The Shadow of Great Britain

179: Chapter 128: Eld’s Retribution (4K4) 179: Chapter 128: Eld’s Retribution (4K4) Arthur and Eld walked down the street smoking and chatting about the past experiences of several guests at today’s banquet.

Before long, Arthur had gleaned all the guests’ histories from Eld’s lips.

Among the three lower-ranking colonels, Sir George Elliot was of noble descent, his father being Gilbert Elliot, the Earl of Minto, who had served as the Governor of India.

Thanks to this robust familial background, Sir Elliot’s naval career progressed smoothly.

Having just joined the Royal Navy, he served on the battleship Saint George under the famed Royal Navy commanders, Thomas Bladen Capel and Hyde Parker.

After recently being promoted to lieutenant, he was assigned to the HMS San Jose, becoming the second officer under Charles Bull, who had just been promoted to Admiral of the Royal Navy in July of that year.

Later, Sir Elliot became a subordinate of the soul of the Royal Navy, Horatio Nelson, and participated in the Copenhagen raid and the Battle of the Nile Delta with him.

With these military achievements, Sir Elliot quickly rose through the ranks, serving on the HMS Maidstone, and took part in the blockades of Toulon and Cadiz.

After that, he was transferred by the Navy Department to the East Indies and captured the French escort ship Jena in the Bay of Bengal, taking part in the invasion of Java and assisting in the restoration of the Sultan of Goben.

It was because of these impressive performances that, three years ago, the Navy Department recalled Sir Elliot to Britain and promoted him to the highly significant position of captain of the first-rate battleship ‘Victory’.

Moreover, the newly ascended King William IV recently conferred upon him the honor of King’s Royal Navy Aide-de-Camp.

It can be said that if Sir Elliot continues on this successful course, his promotion to admiral is almost guaranteed.

And as ‘Victory’ serves as the flagship of the Portsmouth naval base commander, General Cordington, who might assume command in the future, is certainly keen to forge a good relationship with this vigorous and promising subordinate.

The relationship between Franklin and General Cordington is even clearer.

During the Battle of Trafalgar, Colonel Franklin was serving as a naval cadet on the 74-gun third-rate battleship ‘HMS Bellerophon’, whereas General Cordington was the commander of the third dispatch fleet in the battle, making the two old acquaintances.

Speaking of the ‘HMS Bellerophon’, its captain at the time was Colonel John Cook.

Perhaps John Cook is not well-known, but if you mention his grandfather, James Cook, he is practically a household name in Britain.

James Cook had been commissioned by the Navy Department and the Royal Society to lead three expeditions to explore the Pacific region, successfully discovering places like Australia, New Zealand, and Hawaii.

Besides, he discovered a way to prevent scurvy by improving diet.

But, as if it were the fate of explorers, James Cook ultimately died while searching for the Northwest Passage.

During the Battle of Trafalgar, Colonel John Cook also met misfortune like his grandfather.

He became a primary target for French sailors because of his officer’s uniform and was pierced by a bullet through his chest.

When his subordinates asked him to remove his uniform and epaulettes, he simply left the words, ‘Taking them off is too late now.

I understand my situation, but I will die like a man,’ before he closed his eyes.

Interestingly, although John Cook died on the HMS Bellerophon, the exploratory spirit of the Cook family was preserved by the sailors and officers who served on this ship.

The HMS Bellerophon not only contributed John Franklin, a colonel committed to searching for the Northwest Passage, but also Colonel Matthew Flinders, the first to complete a circumnavigation of Australia and who meticulously charted the map of Australia.

What’s more interesting is that nine years after the Battle of Trafalgar, the sailors of HMS Bellerophon were also tasked with transporting Napoleon, the foremost prisoner of France, to Saint Helena Island; in a way, this avenged their former commander, John Cook.

Having gained a basic understanding of the three colonels’ histories, Arthur immediately understood why General Cordington had invited them to the banquet.

It was because, apart from being acquainted with General Cordington, all three colonels were also deeply interested in scientific research.

Fitzroy and Franklin were captains of Royal Navy exploratory ships, and Elliot had participated in the highly technical Battle of Copenhagen.

The matter of the Battle of Copenhagen is, in fact, quite straightforward.

Essentially, it was initially to prevent Denmark, which was undecided, from leaning towards Napoleon and handing over their naval forces to the French.

So, after internal discussions at the British Foreign Office, it was considered that if Denmark’s loyalty to Britain was not absolute, then it amounted to absolute disloyalty.

Thus, after Denmark once again refused to hand over their fleet to Britain, the Foreign Office immediately issued a war order.

Sir George Canning, the Foreign Secretary, ordered the Baltic Fleet to utterly destroy the Danish navy in Copenhagen with decisive action.

Regarding how to completely destroy the Danish navy holed up in the harbor without a fight, there was much controversy within the Navy Department.

For example, the always troublesome Admiral Cochrane proposed once more a suicidal attack on Copenhagen using a ship filled with explosives.