My eunuch godfather

Chapter 142 The Great Ship Sets Sail

Rewind to two months ago, when Li Dan's fleet delivered the first batch of timber to the coastal defense camp shipyard.

Timber cannot be used directly to build ships because its moisture content is too high.

At sea, repeated exposure to the sun and seawater will cause it to crack and deform quickly.

This can cause the ship to leak or even break apart!

There are three methods for processing timber in the world today:

The first method is natural air drying, which takes about three years.

This method offers the best results and the longest lifespan, but Zhang Kun would never choose it.

The second method involves soaking the food first, then drying it, which takes about six months.

The soaking process was referred to as "de-scenting" by contemporary artisans.

Remove resin, sap, insect eggs, etc. from inside the wood to initially release stress.

In the future, methods such as boiling in seawater instead of soaking and strong pressure shaping will be used to speed up the process.

The third method is to dry it directly in the oven, which takes about a month.

The ships built from these vessels have a very short lifespan and are more prone to accidents.

This method of emergency manufacturing is only used during wartime.

Fortunately, Yizhou is indeed a treasure island.

There are many ancient trees that are over a thousand years old, with a high proportion of "heartwood" that has a low moisture content.

It can even turn raw materials into finished products; after simple processing, they can be used to build ships!

The drying kiln is located next to the shipyard.

"Great General, this is the drying kiln we built!"

William Jansen, from the Netherlands, claims to have worked as an engineering assistant at an Amsterdam shipyard.

Pointing to the kiln behind him and the kiln worker beside him, he respectfully introduced to Zhang Kun: "The four walls of the kiln are made of rammed earth with an additional layer in the middle to maintain the temperature."

The roof is made of three layers of logs sandwiched with two layers of ash, which is also used to maintain temperature.

The drying kiln was fifty paces long and wide, supported by brick and stone pillars, and could dry very large pieces of timber!

Opening the kiln door reveals that some wood has already begun to dry inside the drying kiln.

Stove after stove were placed on the ground for heating.

Meanwhile, the kiln workers would also pour water on the wood every now and then.

This is to prevent the wood from cracking because the outside dries quickly while the inside dries slowly.

João, a shipbuilding engineer from Portugal who worked for the Jesuit order in Xiangshan'ao, suddenly interrupted, saying, "General, there are many things he hasn't told you!"

For example, his drying method had never been used on those giant trees in Yizhou.

After listening to the arguments from both sides, Zhang Kun ultimately leaned towards William Jansen.

Although William Jansen's drying method may not work, it is still more feasible than natural sun drying.

As for those giant trees in Yizhou, it would be a pity to waste them, but it would be an even greater waste not to use them!

Back to the present, the first galleon at the Haiphong Shipyard is about to be launched!

Although João did not know how to build drying kilns, his shipbuilding experience was indeed more extensive than that of William Jansen.

In terms of shipbuilding progress, they have left William Jansen far behind.

The displacement is 360 tons.

It is equipped with 10 ship cannons, one at the bow and one at the stern, and four on each side.

A hundred years or even a few decades from now, this thing will only be called a frigate.

However, by today's standards, it could be considered a light cruiser.

Zhang Kun designated this class of warship as the "Haihe-class," and named the new ship Haihe-1.

William Jansen's ship was named Haihe II.

Considering that the Haihe-class warships were mainly used for coastal operations, except for the Haihe II.

All other Haihe-class vessels must be manufactured according to the Haihe-1 ship plans.

When the Haihe River was launched for the second time, it completed a trial voyage to Dengzhou, together with the Haihe River I.

Zhang Kun plans to assemble a fleet, with the ten Fujian-style ships that were part of Li Huamei's dowry as the main force.

Incorporate Haihe River 1 and Haihe River 2 into it, and sail south to Guangzhou!

As for the official title, Zhang Kun relied on his eunuch godfather and Lu Shou, who was in charge of the Directorate of Ceremonial and concurrently the head of the Eastern Depot.

He obtained a commission from the Wanli Emperor in the palace to "inspect the coastal defenses and procure goods from the south".

All Zhang Kun needs to do is get 50 taels of silver back for the Wanli Emperor.

Left with no other option, Zhang Kun had to further expand his fleet in order to complete Emperor Wanli's mission.

Through the council, twenty-six fine-feathered ships were recruited and added to the fleet.

The crew of Haihe I and Haihe II number around 100 people.

The Fujian-style ship had a crew of about 80 people and a displacement of about 200 tons.

The "Hai Xun Cai" fleet has a total crew of over 3000 people and a total displacement of 7900 tons!

Its actual cargo capacity is around 3500 tons.

This means that the fleet can carry more than 580 million catties of cargo!

Considering that the fleet was essentially a government-run smuggling operation and could earn the 50 taels required by the Wanli Emperor, it didn't seem too difficult.

The departure time for the patrol and procurement fleet was set for the end of the first month of the 46th year of the Wanli reign.

Both the southward and northward journeys took about two months, with about a month spent in Guangzhou and Houfeng, and the return trip to Tianjin was around the end of July.

There is still more than a month to prepare.

The entire Zhang Kun Group, as well as the entire Dagukou maritime merchant community centered around the Shangyi Hall, are being mobilized!

Goods of various kinds, with a total value of over 70 taels of silver, began to gather at Dagu Port via various trade routes.

First and foremost, of course, are the goods from the various merchant houses of the Hehai Society:

High-end light-colored teas from brands like Zhenjinhao, and exquisite books like Jin Ping Mei from Guangwenhao.

High-end liquors such as Yubing Shao from Shaochunhao, and glass products from Yubinghao.

Secondly, there are specialties from Shanxi, Tatar, Zhili, Liaodong, and the Joseon Dynasty:

Shanxi is known for its Lu silk, alum, walnuts, and Scutellaria baicalensis.

Tatars produce white ghee, wolf fat, cow horns, cowhide, cow tendons, horse mane, horse tail, and wool.

Products from Zhili and Bohai include Changlu salt, red dates, prawns, dried scallops, sea cucumbers, dried fish, and kelp.

The Liaodong and Jurchen peoples possessed mink, rat, fox, deer, antler, pearls, pine nuts, hazelnuts, wood ear fungus, mushrooms, and other valuables.

Korean paper, ginseng, seaweed, and large hats from the Joseon Dynasty...

Of these, less than 20 taels of goods belonged to Zhang Kun's Hehai Society.

The remaining 50 taels of goods belonged to the entire Dagu Port merchant group centered around the Chamber of Commerce.

More than half of the payments were raised through credit or loans.

The Consultative Hall and Haidong News Agency played a crucial role in this process.

The overall situation was managed by the Council of Deliberations, and the Haidong ship of the Haidong Society specialized in finance.

To the greatest extent possible, we will procure a fleet of vessels for the patrol and reduce costs such as financing, purchasing, and hiring.

Ultimately, after deducting the 50 taels paid as tribute to the Wanli Emperor, the fleet still owed a debt of 40 taels of principal plus interest.

In addition, there were various costs, including goods and labor, totaling 40 taels.

In other words, the fleet needs to earn at least 130 million taels of silver to be profitable!

Zhang Kun is confident in this, and he must be confident, so that the outside world can have confidence in this fleet.

If the outside world loses confidence in this fleet, then the debt of 40 taels will immediately come crashing down!

The Wanli Emperor in the palace would most likely also require Zhang Kun to hand over 50 taels of "southern goods" in advance!

Therefore, Zhang Kun had to personally participate in the fleet's voyage, at least the initial voyage.

It's another high-stakes gamble.

It was a much bigger gamble than the Jin Yun, the Nanjing Jin Yun, the suppression of bandits and the pacification of rebels, and the Shengzhou Society!

No matter how many times Zhang Kun reflected on himself, he could not suppress the intense desire that had seeped into the depths of his soul.

Expansion, expansion, expansion... endless capital expansion!

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