"Hu Jiangbin, a common man, has met the Commander-in-Chief."
Shang Yi said: "Hu doesn't have to be polite, just get up and talk first."
Hu Jiangbin said: "Thank you, sir." Then he stood up.
Only then did Shang Yi take a look. Standing in front of him was an old man between forty-five and fifty years old, with a medium build, dark skin, and a beard more than two inches long. He looked like he had experienced a lot of hardships.
Shang Yi said: "Hu Jiangbin, I heard that you can build ships, right?"
Hu Jiangbin said: "I'd like to report to you, my lord, the Cao Min family has been passed down for three generations, and they are all shipbuilders. It's not the Cao Min's own boast. Regardless of river ships, sea ships, Fu ships, Guangzhou ships, sand ships, Cao Min's shipbuilding workshop can make them. I just don't know.
What kind of ship do you need?"
After arriving at Hu Jiangbin's shipbuilding workshop, he was introduced by Shen Shouchong. Hu Jiangbin had heard the names of Shang Yi and Shang Jun, so he did not dare to neglect them. He also knew that Shang Yi was interested in building ships, so he also brought Shang Yi and Shang Jun with him.
Shen Shouchong came to visit at the dock.
Shang Yi discovered that although it was called a private shipbuilding workshop, it was actually not small in scale. There were two ships in the dock that were about 60 to 70% completed. They were both in the shape of a lucky ship, similar to the lucky ship used by Shen Shouchong.
, should be around 400 ingredients each
There are no less than a hundred craftsmen working in it. According to Shen Shouchong, Hu Jiangbin’s shipbuilding workshop often employs about 150 craftsmen, and once a big project comes, it can often recruit 700 to 800 craftsmen.
, at most, it can exceed a thousand people.
Because Shen Shouchong had vented his anger on Hu Jiangbin beforehand, Hu Jiangbin didn't have much scruples when he arrived. He looked at it and asked Shang Yi.
Shang Yi said: "Can you build a ship with one thousand materials or two thousand materials here?"
Hu Jiangbin said: "Reporting to your lord, Cao Min's shipyard has built a few of the thousand-material fortune ships, but the two-thousand-material ship has not been built since Cao Min returned home from Manila."
After hearing this, Shang Yi was slightly startled and said, "So when you were in Manila, you built a ship worth two thousand materials?"
Hu Jiangbin said: "To be honest, sir, the art of shipbuilding is still passed down from the common people's families. Therefore, the common people began to learn the art of shipbuilding from their fathers when they were young. However, the boats built by our Ming Dynasty and the blueprints we have are all small boats, the largest of which is no more than a thousand."
Materials. The technique of building large ships used by the Sanbao eunuchs when they sailed to the West in the past has been lost for a long time. When the grassroots grew up, they learned that the wax people were in Mani
La opened a shipyard and built all large ships, so he traveled across the ocean and worked as an apprentice in a Greek shipyard. After working there for nearly ten years, he was involved in building large ships. In total, there should be two thousand materials. But
The construction method of these two thousand-material ships is extremely complicated, and it would be very difficult if there were no ship drawings. The wax people involved were quite cunning, and the drawings were kept very closely, so even ordinary people could not see the whole picture."
Shang Yi nodded. He knew that in history, after Spain occupied the United States and Manila, it avoided a direct route from the United States to Manila to conduct trade between the United States and Asia, and the sailing ships used were all made in Manila.
, which employed a large number of Chinese laborers in Manila. What they built were basically large sailing ships with a displacement of about 1,000 tons and a load capacity of 300 to 400 tons, which was almost equivalent to a Chinese ship of about 2,000 tons.
Unexpectedly, Hu Jiangbin was willing to work as a shipbuilder in Manila in order to learn how to build large ships. His persistence made Shang Yi admire him very much, so he asked: "What if I have the blueprints?"
Hu Jiangbin trembled, looked at Shang Yi with an expression of disbelief, and said, "Do you have the drawings of two thousand materials ships?"
Shang Yi said: "Yes, I have on hand the blueprint of the two thousand-material treasure ship used by the Three Treasures Eunuch. If I provide it to you, can you build this ship?"
Shang Yi's words are not bragging. He not only has drawings of treasure ships, but also drawings of large sailing ships from all eras. Although in this era, the manufacturing technology of large sailing ships was a secret in all countries, it was nothing at all in later generations.
, is completely open to the public. Historical information plus some enthusiast-level "sailing enthusiasts"
With his participation, the drawings of various large sailing ships were not only complete, but also much more precise than in ancient times. In later generations of China, a two-thousand-material treasure ship with an all-wood structure was imitated. Some of these drawings are included in Shang Yi Computer
Of course, some of the Chinese encyclopedias in it are collected by Shang Yi himself.
But Hu Jiangbin's eyes immediately gleamed with enthusiasm. Apparently the blueprints of the treasure ship had aroused his great interest, and he quickly asked: "Excuse me, sir, where are the blueprints? Can I show them to the common people?"
Seeing Hu Jiangbin's expression, Shang Yi was also very satisfied. It seemed that this guy was also a complete "sailing enthusiast". This was just the blueprint of the treasure ship. If he took out all the other sailboat blueprints, I'm afraid he would be so excited that he went into shock on the spot.
.But Shang Yi still
He shook his head and said: "I went south to quell the chaos this time, so I didn't bring it with me. The blueprints of all the ships are still in Shandong. However, I have sent people back to Shandong to move their family members. I believe they will bring the blueprints with them.
It will take about ten days to reach Hangzhou."
Hearing that he would have to wait for more than ten days, Hu Jiangbin also showed a hint of disappointment on his face, but he immediately said: "As long as you have the drawings, the common people will definitely be able to make it for you." After a pause, he continued: "But the common people still have to do it first.
Only after seeing the drawings can you determine whether it can be built."
Shang Yi nodded again, pointed to the two-masted Spanish galleon he brought parked on the beach, and said, "Can you build such a ship?"
Hu Jiangbin took a look and said: "This is a ship related to the Latins. I have been working in the Manila Shipyard for nearly ten years. All the ships I built were of this type. There were not a hundred but seventy or eighty. Compared with the Fu Ship
, this kind of boat is more slender, lower in the front and higher in the back, wider at the top and narrower at the bottom, and the bow is pointed like a knife, so it is better at cutting through the waves and moving faster, but it is not as stable as the Fu boat.
.And the boat your Excellency brought is a small boat with two decks and only two masts, no more than three hundred pieces of material. If it is a large ship with thousands of materials, it has three to four decks and at least four masts. It is divided into bowsprit and forward mast.
If the mast, mainmast and mizzen mast are more than two thousand pieces of material, the mizzen mast will be a double mast, the bowsprit will be a single square sail, the foremast and the mainmast will be three sails, and the mizzen mast will be a triangular sail..."
After he rambled on for so long, he felt a little entranced and hurriedly said: "Sir, the common people are rude."
Shang Yi was very impressed. Although he didn't know anything about shipbuilding, he had never eaten pork and had seen pigs running away. What Hu Jiangbin said was very clear. It showed that he had also painstakingly studied the Spanish galleons. In fact, in China
There has never been a shortage of technical talents among the people, but China has
The imperial court did not attach much importance to craftsman skills. For example, Zhao Shizhen, a famous musket manufacturing expert in the late Ming Dynasty, was completely self-taught, but he was able to develop more than ten types of fire blunderbuss on his own, including breech-loading ammunition such as the Zhidian blunderbuss, which represented the development trend of fire blunderbuss.
style fire blunderbuss, and the prototype machine gun-style thunder blunderbuss.
Hu Jiangbin was obviously also a craftsman who was keen on shipbuilding, so as soon as he talked about the ship, he immediately got into the mood and forgot about everything. But such a person was exactly what he needed. So Shang Yi also smiled and said: "No
Interviewer. It seems that you are very familiar with this kind of ship. Can you build it?"
Hu Jiangbin said: "Similar to the lucky ship, it is not difficult to build it with less than a thousand materials. But if it is more than a thousand materials, it may not be easy if there are no blueprints."
Shang Yi nodded and said: "I will solve the problem of the drawings. How long will it take to build a lucky ship like the one parked in the dock, and how much money will it cost?"
Hu Jiangbin said: "If the materials are complete and the dock is ready, it will take a total of two to three months from the start of the construction to the completion of the construction and launch. The fee for the grassroots here is from 15,000 taels of silver to 20,000 taels of silver."
Shang Yi said: "What about the lucky ship with a thousand materials? And the related wax ship with a thousand materials?"
Hu Jiangbin said: "It takes three to four months to build a lucky ship with one thousand materials, and 40,000 silver. The price of a thousand materials and wax ship is about the same, but the time is slightly longer. Because we have few craftsmen here to build such ships,
So go slow. Once you build a few ships and gain experience, you can build them again faster."
Shang Yi asked again: "How many thousand-material fortune ships can you build here at the same time?"
Hu Jiangbin said: "Reporting to your lord, there are at most three ships."
Shang Yi pondered for a while and then said: "Okay, for the time being, I will build three ships with one thousand materials, two blessing ships, and one Greek dry ship. The price is easy to say, but the sooner the better. As for the blessing ship with two thousand materials
, wait until you see the drawings. But we need to build two thousand material ships.
It cannot be manufactured here. It must go to Hangzhou. Because it is a matter of confidentiality, shipbuilding technology cannot be passed on to outsiders, so it must be manufactured under the supervision of the military. Are you willing to go? Of course, you are still responsible for all shipbuilding matters, and others
I will never interfere."
Hu Jiangbin also thought for a while and said: "If you choose another location for shipbuilding, you will first need to build warehouses, factories, docks, residences, etc. It will take at least half a year to prepare. If you only want to build one or two large ships,
, it’s really not worth the loss.”
Shang Yi smiled slightly and said: "Who said I only need to build one or two large ships? To be honest, I plan to open a shipyard in Hangzhou and build large ships in the future. Let alone two thousand materials, I will build three thousand materials in the future.
A big ship with five thousand materials. It is not only a welfare ship, but also a relationship ship. But these are all things for later. Let us first cooperate to build these ships. If you can really build them well this time, you can hand over this shipyard to the shipyard in the future.
I'll take care of it for you, and I won't pay for it."
Hu Jiangbin was shocked and stayed for a while before he said, "My lord, if you want to open a shipyard, will the court allow it? You must know that the court does not allow the construction of large ships with more than two masts."
Shang Yi said: "You don't have to worry about the affairs of the imperial court. I will naturally open up the joints. Besides, it will take half a year to prepare. By then, the three ships ordered first will be ready. I will
I think we should clear up the relationship with the imperial court." I was really thinking that in half a year the Ming Dynasty will be finished, and by then who will care about how big a ship I build.
Of course Hu Jiangbin didn't know these thoughts of Shang Yi, but he was indeed a person obsessed with shipbuilding technology. Just the drawing of the treasure ship aroused his great excitement, let alone building the treasure ship himself.
Yi's idea is not just about treasure ships, but all kinds of ships will be built in the future. To be honest, he will build them if he wants.
I just felt that all this happened so suddenly that I couldn't believe it. But listening to Shang Yi's tone, maybe he really has a way to clear the imperial court and build a big ship. This opportunity should not be missed, even if
It’s okay to give it a try, so he thought about it again and again, and finally said: “Okay, Mr. Shang, I promise you.”