Steel, gunpowder, and spellcasters

Chapter 69 The Golden Lion, a galley-mounted warship

At the same moment the person outside the cabin opened the door, the steel cone left Winters' hand.

No one expected someone to open the door at this moment, and Winters and Bud shouted at the same time.

If they had waited until they heard their warning before dodging, it would have been too late. The person outside the door acted before the two could even speak, dodging the flying weapon and averting the danger.

The sharp little object flew out of the door and embedded itself in the wooden partition opposite the hatch. The person outside reached out and pulled it off, then walked into the cabin, laughing and saying, "What? You landlubbers want to fight our navy?"

Winters jumped off the bed, took a step to the other person's side, and held the other person's shoulder, saying with lingering fear, "Luckily you reacted quickly, Cage, thank goodness. It's so good that you weren't hurt. I'll never play like that in the cabin again."

Cage, a junior officer on the HMS Glorious, returned the steel spike to Winters, laughing and saying, "You can't hurt a naval officer with a toy like this."

“Okay, whatever you say it is, that’s what it is.” Winters smiled and lay back down on the bed.

After Bud greeted Cage, he asked, "Aren't you on duty anymore?"

"We're anchoring and changing shifts. It's my turn to rest now." Cage yawned wearily and lay back down in the bunk below Bud.

The room had four beds in total. In addition to the three army warrant officers Winters, Bud, and Andrei, there was also a naval trainee officer.

However, a Navy probationary officer is not the same as an Army probationary officer like Winters; Cage is far more senior than his three roommates.

Winters, Bud, and Andrei were still fresh out of military school, while Cage had been a cadet on the HMS Glorious since he was twelve and had already spent eight years on the ship. Army officers of similar seniority had long since been promoted to lieutenant, but Cage was still just one of the eleven cadets on board.

This is because the officer systems of the Navy and the Army are fundamentally two separate systems and do not correspond to each other.

In contrast to the strict hierarchical structure of the Allied Army's rank system, the Allied Navy's rank system is very flat. There are only three ranks of officers on a ship: Captain, Lieutenant, and Midshipman.

The only formal officers were the captain and first mate. Officer candidates, like warrant officers such as Winters in the army, were ranked higher than sailors and enlisted men, but lower than formal officers.

In the army, both Captain and Lieutenant are junior officers, with the former being the third rank of junior officer and the latter the second rank. Officers of these two ranks can command a hundred-man squad of eighty men at most.

However, in the navy, the Captain is the highest authority on a warship. The Lieutenant is the captain's second-in-command, second only to the captain and above everyone else.

The strength a captain can command depends on the ship. The Glorious had thirty cannons and a crew of more than five hundred. Her captain would be at least a colonel in the army.

The fat captain on the Skua was also a captain. The Skua only had a mere twenty-odd sailors, and the fat captain wouldn't even be considered a warrant officer in the army.

However, from the Navy's perspective, the captains of the Glorious and the Skua were theoretically both captains, and neither needed to salute the other first.

Because of this huge difference, the Army and Navy simply ignored each other's ranks and went their separate ways. Even an Army warrant officer like Winters didn't need to salute a Navy admiral, and the same applied to the Navy.

To become an officer in the Venetian Navy, one must first have a good family background and second, have someone to vouch for them. With both, one can board a ship as an officer cadet. After that, one must diligently accumulate seniority until Naval Headquarters approves their appointment as a warrant officer. As for when one can become a captain? That requires first having a ship without a captain.

Although Officer Cage was much more senior than the three Army warrant officers, he never acted like a senior and was very easygoing. He shared a lot of shipboard knowledge with Winters and the other two. In addition, the four were of similar age, so they quickly became acquainted and got along very well.

"By the way, after setting off from this anchorage, we should rest for a day at Lighthouse Port next time, so you can all take a break then," Cage said listlessly, covering his head with a pillow.

"What?" Winters sat up abruptly: "Disembark?"

Life on the ship was like being in prison, and you'd get seasick. But when Winters heard that he was going to disembark, there was no joy in his voice.

"Yes, we'll disembark for a rest. We'll probably stay for a day or two."

"We've only been gone two days and we're already going to dock for a rest?" Bud poked his head out from the top bunk and asked, puzzled. "Aren't we supposed to head straight for the Taniri Islands without stopping?"

Winters joked, "We landlubbers haven't even complained yet, but it's you navy who's already asking to dock for a rest?"

"What's so bad about you guys living in the officers' cabins?" Cage couldn't sleep either, and sat up, both amused and exasperated. "And you get hot food too, how can that be considered bad?"

“When we traveled by boat from Guido back to Veneta, we didn’t get a single day of rest.”

What kind of boat are you on?

“Uh, I don’t know what kind of ship it is.” Winters was stumped. He recalled the Skuas and said, “It’s called the Skuas. It’s a small ship with three masts.”

"I understand. How many people are on the Skua?"

"There are about twenty crew members, and with us, there will be more than fifty."

“If it were just the Glorious, it could head straight for the islands without ever stopping at a shore. That’s possible with large sailing ships, but not with galleys.” Cage lay back down on the bed, looking listless. “If you want to know why, when the rest of the ships arrive, I’ll take you to see them when I deliver the nautical charts, and you’ll understand.”

——Cut——

The carefully chosen anchorage was sheltered by an unnamed island, and the fleet ships maintained a safe distance as they anchored separately in this natural harbor.

A small boat was lowered from the Glory onto the water, and Winters followed Cage down the rope ladder to the boat.

Cage gripped a wooden box tightly in both hands. The box contained nautical charts and the fleet's next destination.

To ensure the fleet's course was not leaked, captains of all ships, except for the senior officers on the flagship Glorious, only received the location of the next anchorage upon each regrouping. This way, even if individual ships were captured, the enemy would not know the entire fleet's route.

Although the revenge fleet is a large target, it is not easy to accurately intercept it on the vast ocean.

Four sailors rowed with all their might, the oars striking the water with a resounding thud. The small boat moved away from the Glorious and glided through the undulating waves toward another oars-and-sail warship, the Golden Lion.

In the afterglow of the setting sun, Winters surveyed the oar-sailed warship before him.

The Golden Lion is neither a pure oarboat nor a pure sailboat, but a product of pragmatism. Oars or sails, I want them both.

Compared to the broad-shouldered Glorious, the Golden Lion was more slender and narrower to accommodate more oarsmen. The entire ship was relatively low, with only one deck, and only one superstructure at the bow and stern.

There were no gun ports on the sides of the hull, only a dense array of oars. Recalling the layout of the HMS Good Fortune, Winters deduced that the Golden Lion's cannons were arranged along the bow and stern of the hull.

"Why is the freeboard of this ship so low?" Winters patted Cage on the shoulder from behind and asked, "Won't that be a disadvantage in war?"

Although he only had one naval battle experience, it taught Winters a lesson: in boarding maneuvers, the taller ship naturally has the advantage.

This is why warships were built higher and higher, eventually resembling castles on deck. The Glorious not only had a higher freeboard than the Golden Lion, but also three superstructures. For the sailors of the Golden Lion, facing the Glorious was like facing a city wall. Attacking the Glorious from the Golden Lion required an uphill assault, while the Glorious could easily deal with the Golden Lion from its superior position.

“Of course it’s at a disadvantage, which is why newly built warships are all round ships. The Golden Lion is an old ship built more than ten years ago.” Cage turned around and patiently explained to Winters, “Moreover, the Golden Lion also has its own advantages. Although it is at a disadvantage in boarding operations, it is not unusable. The Golden Lion is very flexible.”

“Indeed, sailboats can only watch helplessly when there’s no wind,” Winters said, recalling the naval battle he had experienced.

"Actually, I think the current design of warships is too extreme, like those cavalrymen who ended up encasing their horses and men in iron plates." Talking about his favorite topic, Cage suddenly became interested. Pointing to the Glory and Winters, he commented, "The Glory looks imposing, but it's actually incredibly cumbersome. The superstructure is too high, so the center of gravity is unstable, and they can't afford to place too many cannons inside. And the high superstructure also has another drawback: a large windward area makes turning difficult..."

"But with a tall superstructure, wouldn't that be an advantage in naval battles?" Winters asked weakly. This was an area he didn't understand, so he spoke without much confidence.

Cage slapped his thigh: "That's why I said extremes, like those knights in full plate armor. In melee combat, the stronger the armor, the greater the advantage, so in the end, those nobles wrapped themselves in iron plates. But what if the enemy switched from melee to firearms? It's the same with naval battles. In order to have an advantage in boarding maneuvers, the superstructures were built higher and higher. The Glory was the ultimate boarding ship, but what if the enemy didn't board?"

"If you don't engage in boarding maneuvers... how can you fight a naval battle?"

Never pretending to know what he didn't, but always asking questions when he didn't understand—this was one of the good habits Winters learned from António. With the decline of ramming tactics, naval warfare for nearly a thousand years had consisted of two ships approaching each other, sailors exchanging fire with bows, crossbows, and muskets, before a final boarding maneuver decided the outcome. Winters genuinely couldn't think of any other method.

“Use artillery,” Cage replied confidently. “Sink these cumbersome ships directly from a distance.”

Winters chuckled: "Don't we already have cannons on board? And with the accuracy of those cannons, on a rocking sea, let alone at long range, it would be difficult to hit other ships even from fifty meters away."

"The ship's cannons are either large-caliber short-barreled guns or rotary cannons, all of which can only be used at close range," Cage explained hastily. "Think about it, using agile and flexible ships to carry long-barreled guns, only firing at long range without boarding. Large ships like the Glorious can't catch up with them or hit them, so they can only take hits. Unfortunately, the navy is full of old fogies who have no ambition. They just like imposing and grand ships like the Glorious, and all the funding goes to building these tall, round ships!"

Cage angrily punched his thigh.

“I don’t know much about naval battles, but there was a similar battle on land. In the Battle of Calais, the infantry of the ancient empire couldn’t keep up with the Palati cavalry, their morale collapsed due to the arrows, and they were finally wiped out by the heavy cavalry.” Winters joked, “If I become the military governor in the future, I will use all the naval budget to build you the ships you want.”

Cage was amused and said with a smile, "If I become a military governor in the future, I will use your army's military budget to build ships for our navy."

Winters laughed heartily: "It's a deal... Actually, I've always admired people like you who have innovative ideas. I can't do that; I can only learn from you guys."

Cage shook his head repeatedly and waved his hands, saying, "No, no, no, it wasn't my idea. These are all Captain Spyder's theories, I'm just parroting them... Captain Spyder is the captain of the Golden Lion, and you can meet him since you came with me this time."

As they talked, the small boat rowed to the side of the Golden Lion. A rope ladder was thrown down from the ship, and Winters followed Cage onto the Golden Lion.

The conversation on the way almost made him forget why he came here. But after boarding the ship, Winters immediately remembered why he came to the Golden Lion.

He instantly understood why Cage said, "Oarsers have to dock every two days. You'll understand once you go aboard and take a look."

The open deck of the Golden Lion was packed with people, leaving no room to even put your feet down.

The open deck was divided into two levels, roughly convex in shape. In the middle was the upper platform, which was obviously for naval soldiers. There was no space for them to lie down, so they could only rest by huddling together.

The lower decks on either side near the gunwale are convex structures, more than a meter lower than the central deck, and these are where the oarsmen sit. This structure positions the oarsmen lower than the soldiers in the middle, so as not to obstruct their use of ranged weapons.

The unkempt, emaciated oarsmen were chained to the oars, each oar driven by three or four oarsmen. They had no room to move and looked no different from the slave oarsmen on the Lucky Star.

Even though the deck was open, Winters could still smell a stench. The Golden Lion, crammed with people, resembled a livestock transport ship, with people huddled together like animals, unable to move. On this ship, there was no longer any dignity to speak of.

Winters wouldn't last an hour in a place like that.

"How can there be so many people? How many people are on this ship?" Winters asked Cage in shock.

Cage countered, "How many people are on the Glorious?"

"About two or three hundred people?" Winters wasn't quite sure either.

Cage said expressionlessly, "The Glory originally had more than 500 crew members, but to make you more comfortable, even with you, there are now less than 400 people. The people on the Golden Lion are about the same as those on the Glory now, around 400 people."

"This...this ship is so much smaller than the Glory, yet it carries four hundred people? How can these people endure it?" Winters was shocked by the appalling living conditions of the Golden Lion's crew. The Glory was not only larger than the Golden Lion, but also had multiple decks. On the other hand, the vast majority of people on the Golden Lion were crammed onto the open deck.

Cage seemed to have long been accustomed to the harshness of life at sea, coldly saying, "They're not human, they're sailors. But even sailors can't last more than a few days on these ships, so they have to go ashore to rest every two days. Galleons are essentially floating fortresses on the sea, with extremely poor self-sufficiency. More than half of the warships in our fleet are these galleons, and for us, capturing transit ports is far more important than destroying enemy warships."

"What if it rains? There's nothing to cover our heads."

"Bear it."

"And what about these rowers? Why are they chained up?"

“They’re all criminals; no free man would want to be a rower,” Cage replied without turning his head as he walked ahead. “There’s no need to pity them; they’ve committed crimes and that’s why they’re in this situation. Besides, they can be pardoned after the war if they’re still alive; that’s better than dying in prison, isn’t it?”

Winters fell silent. He followed Cage, searching for a foothold among the oarsmen's limbs, and headed towards the sterncastle, which should be the best place on the ship, where the captain always lived.

Suddenly, a pair of hands grabbed Winters's calves. A rower who seemed to be delirious pleaded in a slurred voice, "Have some mercy, give me some water, please."

Cage, who was walking ahead, turned around and saw a rower grabbing Winters' leg. He immediately flew into a rage: "How dare you! You're asking for it!"

As he spoke, he drew his naval scimitar and turned back. The oarsmen blocking his way desperately dodged him, making way for Cage.

The others around were also alerted. Navy sailors peered out from the central platform, whispering amongst themselves, but no one intervened. In such appalling living conditions, the only reason the crew hadn't mutinied was military discipline. If a convicted oarsman attacked an officer, Cage could have killed him.

“No…” Winters raised his hand to stop Cage, who was coming to his rescue with a scimitar: “This man… I know him.”

Cage stood there, stunned.

Winters looked at the oarsman's face and asked uncertainly, "Gold, Good Luck Gold, the captain of the Good Luck, is that you?"

Gold, whose teeth had been knocked out by Layton with the hilt of his sword, trembled as he heard the words "Captain of the Fortune" and burst into tears.

Although other new types of ships had emerged, galleys remained the mainstay of Mediterranean warships until the 16th century. This was primarily due to the inland sea environment being well-suited to galleys, and also due to historical inertia. The life of a galleyman was extremely difficult; aside from Venice, where the majority of galleymen were free men, those in other countries were convicts or slaves. The Venetians offered extremely generous terms for recruiting galleymen. In 1522, Venice publicly recruited 6000 galleymen, offering them: lifetime exemption from poll tax, firearms training, permission to carry weapons in Venice, and exemption from debt enforcement during and for six months after their service on a galley.

Acknowledgments: Thank you to all the readers who voted for the book. Thank you to readers Yuan Hongjian, writersblock, 161120205836216, kkkkk, and others. Thank you everyone.

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(End of this chapter)