1855 United States Tycoon

Chapter 252 Stopping by to scare the Royal Navy (1)

To say that going to Europe this time is much easier than going to Europe a few years ago, because at that time, the fastest ship was only fifteen knots. This fifteen knots is not the average speed, but the maximum speed. . The average speed is just over ten knots. But this time, Scrooge’s ship was completely different. He was riding on the boat he and Morgan mentioned with a top speed of 25 knots and relatively good stability.

Two of these experimental ships were built, one was kept for various experiments, and the other was sold to Morgan as a yacht. Today, Scrooge is sitting on the one left to do technology verification. This ship has just completed a series of experiments, and now it is just idle, just in time to send Scrooge to Europe.

Scrooge originally planned to let Carroll go with him, but a few days before he left, an iron mine near Cleveland that belonged to the McDonald Steel Company suffered a serious mining accident. This kind of thing was originally a fairly common thing in that era. Well, even sometimes, in order to save wages, it is not uncommon for mine owners to directly and artificially create mining disasters and then black out the wages of dead workers. But the Macdonald family is different, they need to be good at all times. Well, the mining disaster is a bad thing, but as long as the publicity is in place, bad things can also turn into good things. For example, to publicize how company leaders care for workers, how to actively organize rescues, and render a picture of “the mine disaster is ruthless, and people are compassionate”, which can better show the conscience of the McDonald family.

Scrooge has prepared a whole set of plans, from emergency rescue to the final aftermath. Definitely can pack Carol like a Sage.

Because Carol is about to stay, there is only one candidate to accompany Scrooge to Europe. So Scrooge went to Europe with Rockefeller. Speaking of it, this is also the first time Rockefeller has traveled this far.

“Captain Blair,” Scrooge asked Captain Blair, “how fast can we reach England?”

“Ah, Mr. MacDonald, according to previous tests, our boat can maintain a speed of more than 20 knots to the UK.” Captain Blair replied.

“Very well, Captain Blair, I need this boat to run as fast as possible, faster. Let it suddenly appear in the UK at an astonishing speed. Understand? The faster the better! I want to use this one. Speed ​​scares and scares the British! This is very important. If you can reach the UK in half the time of a normal transport ship, I will reward you. Do you understand?” Scrooge said.

Captain Blair thought for a while and replied: “Okay, sir, I will try my best.”

“Very good.” Scrooge said. “Then Mr. Blair, I will go to the cabin. I hope to fulfill my promise in the UK. Well, continue your work.”

Having said this, Scrooge nodded to the captain and walked out of the captain’s room.

Compared with the old “Pirate” yacht that was sold to Morgan at the beginning, except for running fast, it has almost no advantages. This ship called the Aurora Goddess is used to verify the technology of high-speed warships to a large extent. Therefore, the stability of this ship is much stronger than that of the old “pirate”. If on the old “pirate”, someone like Scrooge had to hold on to the railing in the aisle to walk steadily, but on this boat, he didn’t need it at all. He could put his hands in his pockets as if on a flat ground. Walk around just the same.

Scrooge did not go directly back to the own luxury cabin, he came out of the captain’s cabin and went to the aft deck. Now the sun is just right, he can sit down here, drink tea, and bask in the sun.

At this time, the crew was lifting a big kite into the air from a higher position. This is to ensure that you can keep in touch with the United States mainland along the way. Scrooge sat down on a chair on the back deck, and a waiter came over and asked, “Mr. MacDonald, what do you need?”

“A cup of black tea.” Scrooge said.

But Scrooge didn’t sit here long, because a sea breeze came from the north, making the rear deck extremely cold.

“Damn it, this wind is almost like blowing from an iceberg.” Scrooge said, he was stunned, he suddenly remembered that when the Titanic was installed on the iceberg and sank, one of them was important. Isn’t the reason for the White Star Shipping’s manager asking the captain to run faster and then run faster? Damn it, it’s winter, it’s cold, just in case…

Scrooge immediately walked towards the captain’s room and knocked on the door. Captain Blair’s voice came from inside: “Please come in!” Pushing the door open, Scrooge saw that Captain Blair was sitting in a chair drinking tea. Seeing Scrooge coming in, he put down his teacup in a bit of surprise, stood up, and asked, “Mr. MacDonald, what else do you have?”

“Captain Blair, I know you have ran this route many times. Can you tell me that in this season, there will be icebergs in the sea near Greenland?” Scrooge asked.

“Generally not now.” Captain Blair replied, “Because it is still at the end of January, Greenland’s glaciers have not yet melted. Knowing that by the end of March, early May, a large number of glaciers will collapse into the sea and form Icebergs. In the current season, there should be no icebergs.”

This answer made Scrooge a little relieved, anyway, as the money became more and more, Scrooge became more and more afraid of death. “Captain Blair, I hope you can slow down a bit at night to ensure safety. Besides…” Scrooge suddenly remembered that the lookout on the Titanic didn’t have a telescope, and asked quickly: “Does our night watchman have a telescope? He doesn’t have night blindness or other problems?”

“How is this possible?” said Captain Blair. “There is a seven-fold telescope with a six-inch caliber for the night at the watch post, and our sailors have been specially checked. How can there be night blindness like this? What about the ridiculous problem?” He looked at Scrooge, who seemed to be worried, and then added: “Sir, I will send a double guard to the watchtower. I promise that there will be no problems.”

“Ah, so trouble you, Captain Blair.” Scrooge said to Captain Blair very kindly. Anyway, the lifeboat on this ship is absolutely adequate. Moreover, even if it is not enough, as long as there is a lifeboat, there will be a place for him.

…

In less than a week, the “Aurora Goddess” arrived in London. After Scrooge arrived in London, he did not hide his whereabouts, and at this time he was already a world celebrity, so the British reporters soon noticed Scrooge.

Scrooge first visited Lawrence, then went to Cambridge University to visit some scientists and talked with them cordially. Finally, he donated a small amount of money like Cambridge University and reached an agreement on behalf of the University of Cleveland and the University of Cambridge, including visiting scholars and exchange students. A series of cooperation plans.

Some reporters remembered that Scrooge’s departure from New York was not too long. The original hurried to find relevant reports to confirm it. It turned out that Scrooge’s arrival from New York to London took less than seven days. During the entire voyage, his The average speed of the 3,000-ton private yacht turned out to be as high as 23 knots. This discovery frightened British journalists, and the speed was more than twice as fast as the average steamship. This is really an amazing speed. You must know that even the fastest cruiser of the Royal Navy at the time, under the most ideal conditions, could not reach such a level, let alone reach such a high average speed. So some reporters raised questions to Scrooge about this.

“Mr. MacDonald, do you know that your ship has set the world record for the shortest time to cross the Atlantic?” A reporter stopped Scrooge at Cambridge University and asked him such a question.

“Ah, I know that my ship is one of the fastest cruise ships in the world, but I don’t know what it has set a record. Maybe I should congratulate Captain Blair.” Scrooge replied.

“We want to know, where did you buy this boat?” the reporter asked again.

“Oh, this is a ship produced by my shipyard itself. Although our shipyard is not comparable in scale to those famous British factories, it also has its own uniqueness. For example, we can produce the world. Get on the fastest cruise ship.” Scrooge took the time to start an ad.

“The fastest cruise ship in the world?” The reporter laughed. “Are you talking about the “Aurora Goddess” currently in the port? It can cross the Atlantic in less than seven days. It’s really very Quick, and this boat looks very beautiful.”

“Thank you for your compliment.” Scrooge replied with a smile, “Strictly speaking, the “Aurora Goddess” is not the fastest cruise ship in the world. My old friend Mr. Morgan’s “pirate” is.”

“There is a ship faster than the’Aurora Goddess’?” The reporter was a little surprised.

“To be honest, I don’t think that’pirate’ can beat the’Aurora Goddess’ on a long voyage like the transatlantic. The’pirate’ is our previous generation product. It is faster, but it is also more extreme. Well, for example. Let’s just say, even in a fully loaded condition, the “pirate” can run at a speed of more than 28 knots. During the light load test, it even ran at a speed of more than 30 knots. In contrast, the “Aurora Goddess” The maximum speed is only about 26 knots. But the design of the “pirate” is very extreme, she only focuses on speed, which leads to her poor seaworthiness. So in her follow-up product, the “Aurora Goddess”, we even more Both seaworthiness and comfort have been taken into consideration. So our top speed has dropped, but our ability to continue high-speed navigation is obviously ascending. This voyage is a proof.”