Late Yuan Dynasty: I am the true emperor

Chapter 451: The Age of Change (asking for monthly votes)

Seeing Zhu Sheng's reaction, Lu Jin did not respond immediately. He had already explained the reason for building this ship to others many times and did not want to continue explaining, so he looked at other people again.

When Tao Kai saw Lu Jin looking at him, he immediately said, "It's very big, and the shape of the ship is very peculiar. I'm from Taizhou, and I was born by the sea. I've seen countless ships, but I've never seen a ship that's more than 20 feet long, and there's no such long cabin. The interior is divided into multiple sections like the watertight compartments on the bottom floor. This is the first time I've seen such a ship."

Zhan Tong also said, "And the bow of this ship is so sharp, like a sword drawn from its sheath. Is it so that it can cut through the waves?"

"Yes, sir, your description is correct. This blade-like bow is used to cut through waves, so as to increase the speed."

Lu Jin pointed at the tall mast above his head and said, "Add to that the four huge sails. Even though the ship is so huge, when it is fully sailed, it is faster than any other ship you have ever seen. It can travel thousands of miles a day."

Song Lian frowned and said in confusion, "Your Highness has taken so much trouble to build this huge ship, and just now he said he would go out to sea. Whether the people of the world can have enough food depends on this ship. I wonder what this means?"

Finally someone asked
"Hahahaha." Lu Jin laughed out loud upon hearing this, "Sir, you don't think I want to follow the example of Qin Shi Huang and go out to sea to search for immortals, right?

"Of course not. Gentlemen, you can rest assured. If I were the incompetent ruler who wanted to live forever, you would not be recommended to my palace, right?"

After hearing this, everyone breathed a sigh of relief and nodded, "Yes, then why did Your Highness build this ship?"

Lu Jin could only say, "Although he is not seeking immortality like the First Emperor, he does have to go out to sea to find something, but not immortals, but food."

"Food?" Everyone was immediately confused.

Lu Jin asked Wang Dayuan again, "Mr. Huanzhang, is there a globe on this ship?"

"Yes, in the command room at the stern."

"Lead the way."

So everyone went to the command room at the stern of the ship, and came to the globe with a diameter of half a meter. Lu Jin directly threw out a book called "Illustrated Directory of Global Objects", which he asked Fan Qiuchan to draw for him. Then he gave it to Wang Dayuan and asked him to explain it to everyone.

Lu Jin was too lazy to say it again, he just wanted to let everyone know that their lord was not a madman.

He left Wang Dayuan and Meng Zhifang to explain geographical knowledge to everyone, and then he took Tao Guangyi with him to explain the various facilities on the ship and naval artillery tactics. After all, he would be the one to design and build the ship's guns in the future.

Someone said before that this ship looks very much like a modern steamship. In fact, this is not wrong, because the shape of this ship is the predecessor of modern steamships.

Powered steamships in the modern sense originated in the West. If we were to forcibly divide the technological development of Western sea vessels into generations, then at this time at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, Europe was still using cogs.

This is a wooden sailing ship with overlapping planks and a single mast and square sail. It mainly trades near the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. The hull planks are stacked one on top of another like tiles, similar to the Atakabune ships of the time in Japan. It is not the later ships with planks connected flatly and the seams filled with tar hemp rope to make them waterproof. Europe does not yet have this technology.

A broken ship of this craftsmanship can be smashed to pieces by just hitting it.

During this period at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, Mediterranean trade was still dominated by paddle boats.

It can be said that in the early Ming Dynasty, before the time of Zheng He, European sailing technology lagged far behind that of China, even inferior to that of the Song Dynasty. Europe did not even know about rudders, and did not even understand how to turn the ship, and could only use sails to turn.

Then the second generation was the caravel, which was an improved version of the cog and was the main ship type in the early days of Europe's great voyages of discovery.

The third generation is the more well-known galleon and its derivatives, which can be regarded as the mainstream warship era from the 16th to the 17th century. Most of the Western warships of this period were modified on the basis of the galleon. They are characterized by a relatively round and short bow, a tall and luxurious stern at the back, and a high raised butt.

The battleships of this period were still divided into the traditional levels one to six.

By the fourth generation, the classification of warships was no longer so clear, and there were no longer several levels of ships. Instead, they were directly classified according to the number of guns, such as more than 70 guns, 50 to guns, to more than guns, less than guns, less than guns, etc.

During this period, because of the hundreds of years of great navigation, large timber resources had been almost consumed, and the navies of various countries began to pursue cost-effectiveness and find a balance between combat power and construction cost. The representative work was the 74-gun battleship developed by France during the Napoleonic era, which was imitated by navies of various countries as soon as it came out.

After that, the main warships of the navies of various countries all became this type of 74-gun battleship. They have the body of a third-class ship and the firepower of a second-class ship. They can even compete with the main first-class ships of some not-so-strong navies. They can be said to have found the comfort zone of the triangle of firepower, seaworthiness and cost, and focus on cost-effectiveness.

By the time of the fifth generation, that is, in the mid-to-late 16th century and the early to mid-to-18th century, on the eve of the birth of the steamship and at the end of the sailing ship era, a type of ship called the clipper evolved. It did not pursue speed as extreme as the clipper, but of course its speed was not slow either. With full sail and favorable wind, it could reach about to knots. It also found a balance between speed, seaworthiness, and sturdiness, allowing it to serve as a warship.

Although clippers are fast, and can even reach extreme speeds of 21 knots under the right conditions, which is much faster than early steamships, clippers are only merchant ships and are not suitable as warships. Therefore, Lu Jin did not classify them in the same generation as sailing warships.

By the fifth generation of this type of clipper ship, it continued to develop and turned directly into a steamship. There was also a transitional period in which sails and steam engines coexisted, called motor sailers, most of which were also this type of clipper ship.

The Yuanwang, built by Lu Jin, is a fifth-generation clipper. It is the pinnacle of wooden sailing warships, and Lu Jin has also incorporated all the excellent sailing technologies from China and the West.

The Western clipper ship type and full-length gun deck; the watertight bulkheads used to improve anti-sinking, and the bilge keel (stabilizer fin) to improve seaworthiness and overall longitudinal strength. These two technologies have already appeared in China during the Song Dynasty, but the West has not used them until modern power ships, and they were also directly added by Lu Jin.

The reason why this ship looks like a modern steamship is that it is the predecessor of the modern steamship. It can be used by simply adding a propeller and a steam engine. Even the ship shape does not need to be changed, because Western ships were developed using this ship shape.

Obviously, there is already mature and reliable experience, so why not just copy it? If we follow the West to evolve sailing technology, how much wood resources will be wasted? So just go straight to the point!
Otherwise, when the steamship was invented in the future, China's Fuchuan ship model would not be suitable, mainly because it would be difficult to add propellers and steam engines, and the ship model would have to be modified again. Now, with this ship, we don't have to modify the ship model in the future.

In addition, even the armament of this ship was designed by Lu Jin with reference to the 74-gun battleships of France during the Napoleonic era, balancing firepower, cost and seaworthiness, and having a very high overall cost-effectiveness. The 74-gun battleship has the body of a third-class ship and the firepower of a second-class ship, while Lu Jin's Yuanwang has the body of a second-class ship and the firepower of a first-class ship.

There is an important technical indicator for evaluating whether the firepower of a warship in the sailing era is strong, which is the total weight of the shells fired by the ship's single-sided artillery in a salvo. The heavier the total weight, the stronger the firepower.

Britain's most famous sailing ship, the Victory, had three continuous gun decks and one intermittent open deck, a total of four decks. The ship carried more than 1064 guns, but the total weight of its single-side salvo shells was only 483 pounds, about kilograms.

Although Lu Jin's Yuanwang had only two continuous gun decks and one intermittent open-air gun deck, a total of three decks, the cost of a second-class ship, and was equipped with 96 guns, the weight of a single-side salvo reached 589.5 kilograms, about 1300 pounds, which was more powerful than the British first-class ship. It would be a crushing force even if it encountered the Victory.

Moreover, the Yuanwang uses a more advanced and faster speed ship than the Shengli. The Shengli may not be able to catch up with this ship. Whether to fight or retreat can be decided by Lu Jin. He can kill the enemy by flying a kite.
If this type of ship is developed, the sailing age will be able to crush any opponent. By the time the opponent learns these technologies, two or three hundred years later, Lu Jin will probably have evolved into a steam ironclad ship.
Just as Lu Jin was standing in front of the gun porthole, explaining to Tao Guangyi what broadside firepower was and how to command and operate ship-borne artillery, the great scholars who had understood the whole story came over with the atlas. "Your Highness, can the corn in Lizhou on the other side of the East China Sea really produce more than a thousand kilograms per mu?" Song Lian asked, pointing to a page of the atlas.

Lu Jin glanced at them and asked, "Do you want to hear the truth or a lie?"

Everyone looked at each other when they heard this, and Lu Jin spoke without waiting for their answer.

“To be honest, corn does have the potential to produce 1,000 kilograms per mu, but that requires artificial breeding. Moreover, there may be thousands of varieties of corn in Lizhou, just like rice is divided into japonica rice, indica rice, glutinous rice, upland rice, early rice, late rice, and Champa rice. There are more varieties of corn, and you may not find a high-yield variety the first time you go there.

“But even if it can only produce a little over 100 kilograms per mu, so what? What’s important is that it can be rotated with winter wheat in the north, do you understand?
"The yield of winter wheat per mu is now more than 100 catties, or one dan at most, and this corn can also yield at least one dan per mu. If it can be promoted in the north, the north can also achieve two crops a year and double the yield. Even if it is only more than 100 catties per mu, that is half of the north's territory. Isn't it worth doing?
"Moreover, corn is drought-resistant and barren-resistant. It does not need to compete with staple food for fertile land. For example, paddy fields in the south can continue to grow high-yield rice, while those water-scarce and relatively barren hillsides can be used to grow corn, sweet potatoes can be planted at the foot of the mountain, and potatoes can be planted on the top of the mountain.

"These potatoes can be grown in the northwest and even in the northern desert, and the yield is higher than corn. Aren't these things worth looking for?"

Everyone nodded when they heard this, and Zhu Sheng immediately said, "If this thing really exists, it is certainly worth looking for. Moreover, Your Highness has even planned the route. Your Highness is so proficient in astronomy and geography, I think it should not be fake."

"." Lu Jin was speechless after hearing that. There were actually people who thought that it was fake.

Tao Kai also asked, "I dare to say that it is not that I do not believe what Your Highness said, but I was born in Taizhou and have seen many sea merchants of all kinds, but no one has ever said that there is really a Mayan country in Lizhou across the East China Sea, and there are corn, potatoes, sweet potatoes and other rare things there? Has Your Highness ever seen these crops with your own eyes?"

"Not only have I seen it, I've also eaten it." Lu Jin was speechless.

Tao Kai was even more puzzled, "Then why didn't His Highness bring it back directly when he came back?"

"I wanted to bring back all the good stuff, but was it possible? I didn't have a boat at that time, and I didn't even bring back the original Gongshu Secret Book that was passed down in my family.

"Besides, this matter is top secret. How can we let outsiders know about it? The countless gold and silver and high-yield crops in Lizhou, if obtained by any wise monarch, will easily extend the country's prosperity for another hundred years. If such heaven-defying things are taken by the Tartars in Mobei, how can we Han people have a chance to rise?"

Everyone looked at each other in surprise when they heard this, but if they thought about it carefully, if it was really as Lu Jin said, these things could double the per-acre yield in the northern half of the country, and could also grow grain in the northern desert. If they were coupled with a wise monarch who could govern the country, the national strength would surely increase greatly. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the country's prosperity could last for another hundred years.

Thinking of this, Song Lian was the first to accept this fact. He asked more directly, "Then when does Your Highness plan to let Mr. Huanzhang go out to sea to get it?"

Lu Jin said immediately, "The boat is already built, isn't it time to launch it today? It will take another month or two to install the sails and ropes, and the boat will be ready to go out to sea in October.

"But if we take the northern route, the best time to sail is in May, which is just in time to catch the southeast monsoon. It won't be too cold to sail through the Qingqiu Islands in summer. So if we calculate it this way, it will take at least half a year."

Song Lian nodded, "In that case, it will be very soon. I just saw Lu Bu's victory report today, saying that the soldiers of the Shengwu Army have conquered Linyi and Tengzhou. I think Your Highness will definitely send troops to the north this year. Even if you can't march all the way to Dadu in one go, it won't be far away.

"In this way, we can take back these crops by the end of next year, and start promoting their cultivation two years later. When Your Highness conquers the world, these high-yield crops will surely help the people of the world get rid of the suffering of famine sooner rather than later. Perhaps the six words "people cannibalizing each other during a year of famine" will never appear in history books again."

Lu Jin immediately said, "But to accomplish these things, I still need the assistance of all the gentlemen. Otherwise, how can I take care of so many things with my limited energy?"

Song Lian and the others immediately bowed solemnly and said, "Your Highness cares about the people and has the ambition to save the common people. He is truly a model of a benevolent monarch. In this era of great change, with a wise and virtuous ruler in front of us, if Your Highness does not abandon us, we will work together to help the king solve his problems and stabilize the world as soon as possible!"

Seeing this, Lu Jin immediately stepped forward to hold the hands of several people, and laughed, "With such great talents as you gentlemen, there is no need to worry about the world not being pacified. Come on, follow me to get off the boat. We can't delay the craftsmen here for too long, otherwise the craftsmen in the shipyard will think we are annoying. Mr. Huanzhang, let the craftsmen prepare to launch the boat."

Wang Dayuan immediately asked, "Your Highness, don't you need to prepare any ceremony?"

Upon hearing this, Lu Jin immediately asked, "What ceremony are you preparing? I, Gongshu, do not believe in ghosts and gods. I only believe in respecting heaven and following ancestors. Let's go into the water today. When you set sail, I will take you to offer sacrifices to heaven. If heaven has eyes, it will surely bless you with a safe journey and bring back grain to save the people."

"Yes, thank you, Your Highness. I will prepare it right away."

"Go ahead, we'll get off the boat first."

After Lu Jin and everyone got off the boat, Wang Dayuan also greeted the craftsmen and gave the order to open the gates. As the craftsmen raised the iron gates of the water pipe, the surging river water immediately poured into the dock along the ceramic pipes.

With the influx of a large amount of river water, the water level in the dock rose rapidly. The hull of the Yuanwang, which had been motionless, slowly rose up under the buoyancy of the water and swayed a few times with the waves. The craftsmen who had been prepared on both sides of the dock immediately pulled the hull with ropes to prevent it from hitting the brick and stone side walls of the dock.

After waiting for about an hour, the water level in the dock finally rose to the same level as the river water. At this time, the water levels inside and outside were the same, the pressure difference disappeared, and the herringbone watertight dock door could be easily opened. After the craftsmen opened the dock door with a capstan, two river boats came and towed the floating Yuanwang out of the dock and stopped it at the deep-water dock on the riverside.

Then people were sent on board to check the ship, and no leakage or tilting problems were found, so the launching of the new ship was declared a success.

Many people gathered on the river bank to watch the launching. It was the first time for many of them to see a ship built in this way being launched, and they couldn't help but marvel at it.

Even Tao Kai, who was born in Taizhou and was used to seeing shipbuilding, couldn't help but admire it, "This dock is really a good thing. It can draw water to float the boats directly and drag them into the river. It saves a lot of trouble. Unlike in Taizhou, the craftsmen still have to build the boats on the shore and then push them into the water."

Upon hearing this, Lu Jin was immediately curious and asked, "Sir, have you never heard of a shipyard before? How come I heard that this kind of shipbuilding facility already existed in the Song Dynasty?"

"Really? I am really ignorant. I have never heard of it before." Tao Kai smiled bitterly.

At this time, a fast horse came from the direction of Jiankang City, but before it got close, it was stopped by Lu Jin's guards. A moment later, Li Dingbang, the captain of Lu Jin's guards, came to report, "Your Highness, Prime Minister Feng from the cabinet sent someone to report that the troops from the south and the Central Plains have all arrived at the battle starting positions and can march to the front at any time."

Lu Jin nodded and said, "Okay, I get it. There are still nine days left. There's no rush. It won't be too late when the weather gets cooler in a few days. Let them wait at the front first."

Song Lian seemed to understand what he said, and asked in confusion, "Your Highness, aren't you going to deploy troops in the north this year? Why are you also going to deploy troops in the south and the Central Plains?"

Lu Jin immediately smiled and said, "Yes, I will use troops in three directions at the same time. Otherwise, if we continue to drag on like this, when will we be able to pacify the world?

"Since you gentlemen know about this, I wonder who has better literary talent and can help me draft a manifesto?"
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PS: Please vote for me for the monthly update. This chapter is yesterday's. I will continue tomorrow.
(End of this chapter)