Soon, the shipbuilder technician who had received a notice from the Admiralty came to Xu Mo, and the leader was the chief shipbuilder Henrik Hubbard. Henrik was an old man with gray hair, and his face was covered in grayish-brown age spots and wrinkles. However, Henrik was also Sweden's leading shipbuilder, which is why Gustav II entrusted him with the construction of the Vasa.

Although the young and vigorous Emperor was extremely dissatisfied with the progress of the construction of the Vasa, and put forward many unreasonable requests for renovation. However, the sophisticated Henrik still withstood the pressure of the emperor with the help of the design drawings, and spent three years perfecting and building this powerful warship.

It can be said that the Vasa was able to become one of the most powerful warships in the world at the moment, and it was inseparable from Henrik's exploits. Similarly, the Vasa is the work that the old man is most proud of.

"You are the future captain of the Vaasa, Baron Anderson!" Despite his age, the old man was still in good spirits, and smiled and pointed to the flatbed truck pulled by Max and Hong Jian behind him, "You want the Vasa to load the contents of the flatbed?" ”

"If I could, I would like the Vasa to be equipped with something like this!" Xu Mo nodded respectfully, "In addition, the Vasa will need to fight alone for a long time, and I hope to make its hull as strong as possible." ”

"If you want the Vasa to be more defensive, I can add some steel armor plates to key parts of the hull, which will take about a week. However, I hope you understand that these modifications will affect the speed of the Vaasa a slightly! Henrik pushed his monocle and frowned slightly, "As for this Medusa bow statue, I don't think it will do anything to the hull except for aesthetics!" Of course, if you insist......"

"Affecting speed?" Xu Mo frowned slightly, and asked tentatively, "The Vasa now has 74 guns, if a few guns are canceled and steel armor plates are added, is it feasible?" ”

"Cancel artillery? What a special Admiral you are! Henrik's old eyes flashed with a gleam, and he said slowly, "Actually, the design blueprint of the Vasa was two artillery decks, and later, at the request of His Majesty the Emperor, we had to add another artillery deck. This design increases firepower, but reduces the Vaasa's supply hold and increases the Valsa's ship's center of gravity, which reduces the gun's accuracy in the event of high winds and waves......"

"I see!" Xu Mo suddenly realized, no wonder the Vasa could only stay at sea for forty days.

England's warships were largely privateers, and the original design drawings should not have the weakness of endurance. Now after Henrik's explanation, Xu Mo finally understood that this should be Gustav II's deliberate increase in the number of artillery in order to make this battleship named after his grandfather show Sweden's national strength.

"Although the Vasa is larger than the original blueprints, I think it should not carry more than 62 guns at most, so that it can take advantage of the speed and agility of the Vaasa...... The extra space could be converted into a material warehouse, so that the Vasa could stay at sea for more than ten more days. Henrik whispered, "It's up to you, though, because you're the one to fight." ”

"Then cut off the twelve guns on the lower deck!" Xu Mo nodded heavily, "If His Majesty the Emperor asks, you can push it to me." ”

At the beginning of the construction of the battleship, Gustav II could enhance the firepower of the battleship in order to show glory, ignoring the survivability of the battleship. But when the battleship was in the hands of the Admiral, he could no longer express his opinion on the battleship. After all, as Henrik said, Xu Mo is the one who fights. Not to mention such a wise monarch as Gustav II, the monarch of any country must respect the admiral's request for the transformation of warships.

In fact, the lower artillery deck could not be opened at all when there were strong winds and waves at sea. Even with only 62 guns, the Vasa's firepower is still one of the most powerful battleships in the world, and the increased speed and endurance will enhance the survivability of the battleship, which is conducive to Xu Mo's next sabotage mission.

"Come on, I'll take you on the boat!" Seeing the arrival of the master shipbuilder, the guards on the Vasa hurriedly lowered the wooden bridge, and everyone in the old K regiment looked at each other and showed excitement.

"Scandinavia is rich in oak, and due to the climate, our oak, which has a more compact texture, is the finest material for shipbuilding. However, when I was assigned to the Vaasa, there wasn't really much dry oak in Sweden. The Vaasa was built entirely from the royal family, and the central keel was used as the back-up main beam of Gemrastan Castle (the Swedish royal palace). ”

Henrik glanced back at Xu Mo meaningfully, "Our Emperor His Majesty has given everything for the Vasa, Admiral Alfred, please cherish this battleship and use it to achieve glory and victory for Sweden!" ”

"Of course, as the commander of the Vasa, please pay attention to the next naval battle report!" Xu Mo bowed and said with a smile.

"These oaks are more than 100 years old, they are as strong as iron, and the horizontal walls of the ship are almost two feet thick, if you add some steel armor plates in the key sections......" Henrik gently stroked the outer balustrade of the deck with his palm, and a gentle look appeared in his eyes, "16-pounder shells from a hundred yards away can't penetrate the hull, this kid will do his best to protect you, Admiral Alfred!" ”

Xu Mo's gaze slowly softened, and from Henrik's words, he could understand the shipmaster's feelings for the Vasa, "My crew and I will also protect the Vasa, it will be a part of our lives!" ”

……

"A toast to Alfred, to our stormtrooper returning to the sea!" Hedram raised his glass and shouted to the sailors in the bar.

"To our wise Gustav Your Majesty!" Xu Mo shook his slightly dizzy head, and raised his glass in response to the old friends around him.

"Hey, Alfred, I just found out that Pastor Dinah is here with you, too!" Hedram smiled and put his arm on Xu Mo's shoulder, "Are you two ...... Uh-huh? ”

"No, you know, Pastor Dinah has also received great merit in Beihai, and His Majesty the Emperor has agreed to let her preach in Uppsala, a religious holy place, and has also built a small church for her!" Xu Mo lied without changing his face.

"Really? So what did she do with her this time? Gerhardt glanced at Xu Mo lightly, obviously not believing this comrade-in-arms' words.

"Missionary at sea!" Xu Mo argued confidently, "Don't lie to me, I'm a fiancée now!" By the way, why didn't you see Charlie and Manuel? ”

"Their ship hasn't returned to port yet, Hiccup!" Hedram burped, slapped his head and laughed, "Oh, yes! Introduce you to an outstanding navigator who, if you don't already have one, can be your first mate. Tie Lilie, please come here! ”

"Admiral, are you looking for me?" A well-mannered blonde young man, struggling to squeeze past a crowd of muscular sailors, panted before the three admirals.

"Alfred, former stormtrooper captain of the Vistelos, Admiral of Sweden." Hedram pulled Xu Mo in front of him and introduced him to the blonde youth, "Tiereel Tenney, a Genoese navigator, is currently unemployed!" ”

"Hey, Your Excellency, I'm not unemployed, you personally invited me to board in Alexandria half a year ago!" Tie Lilie grimaced and muttered dissatisfiedly.

"Well, then I'll officially inform you now, you've been fired!" Hudram said with a grin, then leaned into the ear of the Iron Rite and whispered, "Admiral Alfred, but the captain of the Vasa! ”

"Vasa, you mean the huge battleship in the harbor?" Tie Lilie's eyes lit up, and he turned his head and bowed to Xu Mo, "Your Excellency Alfred, please let me get on the boat!" ”

"Huh?" Xu Mo was slightly stunned, leaned over to Hedlam's side, and asked softly, "This kid's body doesn't look like a person who can fight!" ”

"You think navigators are bulls like you!" Hedram glared at Xu Mo angrily, "Tie Lilie is a very good navigator, and his ship control skills are no less than mine!" And since I was a child, I have traveled the world with his merchant father, and in terms of nautical knowledge, even I can't compare. If it weren't for your boy's ignorance of sailing, I wouldn't have introduced him to you! ”

"But he has been with you for half a year, and he said he would leave, is it reliable?" Xu Mo said suspiciously.

"Hehe, so you're worried about this...... Don't worry, Tieli is good! It's just that he's not interested in warfare, but ships and knowledge, and your Vasa is the latest warship, which is very attractive to him, otherwise, I'm really not sure to convince ......him," Hedram explained with a chuckle.

"Welcome, my first mate!" Before Hudram could finish speaking, Xu Mo immediately turned around and gave Tie Lilie a warm hug.

"Ahem, Admiral Alfred, you're pushing too hard!" Tie Lilie was strangled by Xu Mo's brute force, and his face turned red.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I didn't hurt you!" Xu Mo grinned and said with a wry smile.

"Admiral Gerhardt, I'm here, do you have anything to do with me? Oh, it stinks here...... Hey, Hedram is here too, great, you ran away last time in the sword competition...... Hey, hide from what? I see you! ”

While a few people were happy, a slightly delicate and pleasant female voice came from behind Gerhardt......