Chapter 150 Whaling and the Navy (First update, please subscribe)
It's like heaven!
For most people, life in Nanhua is like heaven.
Of course, the prerequisite is to adapt to the life here. For example, from eating rice to eating staple foods such as steamed buns and potatoes. In addition, you can eat meat every day. For those who come from a country where most people can't even get enough food, this life is naturally like heaven.
The reason why they can eat meat is not because there are many cattle here, but because of whales. Nanhua has several whaling ships that specialize in whaling. With whales, there is naturally enough meat.
For Wang Dahai, who is a fisherman in his hometown of Zhejiang, he enjoys his current life very much, especially life on a whaling ship. He likes sailing on the sea. Moreover, he is now learning Western navigation techniques.
In the early morning, when a ray of sunlight shone into the cabin through the deck grille, he turned over and jumped down from the hammock he was sleeping in.
"Okay, let's get to work, guys!"
As soon as the day broke, the whaling ship "Fred" became lively. Captain Henry, smoking a pipe, watched the crew busying around. Although the deck had been washed countless times, there was still a faint smell of blood on the deck.
This is the unique smell of a whaler.
"Captain, I just went down to the cabin to check and found that the ice in the compartment has begun to melt. It's almost time for us to return."
Standing in front of the captain, Second Officer Wang Dahai spoke to the captain in stiff English.
Fishing boats in those days did not have refrigeration equipment and could only rely on ice to keep the whale meat cool to prevent it from rotting. When the ice began to melt, it was time to return, otherwise the trip would be in vain.
"Yes, I know. Let's go back today and see if we can catch another whale. We only have less than 200 tons of whale meat in our cabin."
Whale meat!
Henry, who had worked on a whaling ship for half his life, never imagined that one day he would go out to sea to hunt whales for whale meat rather than whale oil. In the past, whale meat was even thrown directly into the sea - even if it was used for oil refining, it was a waste of fuel.
But what about now?
The American Company's whaling ships went out to sea to obtain whale meat. If it were not for whale meat, the whaling ships might have been eliminated.
"At least I'm not unemployed for now!"
Henry, smoking a pipe, muttered to himself.
In fact, he was destined to be unemployed. In the past ten years, whales in Europe and America have been almost completely caught. In order to obtain whales, they can only go to Antarctica to hunt whales, but even so, the number of whales is still decreasing. A few years ago, when oil was discovered, it was a heavy blow to the whaling industry. Kerosene refined from oil is better than whale oil in terms of lighting brightness and cleanliness, and an oil well can produce 3,000 barrels of crude oil every day. Compared with ocean-going whaling ships that can only bring back 400 barrels of whale oil from Antarctica in two years, this production gap is difficult to make up.
What's even more terrible is that the Civil War broke out, and a large number of strong and powerful adult men were conscripted into the army by the Union and the Confederacy. There was a serious shortage of manpower on the whaling ships! As the whaling industry in the United States declined rapidly, Henry, like many people, faced the crisis of unemployment.
Of course, he could accept the Navy's employment and participate in the blockade of the South, but that was a war, and people would die. At this time, the company's employment allowed him to leave the United States, where he engaged in the whaling industry he was most familiar with, but no longer for whale oil, but for whale meat.
In South China, whale meat is the most common meat, the cheapest, and the most plentiful.
"Let's go back!"
Following the captain's order, the sailors on the whaling ship "Fred", which weighed only more than 600 tons, became busy. They either climbed up the mast skillfully or lifted the rigging to maneuver the ship back to Nanhua.
In fact, Henry did not know that the greatest significance of whaling to Nanhua was not to obtain meat, but to train crew members, or to prepare for the training of sailors.
After all, the first step to going to the ocean is to first become familiar with the ocean, and whaling is the first step to becoming familiar with the ocean.
"Unlike ordinary merchant ships that follow fixed routes, whaling ships do not follow fixed routes and often encounter various sea conditions at sea. Their sailing conditions are more similar to those of the navy. We currently have seven whaling ships of about 600 tons and a crew of about 400 people. After a year of training, they can almost go to the training ship to learn navigation and gunnery..."
Steve Harry was a naval consultant hired by the company. He was a retired officer of the British Royal Navy. It was he who developed the plan to train sailors using whaling ships.
The core of this plan is to move towards the sea step by step from understanding the ocean.
"And what about the training of naval officers?"
Zhu Xianhai asked.
"Sir, I think we can do it in two steps. While setting up a naval school to train students, we can also send some young people to the UK to study naval affairs."
"To England? Will the British Naval Academy accept our cadets?"
Zhu Xianhai asked.
"The British government will definitely not accept students from our company into the Naval Academy, but they can go to the Merchant Marine School. Although it is called a Merchant Marine School, in fact, a considerable number of students will enter the Navy for internship after graduation. Moreover, all the merchant marine schools in the UK train merchant mariners according to the standards of naval officers, because they may be recruited by the Navy at any time, so there is not much difference between them."
After he said that, Zhu Xianhai thought of something. It seems that when the Japanese Togo Heihachiro was studying in the UK, he was refused admission to the Naval Academy by the British government and transferred to the Merchant Marine School. However, the British did not bully the Japanese. They also started their internships as the lowest-ranking sailors on warships. In the end, it did not affect their command of naval battles and the construction of the navy!
Steve Harry emphasized again.
"Sir, the soul of a warship is its officers. Without officers, sailors cannot give full play to their strengths. If sailors cannot give full play to their strengths, the ship will become a pile of scrap metal. Educating naval officers is the top priority in building a navy. So, my suggestion is that if you want to build a navy, the training of naval officers is the most important thing. If conditions permit, I hope you can select 20-30 students to study in the UK, and then send 10-15 people to study the navy every year, supplemented by local training officers. In ten years, about ten years later, you will have a fleet that can sail on the ocean!"
ten years!
Only can sail on the ocean...
"Ten years, is that too long?"
"Sir, do you know how long it takes to train a qualified captain of a capital ship?"
Steve Harry emphasized.
"It'll take twenty years! Ten years... but it's just the beginning!"
It takes twenty years to train a captain!
It really is worthy of the saying "Ten years for the army, a hundred years for the navy." The navy is indeed different from the army. The training of officers and soldiers can only be done step by step. There is no shortcut. Sighing in his heart, Zhu Xianhai nodded and said.
"Let's do as you say. Apprenticeship training and the selection of international students. You'll be in charge. Ten years..."
After a pause, Zhu Xianhai smiled.
"Let's take it step by step. We will always have a strong navy..."
I have set up a book club: 335260551. Everyone is welcome to join and discuss and deduce the plot together.
(End of this chapter)
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