The train arrived at the terminal station, Genoa, and the passengers stood up to get off.
In the last carriage, Liu Buchan rubbed his swollen waist, stood up and said to a guard beside him. "Jiang Liu, let everyone get up, we are here."
Then Jiang Liu, who was also confused, woke up everyone in the carriage one by one.
"Jiang Liu, why did you kick me?"
"Hey, you are amazing."
With a burst of noise, the people in the carriage started to get up. It was pitiful to say that they were different from the passengers in other carriages. In order to avoid being discovered by the French, they not only stayed in the carriage the whole time, but also changed several trains in succession.
The motorcycle was hooked up, and even a poultry truck was hooked up. The journey was hard enough.
After everyone got up, Liu Buchan looked at the officers and soldiers who were originally preparing to calm down the second ship with him. "Okay, everyone, stay calm. This is an unfamiliar place in Italy, so we are all waiting in the carriage."
Liu Buchan's words made everyone in the carriage quiet. Except for the sound of individuals packing their luggage, no one dared to speak anymore. The purpose of this time was already mentioned in the car. The imperial court purchased two large Italian warships. They will
Learn from the Italian navy officers and soldiers on the warship, and strive to be able to operate it skillfully on your own as soon as possible.
They were not left waiting for long. After the other passengers had left, a man wearing an Italian navy uniform walked out of the carriage. "Everyone, you...now...please follow me...out together."
This sentence was said in Chinese. Although it was spoken awkwardly, the officers and soldiers of the Beiyang Navy in the carriage could understand it.
The Beiyang officers and soldiers in the carriage followed the Italian naval officer and passed through a guarded door and saw nearly ten carriages.
"Everyone, we need to take a carriage next. I personally suggest that you don't open the curtains to avoid being discovered."
This time, the words spoken were in English. Fortunately, many of the officers and soldiers of the Beiyang Navy knew English. After telling each other, everyone boarded the carriage.
After they all got on, the carriage slowly started, taking them to take advantage of the sunset and move in one direction.
As the leader, Liu Buchan naturally stayed in the same carriage with the Italian naval officer.
"Captain, do you know your name?"
Having stayed in the UK for a long time, Liu Buchan’s English proficiency is not low.
"Hello, my name is Gomez, Radi Luce Gomez."
"Hello, Captain Gomes. Wonder where we are going next?"
Now that Liu Buchan knew the name, the next step was naturally where he was most concerned about.
"We will go directly to the naval base in Genoa. Because we are pressed for time, we cannot give you time to rest."
"It doesn't matter, this is exactly what we want."
By the time Liu Buchan and his party arrived at the naval base, it was already dark, and the gas lamps in the city were lighting up everywhere. When they were turned on, they looked as beautiful as dots of stars in the sky.
After the carriage was stable, the group of people got out of the car. The military port was heavily guarded at night, and patrolling soldiers were everywhere. Liu Buchan and his group, led by Captain Gomes, arrived in front of a dormitory building.
"The second floor here is where you will rest. The bedding is all ready. I will have people deliver food later. I'm sorry that I can only let you eat here."
"You're welcome, Captain Gomes, we are all soldiers and we don't care about comfort."
After seeing off the Italian officer, Liu Buchan gave the order. "Group four people, and each group chooses a room."
He had seen it before, it was a room for four people, and the bedding was all new.
Sure enough, a pile of bread and a pot of soup were delivered later, and a group of people sat by the bed, eating soup and bread. After eating and drinking, they felt sleepy and fell asleep under the blankets.
The next day, everyone in the group was woken up by the wake-up call in the base.
And then Captain Gomes came again.
"Everyone, we are going to board the ship next, so please hurry up."
As soon as they heard that they were about to board the ship, the group immediately became energetic. This is a 7,000-ton warship. Who doesn't want to see it?
While they were busy, there was also a group of people in the naval base giving instructions to the two warships.
"Looking at these two warships for the last time, they will no longer belong to our navy from now on."
Admiral Gorek, the Minister of the Navy, looked at the Venice and Brescia docked in front of him and said with emotion.
"Your Excellency, Admiral, please rest assured that although these two warships no longer belong to the navy, we will still not lose their reputation. In the future, we will make the French in the Far East feel scared when they hear these two warships."
"Hahaha, very ambitious."
Hearing Captain Leifer's impassioned speech beside him, the Admiralty recalled his own youth.
"I won't say anything unnecessary. You also know this time that although the Qing Navy is nominally in command, you are actually in charge. I have only one request. No matter what happens, you must return to Italy safely. You
I carefully selected them from the navy, and I will never allow you to be buried in the Far East."
"Please rest assured, General, the shells that can hit me have not yet been manufactured."
Gorek patted the captain on the shoulder and continued to ask, "How are the Qing naval officers and soldiers who have arrived?"
"There is no difference at all, but they are a little taciturn. Gomes is responsible for receiving them."
The Minister of the Navy nodded and said with a serious expression. "In that case, you will set off early tomorrow morning."
"Didn't you say three days later?"
"That's originally the case, but I heard that the French seemed to have caught wind of it, so you need to leave early to be on the safe side."
"Okay, I'll let the crew prepare in advance."
"In addition, after you pass through the Suez Canal, the names of the ships Venetia and Brescia will no longer be used. The Qing Dynasty has named them Zhiyuan and Jingyuan. You will become the first captain of the Zhiyuan."
Admiral Gorek left after looking at the two warships for a while. After all, these two warships belonged to the Qing Dynasty, and Italy needed to continue building them.
After Admiral Gorek left, Leifer immediately found Gomes and informed him of the decision to set off early. Then the next arrangement for Beiyang officers and soldiers to familiarize themselves with the warships was cancelled. All officers and soldiers of the two warships, regardless of nationality, were
, immediately began to transport supplies and burn coal to the warships.
After a busy day, the exhausted officers and soldiers of the two countries laughed when they saw that the other party was as dirty as themselves, which immediately brought the relationship between the two parties closer.
Seeing this opportunity, Leifer and Gomes brought wine and sausages in the evening. A group of old men grilled sausages and drank wine. The relationship between the two became more harmonious. Even Liu Buchan hugged the two captains.
Chat together in English.
The next day, there were no flowers to send off. The two Venice-class patrol ships went to sea again in the name of training, but this time they probably won't come back again.
