Chapter 554 Rus Principality Eighth Eighth Fleet Plan
Regardless of whether the Danish leader Hafgen was indeed buried in the sea, Rurik can be sure that this man's political life has ended.
There is a power vacuum in Denmark, and someone must step forward like a vulture to seize the legacy left by Hafgen.
Horik, Earl of Friesland? A Dane who surrendered to the Franks? The nephew of the expelled former Danish leader? This man established a virtual "Viking Zone" in the Frankish Kingdom?
Others may find this strange when they hear this, but Rurik knows about the Danish French District in Britain and the Norman Dukedom in France.
He is not a witness to history, but a promoter of history.
And the heroes emerging from this sea are writing the heroic era of Beihai.
How can we fight this war without building ships?
The plan to build a fleet was brewing in Rurik's mind. It was currently snowing outside. While studying Latin, he had already calculated the preliminary lineup of the fleet.
And this is just like waiting for the wind and snow to subside, then finding the shipbuilding expert Huotra in person and submitting a new order.
Almost every year, the real start of winter in Ross begins with a snowstorm.
This year, it started with light snow, but eventually turned into a snow disaster.
This year is indeed no different from previous years. Pine wood is stacked to form a wall that wraps around the entire Roseburg. The bottom is also reinforced with sand and gravel, and the hardened cement laid makes the wall more explainable.
It has become an excellent barrier to protect the people. Fewer snowflakes enter the wall. The people hide in warm wooden houses and find psychological comfort.
From light snow to blizzard, and then to the restoration of peace, the snow lasted for more than two weeks.
The wind and snow swept away the world. People got out of their houses, breathed in the clear and cold air under the winter sun, and immediately began to use the tools in their hands to clear the snow.
Rurik's towering palace has become a real ice fortress in the world of ice and snow. Standing on the third floor, he can overlook the frozen sea, as well as the rows of piers and sandy beaches.
Ships on the ice.
The winter life of the Russians begins!
Unlike other Viking tribes who generally live at home and survive the cold winter like marmots, the Rus are even looking forward to the cold winter in these years.
Winter is indeed dangerous, but special needs give rise to special economic benefits.
Who would work in the winter if it wasn't profitable?
Rus' men, and even a large number of women, are busy producing in winter to earn wages.
Going to the north for hunting is no longer a huge risk. Ironburg is already a great and firm northern fortress, and the emerging Fiskburg is a new stronghold that is expected to expand, even the most northern one, the ice-free one standing on the sea at the end of the north.
Murmansk, are all included in the construction plan.
Rurik's abundant funds encouraged the people of Russia to work. When people got money, they bought food, clothes, and daily necessities.
The core of the Principality of Rus is already an economy with strong domestic demand in the Baltic Sea, and it is still on the road to expansion.
The snow had stopped, and Rurik held a principality meeting on the first floor of the palace.
This meeting provides guidance for this year's winter life.
First, organize an expedition team of 100 people. According to the map and written description provided by Rurik, start from Fisk Castle (Rovaniemi) on the shore of the frozen lake, ride a reindeer sleigh along the glacier, and then
Arrive in Murmansk under the guidance of the deer herder who serves Rus, and immediately establish a permanent base to obtain local leather resources.
Second, use winter to mobilize tribal men and women as usual. Men cut trees and hunt in winter, while women boil seal oil and make soap, etc.
Third, for all women with children, provide a monthly welfare subsidy of ten pounds of oats and a one-pound bar of soap (Rurik cannot reward too much)
Fourth, build new ships and at least complete the Four-Four Plan of four large and four small ships within a short period of time.
Rurik was the most powerful duke and the wealthiest man, and he also had a sacred status.
Of course, the people working for him are not all because of their divine status, because Rurik really gives money, and everyone can really get a lot of food. As long as they work for the Duke, they can get good benefits. Who would be lazy?
Rurik paid people to cut down trees in order to build ships.
The time was ripe, and he took his cronies straight to the Hotla family's shipbuilding factory.
Take a look here! The huge wooden workshop forms an indoor dock, so it can be built rain or shine.
This construction method is actually an innovation, and its significance is no less than the "Keel Revolution" launched in this sea area 80 years ago.
In other words, even if Rurik does not exist, the shipbuilding industry in the northern Baltic Sea will eventually change the entire world. This is the general trend.
It's just that they haven't built a dry dock yet, but fortunately the big ship they built is not that heavy.
They only built the hull, and after the key parts were built, they took it outdoors and successfully installed the tall mast with the help of wooden scaffolding.
When Rurik arrived, the hulls of two new large ships of the same class as the Aurora had been built and were waiting for the hard and tall spruce trees from the north to arrive this winter. The masts must come from the ice fields of the north.
Compared with the summer, the frozen sea became the best way to pass through, and a large number of reindeer were able to pull the mast logs, so-called transporting logs like semi-trailers, and arrived in Roseburg to start the final assembly.
The large wooden door was opened, and workers were busy cutting and polishing wood, transporting and installing ship materials, and applying waterproofing rosin.
Some female workers were wearing headscarves, squatting on the ground and working together to sew a huge canvas.
Rurik arrived unexpectedly, and after hearing the news, Hotla hurried over.
"Sir, you are finally here. Take a look at the hulls of these two large ships. We are doing the final work. When those giant logs arrive, it is time to install the masts."
"I want to go up quietly." Rurik pointed to the bow of the ship casually.
After a while, Rurik climbed onto the carpentry scaffolding and stood on the bow deck. The feeling of standing was exactly the same as standing on the Aurora.
There is an old man named Huotra. After moving here for a few years, his family and accompanying friends have naturally formed a community of interests. They did not have such a high-intensity construction plan in Melalen, and it is impossible to earn a lot of wealth from it. Now they are in Ross
Fort hired some men to do the tedious but critical carpentry work.
Hotra leaned on crutches and stood on solid ground looking up to his sponsor.
"My lord, how do you feel?"
"Everything is fine. It's just..." Rurik paused for breath. He was already standing at a very high position. Standing here, he could clearly see the structure of the entire indoor dock and estimate its size.
He got off the ship's hull and had no intention of accepting the hospitality of the Hotla family. He said bluntly: "Assemble your most capable craftsmen. I! I want to announce something extremely important."
Huotra patted his forehead and knew that a new ship must be built, which was a good thing. It meant that the brothers could continue to make wealth, their lives would become better, and the family's influence would also increase.
As many as twenty craftsmen gathered around Rurik. The strong men among them were shirtless and had some scary hair on their chests, while the young craftsmen were still wearing linen shirts, and their rolled-up sleeves no longer covered their muscles.
"Huh? Huotra, I remember that the best ones were ten people. What? Your team has expanded?"
Hotla laughed and patted several people on the shoulders casually: "I have been in Ross for two years. This is my younger son, and he has become a good craftsman now. You can be sure that we are very powerful now.
.Lo and behold, in just one summer, the hulls of the two ships were completed."
"You mean, with your two indoor docks, you can build two ships in half a year?"
Hotla didn't mean this purely. When asked this question, knowing that the opportunity was rare, he immediately tightened his mouth and affirmed: "Yes, that's exactly the case."
"Oh, that means as long as there are enough materials, you alone can build four large ships a year."
"There are enough materials, and if we hire more people, we will... indeed."
In fact, Rurik noticed that Hortra was a little timid, but it didn't matter.
He clapped his hands and asked everyone to find a dry place, spread leather and have a discussion there.
They tried their best to suppress the ecstasy in their hearts. Based on the information Rurik just revealed, everyone speculated that maybe the rich Duke of Ross was going to take out four orders in one go? The cost of this was less than a thousand pounds of silver coins? Now
, everyone knows that the young Duke of Ross in front of them has excellent moral character, pays attention to contracts, never defaults on the deposit balance, and is generous. Among all the customers, this gentleman is undoubtedly the most generous and decisive.
Rurik's request really hit their hearts like a rocket.
"I! Plan to build eight ships as soon as possible! These eight ships will be based on my actual needs and will no longer be the big ships you know. They are still larger than ordinary cargo ships, but they are not real cargo ships and will not be used unless necessary.
Executing cargo ship duties.”
After speaking briefly to this point, Hotla was a little confused: "Sir, what kind of ship is this?"
"The keel is reduced to 20 stikas, the maximum height of the hull is reduced by 1 stika, and the width is reduced by 2 stikas."
Hotela closed his eyes. As a lifelong old shipbuilder, he closed his eyes and started 3D modeling in his mind. He immediately made up the approximate appearance of the new ship.
"Ah! In this case, the ship will be slimmer. I know that the ship you require must have a deck, forecastle and stern."
"No." Rurik raised his right hand to indicate: "This new ship does not need a forecastle. You have noticed that what I actually want is a ship that is slender and lighter than a larger ship. I want it to have a tilting ship.
A bowmast, a central mainmast, that's enough."
"Then the stern..."
Before he could say this, Rurik actually burst into laughter. He said arrogantly: "For these eight ships, I will adopt a brand-new technology, which you have never seen before."
"What kind of technology is it?" Huotra probed his head warily, as did everyone else.
"It's a brand new paddle."
"Oars? Haven't you given up paddling and asked us to switch to sails?"
"That's not entirely true." Rurik shook his head, "Russ is the oar, and our principality has the best oars. Now my duke, I should let Ross's oars flourish. I invented a brand new oar, that
It’s a kind of oar that spins like a conch shell.”
"What...what is this? A paddle?"
Rurik was a little surprised. He didn't expect that Hortra would put on a puzzled expression. Looking at the others, could it be that they didn't understand propeller technology?
Propeller propulsion technology is essentially an excellent technology derived from divergent research on the "Archimedean propeller pump".
He added: "It is a wooden pole inserted into the water at an angle from the hull. There are specially installed paddles on the wooden pole. The wooden pole drives the paddle to rotate and can propel the entire boat. And our people just
Standing on the stern of the ship, he kept stepping on the wooden plank to rotate the gear and let the wooden pole follow."
Since it was something they had never seen before, it was difficult for them to associate it with the real thing.
But these men all understood the importance of bronze gears to ships.
The Avora has extremely strong maneuverability, not because of her wonderful triangular sail, but because of the rudder on her stern that extends from the stern to the sea. She can make short turns and such high maneuverability
This action is difficult to achieve even with a traditional rowing long boat.
In the current situation, it is really difficult to let them understand what a ship's propeller propulsion system is with just one word, but new technologies must be embodied in new ships.
The atmosphere was a little awkward, and Rurik cleared his throat again.
"I am definitely not doing it on a whim. You don't know new technologies, so I will teach you. I will work with the blacksmith to create the corresponding materials, and I will also be with you in the days to come to guide you in building new ships."
"Oh! That's great." Hotla asked eloquently: "So, can you tell us what are the results of using new technology?"
Rurik shrugged: "You are still doubting. That's fine. The result is that from now on, our ship can move forward in windless waters, enter and leave the port more smoothly, and no one can see anyone paddling. Will
I feel that the ship is still moving forward even though its sails have been furled, so it must have received the power of God.”
It sounds really wonderful.
But this is not the most important purpose of Rurik's trip.
He cleared his throat again, pinched his fingers and said: "The eight new ships are larger than the cargo ship and smaller than the Aurora. They need to be built quickly. I have even thought of the names of the ships."
"What's the name?" Hotla asked again.
"Don't worry yet. You have completed these eight ships, and there are still four large ships like Afrola to be built. I have already made plans! Your indoor docks are very large, and each of them can build two ships. This winter, you must
If we can build four ships, we will have four ships next summer."
"This...sir..." Huotra coughed twice to show that he had something to say.
Rurik speculated: "Do you think my requirements are too high?"
"No, sir. Actually..." Hotla looked around, and when he saw the eyes of his brothers, he raised his aging chest: "As long as you give us enough money and the supply of materials is smooth, we can make all this this winter.
Eight ships were built.”
"Are you sure? I don't want this to be bragging."
"We won't brag."
Things seemed to far exceed his expectations, and Rurik simply became bold: "Well, next summer and next winter, build four more large ships. In this way, we in Russia will have eight large ships and eight medium-sized ships. I have already thought about it.
Okay, the big ships are called cruisers (fast ships), and the smaller ones are called destroyers (as the name suggests). This year is already at the end of 832, and by the spring of 834, I want to see these sixteen warships! Don’t worry,
Funding is never an issue, I just want to get a big ship as soon as possible."
The craftsmen immediately started talking among themselves, and Rurik thought they would spend some time discussing it. After all, this was a big project.
Unexpectedly, their decision-making speed was as fast as the blink of an eye.
Hotla gave a serious answer on behalf of all craftsmen: "We completely agree and even negotiated the price of each boat."
Their decisiveness is beyond imagination!
The Principality of Rus must clearly identify the Baltic Fleet. After all, at this stage of history, most of the Rus' activities are in this inland sea.
Perhaps three large ships as large as the Aurora are enough to suppress Denmark's maritime power, and actual combat has proved that this is generally true. But with only three or four large ships, how can they demonstrate their power and perform tasks in the vast territory of Ross?
Besides, the Aurora was only a large ship in these poor times, and with a full load displacement, it might be able to pile up to 300 tons at the risk of capsizing. But when the Gothenburg capsized, the standard displacement exceeded 1,000 tons, and the full load displacement
It can be close to two thousand!
It is for this reason that Rurik defined the Avlora and others as light sailing ships, also known as cruisers.
Eight cruisers, eight destroyers.
This was the 88th Fleet plan formulated by the Principality of Rus in the winter of 832, and this was only the beginning.