Chapter 173 03.0172: "Acting Lieutenant"

It is precisely because of the Navy Department's hunting bounty system that the naval officers' high sense of responsibility and fighting enthusiasm are stimulated.

They regard the warship as their home, and some captains even regard it as their partner.

The huge dividend ratio also allows many naval officers to pursue a career as lieutenants.

He lived a comfortable life as a colonel in the Imperial Guard or even as a general.

This is why Horatio, upon arriving in this world and finding himself in the anchorage of the Gothic Fleet, ran towards the Imperial Navy.

[Sorry, the Imperial Navy gave us too much!]
Farida, who originally had no idea about spending money, used to estimate the value of her money based on how many ultra-high-end dresses or top-quality handmade exotic animal leather bags she could buy.

But after working in the legal department and getting paid, she now knows that it was just a bonus.

For a citizen of the Empire's Middle Nest, this is a huge sum of money that he or she could never earn even if he or she worked hard for more than ten lifetimes.

Her previous salary in the legal department was 3 yuan per month. Taking into account performance and various bonuses, her average monthly income was only over 4 yuan.

She didn't care about this little money at all. It was not even enough to cover the monthly payment her father paid to Father Lati to maintain his hunting equipment.

Not to mention buying a shoulder bag that suits her status.

But for grassroots arbitrators in the Ministry of Justice, this salary level is enough to allow them to buy a 20-square-meter three-bedroom, one-living-room apartment with a 100-year installment loan from Zhongchao and live a decent life with their family.

The average salary of an ordinary Zhongchao resident is only about 5 yuan per month, which is only theoretical.

They are also overwhelmed by the rising cost of living.

But naval officers can enjoy the infrastructure benefits they bring without paying a penny to the guild alliance.

She had only served as a reserve officer for one day and participated in a naval battle with Horatio, but she earned such an outrageous sum of money.

When she thought of this, Farida's heart leaped with joy.

It turns out that earning a lot of money by yourself is such a cool thing!

[When my father comes back, I will definitely show off to him, hehe.] The girl raised her lips.

"What is that reputation?" Farida asked, hiding her smile and blinking her big green eyes curiously.

"Admiralty reputation is something similar to a point token. Captains and officers can accumulate reputation points by fighting or completing tasks assigned by the Admiralty, but they can usually only be used after becoming a captain..."

The Imperial Navy generally lacks advanced materials, such as better warships, new macro cannons, light spears, advanced shipboard equipment, and even better armed forces, arsenal armaments, more and better supplies, etc.

This system allows the Navy Department to use its best resources where they are needed most.

Because a captain with a lot of reputation points must be an excellent captain.

In the future, they can use these points to exchange for their favorite warships, more advanced shipborne weapons, more supplies, better armed forces, or cutting-edge fighter jets and outstanding air forces from the Navy Department.

Through redemption, the captain can customize and modify the warship he drives according to his own ideas.

Help yourself complete tasks better, win naval battles, and gain more reputation and material rewards.

Many people have been desperately trying to accumulate these since they were junior lieutenants.

Of course, if you are rich enough, or have complicated personal connections, most of these things can be done with money. But... without the help of the Navy Department, it may be a little more expensive.

"Mr. Cochrane." Captain Peru's voice interrupted his whisper with Farida.

"Yes, sir." Horatio immediately straightened his chest and looked at Captain Peru.

"Captain Sterling and I are very satisfied with your performance in this battle. The other captains also gave you high praise."

"Thank you for your compliment, Your Excellency."

"I need to appoint an acting lieutenant to assist in the work on the bridge. And I would like to appoint you to this vacant position." As he said this, Commodore Peru cut off a small piece of steak and put it into his mouth.

"Me?" Horatio was flattered and afraid he had heard wrongly.

"Yes, it is you, Mr. Horatio Cochrane.

Not only because of your outstanding performance, but also because you have received professional naval education, and you are also a command talent in the Fleet Maritime Department. You are the most senior one among this batch of candidate officers. I wonder if you are willing?" Commodore Peru asked, wiping the corners of his lips with a napkin.

Horatio blinked.

Thinking about it carefully, it seemed that he was indeed the only trainee officer among the batch of candidate officers on the Indefatigable who had received formal education in the Naval Academy.

The others were the sons of officers who had letters of recommendation from prominent families or letters of appointment as candidate officers.

These men and women are also young eagles who have just boarded the ship not long ago.

The "acting lieutenant" mentioned by Captain Peru is an ancient and traditional position prepared for reserve officers.

The Navy has fewer commissioned officers and they are often overwhelmed, absent due to illness or accidents, or suffer combat casualties.

Therefore, the Imperial Navy had regulations for each fleet.

One acting lieutenant position is allowed on each rated ship.

The captain himself appoints the most senior, reliable and capable officer in the ship.

It is equivalent to selecting a key training target on a warship and allowing him to accumulate comprehensive command experience in advance.

In the Imperial Navy, where commissioned officers are so rare, each ship can have an acting lieutenant, which is an unprecedented concession made by the Admiralty based on the actual situation of the Imperial Navy.

Under no circumstances should you cross this one and only one red line.

To prevent a large number of incompetent people with connections from serving as acting lieutenants and giving reckless commands, thus destroying the valuable assets of the entire Imperial Navy.

Because once appointed as an acting lieutenant, it is equivalent to having the power of a lieutenant on the ship. In terms of its nature, it is similar to the limited-time experience card for junior lieutenants in the navy.

Usually, he mainly performs duties on the bridge and serves as the captain's assistant, helping the captain and the lieutenant to handle some clerical work.

You will learn valuable experience accumulated from countless practices from the captain and the lord captain.

He would also often serve as a special officer to inspect the performance of the reserve officers and report to the captain, thus combining inspection and learning.

He is equivalent to the big brother of all the candidate officers on the battleship.

At the same time, they can also share two-thirds of the bonus of a naval captain, just like a junior lieutenant, which is much more than the one-third of the bonus of a reserve officer.

For a candidate officer like Horatio who had just boarded the ship, this appointment couldn't come at a faster pace.

Even faster than he could ride on a boarding torpedo.

Many candidate officers who have not passed the lieutenant examination will not be appointed as acting lieutenants by the captain until they are 30 years old, so that they can experience the feeling of being a commissioned officer as an incentive.

Horatio's eyes rolled around, and he instantly understood the deeper considerations behind Brigadier General Peru's decision to send him to the macro artillery array.

If he is promoted directly, it would be too obvious that he is biased. Not only would it be difficult to convince the public, but it would also offend his naval colleagues.

After all, the backgrounds of other candidate officers on the Indefatigable were also not simple. Their parents were either naval captains or generals like the Hood family.

As the captain, he had to consider the other candidate officers' faces to some extent.

Horatio knew it, too.

Even if he was promoted to the position of acting lieutenant out of thin air, it would be difficult for him to carry out his subsequent work smoothly.

The Imperial Navy, which values ​​the actual qualifications of ships, hates people with connections the most, especially those with connections who have no actual skills.

They would bluntly insinuate that people with connections were "like the Astra Militarum, as long as you have money, you can get a commission" to express their contempt "decently".

Because apart from a few exemplary regiments such as Krieg, the Firstborn, the Mordian Guard, the Cadian, and the Iron Legion, there are others.

Many of the Astra Militarum Legion's officer commissions were purchased with money.

This phenomenon is common among the Imperial Guard.

Famous representatives are their colleagues in the Calixis Fleet in the Hazy Star Region, and the Sintira Fusiliers contributed by their fleet anchorage planet.

These colleagues took their jokes about the Sintira Fusiliers to the various fleets at social gatherings.

Even the Sintira naval officers in the Calixis fleet looked down on these people who were related to them.

It is the same even if the other person has a good father or good ancestors who are admired by everyone.

If you want to win the respect of the best among this group of people, you must first demonstrate your own strength and gain the recognition of the commissioned officers.

Captain Peru also knew that there would definitely be at least one void battle today.

The macro cannon array is not only relatively safe, but the effectiveness of the command will be visible to everyone.

Unlike the engine department and weapons department who work hard behind the scenes.

The huge macro cannon hit the target and the explosion was clear, visible to all the officers on the bridge.

Moreover, macro cannon trajectory calculation is a complex technical job involving professional knowledge such as mathematics and physics, and is more technical than commanding a 100% hit rate for a lance cannon.

Going to the macro artillery array was equivalent to giving Horatio a perfect stage to demonstrate what he had learned from the Naval Academy.

Captain Peru was convinced that Horatio, the son of Thomas and a descendant of Speyer, would be perfectly qualified for the assigned job after undergoing the rigorous training at the Naval Academy.

The result was just as the brigadier general had expected, and even more surprising.

Horatio not only performed his duties perfectly, but also commanded the battery well.

He also led the armed forces to eliminate the enemy who came to board the ship and saved the ship from the crisis of the bomb bay being exploded.

He also seized the important opportunity and destroyed the three engines of the Dreadnought-class with a single bullet with a multiplier power, forcing the enemy ship's crew to cut off the supply of promethium to the engine and slow down.

Finally, all the officers on the ship were given a light cruiser with a disabled engine as a boarding gift.

His professional level and strength are obvious to everyone, and the other candidate officers cannot help but admire him.

Seeing this situation, Brigadier General Peru took this opportunity to offer him the position of acting lieutenant without any objection.

But Horatio also understood that this was the longest way that Lord Peru could pave for him within the rules before he received the commission from the Admiralty.

Subsequent opportunities must be based on obtaining a commissioned position, so that there will be room for promotion.

When it comes to the Navy Department's appointment of personnel, one must either take an exam or go through an extremely complicated and tedious process of providing evidence and recommendation.

But no matter which one he chooses, it all depends on his own efforts and strength.

"I will perform my duties conscientiously, Your Excellency the Commodore. Please rest assured, you and all the gentlemen and ladies."

Horatio picked up the wine glass and stood up straight. The hem of his new void blue officer's uniform fluttered with his movements, making him look heroic.

The officials looked at this professional officer who graduated from a professional naval school, had strong capabilities, a solid background, and a good reputation, nodded in approval, and raised their glasses to him.

"Ladies and gentlemen, let us drink to the bright future and good health of Acting Lieutenant Horatio Cochrane!"

　Please give me a monthly ticket and a recommendation ticket, QAQ thank you!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)