After Captain Morris and the distinguished old man left with Governor Pauli, the sailors on the Reasonable began to move freely.
Of course, according to the regulations of the Royal Navy and the practices between various countries, even if these sailors visiting other countries can move freely, their scope of activities is limited to the docks.
It would be better if we were in a prosperous port area like Rotterdam Port or Bremerhaven. There are pubs, casinos, grocery stores and other entertainment facilities on the pier, which are enough for these sailors to free up their wallets.
There were even many young girls dressed up in gorgeous clothes, stretching out their snow-white arms and waving to the sailors who had been hungry and thirsty at sea for several months in the dim light.
However, when the sailors on the Reasonable went around the port of Ajaccio, they were angry to find that there was nothing here except an overcrowded tavern.
In addition, the patrols who had just clashed with them were always on duty at the pier. This caused many sailors to either queue up outside the tavern in depression or return to the ship cursing after getting off the ship for a walk.
Not only was the young Nelson's body shape out of place among these sturdy sailors, but his behavior was also very strange to the sailors on the Reasonable.
I saw him pacing back and forth alone on the pier, his still immature eyes constantly turning to observe the surroundings, and at the same time mumbling something, as if he was thinking about something.
After a while, Nelson even climbed up a hill made of goods without anyone noticing, stood on a high place, and looked down at the port of Ajaccio with a solemn expression.
After Lawrence decided to start with Nelson, he ordered Grosso to follow him, while Old Sean and Yaan returned to their posts to perform their respective duties.
Lawrence and Grosso stood not far from Nelson, temporarily observing his every move.
After seeing Nelson's strange behavior, Grosso said in amazement:
"Tsk, tsk, tsk, this guy seems to be observing the terrain. Hey, Lawrence, he's not here to spy, is he?"
Lawrence chuckled and shook his head, knowing that Grosso was joking. If the British Royal Navy wanted to invade Corsica, they could just push it over. There was no need to send a little boy to survey the terrain in advance.
So this is probably Nelson's personal hobby.
However, after a twelve-year-old boy visited the port, the first thing he did was not play, but observe the topography and strategic location of the port. It seems that there is a reason why the name Nelson will become a maritime legend in the future.
"Hey! That sailor up there!"
Lawrence and Grosso walked forward directly, stood below and shouted to Nelson on the wooden box mountain.
Nelson was startled for a moment, and then he stuck his head out and looked down, and found that it was the Corsican lieutenant colonel calling him just now, and there were several stevedores at the dock staring at him, and then he realized that his behavior was a little inappropriate.
.
"Sorry, Your Excellency, I'm very sorry."
Nelson kept saying this, while using his hands and feet to climb down from the wooden boxes piled up into a hill, and stood in front of Lawrence, bowing and apologizing, with a look of shame and worry on his face.
He was able to intern on the Reasonable this time, thanks to Captain Morris being his uncle, otherwise he would not have gotten this precious opportunity.
Little Nelson didn't want to get into trouble because of his behavior and ruin this rare opportunity to go to sea.
"Your name is Horatio Nelson, right? What are you doing up there?"
Lawrence pretended to be stern, staring down at Nelson, and scolded him.
"I am truly sorry, Your Excellency."
Little Nelson didn't dare to look into Lawrence's eyes, so he lowered his head and kept saying apologies:
"This is my first time leaving England, and I am a little curious about the outside world. Please don't tell my uncle this..."
"Curious? What are you curious about?"
Lawrence deliberately kept a straight face and asked seriously.
Nelson's eyes moved erratically, hesitating for a moment and whispered:
“I’m curious about the geographical environment and location here.”
Grosso also understood Nelson's answer, smiled and joked to Lawrence in Italian:
"Damn, when I was twelve years old, I was still thinking about what I would fill my stomach with tomorrow."
"Okay, since he is interested in the navy, we will go with him. We will have to rely on you to step in later. After getting to know him well, we will see if we can figure out the old man's identity."
Lawrence knew that Nelson could not understand Italian, so he and Grosso conspired loudly in front of him, preparing to use Grosso's rich navigation knowledge to attract Nelson.
After saying that, Lawrence turned to look at Nelson, his stern expression just now softened a little, stretched out his hand to touch Nelson's head, and said:
"Yes, you are a studious child. Tell me, what have you observed?"
"Yes...Your Excellency."
Nelson still glanced at Lawrence a little uneasily, fearing that he would tell Uncle Morris about his troubles, so he explained in detail:
"When I was on the boat, I discovered that the entire south side of Ajaccio is coastal, but only the west coast has been developed into a port. I felt a little strange, so I looked around and investigated."
"Huh? What do you think?"
Lawrence was stunned for a moment when he heard this, and asked subconsciously.
He himself had also thought about this problem, why the port was not built in Nancheng District or even Dongcheng District, but in the dirty and messy Xicheng District. However, Lawrence quickly forgot about this problem because of his busy schedule.
Nelson said carefully:
"It should be related to the water depth. Judging from the topography on the shore, the terrain on the west side is steeper, while the east side is gentler. This means that the water depth on the west side is higher than that on the east side, which is more conducive to the construction of a deep-water port..."
Lawrence couldn't help but close his eyes and think about Nelson's answer. Then he translated his answer to Grosso and asked:
"What do you think he said? Right?"
Grosso shrugged helplessly and responded:
"I'm not a Corsican, so I don't know why it was built in Xicheng District. But the relationship between terrain and water depth he mentioned is correct. From a geographical point of view, Xicheng District is indeed more suitable."
Although Grosso looked indifferent, he couldn't help but look at Nelson a few times when he said this.
In Grosso's eyes, all this knowledge requires long-term accumulation of experience, and a young boy can actually speak it eloquently, which can't help but change his view of Nelson.
"It's really a good idea." Lawrence couldn't help but sigh to Grosso.
"Indeed, if you give him ten years and develop this temperament and habits, there will be an experienced captain in the Royal Navy."
Grosso, who has always been carefree, also rarely gave serious comments to others.
Lawrence took two steps forward, as if changing his face, he changed his stern expression, smiled and said to Nelson:
"Hey kid, want to see the Corsican ships?"
“Visit the Corsican warships?”
When Nelson heard this, his eyes suddenly lit up and he looked up at Lawrence excitedly.
After all, Nelson had only joined the Royal Naval Academy at the beginning of the year. So far, he had only been on one warship, the Reasonable. Nelson had already experienced all the details of the Reasonable and lost the freshness.
Now that he heard that he could visit a new and exotic warship, Nelson immediately became excited, and he no longer worried about whether he would be punished by Uncle Morris.
Lawrence and Grosso looked at Nelson's eyes shining with eagerness to try, and couldn't help but look at each other. They both couldn't help laughing and shaking their heads.
"Children are easy to fool," Grosso said with a smile.
"If only everyone were children." Lawrence agreed with a smile of deep understanding.