The deep Gulf of Finland is a fishing ground occupied by the Kingdom of Rus. After the heroic and short triumphal ceremony, fishing boats of all sizes are once again sailing freely in the sea.
In order to catch big fish, many ships prefer to rush all the way to the central and southern Baltic Sea. They will use Gotland and Bornholm as their bases. They will pickle and dry the fish on the shore in the form of salted fish.
sell away.
Because the geographical structure of the Baltic Sea determines that the closer the sea area is to the Danish Strait, the lower the salinity. Therefore, when it comes to the ocean facing Fort Ross and Fort New Ross, especially in the current wet season, a huge amount of dissolved ice water is injected into the ocean, and the sea water is almost
Without fresh water, boiling salt with such water is really a thankless effort.
It costs more to buy good Atlantic salt from Balmok Norwegian in the port of Narvik. In the end, people's demand for salt needs to be met by themselves as much as possible.
In today's era, as the production of oats, rye and wheat continues to increase, a new way of eating has been born.
Boil oats and other wheat into a paste, then sprinkle a handful of salt and eat it with a wooden spoon. This was a common diet for ordinary people in the Roman Empire, and even gladiator slaves often ate this.
The traditional way of eating in Italy has become a luxury in Northern Europe due to insufficient food production. As the Russians completely own the Novgorod agricultural area, eating boiled wheat every day has become the norm.
Whether it is the Vikings led by the old Russians who want to eat wheat, the Slavs even want to eat wheat every time. When eating boiled wheat, they also need to eat salt. As long as conditions permit, they will pay more for food.
Simply sprinkling some salt into the cooked wheat is not enough! When cooking, you also need to add some vegetables, mushrooms and other accessories. It would be better if you can add meat.
Sun-dried salted fish is hard and can be stored for up to two years or even longer after processing, as long as the eater ignores the strange smell of "zombie grade" dried fish.
Its mixture of fish meat and salt was a necessary dry food for the old Russians during their long voyages. For the Slavs who were very short of salt in the past, this dried fish of the Russians was a delicacy.
Stew salted dried fish and wheat together. Even the hard dried fish can be cooked and combined with the boiled oats to form a delicious bowl of meal.
The people of various Slavic manors not only have a huge demand for salt, but buying dried salted fish directly from voyage fishermen is really the best of both worlds.
Since there is huge demand in agricultural areas, fishermen are driven to rush to the South Baltic Sea where the water is saltier.
This was simply not possible in the past few years, but the royal authority of Rus has reached there. Fishing boats from Rus can identify themselves by mounting flags on their masts!
One of them, belonging to the king's royal fishing team, rushed to the southern seas with various cargo ships and large fishing boats.
Twenty fishermen families signed a contract with Rurik more than ten years ago. Some of their children participated in the expedition in 840, and some simply fished.
The contract is eternal unless Rurik intends to end it.
Why end the contract? At least the fishermen want the contract to be permanent.
They were tenants working for the king, and the contract Rurik signed with them was touching. The old old fishing boats in the past were replaced by slender armed cargo ships (also fishing boats). Each family has the right to use them, and the contract requires monthly fishing.
There is a minimum quantity limit, and of all the catch income, the king takes half, and the remaining half is also purchased by the king.
This was a profitable business, and twenty fishermen families became rich, so much so that some families ordered their own fishing boats.
The royal fishing team has become rich in talents. In the past, due to safety concerns, they could only fish in the central Baltic Sea between Tombstone Island and Saaremaa Island. Now they dare to rush south.
Since all the fish caught will eventually be dedicated to the king to earn profits, the fish will eventually enter the belly of the thousands of kingdom babies raised by the king.
Those cubs are all descendants of the old Russians! They share the same direct ancestor with me.
Starting from this year, because the royal fishing fleet will arrive in distant seas, there is no longer the ability to transport enough fresh fish to New Roseburg. The salted fish processing that was originally supposed to be done in New Roseburg cannot be done, so they plan to do it in Gotland.
On the coast of the island, salt is boiled, fish is dried, and finally tons of dried salted fish are presented to the king.
Rurik allowed all this, and the once dangerous southern Baltic Sea and even the Denmark Strait are now open to all Russian fishing boats. Everyone has the right to plunder the catch there. This is one of the war dividends the kingdom has.
In the future, a large amount of dried salted fish will surely arrive in the capital, and then be distributed to Finland, the area around Lake Ladoga, and the Novgorod region with a large population base. These three areas have a common feature: they are far away from the ocean and difficult to obtain.
Salt, the huge salt gap cannot be solved by small-scale trade, unless Russia occupies high-salinity sea areas and enables people to cook salt voluntarily.
Thousands of large and small fishing boats leave the Kronstadt moorings. They will join the fishing boats from the Gulf of Bothnia, as well as a large number of boats from Lake Mälaren. Boats from the three waters are at the T-junction.
The Tombstone Islands merged and gradually filled the southern Baltic Sea.
The fishing industry, which had been suppressed by tribal disputes, has burst out with incredible vitality. The "Northern Alliance Treaty" has clearly defined the Baltic Sea as the sea of all alliance members. All fishing boats can fish freely. Anyone who claims to be the hegemon of the enclosure will be
Considered to be pirates that must be combated.
The concept of exclusive economic zone does not exist, but from another perspective, the entire Baltic Sea is Russia's exclusive economic zone.
Because no Viking force can compete with Ross in terms of shipbuilding capabilities.
There is a huge demand for the fishing industry here, and a huge amount of hot money is pouring in. It is natural for all kinds of people who have become rich to order a boat of their own out of national tradition.
No matter how desperate they were, a Viking family could sail a boat far away to explore new life possibilities, and a boat itself could ensure that the whole family would not starve to death.
Such a wonderful phenomenon immediately appeared in New Roseburg. All the professional shipbuilding families in the city received a large number of orders. The orderers were eager for a standard long-headed longboat. If this was not possible, a much smaller ordinary fishing boat would also be suitable.
The leading longship is still the most versatile ship in rivers, seas and lakes, but with a lot of hot money circulating in the market, shipbuilders have no choice but to raise their prices.
The fact is that the prices of all commodities have increased, and the victorious warriors who have a lot of loot don't care. They continue to spend money like water in the largest trading city in the kingdom, buying all the daily necessities on the market in a short period of time.
Rurik was dumping the spoils of war in his capital. He was not dumping indiscriminately, especially the large number of captured Frank weapons that could not be simply sold to the people. This was why he was worried that the people might rebel if they got the weapons. It was these captured weapons that
What's the point of keeping a severely damaged and exaggeratedly bent broad-edged sword? It's better to break it into iron ingots, carburize and process it into low-carbon steel, then reshape it into a steel sword and sell it to earn more.
Only two thousand horse hides were left behind. These horse hides that were starting to rot and were of average quality were deliberately left behind by him. Even so, these horse hides were larger in area and had more processing potential than deer hides.
It is impossible to reproduce the operation on Tombstone Island. A large number of the leather craftsmen in the capital are the folks of Old Ross. To deceive them is to commit suicide. Besides, these horse leathers reek of stench, and more Glauber's salt and plant ash are needed to process them.
, which increases the cost.
Rurik sold two thousand pieces of middle and low-grade horse leather at the price of deerskin. It was precisely because of the large area of these pieces of leather that the merchants who bought it always smiled and thought they had made a profit, ignoring the stench it gave off.
taste.
Among the many unloaded trophies, only one large piece of cargo still fills the cabin of the ship.
A large amount of wool was seized from the Flanders region and was still compressed in coarse sacks and stored dry.
The capital inherited the traditional leather processing industry of the old Rus. Although the materials for wool spinning and linen weaving are different, the weaving patterns are basically the same, and this is the strength of the two hundred thousand Slavs in Novgorod. Novgorod
Gorod is the center of the Russian textile industry. The excellent quality Flemish wool and even the breeding lambs kidnapped from the local area will definitely continue to consolidate and develop its economic status.
The war dividends brought New Roseburg into a new period of prosperity. People praised the king and the victorious army from the bottom of their hearts, and respected and respected the sacrificed soldiers.
Because the people of the kingdom have benefited.
Some people can only get small profits, while some not only make a huge fortune, but a wonderful future is undoubtedly waiting for them.
Karl Hotrasson, the second eldest son of the family, owns the largest shipyard in the capital and has been building a huge ship for the king.
Even though there is now a rush to order ships, he declined any attempts to order ships and continued to lead the team to focus on construction.
No, King Rurik came to visit in person with his entourage!
Rurik was dressed in military uniform and led his cavalry on horseback. They all wore furry white fur and were all decorated with dyed feathers.
The craftsmen who were riding on wooden scaffolding and manipulating tools were seen suspending their work, and their eyes were focused on the approaching cavalry.
The earth was shaking abnormally, and the king actually came on horseback.
"Quickly summon the brothers to stop work temporarily and take off their hats to the King at their original positions!" Karl urgently ordered the foremen under his command. They immediately put on their own furs and bearskin coats and went to meet the King in a dignified manner.
.
He bowed slightly to the king on horseback, covered his heart with his right hand, and then took off his hat in greeting.
Rurik was very satisfied with such respect.
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for coming to inspect this messy place of mine. I'm really sorry that we rushed to welcome you."
"It's okay. I just came to see the battleship! I saw a huge hull. Let your craftsmen continue working! I... want to have a good chat with you."
After saying that, Rurik dismounted and ordered his men to dismount and stand by.
He clapped his hands and continued to look up at the hull with interest.
"When the fleet returns, this big ship's hull is eye-catching and beautiful. There are no sheds to cover it. The workers have to work outdoors. Maybe you are still working in the winter!"
"That's true. I am also about to report to the king." Karl continued to say respectfully.
"Okay. Let's talk as we walk."
Rurik kept observing the hull of the ship with a smile. As he walked slowly around, his ears were filled with Karl's professional report on the battleship, especially his estimation of the various characteristics of the "Sea Monarch".
Rurik was willing to call her a Galenic ship, but for Karl, she was an enlarged modification of the largest ship type inherent in Rus.
The land where New Roseburg is located is surrounded by forests, including some oak trees that grow into giant umbrellas.
The search for qualified timber from undeveloped forests has begun since the permanent settlement of New Roseburg was established. As the Hotla family who had already settled here, due to their professional habits in the industry, they searched for qualified timber in the dense forest.
After finding a batch of qualified ship materials, he cut down the big trees and transported them to his processing workshop in various ways.
So during Rurik's surprise inspection, there were still large and small logs piled up on the shipbuilding ship.
No one is better at building large ships than this family. Rurik arranged a group of young boys as Karl's apprentices. They are cheap labor for the shipyard, and they are shipbuilding talents that Rurik intends to cultivate. The Hortra family is also worthy of the honor.
, after all, there were not many orders for building Kirk ships (old-fashioned cargo ships) in the past. The usual orders were for the construction of longships and smaller fishing boats.
There is no need to go to great lengths to improve technology in building these ships. Even if smart craftsmen have ideas, they would rather not do it because they cannot afford the cost of trial and error.
King Rurik took over the task of building the largest warship for the Hortra family!
At least he had stocked up on the most critical oak material in advance. Such a strong hull frame could be completed, just like a human skeleton. The remaining task was to install the various parts as a whole.
Even if they kept searching, they could not find a giant oak tree with a height of fifty meters in the dense forest in the south. The oak tree is the most common local oak raw material, and its trunk always grows crookedly. Some oak trees have
The main trunk can be planed into a thick wooden pole, and its length of nearly thirty meters is enough to make the core keel of a very good Avora-class battleship.
Today's Sea Monarch has a longer keel. Rurik originally hoped that the keel could reach 60 meters, but he still failed to achieve reality.
Straight wooden poles were cut out of the two oak trees and assembled together with a mortise and tenon structure, reaching a height of nearly fifty meters.
Next, the bow keel and bulbous bow are installed, which are also integrated with the main keel using a mortise and tenon structure.
The stern keel is almost mortise-and-tenoned on the main keel in an upright position.
In this way, the "spine" of the battleship is completely assembled. The densely packed oak ribs are assembled on the main keel. They are made from natural bent wooden poles of oak trees.
Karl kept complaining that collecting these materials required luck and physical strength. What this guy Liu Lidong meant was that he wanted to be given more money when settling the bill. He did not mention the remuneration for the time being.
The assembled keel is all oak, and the planks wrapped around the hull are also all oak.
They were dried in the shade and continued to be exposed to wind during the construction period. When snow fell in winter, the snow was cleared away decisively by craftsmen.
The wood of the hull must be kept dry so that it can absorb water and foam well after the dry dock is filled with water.
The outer hull is all made of mortise and tenon joints without using a single iron anchor, so the workload is quite huge. This is where the real hull started to be built. It has been a full year now, and it is still a huge hull.
Carl showed some timidity about this, constantly complaining about his belief in his work and the many technical challenges faced by craftsmen.
"Let me go directly to the hull to see what's going on inside!" Rurik insisted on observing from a distance, and climbed onto the scaffolding to reach the inside of the hull.
"Very good! Very good." He patted his clothes and looked left and right. "Standing outside, I don't think the cabin is very big, but it looks extraordinary."
"We can definitely squeeze in two hundred soldiers." Karl boasted.
"You underestimated! In my opinion, four hundred people can be crammed into it. That is... this is the entire transparent cabin?"
Karl didn't understand what the king meant and muttered casually: "What's wrong?"
"You just said that it encountered many technical problems. In my opinion, this ship does have a big technical problem."
"ah?"
Rurik pointed with his big finger: "The whole cabin is large, but this ship is also too big. Her draft is destined to be deep, so it will easily hit the rocks. I am worried that once it hits the rocks, the incoming seawater will flood the entire cabin. We can't
Take the risk and take measures."
"Then don't hit the rocks." Carl Lu muttered timidly.
Rurik tightened his mouth and shook his head: "Only a fool is willing to take the initiative to hit the rocks, but my Sea Monarch is qualified to travel far away and explore the end of the world. What if it encounters danger? Therefore, the entire cabin must be divided into three sections."
"I...I don't understand."
"You don't understand." Rurik continued to order: "Divide the bottom tank into three independent cabins. In this way, if one cabin hits the rocks and is flooded, the remaining two cabins will not be swallowed up. Even if our boat is filled with water,
Isn't it equivalent to carrying more cargo, and it can still sail without sinking in the end. As smart as you are, Karl, you should understand."
It is now 841, and watertight compartment technology has begun to be used on a large scale in the East. Its essence is to ensure that when a large ship is flooded, it can only damage part of the hull and prevent the entire ship from collapsing.
Karl Hotrasson realized it, and he formed a picture in his mind. He was not surprised. After all, the Hotra family had never used watertight compartment technology, because it made no sense for small ships.
Precisely because he had no idea in the past, he still felt in his heart that the king's request was a bit unnecessary. No one wanted to run into trouble. It was best not to experience it. What if it happened? Then he had to ask for blessings.
Yeah.
It is not surprising to die in the sea. Carl has understood the technical concept of watertight compartments today, but he does not understand what it means because he has not experienced it. Of course, people can almost only experience one accident on the rocks, and the result is almost drowning.
Those who survived called this the method of Egil, the evil god of the sea.
Thanks to the ship's hull, which is still busy assembling the shell planks, this work must use oak planks from oak trees that have been dried in the shade. For this purpose, they need to spend the entire winter in a dark warehouse to complete the freeze-drying of the planks. There are many excess wooden poles, which can be used as
For deck materials, it is most appropriate to assemble additional partitions for watertight compartments.
According to Rurik's additional requirements, the large cabin at the bottom of the ship was divided into three small cabins, and each cabin was equipped with an independent patio and ladder.
The original design of this ship was still ahead of the times. In addition to the bottom cabin, there was also an upper cabin.
In order to ensure the center of gravity, the cross-section of the upper cabin is indeed a trapezoid.
If the bottom cabin is on the first floor, then the real deck is on the third floor.
She still needs to install the forecastle and upgrade to the double-layer structure of the stern. So for the stern deck, that is the fifth floor.
She will be equipped with four masts, a shorter fore mainmast, the largest aft mainmast, a smaller poop mast, and a foremast with a forward thrust. There will be a large number of cable structures to secure these masts, especially the thrust.
The purpose of the foremast is to provide a base point for binding a large number of cables, and also to hang a scale sail to catch the wind at the lower end of the ship.
The Hortra family has sufficient experience in building the Avora class ship, which is an imitation of the Caravel-type sailing ship. The Galen ship and the Caravel ship are also inherited and improved. As the ships became larger and larger, the Galen ship was born.
.
Just like the construction of the Aurora ten years ago! The current Aurora can no longer be used as a flagship in the War of 840. She is already a hard-working veteran who has completed her final swan song.
The Avora will be repaired and a large number of parts will be replaced, but no one can say whether the core keel will still be strong. She will be active in the Gulf of Finland as a training vessel, and will only be called upon when necessary.
The Sea Monarch is Ross's first Galen-class battleship. She has strong experimental significance, and Rurik is worried about whether her sea trials will be a success.
What is certain is that even if all the shipbuilding materials are ready, 841 is definitely not the day she will be launched. This warship will be launched in 842 at the earliest, leaving a lot of time for the Hotla family.
So, how much does this ship cost?
Karl kept holding back his words. Rurik stood in the cabin in person, and he, the noble king, was the first to ask about the price.
"You are very willing to use materials, and I can understand your hard work. The price we negotiated in the past was one thousand pounds of silver coins. Looking at your expression, I know you are a little dissatisfied and hope to increase the price. So be it! I will eventually pay you.
Two thousand pounds!”
As soon as he said this, Karl's drooping hair suddenly swelled, and his scalp became as tight as a cat with fried hair.
"Your Majesty?! Are you! Serious?!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Rick regretted that he had not shut up. Unfortunately, it was too late to retract his words. He had an idea and said: "This ship itself is worth a thousand pounds. Even so, you will make a lot. Why should I
What about an extra thousand pounds? That's to pay for your scientific research allowance. You have developed brand-new technology, which is worthy of my extra payment. The Sea Monarch is just the beginning, and I will build more ships like this. Likewise, Afu
The Lola class and the planet class will be built in the future. With sufficient technology and manpower, the construction will only be faster in the future."
The king will not brag. The king desires a more powerful fleet. The king does have a lot of wealth and can pay a huge sum of money for shipbuilding.
Karl didn't know the king's ultimate dream, and he didn't dare to ask. He was certain that his family would become more prosperous and the wealth he earned would be more than he could spend in eight lifetimes.
"I am willing to serve the king." Kalhotrason knelt down and only paid tribute to King Rurik with the warrior salute.