Chapter 650: An Experimental Assistance

In fact, the British did begin to explore the Arctic, but the outcome would not be good, because Franz knew that humans did not conquer the Arctic until April 6, 1909, and the action at this time was doomed to fail.

However, Franz still expressed respect for Sir Franklin and his expedition team, and provided some help.

Funding was naturally impossible. Sir John Franklin himself was a member of the British Navy and even participated in the Battle of Trafalgar. Most of his expedition members were selected from the British Royal Navy.

This Sir John Franklin was a legend. He had challenged the Arctic three times and served as the Governor of Tasmania.

However, the genocide of the Tasmanians had nothing to do with him. After all, when Sir John Franklin took office, the population of the Tasmanians was less than 200 people, and they were all imprisoned on Flinders Island.

Between 1819 and 1822, Franklin led 20 people on a land expedition along the Copperman River in the Northwest Territories of Canada. As a result, 11 people died midway, most of whom died of starvation. The remaining survivors were forced to eat lichens to survive and even tried to eat leather boots to satisfy their hunger.

He was also given the title of "Boot Eater", but this move won him great reputation, and the British people and government officials spoke highly of him.

So under the high attention of the British people, the British Royal Navy gave Sir John Franklin sufficient financial support, including two of the latest steam-powered ships, the 372-ton "Erebus" and the 325-ton "Terror".

It's just that these names are really not auspicious.

The so-called help does not necessarily have to be money. Franz didn't know much about Arctic exploration, but he knew that Sir John Franklin and his men died of lead poisoning and scurvy.

So Franz proposed a deal to Sir John Franklin, that is, he could purchase regular canned food from Austria.

This made the British side very annoyed, but John Franklin still hoped to be foolproof and specially received Franz's envoy.

Elina Harrington was an outstanding graduate of the Royal Women's Academy in Vienna, but she was arrogant and did not intend to work for the royal family at first.

However, Elina soon discovered a problem. No one would hire her except Franz. Whether she entered the government as a clerk or went to the Royal Academy of Sciences as a calculator, she could not leave the control of the royal family.

Franz was indeed short of people, but he was not short of people who were ambitious but could not prove themselves.

After being hidden for a year, Elina received her first relatively formal job, going to Portsmouth to prove that the canned food of the Austrian Empire was better than that of the UK.

The relevant data, samples, and even technical experts Franz were ready, and the rest was just scheduling and negotiation.

Although Elina was very unconvinced, a year of monotonous and boring life as an accountant made her spirit dissipate a lot, and she also cherished this opportunity.

After all, according to Ms. Talia, that was what she had sold her body for, and Alina secretly made up her mind to do this job well.

In fact, Talia just asked Franz if he had any insignificant things recently, and the latter told her about doing business with the British expedition.

Although Talia was not a nationalist, she was still very unhappy about Franz's help to the British.

However, the latter's explanation was that it was insignificant. Not to mention that the exploration of the Arctic might not be successful, even if it was successful, it would not bring actual benefits to Britain like opening up new routes.

This is not to say that exploring the Arctic is meaningless, but that resources cannot be converted into wealth due to the limitations of the times and technology.

Even today, human development of the Arctic is still a disaster, and so far the income and expenditure are still inversely proportional.

As for the great reputation that the British may gain after fully exploring the Arctic, Franz does not care. After all, he has also taken his own risks, and there is no need to be jealous of it.

The final result of wanting everything is often that nothing is gained in the end. Franz just wants to take care of his own business.

Let's get back to the point. Elina didn't know this. She thought it was an opportunity that the principal had finally given her, so she naturally cherished it.

She made sufficient preparations before going to Portsmouth, and the British canned food was indeed as rubbish as rumored.

Elina gained the trust of Sir Franklin after a brief exchange with him. One reason was that the former was the name of the Austrian Imperial Development Company.

Another reason was that the latter had never seen a woman so confident, and he couldn't act suspiciously with his gentlemanly manners.

So Sir Franklin took Elina into the warehouse of the "Ghost" despite the objection of the custodian, and the members of the expedition team also went there after learning about this.

Finally, the custodian had to take out two cans of canned food under the gaze of everyone. After opening them, the fragrance was fragrant, which made everyone present feel relieved.

"Miss Elina, you see, our British industry ranks first in the world, it is impossible for us to produce substandard canned food."

"Yes!"

"Yes!"

Everyone echoed, and the custodian snorted twice from his nose.

"Do you know how expensive this canned food is? Okay, you can see that it is all top-quality beef. Let's go! Let's go!"

But Elina blocked the way.

Custodian: "What? You still want to open all the eight thousand cans in this warehouse?"

"No sir, I want you to change the box and check it again."

Alina's tone was firm, but the custodian looked impatient. At this time, Sir Franklin still spoke in the noble gentlemanly manner.

"Let Miss Alina check it, and I will talk to General Biddeford personally."

John Biddeford was Lord of the Admiralty at this time.

Naturally, the custodian did not dare to disobey such a big shot, so he picked another box next to him. However, he was interrupted by Alina.

"Sir, I want the innermost box."

The custodian's face changed when he heard this, and then he said in an impatient tone.

"It's too far inside and can't be moved out."

The officer next to Sir Franklin was not very gentlemanly. He went up to grab the keeper's collar and just started talking.

"How do you talk? Do you know what you do? Just move if I ask you to!"

Someone who could pass for a warehouse keeper naturally has a background and temperament, but compared with someone like this who has been on the battlefield and dared to go to the North Pole to risk his life, he is really nothing. He was cowed just by looking at him.

"Let's move here..."

"Call sir!" The officer slapped him again. In fact, at this time, nobles from all over Europe were facing the same problem.

That is the rise of the new bourgeoisie, which makes these old aristocrats look absurd and comical. He just couldn't bear to see a warehouse keeper dressed more decently than an aristocratic officer like him.

Soon the innermost box was lifted by a crane (wooden). After the box was opened, all the cans were intact, and the custodian breathed a sigh of relief.

However, when Sir Franklin opened the can with a knife, an unpleasant smell of sour gas rushed towards them, and everyone couldn't help but cover their mouths and noses.