Chapter 1000: Chapter 58: Changing Italy’s Destiny_3
But what Arthur was sure of was that what Garibaldi wanted to hear was definitely not this, but rather the Battle of Navarino in October 1827, where Codrington led his forces to annihilate the Ottoman Empire’s navy.
After this battle, the Ottoman Empire’s mariti power was utterly destroyed, and the Greeks rejoiced, hailing Codrington as a hero. Unfortunately, this battle was purely a military accident.
Because the British Foreign Office did not want the Ottoman Empire to be too severely damaged, lest they were unable to continue keeping the Russians out of the diterranean Sea.
The main reason Britain intervened in Greece was due to dostic public opinion pressure and the wish to prevent an independent Greece from leaning towards France or Russia.
Had it not been for the Ottomans killing the ssenger sent by Codrington, which enraged this veteran of the Royal Navy, Codrington would most likely have strictly adhered to the Foreign Office’s orders to absolutely not engage.
Therefore, the reward for General Codrington’s impressive ‘achievent’ was his transfer from the commander of the Royal Navy’s ‘diterranean Fleet’ to the commander of the Ho Guard Fleet’s ‘Channel Fleet’.
When Arthur left London, General Codrington was even more honored with another promotion, now holding the position of commander of Portsmouth Base. For a 63-year-old veteran, this essentially ant he could spend the rest of his life firmly planted on land.
And this story was also integrated by Arthur into “The St. George’s Flag Rises High”, but to prevent the Foreign Office from discovering that Scotland Yard still harbored a guy like Arthur Hastings who also disobeyed orders, Arthur graciously handed over the naming rights to his co-author Dickens when the book was published.
Garibaldi curiously asked, “Is General Codrington still being retaliated against by your Foreign Office?”
Arthur pondered for a while and suddenly thought that this seemingly honest and enthusiastic Garibaldi might not be as straightforward as he appeared.
This question seed to ask about Codrington’s current situation, but upon closer inspection, it also inquired whether Britain’s stance truly supported the forces of freedom and progress as the newspapers proclaid.
If Britain were indeed so progressive, then why was Codrington, who made great contributions to Greek independence, so suppressed?
Arthur smiled and replied, “Britain’s political winds change daily. Earl Dudley, the Foreign Secretary who held a grudge against General Codrington, has long been ousted. Now, the Foreign Office is headed by Viscount Palrston, who was a staunch supporter of the forr Pri Minister Sir George Canning. Sir Canning always supported national independence; he not only supported Greek independence but also the independence movents in South Arica.
But unfortunately, he died after only a hundred days in office. Sir Canning passed away in August, while General Codrington won the naval battle in October. If Sir Canning had lived just two more months, I think General Codrington’s fate would certainly have been different. Fortunately, the Whig Party is now in power, so General Codrington can at least breathe a sigh of relief.
Although his life is essentially at its end, the younger generation of the Codrington family is beginning to make their mark. Codrington’s eldest son drowned at sea when he was a cadet. But his second son has already been promoted to lieutenant in the Coldstream Guards of the Army.
His youngest son was injured as a cadet during the Battle of Navarino. Fortunately, the wound was not deep, so he recovered quickly. Moreover, because of his brave fighting and his father’s reputation, he was imdiately awarded the Order of Saint Vladimir by Russia, the Legion of Honour by France, and the Greek Saviour of the World dal right after the battle.
Thanks to these honors, the youngest son’s promotion has been noticeably faster than that of the second son. This young man, who is only a year older than , was promoted to the captain of an escort ship two years ago and is now just a step away from becoming a Royal Navy Colonel in charge of a warship with more than 20 guns. At this rate, he is very likely to achieve this goal before the age of 28.”
Upon hearing this, Garibaldi held his forehead and said, “That’s certainly good news. A 28-year-old Navy Colonel is indeed rare. At this rate, he’s more likely to beco a general in the future.”
Arthur nodded slightly and said, “Indeed, it is good news. But whether he can beco a general, that’s still uncertain at this ti.”
“Oh? Why?”
Arthur replied, “In the Royal Navy, advancing quickly in the beginning doesn’t an the sa for later on. According to their promotion route, to beco a Commodore, at the very least, one has to serve as the captain of an escort ship, cruiser, and battleship each, and as everyone knows, battleships are divided into six grades. Even though the Navy Departnt won’t require him to hone his skills on battleships of all six grades, he must at least experience them in three of these grades one by one.
If he has withstood all trials, coupled with so luck in seizing more opportunities to achieve military rits, only then might he get a glimpse of the Commodore rank. So, from enrolling in the Naval Academy to being promoted to a Royal Navy Commodore, it takes about 30 years, even at the fastest pace.”
“Isn’t there any exception in the anti?”
“There are exceptions, of course.”
Arthur laid out the naval knowledge he obtained from Eld: “For example, the soul of the Royal Navy, Horatio Nelson, only took sixteen years to be promoted to Commodore. As for General Thomas Cochrane, even though he said and did things in a very unrestrained way, even calling Marshal Gambier of the Royal Navy a coward in military court, his military achievents were just too strong, so he only took seventeen years. And General Sidney Smith, who was similarly unrestrained but earned Napoleon’s enmity by setting fire to Toulon harbor in a great exploit, got his Commodore rank in just twenty-one years.”
Hearing this, Garibaldi laughed, stood up, and patted Arthur on the shoulder: “Although the Navy of the Kingdom of Sardinia is different from the Royal Navy, I suspect the promotion won’t be easier anywhere. I originally thought I could beco a general within one or two years, but now it seems most likely impossible.”
Saying this, he whispered in Arthur’s ear: “Buddy, soday when you are free, you can let Mr. Dumas lead you to my place for a visit. Let’s end our chat here for today. It has been enjoyable talking to you, but now I have to leave. Look over at the staircase, those flies, who have been wearing top hats and disguising themselves as gentlen, have followed us for a week.”
Arthur glanced and indeed saw two gentlen with top hats and seal whiskers coming their way, just as Garibaldi said.
“Of course, having flies in the restaurant does kill the appetite. But, Giuseppe, your residence doesn’t necessarily avoid flies either – if you want a quiet environnt to talk, you can co and find at my place. I assure you, I’m very clean, so flies don’t dare to co near where I live.”
Garibaldi glanced at the business card, looked at Mazzini who was rising beside him, then asked: “Buddy, I rember you just said that your current Foreign Secretary is more reliable?”
Arthur rubbed the scar at the corner of his eye: “When it cos to facing the Russians, he may not be dependable, but as far as tternich is concerned, I assure you, Giuseppe, he detests tternich even more than you Italians do.”
“I can’t help but wonder if you sound like a fraud when you say that.” Garibaldi supported himself on the table with one hand: “Yet you’re able to write ‘The St. George’s Flag Rises High,’ I feel that you’re not such an insidious person, so I believe you.”
“Why?”
Arthur pressed his cigar slowly, extinguishing it in the ashtray: “Giuseppe, if you and tternich shared the sa lover, you’d hate him too. As for who tternich and Viscount Palrston’s mutual lover is, we can talk about it next ti.”
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