Chapter five hundred and third: throwing off the burden
The first difficulty to bear is the dock.
The so-called dock is a place built on the shore of the port for parking and repairing ships. There are no less than twenty docks in Okura Port. Compared with various ports along the coast of Middle-earth, the docks in Okura City are very large.
Advanced, ocean-going sailing ships like the "Golden Jade" were built in them, but these docks are all too small for building dragon-slaying ships.
According to the design details, the Zhanlong Ship is forty-six feet long and ninety feet wide. When fully loaded, the ship's side draft will be three feet. The deck will be four feet seven feet above the water. It will be equipped with four layers of wooden cabins. There will be nine masts on the ship.
It can hang twenty-three sails. However, such a behemoth can still sail at a speed of more than five o'clock on the sea. In other words, its speed is not lower than that of a small speedboat.
In terms of the size of the dragon-slaying ship alone, it exceeds all the docks in Okura Port, so if you want to build this ship, you must build a larger dock.
To build a large shipyard, it is labor-intensive and time-consuming, and silver taels are also indispensable. It will cost at least tens of thousands of taels.
If the dockyard can be repaired as long as there is enough silver, some problems cannot be solved even with silver, such as the lack of shipbuilders.
When ocean-going ships are repaired in a shipbuilding workshop, they are usually headed by a shipbuilder, who assists the craftsmen and craftsmen in the workshop to complete the work. The shipbuilder directs the progress of the ship's construction and arranges the work of everyone in the workshop.
The most important thing is; craftsmen include carpenters, blacksmiths, painters, cloth makers, etc., and they also need to have good skills; small craftsmen only need to do manual labor, and the requirements are not high.
An ordinary ocean-going sailing ship often requires an experienced shipbuilder to lead dozens of various craftsmen and hundreds of workers, and it takes several months to complete. However, to build a huge ship like the Dragon-Slaying Ship, it is very difficult for the ship to be built.
The requirements for shipbuilders and craftsmen are much higher.
The detailed drawings of this ship were jointly designed by more than a dozen of the top shipbuilders in Western countries. They contain the most advanced shipbuilding technology in the world today. None of the existing shipbuilders in Okura City can implement it. It can be built
The shipbuilder who built this ship must not be found in Middle-earth, and would have to be hired by a Western country.
According to Hua Bushi's judgment on the detailed shipbuilding drawings, even if a top Western shipbuilder is hired, it will not be easy to build this ship. The most feasible way is to hire at least six to
Seven shipbuilding masters can have greater confidence by working together.
If this is the case, the number of craftsmen required will also increase exponentially. No shipbuilding workshop can have so many craftsmen, which means that to achieve this, several workshops must cooperate, which is completely impossible.
It operates according to the previous method of building ships in a workshop. In fact, the Zhanlong Ship with a steel keel is the most advanced ship in the world today. If it is built, it will be a major innovation in today's shipbuilding industry.
leather.
Previously, Sima Zhufeng hired shipbuilders to design the Dragon-Slaying Ship, which was completed in a Western country and did not invite those shipbuilders to Okura City. But now to build this ship, the shipbuilders must be directly invited.
. Top shipbuilders are also rare among the major maritime nations in the West. It is not easy to invite them to Okura Island, which is far away from the ocean. Without special access, it is not easy to do it even if it costs two silver coins.
get.
Another problem that is not easy to solve with silver coins is artillery.
The Dragon-Slaying Ship is a battleship. If you want to use it to fight against the giant shark ships of the "Black Dragon Palace", you must equip the ship with more advanced artillery than the giant shark ships. In terms of firearms technology, the Ming Dynasty of Middle-earth cannot compare.
In Western countries, in fact, the Franco machine and Hongyi artillery used in the Ming Dynasty's army today are all imitations of artillery from Western European countries.
Although there are many businessmen from the West selling weapons in Okura Castle to make money, the most advanced cannons and firearms are only owned by the armies of Great Britain, Spain, the Netherlands and other Western countries, and are expressly prohibited.
Selling to foreign countries is simply impossible for ordinary businessmen to obtain.
This is a matter of course for the Western European powers that want to compete for hegemony on the oceans by force in today's Age of Discovery.
Although there were many difficulties, it did not make Hua Bushi lose his determination to build the dragon-slaying ship. After several days of careful study of the shipbuilding details, he divided the difficulties into two categories. One was the shipbuilder and the artillery.
Such as things that cannot be easily solved with silver, and the other type is to build a shipyard, hire ordinary craftsmen, purchase materials, etc., and do things that can be done with only money.
According to his rough estimate, in order to build the Dragon-Slaying Ship, the amount of silver needed for various matters was as high as one million taels. Raising these silver taels was a huge problem in itself.
After listing all the calculated results one by one and writing them down on paper, Hua Bushi came out of the study and ordered his men to prepare their horses.
This was the first time he left the Waitian Tower in several days, and a quarter of an hour later, the young master was sitting in the meeting hall of the city lord's mansion, and the piece of paper was placed on the round table in the center of the room. The eldest lady of the city lord
In front of Sima Rulan.
Chai Lin and Yao Yuanxiao were also present at the round table in the hall.
Sima Rulan read the paper once and handed it to Yao Yuanxiao who was at the side.
Her beautiful eyes moved as she looked at Hua Bushi and said, "Mr. Hua's complexion is not good. He must be too tired these days and should pay attention to rest. Lan'er asked Xiaohong to stew a bowl of ginseng soup. Okay.
Give Mr. Hua a refreshment."
After the trip to Swallowing Whale Island, she seemed to have become much closer to Hua Bushi. She looked at him with concern in her eyes.
Hua Bushi quickly bowed and said: "Thank you Miss Lan'er for your concern, but there is no need to stew the ginseng soup. I am born with a poor physical constitution and my complexion is often not very good. There is no benefit in taking tonic medicine."
Sima Rulan smiled sweetly and said: "If you say you don't need it, then you don't need it! Later Lan'er will make some home-cooked dishes for you to try. Mr. Hua won't refuse, right?"
Hua Bushi said: "Thank you so much, Miss Lan'er."
While the two were talking, Yao Yuanxiao had already read the piece of paper.
The elder of "Wanjintang" was not as calm as Sima Rulan. His brows had already been knitted together and he said: "According to Master Hua's calculations, it is too difficult to build this dragon-slaying ship! Not to mention shipbuilding.
It is difficult to realize the purchase of teachers and firearms, and we cannot afford the money alone. In Yao's opinion, we should put this matter on hold for the time being and make plans in the future when conditions are met!"
Sima Rulan said: "Elder Yao, how much silver can our 'Wanjin Hall' get now?"
Yao Yuanxiao said: "A few days ago, when the pirates besieged the island, they spent three to four hundred thousand taels to resettle the native Babas. These days, we have used more than two hundred thousand taels to buy food. Our 'Wanjintang' has saved many years of silver taels."
Most of it has been used, and now I can only come up with another 200,000 taels at most."
Sima Rulan turned to Chai Lin and said: "Now we are short of silver for shipbuilding. Can Uncle Chai provide some funds?"
Nan'ao Chaiyuan is a wealthy squire family. In fact, it can be regarded as the branch of "Wanjintang" in the Middle-earth continent.
Seeing Sima Rulan asking, Chai Lin said: "In the past few years, natural disasters have continued in various areas of the Ming Dynasty, and there has been war and chaos. It has been very difficult to do business. The profits of several businesses under the name of Nan'ao Chaiyuan are really pitiful. What they can now afford
The amount of silver is only about 200,000 taels, which is really embarrassing!"
Sima Rulan said: "Uncle Chai, don't say that. In today's environment, it is very rare to be able to come up with two hundred thousand taels. How can Lan'er find it too little?"
She paused, then turned her gaze to Hua Bushi and said, "Mr. Hua has heard it. Our 'Wanjintang' only has so much financial resources now. Let's ask Mr. Hua to make an idea on how to build the Dragon-Slaying Ship!"
After hearing what Sima Rulan said, Hua Bushi couldn't help but dumbfounded.
Today, the eldest young master came to the city lord's mansion. He originally listed out the various difficulties in building the dragon-slaying ship and brought it to "Wanjintang" to discuss countermeasures. However, he did not expect that the eldest lady of the city lord only used one sentence:
He threw all the questions back, as if he was the person in charge of "Wanjintang".
Hua Bushi smiled bitterly and said: "The four hundred thousand taels of silver are still more than half of what is needed to build the Dragon-Slaying Ship. Even if Hua Bushi is sold, he will not be able to sell this many taels of silver. Miss Lan'er asked me how I can get it.
idea?"
Sima Rulan pouted and said, "If you can't even make up your mind, Lan'er will be even more helpless. But I know Mr. Hua will definitely find a way, right?"
Although Sima Rulan didn't have much experience in life, she was still a very smart girl. At this time, she had a naughty smile on her face, as if she had figured out that Hua Bushi would have an idea.
Chai Lin, who was sitting next to him, also said: "Master Hua is very resourceful and will definitely have a way to solve this matter. Why don't you tell us and let us listen?"
Hua Bushi sighed and said: "Well, since the head of the Chai family also said so, Hua Bushi proposed a clumsy plan, but this plan is quite risky. Whether you dare to do it depends on Miss Lan'er and the two
The elders decide.”
Sima Rulan said: "As long as it is a plan made by Mr. Hua, Lan'er will definitely dare to do it. Mr. Hua just says it!"
Hua Bushi pondered for a moment before speaking: "Now we want to build the Dragon-Slaying Ship, but we are still short of more than half a silver tael. What do you think a person should do if he is in urgent need of silver taels but does not have enough cash on hand?"
Yao Yuan Xiao said: "I'll ask my relatives and friends to borrow it."
Hua Bushi said: "Eighteen thousand taels of silver is enough. Who has six to seven hundred thousand taels of silver to lend us now? For the current plan, borrowing money all the way is definitely not feasible."
Yao Yuanxiao said: "If you can't borrow, how about stealing or robbing?"
Hua Bushi shook his head and said: "We are not pirates from the Black Dragon Palace, so we cannot do that kind of thing."
Chai Lin's expression suddenly changed and he said, "Master Hua, does he want to gamble?"