Granmel is known as the Valley of Secludedness.

At the end of the Karad Republic, a monk named Granmel came to settle here and built a monastery. After that, the settlers settled around the monastery and naturally, the valley was named the Granmel Valley. At that time, the entire Rhodok Mountains were still a whole wild forest, and the indigenous people lived in the forest day after day. At that time, the Karad people had not yet begun to develop the south, and only a few people who had escaped taxes and persecution would settle here. These newcomers were at odds with the local natives, and had to build many stone forts to defend themselves.

Now, if you hire a mule and a guide to set off from Granmere, he'll show you the ruins of these old forts. This stone fort is built from the Kallad period, with soothing and gentle lines, and is built of square white granite. Some porticos are curved to such an astonishing level that modern craftsmen simply cannot imagine how such difficult architectural components fit together in such a wild place. Some engineers believe that the method used by the ancients was very simple, that is, to place the bottom component, use soil to build a new platform, and then stack it on top of each other. While this method is easy to operate and doesn't require the kind of dazzling wooden scaffolding, it requires a huge amount of human resources. In conclusion, the locals refer to the ancient architecture of this place as "the great big guy". But now these places are very dilapidated, and only the shepherds will stay here for a short time.

After Rhodok was gradually developed, the area was slowly abandoned, and the population gradually shifted to several settlements that sprang up on the banks of rivers and seas. After the glory days, Granmel regained his peace.

Once again, the reason for the awakening of Granmel's vitality was Rhodoc's independence. Rhodok realized that in order to keep Swadia's cavalry north of the mountains, he had to build large and small checkpoints along the long border. History has an interesting cycle here: hundreds of years ago, people built stone forts to defend against the natives of the south, and now people have to build a series of new fortresses to fight the empire of the north.

To the north of the mountains on which Rhodok relied as a barrier, there is a plain of impact, dotted like a delicate lace across Rhodok's borders. In the past, this place was known as the granary of the south of the empire because of its proximity to the center of Swadia, abundant water and abundant grain production. The grain production per unit area here even exceeds that of the Suno Plain. The Rhodoks of this place are closer in blood to the northerners than the Rhodoks in the south, and they are direct descendants of the settlers of hundreds of years ago. In the process of going south, these settlers continued to assimilate the indigenous tribes in various places, and gradually formed the prototype of the Rhodok nation, and this nation was also born in the war because of the catalysis of the invasion of the northern army.

After Rhodok's independence, there were fears that the people of this place were serious and that the seeds of contradiction might sprout. So these people embarked on a series of de-Swadia campaigns: they changed the name of the place, reverting to some of the old names of the Karadian era; In terms of education, the Rhodok authorities asked his teachers to tell their students that the northerners were evil enemies and that the real relatives were in the south of the mountain.

This approach to education works and is sad. Now people of the same kind of culture dislike each other because of the separation of a river, and the great pathos generated by this disgust can only be slowly healed in the long river of time.

Soon after independence, the years that Rhodoc called the Age of Barriers began. During those years, countless craftsmen, farmers, merchants, and engineers were recruited by the state to build guard towers and castles north of the mountains, and the northern frontier of Rhodoc became a huge construction site. On the main thoroughfares, the fortress rises from the ground. The construction team had suggested that the fortifications should be built directly using local materials and local stone and timber. This suggestion was strongly opposed by the Rhodok army, who said that if the Rhodok Forest were destroyed, the Swadia cavalry would be unimpeded, and within three days they would be able to march across the Maras Pass to the capital Aaron. Under pressure, the engineers quickly came up with a second suggestion, which was to take materials from the Glammel Valley, which has many historical sites that can be used directly after demolition, and the dense forests in the valley are an inexhaustible resource, and the key is that even if the forest of Glammel is cut down, it will not affect anyone in the slightest. This suggestion, apart from the faint protest of some historians, did not seem to touch the interests of either side, and in a very short time the Home Office responded affirmatively: "Do it so." ”

In the years after the war, more than two dozen logging teams entered the forest. The logging team went deep into the woods, built small camps, and with the help of local farmers, they divided the forest into pieces on the drawings, and then, like barbers, cleared the forest with axes, and the dense and dark forest fell in the monotonous sound of felling, leaving behind the lumberjacks a bare wasteland and a craggy stump.

After helping the logging team get the timber to the fort, the farmers went back to developing the ownerless wasteland. The abundance of new land sparked the enthusiasm of the farmers, and more and more people began to migrate to Grummere, which quickly became a center for the export of timber and other forest agricultural products.

At the beginning of the establishment of the Admiralty, it was suggested that the military headquarters should be built in Djerkhala, because the place was rich in water resources, had a good foundation, and was convenient for building an army. At the same time, Djerkhara is far from Svadia and at all times is a stable rear base. However, because the Rhodok hierarchy believed that Djerkhara was too far away from Aaron, and that the navy would not be able to defend the capital quickly in the event of a change, it was finally decided to set up the naval headquarters in Aaron. Such an opportunity would certainly not be missed by the timber merchants of Granmel, and when they heard that the admirals were going to expand their army, they knew that their opportunity to make a fortune had come.

Negotiations and gatherings between naval officers and Glammel's timber suppliers were frequent. In the end, Granmeil managed to squeeze out all the competitors around him and became the sole supplier of timber for the domestic navy. This led to the rapid growth of the Granmel Timber Guild, and it was once calculated that the average Granmel Timber merchant would have enough timber to build five new outposts or produce an entire fleet of heavy merchant ships.

Granmere has three docks, one of which uses a new dockyard invented by the Nords to produce boats, which makes Granmel's boats seven times more productive. The Nords made an indelible contribution to the rise of the Rhodok navy, and this new shipyard was a small gift from the Nord King to the Rhodoc government. The Nords had a well-developed shipbuilding industry, and their ships were small and agile, mainly using manual slurry and auxiliary use of some sails. The Nords cling to their traditions, but the skilled craftsmen of Rhodoc know that one day the human-powered ships will be completely replaced by sail-powered ships.

From the beginning, the Rhodoks were not overly superstitious about their teachers, and they absorbed the shipbuilding skills of the various maritime nations, which included normal commercial dealings and the essential acts of espionage. During this period, there were many strange-shaped ships in Rhodoc, and the people here didn't seem to care how ridiculous the boats looked at them, they changed the ships little by little, and through the control variable method, the Rhodocs observed what kind of hull could go the farthest with the wind; Recording how to place the sail so that it can perceive a wisp of wind as thin as a hairspring as a rheumatic patient can perceive a small moist cloud on the horizon; The accountant achieves an optimal balance of strength and toughness of any kind of wood.

The Nords did not understand this whimsical move of the Rhodoks: "Are you really going to let the sailors go with the ship only with sails?" It's a fool's dream! ”

Once the Rhodoc craftsman has identified the direction, he will bury his head in it. Moreover, improving the efficiency of sails is not only a military requirement, but also a commercial requirement. A ship that relies on human paddle is not only slow, but also wears a lot of money, and while it performs well on windless water, it is often overwhelmed by storms and other unexpected conditions. This is not the case with sailboats, which require several sailors to constantly adjust the direction of the sails in order to ride the wind, and at the same time it is well adapted to various environments. The Rhodok knew that the ships of the future would be able to cross the oceans without slurry. Unless there is something that produces less power than the wind, there is little reason to doubt that.

A three-laden merchant ship with a mainsail would have to carry 60 paddlers and 20 sailors in shifts day and night to arrive if it had to travel from Aaron to Djalkhara, and although the wages of the paddlers were higher than those of ordinary sailors, the damage to their health caused by this heavy work would drain their hard-earned dinars in their old age. The miserable life of the paddler is often a passing scene that the protagonist of the tragedy must go through before he can make a fortune, and the most popular play of the famous actor of Rhodoc is the story of the paddleman who makes his fortune by marrying a rich widow. As for the trirees, if they were used to transport grain, they would have outweighed the gains except in areas that could be reached in thirteen days, because even if they were full of grain, would not have been able to supply the more than 100 people who had traveled farther. The sailboat, on the other hand, had little to worry about, it needed very few sailors, and the space saved could be used to store more supplies, while the consumption dropped exponentially.

When the first ships with pure sail power were launched, the Navy personnel made observations, and when they returned, the report was submitted to the military headquarters as soon as possible. The army is generous, they do not care that such ships are several times more expensive than other types of old ships, they only care that in the future battlefield, such new ships will be able to carry their soldiers to victory.

When my father and his classmates first walked into Port Granmel, they were first surprised that the port facilities were more advanced than Aaron's. This will be the Rhodok naval base, the Rhodok people do very secretively, all the procurement of this naval base is carried out in the name of Granmel, so except for the officers and some soldiers in the navy, no one knows that the most elite sea forces of Rhodok are stored in this place.

Rhodok's navy had a pathos from the day it was founded. They knew that their predecessor was just a sampan under the feet of their admiral, but the future they demanded was hegemony over the entire sea. They understand that the distance between the two is long and cannot be completed by one or two generations, but they have this dream, and that is their greatest advantage. While Swadia and the Nords were comfortable with their maritime supremacy and seafaring skills, the Rhodoks were already looking further afield.

"What the hell is on the other side of the ocean?" This childhood question is now the strongest yearning in the heart of Rhodok's navigator.

The father stood on the dock, stunned by a boat. This ship, there is no pulp!

No one had ever seen such a light ship, and with the deft pull of the sails of a few sailors, the ship could change direction with precision under the nudge of the sea breeze. This is a rare treasure developed by the Rhodoks over the course of twenty years, and not many of the Nords even know that the Rhodoks have made a breakthrough.

In fact, in the past, pure sailing ships have become the mainstream of small ships, but once the ship is too large, the backward sails can no longer provide enough power. For a considerable amount of time, the ship could only rely on the pulp in the hands of the crew, and people had long recognized the benefits of sails, but they did not expect that the sails could completely replace the role of the pulphermen.

Kim was pleased with the expressions on his students' faces, even though he had done it a few months ago. This was a conceptual breakthrough, which showed them the power of intelligence, and with this kind of vessel, the cost of shipping by Rhodoc would drop to between one-third and one-half of what it used to be, and the longer the sea distance, the greater the relative savings. This reduction in costs will greatly increase people's interest in shipping, and history has repeatedly proved that once human beings become interested in or need something, then the wisdom of the people will definitely make a huge breakthrough in this area. This is a virtuous circle for the shipbuilding industry in Rhodoc.

Kim knew that although this kind of boat was magical, it was definitely not the best, and it must continue to be improved. The history of shipbuilding, which has been moving forward in setbacks for many years, tells him that no matter what happens, as long as the first one can be built, then a better second one will definitely be built.

My father was thrilled when he first stepped aboard the empty boat, he had seen the triremes in the lakes around Suno, much smaller than the current one, but with many times more people in it. He had the impression that the ship was divided into several layers, and the neat trumpets of the paddlers kept coming from the lower levels, day and night. But this ship is not, it has an empty belly, and if it is used to carry goods, then it will be a merchant ship with the best load; If it is used to transport soldiers, then it will be one of the most incredible ships to transport troops. I can't imagine what other people on the continent will look like when they see such a clever and strange thing.

Kim promised his students that the Navy would order more than ten of these ships because of the reduced costs caused by technological breakthroughs. That is, more of them will be able to own their own ships, although the competition will still be fierce.

The thought of being able to steer a light sailing ship with the fragrance of wood, the white sails like the wings of a bird, the creaking of the winch, and the wide and tidy sailors' barns, made my father excited in his heart.

He imagined himself riding the wind towards the bloody sunset, with the sails blown by the wind overhead, surrounded by seagulls flying up and down the hull, and the stern of the ship breaking through the waves with a loud roar. This kind of thinking made him excited.

While his father was still in his excitement, he suddenly heard a sigh, and he came back to his senses from his beautiful imagination and saw Cesar. Cesar was looking up at the white dove's breast-like sails in the sky.

"What's wrong, Cesar?" The father walked over and asked Cesar while curiously pulling the tongue of the emergency brass bell on the ship.

"We're finished," Cesara said, still looking at the sky, "How's your geometry?" If you don't learn well, we won't be able to get on the boat. ”

"I'm terrible at geometry," my father wondered, "and what does it have to do with the fact that we can't get on the ship?" ”

Cesar looked at his father in despair: "You must have fallen asleep and didn't listen to the goblin class." The goblin teacher said that our geometry final exam should test the transformation of tangent force, and you remember to calculate the transformation of sine and cosine of various angles of the tangent. My dear Arcadio. ”

"Yes", the father nodded, "it was a disaster, if the goblin teacher did the question, I would definitely not pass the test".

"Do you remember, when the goblin teacher gave us the key points of the exam, he said that whether we can pass the navy selection and get the chance to get on the ship in the end depends on our theoretical assessment results." And Cesar said with a face like ashes.

His father felt that Cesar was right, but he didn't know why Cesar was so depressed, "So what? ”

Cesar pointed to the sky: "This precious ship has sails as many as hen feathers!" There are everything from spinnakers to octagonal sails, and these things and masts and sails are simply the best geometric models, and if there is such an inexplicable gust of wind, this is simply a historical geometric force analysis problem! ”

The father was shocked, and Cesar continued, "Have you told us the equations of the goblin teacher?" To force a surface alone, seven equations should be written, and five possibilities should be analyzed. If you think about it, if we are going to get on the ship, we will definitely take the exam, and in the style of the goblins and the sabel and the like, we will definitely take this ship to the problem, and you think about it, the sails in the sky, the countless ropes, the wind and the resistance of the water, the countless equations, the countless unknowns, my God! I just looked up and counted the number of sails and muttered 'It's over', and when I counted one sail, I said it once. It's really over this time. ”

The father thought for a long time and squeezed out a sentence: "How many times did you say ''It's over''?"

"Seventeen times."