Chapter 46 Fleet
October 8, 1866, Venice.
Hechingen Shipyard.
Today is Ernst's second time in Venice. Unlike the last time, it is already October, but the weather is transitioning from hot to cold, so the temperature is relatively cool and comfortable.
Because we received news the day before yesterday that the fifth new ship has been built, and now the ship ordered by Ernst has been built in the dock and is waiting to be launched.
So this time Ernst came to attend the launching ceremony of his own fleet. The Hechingen Shipyard has been accepting other orders, so it cannot devote itself to building ships for Ernst. Only one dock can be left for Ernst's own company in each cycle. After all, this is the only way for the shipyard to operate smoothly.
This time, Ernst, led by the employees of the Hechingen Shipyard, came to the shipyard's dock with ease, accompanied by the ship's designer and technical director.
I saw a huge sea ship parked by the dock. The surrounding wooden frames had been removed. As the waterway was closed, water flowed from the water pipes on both sides of the waterway to the middle, and slowly the ship floated up as the water level rose.
"There are five such ships now, all of which are wooden sailing ships with steam power installed. The structures are designed by experienced ship designers..."
Ernst stood on the shore and listened to the technicians' explanation. These five wooden boats were technically quite good. After all, they were experienced and easy for the crew to operate on the sea.
"If a ship wants to go to the Far East and drift on the sea for a long time, is it safe and reliable?"
"Boss, don't worry. Our workers have been relying on this craft for years. We dare not be careless in workmanship and material selection. As for the design, it is based on the most mature and reliable solutions. There are only some minor improvements, but they will not threaten the safety of the main body of the ship."
Although the staff's assurance may not be worth a penny, it still gave Ernst some comfort. Ernst was still afraid that they would mess around. Every year there were some ship accidents caused by the designers' bold innovations.
As long as the shipyard staff operates steadily according to the mature experience of the current era, safety will be better.
Now that he has a ship, he shouldn't enter work mode and create income for himself. The first thing he should do is recruit personnel for the fleet.
Ernst instructed his new assistant Eric.
"Eric, we will start recruiting crew members for our first ocean-going commercial fleet the day after tomorrow. We can post recruitment advertisements in the Venice area."
"We must find these experienced sailors who have sailed on long-distance routes to lead the way, and recruit other sailors from the locals."
"Yes, boss!" Eric replied.
"Also, these five ships are just the right place to get our equipment to East Africa. You need to coordinate well."
Ernst planned to order a batch of machines to the colonies, including machines for weaving sisal, threshers, and some basic machines.
It is better to process some materials locally before exporting, as the profit will be higher and the shipment of goods will be more convenient.
…
While Ernst was planning his ocean-going fleet, Prince Constantine was using his connections to look for marriage partners.
On Prince Constantine's desk were information on various families, many of which were information on nobles in Germany. In that era, Germany was the incubator of European nobles, and many European nobles came from Germany, so Prince Constantine also focused on Germany when selecting targets.
In addition to Germany, some nobles from Sweden, France and Russia in Northern Europe were also considered.
"This one won't work. He's too young. This one is too old. His family is too low-status. This one has a disease..."
After much deliberation, Prince Constantine finally narrowed down to three companies. After some thought, he decided to wait for Ernst to return before making the final decision.
…
After visiting the ship launching ceremony, Ernst registered the five ships under the name of the Hechingen Ocean Trading Company.
The main focus is trade from Europe to East Africa and then to the Far East. Whether or not to make money is secondary. The current goal is to reduce costs. After all, the Dutch charges are not cheap. The most important thing is to make it more convenient to control the colonies.
The Suez Canal has not been opened yet, so let these sailors get familiar with the ocean routes first. At the same time, continue to expand the size of the fleet and wait for the Suez Canal to open.
After the opening of the Suez Canal, the distance from Europe to East Africa was shortened by more than half.
As long as you start from the Mediterranean, enter the Red Sea through the Suez Canal, enter the Indian Ocean through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, and go south along the coastline, you can reach East Africa.
Fleets in the Gulf of Aden could decide to go east to the Far East or south to the colonies, while fleets returning from the Far East or East African colonies could dock at ports along the Mediterranean coast. The goods were transported from Austria back to Prussia by land.
Now, we can only continue to travel along the long coastline of western Africa. This is also good, as it allows the newly recruited sailors to become familiar with their work and environment.
"Eric, there is one more thing. Go to the market and check if there are any second-hand ships for sale. Five ships are still too few. We need to speed up the process and see if we can expand the fleet to more than ten ships."
"Yes, boss."
Eric wrote everything down and prepared to complete them one by one.
Five sailing ocean-going ships were on a sea trial in the Adriatic Sea. Ernst stood at the bow, feeling the sea breeze. Ships were coming and going on the Adriatic Sea, and various horns were ringing in his ears from time to time.
The sea was relatively calm, with tiny waves quietly hitting the outer wall of the ship. Ernst did not feel any strong vibrations, and his first experience on a ship was relatively comfortable.
In the future, this fleet will have to sail for a long time on the road to the East African colonies. Europe and East Asia are merely the two ends that provide human and material resources for the development of the East African colonies. East Africa is the real focus in Ernst's mind.
I'm sorry everyone, I was so angry at the trolls yesterday that I was in a bad state today. This chapter took me several hours to finish, and the result is not very good. I really don't have the mood to revise it anymore.
(End of this chapter)
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