Steel Dynasty - Chapter 222

[Chapter 222 The progress of Galen’s ship]

There was a commotion in front of the Governor’s Mansion because of Xiao Ming’s return.

Many common people and merchants also stopped to watch. When they learned that King Qi had returned to Qingzhou, they all looked excited.

Everything they have now is given by Xiao Ming, so they naturally hope that Xiao Ming will always provide them with protection and convenience in Qingzhou.

“What happy event?”

When he was in Chang’an, Xiao Ming was troubled by the four major troubles in Fiji. Not to mention the barbarians, there were two restless neighbors in Linhai. He was really in trouble. Any good news would be a big surprise to him now. Very important.

“Zhang Liang said yesterday that the first Galen ship will be completed soon. He came to ask how many days before His Highness can come back. I didn’t expect His Highness to come back today.”

“Is the Galen ship almost completed?” Xiao Ming was surprised.

“Yes.”

Pang Yukun said. He had no feelings about this Galen ship, but it must be important to see Xiao Ming so excited.

“Hahaha… That’s great. This beam promised to hand over three Galenic ships to me by the end of the year. Now that more than half a year has passed, we finally have some clues.” Xiao Ming said.

Xiao Ming was so excited not because he could sail far away with the Galen ship, but because the launch of the Galen ship meant that Qingzhou had the ability to build the Galen ship.

It also shows that Qingzhou has a group of craftsmen who build large warships since then, which is extremely precious. With this group of craftsmen, he can officially expand and standardize the shipbuilding industry, laying a foundation for the establishment of a naval fleet in the future. Base.

At the same time, the training of naval professionals should also be put on the agenda.

During this period, Bowen College has been recruiting talents, but many specific courses have not been offered. After all, everything was for the Battle of Cangzhou at that time. Now, looking back, it is time to put education on the agenda.

After all, the advantage of technology crystal lies in education.

Xiao Ming was naturally very excited when the Galen Ship was revealed, but like Pang Yukun, Lu Fei and Luo Xin didn’t feel much at all.

To them, this Galenic ship was just a ship and had no special significance.

This is also the fundamental reason why modern navies have always lagged behind and have never paid attention to maritime rights and interests.

But there was nothing we could do about it. It was a common problem for northern soldiers not to be familiar with water stations, so naturally they had no feeling for ships.

But Xiao Ming came from modern times, and he knew deeply that the ocean would bring wealth and strength to a country, and the most important one was the trade route.

Nowadays, the Silk Road is occupied by barbarians, which cuts off the trade route between Dayu and Western countries. This is very fatal to Dayu, and in this way, a sea route becomes very necessary.

After a brief exchange of greetings with the officials at the Governor’s Mansion, Xiao Ming asked Ziyuan and Luluo to go back first, while he and Pang Yukun went directly to the shipyard on the lower reaches of the Xiaoqing River outside the city.

Lu Fei, Luo Xin and others led the cavalry back to the Qingzhou camp.

Since Zhang Liang was asked to build the Galen ship, he has rarely interfered except for transferring slaves and providing woodworking lathes. From his perspective, he is unwilling to interfere too much with the duties of his subordinates.

Because in this way, not only would they be tired, but they would also not be able to truly master the technology he provided on their own.

Therefore, he only provided a set of blueprints for the Galen ship, and the equipment department basically taught them in the form of lectures, and they were left to explore the specific operations themselves.

“Your Highness, this is right ahead.” After riding for half an hour, the two of them arrived at the bend of the river.

The Xiaoqing River suddenly turned a corner here, and the river surface bulged, wide in the middle and narrow at both ends. Moreover, the river here seemed to be very deep, which was perfect for building a shipyard.

Standing on the river bank, Xiao Ming looked down from above. At this time, the hulls of three Galen ships were docked in the river bend. On the vast river beach, craftsmen were busy. Slaves transported logs back and forth and riveted these materials.

On the side of the river beach close to the river bank is a 100-meter-long spire brick house. Many craftsmen come in and out, carrying out processed wooden boards. There is the sound of sawing wood inside. This is the main building of the shipyard. .

At this time, Zhang Liang was on the river beach holding the drawings and comparing them with the hull. He kept pointing in his hand as if he was correcting some problem.

He and Pang Yukun looked at each other and walked down the slope of the river bank.

When the guards guarding the shipyard saw Xiao Ming and Pang Yukun coming, they immediately opened the door.

“Your Highness.”

Zhang Liang also noticed Xiao Ming and Pang Yukun at this time, and he immediately came over to them with a smile on his face.

“Not bad, the sails will be ready soon.” Of the three Galen ships on the river beach, the main body of the first one is basically completed, and the craftsmen are painting the hull with tung oil.

This wooden ship is sailing in the water, and water is very corrosive to wood. Especially since the Galen ship is still sailing in the sea, the sea water is even more corrosive to the wooden ship.

Therefore, after the hull is completed, the craftsmen will brush the hull with tung oil to waterproof it to extend the service life of the boat.

“What His Highness said made me feel guilty. It seems that it will be difficult to complete three Galen ships this year, but I must complete it for His Highness even if I don’t eat or sleep.” Zhang Liang was not only not happy, but also a little scared.

The three of them walked and walked around the hull. Xiao Ming actually had no hope of launching three Galen ships, but he couldn’t say it out loud.

Otherwise, these people will definitely slack off, so we cannot let go of this target task.

He said: “In this case, we have to work hard.”

“Yes, Your Highness.” Zhang Liang said respectfully. He is still a sinner. As a slave, he does not dare to be careless.

When he got under the boat, Xiao Ming patted the brackets on both sides of the boat.

These brackets are made of wood, similar to scaffolding in buildings. This construction method is also indicated on the drawings.

In the past, shipbuilding usually used wooden herringbone ladders, but this was not conducive to the construction of large ships. Therefore, during shipbuilding, scaffolding was erected first to facilitate the craftsmen to climb up and down, install wooden boards, smash rivets, and apply tung oil. .

“Your Highness, this thing called scaffolding is indeed very convenient, and it makes shipbuilding much faster.” Zhang Liang said, with admiration for Xiao Ming in his heart, and he didn’t know how Xiao Ming learned about this method.

“That’s for sure. Once the tung oil is applied, the scaffolding will be dismantled and rebuilt to build the next Galen ship. This is called flow work, saving materials and time.”

On the river beach, all three Galen ships were built. A scaffolding of more than ten meters high was built, but this was a big project.

Zhang Liang nodded when he heard the words. He was used to seeing a few words that he had never heard come out of King Qi’s mouth. However, this time he came to Xiao Ming not only to tell the good news, but also to have some troubles. I need to tell Xiao Ming something.

(End of chapter)