After listening to Liu Zude's introduction, Liu Cheng couldn't help but be overjoyed: "Okay, you try two first, if it happens, I will be rewarded!" “

"Thank you, sir!" Liu Zude hurriedly knelt down and kowtowed. Liu Cheng stretched out his hand to help him up, and said with a smile: "But the ship also has to be built, you choose a suitable location, I will transfer a hundred soldiers to you, and I will start digging the dock tomorrow!" ”

"It doesn't have to be so troublesome!" Liu Zude smiled: "Do you remember the owner of the pole tied to the meat ticket I just said?" Although his factory ran out of water a few days ago, most of it is still there, and it can be started with a little repair! “

"Okay, why don't I talk to the county lord and buy that piece of land!" Liu Cheng smiled: "How far is it from here?" “

"It's not far, just walk six or seven miles upstream along the riverbank!"

"Okay, now let's go and see what it's like!"

Liu Cheng and his entourage marched along the river bank, only to see sparsely populated people on both sides of the way, overgrown with withered grass, although it was already late spring, but there were few traces of ploughing in the fields along the way, that is, occasionally a few farmers were working in the field, and they saw Liu Cheng and his party from a distance and fled into the grass in a panic, and they couldn't even shout back. Seeing this scene, Liu Cheng's face became more and more gloomy, and he couldn't help sighing: "Pi Huang is leaving, Pi Ji is a seedling." The line is vigorous, and the center is shaky. Those who know me say that I am worried; Those who do not know me say what I want. Who is this? Min Min on the side heard it puzzled and asked, "Liu Cheng, what are you reading just now?" Why does it sound so uncomfortable? “

"I just read the Book of Songs. A passage in "Wang Feng" means that in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, a Zhou doctor passed through the land of Zongzhou, saw that the palace of the old country had become a pastoral, remembered the prosperity of the old times, and couldn't bear to leave. So he wrote this poem: 'Here the millet is lush and multiplying, and the sorghum there is just sprouting. Walking on the old land slowly, the mind is uncertain and sorrowful. Those who understand me say that I am sorrowful in my heart. People who don't understand me ask me what I'm seeking. O heavenly god who is far away, what kind of person is this? ‘“

After listening to Liu Cheng's explanation. Min Min lowered his head, and only raised his head after half a sound: "I also understand the sorrow of the homeland, after the Huns were defeated by you Han people, didn't they also sing 'Lose my Qilian Mountain, so that my six animals will not rest.'" I have lost my mountains, and my women have no color. Some things are the same in every human being! “

"The loss of my Qilian Mountain will make my six animals restless. I have lost my mountains, and my women have no color. That's a good analogy! Liu Cheng laughed: "If you say so, your father Khan also wants to fight back to the Central Plains?" ”

"Not really!" Min Min shook his head: "It was the descendants of the Golden Family who entered the middle that year. Our ancestors in Errut were the 'people of the forest'. My father Khan wanted to unify the north and south of the Tianshan Mountains and the land of the Seven Rivers, and the Central Plains and us were separated by the Chahar people, which was very far away. Speaking of this, Min Min paused slightly: "But this kind of thing is also possible, when I was a child, I heard the master say that the human heart is the biggest thing in the world, and nothing can be filled, my Great Khan now only thinks about unifying the north and south of the Tianshan Mountains, but when he unifies the north and south of the Tianshan Mountains." Maybe I want to enter the Central Plains like Genghis Khan. ”

"Yes!" Liu Cheng sighed: "The most elusive thing in this world is the human heart, and no one knows what they will think in the next moment." Minmin, do you want your father Khan to fight the Central Plains? ”

"Naturally, I don't want to!" Min Min subconsciously replied: "If my father Khan fights with the Central Plains, I have to leave here." I'll never see you again! Speaking of this, she realized that she had actually said what she thought, and she couldn't help but be ashamed, and hurriedly turned her head. The white neck under the roots of the hair was already crimson.

After a long while, the girl turned her head and lowered her head and whispered, "Actually, I didn't mean that. It's just a shame that I can't learn those interesting things from you anymore. “

Seeing the girl's crimson cheeks, Liu Cheng didn't know that Min Min was just covering up, and he couldn't help but feel a tenderness in his heart, and said in a low voice: "It's okay, as long as you want to learn, I will always teach when you come." “

"Hmm!" Min Min nodded, she was usually rude and willful, but she was gentle and infinite at this time.

At this time, there was a shout from the front, and it turned out that he had already arrived at his destination. Liu Cheng jumped off the horse and walked over. It turned out that the shipyard was located at the confluence of a small river and the Yellow River. You can see that the outer walls of the shipyard are made of rammed earth, and there are still burn marks in many places. The ground in the shipyard is not paved with bricks, but there are obvious traces of rammed earth, although most of the tools have been lost or destroyed, but you can still see a lot of bamboo chips and shavings in the corners, and in the middle of the workshop are two platforms, one is fifteen or sixteen meters long, and the other is about ten meters. There are more than a dozen wooden piers on the surface of the two platforms, facing each other in pairs, Liu Cheng looked at it and didn't know why, so he asked Liu Zude: "What is this for?" ”

"Tell you, this is a platform used to house the hull of the ship under construction, and these piers are used to support the ship racks, and the craftsmen are also working underneath, and there is a slipway here." Liu Zude pointed to the end of the slipway and said, "After the boat is repaired, it will be pushed into the water along the slipway." ”

"So what is it?" Liu Cheng asked, pointing to two thick wooden stakes not far from the slipway that were deeply embedded in the soil.

"This is a bent wood ox, and there are places on the ship where bent wood must be used. I bake the wood softly, bend it between the two stakes, and when it cools, the wood will become what I need! ”

"Hmmm! The wisdom of the ancient working people was indeed infinite, and such a large ship could be built with such a rudimentary tool! Liu Cheng muttered to himself in a low voice, he looked at the situation around him, and suddenly asked, "Master Liu, I want to build twelve fast boats, I don't know how long it will take you?" ”

"This-" Liu Zude's face showed a sad color: "There are no materials, no ship samples, no tools or anything, small ones-"

"It's okay, I already have the style of the ship here, you can see if there is anything to change!" Liu Cheng slapped his palms, Wang Xingguo, who had been following closely behind him, presented a painting scroll with both hands, Liu Cheng walked to a slipway, swept away the dust and sawdust on the platform, unfolded the painting scroll, and said with a smile: "Master Liu, please look!" ”

Liu Zude poked his head curiously and couldn't help but take a deep breath. Originally, there were three perspective drawings of a boat depicting the structure and shape of a boat from three angles: front, side, and top, and the length, width, and height of the ship were indicated in Arabic numerals. Even though Liu Zude, like most craftsmen at the time, was illiterate and illiterate, he could easily see the shape and structure of the ship, which was still on paper, and with years of experience, he was even able to use his imagination to draw the shape of the ship with its slender hull in his mind.

"How, can you make it?" There was a hint of uneasiness hidden under Liu Cheng's smile, this picture was the result of his six or seven nights of hard work, thanks to the strict requirements of the teacher in the drawing class in college. Liu Cheng was able to complete this arduous work in Daming, which did not have CAD software. If a modern person sees Liu Cheng's work, he will definitely recognize what it is - a long and narrow hull, curved bow and stern, ribs on both sides of the ship are high, there is no deck, this is a Viking longship. It's not that Liu Cheng is a Viking fan, but he knows almost nothing about ancient Chinese ships, and it just so happens that he has seen the structure of a Viking longship once, and this type of ship also meets all his requirements. The middle and upper reaches of the Yellow River are not very navigable. There are many shoals, the river is turbulent, there are many whirlpools, and the river section is unpredictable. That's why there is a saying that "thirty years in Hedong, forty years in Hexi". Viking ships, on the other hand, have shallow drafts, fast speeds, high seaworthiness, and light weight. The ancient Vikings could even carry a boat and cross the watershed into another river. As for the ability to fight water, Liu Cheng planned to use it to deal with the peasant army crossing the river and the thieves on both sides of the river. You don't need too much firepower. The most important thing is that the manufacturing process is simple, even those Viking barbarians in the 7th century AD can make it, presumably these craftsmen under their own hands should not have much of a problem.

"Your Excellency, forgive your sins!" Liu Zude scratched his head and laughed a little embarrassedly: "My lord, I've seen this drawing method for the first time, and the villain is a little fascinated by it!" ”

"Is this a good way to draw?" Liu Cheng asked.

"The adult's method is naturally good! Even a fool can see how this ship was built. Speaking of this, Liu Zude had a wry smile on his face: "It's just that if we continue like this, I'm afraid we craftsmen will have no way to live." ”

"How dare you be so rude, a slave?" Min Min on the side asked, the girl was a little irritated by Liu Zude's answer, she pointed at Liu Cheng and said: "Liu Cheng It took so much effort to draw this picture, how could it make you have no way to live, if you don't tell me today, I will let you hang you on a tree and whip a hundred whips?" ”

"Minmin, don't be angry!" Liu Cheng stretched out his hand to stop Min Min, and reached out to help Liu Zude, who was already paralyzed on the ground: "Don't be afraid, this Min Min Beiji is the most kind-hearted, just to scare you, don't take it seriously." ”

When Min Min heard Liu Cheng say that she was good, her heart couldn't help but feel sweet, but her face was cold: "I don't need you Liu Cheng to say good things for me, Lao'er, you can quickly make your words clear, if what you say is reasonable, it's fine, otherwise you don't want to escape this hundred whips." “

Liu Cheng saw Liu Zude slumped on the ground, sighed and said, "Minmin, why don't you let me say it for him." “

"You're not that old man, how can you know what he's thinking?"

"Although I am not Master Liu, I also know the truth of pushing myself and others." The corners of Liu Cheng's mouth showed a wry smile, and he turned his head to Liu Zude and asked, "Master Liu, I'm worried that if my method of drawing spreads, your method of shipbuilding will be worthless, and your life will be lost?" ”

As soon as Liu Cheng's words fell, Liu Zude kowtowed again and again: "The adult is really clever, and please spare the villain's life, the villain will definitely do his best to build a ship for the adult!" ”

Looking at Liu Zude, who was kowtowing on the ground, Liu Cheng sighed, as a science student from later generations, he could empathize with the mood of this Ming Dynasty craftsman at this time, what could make them more frightened than technological progress eliminating the livelihood plan that spent half a lifetime of hard work to make a living worthless? A big nobleman like Min Min, who shouted that he was born with a golden key, was difficult to understand even if he was smart, he took a step forward and stretched out his hand to help Liu Zude up from the ground: "Master Liu, as long as you work hard, I will rely on you more in the future, why should you worry?" If you are willing, I am willing to teach you this drawing method. ”

"Is that true?"

"It's hard to chase after the big husband's words, so many people here have heard them, how can I talk and not count?" Liu Cheng laughed: "But I also have a condition, tomorrow I will shoot a hundred people to come here to help you build a shipyard, and after the shipyard is repaired, you will do things in the factory, and you must not hide anything from them!" ”

Looking at Liu Cheng's kind smile, Liu Zude gritted his teeth and said, "Okay, adults treat villains like this, and villains can only repay desperately." “

"Good!" Liu Cheng smiled: "Take the wine!" He took the wine bag and two large bowls from Wang Xingguo, and filled them respectively. He picked up a bowl, handed another bowl to Liu Zude, touched it gently, and said with a smile: "Come on, drink it!" “

Liu Zude was a little overwhelmed and brought the wine bowl to his mouth, and poured the wine into his mouth stiffly, the spicy taste made him cough violently, Liu Cheng, who had finished drinking, gently patted his back and asked, "Is the wine too strong, but are you still used to drinking?" “

"It's not strong, it's used to drinking!" Liu Zude hurriedly replied, he closed his eyes, and poured the remaining wine in the bowl, perhaps because of the stimulation of the wine, two lines of hot tears flowed from his eyes.

"Good!" Liu Cheng slammed the wine bowl to the ground and said loudly: "This is the shipyard of our Yansui Army's left battalion, and you Liu Zude is the head of my Liu Cheng's shipyard, within a month, I will see the first warship launched!" “

On the way back to the city, Liu Cheng seemed very excited, and he planned to transfer the more than 2,000 strong men who were still staying in Juzhou here when he went back. Liu Cheng did not intend to integrate these strong men into the army, in his opinion it was too wasteful, and these strong men who had learned to obey orders and work together in previous projects were the best seeds of workers. Compared with the transportation of the Chaoyi in Juzhou, the wool, leather, copper, coal, pig iron, iron ore, and copper of Shanxi can all be easily transported here, and Liu Cheng plans to build his own textile factory, iron and steel factory, forging factory, military factory, and shipyard here, and he believes that as long as there are three to five years, he will be able to establish an industrial base that can provide enough military supplies for tens of thousands of troops. (To be continued.) )