035 Ready to go out to the open sea (2)
Preparations for the voyage of the merchant ship ‘West Victory’ departing from England to New York, USA were in full swing.
Christopher, who participated in this trip together, obtained the right to purchase real estate in North America through contact with several nobles.
Christopher tilted his head as if he did not understand, looking at the list of real estate purchases Lee Hwan gave him.
“It’s not farmland, it’s some kind of wasteland, in a mountainous area… … . Has your boss’ judgment clouded?”
The land Lee Hwan wanted was around Manhattan, New York, and the western and southern areas of North America, which is now part of Spain and Mexico.
Fortunately, all the places that said they could buy land in the Manhattan area were nothing but blank land surrounded by piles of garbage.
Currently, the western part of North America is an unexplored area, and except for fur traders, there are not many people coming and going, and the southern coast, which is the border with Mexico, was a wasteland.
Of course, there is no city near the property Lee Hwan pointed out, but it was well hundreds of miles away.
Christopher couldn’t quite understand it, but he decided to obey the president’s orders.
“… … Yeah, he’s always been lucky. Goddess of Luck will be with you this time too.”
An official from West Victory came to Christopher, who was about to leave the Ben Hereren Guild with various documents.
He greeted Christopher very politely.
“Are you a gentleman going to America this time?”
“Yes, yes.”
“It’s a disgraceful comment, but I wanted to change the route a little this time, so I came here asking for your understanding.”
“Are you changing course?”
“Recently, before and after the war in Europe, there has been a flood of migrants, so we have agreed to put them on the West Victory. As you know, as the number of people increases, the need for supplies also increases, so it seems that it will take more time to sail.”
“How much?”
“It is expected to last about three months.”
“Hmm, is it? So what’s the final destination? Will that change too?”
Originally, the West Victory was supposed to enter New England, so Christopher planned to take a wagon to his destination, New York.
But now there is no need for that.
“It’s New York.”
“New York?”
“New York is expanding as the number of immigrants increases rapidly. Now that the Erie Canal is going to be drilled, we are changing our plans to anchor in New York at any time.”
Even so, New York was already on a trend of increasing commercial population to the point where there was a traffic jam along the way.
If such a steady influx of immigrants from European wars into New York like now, New York could become the largest city in the world.
‘What does that mean that city planning might change sooner or later?’
It’s been a while since New York started to get attention, but that doesn’t mean it’s not even the part of Manhattan that’s filled with mud and rubbish.
Christopher had a glimpse of the idea that maybe Lee Hwan’s investment would not be just a crazy struggle to get his money back.
“Well, I was no ordinary person. Did you expect all this… … ?”
“Yes? what did you say?”
“Oh, no. New York will develop a lot.”
“Haha, that’s right. But rumor has it that there is an El Dorado in the west that European expeditions were looking for in the past.”
“Is it El Dorado?”
“Rumors have just begun to circulate that exploration has just begun, so won’t businessmen flock to mine for gold within the next 20 years?”
In the meantime, there were only rumors that gold was dormant in America, and few people actually got a lot of gold.
However, some explorers were risking their lives to explore the remaining unexplored areas of northern Mexico and southern Canada.
Christopher tilted his head upon hearing about El Dorado.
‘Maybe he hears about El Dorado… … ?’
The background of Lee Hwan’s plan to buy land in the western region was to purchase a land that Mexico had not yet explored at a high price and plant the flag of East Stella there.
To this end, he was also going to make contact with American politicians and hand over some money so that he could later claim sovereignty.
If even gold really exploded here, Lee Hwan would have become a wealthy man.
If this happens, Lee Hwan leads the Dutch navy with new cannons and military power to advance into the western North America where gold is piled up… … .
‘How the hell are you drawing a big sketch… … ?’
Christopher was keenly aware of the fact that Lee Hwan was a very ambitious person.
***
In October 1822, the first expedition of the royal voyage was held in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Of the total 3,000 members of the Royal Rifle, 1,500 people, half of them, were tied with a single flyer, with 16 ships centered on the flagship.
Prior to the start of this expedition, the Netherlands remodeled 17 new ships that could be called the essence of shipbuilding among the ships it had.
Since it was the first time since the British War that had operated an expeditionary fleet of this size so far, it was natural that the attention and interest of neighboring countries was drawn.
However, since these were private fleets authorized by the British, there was no power to solve the rumors.
In the presence of King Willem I, the royal sailors in black uniforms lined up in an orderly manner.
They wore an orange band on their left arm, which is a Pia identification bend designed by Lee Hwan.
Taken from noblemtl.com
Meanwhile, Lee Hwan stood on the left of Ben Heren as an advisor to the Royal Rifle.
chuck!
When Richard Ben-Herren saluted Willem I, the sailors followed him in unison and saluted the king.
“May God’s grace be upon you.”
“Long live the Netherlands!”
The ceremony was concluded very simply.
Richard Ben-Herren and Yi Hwan were called by King Willem I and had a meeting to discuss their future steps.
King Willem I asked Yi Hwan.
“How is the training status of the soldiers?”
“I can’t guarantee it’s perfect yet, but with this level of training, you should be able to defeat your enemies.”
“Yes, I want you to know that our royal family has high expectations for the Lord.”
“Sex is doomed.”
“By the way, how is the pursuit of the captured target going?”
This time, Richard Benheren answered his question.
“Currently, one company belonging to the Royal Rifle has been organized as an intelligence unit and dispatched to Africa and the United States. We are in constant contact with the mainland and are chasing after our enemies, so the good news will come sooner rather than later.”
“Did you have any decisive intelligence?”
“Once we know some of the routes of the traffickers, I think we will be able to get certain information if we capture their ships and interrogate them.”
Richard Ben-Herren was sending intelligence to the local area immediately after Lee Hwan had been trained for military training to collect information about the traffickers.
Although it was a short period of less than a year, he was able to prepare quite a lot of information in the back alleys.
“There is a slave ship that departs from western Africa, and I think if we leave now, we will be able to capture it in the middle.”
“Then the slave ship capture will be the beast of the mission.”
“Yes that’s right.”
“Okay, then I will wait for good news on the mainland.”
“I will definitely come back with the Netherlands elevated.”
After completing his interview with the commander, Willem I returned to the palace.
Now, only the actual departure is left.
Lee Hwan slung a sniper rifle over his shoulder.
Richard Benheren asked with a smile.
“Are you mentally ready?”
“Yes, Commander.”
“Then let’s get going.”
The two boarded the flagship of the private fleet, the Black Hammer.
The Black Hammer had an all black hull, and the flag had a skull on an anvil and striking it with a black hammer.
Obviously, the name of the Royal Sailing Group was given, but it had a strong feeling that it looked like a pirate ship.
“The flagship is truly impressive.”
“Since we are a group that has to deal with human trafficking and pirates, of course, I thought we had to make a strong impression. Are you too creepy?”
Lee Hwan shook his head.
He thought that he had to do at least this much so that the enemies’ urine would stink.
“very good. If possible, I should get a tattoo later.”
“Haha, that’s what pirates really do. Well, if there is an expert in that area, let’s look for it.”
Soon after, the anchor of the Blackhammer was lifted.
A single screw engine was mounted at the aft of the Blackhammer, and a steam turbine occupying one-fifth of the underground cabin was mounted.
Originally, Lee Hwan tried to build a dual engine system on the Black Hammer, but there was a limit to the wooden ship, so he could only mount one engine.
In addition, it was a problem to secure enough space to load enough coal to run, and the limit of the load capacity was also a problem.
Due to such various problems, only one engine was installed, but the majesty of the Black Hammer was absolutely overwhelming.
It had the largest dimensions among the existing large combat sailing ships, and as many as 350 troops could be accommodated in one ship.
In addition, as the gun column was double, it was possible to load a huge amount of guns, 50 on the port and 50 on the starboard.
If such a ship could pursue the enemy with a whopping 15 knots or more, it would have changed the game of war.
“It’s sailing!”
“Yes, Commander!”
boo!
“Raise the anchor!”
When the beating that signaled the departure of the fleet rang, Lee Hwan’s heart trembled magnificently.
A steam engine was installed in the aft of the expeditionary fleet, including the Black Hammer, but the sail was still in use.
Coal in this era was a very valuable commodity, and when fuel ran out, it was used for sailing.
Immediately after departure, Lee Hwan entered the captain’s room with Ben-Heren and had a meeting with each commander and staff.
Ben-Heren, who opened the chart, estimated the point where the first target was located.
“The Gulf of Guinea must have already passed, and where is it located on the North Atlantic Passage?”
“According to intelligence, after the last replenishment in Cape Verde, it will go to the São Luis delta in South America. So you probably haven’t been able to get out of Cape Verde yet.”
“The road from Ascension to the Caribbean is burdensome because of the British army, so is it the schedule to supply supplies from the São Luis Delta and go to North America?”
“It seems so. The only problem is that there is still no known intelligence about the route after the São Luis delta.”
Ascension Island had a supply base for the British army to crack down on the slave trade, so it could be destroyed if done wrong.
That is why, recently, the slave trade was taking place only on routes that British ships did not travel well.
“You mean we need to catch them before we cross the Atlantic, after all.”
“I think it would be a good idea to keep an eye on the Cape Verde area.”
In fact, the road from Holland to Africa alone was not that short.
It didn’t seem like it would be an easy journey, let alone finding a slave trader there.
First of all, the goal is set, so from now on, all that remains is to run at full speed.
“Is the amount of coal enough?”
“of course.”
“Okay, we’re going south at full speed. In the meantime, let the soldiers continue to be trained on strategies and tactics as well as repeated mastery of how to use weapons.”
“Yes, I understand.”
Although it was a private fleet that destroyed pirate ships and slave traders in the middle, the Royal Sailing Corps was also the King’s army called the Royal Rifle.
Ben Heren’s theory was that in order to become the best, training should not be neglected even for a moment.
Lee Hwan decided to teach the soldiers how to shoot.
He instructed the soldiers to hand out each Go stone, which had been finely ground and smoothed on the front and back.
“Let’s put this on the muzzle at the end of the barrel and practice firing.”
“What could be different with that?”
“It’s about practicing shooting. Aiming and firing are very important in shooting, because if you fail to control your breathing, you will not be able to hit the enemy accurately.”
The battles of this era, which were called ‘line battles’ by future history buffs, did not have time to control their breathing, and there was no reason for that.
This is because it was advantageous to focus firepower unconditionally forward and shoot as quickly as possible.
But now things were different.
“As long as cartridge ammunition is delivered directly into the chamber, we need to learn marksmanship and be able to hit enemies with precision from 100 meters away.”
“Ugh!”
“Then it’s better to start with breathing control.”
Although somewhat outdated, Lee Hwan remembered that it was quite helpful to him, and he was trying to teach it to the soldiers as well.
They didn’t even know what kind of result this little stone would produce.