The bird boat "has a small head and a long straight hull; In addition to the mast, canopy (sail), there are two oars on both sides, there is a wind to sail, no wind to shake the oar, the driving is flexible, and the canopy is long and fast, the boat travels on the water, like a bird" (Qing "Zhejiang Maritime Case"). Since the Ming Dynasty, the small sea ships along the coasts of Zhejiang, Fujian and Guangdong mostly adopt the type of bird boats in order to be fast.

So far, all the four major types of navigation ships in ancient China have appeared and been finalized. Although in the Ming and Qing dynasties, there were as many as 1,000 types of wooden boats in China, but in terms of ship types, they basically belonged to the four categories of sand boats, fortune boats, Guangzhou ships and bird boats. Liu Pei's ship is a kind of sand boat.

Liu Pei went to the shipowner and touched the west, full of curiosity. But the ship is very old. And the whole ship was filthy, with seaweed, seaweed, and the like left behind by the seawater washing up on the deck. It seems that after returning to Hong Kong in a storm, they unloaded their goods and drove over without even doing a flush! It is clear that he is bullying Liu Pei, a northerner who doesn't understand boats!

The cabin was also stinking, and Liu Pei actually found a few rotten dead fish! So Liu Pei turned around a few times and was not interested. But he's angry! The attitude of these southerners successfully aroused Liu Pei's anger! Liu Pei didn't believe that he had a current society as a backing, and he even got a few sea boats! Liu Pei decided to go back and think carefully about how to deal with the problem of ship construction in the future.

When Liu Pei got home, he sent someone to call Wu Yizhou. Wu Yizhou is a person worthy of trust in Liu Pei's heart. Although he came from a poor background and did not know a lot of words like Qi Qitao, he had a tenacity in his bones and learned quickly. And he is very good at enforcing the rules and regulations. This is even more than Qi Qitao. Therefore, Liu Pei planned to transfer Wu Yizhou to the navy and master this huge force for him.

Wu Yizhou saluted as soon as he entered the door and said, "Family master, is there something wrong with me?" ”

Liu Pei motioned for him to sit down and asked, "I've heard you say before that you and your father went out to sea to fish, right?" ”

Wu Yizhou nodded and said: "Yes, at that time, there were many younger brothers and sisters in the family, and there was not enough food to eat, so I could only go to sea to fish to earn money." But it's all for the shipowner. ”

Liu Pei said: "Then your water nature should be good, right?" ”

Wu Yizhou grinned and said: "Begging for a life in the sea, where is the water quality bad!" The fishing boat is so small, and a big wave will sweep people in! If you don't fall into the water a few times when you go to sea, you will die long ago if the water is not good. ”

Liu Pei slapped his face and said, "Great! Now that we have a sea vessel, I'm going to organize a navy. I'm going to transfer you to take charge of the navy. What do you think? ”

Wu Yizhou thought for a while and said, "It should be no problem." But I used to be a boatman, and I didn't fight on the water. ”

Liu Pei said: "None of us here can fight a naval battle!" Just learn slowly. But I can give you a lot of books on the subject. And I thought about it, isn't there a sailor in Dengzhou? We can dig up some people who know naval warfare in the sailors and come back, and we can let them be your subordinates. You can learn slowly. And naval battles. To put it bluntly, that's what it's all about! The big ship wins the small boat, and the one with more guns wins the one with fewer guns! ”

Actually, naval battles are so simple there! There's a lot of doorway here! Liu Pei said this just to comfort Wu Yizhou. However, Wu Yizhou heard Liu Pei say this, so he said, "Okay then." I will listen to the head of the house. ”

Liu Pei said seriously: "You have to be mentally prepared, the navy is a very important part of my plan!" Our stalls are getting bigger and bigger, and the money is naturally getting less and less! The money from selling salt and perfume alone may not be enough. So I'm going to get involved in the sea trade. In that case, you have become very important here! The Navy will be more important than the Army for at least the next few years. And one more thing I need you to know is that from the time you go to sea, you can't use our banner anymore. You can only be a bunch of pirates! ”

Wu Yizhou was taken aback when he heard this, and said, "Will it be surrounded and suppressed by the government?" ”

Liu Pei pursed his lips and said, "Where is there a Ming sailor on the sea now?" I think we're getting bigger, and they can't even look at our eyes. ”

Liu Pei looked at Wu Yizhou's suspicious look, and decided to reveal a little more to him. He withdrew everyone and quietly told General Wu Yizhou about the first half of the naval plan. Rao is like this, Wu Yizhou is also dizzy to listen to!

From the next day, Wu Yizhou took the naval candidates selected by Liu Pei out to set up another camp. The camp is the one on the other side of the bay. Since today, the army and navy have been completely separated.

Wu Yizhou divided these young men into several teams, some helped build the trestle, some helped repair the sea boats, and some went out to sea with the fishing boats to fish. It's a busy day. A few days later, the pier was repaired, as were the sea vessels. Wu Yizhou set off with the fleet.

As a result, when he came back in the evening, Wu Yizhou came to Liu Pei's room with a sad face. He raised two eyebrows and said, "Master, we have a big problem here. ”

Liu Pei had already guessed that this might happen. After all, the Navy is a group that needs to work closely together. If there is a problem in any department or link, the ship will not be able to sail far, and it will not be able to fight. That's why there is a saying that there are ten years of army and one hundred years of navy.

Liu Pei put down the pen and asked, "What's wrong?" ”

Wu Yizhou said: "The brothers don't know how to sail. ”

Liu Pei was stunned when he heard this. It stands to reason that China's Chinese hard sail is the easiest sail to operate! The Chinese-style hard sail is a collection of thousands of years of experience of the ancestors, and is made of thin bamboo strips and wooden strips as the skeleton, which is the most convenient to operate. It can be lifted with only one pulley, which requires a small number of people and a short sail lifting time, making it especially suitable for offshore and river trade.

But there are drawbacks. Since the Chinese hard sail has only one support point, the sail area is limited, and the extensive use of bamboo and wood skeletons also limits the draft, so the speed is very slow, and the efficiency when sailing across the ocean is low, which is not suitable for ocean trade and exploration. In addition, the carrying capacity of the Chinese hard sail is also small, and it cannot be equipped with long guns for naval warfare, but only land warfare guns, and it cannot be equipped with a few, so it is not suitable for naval warfare. Finally, the hard sail can only be raised to the top, and the sail power cannot be adjusted according to the situation, which is not good for naval battles and crossing island groups.

In contrast, the advantages and disadvantages of Western-style soft sails are also obvious. A little bit of wind is strong, and there are many support points, so the sail area can be larger, and the speed and load have great advantages. In addition, even the soft sails on the same mast are one by one, and the sails can be adjusted according to the wind conditions, which is beneficial to the sea

Fight and dodge the reef. Also, if you encounter a small storm, you can drive slowly and safely.