Hearing this, Li Jing already knew that Boss Zhang was an expert who knew ships, not only understanding the ships of the Ming Dynasty, but also really and systematically understanding the evolution process of Western ships. Li Jing has a more detailed understanding of the development of sailing from the book "Sailing Development and Navigation Technology", but it is indeed not easy for Zhang Boss to say this, and there are not many people who know this knowledge in this era.

Li Jing felt that Boss Zhang was a useful talent, and he could focus on cultivating it and popularize Western knowledge for him. So he said: "I know these things better, and you will understand it when I say it briefly, that the Franciscans we call are in the westernmost part of our continent, and we are in the easternmost part of our continent, and their territory is called Europe, and our land is called Asia, and there is a Muslim Islamic region in between. The continent is 30,000 miles long from the easternmost to the westernmost point. On our side, only the Mongols under Genghis Khan have ever been to their eastern frontier. ”

"The territory of the Francois is about the same size as the Ming Dynasty and the vassal states. They are not just a country, nor a race, they can probably be divided into, Germanic, Latino, Slavic and Celtic peoples, but they all believe in a generally consistent religion, this religion in the Tang Dynasty we called Nestorianism, and now the Jesuits who are active in Guangzhou and other places are believers in this religion. But in the course of its development, this religion evolved into three sects, namely Protestantism, Catholicism and Orthodoxy. ”

"There are four main ethnic forces in the middle of the I/Slan region, one is the Great Cannibal, which is now called the Arabs. One is the Turkic people, who migrated from the eastern and western Turks in China during the Tang Dynasty, and established a large empire called Turkey there, much larger than the Ming Dynasty. The Ming Dynasty called them the Lumi Country, and the Lumi Gun in our hands was passed down from their country. The third is the Persians, whom we used to call to rest. These people also converted to Islam. The fourth is the natives of many islands in the South Seas, who spread Islam when the Three Treasure Eunuchs went to the West 200 years ago. These people you have been in Nanyang for many years. should have been exposed".

Boss Zhang nodded, "I know this, there are many small countries over there, the lord is called the Sultan, and they believe in Islam. ”

"About 120 years ago, what we called the Francophiles were actually just two countries on a peninsula at the southernmost tip of the European continent, Portugal and Spain. They began to improve their sailing ships and sailed to Daming and Dongying, exploring routes step by step, and came to us mainly for trade. These people are Latinos, or they are of mixed Arab, Germanic and Latino descent. ”

Li Jing continued: "Let's continue to talk about sailboats, I won't repeat what you said very clearly before, I'll start with the Kirk boat, this paragraph is not clear to you." ”

"Because the Kirk ship was equipped with a main mast that was much taller than that of the Viking longship, it was possible to hang larger and more sails, and it was no longer necessary to be assisted by human paddling, so the oars were simply eliminated, so the crew was greatly reduced, the endurance was significantly extended, the personnel costs were greatly reduced, and the cargo space was greatly increased, all of which made the cost of maritime trade lower, making long-distance maritime trade feasible and business opportunities. This is the real reason for the rise of the Kirk ship. ”

"In order to deal with the robbing pirates, they raised the stern of the ship so that they could shoot off the pirates with condescending arrows, so that in order to maintain balance, they had to raise the first floor at the same time, so that the shape of the two high schools bottomed out.

"The Portuguese produced a brilliant man, a prince named Enrique, who quickly realised that the spinnaker was a very promising shape, requiring less steering manpower and being more dexterous and easy to steer, so he built a small two-masted galleon, the so-called Latin sailing ship, which is what you just call the Caravel ship.

The biggest advantage of this kind of boat is that it requires less manpower, less people consume, less consumption, no need to worry about running out of food and drinking water, so that the endurance can be extended, and the light hull and flexible spinnaker are paired with sailing, which is also more able to cope with the complex sea conditions that can change.

Later, in order to enhance the ability to resist rough sea conditions and at the same time strengthen the ability to sail the sea, the bow and stern parts of the ship began to be raised to resist wind and waves, and the hull was greatly extended, so that the space was increased, so the Caravel ship was increased from two masts to three masts, and the mast was also greatly increased. There are also people who change the spinnaker to a crosssail, which is the kind of quadrangular sail you are talking about.

But after all, this kind of sailing ship could not become the main force of sailing on the open sea, and the problem was that the cargo hold was too small. If it takes two or three years to sail the ship to the Ming Dynasty, but there is not enough silk, porcelain and tea to return to Europe, no merchant will be willing to do it. In the end, the successor to the Carrack was replaced ——— Spanish galleon, the Franco-manipulator you are talking about.

Boss Zhang agreed: "It's useless to sail far, businessmen want to make money, who is willing to brave the wind and waves at sea if they don't make money." I kind of understand how the Spanish galleon came out. ”

"Looking at the Kirk ship as a whole, there are actually three types of ships: the Caravel, the Clipper, and the Caraver, which you just highlighted. These three types of ships continued to develop, and each developed a new type. The Caravel developed the inshore gunboat, the kind of small ship you often see in Batavia with gunboats and muzzle covers. If it cannot be loaded, it will be used for port and offshore patrol. Clippers developed out of cruisers. I will focus on the Karak ship, which developed the Spanish galleon. This line is the most formidable enemy we are facing now.