Liu Cun left Tobu City and rushed to Huangdao again, which was like a huge construction site, and this time he wanted to check not the rows of houses in the west of Huangdao, not the tens of thousands of acres of fields reclaimed around the ten-mile radius of the city, but the construction progress of the natural haven and large shipyards in the north of Huangdao, so as to find a suitable base for the construction of a base camp for his naval army.

Surrounded by the sea, Huangdao was not connected to the land at this time, so Liu Cun dismounted and walked onto the water plank road ten zhang wide and one mile long, stopped in the plank road, carefully inspected the solid base built with huge stones on the edge of the plank road, clapped his hands and praised several craftsmen behind him with satisfaction, and then looked at the shipbuilding workshop and large dock built in the same way two miles away.

"What are the results of the water measurements for the past two months?" Liu Cun looks at the natural harbor surrounded by long and narrow islands.

Qi Qing, the general manager of the shipbuilding workshop, said in a rich Xuzhou accent: "At the lowest tide level, the water depth in front of the wharf and the surrounding waters is six meters five, and the water depth is seven meters eight at the most advanced position, and the entire bay is very gentle regardless of the ebb and flow of the tide. Even if a giant ship with a load of 1,000 tons is built in the future, the existing wharf and the eight docks under construction will be sufficient, but if it is not enough, it is enough to build a deep-water wharf a mile long at the foot of the crescent-shaped hill on the inner side of the entrance to the bay ahead, which is also unaffected by waves and winds. ”

Liu Cun raised his head, looked up at the anti-C-shaped hill that stretched from north to south for more than ten miles, and then looked at the calm harbor surrounded by the hill and the land, and it was difficult to decide where to build the base camp of the naval army for a while.

Forty-two-year-old Qi Qing seemed to see Liu Cun's thoughts, and pointed to the stretching hill on the east side of the wharf under construction on the inner side of the bay: "Does the Lord see hundreds of people logging on that mountain?" ”

Liu Cun looked intently: "See, what's wrong?" ”

Qi Qing replied: "According to the measurement results of the nine disciples of the Lord, the hill stretches for three and a half miles, the highest peak is as high as one hundred and sixty meters, there are seventeen springs of all sizes on the mountain, two of which have the largest amount of water, flowing to the wharf The fifteen-meter-wide creek is nearly one meter and five deep, mainly thanks to the two large springs, the stream makes a big bend about one and a half miles behind the wharf, where the terrain is higher, and the radius of three miles is relatively flat, and the subordinates originally wanted to build a carpentry workshop and a few rows of warehouses in that place, but later found that there are not many big trees cut down to build big boats. So I am still hesitating, if the Lord can use it, if it is more convenient to build a barracks, you can directly mine the stone at the foot of the mountain. ”

Liu Cun was overjoyed: "Go!" Show me. ”

An hour later, the base camp of the Langya Navy was finally determined, and Liu Chuan had a big concern, and sent someone to Zongcheng to inform the master craftsman Huo Jian, and pulled Qi Qing to leave Huangdao together, and rushed to the Zhushan Wharf in the south along the wide and flat coastal official road.

Xu Sheng was the first time to take the official coastal road, riding a horse across the continuous rice fields, passing through the new villages with red bricks and gray tiles and strong bridges, seeing countless hard-working farmers and a little fish sail on the blue sea, the shock in his heart could not be described in words, after running out of thirty miles, he couldn't care about the dust and smoke in his face, and opened his throat and asked Qin Yi, who was neck and neck: "Brother Qin, how many homeless people are placed on the side of the avenue?" ”

"Twenty-five villages, almost 40,000 people!" Qin Yi replied loudly.

"Can you all have enough to eat?" Xu Sheng asked again.

Qin Yi laughed: "Didn't you see the rice on the side of the road and the fishing boats in the sea?" In another month, everyone can eat enough, harvest rice and then plant winter wheat, and then fish, life will be better, next year these 40,000 fathers and villagers will be able to support themselves, and the Lord will rest assured, these few months 40,000 mouths to eat, dress and build a house, no one starved to death, all from the Lord's money bag, haha! ”

Xu Sheng finally understood why the lord Liu Cun was worried about money all day long, and he didn't ask anymore at the moment, silently looking at Liu Cun who was fluttering on the back of the horse in front of him, and felt that the lord was so heroic and majestic.

After the golden autumn sun slowly disappeared into Dazhu Mountain, the sea surface was sparkling and returning to the sails, Xu Sheng, who turned over and dismounted, did not have time to wipe the dust on his face, and followed Liu Cun into the neat camp on the side of the big wharf, and six young officers wearing infantry leather armor strode up to greet Liu Cun in unison.

"Excuse me, you Bao Duwei haven't come back from Jizhou yet?" Liu Cun asked as he walked.

"It is estimated that on the way, the fleet will be able to sail downwind after passing Dongmu Point, and it will be able to come back in two days at most." Liu Cun's seventeen-year-old disciple, Mu Heng, replied loudly.

Liu Cun walked to the edge of the military dock, looked at the dozen or so small wooden sailing boats with oar rudder training at sea, turned around and looked at the dark and thin disciples one by one: "Are you tired?" ”

The youngest of the disciples was only fifteen years old, and when they saw the familiar smile of the master, they all smiled embarrassedly, and finally the eldest Mu Heng came out and replied: "Tired, but it's worth it!" In the past three months, the students have learned a lot of things, surveying and mapping the coast for 200 miles, and the places that were not understood in the surveying and mapping basics taught by the master before have gradually understood in the continuous field surveys and calculations, and they have also transformed the base of the large ship-borne bed crossbow with the junior disciples, which has been recognized by Captain Bao Du and the master craftsman, and will be able to start learning to sail with the fleet next month. ”

Liu Cun was very satisfied: "Well done! The six of you and the nine brothers who surveyed and mapped in Xiaozhu Mountain are the first batch of officer cadets of our navy, and in a few years you will be navigators, navigators, first officers of battleships and even captains, as I said at the establishment ceremony of the navy three months ago, you not only pinned my hopes, but also pinned on the hopes of the entire country and nation, the sea is very vast, this place is just the starting point for you to conquer the sea and conquer foreign races, so don't be afraid of tiredness, don't complain, be determined to go on, you will become the heroes of my Han nation! ”

"Thank you Master for your teachings!" The six teenagers stood solemnly and shouted in unison, their eyes flashing with a fiery light.

Liu Cun nodded: "I will stay here for seven days, and I have already asked people to inform your other nine senior brothers, from tomorrow, every afternoon, I will check your academic progress and martial arts, and then teach you, as long as the sea conditions allow in the evening, I will board the ship with you and go to sea, using the secret astrology of the master of the Mo family and the simple sextant I designed, to observe the crape myrtle constellation and the Big Dipper constellation, and then calculate the location according to the observation value, etc., the time is very tight, only seven days, The two master craftsmen and I can only teach you some basic surveying and mapping methods and calculation formulas, hoping that you will understand them on your own in your daily training and gradually improve after mastering them. ”

The six teenagers cheered with joy, and the steady Mu Heng hurriedly scolded in a low voice.

Liu Cun waved his hand to show that it didn't matter, and took Qin Yi and Xu Sheng to the shipbuilding workshop next door, even if he didn't sleep tonight, Liu Cun would set the blueprint for the construction of the Huangdao base camp of the navy, and now the navy is too weak, Liu Cun can't wait.

In the evening, Huo Jian, the master craftsman who arrived first, and the design team led by two senior apprentices joined Liu Cun to have a final discussion on the newly designed 300-ton modified warship.

With the unfolding of drawings one by one, combined with the refined ship model placed on the square table of 20 to 1, Liu Cun, Huo Jian and others carried out intense arguments on the battleship in front of them that was improved from a 300-ton cargo ship, from the ratio of length and width to the design of the pointed bow and stern, from the overall keel of more than 20 meters long to the arrangement of the four main and auxiliary masts, from the splicing process of the pear wood plank to the structure of the thirteen watertight cabins, etc., all had in-depth and detailed discussions.

If it weren't for the extremely detailed series of drawings drawn by Huo Jian's two high-ranking apprentices, and a large amount of leeway, the shipbuilding materials used were all the best century-old rare wood, and he had a high evaluation of the new warship that Liu Cun participated in designing, and he had great confidence in a large number of exquisite stainless steel nails, special metal fasteners and advanced construction techniques summed up, Liu Cun probably would not dare to make a decision on the construction.

After all, such an ocean-going warship that cost nearly 200 catties of gold to carry more than 120 officers and soldiers is too expensive, and there is no precedent to follow before, although the shipbuilding technology of the Han Dynasty has reached a considerable height, but all the warships built are large building ships sailing on the river, or paddle-type small clippers that travel to and from the offshore waters, these ships are flat-bottomed boats, the length-to-width ratio is about 2.5 must be one, and the structure is very different from the sharp-bottomed Fu ship that is more suitable for ocean-going navigation, so Liu Cun must not be cautious.

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