Chapter 111: Fleet Commander’s Strange Invitation
Chapter 111 – The Fleet Admiral’s Strange Invitation
On the deck of the Conqueror, there were two deep red velvet chairs and a small round table.
Arthur picked up the white porcelain teacup on the table and gently sipped it. He looked at the sun gradually sinking in the west in the sky and the golden sea, and felt the gentle cool summer sea breeze, only to feel that the nerves that had been tense in recent days had finally loosened up.
Sitting beside him was an old man with some wrinkles on his forehead, wearing a silver-white wig, dressed in the uniform of a senior officer of the Royal Navy, which was precisely the supreme commander of the entire Channel Fleet – Admiral Edward Codrington.
Arthur had thought that he would be a big and rough-looking man, but in fact, Codrington was a man with a googly-egg face, willowy eyebrows, a hawkish nose, and long, thin eyes.
Without his naval uniform, Codrington’s melancholy demeanor was more akin to that of an artist with a paintbrush.
Of course, if he had been an artist, he might not have had this melancholy demeanor.
After all, who knew if he was depressed because he had been frozen by the Admiralty.
Seeing Arthur finish his tea, Codrington raised his hand and pointed to the fruit plate full of raisins on the round table and said, “Have some of this, it’s guaranteed to taste good. Of all the fleet’s raisins, I dare say the Channel Fleet’s are definitely the best. After all, the supplier of the raisins was hand-picked by me, and every single grape had to come from the sunny Apennine coast.”
As soon as Arthur heard this, he immediately understood that Codrington must still not have let go of the lump in his heart.
After all, a normal admiral wouldn’t be so troublesome to the Admiralty, why would he have to run to the Mediterranean to get the goods when it’s just a matter of eating a raisin?
However, he still graciously accepted the other party’s suggestion and grabbed a handful of raisins and stuffed them into his mouth.
As he chewed, he commented, ”This is not generally sweet, grapes produced in sunny places like the Mediterranean are just better than our local ones. Your Excellency, you really know a lot about grapes.”
Hearing this compliment, Codrington’s mood was instantly lightened.
He humbly said, “After eating more grapes, I naturally understand them. If you fight more battles, you will naturally win. But a genius scientist like you is not something that can be accumulated by mere experience. Diligence is important, but when it comes to scientific research, what’s more important is talent.”
When Arthur heard this, he almost spat out the black tea that he had just brought into his mouth to relieve the greasiness.
He adjusted his mood and thrillingly maintained his composed expression.
“Are you also a scientific researcher?”
“No, no, no.”
Codrington laughed with his teacup in hand, “I’m not even close to you, although I’m a member of the Royal Society, I can only be considered an enthusiast at best. Seeing this surprised expression on your face, I guess the Duke of Sussex didn’t tell you about it, right? In fact, many of the generals in the Royal Navy are members of the Royal Society, and all of us are always keeping an eye on the progress of the scientific field.
Any sensible admiral knows well that making good use of science can help us gain a lot of advantages on the battlefield. I am not ashamed to say that I am one of Mr. Faraday’s fans, but I am a little more interested in his advances in chemistry. And I’m still only just getting started in his newly proposed direction of electromagnetism.”
Arthur couldn’t help but feel his heart sink when he heard this.
That doesn’t sound right! He couldn’t be trying to ask me for a lesson in the field of electromagnetism, could he?
As expected, Codrington opened his mouth and asked, “Perhaps it’s a bit presumptuous of me to ask, but after all, I’m afraid that you are currently the second person in the field of electromagnetism in the United Kingdom under Mr. Faraday, so I’d like to know what are your views on the future direction of electromagnetism?”
“Well ……”
Arthur pretended to be contemplative, for this question, he chose not to talk about theories but only visions.
“The discovery of the phenomenon of electromagnetic induction did solve a big problem for us. After the discovery that electricity and magnetism could be transformed into each other, Mr. Faraday began to devote all his efforts to the development of electromagnetic generators.
If he made a key breakthrough in this area, then I believe that perhaps in the near future, electromagnetic generators will be used in all areas of life, just like steam engines.” “Electromagnetic generator?”
Codrington’s eyes lit up at his words, “I know that in the past two years there have been some civilian ships that use steam engines as power. But the power provided by steam engines is obviously not enough to drive large warships for the time being, and can at most be used as auxiliary power. In your opinion, is there any chance to build a warship powered entirely by electricity in the future?”
“A battleship powered by electricity?”
Arthur carefully recalled, he didn’t seem to have such a thing in his memory, but he wasn’t in a position to dismiss Codrington’s interest, so he could only reply.
“All I can say about science is that anything is possible. But in the meantime, patience is needed. After all, as you know, a long time has passed since the invention of the steam engine. But it is only from today that England really has a passenger railroad powered entirely by steam locomotives. I’m sure electric warships will come along, it just takes time.”
Codrington laughed out loud at this and said, “So you also saw that news about the Manchester-Liverpool railroad about to open. To tell you the truth, although I am old, I always like to catch up with the times. If I hadn’t suddenly received orders to go to sea, I had planned to go on the first passenger train today.”
Arthur snickered, “Is that so? I am in the same boat as you. If I hadn’t suddenly received this case, I would probably be on the train right now in charge of the Duke of Wellington’s security as well.”
When Codrington heard this, the old man couldn’t help but be amused, “In that case, it seems like we are destined to sit down and have a cup of tea together today.”
Arthur smiled and nodded, “In hindsight, this is probably God’s will, isn’t it? The matter of accompanying you for afternoon tea is something I can’t avoid even if I want to.”
Codrington nodded with a smile, “To say that Scotland Yard also doesn’t cherish talent, actually putting such an outstanding person like you on the high seas, what if something is going to happen? In the new field of electromagnetism, you and Faraday are the only people in Great Britain who can do anything about it. If you ask me, young man, why don’t you quit Scotland Yard? In a couple of years, I may have to be transferred back to the Navy Headquarters, and then you can be my scientific secretary.”
Arthur was taken by surprise at Codrington’s sudden olive branch.
However, after considering it briefly, he did not reject it immediately, but smiled and said, “If you need anything in London, you can contact me at any time.”
Codrington smiled, waved his hand and said, “No need for anytime, I will need you after a while. To tell you the truth, in two weeks I will return to London on vacation, my wife would like to take this opportunity to hold a scientific salon at home, just need you such outstanding young scientists as guests. If you can spare the time, why don’t we finalize it now?”
Arthur was taken aback by General Codrington’s flurry of combinations.
It wasn’t until now that he finally understood his opponent’s true intentions.
He cried and laughed as he opened his mouth, “Your Excellency, if you are doing this for this matter, why do you need to go around in such a big circle? I can completely oblige you.”
The moment Arthur’s words left his mouth, it was now Codrington’s turn to be surprised.
“Wow …… is …… it? I thought you would not be happy about it. After all, there are quite a few scientists in the Royal Society who are eccentric, such as Farah ……Oh no. I can’t say they’re eccentric, it’s just that they dedicate all their time to science, so they’re rarely willing to show up in social places. Not to mention, this science salon is still organized by ……”
Codrington stopped talking suddenly.
Arthur asked, “Or what?”
Codrington looked at Arthur and the old man blinked hard, “Nothing, nothing ……”
Flustered, he hurriedly lifted the teapot and refilled Arthur’s cup.
“Here, Mr. Hastings, have some tea. This tea is also carefully selected by me, Chinese tea, absolutely top quality, I don’t give this to ordinary people.”
(End of chapter)