Li Yuanjing's suggestion made Li Shimin feel somewhat feasible.

If Datang's steel production is sufficient, he won't have too many problems building these warships.

Of course, Li Shimin also sees another benefit.

Collecting a lot of ore, smelting steel, building ships, and making other things can provide a lot of jobs.

To develop the economy, these jobs are very important and sustainable.

It's not like building roads, although it seems that there are roads that can't be built, but one day they will be completed, and the imperial court can't just rely on road construction to develop the economy, so the speed is inevitably too slow.

Nothing was said all night, and the next morning was unspoken.

Li Shimin saw the legendary battleship of the Tang Emperor.

Some areas of the battleship have begun to rust, adding a touch of gloom to the otherwise mighty battleship.

But this did not affect the mighty and domineering spirit of this battleship, standing in front of this battleship, Li Shimin was still excited and couldn't do it.

Next, Li Yuanjing found another target ship, and then did the same thing that he took Li Chengqian to do that day.

Although he already knew something, when he really experienced it, he was still shocked that Li Shimin couldn't do it.

And at this moment, he also understood the reason why Li Yuanjing insisted on building a steel fleet, with these fleets, Datang was almost invincible at sea.

Unless someone can build a warship that is even more advanced than the Tang Dynasty, but is this possible?

Even if it is a powerful Tang Dynasty, if you want to build this kind of warship, you still need to tighten your belt to build one, and Li Shimin does not believe that other countries have the ability to build such a warship.

"After this voyage, the battleship will return to the dock for maintenance and repair, and according to the situation of the underwater part, it is estimated that it will take about two months to maintain." Standing on the deck of the Tang Emperor, Li Yuanjing said calmly.

For the first time, everyone was not experienced, and Li Yuanjing was constantly groping.

Every day, people dive underwater to observe the underwater part of the battleship, and in recent times there has been more and more attachment on the underwater deck, and it is also obvious that the speed has decreased, so it is time for maintenance.

At this point, it has been exactly seven months since the launch of the Tang Emperor.

It is not a long time, but it is not unacceptable, if Datang's steel production capacity is enough, it can completely place four fleets on the mainland.

Three fleets are stationed in three different ports as permanent fleets, and one is used as a mobile fleet.

According to the average frequency of maintenance once every seven months, the fleet will directly drive the mobile fleet to replace it if it needs maintenance, and always keep the three fleets in operational condition.

Considering that technologies such as coatings are also improving, Li Yuanjing has reason to believe that in the near future, the maintenance time will be extended to a year, or even longer.

"How to maintain? Is it possible to bring it ashore? Li Shimin couldn't help but be a little curious.

"It must be moved up, otherwise the underwater part will not be easy to handle." Li Yuanjing smiled and directly ordered the warship to return.

Coming to the dock, Li Yuanjing directly took Li Shimin to the dock.

How to lift the battleship is a big problem, but it is not difficult to solve it with your brain.

The water under the dock has been drained, and the brackets used to support the battleship have been placed in advance by the workers, and there is no water in the dock at the moment.

"The bracket is placed in advance, and then the water is released, and the warship is directly driven to a fixed position, and then the gate is closed, and the water is pumped out, so that the warship can naturally fall on the bracket, and then it can be cleaned up." Li Yuanjing said calmly.

There is nothing to look at in this process, and there is nothing too difficult, just some physical work, brush the paint after cleaning, and wait for it to dry naturally.

Of course, what Li Yuanjing didn't say is.

Craftsmen who studied paint found that a treated paint was effective in preventing build-up, so I decided to test it this time.

Next, Li Yuanjing directly took Li Shimin to see the newly built warship.

Although the two are roughly the same, they are also very different.

The Tang Emperor gives people the feeling that it is bulky and thick.

The new warship, on the other hand, has a slim and sporadic feel, and there are quite a few reserved positions for weapons that have not yet been installed, so they look a lot empty at the moment.

Coming here, Li Yuanjing finally said his purpose.

"This is the flagship of the future, this is a test ship, and it is also a finalized ship, which is basically coming to an end, and it will be tested in the next month, and it can be delivered with weapons installed.

The younger brother planned to start the construction of the remaining warships immediately, three battleships that were only one-third the size of the body, three battleships about the size of a thousand stones, and a supply ship, the tonnage of the supply ship might be larger, but the iron used would not exceed that of the Tang Emperor. Li Yuanjing said directly.

"How long?" Li Shimin frowned and asked, he knew very well in his heart that this was the fleet that Li Yuanjing had prepared for him.

Li Yuanjing's going to sea has been delayed again and again, and the reason for this is that he does not have a favorite ship, and now that Li Yuanjing has spoken, he must have a definite plan.

Although Li Shimin felt sorry for those materials, letting Li Yuanjing go out was not necessarily a good thing for him.

"The construction of one thousand-ton and three 500-ton warships will be completed this year, as well as the keel laying task of the supply ship, and the construction of the remaining two thousand-ton and supply ships will be completed next year.

And at that time, the younger brother estimated that Datang's steel production capacity had also fully risen, and perhaps when the younger brother came back, Datang would already have a fleet! Li Yuanjing said with a smile.

Li Shimin frowned deeply, that is to say, in the next six months, half of Datang's annual steel will be given to Li Yuanjing.

Or to put it more directly, in the next six months, all the steel output of Datang will be Li Yuanjing's, so what else is the court playing?

Li Shimin was a little embarrassed, but due to the lack of resources, he still had to pull down his face to bargain.

As a result, the three thousand-ton warships requested by Li Yuanjing were cut into one, and the number of 500-ton warships was increased by one to four, and the supply ships remained unchanged, and the total tonnage was reduced by 1,500 tons.

Li Yuanjing blew a little depressed, what kind of temper do you have?

Although 500 tons does not look small, it is really not big, this thing is not even a ship, it can only be regarded as a boat.

However, considering the threat of the enemy in this era, Li Yuanjing thought about it and forgot it, if it was too big, it was only for pretending, and if it was really fighting, a 500-ton boat would be enough.

You can also go down a hole in a thousand stone ships.

Li Yuanjing thought about it, and simply didn't want the 1,000-ton ones, and directly started building six 500-ton ones and one supply ship.

Of course, Li Shimin readily agreed, so the two warships and supply ships were scheduled to start construction immediately this year, and the construction of the remaining four ships would begin next year, and the time to go to sea would still be the beginning of the 13th year of Zhenguan, and there would still be a year and a half before now.