step to George, and touched the latter’s head.

Although he was still a bit unaccustomed in his heart, George calmly accepted Viscount Bolerum’s affection. He did not struggle or resist like in the past.

“Alright! Old Dad, why do you have time to come back at this time? If it were previous years, now is indeed your vacation. But the Duchy is at a very important point in time right now, this is not a time to slack off! You didn’t resign from His Grace the Duke at this critical moment, did you!” George teased with not entirely good intentions.

Viscount Bolerum immediately raised the hand that was pressing on George’s head, and smoothly rewarded him with a few knocks on the head: “Don’t think of your father as so irresponsible. Just because I was so busy some time ago that I had to treat the conference room as my home, that old man who desperately squeezes other people’s labor wouldn’t give me a long vacation!”

George certainly knew that the old man who desperately squeezed other people’s labor in his father’s mouth was His Grace the Duke. Rolling his eyes at his father’s complaining-like grumbling, George immediately rolled his eyes.

Although the Duchy’s current situation was not to the extent of China before the War of Resistance, it was only slightly better than Germany during the Seven Years’ War. At this critical moment that could determine the future fate of the country, Viscount Bolerum’s complaints were more or less untimely.

Looking at George who was rolling his eyes at him, Viscount Bolerum shrugged and said: “I only came back after the things in my hands were completely concluded and handed over to others, guaranteeing that nothing was delayed. Besides, the Territory suffered such a severe attack before, I always have to come back and take a look! If they continued to keep me in Karada, wouldn’t that make His Grace the Duke seem too unreasonable? This would more or less affect His Grace the Duke’s reputation in the country.”

“I’ll take your word for it. But what about that plan you had before to use Adventurers to disrupt the Lucia Kingdom’s intelligence network? How is it going now? This is a countermeasure I discussed together back then. As one of the initiators, I should get some news at least!” George immediately steered the topic to the content he was interested in.

“Alright! Alright! Sit down first and let’s have a good talk.” Saying that, Viscount Bolerum shouted outward: “Steward Craig, arrange for someone to send some freshly squeezed juice to the study.”

Although the distance was very far, George didn’t think Viscount Bolerum’s voice sounded very loud here. But this voice would not dissipate and was transmitted to a very far distance. This was a technique that bound the sound within a certain range, thereby enabling it to travel long distances. Unfortunately, apart from this kind of situation, it was actually not very useful.

If someone wanted to use it on the battlefield, they would be very wrong. This was not a one-on-one sound transmission secret technique, but a large-scale broadcast. Plus, with the noisy environment on the battlefield, it was unnecessary if close, and ineffective if far. It was really a big useless thing!