shadow of britain

Chapter 770 Rule! Britannia

Arthur was holding his hat brim, trying to hide his embarrassment at being crushed half to death. When he heard Victoria's question, he was taken aback for a moment, then laughed.

“Your Highness, I never expected that you were also following the return voyage of the HMS Beagle. This afternoon, when you were picking flowers in the garden, you told me that you were giving them to His Majesty Leopold. Now it seems that you were planning to give the Royal Navy sailors returning from their circumnavigation a surprise? You are so thoughtful.”

Victoria listened to Arthur's response, her mind still reeling.

Arthur spoke calmly, with a smile in his eyes, but Victoria always felt that there was something else hidden in his words.

It's not surprising that Victoria overthinks things, because this is exactly what Arthur taught her in his rhetoric class: to be careful with her words, to pay attention to word choice and sentence structure, and to understand the implied meaning of every sentence, especially in public, where every word carries political significance.

"I...I just..." She lowered her eyes, looking hesitantly at her empty hands.

Arthur offered no further explanation; he simply stood there calmly, as if waiting for her to make a choice.

Because this is no longer simply a matter of "who to give the flowers to".

Compared to Victoria, the Duchess of Kent, standing on the dais, understood the weight of Arthur's words better.

This young man, who had once helped Victoria win the support of Scotland Yard, did not directly help Victoria out of the predicament, nor did he rush to correct the misunderstanding on the spot. Instead, he quietly built a way for Victoria to gracefully step down. If she was willing to take a step, she could turn this insignificant episode into a highly valuable public relations move.

The Duchess's gaze shifted slightly toward the direction of the Beagle.

On the deck, on those sun- and wind-eroded faces, the sailors were filled with emotion and surprise when they learned that the one who personally presented the flowers was Crown Princess Victoria.

These Royal Navy sailors may have been rough or uncouth, but that did not prevent them from feeling flattered by His Highness the Crown Prince's greeting.

The young sailor, who had just accepted the flowers with a smile, was still carefully holding the bouquet; he was clearly frightened by the sudden change in wind direction.

Compared to having Victoria present the flowers to her uncle, giving the bouquet to the sailors was clearly a better bargaining chip than the original plan.

It should be noted that, with parliamentary reforms passed and party strife intensifying, the Whig Party's ability to maintain its dominance in the court relies on its extensive connections with the emerging class and the naval system.

Although the Whig Party had long declared its full support for Victoria's accession to the throne, there were still some minor divisions within the Royal Navy, which was part of the Whig system. Of course, this did not mean that the Royal Navy did not support Princess Victoria's succession; it was just that their support for Victoria was not because they particularly liked the young girl, but because they disliked Ernst Augustus Hanover, Duke of Cumberland, who was in line to the throne after Victoria.

This uncle's reputation was so bad that almost everyone in the Royal Navy avoided him.

On the surface, he was a member of the royal family, the son of George III, and the younger brother of George IV and William IV. He was of legitimate blood and had sufficient seniority. He even participated in the war against France as a cavalry major general during the anti-French war and was hit on the right side of the head by a stray bullet during a battlefield inspection, nearly dying in action.

However, when it comes to the Duke of Cumberland's record, the response is rather lukewarm.

After all, during the Napoleonic Wars, the army's most glorious achievements almost all occurred in the Peninsular War, commanded by the Duke of Wellington.

As for the Duke of Cumberland, he mainly participated in the battles of Hanover and the Austrian allied forces against France during the First Anti-French War, and his performance in Belgium was indeed not very impressive. So much so that when Cumberland boasted about the scar on his head as a military achievement, those military officials who disliked the Duke of Cumberland privately mocked him, saying that it was a "scar that came easily."

Of course, the Royal Navy's dissatisfaction with the Duke of Cumberland was not only due to his self-aggrandizement, but also because his proposals touched upon the real interests of many young officers in the Royal Navy.

First, Cumberland was a typical Tory loyalist. He not only openly opposed the Reform Act of 1832, but also frequently made outrageous remarks in the House of Lords, denouncing the reforms as a "betrayal of the ancestral system" and even warning that the reforms would "destroy the loyalty of the army."

These words infuriated the younger officers of the Royal Navy, many of whom had risen from middle-class, technical positions to captains and naval officers thanks to naval reforms that predated parliamentary reforms.

Although nepotism also exists in the Royal Navy, compared to the Army's almost hereditary system of selling official positions, the Royal Navy, which values ​​technical skills, can confidently say that its promotion system is relatively fair.

Even some of the officers in the Royal Navy who came from prominent families disliked the Duke of Cumberland's arguments, because they never believed that they had risen to their positions through family background.

Each of them underwent rigorous naval school training, at least six years of sea training, and the extremely low pass rate of the Admiralty exams before becoming officers.

Each year, approximately two to three hundred cadets enter the Royal Navy. Of these, only about a quarter are able to pass the Admiralty examinations after completing their six-year internship and become officers. Of these, about eight percent become ship captains, and only two percent are eventually promoted to general.

In other words, even if you do have someone backing you up, in the Royal Navy, you have to produce results that match your status and position in order to get promoted.

There are two ready examples on the dock today: Captain Robert Fitzroy, a distant nephew of the Duke of Grafton and captain of the HMS Beagle; and Mr. Elder Carter, a cartographer on the HMS Beagle and nephew of Rear Admiral John Carter, who was recently transferred to the position of Assistant Director of Naval Supply.

Despite their distinguished backgrounds, these two young Royal Navy officers persevered and completed HMS Beagle's arduous five-year circumnavigation mission. Although some were envious and tried to make fun of Mr. Carter's unconventional personality, it must be admitted that compared to the army's group of young officers who rarely endured hardship, Elder was truly a man of high moral character.

As a result, this group of people disliked the Duke of Cumberland even more for his rise to the rank of general through his royal status.

Not to mention that the Duke of Cumberland had also had arguments with Grand Admiral Lord Barham and the Naval Finance Committee during the war, coupled with Cumberland's inherently land-first approach...

In short: if Cumberland were to ascend the throne, they did not believe he would treat the Royal Navy well.

Thinking of this, the Duchess of Kent slowly closed the ivory folding fan in her palm.

"Please inform the military band to prepare to play 'Rule, Britannia'."

Conroy, who was standing beside the Duchess, was taken aback at first, but he quickly understood what the Duchess was thinking.

This was not just about winning over the hearts and minds of the Royal Navy, but also a great opportunity to show how different Princess Victoria was from the Duke of Cumberland.

"Understood, Your Highness."

Soon, a deep brass horn sounded on the dock, followed by a neat call from the trumpets.

As the last brass note resonated in the damp harbor breeze, the trumpet's melody, like the morning and evening bells, echoed throughout the entire dock. Not only on the deck of the Beagle, but even the sailors on nearby ships who had been tidying up mooring lines and cleaning masts, all paused in unison. Many of them were veteran sailors who had switched to merchant shipping after the Napoleonic Wars.

Many people hummed along to the Royal Navy's anthem.

"When Great Britain is by the Mandate of Heaven..."

Rising first from the azure ocean,

Rise, rise, rise!

Rising from the azure ocean!

As the melody of "Rule, Britannia!" rises, the docks seem to be awakened by some ancient spirit in an instant.

Some of the sailors standing on the deck of the Beagle straightened their backs instinctively, some raised their hands to take off their hats and solemnly pressed them to their chests, and some choked up, as if recalling the hardships of the past five years.

With voices almost cracking, they sang along: "Of all nations you are the holiest, to destroy dictatorship and expel tyrants is your mission! Mission, mission, mission, sacred mission! Prosperity is with you, greatness and freedom accompany you, fear and envy are the feelings of foreigners..."

The singing wasn't synchronized, and could even be described as somewhat hoarse and unpleasant, but when all the voices came together, they accumulated into an exciting power. Even Elder, the usually unreliable guy, was moved by the emotions of the scene. He burst into tears, put down his bouquet at some point, gently smoothed his clothes with his calloused fingers, then turned to Victoria and staggered to his knees.

He wept, but his singing never stopped: "Rule, Britannia! Britannia will turn the tide, Britons will never be slaves!"

Then another sailor knelt down. Then a third, a fourth…

Finally, almost all the densely packed figures on the deck knelt down and faced the direction where Victoria was.

This sentiment quickly spread like wildfire to other nearby ships, and on the decks of ship after ship, almost all the sailors cheered and took off their hats to salute Victoria.

Victoria was completely stunned by this scene.

Today's experience was even more shocking to her than the one at St. Martin's Church. After all, unlike last time, Arthur hadn't informed her beforehand. She hadn't given any orders or given any speeches, but the spontaneous actions of these hundred or so sailors stirred up a torrent of emotions within her.

She suddenly felt a pang of guilt, so much so that she could hardly look up at the bouquet that had fallen to the ground.

Victoria's cheeks flushed, and her chin, which had been held high in anger, drooped slightly.

Her gaze wandered, slowly settling on Arthur.

The man remained standing to her side and slightly behind, his hand still on the brim of his hat, his expression neither sad nor happy. He simply nodded gently at her: "Your Highness, when do you plan to summon the crew representatives of the Berger next week? If the time conflicts with my teaching schedule, I can reschedule at any time."

Arthur spoke so naturally, as if everything had already been arranged.

Victoria understood Arthur's meaning. Just as she was worrying about whether her mother would agree to invite the crew of the Beagle to visit, she suddenly heard her mother's voice behind her.

"Delina, what do you think of Friday?"

The Duchess of Kent had somehow appeared behind her, accompanied by Conroy, Lady Lezen, and a group of government officials.

Victoria was startled. She turned to look at her mother and saw the Duchess of Kent nodding gently at Arthur, saying, "Sir Arthur, thank you for today."

After speaking, she turned to her daughter: "This Friday is the middle of the month. Your uncle plans to go to Windsor first and then visit Kensington Palace on Saturday. It would be perfect to have the heroes of the Beagle come to the palace the day before, so they can tell us about their experiences at sea and share these interesting stories with the other guests at the dinner."

“Yes, Mom,” she answered softly, raising her head again to glance at the pairs of eyes still fixed on her on the deck.

Victoria composed herself, and with a mixture of gratitude for the sailors and a confident smile she had secretly practiced, she stepped forward and bent down to extend her hand to Mr. Elder Carter, the young sailor who had knelt down first.

“Sir,” she began, recalling the sincere tone she had practiced in Arthur’s class, “this bouquet was originally intended for my uncle, but now it seems it truly belongs to you.”

Victoria bent down to pick up the bouquet, intending to hand it to Elder, but Elder froze, perhaps still startled, for he forgot to reach out and take it.

“Take it,” Victoria urged softly. “If I may be so bold as to ask, could you please tell me your name?”

Elder snapped out of her daze and quickly reached out to take it: "Elder, Elder Carter greets you, Your Highness."

A small burst of laughter erupted on the deck as the sailors shoved each other in hushed tones, creating a much more relaxed atmosphere than before.

“Elder Carter?” Now it was Victoria’s turn to be surprised: “You wouldn’t happen to be that young Walter Scott, would you?”

When Elder heard that the princess knew his name, his intelligence instantly took over.

He raised his hand in salute and said, “No, Your Highness, I am not Walter Scott the Younger, but Elder Carter the Elder. I am delighted that you like my work; it is a great honor.”

Victoria's smile widened upon hearing this: "Sir Arthur Hastings mentioned you to me. You two are good friends, aren't you?"

“Of course, we’ve done almost everything friends do together.” Elder couldn’t understand how Arthur could be associated with the princess, especially since their conversation seemed quite close: “If I may be so bold, Your Highness, you and Arthur…”

Before Victoria could answer, Arthur, who had come over, coughed lightly and interjected in a tone that was half serious and half warning: "Mr. Carter, for your own good, I suggest you be careful using vague descriptions like 'I've done almost everything'."

"Vague and unclear?" Elder couldn't help but widen his eyes. "Do you want me to elaborate?"

After speaking, he remembered that Princess Victoria was right in front of him, so he hurriedly waved his hands, and with an embarrassed and somewhat fearful demeanor, he made up a story: "Of course, I... I didn't mean anything else! I mean, we're doing serious business! Charts, reports, voyage logs, and occasionally helping people write poems... Arthur, that year you helped me translate the German nautical manual in Göttingen, did you finish it yet...?"

Upon hearing this, Arthur quickly coughed to interrupt him, saying, "I'll give you the things in a bit; they're all locked in the box you left at my house."

Victoria listened to the two men's banter, and although she may not have understood everything they said, it didn't stop her from smiling with barely concealed ease. As a result, her impression of Elder improved considerably.

She didn't press further, but simply requested, "Then I would like to trouble you and Sir Arthur to bring the trunk with you when you visit on Friday. It sounds like it contains many secrets about your voyage."

“Uh…” Elder was now standing up straight, his throat feeling like it was stuck with a fishbone: “Of course, Your Highness, if you are interested… uh, I promise, on the day we enter the palace, I will tell you the most exciting part.”

Victoria nodded slightly: "Kensington looks forward to your arrival and the rest of the crew."

Just then, the Duchess of Kent stepped forward and first offered her condolences to the crew of the Beagle.

Then he leaned down and whispered in Victoria's ear, "Delina, your uncle's ship will be entering the harbor soon. The sailors of the Beagle have worked so hard for so long, they deserve a good rest."

The naval officer beside her assured Victoria, "Your Highness, leave the rest to us. We assure you, we will make sure everything is arranged properly."

The officer sent by the Admiralty was a middle-aged man with gold olive leaves on his cuffs. He gave Victoria and the Duchess of Kent a standard military salute, then placed his hand on his chest and loudly greeted the crew of the HMS Beagle: "On behalf of the Admiralty, I extend my sincerest respects to you. You have accomplished an unprecedented mission, not only expanding the Empire's nautical charts but also making the name of the British Navy known throughout the world. Welcome home!"

The crew erupted in thunderous applause. Elder, who had just been nervously holding the flowers and at a loss for what to do, blushed and grinned foolishly under everyone's gaze.

A naval officer waved to the rear, and a group of adjutants in dark blue uniforms with bright gold armbands quickly stepped forward and led the crew of HMS Beagle to a reception tent that had been set up on the other side of the harbor. There, hot tea, clean uniforms, and a banner that read "Welcome Home, Royal Navy" were provided.

After the crowd dispersed, Victoria, accompanied by her mother and numerous officials, slowly returned to the ceremonial table, while Arthur quietly bowed to her, then waved goodbye with a smile, walked through the crowd, and headed towards a corner of the pier.

In the corner, Elder was blowing his nose while carefully stuffing flowers into his suitcase. As he did so, he couldn't help but boast to Darwin, "Charles, I knew it! My face is still appealing. Look, even the princess knows me! And look at you, you were so nervous you didn't even dare to fart."

Darwin, who had just come to his senses, scoffed at Elder's boasting: "Nervous? I don't know who was crying their eyes out just now."

"You kid..."

Just as Elder was about to argue loudly, he suddenly felt a tightness around his neck as a thick arm appeared out of nowhere and wrapped around his neck.

"Welcome home, Elder! I was in such a rush today that I forgot to cook you an authentic French meal, so I'll just have to offer you my braised pork knuckle for now."

(End of this chapter)