"After blowing the cow for a long time, the problem of the ship is still not solved. Gu Kai knocked on the table and reminded Yan Chujie, who was spitting freely: "What we need now is not a sail battleship, but a merchant ship that can load cargo and run fast." ”

Yan Chujie coughed dryly twice and quickly changed the topic: "Has the metallurgical workshop calculated how much coal and coke input is needed to ensure production?"

"Considering that we need to expand production on the basis of maintaining the current pig iron production, as well as the open-hearth furnaces for steelmaking, and the steam engines that will be used in production in the future, we believe that the monthly coal input should be at least 300 tons, and I must stress that this bottom line will continue to rise as production capacity expands," said Becks. ”

"Three hundred tons...... Then the total tonnage of the coal carrier should be maintained at least at more than 500 tons, and considering the supply consumption on the road and the maintenance time of the ship, the total tonnage of the ship may be enough at seven or eight hundred tons. Yan Chujie quickly estimated in his heart, and then came up with an answer.

"Wait, didn't you just say that according to the speed of the existing sailboats, you can run between Sanya and Hongji Port twice a month? Gu Kai found that there seemed to be a loophole in Yan Chujie's words.

"That's just a literal jù, and it's actually very hard to achieve. Yan Chujie shook his head and said: "First of all, it is unlikely that a sailboat will take a long distance in a straight line when sailing at sea, and it will often deviate from the pre-booked route according to the changes in wind direction and ocean currents, and sometimes even have to adopt a zigzag to move forward, so that the actual time of sailing at sea will greatly exceed the calculation on paper." Although it is only more than 200 nautical miles from Hongji Port to Shengli Port from the map, if you really take a trip, you will find that the voyage will definitely greatly exceed this number. Our previous estimate of two trips a month was based on the ideal scenario of a smooth sail and no delays. ”

"Secondly, the weather at sea is very changeable, and when the typhoon season comes, this kind of sailing ship with a displacement of one or two hundred tons will not be able to go to sea at all, and it can be delayed for many days, so we must prepare excess capacity, so that we can maintain a certain amount of coal reserves in the base camp. When this transportation line has to be suspended due to weather or other objective reasons, we will not stop production because there is no coal available. ”

"Then we have less than two hundred tons of tonnage at our disposal, and there is at least a difference of five or six hundred tons according to this calculation. (Baidu search update is the fastest and most stable)" Ning Qi shook his head regretfully: "The speed of the shipyard is limited after all, our fleet has to make up this tonnage, and it is estimated that it will be in the second quarter of next year, right?"

"I definitely can't catch up, I think it's better to buy it!" Tao Donglai gritted his teeth and said: "The Cliff Office only made a transaction of nearly 10,000 taels of silver a few days ago, deducting the expenses and expenses during this time, plus our original silver reserves, there are still more than 30,000 taels of silver available." I took a portion of it as an emergency project expenditure and bought a batch of ships to use as cargo ships. ”

"I talked to a few local shipwrights in the shipyard the other day, and they have built a ship of 400 materials, and the price is about 1,000 taels of silver, depending on the material used in the shipbuilding. Used old ships are definitely cheaper than this price, and buying a few is not too nerve-wracking for us. Yan Chujie added.

"It's not enough to have a ship, do we have so many sailors available now?" Ning Qi continued to ask.

"After we crossed over, we trained more than 30 sailors ourselves. In the first two wars, there were more than thirty sailors and shipwrights captured in total, which together was almost enough to equip four or five ships, and if the number was not enough, they had to be hired again. Regarding the shortage of manpower, Yan Chujie also seemed very helpless. After all, the time has been short, and the foundation is not solid enough, even if you want to gather a fleet of cargo ships, it is still difficult for sailors, as for any warships and navy, it is better not to dream for the time being.

"Take the silver and give the settling-in fee, I don't believe that I can't recruit sailors! Or if we buy the ship together with the sailors and boatmen, we won't be short of that money now!" Tao Donglai said angrily, and the local tyrant's style was fully revealed.

Schneider, who had not spoken, also opened his mouth at this time: "I think Mr. Tao is right, the problem that can be solved with money is not a big problem, as long as we can afford it, ships and people should be able to get it." Although the cost of developing the port will definitely be huge, in the long run, we will have to invest in that place sooner or later, so we should just start early, so that we can make a little longer profit. ”

"If we buy a large number of ships on Hainan Island, will it attract the attention of the local government?" said the cautious Ning Qi did not let go of any possible threat.

"It's really you're overthinking. Tao Donglai shook his head and said: "What is our image in the eyes of the local government? It is a group of businessmen from overseas who have always abided by discipline and law, not only helping the officials and soldiers to fight against piracy, but also enthusiastically solving problems for the local government, effectively solving the problem of food and employment for the local people." We were originally in the role of maritime merchants, and it was normal to buy a few ships. ”

"Besides, we can also ask someone else to come forward to buy a ship and hire people, such as Luo Shengdong, or the two firms that do business with us, we think they will be happy to help us with this. Schneider added with a smile.

"Nothing seems like can stop you. Ning Qi finally gave up and asked, "Okay, let's think about how to realize this development plan." ”

Even if the capacity problem is solved, it is only the first link in the entire development plan chain, and there are still quite a lot of troubles to deal with one by one. For example, the next route was formulated, it was difficult for everyone present to run the sea route from Sanya to Hongji Port, and the previous voyage calculation was just looking at the map to draw a straight line distance.

"Looks like we'll have to find an expert. Tao Donglai stared at the map for a moment before he said helplessly: "Is there anyone in the shipping department who can come right now?"

"I'm afraid that the people from the shipping department will not be able to come, and during this time they are all on the side of Shengli Harbor, and it is said that they are meeting every night to discuss the design of the ship, and the enthusiasm of those young people is very high. Yan Chujie was also very relieved when he talked about this. After more than two months of hard work, the initial ambition and full of enthusiasm of many members have begun to fade, while these people in the shipping department have maintained high morale and enthusiasm for work, which is indeed a very difficult thing.

"What about the North American Gang?" Tao Donglai thought of the alternate candidate again. Several of the members of the North American Gang are experts with rich seafaring experience, and perhaps some valuable advice and advice can be obtained from them.

"Yes, I forgot about them, so I'm going to call someone. Yan Chujie said just do it, and immediately got up and walked out of the conference room. In just a few minutes, Morgan, Roger, Shi Diwen and Qiao Zhiya followed him into the conference room. Except for Tom Wang and Johnson, who were stationed in Victory Harbor, several other people happened to be on the side of Base No. 2, and Yan Chujie simply called them all over.

Yan Chujie had already explained the situation when he called someone, so after the four of them sat down, they immediately entered the main topic.

Qiao Zhiya pointed out on the map: "When we came to participate in the crossing, we stopped at Da Nang in Vietnam and went directly to Sanya, and we didn't go to any place further north. However, we now have a more detailed satellite map, so it is not difficult to formulate a general route, and we can even plan the future Hongji Port now. However, out of prudence, we may have to make a trip to familiarize ourselves with the sea conditions on this route before we can establish this long-term cargo route. ”

Morgan added: "It's at least over 200 nautical miles, and our existing Chinese sailing boats are slower, so be sure to consider the stops along the way." In particular, the straight-line distance between Hongji Port and the west coast of Hainan Island is more than 130 nautical miles, which is more than the one-day voyage of a Chinese sailing ship, and the location of this supply point must be well considered. ”

"The supply point is ready-made, so you don't need to look for it anymore. Yan Chujie motioned to Morgan to zoom in on the satellite map on his laptop, and then pointed to a point between the east coast of Vietnam and the west coast of Hainan Island and said, "See? This island is about 60 nautical miles away from Hongji Port and about 70 nautical miles from the east coast of Hainan Island.

The island pointed out by Yan Chujie is the floating island of Fushuizhou in later generations. The triangular island is about two square kilometres in size, and the southern part of the island is gentle enough to accommodate a small harbor. Most importantly, the island has fresh water resources, and the location is so suitable that it would be a ruin not to use it.

"In other words, we must set up a transit dock on this small island?" Tao Dong asked thoughtfully, looking at the satellite image.

"Such a supply point does not require a lot of manpower and facilities, as long as a small port can accommodate ships to dock overnight. Ships from both sides of the strait only need one day to reach the island, and it is also relatively convenient to replenish the island's food and daily necessities. If possible, it would be better if we could build a lighthouse on the island. After looking at the location of this island, Morgan also agreed with Yan Chujie's construction, and at the same time put forward his own opinion: "If we need to bring in people from Vietnam in the future, then this small island can really be used as a transit point." Looking at its size, it should not be a big problem to accommodate one to two thousand people. ”