Kai Fu Han

Chapter 304
"Very big, fifteen feet long and five feet wide."

This new type of ship was developed and built by Liu Xinqi, who drew some rough ship shapes based on the memories of later generations, and was then jointly developed by the Ministry of Industry and shipwrights.

Both the forecastle and stern were lowered, and the superstructure was also lowered and moved into the hull. Including [-]% ​​of the forecastle and stern above the main deck, there are five decks in total.

The lowest level is the watertight compartment, which contains some very heavy ballast to ensure the stability of the ship.

The second floor is a watertight cabin and storage warehouse, which stores voyage supplies, materials, weapons, gunpowder, etc., and also serves as a ballast.

The third floor is the living quarters, all of which are small cabins for sailors and Marine Corps sailors to live in. It is set up as a room for four people, with upper and lower wooden beds, personal cabinets, tables and chairs, etc. There are also public rooms on this floor. The toilet, unlike old ships, requires a toilet (a wooden bucket).

The fourth level is the main deck. Four artillery pieces are set up on the left and right sides and placed on the main deck. The forecastle and stern of this level will be equipped with a pilothouse and some living cabins for officers, medical staff, etc. High vocational and high-skilled people live here.

The fifth floor is the second deck above the main deck. Some special cabins will be set up, such as for archery, giant crossbows, trebuchets, lookouts, etc. The captain will also be set up on this floor.

After Liu Xinqi proposed the concept, the Ministry of Industry first made a model to simply test the performance of the ship, etc., and then built two test ships worth one thousand stones and one test ship worth two thousand stones.

The purpose of the test ship was to verify the rationality of the design and the seaworthiness of the ship. In the end, all three test ships were destroyed under extreme testing, leaving only a pile of design information and experimental data.

The final version of the ship is no longer very similar to the sketch drawn by Liu Xinqi.

There are four masts at the front and rear, the front mast and the rear mast have a certain inclination, the front mast has the largest inclination, half of the mast protrudes from the bow, and the rear mast is smaller. These two masts use soft sails. More conducive to driving.

The two main masts in the middle are fifteen feet high (including the length submerged under the ship's deck). When folded down, they are almost as long as the ship's hull.

If it weren't for the huge trees brought back from Goryeo, the Xinghan League would never have been able to build such a large ship.

In order to enhance the strength of the hull, many horizontal ribs had to be added inside the cabin and combined with the main keel.

Because there is no high-quality wood with enough strength and a length of [-] feet, the main keel finally designed is made of two shorter thick woods with a diameter of six feet (two meters) connected with a mortise and tenon structure, and then the joints are outsourced. Made of thick iron sheet to increase strength.

In addition to this powerful main keel, there are also two auxiliary keels with a diameter of four feet.

Together with side ribs, transverse ribs and other ribs, a very strong keel structure is finally formed.

After the design of this ship, even the current shipbuilding methods were subverted.

First, use high-quality wood to make the keel structure and mast using a mortise and tenon structure. Then, iron sheets, nails, bolts, etc. are used to reinforce the key parts of the keel structure. The entire keel structure is then painted to prevent rust and corrosion.

After the keel structure is built, attach the outer plate to the keel. There are two layers of outer plate in total. The inner layer is two inches thick and the outer layer is three inches behind. The decks are also filled with waterproofing and bonding materials.

Finally, the inner deck, upper forecastle, stern building, etc. are built.

The ship built in this way became very, very strong after sacrificing nearly [-]% of its load.

Liu Xinqi still remembers what Liu Zhimu said after seeing the final design: "This kind of ship can only be used as a warship, and it is too wasteful as a cargo ship."

Liu Xinqi replied at the time: "I didn't intend to use it as a cargo ship. This kind of ship will be the confidence and capital for our Xinghan League to dominate the ocean. This is just the beginning. After this type of ship is used and improved, I will Build bigger ships, tens of thousands of stones, twenty thousand stones, or even hundreds of thousands of stones.”

"How can there be such good wood in this world?" Liu Zhimu didn't believe it. "There is no wood that can be made of iron." Liu Xinqi's answer left Liu Zhimu speechless and unable to refute.

No one in this era could imagine such a big ship.Liu Zhimu had received a new education and knew that iron could float on water, but he still couldn't imagine how a ship made with so much iron could move.

...

"Alliance."

Ye Chuan interrupted Liu Xinqi's drifting thoughts.

"Yesterday, Minister Zhou sent back news that the rebels requested more food and weapons supplies. The information has been sent back to Penglai by fast ship. Since you are here today, let's see how we should respond. What should I do?"

"Did you say how much it costs?" Liu Xinqi asked.

"No, Minister Zhou said in the letter that the rebels lacked everything. This winter, thousands of people froze to death due to lack of cotton-padded clothes."

What this means is, the more, the merrier.

"Okay, it is estimated that your fleet is not engaged in war for the time being, and there will be no trade missions arranged for you. You will be responsible for delivering supplies to them, but there is a principle, these supplies are not given in vain, they must be replaced by people." Liu Xinqi replied.

"Employ someone?"

"Using the old and weak, children, women and children in their rebel army, as well as the soldiers of the Kingdom of Jin who looted the prisoners, the people in Hebei who were 'rescued', as long as they are people, can be exchanged for supplies."

You don't need to think about it to know that before those rebels "rescued" the people, they would definitely loot them first. Liu Xinqi did this just because he didn't want them to commit more killings for no reason.

"What do we need these people for?"

Liu Xinqi did not explain this problem to Ye Chuan. He would not understand how important the labor force would be after industrialization started.

"Just do as I say."

"Then in what proportion?" Ye Chuan asked.

"You and Minister Zhou discussed and decided that this time you organized soldiers to raid the Jin Army camp in Binzhou and gave the rebels a chance to breathe. You did a very good job. I believe in your decisiveness." Liu Xinqi praised it first and then continued. : "There is only one principle of exchange. The materials we give to the rebels must be able to support them against the Jin Army's suppression and provide them with food and clothing, but they must not allow them to get rich and wealthy by relying on this 'business'."

"I understand." Ye Chuan nodded.

This means that these supplies are used to hang up the rebels, so that they can make trouble in the areas controlled by the Jin Army, but they cannot be fed up and return home after disarming.

"After the year, I will send Jiao Rui to lead a special company composed of all soldiers to Hebei East Road. When the time comes, you will cooperate." Liu Xin said.

"No problem, one company, all soldiers, that won't cause chaos on Hebei East Road." Ye Chuan responded excitedly.

Liu Xinqi felt that the word "reign of terror" was a bit inappropriate, and couldn't think of a more appropriate word for a while, so he could only change the subject and talk about something else.

(End of this chapter)