Chapter 320 Target Kolkata

"Take back your meaningless order, Uncle Friedrich. We don't need these animals to prove our strength."

Franz said as he walked to the toolbox, picked up an iron bucket and a shovel, and found a rope to tie around his waist, and then went straight to the side of the ship.

Seeing him eager to try, the onlookers around him felt very strange and puzzled. Da Yanshanyin seemed to have thought of something, but felt it was too absurd and gave up. Just as she was stunned, he jumped out.

In fact, this was Franz's dream in his previous life.

He jumped out from the side of the ship and landed on the back of the whale. Of course, this strange intruder was like an ant to this huge baleen whale. It didn't mind the visit of this uninvited guest. On the contrary, it deliberately slowed down to avoid throwing people out.

His behavior caused a cry of exclamation. The people on the ship shouted desperately to pull him back, but were sternly refused. Franz's actions later made everyone's heart beat faster. He picked up a shovel and started to hit the sea monster on the forehead.

Everyone thought Franz was crazy. He actually wanted to kill such a huge ancient monster with a shovel. However, the whale that was attacked did not launch a counterattack or try to get rid of the tiny human on its body, but made a strange cry.

In fact, Franz was using a shovel to pick up barnacles, which are often parasites on large baleen whales. The reason why they frequently jumped out of the water frantically before was to get rid of these burdens.

Given that the barnacles were glued very firmly, the efforts of the whales were doomed to be in vain. There is only one final outcome of being parasitized by barnacles, that is, death, but before that, they will experience long pain.

The damage caused by barnacles is fatal to whales and ships, but it is a delicacy for foodies who enjoy it.

The archduke's weird behavior aroused great curiosity among the members of the entire fleet. If they had seen it with their own eyes, they would find it hard to believe that there are such "crazy" people in the world.

They witnessed his agility, jumping from one whale's back to another's as if walking on flat ground, which caused the onlookers to exclaim.

These gentle sea beasts never attacked the tiny visitor from beginning to end, but instead circled around him.

Franz also sent bucket after bucket of barnacles to the ship through ropes until the cleaning work was over. He put the shovel back into the bucket, sat on the giant whale and moved slowly with the waves, and his mood seemed to be much better.

The surrounding warships had quieted down at this time, and the officers and soldiers were like riding a roller coaster, from the initial fear to the subsequent amazement, and finally only silence, leaving endless emotion. It turns out that there are really people in this world who are different.

At this time, the leading female whale suddenly let out a sad cry, and then the whole group of whales became restless, and they tried desperately to drive this "little friend" away.

The method is to spray water on him continuously. Although this seems to be a very interesting game in the eyes of others, he can feel the uneasiness of the whole group of whales.

Franz returned to the ship. Friedrich didn't know how to communicate with his nephew, so he could only say.

"Are you a monster?"

"Of course not, but we don't have time to discuss this. There seems to be some bad omen ahead." Franz said.

"Is it a sea monster? Don't worry, with our strong ships and powerful guns, even the Kraken can't do anything to us?"

Friedrich's subjective consciousness told him that a monster was coming, which made the passionate commander a little eager to try.

To be honest, Franz really didn't know what in the sea could scare these behemoths. After all, in theory, adult large baleen whales should have no natural enemies. Of course, this is just judging by common sense in the future.

Suddenly, the whales swam in front of the Venice and tried to lead the giant ship in another direction.

"It's unbelievable! What are your beast friends doing?" Friedrich asked.

"I don't know. Is there a natural miracle ahead?" Franz asked back.

"It's Calcutta!" Da Yanshanyin said excitedly while carefully looking at the map. At this time, she had completely regarded Franz as a "god" or some kind of supernatural existence.

Suddenly, a large number of seabirds flew from the southwest in the sky and passed over the fleet. The sea surface also became lively, with a large number of fish rushing towards the east (the direction they came from), jumping out of the water and beating the waves.

"What on earth is going on!"

The strange natural phenomenon made Friedrich mutter in his heart. But changing direction now means that he will not be able to arrive in Mumbai on time, which will delay the trip.

"I think it's safer to follow the guidance of the whale."

At this time, Franz's words seemed to have magic. For the first time, the sailors and officers on the ship passed Friedrich, the captain and commander, and began to act.

"Well, it seems that we have been kidnapped by this damn whale group!" Friedrich complained. After all, he felt that his authority was challenged and he had to find some face back.

"Uncle Friedrich, maybe you'll be grateful to them later. Even if nothing happens, it doesn't matter. Let's just treat it as an intimate contact with the ocean and nature."

At this time, Calcutta was the central area of ​​British rule in India. It served as a political and economic center. It was also the largest port in the eastern part of this vast British South Asian colony and the center of the entire linen textile industry. Its urban population was close to 400,000.

Faced with increasing demands, the British began their ambitious plan. They planned to build a railway directly to Peshawar and a telegraph center connecting the Indian subcontinent.

In addition, this city located in the Ganges Delta in eastern India is also the largest opium trade center in Asia and even the world.

There are nearly 400 Chinese living in this city. They are either tea farmers who were deceived or opium merchants who come here to trade.

After several hours of sailing, the whales acting as "navigators" really led Franz and his party to Calcutta. These smart creatures who completed their mission made a cry again as if to say goodbye to people, and then quickly dived into the sea and disappeared without a trace.

"It seems that we are going to be fleeced by the British twice, which is really unpleasant." Friedrich said self-deprecatingly. He was still upset about docking in Calcutta.

In fact, after leaving Malacca, according to the amount of supplies carried on the ship, it is completely no problem to sail directly to Mumbai.

But if you stop in Calcutta, it is very necessary to replenish enough food, water and fuel. The same is true for Mumbai later, otherwise it is impossible to support the port of Mombasa.

Mombasa is a port located in eastern Africa. As early as more than 3,000 years ago, it was an important trading port; it was also one of the farthest ports visited by Zheng He in the Ming Dynasty.

But unfortunately, there is no coaling station here, which means that Franz's steam warship will be at risk of stopping. But in order to successfully reach the Cape of Good Hope, enough fuel must be left, so the next voyage from Mumbai to Mombasa must rely on wind power.

The prerequisite is that the fleet has enough supplies to avoid capsizing in the vast and endless sea. The Cape of Good Hope is the most dangerous route in the world at this time, not because of the pirates who are always elusive there, but because of the terrible westerly storms.

This place is also called the "Cape of Storms", and the most famous natural phenomenon there is the "killer wave", which can be nearly 20 meters high, like a mountain pressing down on your head, and can easily tear large merchant ships into pieces.