North America 1849, from Gold Rush to Warlord

Chapter 231 Even if the whole world opposes it!
After meeting with Baron Nicholas, Azu and his party did not stay in Sitka Port for long.

After resupplying, they boarded two whaling ships and embarked on another voyage to the Bering Strait for whaling.

It's early April now, and while other places are already warm and blooming with flowers, the Bering Strait is still a frigid, snowy wasteland with howling winds.

If we want to wait until the Bering Strait is completely reopened, we will have to wait until the end of April.

That's when the real whaling season begins each year.

But Azu and his group couldn't wait that long, so they could only hunt bowhead whales on the open waters outside the Bering Strait.

Bowhead whales are giant whales that can reach over 20 meters in length and weigh over 75 tons.

Because of their slow movement, large size, and blubber thickness of over half a meter, bowhead whales have always been a primary target for whaling.

This time, Azu and his whaling ship were also targeting bowhead whales.

……

In the North Pacific, where the lockdown had just been lifted and the winds were howling, Azu, wrapped in a thick fur coat and wearing a furry hat, stood on the bow of the ship, searching for whale spouts on the sea surface with binoculars.

As we all know, whales are mammals and must surface to breathe every so often.

When a giant whale breathes, the high column of water it spouts is called a whale spout.

Whale spouts are a primary method for searching for giant whales.

Because they arrived too early, they sailed on the sea for several days without finding any trace of the giant whale.

At this moment, a heavy snow began to fall on the sea.

The cold wind whipped up swirling snowflakes, slapping against his face, and Azu felt a slight stinging sensation.

The temperature was dropping lower and lower, and the view of the sea was also blocked by heavy snow.

"Looks like today isn't a good day for hunting again...!"

As he spoke, Azu slowly put down his binoculars and prepared to crawl back into the cabin to warm himself by the fire.

But at that moment, Azu felt a pair of warm little hands reach out from behind and gently hug her waist from behind.

A faint, delicate fragrance could be smelled at the tip of my nose.

Without turning around, Azu knew who was behind him.

"Sissi...it's so cold outside, why did you come out?"

Azu turned around and embraced Princess Sissi's tall, slender body.

"It's too stuffy in the cabin, I'm coming out for some fresh air...!"

As she spoke, Sisi leaned her head against Azu's shoulder.

The wind howled and the snow fell heavily. The temperature was so low that the two could only huddle together and keep warm with each other's body heat.

Looking out over the vast sea where the wind and snow were howling, Azu said with regret, "We came too early. If we had waited another month or two, that would have been the perfect time for whaling."

"It's okay...!" Sisi nestled in Azu's arms and said softly, "Even if we don't catch the giant whale, it's okay!"

"I'm content just to be by your side!"

Ah Zu held Princess Sissi tightly around the waist and said, "How can that be? I promised you long ago that I would definitely catch the giant whale...!"

“Actually…!” Sisi said softly, “I’m more looking forward to never catching a giant whale…?”

"Why?" Azu asked curiously.

Sisi said, "Because, as long as we don't catch the giant whale, you can stay with me like this and continue to wait...!"

"If we catch the giant whale, then the day when our family can return to Bavaria won't be far off!"

Azu was shaken and remained silent for a long time without saying a word.

The two of them stood quietly at the bow of the ship, amidst the howling wind and icy snow.

"Sissi, you're still young. You might not understand yet, but I'm not actually the best choice for you...!"

Ah Zu sighed softly, "My heart has long been shattered into many pieces, and each piece has fallen in love with a different woman...!"

"Sissi, for a duchess of your noble birth, it would be a real disservice for you to choose to be with me."

"Neither your identity nor your beliefs would allow you to do this."

Upon hearing these words, Sisi's tears flowed uncontrollably.

The glistening tears were instantly frozen by the howling wind and fell onto the cold deck with a "tinkling" sound.

At this moment, Princess Sissi, who had been carefree and innocent since childhood, felt for the first time that her heart was broken!
Pain, heartache, an unprecedented heartache!
"Don't cry...!" Azu wiped away Sisi's glistening tears: "My little princess!"

"You are still too young, perhaps you haven't yet understood the true meaning of love!"

"Wait a year or two, until you're a bit older. If time hasn't eroded your feelings, and you still stick to your choice today...!"

As he spoke, Azu stared intently into Princess Sissi's eyes with unwavering determination.

"If you still stick to your choice today, then even if the whole world opposes us being together, I will still marry you!"

"Really...hehe?"

Tears still clung to Sisi's beautiful eyes, but her pretty face beamed with an extremely joyful smile.

"Mr. Azu, are you telling the truth?"

Sisi laughed through her tears, "Even if the whole world opposes it, you will still marry me?!" Azu nodded emphatically, "Of course! I will never go back on my word!"

Sisi nodded solemnly, "Me too, I will love you forever... forever... just like today!"

Moved, Ah Zu couldn't help but kiss Qianqian's alluring cherry lips...!
“Hmm…!”

Sisi, who had never experienced anything like this before, had her first kiss taken away!
Sisi's tall, slender, and graceful body instantly went limp in Azu's arms...!
At this moment, Princess Sissi felt enveloped in boundless happiness, and her long, glistening eyelashes trembled slightly...!
……

"Splash... Plop...!"

After a long while, the two, completely immersed in their passion, suddenly heard a strange noise coming from not far away on the sea.

Azu released Qianqian's cherry-like mouth, looked up, and saw a huge column of water shooting into the sky two or three hundred meters in front of the bow of the boat!

Moreover, I don't know when, but the wind stopped and the snow stopped too!
The vast sea, which had just been swirling with wind and snow, suddenly stopped.

A ray of sunlight pierced through layers of haze and shone on the vast, rippling sea.

"Whale, giant whale...!"

Overjoyed, Azu pointed to the whale spout at the bow of the ship and shouted loudly.

Still immersed in boundless happiness, Princess Sissi slowly opened her eyes and looked in the direction that Azu was pointing.

Wow...it really is a giant whale...!

"Beep beep beep...!"

The whaling captain, who was steering the ship, spotted the whale's blowout ahead immediately and sounded the loud horn.

In an instant, the two whaling ships, which had been somewhat lifeless just moments before, came to life!
Most of the crew, including Duke Joseph and Bismarck, hurriedly ran onto the deck, putting on their fur hats and coats.

"A giant whale has been spotted...?"

Duke Joseph rubbed his hands together in overjoyed excitement: "Where is it? Where is it?"

Completely captivated by the giant whale, Duke Joseph was completely oblivious to his beloved daughter's unusual behavior.

On the contrary, Bismarck, who was right behind them, frowned involuntarily when she saw Azu and Sissi embracing tightly.

Although he had a premonition, Bismarck was indeed reluctant to see this happen.

If this powerful count-governor were to marry a Bavarian princess... even a fool would know that this would more or less impact Prussia's unification of Germany.

Bismarck was unsure of the extent of this impact at that time.

Firstly, it's about seeing how much power this Chinese count governor will expand in the future.

Secondly, it depends on the extent to which this count-governor will support the Bavarian royal family.

Thirdly, we also need to see how the Bavarian royal family treats unification, and what attitude this Chinese count has towards it!

……

There were too many variables involved, but Bismarck, relying solely on his powerful intuition and incredibly keen political sense, felt he had to stop this marriage.

It should be noted that the Kingdom of Bavaria was second only to the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia within the German Confederation.

Among the southern German states, the Kingdom of Bavaria was the wealthiest and its strength should not be underestimated.

……

But in this moment of surprise at the discovery of the giant whale, no one noticed the extremely complex psychological activity and political calculations that Bismarck was engaged in in that instant.

Everyone was overjoyed at the discovery of the giant whale, especially Duke Joseph, who was so excited that he danced with joy.

"Captain, hurry, hurry, hurry, keep up with that giant whale...!"

Duke Joseph went straight to the bow of the ship and personally operated the huge whaling cannon.

This enormous whaling cannon looked like a javelin fired from a cannon, with a long iron chain trailing behind it.

"Hahaha...!" Duke Joseph laughed loudly in the cold wind, extremely excited: "Captain, hurry, hurry, we have to catch up with that giant whale...!"

Two whaling ships, each over a thousand tons in size, spewed thick black smoke as they frantically chased after a giant whale on the sea.

Bowhead whales, weighing tens of tons, often choose to dive in an emergency when they are about to be overtaken by whaling ships.

But every so often, the whale has to surface to breathe air.

This gave the whaling ships an opportunity!
On the vast sea, the two whaling ships chased each other for a long time, until finally, Duke Joseph seized an opportunity.

"Boom...!"

With a deafening roar, once within range of the harpoon cannon, Duke Joseph, without hesitation, pulled the trigger.

"Crash...!"

The enormous javelin, trailing a long iron chain, hurtled straight toward the giant whale dozens of meters away!
"Pfft...!"

The enormous javelin pierced the massive body of the whale with pinpoint accuracy.

"Ugh...!"

The giant whale, twenty meters long and weighing tens of tons, let out a mournful cry, spraying out large amounts of blood, and then, dragging its javelin and chains, attempted to dive back into the sea.

"Crash...!"

The thick iron chain was instantly tightened!
Even on a whaling ship weighing over a thousand tons, everyone felt as if the ship beneath their feet was being dragged down by a giant whale!
(End of this chapter)