The Shadow of Great Britain

180: Chapter 128: Eld’s Retribution (4K4)_2 180: Chapter 128: Eld’s Retribution (4K4)_2 Of course, after careful consideration, the Navy Department responded to General Cochrane’s enthusiastic suggestion with a simple “in principle, agreed.”

General Sidney Smith was far more composed; he loftily suggested trying the Congreve rockets which he had used himself and found quite effective.

Thus, under General Smith’s strong endorsement, the Navy Department provided 25,000 Congreve rockets for the Copenhagen expedition fleet led by Hyde Parker and Horatio Nelson.

The results were startling.

The naval debut of the Congreve rockets was exceptionally outstanding!

The coastal artillery in Copenhagen could only watch helplessly as the British warships, out of their range, rained fire from the sky.

This new rocket, which could cover two to three kilometers, instantly turned Copenhagen into a flaming hell.

From then onward, this type of rocket became one of the standard weapons of the Royal Navy.

From this incident, one could see what kind of military science fanatics Today’s generals and guests, Thomas Cochrane and Sidney Smith, really were.

In addition to the Congreve rockets and explosive boats, their innovative suggestions to the Navy Department included but were not limited to:

Developing torpedoes that were still conceptual to destroy the French fleet at Toulon,

Aggressively promoting the adoption of steamships on a large scale in the Royal Navy,

Asking Faraday if chlorine could be used in combat, only to be severely scolded by Mr.

Faraday leaving them to depart feeling thwarted,

Strongly supporting Robert Fulton, the inventor of the submarine, in an attempt to navigate directly to Paris via the Seine River.

If the French fleet refused to come out, then the Royal Navy would take the initiative to penetrate and target Napoleon himself,

Of course, besides the Congreve rockets, their suggestions were broadly ignored by the Navy Department.

This was not entirely because their proposals were unreasonable but because these two were essentially disliked in military and political circles.

If they weren’t truly competent and capable of winning battles, they’d likely have been dismissed from the Royal Navy long ago.

The fact also proved this point, Sidney Smith and Thomas Cochrane had both been ordered by the Navy Department to forcibly retire.

Compared to them, even Cordington, who was left cooling his heels with the Channel fleet, was considered highly trusted.

Perhaps, it was for this reason that Cordington, the Lieutenant General who made a ‘minor mistake,’ brought them together for mutual support?

Arthur was thinking about these matters when he came back to his senses only to realize he and Eld had circled back to Cordington’s estate.

At that moment, an elegant, plain white carriage was parked outside the black iron ornamental gates of the estate.

No sooner had the carriage stopped than the valet, sitting in the passenger seat, hurriedly took out a small wooden stool and placed it beside the carriage, and then, the door opened, revealing a hand adorned with a black lace glove and a pigeon-blood red ruby ring.

Next, what came into view was a blue dress with gold edges — not particularly broad but with a two-to-one ratio front to back that accentuated the curves of the hips and showed the fair skin of the back.

On her head was a light purple wide-brimmed hat adorned with a Baffled ribbon and three white feathers.

However, Arthur’s first reaction upon seeing this scene was to quickly caution Eld beside him, in a lowered voice, “Stay calm.”

But this time, he clearly underestimated Eld’s self-control.

Although just standing beside him, one could feel the hot air like the waves of the Sahara Desert, Eld still remembered his manners.

He politely removed his hat and held it against his chest, giving a slight bow to the lady.

“Good evening, Mrs.

Copper.

I hadn’t expected you to be a guest today as well.

Sharing a room with you is truly an honor beyond words,” he said.

Mrs.

Copper?

Arthur quickly caught the key phrase.

He remembered that this lady was one of the seven female patrons of Almack’s Club.

Upon hearing this, Mrs.

Copper turned to look at Eld, appearing slightly surprised, but quickly adjusted her expression and gently nodded with her hand on the brim of her hat, “Good evening, Mr.

Carter.”

Eld had been maintaining his composure, but upon hearing this, he immediately couldn’t hold his emotions: “You…

You remember me?

I thought I, a man you met only once, would be quickly forgotten by you.”

Mrs.

Copper smiled and said, “Mr.

Carter, don’t you know?

Women generally have better memories than men, especially for remembering faces and names, and I excel in this among women.

Besides, you left quite a memorable impression on our first meeting; I couldn’t possibly forget you.”

“I…

I…

you…

uh…” Eld’s face turned beet red, and his hat-less head was steaming.

Seeing this, Arthur quickly whispered, “Eld, stay calm!

Damn it, if others see you like this, they might think you’re the locomotive that killed Mr.

Hesketh!”

The Red Devil, seeing this scene, couldn’t help stirring things up, “Arthur, the train is about to derail.

Step on his brake!”

Hearing this, Arthur quickly and discreetly stepped on Eld’s shoe, causing Eld sudden pain.

Along with several deep breaths, he finally regained his ability to speak.