"How many people do you need to build a third-class battleship?" Locke thought for a moment and asked, "In other words, how many jobs can be provided for you?" ”

Stosson didn't answer, he looked at Locke calmly, but his expression was not as polite as before.

"Don't get me wrong, I didn't mean anything else." Locke waved his hand, he turned his head to look at Fenna and said helplessly, "The merchants of Kul Tiras have a lot of discussions about their domestic affairs in Ivah. ”

"I don't know a lot, but they all have the same thing in what they say. That is, the people do not have much means to make a living. ”

"The pillar of your country is the shipbuilding industry, but the shipbuilding industry has been depressed in recent years, and other industries based on shipbuilding have been forced to stop working. The populace had no source of wealth, and many shipwrights and populace gathered in the capital city of Bullaris to seek the help of the rulers. ”

"I've heard other sources say that the reason for this is that the Proudmoores don't have the financial resources to sustain a large fleet. You know, a few years ago your navy was the size it is now, and I have heard that your country has only launched a few warships in recent years. Oh, three are battleships of the third rank, and six frigates of the fifth rank, you say? Right? ”

"These businessmen can say anything, they can say anything!" Major General Stoson laughed, he slowly picked up his glass and shook it, "Lord Harvey knows the news of our country very well, and it seems that he usually knows us well. ”

"No, no, no, you're really mistaken." Locke smiled and responded, "Our two countries are neighbors, and we haven't had any intentional visits to each other. For example.... Every day when I go out, I can see what my neighbors say, what they do, and what they buy. It's that simple, isn't it? ”

Stoson smiled, not delving into the question.

This is the case, between the seven human kingdoms, who dares to say that who did not put a few spies in whom? It's so normal.

It's just that this matter will undoubtedly have a very negative impact on the current Kurtilas, and this upcoming big deal will undoubtedly have a very negative impact on them.

The other party knows what is going on in their country, and it becomes a one-sided deal. In this way, profits will decrease and costs will increase.

"In that case, I'll be blunt, Lord Harvey." Major General Stoson was no longer hiding, he looked up at Locke solemnly, "We are facing very great pressure in our country right now. The fiasco of the war against the Orcs on the continent of Kalimdor four years ago led to a dramatic change in our country, and the negative effects of this change are still spreading in our country today. ”

"What you know is true, and in fact, it's not news in our country anymore."

As he spoke, the expression on Stoxon's face became bitter. He shook his head helplessly, "Maybe Admiral Tanred shouldn't have listened to Countess Ashvan's advice and issued those edicts that weakened us.... It not only severes our alliance with the Alliance, but also all ties with the Alliance..."

Locke, of course, knew what it was for.

It is said that after the failure of the expedition's fleet, Kurtilas appealed to the Stormwind-led alliance for help, but Varian did not agree to it due to problems in their respective kingdoms. As a result, the enraged ruling council of Kul Tiras decided to sever ties with the alliance, and even maritime trade between them was stopped.

Many of the families that had made their trading career had left Kurtilas and settled in the southern kingdom of Stormwind, where they built merchant ships to start a new maritime trade. Kurtilas was gradually forgotten by the other countries on the continent, and in fact, this time Kul Tiras's people came to look for Locke, which was the first meeting of an official nature.

"We know you, Lord Harvey. Like you said, we're neighbors. When Stosson raised his head again, his face was devoid of the bitterness it had been. He regained his composure and said in a calm tone, "When we learned that a new lord had arrived in the Silver Pine Forest, we began to keep an eye on you. ”

"It can be said that we are looking at you, watching this land, slowly developing into the bustling city it is today. It's just that everything here should have belonged to our Kul Tiras...."

Stoson shook his head helplessly, he was now more and more incredulous about the order of the ruling council to close the country in the first place.

Kurtilas was supposed to be a prosperous island nation, especially after the northern human power, the kingdom of Lordaeron, was defeated by the undead. The people here should have taken refuge in Kurtilas. They made their home there, and they worked there. All the merchant ships here were supposed to be anchored in the port of Bullarasse, which they were supposed to use as a transit point to transport goods to the mainland.

But now, it's all destroyed by that damn order!

Locke was positive on this. People's desire to survive easily leads them across the sea to countries across the strait.

"As you thought, I have been sent here to tell you these things to confirm whether you have the possibility of building a ship in our kingdom. Lady Catherine and Admiral Thanred thought it would be better for us to get in touch with you. ”

"Truth be told, I'm here to ask you to lend a helping hand to Kul Tiras." Stosson helplessly spread his hands, "Just do what you can." ”

"Anyway, every kingdom near the sea will need a navy to some extent. As your ports and territorial waters are facing today, you need our help. We need your help too. ”

Speaking of which, Kul Tiras's sincerity is very obvious. They have made all their bottom lines clear to Locke.

So now the question is, is it to pull a kultilas? Is the relationship between the two countries entering a new era? Or are the two kingdoms brothers and sisters together? Are you stumbling like this?

Clearly, for Locke, he leaned towards the former.

Lordaeron's current sovereignty is still unclear, and who knows what the nobles of other kingdoms, especially Stormwind, think of the current resistance forces of Lordaeron.

Therefore, there is an urgent need for a real ally of the Human Kingdom to stand up for him, and Kul Tiras, who has a request for himself, is undoubtedly the best choice. Secondly, Iva really needs a navy now. Even if you can only fight pirates now, you will definitely use them in the future, there is no doubt about it.

In the end, not helping Kurtilas is not a little good for himself. On the contrary, it can even offend them. You know, when they come to themselves, they must have done a full investigation. Or else, even the choice of battleship was recommended to yourself?

Locke held his chin with one hand and knocked on the table with the other, thinking quietly, while Stosson looked at Locke with some expectation. As a soldier of a maritime nation, he could roughly calculate the approximate income of this place about the port based on the size of the port outside.

Stozon understood that it would be difficult to build a fleet of warships without the full support of a kingdom. So the warships he had just recommended to Locke were all things that Locke could eat, because they didn't cost much.

In fact, what Stozon wanted to say was that if Eva built one or two large warships, it would not be of much help to the current Kurtilas. Only large-scale shipbuilding will be of substantial help to stabilize the kingdom of Kurtiras. As far as he knew, the ruling council at the top had already begun to discuss the abolition of the previous order to close the country. Now there is only one chance to survive this crisis, and the best of this opportunity is the current young lord.

"How many jobs will building a third-class battleship provide you?" After a little turn, Locke still asked this sentence.

"What do you mean?" Major General Stozon looked up, and though he tried to calm himself, the military hat clutched under his desk revealed his anxious mood at the moment.

"Agreed?"

"Let's not talk about this matter for now, you can answer some of my questions first." Locke smiled and shook his head. This time, Stosson did not hesitate and directly reported the number of people. "There are only about 300 shipwrights and ordinary workers."

Locke nodded, he looked at Stosson, who was waiting for his decision, and asked again, "How many docks do you have?" ”

"Dockyard?" Stoson was stunned for a moment, and then he seemed to understand what the lord in front of him said, he smiled and said, "Lord Harvey, the dockyard you are talking about is a platform in the shipyard for repairs and shipbuilding. You seem to be asking us, how many shipyards are there, right? ”

"Oh? Ha! Locke spread his hands embarrassedly, "Oh, you know, I don't know anything about the sea. I've always thought that shipyard is the general term for shipyards. ”

Stosson echoed and chuckled, explaining, "Understood. This is the opinion of most people who don't know anything about the sea and ships. ”

"Yes, we have a lot of shipyards in Kul Tiras. Suffice it to say, dig a few deep pits and inject seawater into them, and they can be used as a temporary dock. So, no one is going to count how many shipyards there are in Kurtilas, because our people are all about that, because that's what our kingdom does. ”

"Of course, most of them belong to the Kul Tiras Admiralty, the Vikris family, the Ashvan family, and a large number of private shipyards. Of course, the most of them are our Stosson family. ”

Speaking of this, Stosson was still a little proud, his eyebrows were raised, and he said a little arrogantly, "If you talk about the issue of building warships, I think other families are not as good as our Stoxon family." Specifically, you'll know later. ”

"A lot of people think that they can build a ship just by building a random dock. Well, that's a good thing to say in our Kul Tiras, but in other kingdoms, it's okay to hear it. I say this to let you, Lord Harvey, know that most of the naval warships in our Admiralty are built by our family. The quality of the warships we build is not comparable to those families and private factories outside. ”

"Of course, as the largest shipbuilding family in Kurtiras, we don't just build warships, we also often build some large merchant ships with a displacement of more than 2,500 tons. In each shipyard of our family there are 3-10 docks. Stosson paused, he thought for a moment and said, "Take battleships as an example, if the financial resources allow, we can build 2-3 second-class battleships, 15 third-class battleships, and more than 20 fourth-class battleships at the same time. As for those below the fourth level, they can be built if there are spare docks in each shipyard. ”

"Don't doubt what I've said above." Stoson rubbed his hands helplessly, "That's why I'm here, these people are all doing nothing at home now, waiting for me to bring them jobs to support their families." ”

Stozon then sighed, "You can imagine that the entire population of Kul Tiras is mostly in this state, and you can understand our feelings. ”

Of course!

Locke nodded secretly, people are idle, and only when they are idle, will they have other messy ideas.

"Oh, that means, if I place an order with you. Then you can build me a battleship right away, right? Questioning, Locke said again, "Do you have the timber to build so many ships at the same time?" ”

Although he didn't know anything about shipbuilding, in this world, ships are made of wood. Large-scale shipbuilding is very deforestation, and it is a question whether there is so much wood or not for the ships that Kurtilas has built for so many years.

"Of course it's not a problem! We have enough timber to build more than 200 third-class warships! Without hesitation, Stosson picked up Locke's words, but then he shook his head, "Well, it was originally for our navy. ”

"That's great," Locke clapped his hands in satisfaction, "how long will it take to launch a ship?" A few months? Or half a year? ”

"What?! A few months? Half? Stosson looked at Locke in shock.

"What? Am I wrong? Too fast? Locke couldn't help but look at him in wonder, the sail battleship, the wood will be much faster, right? In the previous life, the steel warships were launched in a year or two.

"Can't you add more manpower to make it faster?"

Stosson stared at Locke with wide eyes, but he immediately laughed, as if thinking of Locke's status as a navy blind.

"No, you misunderstood Lord Harvey, you can't build a battleship quickly. Of course," said Stoson, smiling, "in fact, we can launch a battleship in half a year, but if you want your battleship to be scrapped within a year of launching because a large area of the hull has rotted by seawater." We have no opinion. ”

"Also, an appropriate increase in the number of people is able to provide the speed of shipbuilding. However, there are only so many jobs on one battleship. A meaningless increase in the number of people will only make the dockyard chaotic and slow down the speed of shipbuilding. Although there are quite a few idlers in our country who do not have jobs, they are not such big lords who take advantage of them. ”

"Ha, I'm sorry. So on the premise of ensuring quality, how long does it take for the fastest warship to be launched? Locke corrected his mistake and asked again.

Stosson thought for a moment and said uncertainly. "According to the actual situation in our country, the construction period of a third-class battleship is about 1 year - 1 year and 2 months. Is this the fastest speed, or with all the supplies ready. It's important to understand that building a battleship requires not only wood, but also ropes, sails, cannons, and all the other accessories involved. ”

"Behind this is a large and complete industrial chain to support."

"But it's clear that that's what we do in Kul Tiras. I've got all of them, but they certainly don't have a lot in stock," Stosson said, "and most of them are for our navy." ”

"The main thing is!" Stoson laughed a little smugly, and he said mysteriously to Locke, "Only our family has a sea tide sage!" ”

"It's a win-win deal!"

"Sea Tide Sage?" Locke looked at him inexplicably, "What are they for?" ”

"Also, can you tell me about the Vikris family, and the Ashvan family, and your Stoxon family? I'm sorry," Locke shook his head helplessly, "I really don't know much about Kul Tiras. ”