Su Hao obediently paid 80 taels of silver, Tian Daohan accepted it unceremoniously, without even making a receipt, and then called the old servant in the backyard and asked him to take Su Hao and Li Zhen to find the craftsman.

Walking on the road, Su Hao tried to find a topic to chat with the old servant, wanting to cover Tian Daohan's matter from his mouth, but found that this old servant really deserved to be a loyal servant, everything Su Hao asked, he shook his head and said that he didn't know, but he didn't leak at all.

The place where the craftsmen lived was also within the shipyard, and they were divided into four compartments according to the occupation of the craftsmen, each with ten jia and ten jia households, reflecting the ruler's pursuit of uniformity in the early Ming Dynasty. However, as Cai Guozhu introduced, the original artisan households have become several households due to the separation of their children. The separated families had no housing and had to build temporary structures in the vacant spaces of their original settlements. After a long time, the original pattern of the residential area has been completely broken, and what appeared in front of Su Hao and Li Zhen was just a chaotic shantytown.

"Tian Bo is here!"

"Uncle Tian, will you come to my house for dinner at noon?"

"Brother Tian, what kind of work do you have this time, can you take care of my family?"

As soon as Su Hao and his entourage walked into the artisan residential area, there were craftsmen in twos and threes who greeted Tian Daohan's old servant. The old servant smiled slightly, returned the salute to everyone, and then turned his head to Su Hao and said: "Shopkeeper Su, the craftsmen of our shipyard live in this area, you see what kind of craftsmen you want, and wait for the old slave to help you find it." ”

"Don't worry, Uncle Tian, let's talk to the masters first, okay?" Su Hao asked.

Tian Bo hesitated for a moment and said, "If you want to hire people, just hire people, it's useless to talk more here." My master still has things to do with the old slave, and the old slave can't stay with you for too long. ”

Su Hao said: "Uncle Tian, if we want to hire people, we have to understand whose craftsmanship is good and whose craftsmanship is poor, right?" We paid the money, and Lord Tian didn't say that we couldn't try the depth of the masters. ”

"This ......" Tian Bo was obviously not very good at debating, and he was speechless when Su Hao said this. After a pause, he said: "Since the shopkeeper Su wants to ask the craftsmen about the depth, then you can ask, the old slave is here to accompany you." ”

Su Hao knew that Tian Bo was worried that he was inquiring about the secrets of the shipyard among the craftsmen, so he had to stay and supervise. He didn't actually have such thoughts, so it didn't matter whether Tian Bo stayed or not.

After getting Tian Bo's permission, Su Hao walked to the door of a craftsman's house, sat down on the stone bench, and said to the craftsmen watching next to him: "Masters, in Xia Sutian, I am here to hire craftsmen to build ships, who among you knows how to build ships best?" ”

Everyone looked at each other, and an old craftsman stepped forward and said, "Shopkeeper Su asked this strangely, we are a shipyard, so naturally everyone knows how to build ships." ”

"That's right, we've all built ships for generations!" Everyone responded in unison.

"Uh...... I mean, do you know the overall structure of a sea ship here, for example, how to build a sea ship of 2,000 materials, can anyone explain? Su Hao said.

The old craftsman nodded and said, "You're talking about the head of the craftsman, right?" Lao Er is a master craftsman, and I know a little bit about this shipbuilding and cutting. ”

"Then tell me what the structure of a 2,000-material sea ship looks like." Su Hao asked tentatively.

The old craftsman said: "This old man asked strangely, sea ships and sea ships are not the same, there are foreign boats, there are wind boats, there are building ships, wave boats, different ships, the system is different, it depends on what the old man wants to do with the shipbuilding." ”

"Then tell me about this vessel." Su Hao said with a smile.

"The length of the two thousand materials is six feet and eight feet, the head is one foot long, the tip is one foot long, the tip is one foot and one foot wide, the bottom is seven feet wide, the bottom is six feet wide, the beam head is sixteen, the Longkou beam is one foot and two feet wide, and the depth is five feet...... The old craftsman talked eloquently, and a string of data seemed to be placed in front of him, casually reported, accurate to the inch.

Su Hao turned his head to look at the others, only to see that everyone nodded frequently, with a smile on their faces, obviously agreeing with what the old craftsman said. Su Hao waited for the old craftsman to come to an end, and then asked: "The master said it too well, so can the master understand the things used on the ship?" ”

The old craftsman pointed to the craftsman next to him and said, "The things on the ship, you have to ask them, master, there is a specialization in the art industry, and the old man doesn't dare to say that he understands." ”

Seeing the old craftsman raise his head, everyone around him also talked about his profession:

"The canopy is folded into pieces, sandwiched with bamboo strips, folded one by one, so that the ...... can be hung"

"The rudder rod of the sea ship must be made of ironwood, and ordinary wood is easy to decay and cannot be used......"

"Ship ash should be mixed with fish oil and tung oil......"

Everyone talked very lively, and there was no lack of showing off their knowledge in order to be hired by Su Hao to work. Su Hao was inexplicably moved in his heart, and Cai Guozhu talked about the inheritance of technology to him, which was verified by the craftsmen. He knew that until this time, China's shipbuilding technology was still the world's top, and if it were not for the seclusion that lasted for hundreds of years, it would not be those foreigners who would cross the ocean in later generations, but hardworking and intelligent Chinese.

"What I asked you just now is a 2,000-material ship. Dare to ask everyone, if it is a big ship of 6,000 materials, do you dare to build it? Su Hao continued to ask.

"Six thousand materials!" The old craftsman was stunned for a moment, and there was clearly some mist in his eyes, "Master is saying that the kind of big treasure ship that the Three Treasures sat on in the West?" ”

"Exactly." Su Hao said.

"Sir, where did you come from? These 6,000 sea ships are forbidden by the imperial court, and whoever dares to disobey will be killed. The old craftsman said sneeringly.

Su Hao was about to say something, when he suddenly saw a young man running in the distance, he came to everyone panting, and he didn't look at Su Hao, but shouted to a few of the craftsmen: "Chen Laosan, Li Er, Wang Wu, let me call you, go to Qizuotang and brush the two hundred big materials all over the tung oil." ”

"Brush tung oil? What's the matter, the lifting lord got the money again? The craftsman named Chen Laosan asked.

"Got the money, got the money." The young man said, "Master Tiju said, this time the silver is enough, and you can brush up all the two hundred pieces of material that you owe last time." ”

"Silver?" Su Hao's heart froze, and he vaguely guessed something, he pulled the young man and asked, "Excuse me, what did you just say about brushing tung oil?" ”

The young man glanced at Su Hao, not knowing his origin, so naturally he didn't want to say anything. Tian Bo hesitated beside him, wanting to stop Su Hao from inquiring about things, but he didn't speak.

However, the old craftsman sighed and said: "This matter has nothing to do with the guest officer, it is the big timber that our shipyard pulled back from Nanyang in the early years, and it will have to be applied with tung oil every three or five times, or it will all rot." I heard that the imperial court didn't care about these things, and didn't allocate money to come down. After the successive directors of our shipyard took office, they had to find ways to get money and maintain the wood. ”

"So that's ......" Su Hao only felt that there was something blocking his throat and eyes, making him speechless. He stood up and said, "Guys, can you take it down and see the wood?" ”

The wood in the shipyard is not a secret, and the craftsmen naturally will not hinder Su Hao from visiting. Tian Bo subconsciously felt that something was wrong, but he was a domestic servant and had never dared to call the shots, so he made a few noises in his mouth, but he was not able to stop Su Hao.

The old craftsman led the way in front, and Su Hao and Li Zhen followed, and together with all the craftsmen, they came to the Qizuotang mentioned by the young man before, which is equivalent to the No. 7 dock of the shipyard. Next to the dock, there were piles of timber like hills, the longest of which was hundreds of meters, which showed the great ambition of the people to conquer the sea.

When Su Hao and the others arrived, there was already a group of craftsmen busy working. Using all kinds of simple machinery, they hoisted the timbers one by one, put them on shelves, and then carried oil drums and carefully brushed the tung oil on the wood. From a distance, you can see that the wood is as clean as ever, and it is clear that it has been well maintained all along. Tiju Tian Daohan was dressed in civilian clothes, patrolling back and forth among the craftsmen with his hands behind his back, and there was actually a shallow smile on the rigid face of Su Hao and them before.

Hearing the movement of someone coming, Tian Daohan turned his head to look, and when he saw Su Hao and Li Zhen walking with the craftsmen, his face sank as soon as he brushed the ground. He turned back to one of the soldiers beside him and said, "Go, stop those two merchants for me, and don't let them come near Zuotang." ”

The Lifting Division is also a first-class yamen, although it is down, there are still a few soldiers who listen to the errand. When the soldier heard the order, he picked up his spear and trotted all the way to Su Hao and the others, stopped the road with a tiger face and shouted: "Stop, lift so that you can't get close to Zuotang." ”

Su Hao and Li Zhen stood down, and Tian Bo, who was following them, felt derelict in his duty and hurriedly ran towards Tian Daohan. Su Hao saw that Tian Bo ran to Tian Daohan, Tian Daohan glared and said something to Tian Bo, presumably reprimanding him, and then, Tian Bo turned around and stumbled back.

"Two guest officers, my lord said, if you find a craftsman, please go back, make a pond and a heavy land, and idlers are not allowed to enter." Tian Bo said angrily to Su Hao and Li Zhen.

Su Hao said: "Uncle Tian, please say a word to Lord Tian, just say that he has something to say to him, and he will know as soon as he hears it." ”

Tian Bodao: "Guest officer, please go back." My lord said that these timbers are the property of the imperial court, so don't make up your mind. If you continue to pester, everyone will not look good. ”

Su Hao smiled slightly, took out an object wrapped in red cloth from his arms, handed it to Tian Bo, and said, "Tian Bo, you take this thing to your master, if he still doesn't see us after seeing it, we will leave immediately." ”

Tian Bo didn't know what to do, and he couldn't resist Su Hao, so he took the object and ran back to Tian Daohan. Tian Daohan was a little annoyed when he saw Tian Bo coming back, but when he took the red cloth bag and opened it to look at it, his face changed suddenly. He straightened his clothes, walked quickly in front of Su Hao, bowed deeply, and said: "Xiaguan Tian Daohan saw Lord Du, I didn't know the identity of Lord Dudu before, it was disrespectful, and I ask your lord to forgive me." ”

It turned out that Su Hao asked Tian Bo to bring over was his imperial history official seal, although this kind of thing has no anti-counterfeiting mark, but forging the official seal is a big crime to kill the head, and no one will joke about this kind of thing. Tian Daohan is also a smart person, when he saw Su Hao's official seal and thought of Su Hao's words and deeds, he immediately reacted, this is an official of the Metropolitan Procuratorate who is paying a private visit to Weifu, and he asked for bribes in front of the imperial history of the capital, and everyone is full of stolen goods, and his official hat is estimated to be worn to the end.

Su Hao returned the salute and said, "Lord Tian doesn't have to be polite. In the lower Su Hao, he was favored by the saints, and the officials worshiped the imperial history. This is Master Li Zhen, and he is the deputy capital of the Imperial History of the Metropolitan Procuratorate. ”

"Lord Vice-capital...... Lord Du just said that the name of Lord Vice-Capital is ......" Tian Daohan's mind was dizzy, and he suddenly felt that the name Li Zhen was so familiar, and he couldn't help but ask.

Li Zhen knew that he was very famous among scholars, and with Tian Daohan's identity, it was naturally impossible not to have heard of his name. He smiled slightly and said, "It's right to change the introduction, the old decay is Li Hongfu in Quanzhou." (To be continued.) )