As expected, when the news spread that Bao Shipyard was offering relatively high remuneration to recruit people to repair factories and build ponds, Xu Gao and Wang Qinian did not even take the initiative to recruit people from all over the world. Starting from the next day, many people flocked to ask for this job.
Work.
Of course, there are people who are attracted by the rewards, but there are also many people who came because they learned that the Bao Shipyard was going to rebuild large ships. Many local people are descendants of the original shipbuilding craftsmen of the Bao Shipyard. Their ancestors are
I relied on the Bao Shipyard for a living, devoted my sweat and blood, and I also have a lot of affection for the Bao Shipyard.
Later, the treasure shipyard declined, and many people had to find another way to make a living. However, the experience of participating in the construction of treasure ships on the Western Sea was the most glorious moment in their lives. Therefore, those things in the past were often mentioned to their descendants. It also became their legacy.
The indelible traces and pride in the hearts of future generations.
Nowadays, although the ancestors have passed away, when they heard the news that the shipyard was going to rebuild the treasure ship, and when they wanted to recruit people to clean the ponds and rebuild the treasure shipyard, some gray-haired old men even rushed over to participate in the matter.
"Old man, you are already sixty this year, why are you here to apply? Our notice clearly states that men between sixteen and forty must be strong men. I'm afraid you are not suitable." Wang Qinian persuaded.
These people.
"Master Wang, the old man has a strong body. He is not as bad as you think. The old man can also carry burdens and dig soil, and he can do anything. But don't look down on others. Besides, my grandfather participated in the Three Treasures Eunuch.
Made of Western treasure ships. I
I came to work not for the money, but to let my grandfather in Tianzhiling know that the Bao Shipyard is building another ship. If I don't come, his old man will not be able to rest in peace in Tianzhiling. When he sees me under the spring in the future, he will definitely scold me." My father-in-law said.
They also have their reasons.
Wang Qinian refused to have these people, but Xu Gao was moved by their spirit. There is a completely different difference between doing things with feelings and doing things for rewards. Although they are older, there are some things that older people cannot do.
Can do. For example, some tasks at hand, such as grinding, planing, measuring, collecting, driving, and other tasks that require patience, are all competent and reassuring.
Furthermore, almost all of these local old men spoke eloquently about treasure ships. They all seemed to be experts, and it was unknown whether they might be of some benefit to the shipbuilding process.
In three days, it was originally planned to recruit 500 young people to work, but an additional 300 places were added. Hundreds of them were overage old people. Wang Qinian was quite critical, but the money was provided by Zhang Yanling, and Xu Gao was
Zhang Yanling's father-in-law can make the decision, but he has nothing to say.
Three days later, the staff gathered together, Zhang Yanling came to the scene in person to give lectures, and construction began in full swing.
Like the renovation of Xishan Manor Wild Dog Ridge, a huge rendering was erected next to the archway at the entrance to the shipyard. It showed the appearance of a majestic shipbuilding factory. The scenes of the construction of tall treasure ships in the six or seven ponds were also painted.
When we came out, the river bend near Jiangxinzhou was full of alum trees and densely packed with boats.
This was of course the work of Xu Wanyi. She was very good at this kind of thing, and it took a few maids a day to complete this rendering. Of course, it was based on Zhang Yanling's design.
Zhang Yanling's design is also very simple. For a large shipyard like Bao Shipyard, there is actually no need to make too many changes, just a few adjustments. Because the locations of some of the facilities were actually designed. Why are they there?
Of course he has his reasons. What Zhang Yanling needs to do is to make some optimizations and adjustments.
For example, the shipbuilding area and the living area naturally need to be separated, otherwise they will interfere with each other and appear messy. In addition, according to the needs and processes of shipbuilding, the location of materials and related workshops should be adjusted accordingly to increase efficiency.
Yes, adding some temporary rest rooms, fire protection facilities, opening some storage yards and operating workshops, etc. are actually just icing on the cake.
Of course, after the infrastructure renovation work was in full swing, the selection and determination of the three large ship models also began.
Xu Gao and a group of master craftsmen built three models. They were all models of super ships based on the Sanbao Ship.
What Zhang Yanling wants is a giant super battleship that can be inlaid with iron armor and equipped with a large number of artillery. Judging from the platform, the three models are actually large enough and can be inlaid with iron armor.
But the difference lies in its functionality. The first type is a huge cargo ship with six floors of cabins. It has a flat bottom and wide cabin, a pointed nose and a fat tail, like a huge wedge. It has an open deck, a huge ship building, tall masts and equipped with
Fifteen huge sails.
This is an enlarged Fuchuan designed based on the style of Fuchuan. The master craftsmen of Fuchuan swear that such a vessel will be absolutely stable in sailing in the sea and can definitely meet the requirements.
But Zhang Yanling noticed that his operation method relied almost entirely on wind power, so he had fifteen huge fixed sails. If there was wind, he could definitely ride the wind and waves and be unstoppable. But once there was no wind, he would be
Lost most of its momentum.
Because, in the design, human-powered oars have been weakened. Although there are more than fifty giant wooden paddles on both sides, they are all giant straight oars. It is obviously unscientific to operate them while standing on the deck. Even if they can be paddled
The ship must also be as slow as a turtle crawling.
A Guangzhou ship model with a pointed nose and an upturned stern does not have this problem, because there are rowing positions in the cabins on both sides, which are independent of the position outside the cabin. More than a hundred rowers cooperate with the seven or eight rowers on the ship.
With square sails and square sails, such a ship must be full of power and flexible.
However, Zhang Yanling was not satisfied with the layout of its pointed ends and narrow deck. This type of ship had a large number of weapons on board, which made the space seem cramped and crowded. Moreover, more than a hundred rowers occupied a large number of manpower on the ship, and one ship could only be equipped with two to three hundred
In a large ship, half of the manpower is used for rowing, and the number of combatants will be greatly reduced. This will affect the number of artillery on board.
These two types are actually enlarged versions built by shipbuilding masters in Fujian and Guangdong who each believed that the ship types in their respective places were excellent. They made slight improvements. But obviously, they were not enough to meet Zhang Yanling's requirements.
After the third model ship was brought to Zhang Yanling, everyone felt very uneasy. If this ship was not satisfactory, all the work in the previous few months would be wasted.
However, Zhang Yanling's eyes froze when he saw the third ship. It was a model of a large ship with a wide hull, solid and majestic. Different from the other two models, this large ship gave people an impressive momentum.
Sense.Square boat
The head is held high, with tiger-eye stripes painted on it. The ship has a wide hull, a huge ship tower, three thick masts stand tall, and the horizontal sail is supported by its own crossbar. The area is huge. Diao Dou is towering, and there are several people on it.
A model of a little man looking from a height.
The whole ship gives people a sense of majesty, grandeur and magnificence.
What attracted Zhang Yanling even more were the dozens of weird-shaped devices installed on the sides and stern of the ship. Zhang Yanling could tell that they were a kind of paddle, but Zhang Yanling had never seen this kind of paddle. It was a kind of paddle.
The boat has a strange structure. It looks like a propeller blade.
"This is a boat? How does it work?" Zhang Yanling said.
Xu Gao stretched out his hand to fiddle with one of the devices. The huge blades slowly sank under the side of the hull with the winch. Xu Gao shook the horizontal bar and the blades began to rotate.
Zhang Yanling was shocked and said loudly: "Who designed this? Father-in-law, is it your idea? Can you design such an oar?"
Xu Gao smiled bitterly and said, "It's not me."
Zhang Yanling looked at the people around him and asked, "Who is that? Who is a skilled craftsman with a wonderful idea?"
Everyone looked at Zhang Yanling with strange expressions. Zhang Yanling was confused and said: "Everyone, what is going on?"
Xu Gao said softly: "This is originally the boat model of the Sanbao Ship. The model of this ship is the restored model of the Sanbao Ship. It has only been slightly modified. The second-level cabins on both sides of the ship have been added.
The two-string artillery firing hole only reduces the height of the ship building above the hull. In terms of shape, there is actually not much change. I am not fooling you. It is quite difficult to design a mature ship type in a short time. I think
, it’s better to use ready-made ones.”
Zhang Yanling was stunned for a moment and suddenly burst into laughter.
"No wonder Zeng Jian and his gang laughed at me when I said I was going to design a new ship. It turns out that my Ming Dynasty's treasure ship that sailed to the Western Ocean is the best and most mature ship. After going around and around, it turns out that everything is right in front of me. It's basically
There is no need to waste your efforts. Unexpectedly, this treasure ship is actually the pinnacle warship. I think that as long as I find a way to cover the ship with iron armor and slightly modify the internal structure to facilitate the launch of firearms, it will be the armored warship I want.
The ship’s gone.”
Everyone laughed when they heard this. After working on it for a long time, everyone's work was in vain, but it seemed that it was not in vain. The Duke chose the restored model of the treasure ship because the treasure ship was indeed the best.
"That's it, no need to worry about it anymore. The wisdom of the shipbuilders back then was already at its peak. We have to believe in the wisdom of the ancients. How could I have forgotten this. What do you think? If there is no objection, it is settled. It will be settled as soon as possible.
We can immediately start purchasing materials and make preparations for shipbuilding. Once the infrastructure is completed and the pond is dredged and drained, the keel sections can be laid and construction can begin."
"We are just listening to the Lord Protector." No one had any opinions.
"By the way, these two are actually good. But they are not suitable as warships. The first one can be used as a sea trade merchant ship and can carry a huge amount of cargo. And sea ships do not need to be fast. If there is wind, you can ride the wind, but if there is no wind, you can sail with the wind.
Then just move slowly. As for the second ship, it can be used as an auxiliary warship for the fleet. Its speed and maneuverability are very good. This time, one will be built, one will be used as a supply ship and one will be used as a reconnaissance ship.
Flanker ship." Zhang Yanling said.
The old craftsmen were overjoyed that their efforts were not in vain. The Duke of Guo actually took a fancy to it.
After finalizing all this, all that was left was to purchase materials, how to inlay the iron armor, and to ensure that the hull would not have other effects due to the addition of iron armor. But Zhang Yanling could not get involved with these technical matters.
When choosing the ship, Zhang Yanling had already understood that the intelligence of these people in the Ming Dynasty was no worse than his own. In terms of specific affairs, he had better not give blind orders to avoid making a fool of himself.
The shipbuilding event was in full swing. It was hectic at first, but soon everyone got used to the rhythm and everything became orderly. Every day, a large amount of materials were transported to the shipyard by horses and carts. The entire shipyard became the busiest and liveliest in Nanjing.