Great Tang princess

Chapter 482 Shipyard

As the time enters September, the time required for drying the salt is getting longer and longer, and it is almost time to stop.

After all, the temperature drops, and it will be difficult to get salt in October, so in previous years, it stopped at the end of September.

Fortunately, there is a pity that Hainan continues to provide it, and it can dry salt most of the year, so there is no need to worry about being out of stock. The focus here should be on other aspects.

There is something worth gratifying, the seeds in the greenhouse have germinated!
After Li Yuechen heard the news, he ran over to take a look in person. Seeing the green shoots, the soldiers in charge of logistics management were discussing something excitedly.

But Li Yuechen, who was the instigator, didn't show too much joy. Now it's just sprouting, and I don't know if it will succeed.

Fortunately, there is a better sign that when the temperature has dropped, there will be an obvious sense of humidity and stuffiness when entering the greenhouse.

This shows that at least the greenhouse does have the function of heat preservation, at least the probability of growing vegetables in winter is much higher.

Li Yuechen asked the logistics soldiers in charge to pay more attention, and to report any problems to him at any time, so as to make the experiment a success.

And the success of vegetables is also related to the follow-up supply of the fleet that may be formed in the future to find seeds in the Americas.

Seafarers who stay at sea for a long time can't just eat fish, they must often add some vegetables and fruits, otherwise sepsis is likely to occur.

Fruits are easy to say, as long as there are cans, but vegetables must also find a way to ensure the supply.

With the current ability, if you want to go to the Americas from here, the journey is estimated to take about a year, and the round trip takes two years. This is still under the condition that everything goes well.

In case of storms, reefs or getting lost at sea, it may take longer.

Speaking of which, is it time to consider making something like a sextant?
Before that, it is still necessary to teach them a good lesson. First, let them know the concept of the longitude and latitude of the earth, so that they can accurately understand their location when they are at sea or in the sky.

It seems that a simple globe is needed, but the size needs to be larger.

So Li Yuechen went to the engineering institute and asked the carpenter to make a globe with a diameter of one meter.

Considering the weight of the wood itself, it is good to make the ball hollow, as long as it can be rotated enough to draw a rough map on it.

With this gadget, it will be much more convenient when giving lectures in the future.

By the way, let the glass workshop start to study the small lenses, and when they are actually mature, they can directly make sextants.

……

The time of autumn is actually quite short, and I feel that winter has already come before I enjoy it much.

Although it was not yet snowing season, the sea breeze blowing over was getting colder every day, and the sentinels on duty every day also put on thick woolen coats.

Some villagers have already lit a fire in the kang, enjoying the hot quilt early.

I heard these from the villagers who came here to deliver the fish, and there was a trace of emotion in the words, saying that it was thanks to Her Royal Highness, otherwise, according to the past, winter would not be so easy...

Li Yuechen just smiled at this, and reminded them not to overheat the kang, as long as it is not cold, otherwise it will be bad for their health.

Before the fireplace was lit in the barracks, the soldiers also used high-quality quilts, which were very warm, and they were not needed now.

Compared to these, the seeds in the greenhouse were what really concerned her.

Now the vegetables are growing very well, especially after the outside temperature drops, you can feel the hot and humid air around you as soon as you enter the shed, which is basically a success.

The soldiers of the logistics unit are very happy to come here every day to water or look at the green leaves inside, and they feel much better.

Afterwards, Li Yuechen called everyone from the Academy of Engineering to the conference room to discuss the next project.

Now after such a long period of observation and performance of the first ship, it has been determined that there is no problem, and we can consider continuing to make it.

But the only problem is that this kind of production method is a bit troublesome. Li Yuechen's idea is to build a shipyard by the sea now, and build ships in the factory in the future.

At the same time, seawater should be directly introduced into the dock, so that the ship can be launched directly into the sea after it is built.

The problem that needs to be solved now is whether to make a sluice, and after the ship is built, the water can be directly released into the dock, so that the ship can be launched directly.

Taking this as the topic, academicians of the Academy of Engineering had a heated discussion at the meeting.

The meeting lasted for an hour, and the final result was that it couldn't be done!
First of all, according to Li Yuechen's idea, the gate must be made of metal. The gates are all metal. In order to ensure the airtightness, the entire dock needs to be made of metal.

At least the wall where the gate is installed needs to be made of metal.

Leaving aside whether the current steel production is enough, it is difficult to build such a super-large building with the current manpower, and it requires more than a few people.

Just such a dock, it may be necessary to recruit a large number of civilian workers across the country just like Emperor Sui Yang built the Grand Canal back then.

Such a result did not disappoint Li Yuechen, because she did not expect her ideas to be fully realized in this era.

Saying this on purpose is just to let their thinking diverge, so that they can find a construction method in line with this era as soon as possible.

"So, do you have any suitable suggestions?" Li Yuechen asked the academicians sitting in front of him while holding a teacup.

The princess asked, and the academicians immediately talked about their suggestions.

After so many years, they also understand that the princess always insists on speaking freely, and doesn't care about the crime if she is wrong, so naturally they dare to say that if it doesn't work in the end, then it won't work, and there will be no loss of meat.

With the support of this kind of thinking, everyone has more or less said a lot of ways.

The most popular method is that the wall is made of wood, but rails are installed on both sides to sandwich the gate.

Because the gate itself is wide enough and made of metal with enough weight, it can be compacted only by its own weight when it is lowered, thereby blocking seawater.

This method sounds really good, but again, the cost is still a bit high.

Considering the width of the hull, the gate is at least ten feet wide. With the current level of craftsmanship, it is almost impossible to form it in one piece, so the production must be divided into small pieces and welded together.

The welding technology of this era is not as good as that of the future. It is hard to say whether it can withstand the impact of the wave, so it must be thick enough.

As a result, not only the cost input needs to be greatly increased, but the key point is that the safety cannot be guaranteed.

Li Yuechen shook his head and denied: "No, another one!"

Seeing that the princess was dissatisfied, the craftsmen looked at each other and could only continue to discuss other plans.

As the boss, Li Yuechen saw that they were discussing fiercely, so he was naturally not stingy. He waved his hand lightly and asked the cafeteria to come out with some cakes to replenish their energy.

Some time ago, I made bread, and Li Yuechen simply told them the recipe of the cake, and asked them to mix it up and try it out.

After a period of pondering, apart from learning how to whip cream, these soldiers actually researched the method of using canned fruits to make fruit cakes by themselves without Li Yuechen's reminder.

It has to be said that the ancients were not stupid at all, as long as there is a little tweaking of many things, one can draw inferences immediately.

There is hot tea and cakes, Li Yuechen is showing his attitude now, hoping they can come up with a solution as soon as possible.

It's just that now... Compared with how to build the dock, many craftsmen seem to be savoring the taste of fruitcake.

If you think about it, you can understand this thing. It must be a high-end product that cannot be bought outside. Maybe it is specially provided by the royal family. It is not in vain to eat this thing once in your lifetime.

But fortunately, they didn't push their noses in the face because of Li Yuechen's good temper. After tasting the delicacy of the cake, they immediately started discussing a new plan.

After all, if this matter is resolved, there should be a chance to eat this thing in the future.

……

After discussing for nearly half an hour, they came up with a plan that made Li Yuechen relatively satisfied.

Some craftsmen suggested not to install the gate at all, but to dig a ten-foot-wide ditch in the dock first, and then bring in the sea water.

When building a boat, the keel and the bottom of the boat are first connected together, and then the semi-finished boat is placed on the water surface, with both sides fixed, and the rest of the process is built on the water surface.

In this way, at least after the ship is built, there is no need to work hard to find a way to move it into the sea, and it can be directly driven out of the dock.

It's nothing more than making a wooden gate in front of the dock, and then opening a small door for people to enter and exit on the gate.

In this way, people go in and out through the small door, and they need to transport goods or go out after the ship is built, and then open the door.

This plan brightened Li Yuechen's eyes, and many factories in the future seemed to be like this!It feels doable!Compared with metal gates, the cost is many times lower.

Finally, the craftsman who raised this point said: "It's just that your Highness, such a large factory building needs to open more windows to ensure the brightness..."

"That's easy to say!" Li Yuechen waved her hand and said that this is not a problem. For her now, the cost of making glass is really not too expensive, even if it is acceptable to open two windows every ten feet.

No, the skylight can be opened on the top. Anyway, it must be a sloping roof at that time, so there is no need to worry about water accumulation.

This method was highly appreciated by Li Yuechen, and he immediately asked them to go back and draw a design drawing, and it would be better to write another proposal, and they can start production if everything is OK.

It doesn't matter if they can't read or write. Anyway, their apprentices and children are now receiving unified education in military schools, and they are fully qualified for the work of ghostwriting.

Seeing that the princess was satisfied, the academicians also nodded, indicating that they would implement it immediately.

(End of this chapter)