This time, a total of twenty-nine Westerners were rescued from Dengzhou City.
What surprised Zuo Mengeng was that these craftsmen were all comprehensive talents.
Originally, Sun Yuanhua hired these people not only to make muskets and artillery, but also for combat requirements.
For example, Sirao, who died in battle, was the commander of the Dengzhou Navy.
In the first battle of Dengzhou on December 22, Sirao was hit by a hidden arrow shot from an unknown place in the city, and fell at the top of the Dengzhou city.
The only pity is that the shipbuilding skills of these craftsmen can only be regarded as mediocre.
Nowadays, those who know how to build ships in Europe are also high-level talents. If they are doing well, there is no need to go all the way to the Far East to make a living.
But even if they understand the most basic shipbuilding skills, for Zuo Menggeng, it is like rain after a long drought.
"Can you build a large sailing ship like Spain's?"
His question made all the craftsmen bow their heads in shame. Obviously, this request was a bit too ambitious.
E Honglue hurriedly defended: "Dear General, maybe you don't know very well that that kind of large sailing ship was actually built by Portugal first. Although we don't understand how such a powerful big guy was built, I can help you.
You make a trip to Haojing to find the talents you need."
Yes, the world-famous Spanish galleon was actually invented by the Portuguese.
However, Portugal's poor and weak national power was obviously unable to support such a big guy. It only flourished after it fell into the hands of the Spanish.
It was by relying on this kind of large sailing ship that the Spanish built an invincible fleet that traveled all over the world and became a veritable overlord of the oceans in this era.
As for the Dutch…
It's just a Teddy at sea.
If you can cause trouble, if you dare to cause trouble, you will be beaten if you cause trouble.
Obviously he can't beat anyone, but he still insists on flirting everywhere.
Therefore, the Dutch maritime power seems to be lively, but it is far inferior to the Spanish.
If you want to build a powerful navy, of course you must learn from the most powerful country in the world.
Zhang Keda was nearby. Hearing that Zuo Menggeng was planning to build a ship and prepare to imitate a Western sailing ship, he couldn't help but remind him: "Dengzhou Navy has many warships, including flat ships, clippers, and sand ships. They compete with Western ships on the water.
Don’t be left at a disadvantage.”
Zuo Mengeng shook his head.
"If it sails offshore, our ship will be fine. But once it enters the depths of the ocean, it is no match for Western warships."
Zhang Ke was so shocked that he had no idea that Zuo Menggeng actually wanted to march into the ocean.
When it comes to the choice of battleships, Zuo Menggeng has absolutely no nativist or nationalistic tendencies. Like some people on the Internet in later generations who forcefully find out what is outstanding about Chinese sailing ships.
Modern history shows that ocean navigation is still dominated by Westerners.
If you want to get a share of the pie and take the initiative in the Age of Discovery, you must learn from Westerners.
Why are Chinese sailing ships not suitable for ocean sailing?
Two reasons.
One is the hull structure.
Chinese-style sailboats are stable and stable. Although they are good at resisting wind and waves, they are in rivers. But in the vast ocean, they are far less streamlined than Western-style sailboats.
This is a truth that anyone who knows a little bit about ship hull structure understands.
Another issue that is often discussed is sailing.
Many people in later generations have summed up the advantages of the so-called Chinese hard sails and proved that Chinese sailboats are suitable for long-distance sailing.
Zuo Menggeng said, those summaries are a joke.
Chinese-style hard sails are not suitable for ocean sailing in this era. In fact, it is not due to wind utilization, but the complex environment in the ocean, which is difficult to solve with hard sails.
Another is the limitation of time.
That's the material.
Later generations of sailboats used hard sails to sail across the ocean, and the efficiency was really better than soft sails.
However, the hard sails of later generations used metal frames and composite structures, which were actually completely different from the hard sails of this era.
At least with current technology, it is impossible to use hard sails.
Everyone was very worried when they heard that Zuo Menggen was going to build a Spanish galleon but the Portuguese craftsmen didn't know how to build it.
First, he was afraid that Zuo Mengeng would think they were useless and would abandon them; second, he was worried that he would not be able to earn rich revenge and continue to live a life of poverty.
They had no idea that Zuo Mengeng didn't care whether they could build a Spanish galleon or not.
Zuo Mengeng asked an important question.
"If I give you the blueprint, can you build a ship?"
The Portuguese craftsmen were stunned and then nodded wildly.
"Yes, of course I can."
Ami Er then recommended himself.
"Dear General, I once studied with Andre Toulouse, Portugal's top shipbuilder, and graduated from the University of Imbrador. Drawing is my strong point."
Zuo Menggeng was extremely pleasantly surprised, and then asked Fu Yijian to take the drawings and open them for him to see.
"Then let's see, can you build this kind of ship? If you can do it, I will hire you as a master craftsman, and your salary will be ten taels of silver per month."
When Ami Er heard this number, his heartbeat immediately stopped. He didn't care about anything else and just threw himself on the drawing.
The other craftsmen are no exception. Although their knowledge level is not as good as Ami Er's, what if...
Generous salaries will also favor them.
After looking at the drawings, Ami Er and others looked hesitant. After thinking about it, they decided to tell the truth.
"This ship looks very much like an English one. General, you have been deceived. An English ship cannot compare to a large sailing ship."
They thought that Zuo Menggeng had been deceived by some Englishman, and they wanted to bring Zuo Menggeng back to the right path.
The maritime overlords of this era were the Spanish, and as for the English...
They are nothing more than rats on the sea.
Zuo Mengeng turned a deaf ear.
"You just need to tell me whether it can be built."
The Portuguese craftsmen looked at each other, hesitated for a moment, and finally chose money.
"Can make."
Zuo Mengeng was very happy.
"That's good."
He opened his arms to everyone and said with a smile: "I am happy to announce to you that you are officially hired by me. As long as you work hard and complete the battleships I need, wealth, honor, and status will all decorate your lives."
These Portuguese craftsmen believed that Zuo Menggeng had made a huge mistake, but they gave up decisively after trying to correct it once but failed.
Why bother?
They are just working part-time.
The employer did not listen to their opinions and gave them generous salaries, so naturally they had to follow the employer's wishes.
Even if the employer wants to build a ship out of steel, they will comply.
How did they know that the drawings Zuo Menggeng showed them were part of the drawings of the British Royal Navy's first-class battleship HMS Victory, which was the masterpiece of the sailing battleship era.
The soul in my mind once visited the UK as a military exchange officer, visited the HMS Victory in person, and received a detailed drawing of the HMS Victory as a gift.
It was already the age of steel warships, and the British did not feel the need to keep the construction drawings of an outdated wooden sailboat secret.
What's more, the drawings of the Victory can be found in bits and pieces on the Internet.
The British never imagined that the soul who obtained the drawings traveled through historical time and space.
Since Britain has been the maritime hegemon for more than two hundred years, it is the Royal Navy that maintains their hegemony.
Zuo Menggeng wanted to build a battleship, so of course he had to find the best person to imitate.
Although the British navy in this era was still fighting guerrillas with other powers at sea, their Galen ships were too small to withstand the heavy artillery of the Spanish.
This does not prevent Zuo Mengeng from getting to the point in one step and directly producing the best drawings of the Galen ship.
Of course, Zuo Mengeng didn't have too high aspirations.
After listening to these Portuguese craftsmen saying that they could build it, I felt that they could produce a battleship of the size of the Victory at once.
Now that we have the drawings of the Victory, we can work backwards to figure out how to build a Galen ship, and then start with a small Galen ship.
Regarding the navy, Zuo Menggeng was far more patient than the army.
After all, the navy is a technical branch, and the process of developing it from scratch, even with a cheater like him, would take at least several decades.
However, he is looking forward to the day when the Chinese Navy, driving a fleet of Galen ships, will compete with the British Navy for supremacy at sea.
I believe the British people’s expressions must be wonderful, right?
What kind of treaty would be better to sign at that time?
By the way, the Victory is kept in Portsmouth Harbor.
Zuo Mengeng secretly made a note that a treaty would be signed in the future, and it would be called the Treaty of Portsmouth.