02 Shanghai Dreams by Andrew Wareham

Author:Andrew Wareham [Wareham, Andrew]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Goodreads: 40695345
Publisher: The Electronic Book Company
Published: 2018-06-30T22:00:00+00:00

Admiral Seymour was pleased with their success.

“I shall pass the word in the proper places, Eskdale. All of the merchants will hear that the Navy has protected their interests again. They hate pirates, which is hardly surprising, and are forever moaning that they pay huge sums in taxes and get nothing in return. Bloody scoundrels, all of them! The truth is that they fiddle every penny they can, pay as little tax as they can get away with and then expect the Navy to protect them for free! However, they own the politicians and we do not, and that’s the end of it as far as we’re concerned.”

Captain Jellicoe gravely agreed – the merchants in China seemed to him to be particularly rapacious examples of the breed.

Magnus made no comment, quietly hoping that he might get orders for Shanghai now to grant him proximity to his own favoured merchants.

“French guns, you say, Eskdale?”

“So my gunner informed me, sir. He tells me that they have a distinctive breech, recognisable at a distance.”

Captain Jellicoe agreed.

“The de Bange system, Lord Eskdale. Very clever, but the word is that the French are developing something better, due to come into service this year or next. They have invented some way of absorbing the recoil and leaving the gun still on its aim, much the same as a naval gun but on wheeled field artillery. It will increase the rate of fire massively, from two a minute to ten or more. At the moment a field gun must be re-aimed with each round, you see.”

Jellicoe was renowned as a gunnery man. If he said it to be so, then it was.

“Have we the like in development, sir?”

“Possibly. It is unlikely that the Army will have woken up to the need yet. I have little doubt that they will catch up at some time in the next twenty years – immediately before the next innovation that makes them out of date again.”

It seemed reasonable. The Army was as deeply stuck in the mud as the Navy; in their case the question was, ‘what might Wellington have done?’

Admiral Seymour turned to orders.

“The quiet life for you and Racoon for a few months, Eskdale. Shanghai, you will be pleased to know. Guardship. There will be a steam tug and lighter made available at a couple of hours notice to take a party and a twelve-pounder up the river as necessary.”

“My gunner is well capable of handling that, sir. Mr Brownrigg has matured in the few weeks he has been with me and will benefit from the opportunities that detached service will provide. I shall send another officer with him to command the landing party, of course. That duty will rotate, I think, to give all of my people a chance to shine. On the topic of officers, sir, a replacement Paymaster would be of great value. If Mr Eccles survives, then he will still be on the sick list for many months.”

“Ah, yes, that is very true. I have a medical report on him, in fact.

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