As an island country, Lanfang vigorously develops the maritime transportation industry.
So far, there are more than 200 merchant ships registered in Lanfang, belonging to the three major transportation companies in Lanfang.
In Qin Zhiyuan's plan, all future transportation to Lanfang will be handled by Lanfang's freighters.
This goal has been basically achieved, but there are still some hidden dangers. The problem lies in the selection of the captain.
Although Lanfang's cargo ships have ocean-going capabilities, the number of Lanfang captains is seriously insufficient. They can only hire a large number of French or British captains, and they are also training Lanfang's own captains.
This is the case with the Minnan.
The Minnan is a 10,000-ton ocean-going cargo ship with ocean-going transportation capabilities. It is currently operating in Lanfang from Wanghai Prefecture to Northern Xinjiang. When the Minnan goes to Northern Xinjiang, it transports various materials needed by Northern Xinjiang and returns.
At that time, they brought people from the Republic of China who wanted to immigrate to Lanfang.
The Minnan is a relatively advanced cargo ship with relatively fast sailing speed. It can make a round trip from Wanghai Prefecture to Northern Xinjiang every half a month.
Like most ocean freighters in Lanfang, the captain of the Minnan is a Frenchman, and he is an acquaintance of Qin Zhiyuan. He is Henry, the captain of the Victory News on which Qin Zhiyuan and the others traveled to Europe.
Henry has been a little depressed these past two days, because the original first mate and second mate on the Minnan were transferred and went to a new ship to serve as captain and first mate respectively. Henry had to retrain his first mate and second mate.
And this kind of thing happened once four months ago.
That's right, Henry has been working under Qin Zhiyuan for more than half a year.
The trauma caused by the World War in Europe was extremely serious. The Victory Message was originally an old ship. When the Victory Message was about to be decommissioned, Henry's boss had no money to replace it with a new ship, so Henry came to Lanfang to look for food.
In fact, for Henry, even if he retires now, Henry can still live a life without worries about food and clothing.
However, Henry's love for the sea has penetrated deep into his bones. Henry could not refuse the temptation of the sea, so he continued to show off his remaining enthusiasm in Lanfang.
When he came to Lanfang from France, Henry only had a group of unskilled sailors under his command, not even a first mate or a second mate. It could be said that they were completely impoverished, so Henry had to train them from scratch.
Fortunately, these children were diligent enough and enthusiastic about learning. No matter what Henry asked them to do, they always completed it neatly, which made Henry feel very gratified.
Just when Henry had trained qualified first mates and second mates and was about to start a happy and leisurely life as a captain, the bad news came that Henry's first mate and second mate were transferred away, and Henry had to start all over again.
This is already the second time.
Henry knew that Lan Fang was using him to train more qualified captains for himself.
If this continues, one day Henry will be unemployed again.
Indeed, some English and French captains rejected this arrangement. They did not want to create competitors for themselves. But Henry did not want to refuse, because just after the Royal Ocean Line transferred Henry's first mate and second mate for the second time, the Royal Ocean Line and Henry reunited.
A contract was signed.
According to the contract, if Henry does not want to be a captain now, then Henry can choose to teach at the Deep Blue Ocean Academy founded by Lan Fang to train those jerky boys into qualified sailors. This is equivalent to finding a way out for Henry, and at the same time, the contract
It also raised Henry's salary by a large margin, which completely freed Henry from worries.
Of course, Henry has another option. Henry can choose to become a Lanfang nationality, which would completely eliminate his worries.
Henry is indeed considering this matter. Henry has been to Coconut City and knows how beautiful Coconut City is. If he can own a house in Coconut City, then Henry thinks it would be a good idea to join Lanfang as a citizen.
In fact, Henry has already thought about it. He plans to apply for Lanfang citizenship when he returns to Coconut City. In that case, Henry feels that he will live happily in the sunny Lanfang.
Every time he thought about this, Henry felt like his bones were yearning for sunshine. Years of living at sea had caused Henry to suffer from severe arthritis. Henry really didn't want to experience the cold and dampness of European winters again.
In contrast, the sunshine in Lanfang is so attractive that Henry feels like he can't be bothered by the sun all year round.
It was another sunny morning. Henry got up, washed up, put on a new shirt, and took his pipe to the bridge.
"Lou, where are we now?" Henry asked the first mate who had just taken over.
Yes, this is Henry's daily life as a captain. He cares about almost nothing and only speaks when his crew members need advice. The advice Henry gives is often the accumulated sailing experience of Henry's life.
Sir, we are now near 37 degrees north latitude and 131 degrees east longitude. We will arrive in Vladivostok at about noon tomorrow. Lu Feiyu, who has just been promoted to first officer
Try your best.
Okay, Lou, keep going and let's move on. Henry sat in his seat and started filling the pipe with tobacco.
Yes, sir. Lu Feiyu answered respectfully, and then began to record it in the logbook.
While Lu Feiyu was recording, Henry was carefully observing everyone on the bridge. The result made Henry very satisfied. Everyone performed their duties and no one was lazy.
Well, Chinese people are always so diligent.
Just when Henry was thinking about whether to take a nap or not, Lu Feiyu's report sounded in his ears: Sir, there is a Japanese warship approaching at high speed from the port side.
Japanese warship
Henry immediately fell asleep.
Henry knew about the recent dispute between Lanfang and Japan. At this critical time when Qin Zhiyuan was about to ascend the throne, it was not a good thing to encounter Japanese warships at sea.
Henry could be sure that the Japanese warships were not just turning around, they would definitely cause something to happen, regardless of whether there was a reason or not.
Maintain course, maintain speed, and report our situation to Vladivostok and the home port. Henry is methodical.
As a captain, Henry does not need to worry about daily navigation. The first mate and second mate will handle the daily work. Henry's value is reflected in handling emergencies.
On the vast sea, cargo ships have no advantage over warships and can only passively wait for an unknown fate.
Soon, the Japanese warship approached the Minnan at high speed. Immediately after, the Japanese warship began to shout: Minnan, we are the maritime anti-smuggling team of the Empire of Japan. You are now suspected of participating in smuggling. Please stop the ship immediately for inspection.
take inspection
This is a somewhat insulting move. The Minnan is a Lanfang-registered cargo ship. It is sailing on the high seas at this time. Its home port is not a Japanese port, and its destination port is not a Japanese port. Japanese warships do not have jurisdiction over the Minnan.
right, let alone the right to board the ship for inspection.
The Japanese warships were heading towards Lanfang, very close to each other, almost a dangerous distance away. At the same time, the Japanese kept repeating what they just said in French, Japanese and Chinese.
Only the Japanese shouts echoed in Cambridge. Everyone looked at Henry, waiting for Henry's next order.
This is the Lanfang Minnan. We departed from Lanfang Dagang and our destination is Vladivostok. We have not had any form of contact with your country. According to the practice on the high seas, you do not have jurisdiction. Henry replied in the same way.
Minnan, we are the maritime anti-smuggling team of the Empire of Japan. You are now suspected of participating in smuggling. Please stop the ship immediately for inspection. The Japanese warships continue to shout. Even though the current distance is already a dangerous distance, the Japanese warships are still approaching.
Your decision will definitely cause disputes between the two countries, and this time it will lead to serious consequences. Please think about it carefully. Henry continued to reply.
The content of the Japanese warship's shouting remained unchanged, but it opened a little distance, and the artillery on the warship began to rotate, pointing in the direction of the Minnan.
Stopping the ship for inspection, Henry issued an unexpected order.
Mr. Lu Feiyu was anxious and did not agree with Henry's decision.
Stop the ship and execute it. When facing warships, we don’t have much ability to resist. This is not the time to show strength. For a captain, saving the ship is the first priority. Henry spoke firmly.
Henry is not a soldier, and he does not have the consciousness to rather die than surrender. When faced with force majeure, Henry will make the normal choice of a normal person, which is understandable.
Lu Feiyu is different. The conflict between the Chinese and the Japanese has been going on for a long time. Lu Feiyu hates the Japanese.
Stopping the ship for inspection was like surrendering to Lu Feiyu, which was unacceptable to Lu Feiyu.
But it is obvious that the Minnan is a cargo ship and does not have a military background. It is inappropriate to put the big label of national justice on the Minnan. This label is too heavy for the Minnan.
After all, Henry had supreme authority. When Henry issued the order to stop the ship, the Minnan's engine stopped running and its speed slowly dropped.
The Japanese warship had already lowered its small boat, and about a dozen sailors climbed onto the Minnan along the rope ladder.
Hello, I am Henry, the captain of the Minnan. We will cooperate with your inspection. I hope you can understand that we do not want to get involved in any disputes. Henry came up to greet you and his words were quite polite.
The soldiers who boarded the ship did not reply. They had fierce expressions and rude movements, as if they did not understand French or Chinese.
In this case, communication is impossible.
Although the Japanese just spoke in French, it was obvious that the translator was not on board the Minnan.
So the Japanese soldiers used actions instead of words.
These soldiers gathered everyone on the Minnan together, found a container and emptied the cargo, and then locked all 45 crew members in without giving any explanation.
Well, the Japanese have no intention of checking at all, they just deliberately stir up trouble.
