Chapter 766: Tearing a Small Hole in the Blockade
At dawn the next day, the Leisure changed course toward Sweden, intending to replenish supplies there.
This would certainly cause a delay, but it was better than sailing empty to North America.
However, the two-masted ship had barely traveled 20 nautical miles north when the lookout once again let out a sharp alarm.
Two minutes later, Maderno finally spotted it—a British frigate was charging toward the Leisure from the front-left side.
For the past two months, the English Channel and the North Sea had been swarming with British warships, hunting like hungry wolves. A bit of bad luck meant running into several at once.
And the Leisure was clearly out of luck today.
This particular British warship had been hiding behind a reef, using it to block the view. Now, it was less than eight cables away—dangerously close.
(One nautical mile equals ten cables. In the vast Atlantic, the two ships were practically face-to-face.)
The Leisure desperately turned left, but sailing ships need to carve a wide arc to change direction. By the time it aligned itself with the British ship, Maderno could already make out the colors of the enemy sailors' uniforms with his own eyes.
The British crew had superior seamanship. Within just 20 minutes, the frigate had moved into position 200 yards behind the Leisure, signaling with flags:
"Stop immediately and prepare for inspection."
Of course, the Leisure had no intention of stopping.
A month ago, Britain had announced a "total trade embargo" against France, giving the Royal Navy the right to seize or detain any French merchant ship.
Surrendering now meant imprisonment or forced labor—no other outcome.
After a few tense minutes, the British ship opened fire.
Thunderous explosions erupted, sending massive columns of water into the air around the Leisure. The entire crew shouted in terror: "Run! Faster!"
The British gunners were highly skilled. After two test shots, two 18-pounder cannonballs found their mark, tearing holes in the Leisure's stern and gun deck.
From a distance, Maderno could hear British officers shouting triumphantly, likely ordering a reload.
He shut his eyes in despair.
At this rate, the Leisure wouldn't last much longer…
Suddenly, the boatswain rushed to him, shouting, "Sir! Give the order! What should we do?"
"Me? Give the order?"
"Yes! The captain is dead, and Mr. Journot is badly wounded. You are the acting captain now!"
(Journot was the ship's first mate.)
Maderno felt dizzy.
He had only joined this smuggling crew to make a living—how could he possibly lead the Leisure against the British Navy?
Another British cannon roared, and the ship shook violently as another shot struck somewhere.
Maderno hesitated only a second before going pale and stammering, "Raise… raise the white flag. Lower the sails. Surrender."
"Oh… oh, okay."
The boatswain turned to carry out the order when suddenly the lookout shouted, "Ship spotted! Four o'clock!"
Maderno instinctively raised his spyglass—then froze.
A strange-looking three-masted ship was approaching, flying the blue fleur-de-lis flag of France.
Aboard the newly arrived ship, Baron Foucade stared nervously at the distant British frigate, shaking his head. "Captain Barr, the Mist has an important mission. You shouldn't be taking this risk."
But Captain Michel Barr only smiled. **"Don't worry. I can get us out of this safely.
"Don't you think we look like knights challenging a dragon? Oh, my grandfather was a knight himself—he fought in the Thirty Years' War…"**
Through the speaking tube, the lookout's voice came: "Enemy within 700 yards."
Barr turned to his first mate. "Adjust course one compass point west. Skim past their broadside, but keep our distance."
Then, he called through the speaking tube: "Increase boiler pressure. Prepare to engage the paddle wheels."
Baron Foucade glanced through the porthole and saw the British warship's gunports opening. He swallowed hard. "God help us…"
Minutes later, the Mist passed 450 yards off the British warship's right side. Its left guns roared, spewing flames.
At this range, the Mist's 18-pounders had little chance of doing real damage.
But the act itself was enough—like spitting in the face of a wild beast.
The British frigate hesitated for a moment before turning sharply to chase the Mist instead.
From the Leisure, Maderno watched in awe as the slightly larger "strange ship" lured the British away. He was so moved he nearly cried. Wasting no time, he veered hard in the opposite direction and fled at full speed.
Once they were safely away, he turned back to look—and saw thick black smoke rising from the Mist.
Confused, he raised his spyglass and noticed something odd—the ship had two large paddle wheels at its rear, slapping the water as they spun.
"What's that?" asked the newly promoted second mate, Demweill. "Is it on fire?"
Maderno shook his head. "It's a steamship. I heard about them in Ostend. Some are used on the Rhine River—they're incredibly fast."
Demweill's eyes widened.
As the two ships neared the horizon, he could already see that the steamship was pulling away from the British frigate.
The Mist wasn't one of the small steam paddleboats used on the Rhine.
It was a special merchant vessel—built in Brest Shipyard just two months before the war began, at the Prince's request.
It used a modified LJ26H steam engine, producing 29 horsepower—barely enough for an oceangoing ship. It could only increase speed by one knot, but against the British, one knot was enough.
Of course, paddle steamers weren't ideal for the open sea—waves could easily destroy the fragile paddles, and there was nowhere to refuel coal.
But Joseph didn't care.
As long as the ship broke through the coastal blockade, it would disappear into the vast Atlantic. Without radar, finding a single ship in the ocean was harder than finding a single grain of wheat in a field.
And Britain couldn't blockade all of America—so even if the paddles broke, the ship could still sail under normal sails.
These "makeshift" special merchant ships were the only way to break the British naval blockade.
However, since Brest Shipyard was prioritizing steam warships, only seven of these steam merchants had been built.
But even a few ships could bring back sugar and cotton from America—which had strategic importance for France.
After all, every pound of sugar France imported was a pound less for Britain.
Since the war began, the British market had panicked over sugar shortages—France had been Europe's largest sugar producer, supplying nearly half of Britain's sugar.
As a result, sugar prices in Britain had skyrocketed—rising by 4.2 times compared to before the Caribbean independence movements.
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