African Entrepreneurship Records

  Chapter 46 Fleet

   October 8, 1866, Venice.

  Hechingen shipyard.

  Today is Ernst’s second visit to Venice. Unlike the last time, it is already October, but the weather is transitioning from hot to cold, so the temperature is relatively cool and comfortable.

  Because of the news received the day before yesterday, the fifth new boat has been built. Now the boat ordered by Ernst has been built on the dock and is waiting to be launched.

So this time Ernst came to participate in the launching ceremony of his own fleet. The Hechingen shipyard has been taking other orders, so he can't wholeheartedly build ships for Ernst, and only one dock can be left for Ernst in each cycle. Especially their own company, after all, only in this way can the shipyard run smoothly.

  This time, Ernst came to the dock of the shipyard with ease under the leadership of the employees of the Hechingen Shipyard, accompanied by the designer and technical director of the ship.

I saw a huge sea boat parked by the dock, and the surrounding wooden frames have been dismantled. As the water channel was closed, the water flowed from the water pipe channels on both sides of the water channel to the middle, and the big ship slowly rose with the water level. floated up.

   "Today, there are five such ships, all of which are wooden hull ships with sails, installed with steam power, and at the same time, the structure is completed by senior ship designers..."

   Ernst stood on the shore and listened to the explanations of the technicians. These five wooden boats were not bad technically. After all, they were experienced and easy to be operated by the crew on the sea.

   "If the ship is going to the Far East and drifts at sea all year round, is it safe and reliable?"

"Boss, don't worry, our workers rely on this craft for a living all year round. We dare not be sloppy in workmanship and material selection. As for the design, we have borrowed the most mature and safe solutions, but there are some small improvements. , but will not threaten the safety of the main body of the ship."

  Although the guarantee from the staff might not be worth a penny, it still gave Ernst some comfort. Ernst was still afraid that they would mess around. Every year, some ship accidents were caused by the bold innovation of the designers.

  As long as the shipyard staff operate stably according to the mature experience of the current era, the safety will be better.

   Now that the ship is in place, he should not be allowed to enter the work mode to generate income for himself. The first is the recruitment of the fleet.

   Ernst instructed his new assistant Eric.

   "Eric, the day after tomorrow, we will start preparing for the recruitment of crew members for our first ocean-going commercial fleet. You can post recruitment advertisements to the Venice area."

   "Be sure to find these old masters who have traveled on ocean routes to lead the way, and other sailors will be recruited from the locals."

   "Yes, boss!" Eric replied.

   "Also, these five ships happen to solve the problem of sending a batch of our instruments to East Africa first. You need to coordinate well."

   Ernst intends to order a batch of machines to go to the colony, sisal weaving machines, threshers, and some basic machines.

   Some materials are still processed locally and then exported, the profit will be higher, and the shipment of the goods will be more convenient.

  …

  While Ernst was planning the ocean-going fleet, Prince Constantine was mobilizing relationships to find a marriage partner.

On the table of Prince Constantine are the materials of various families, many of which are noble materials from the German region. In this era, the German region is the incubator of the nobles in Europe. Many European nobles have come out of the German region, so The target chosen by Prince Constantine also focused on Germany.

  In addition to Germany, some nobles from Sweden, France and Russia in Northern Europe are also under consideration.

   "This one won't work, she's too young, this one's too old, this one's status is too low, this one has a disease..."

   After picking and choosing, Prince Constantine finally locked three houses. After thinking about it, he should wait for Ernst to come back before making the final decision.

  …

  After visiting the launching ceremony of the ships, Ernst put the five ships under the name of Hechingen Ocean Trading Company.

  The main focus is on trade from Europe to East Africa and then to the Far East. Whether it makes money or not is secondary. The current purpose is to reduce costs. After all, the Dutch charge is not cheap, and the most important thing is to make it easier to control the colonies.

  Currently, the Suez Canal has not yet opened. Let these sailors be familiar with the ocean-going routes first. At the same time, continue to expand the size of the fleet and wait for the Suez Canal to open.

   After the opening of the Suez Canal, the distance from Europe to East Africa will be shortened by more than half.

  As long as you start from the Mediterranean Sea, enter the Red Sea through the Suez Canal, enter the Indian Ocean through the Mandeb Strait, and go all the way south along the coastline, you can lead to East Africa.

  The fleet can decide to go east to the Far East or south to the colonies in the Gulf of Aden, and the fleet returning from the Far East or the East African colonies can dock at ports along the Mediterranean Sea. Return goods by road from the Austrian region to Prussia.

  Now, we can only continue to walk the long coastline of West Africa. This is also good, so that the newly recruited sailors can get familiar with their work and environment.

   "Eric, there is one more thing. Go to the market and check if there are any second-hand ships for sale. Five ships are still too few. We need to speed up the progress and see if we can expand the fleet to more than ten ships."

   "Yes, boss."

  Eric recorded everything and prepared to complete it one by one.

  Five sailing ocean-going ships were sailing on the Adriatic sea. Ernst stood at the bow, feeling the sea wind. As ships came and went on the Adriatic sea, various whistles rang in his ears from time to time.

  The sea water is relatively calm, with tiny waves beating against the outer wall of the ship quietly, Ernst can't feel the strong vibration, and the experience on the sea ship for the first time is quite comfortable.

  In the future, this fleet will sail for a long time on the road to the East African colonies. Europe and East Asia are just the ends of human and material resources for the development of the East African colonies. East Africa is the real focus in Ernst's heart.

   I'm sorry everyone, I let the trolls shut themselves off yesterday, which caused me to be in a bad state today. This chapter took a few hours to come out, and the effect is not good. I really don't have the mood to change it.

  (end of this chapter)