Chapter 46 Fleet
October 8, 1866, Venice.
Hechingen Shipyard.
Today is Ernst’s second time in Venice. Unlike last time, it is already October, but the weather is transitioning from hot to cold, so the temperature is relatively cool and comfortable.
Because I received the news the day before yesterday that the fifth new boat has been built. Now the boat Ernst ordered has been built at the dock and is waiting to be launched.
So this time Ernst came to participate in the launching ceremony of his own fleet. The Hechingen shipyard has been receiving other orders, so it cannot wholeheartedly build ships for Ernst. Each cycle can only leave one shipyard for Ernst. After all, only in this way can the shipyard run smoothly.
This time Ernst, led by the employees of the Hechingen Shipyard, came to the dock of the shipyard with familiarity, accompanied by the ship's designer and technical director.
I saw a huge sea ship parked beside the dock. The surrounding wooden frames had been removed. As the water channel was closed, the water flowed from the water pipe channels on both sides of the water channel to the middle. Slowly the big ship It floated as the water level rose.
“Today there are five such ships, all sailing wooden hull ships, equipped with steam power, and structurally completed by senior ship designers...”
Ernst Standing on the shore and listening to the technicians' explanation, these five wooden boats were technically quite good. After all, they were experienced and easy to operate by the crew on the sea.
"If a ship wants to go to the Far East and drift on the sea all year round, will it be safe and reliable?"
"Boss, don't worry, our workers rely on this craft all year round and don't dare to worry about workmanship and material selection. It's a bit sloppy. As for the design, it draws on the most mature and reliable solutions, but there are some A small improvement, but it 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 gives Ernst some comfort. I'm afraid they will mess up, and every year there are some boat accidents caused by designers' bold innovations.
As long as the shipyard staff operate stably according to the mature experience of the current era, safety will be better.
Now that the ship is there, it is not time to let him enter work mode and create profits for himself. The first thing is to recruit personnel for the fleet.
Ernst ordered his new assistant Eric.
"Eric, the day after tomorrow we will start preparing for the recruitment of crew members for our first ocean-going commercial fleet. We can publish recruitment advertisements to the Venice area."
"Be sure to find these people who have traveled across the ocean. The master of the route leads the way, and the other sailors are recruited from the locals."
"Yes, boss!" Eric answered.
"Also, these five ships just solve the problem of a batch of our instruments going to East Africa. You must do a good job of coordination."
Ernst planned to order a batch of machines to the colony, machines for weaving sisal, threshing machines, and some basic machines.
Some materials are still processed locally and then exported. The profit will be higher, and the shipment of goods will be more convenient.
...While Ernst was planning the ocean-going fleet, Prince Constantine was initiating connections and looking for marriage partners.
On Prince Constantine’s desk are information about various families, many of which are information about aristocrats from the German region. In this era, the German region is the incubator of European aristocrats. Many of them are European nobles all came from the German region, so Prince Constantine also focused on Germany in his selection.
In addition to Germany, some nobles from Sweden, France and Russia in Northern Europe are also under consideration.
“This one is not good, it is too young, this age is too old, this family’s status is too low, this one has a disease...”
After picking and choosing, Prince Constantine finally made the final decision After locking in three companies, I thought about it and decided to wait until Ernst came back before making the final decision.
……
After visiting the launching ceremony of the ships, Ernst listed the five ships under the name of Hechingen Ocean Trading Company.
The main focus is trade from Europe to East Africa and then to the Far East. Whether it makes money is secondary. The current purpose is to reduce costs. After all, the Dutch charges are not cheap. The most important thing is to make it easier to control the colonies.
Currently, the Suez Canal has not yet been opened. Let these sailors become familiar with the ocean routes first. At the same time, continue to expand the size of the fleet and wait for the opening of the Suez Canal.
After the opening of the Suez Canal, the distance from Europe to East Africa will be shortened by more than half.
As long as you start from the Mediterranean Sea, 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.
The fleet in the Gulf of Aden can decide to go east to the Far East or south to the colonies, and the fleet returning from the Far East or the East African colonies can dock at ports along the Mediterranean coast. Transport goods from the Austrian region back to Prussia by land.
Now, we can only continue walking along the long coastline of western Africa. This is good, so that the newly recruited sailors can become familiar with their work and environment.
“Eric, 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 progress and see if we can expand the fleet to ten ships. Above."
"Yes, boss."
Eric recorded everything and prepared to complete it one by one.
Five sailing ocean-going ships were on trial voyage in the Adriatic Sea. Ernst stood at the bow of the ship, feeling the sea breeze. Ships were coming and going on the Adriatic Sea, and various whistles were ringing in his ears. Ring
The sea water was relatively calm, and tiny waves were gently lapping at the outer wall of the ship. Ernst could not feel any strong vibrations, and his first experience on the ship was quite comfortable.
In the future, this fleet will sail on the road to the East African colonies for a long time. Europe and East Asia are just two ends that provide human and material resources for the development of the East African colonies. East Africa is Ernst The real focus of your heart.
Sorry everyone, I let the trolls shut themselves down yesterday, which resulted in me being in a bad state today. It took me a few hours to finish this chapter, but the effect was not good. I really am not in the mood to change it anymore.
(End of this chapter)