The Great Seminary

Chapter 320 Finally Got It

Zhang Gui, holding the gold thread, lifted the copper coin to his lips and blew on it forcefully, just as Hai Zhenqing had instructed.
The breath passed through the square hole of the coin, which was round at the top and square at the bottom, and the coin itself immediately vibrated slightly.

At the same time, it emits a faint 'buzzing' sound.

If you listen carefully, you can tell that there are human voices mixed in.
"King Kui, in his capacity as regent, secretly mobilized the Panlong Army as its commander, to be mixed with troops to defend the three cities of Jinling..."

"This is a really useful and useful gadget!" Zhang Gui exclaimed after successfully trying it out.

Hai Zhenqing shook his head and said:

"Use this 'green coin' to send messages; you can only listen, not reply."

More importantly, the different 'Qingfu mother coins' are linked together with the 'Qingfu daughter coins', which occasionally connect with each other.

So it's fine for transmitting messages, but it's not very safe for plotting.

"So that's how it is, but it's already a wonderful item..."

Zhang Gui accepted the money for the green cicadas with a smile, and then asked Hai Zhenqing for more detailed instructions on how to use them.

Afterwards, the guests and hosts left the restaurant, having enjoyed themselves to the fullest.

It was now completely dark.

Just then, the only ship that rightfully belonged to Zhang Gui, the 'Cloud Whale Kunpeng Ship,' returned from Tianqiao Island and was being reloaded.

Hai Zhenqing couldn't help but say regretfully:
“Brother Gui, you’re using the ‘Cloud Whale Kunpeng Ship’ like an ordinary armed cargo ship.”

What a waste!

To be honest, if I hadn't heard about the 'Cloud Whale Kunpeng Ship' in Zhihai Town, I probably wouldn't have bothered coming here to suffer.

Hearing Hai Zhenqing's unintentional confession confirm his own thoughts, Zhang Gui smiled inwardly, but did not follow his own inclination to make a few sarcastic remarks.

Instead, he showed a surprised expression.

"is that so.

"This 'Cloud Whale Kunpeng Ship' is indeed good, but it's not worth Brother Zhenqing's excessive attention, is it?"

The Akagami family is the only one among the three great military families of the Ming-Song Kingdom to specialize in naval warfare.

His understanding of mechanical warships was naturally unique, and it was worthwhile for him to pretend to be ignorant and "listen to it."

As expected, Hai Zhenqing became interested in talking and started pointing out the "landscape" in the street.
"You know, Zhao Zhusha, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, came from a poor family, but he was a bold and magnanimous man who disliked complicated matters."

Therefore, the military's warships were simply divided into categories from largest to smallest:
The eight categories are: "all inferior, A superior, A character, B superior, B character, C superior, C character, and D character".

Ships with a value of less than 300 are considered "miscellaneous ships" and are not counted.

Starting at 300 tons, it will be a 'D-class ship';
The ship was designated as a "Class C" vessel.
Five thousand materials is considered 'Ci Shang';
The ship was designated as a "Class B" vessel.
Thirty thousand pieces of material is 'Bai Shang';
Ten thousand pieces of material are designated as '甲字';
Three hundred thousand pieces of material are considered 'top grade';
The amount of money involved was considered "all inferior".

When the founding emperor was alive, no one ever objected to this.

Even when Emperor Taizu performed the Fengshan ceremony, the Ministry of War, together with the Ministry of Revenue, mobilized a large number of troops to select 861 types of "T-shaped" warships from all over the world that could be built at that time...

There are twenty-four types of 'Class A' warships, sixteen types of 'Class A Upper' warships, and two types of 'Class A Lower' large warships.

Touring the world to uphold national prestige!
But later, Emperor Taizu passed away, and the Prince of Yan swept through the north and became Emperor Taizong.

His most trusted and ruthless strategist, Monk Yao, submitted a memorial stating that in naval warfare, the size of the mechanical ships was indeed important.

But more important is the overall unity of factors, such as what kind of 'tactics' can be used, the speed, the sturdiness of the hull, and so on.

Emperor Taizong agreed wholeheartedly and abolished Emperor Taizu's "Eight Categories of Mechanical Warships Classification Method".

But in reality, everyone knows that in war, a larger ship doesn't guarantee victory.

Who doesn't understand that even the largest ironclad tortoise-like mechanical ship can't ram the cloud whale-like Kunpeng warship!

As Hai Zhenqing pointed at the Ironwood Turtle mechanical ship and the Cloud Whale Kunpeng ship, he said...
"Using the 'eight-category classification method' to categorize the strength of mechanical warships is actually the simplest and clearest approach."

It is something that the general public can understand at a glance and comprehend immediately.

The Ministry of War originally built the "model ships" to distinguish the "functions" of warships. If we only consider their ability to travel on water, the ironwood tortoise-shaped mechanical ships could actually be built to a capacity of one million taels.

But who in this world, besides a fool, would do that…?

Zhang Gui had already figured out that Hai Zhenqing was a fan of Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty and a hater of Emperor Taizong.

He spoke with a lot of emotion and prejudice, and I couldn't help but curse my bad luck inwardly.

“It’s over.

I was hoping to hear this young master, who had received elite education as the heir to the first line of ancient naval warfare martial arts from the Ming and Song dynasties, share his unique perspective on mechanical warships.

This is what happened. I should have known better than to listen to that.

Now that they're in the mood, and they just gave me some benefits, I can't just spoil their fun.

He who eats another's food is bound to him; he who takes another's money is bound to him.

We have no choice but to endure it.

So he always wore an expression of approval on his face, and occasionally nodded and smiled approvingly.

Then Hai Zhenqing continued babbling on and on…

"...Your 'Cloud Whale Kunpeng Ship' was originally supposed to be classified as one of the sixteen types of Class A warships, no, it should have been one of the seventeen types of Class A warships."

But building this ship requires large whales and roc birds from the sea as raw materials.

Furthermore, its characteristic is that the greater its 'draft', the stronger its combat power.

At that time, the Ministry of War planned to build a 990,000-ton Yunjing Kunpeng warship at the Guangsheng Shipyard in the Dongyue Province.

As the head of the seventeen types of armored warships lined up during the world tour.

Suddenly, a once-in-a-millennium tsunami struck, sinking the Yunjing Kunpeng ship that was about to be launched.

The Ministry of War felt this was an ominous sign, and since they couldn't catch enough giant whales and roc birds in the sea before the Fengshan ceremony, they couldn't rush to build a "Jia Shang" cloud whale and roc ship.

So they simply removed it from the list of ships in the "Eight Categories of Warships Classification Method".

Those who are not experts in this field can hardly appreciate the power of this ship.

That means small boats are useless; we have to save up and build bigger ones!

"I got it! It wasn't a waste of time to 'hear it'!"
As the most elite direct descendant of the foremost military family in the Ming-Song naval warfare, he certainly has substantial knowledge and skills.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Gui's eyes widened, and his smile became genuine as he spoke:

"Is that so? I must be so ignorant."

Truly, "A single conversation with a wise man is worth more than ten years of study."

"It's just some observations, nothing special."

Hai Zhenqing laughed triumphantly:
"Brother Gui, I estimate that your Cloud Whale Kunpeng ship is worth around 30,000 materials."

It could already be included in the old "Eight Categories of Warships Classification Method", and it was placed on the warship.

It is only one level inferior to the naval warfare weaponry of my prestigious 'Red Valley River and Sea Family' young master's private army.

That's why I said it's a real waste to use it for transporting goods.

Zhang Gui waved his hands repeatedly and said:

"Although my understanding of mechanical warships is far less profound than yours, Brother Zhenqing, I do understand that the difference between A and B among strange war machines is like heaven and earth."

Your 'Centipede Dragon Boat' against my 'Cloud Whale Kunpeng Ship' would probably win in a single dive.

The two are incomparable.

(End of this chapter)