Chapter 3105 The Road to War (5)

In Harry's fourth year, Minerva used to play music on a gramophone and teach the students how to dance. Even for wizards, it is an antique. It has a huge loudspeaker. Compared with Remus's gramophone, it is much smaller. The sound is not only loud and clear, it was once James and Sirius's phonograph. The birthday gift given to Remus was said to have cost a lot of money.

It was one of the few valuable things Remus had, but Pomona didn't expect him to be so broke that he didn't pawn it.

When Remus received this gift, he did not reject it because it was too expensive. Perhaps to those teenagers, it was just like the products in Zuko's joke shop, it was just a prop that could bring them joy.

Although the dense forest blocked the wind, the speed of the horse's rapid advance made the falling snow on the face feel a little painful.

Those snowflakes kept spinning in front of Georgiana, forming curves similar to Archimedean spirals, and this line happened to be consistent with the track on the record. The motor drove the record on the turntable to rotate at a constant speed along the track. Moving towards the outer circle, although the tracks on the record are densely packed, they look like they are made up of concentric circles.

In addition to discovering the spiral and using it to make pumps for irrigation, Archimedes also made other discoveries.

One day he was taking a bath and discovered the relationship between the volume of water discharged from the bathtub and its buoyancy. He used this discovery to solve the problem of the golden crown. Without melting it, he detected its volume and then determined whether the crown was gold or not. Pure gold.

Many, many years later, people used Archimedes' principle to prove that iron ships can also float on the water, and they do not necessarily have to be made of wood. Fortunately, the battleship Agamemnon, which was tasked with laying cables, was not an iron ship. , but made of wood, and the wood such as decks can be removed to provide power for the steam engine.

In 1858, the Agamemnon encountered a storm shortly after setting off. The huge cables caused the weight of the ship to be unevenly distributed. The Agamemnon was almost destroyed in the ocean several times. The crew asked several times to throw away the cables. Entering the sea, he was rejected by the captain.

Under the shipping conditions at the time, it took more than three weeks to sail across the Atlantic. If a message was delivered and feedback was received from the other side, it would take six or seven weeks. This was certainly not allowed given the rapidly changing situation at the time.

Another difference between a cruise ship and a cruise ship is the "timeliness". Cruise ships are used for sightseeing and leisure. If the weather is bad, it will not only affect the safety of the ship, but also give passengers an unpleasant experience. ——Seasickness and the inability to enjoy the scenery such as sunset and sunrise on the sea, so in case of bad weather, the cruise ship will dock in a safe port. There are enough entertainment facilities on the ship to make passengers forget about the delay and wait for the weather. Okay, let's go again.

Before there was a national postal service, it was more troublesome for ordinary people to send letters, and they had to find someone to carry them. When Napoleon approached Venice, the Venetian oligarchs tried to bribe the French Parliament to withdraw their troops. This letter was intercepted by Napoleon in Milan, and the list of bribe recipients in Paris fell into Napoleon's hands.

Cruise ships in the early 19th century were mainly operated by private individuals, such as banks and businessmen. For these people, "information" was extremely important. It was precisely because Rothschild received accurate information about the Battle of Waterloo in advance that he acted before others. , suddenly became a classic case.

For these people, let alone a ship, even if they lose a fleet, as long as the information they get can make huge profits, then what they lose will be replenished.

But the mission of the Agamemnon is not just as simple as commercial news. The Agamemnon set out in June 1858, a few months after Napoleon III was assassinated on January 15, 1858, and a few months after Queen Victoria and Queen Victoria. There are still two months left before Prince Albert's visit to France, and public opinion is dominated by the voice of war.

In addition to the anticipated Civil War, the Crimean War had just ended. This was the largest international war after the Napoleonic Wars. It is said that even the Minister of Magic was involved in it. A wizard novelist wrote about this background. a novel.

The Corn Laws were repealed in 1846. The United States is not only a supplier of cotton, but also a supplier of grain. Britain needs to import 95% of its daily necessities and production raw materials, and then sells industrial products abroad, so it is important to keep shipping open. necessary.

After the Crimean War, many countries signed the "Paris Naval Declaration" in Paris. For example, you only need to buy a ticket to take the subway. If you need to sign a contract every time you take the subway, stipulating the starting and ending points, how much luggage to carry, etc., you need lawyers, notaries, insurance and other procedures to complete. You will definitely be late for work.

Train tickets, ship tickets, insurance policies, bills of lading, etc. are all standard contracts. When conducting a transaction, as long as both parties sign it, it will have legal effect, and a transaction activity will basically be completed.

Arthur didn't know this when he took the Muggle subway for the first time. He "patted the machine on the head" like a Muggle. The gate didn't let him pass, so Harry bought a ticket for him. After being bitten by Nagini, he often mentioned this "interesting story" while recovering at Grimmauld Place.

This common knowledge, which can be called "conventions", can save people transaction costs and time in social activities, and since time is galleons, that is double money.

The first article of the "Declaration of the Battle of Paris" is to permanently abolish the privateering system. Privateering is a charter issued by Queen Elizabeth of the United Kingdom to pirates. This system did bring considerable benefits to the United Kingdom in the early days. However, when the British shipping industry while occupying an unparalleled share of the world's goods, England was exposed to all the dangers, disturbances, and annoyances of maritime transport. Just like a man rushing to go to work passed the subway turnstile. He voted in, but the turnstile didn't let him pass. Like Arthur, he "patted the machine on the head," but the turnstile still refused to let him pass. At this time, he had two choices, either to buy another ticket and pass through another gate, or to jump directly, as if he was evading the fare.

Of course he didn't evade the fare. There was something wrong with the damn machine. Facing the strange looks from the people around him, he needed extra time to explain. If he was unlucky and that person happened to be his new boss, the "cost" would be even greater. Big.

A country that was still allowed to use privateers would interrupt and jeopardize British supplies in many ways. During World War II, German submarines sank British merchant ships, sinking their cargo of grain. They were not privateers, but they were got the same result.

Britain's own agriculture can guarantee its own use. However, at this time, Britain, like France and Germany, increased its steel production capacity by 30 times. In addition to being used to build the railway to California, some of it was used for shipping. To build giant steel ships like the Titanic.

In the past, whoever owned timber suitable for maritime use had a monopoly on ships. Venetian buildings were built on wooden piles. These seawater-resistant woods could also be used on warships. Then the Venetian navy became the Mediterranean overlord.

Massachusetts was once heavily forested, and these trees were cut down, just like the native British trees, and it took more than just time to grow into a tree that could make a mast.

The Dutch also had an era of "sea coachmen". The beech trees in Belgium were almost chopped down, but the Dutch ships were not like warships. They used rough wood. This kind of ship is defenseless, not an armed merchant ship, and the ship's deck is very small. This is a tax regulation in many Scandinavian ports. The tax paid by the ship depends on the width of the deck.

It was like a bulging wallet, and its "zipper" was about to burst. At that time, the mode of naval warfare was mainly based on docking. The Spanish ships were built very high, and you could easily jump from the ship to the opponent's deck. Up, and it is difficult for the opponent to attack high places from low places.

The narrow deck prevents the enemy from taking advantage of their numbers, but the price is still making every voyage a risky gamble.

Attica, which also relies on maritime trade, has not completely given up its agriculture. The Low Countries are cutting down trees and building ships while also reclaiming farmland. Anyway, there is no such precedent in British history.

During the Peloponnesian War, the Athenians hid in the long wall and relied on sea supplies. This food should not have come from Egypt. In addition to Egypt being controlled by Persia at the time, the purpose of the Athenians' control of trade was not taxation and gold and silver coins. It's about material transportation - the food originally sent to the allies will be transported to Athens without paying money.

Theoretically, the Peloponnesian War was a war between the Delian League and the Peloponnesian League, but the other allies were not as sharp as the conflicts between Athens and Sparta, Corinth and Megara. They could do "neutral".

Anyway, you only need to know that ancient Greece had laws in this regard, and the word "consul" is also related to it. Although the Athenians' business reached the Black Sea, they actually did not buy much food from the Black Sea, even during the Peloponnesian War. .

After the Crimean War, not all of Tsarist Russia's land area was affected. For example, the price of food soared in and around the Crimean war zone, but the north and Alaska had little impact.

But Tsarist Russia lost control of the Black Sea, let alone the foothold in the Mediterranean that Queen Catherine had mentioned.

At the signing site of the "Declaration of the Battle of Paris", most countries signed it, except the United States. The reason for their refusal was that they refused to abandon their privateers.

President Monroe proposed that the United States would not sign unless "all private property" should be exempt from capture. U.S. Secretary of State William Marcy, who arrived at the scene, said that "a strong navy and a large standing army are injurious to the country, an institution injurious to the liberties of the citizens, and the expense of maintaining them is a heavy burden on the people." To some extent, it is a threat to peace among nations."

There is another article in the "Declaration of the Battle of Paris" that "the blockade must be effective, that is, it must be implemented by a force sufficient to truly prevent ships from approaching the enemy's coast, otherwise the blockade cannot be established."

In other words, Lincoln's proclamation to blockade southern ports was illegal according to the war practices at the time.

At the beginning of the Civil War, southerners were criminals of treason, not enemies, and Britain was a "neutral country" here.

Instead of importing cotton from the United States, we switched to importing it from India. India used to export grain. With the large amount of grain exported by the United States, the price of grain has been very low. Now that the "business" has come, of course, the land for growing grain will be converted into agricultural land. Cotton.

However, as a result, the import of food from India was reduced, and it was also impossible to import food from Ireland. At that time, Ireland was engaged in a land movement and wanted to distribute the land of the landowners living in London to Irish farmers.

Then Tsarist Russia’s grain, especially wheat, entered the international market, impacting U.S. wheat exports. Originally, after the gold rush, a bubble was formed due to severe speculation and inflated credit. In order to facilitate the transportation of wheat, 4,000 miles of railways were built in Crimea in 1857 alone. This was the longest period in Tsarist Russia since the emergence of railways. 5 times the total mileage built.

Then France also started its Paris renovation plan. French banks borrowed money from Britain, and British interest rates soared. Taking advantage of this opportunity, British investors sold American securities, and American stock prices fell.

It's not a plunge, it's just that the cable pulled by the Agamemnon hasn't arrived yet, and only a few people have received the news. During the Civil War, Lincoln sometimes slept on a small bed in the telegraph office. With this cable, Britain and the European continent did not have to wait three weeks to receive "quick news" about the war.

In other words, if the Agamemnon sinks and everyone on board dies, there will still be Achilles and Odysseus on top until this cable arrives.

If the United States had signed the "Declaration of the Paris Battle of the Sea" at that time, then the "current" international laws and war practices would not be what they are "now".

The Romans also believed that an enemy's property was "unclaimed," like a wild bird or wild animal that became the property of the person who captured it because someone intended to capture it.

But Roman law also provided that if a wild animal escaped, it was no longer the property of its captor.

Bulgarus, an expert on interpretation of Roman law, drove to Bologna with his students one day. They encountered a wild boar that fell into a trap. The student wanted to take the wild boar away. When Bulgarus stopped him, he said "use a trap" Ownership of the beast cannot be acquired by this fact," and thus the stranger taking the prey from the trap does not commit theft.

Bulgarus thought for a long time and replied, "It is true that we are not afraid of being sued, but I am more worried about the scandal than the outcome of the future verdict."

The Romans also did not make it clear what the difference was between a beast "escaping on its own" and "someone helping it escape".

What Georgiana couldn't figure out now was what the hell the French were doing, that they actually accepted "British rules."

Of course, this is not without precedent. The French also agree with the confiscation of cargo on enemy ships. They don't even bother to identify whether there are neutral goods on enemy ships. Of course, they do it to save trouble.

Integrity is also to save the cost of repeated games. Why do you have to think about it and spend so much time and energy on something that can be solved by just buying a ticket?

A person in the 19th century can communicate with a Roman about what Archimedes' Principle is, but he may not be able to communicate with a contemporary who does not know Archimedes' Principle. Then he can explain why a ship made of iron Will not sink.

Is it laborious? Of course, the Titanic was also a cruise ship, but by that era, the "timeliness" of the cruise ship had been replaced by other communication methods. It did not need to travel in strong winds and waves, and could be as leisurely as the cruise ship. There were also Adequate facilities for "entertainment".

For such a big ship with such a small propeller, even if it floats on the sea, it will not have enough propulsion to change its course when it encounters an iceberg.

For the ticket, Jack and his friends bet all their wealth, and so did the Norwegians who were betting against them. They spent all their savings to buy the ticket.

If the Norwegians cheated and pretended that the bet did not exist and got on the ship with the ticket, there would be no story about Jack and Rose.

Rose can't stop the ship from sinking, so what will she do? Should he follow Carl and leave in the arranged lifeboat, or go with others? Or she didn't have to wait until that time, if Jack hadn't stopped her, she would have jumped into the cold Atlantic Ocean.

Death is terrible, but living a life worse than death is also a kind of relief.

Snow fell on her eyelashes, making it difficult for her to see the road ahead.

When she squinted her eyes, she thought she saw Albus, smiling at her from the front.

"Go another way!" Georgiana ordered, riding her horse onto another road.

"Wait, madam!" Figel shouted, "The carriage behind doesn't know!"

Georgiana ignored her.

She wouldn't be led that way by the old fool like Harry.

Although the old fool himself sacrificed as an example, rather than asking Harry to sacrifice "for the greater good".