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Seeing these shipwrights thinking hard and thinking almost incredulously, Li Yuanqing could not help but reveal a faint smile at the corner of his mouth.

There is a saying in China, 'Have you never eaten pork, yet have you never seen a pig running?'

For his fanatical pursuit of the sea, Li Yuanqing has really put a lot of effort into ships.

At this time, the official navigation technology of the Ming Dynasty, to be honest, had begun to lag behind that of the world.

For example, the main warship of the Juehua Island Navy is generally only twenty or thirty meters long, and its draft is only about five hundred stone.

This kind of warship is usually equipped with catapults, catapults, etc., and has certain cold weapon combat capabilities, but its firepower is almost negligible.

There are only a few such main warships in the Juehua Island Navy, and they are less than one hand.

Most of the warships are ordinary sand ships, and many are even modified from sand ships. The length is generally between ten and twenty meters. The carrying capacity is pretty good, but the combat effectiveness can also be ignored...

…

Li Yuanqing gave the figures given by shipwrights like Zhou Chuanhai. A warship of fifty or sixty paces seems to be an exaggeration, but in fact, in advanced maritime countries in the West, such warships have already begun to be put into practice.

------This is the legendary sailing battleship.

Of course, even though he has five hundred years of experience ahead of the world, Li Yuanqing is not so arrogant that he can eat a big fat man in one bite and expects these shipwrights to build him a battleship now.

It has been six years since the Ming Dynasty, and Li Yuanqing has already understood the code of conduct of this era thoroughly.

These shipwrights may seem very humble, but in fact, due to inheritance issues, they are also a very stubborn group of people.

To sum it up in a simple sentence, ‘it is passed down from male to daughter, and from daughter to son-in-law’.

Everyone's craftsmanship is something they have worked hard to learn, and they have spent a lot of effort and cost to learn it. Naturally, they will not easily pass on the craftsmanship that supports their families to others.

Of course, the reason for this general trend has a lot to do with China's traditional economic system.

In the West, whenever a reform or invention comes out, it means that a large amount of money can be exchanged for it, and a fortune can be made.

But in China, no matter how many inventions they have, it still means that they can only serve the imperial family...

Two hundred years ago.

The glory of Zheng He's voyages to the Western Seas has long been blown away by the wind, and the legendary treasure ships of the Ming Dynasty have long been turned into ashes. With these entangled reasons, how can the navigation technology of the Ming Dynasty not fall behind?

However, everything is relative.

At this time in the Ming Dynasty, the official navigation technology had indeed failed to keep up with the trend~~, but~, in the southeast, in Fujian, there was a family that mastered the most advanced navigation in East Asia, and even did not lag behind the world's top level.

technology.

That is the Zheng family.

Previously, in Denglai, at the birthday banquet of Shen Yourong, a veteran of the Ming Navy, Li Yuanqing had a brief meeting with Zheng Zhihu, the second eldest son of the Zheng family.

At this time, although the Zheng family had dominated the southeastern coast of the Ming Dynasty and monopolized most of the trade routes to Japan, the Netherlands, and Southeast Asia, Zheng Zhilong at this time had not yet found a way to the imperial court to get through to him.

The long-awaited Fujian General Soldier was completely cleared.

To put it more bluntly, although the Zheng family is rich, they are still low-income people. Politically, they have not yet exerted sufficient influence.

In the past, Li Yuanqing had also considered cooperating with the Zheng family to achieve mutual benefit and complementarity, but this was, after all, the opposite.

Li Yuanqing is well-known in Jiubian, and it can be said that he responds to a hundred responses.

It's a pity that this is not a field after all, and there is no capital that can be used. With the Zheng family's urine, it is difficult to buy his account.

Fortunately, Liaodi also has the advantages of Liaodi.

Because they faced Hou Jin directly, the fighting in Liao was extremely intensive, and Li Yuanqing and his sons faced the Hou Jin army which was at its peak.

Although this Jianzhou Jurchen armed force is still lagging behind their ancestors, the Wanyan family, it can basically represent the highest combat effectiveness of nomadic groups in Northeast Asia and even the entire world.

The men of the Changsheng Battalion are all experienced in many battles and are brave and courageous. Even on the sea, they do not have enough initiative, but~~who will they fear once they land for combat?

Time waits for no one!

If you plan one day early and implement it one day early, you will have more opportunities in the future.

Li Yuanqing must take this first step. Even if there are difficulties and obstacles, even if he has to pay a high price, he must not look back.

At this time, what he needs to do is to capture these craftsmen first, tie them tightly to his ship, and contribute their best efforts to him.

At this time, they had been planning for a while, but still had no clue. Zhou Chuanhai hurriedly looked at Li Yuanqing: "General, this big ship you are talking about is really, really unheard of! General, have you ever seen it?

This kind of big ship?”

Li Yuanqing smiled slightly: "I have never seen such a large ship with my own eyes. However, I have heard that far away in the west of Thailand, there are white-haired ghosts who have constructed such a large ship and have begun to launch trials.

Already."

"ah?"

"This, this is impossible! If there really is such a big ship, then the keel would need such a big tree! This, this is impossible, this is impossible!"

Zhou Chuanhai had an expression of disbelief.

Beside him, his sons also had expressions of disbelief on their faces.

The other craftsmen around him couldn't come to their senses for a long time.

After a while, another old craftsman next to him spoke carefully: "General, if, if, as you said, there really is such a big ship, then what kind of wood is it made of? I beg the general to explain it to me.

Confused."

Li Yuanqing smiled: "I can't answer this question for you, because this is your job scope."

Each of these craftsmen couldn't help but have a sad look on their faces.

The treatment Li Yuanqing gave them was indeed very generous, and they were very happy. They all tried their best to fight for Li Yuanqing, but at this time, Li Yuanqing had already assigned a task. Unfortunately, they had never heard of it, let alone

It has been implemented, this...

After another period of low-pitched discussion, Zhou Chuanhai said with a bitter face: "General, you, your request, I, I, I and others, are really impossible to fulfill! This, this..."

Li Yuanqing laughed loudly: "Mr. Zhou, in your heart, do you want me to hire someone else?"

Although Zhou Chuanhai was extremely unwilling to accept this result, but the reality was before his eyes, he couldn't help but nodded bitterly: "General, I and others are really unable to fulfill the general's entrustment and have failed the general's kindness.

!This, how can this be the general’s free meal?”

"Hahaha……"

Li Yuanqing couldn't help laughing: "Mr. Zhou, fellow villagers, our ancestors have a saying that is called ugly words. But you don't have to worry too much. What Yuan Qing just said is just Yuan Qing's idea.

Of course, it’s not something you need to implement right away. It’s the goal we need to achieve in the next five years or even ten years! Now, we have to start small, starting with the most basic warships.

Start building. You are all experts in this area. If you have any ideas, please tell me! If you say it well, I will reward you heavily. If you say it poorly, it doesn’t matter. I, Li Yuanqing, can still produce a bowl of good wine.

Get up!"

"ah?"

"General, sage!"

"General Renyi! You almost scared the old man out of his heart."

"..."

Li Yuanqing first suppressed and then advanced, and finally threw out his trump card. These craftsmen were like going on a roller coaster. They were all overjoyed, and many of them even shed tears.

Li Yuanqing smiled and waved his hand to ask the soldiers to bring them more tea to calm their emotions. He was not in a hurry and waited quietly for them to sort out their thoughts.

When they arrived at the areas they were most familiar with, these craftsmen became more energetic.

Zhou Chuanhai also recovered a lot and said with a smile: "General, I don't know what kind of warship you want to build? Can you give me and these old guys some tips?"

Li Yuanqing smiled: "Let's take an ordinary main warship as an example!"

Zhou Chuanhai hurriedly smiled and said: "General, I am not boasting. If such a big ship is built, I can figure it out even with my eyes closed."

As he spoke, he smiled brightly and said: "General, if you want to build a big ship and build a good ship, the most important thing is the keel. The keels of the warships of the Ming Dynasty are generally made of the above-mentioned teak wood. Especially the keel.

The best quality is teak that is hundreds of years old. Most of the warships of our Ming Dynasty navy used teak from the south. But I have been in Liao for more than ten years, and I know a lot about the customs and customs of Liao. I once listened to them

It is said that teak in the south is already a big tree and a good tree when it grows to seven or eight feet high. However, in the deep mountains and old forests of Liaodong, there are a lot of teak, which can grow to ten feet or even more than ten feet. If you can find it,

With this kind of teak wood, perhaps it is not impossible to build the big ship you mentioned, General!"

Everyone around him nodded.

Li Yuanqing's tolerance and foresight also gave them great confidence.

Li Yuanqing also smiled and nodded, "Mr. Zhou, if I give you enough manpower, how long will it take you to build such a qualified ship, and how much silver will it cost?"

Zhou Chuanhai thought for a moment and said hurriedly: "General, if we build the ship directly, it will take about three or two months, and the cost will only be a few thousand taels of silver. However, the requirements for the keel are very demanding. First of all, we must use this good wood

Cut it down and then dry it naturally, which may take seven to eight years, or even ten years. If you say this, I can't give you an accurate reply!"

"ten years?"

Li Yuanqing couldn't help but frown. He really hadn't considered this aspect. He hurriedly asked: "Does it take so long to dry the wood? Is it possible to use other methods? For example, drying, sun-drying, etc."

Zhou Chuanhai hurriedly shook his head: "General, you are sincere to me, how can I bully you? General, you must also know that the keel is the most important frame of the ship's hull. To bear the weight of the entire hull, there must be no
To be continued...