In the fifth year of Zhongping, on February 2, the dragon raised its head.

Kuaiji, Shunfeng Dockyard.

Today is a big day for the 890th sea-going ship to be launched together.

Zhang Cheng, who was in high spirits, came all the way to attend the ceremony.

He took the wooden hammer tied with red silk from the master craftsman Xu Jiu and smashed the clips hard.

"Boom!"

The tall, shining golden ship, with a strong smell of tung oil, trembled for a while, almost tipped down and slid into the water tank, splashing three feet of water, and finally floated steadily on the water.

"Color! Colorful color!"

The hundreds of craftsmen who were watching cheered in unison.

Compared with the previous seven traditional paddle boats, these three sea-going ships have two more pairs of paddle wheels at the waterline, which are called "paddle-wheel sea-going ships".

In addition to the paddle wheels, there are also anti-corrosion and leak-proof tung oil, watertight cabins and woodworking push planes, all of which originated from Mr. Hou’s whimsical ideas.

If a worker wants to do his job well, he must first sharpen his tools.

The use of new technologies and new tools has significantly improved the construction speed, quality and performance of the first three paddle-wheel ships.

Now, the construction period of a paddle-wheel sea-going ship has been reduced to two months by Xu Jiu and his skilled team of craftsmen.

As long as there are enough materials, the Kuaiji Shipyard can operate at full capacity and can launch eighteen high-quality large-scale ships a year.

The second batch of orders for twelve paddle wheels came one after another, and Xu Jiu said there were no problems.

However, Mr. Hou, who likes new tricks, also gave a very challenging order.

A long and narrow three-masted sailboat, its speed is at least 30% higher than that of a paddle-wheel seagoing ship.

Why three masts?

Xu Jiu and the master craftsmen didn’t understand.

However, Mr. Marquis always "hit the mark", which convinced them that such an unheard-of clipper ship could be built.

Just as they were told, Xu Jiu's team began to design sketches of various styles, and then made scaled-down ship models.

As long as the ship model can pass the test and be enlarged in size for formal construction, the specific construction is relatively simple.

Director Zhang, who is currently considered a semi-shipbuilding expert, knows very well that the three-masted clipper is a new type of warship.

If we can really reach the speed required by the order, we will be able to travel all over the world.

Therefore, Director Zhang repeatedly warned: "Don't be anxious, work slowly and carefully. If you can successfully go to sea this time, the reward will be doubled for the meritorious ones!"

The craftsmen were excited.

After the first sea ship successfully launched into the sea, Xu Jiu not only got rid of his slave status, but also got thirty acres of land and a big house, and lived a life of a rich man.

Who is not envious?

The opportunity to get rich overnight is right in front of you, and you have to get it without eating, drinking or sleeping.

Seeing the excitement among the crowd, Zhang Cheng came to the sailor camp.

In half a year, the two thousand young and strong men in the camp have improved their water skills. The first batch of three hundred sailors have boarded the ship one after another and are gradually exploring and conquering the vast sea territory.

So far, the SF Express has opened routes to Zhuojun, Donglai, Lelang, Nanhai, Jiaozhi and the Seoul Port established by Qiuliju at the southern end of the Samhan Peninsula.

Gossip: It is said that after the Marquis heard the name "Seoul", he pinched his nose and said nothing for a long time.

In addition, Dongyi Island and Yazhou Island were also discovered, and simple ports were set up in both of them.

As for Fusang Island, which is rumored to be "Xu Fu's eastward crossing", according to the instructions of the Marquis, it can be found by sailing eastward from "Seoul Port" and is currently under preparation.

According to the news from sailors, shipping by sea is simply picking up money.

Sea ships, more sea ships!

Zhang Cheng once suggested to the Marquis to expand the dock and build at least three more ship troughs.

However, the Marquis only approved the construction of an additional road specifically for the construction of three-masted clippers.

Zhang Cheng didn't know that there was a saying in later generations, "Ten years of army and a hundred years of navy".

The Marquis did not hesitate to suppress the fanatical mentality of "random leap forward" and further increased the number of professional academic personnel in the sailor camp.

The success of the Great Navigation was based on the lessons of countless shipwrecks and fatalities.

For the sake of immediate benefits, if you try to run before you stand firm, you will inevitably stumble, and it will be a big stumble.

Perfect education and training, strict management system, advanced science and technology, and good logistics support.

It requires money and even more time.

Before conquering the ocean, you must be in awe!

Not only the man who fantasizes about becoming the Pirate King is in awe, but also the sunny boy Cao Ang, and the wealthy businessman Cai Mao from Nanjun, Jingzhou.

The two people were in awe of the three paddle-wheel ships under construction in the SF Shipyard and a longer water tank being excavated.

"Uncle Shi, what do you think?"

Boss Cao has a wide circle of friends, and Cai Mao is one of his old friends.

After acquiring Badi, Cao Cao's territory quadrupled and bordered Nanjun, so Cao Ang came to recruit the Cai family to join them.

The Cai family not only owns a large area of ​​land in Nanjun, but also owns half of the merchant ships in the Yangtze River waterway, and is rich in wealth.

Although Cai Mao had heard about SF Express's acquisition of river boats, the share was not large, so he didn't take it to heart.

But Cao Ang informed that the majority of the SF Express ship was in sea transportation. He had his own dock to build sea-going ships, and river transportation was only a drizzle.

Cai Mao decided to investigate on the spot, so the two of them went down the river to Kuaiji.

Looking at the tall, golden ships on the pier, and then at his own shrimp-like river boat, Cai Mao felt very inferior.

Watching the mountains of cargo being unloaded from the ship, Cai Mao realized the huge potential of shipping.

Fortunately, okay, it’s only half a year old, and there is still a chance to catch up with SF Express.

When he learned that Cao Ang and Cai Mao were visiting, Zhang Cheng received him solemnly.

The reason why I had not roped in Cai Mao before was not only because I was an enemy in the same industry, but also because I was worried that the Cai family would be the first to attack and eat alone.

Of course, Cai Mao may keep his promise, but in that case, it won't be Zhang Cheng's turn to speak on the SF Express.

Now, Zhang Cheng, who has followed in the footsteps of Mr. Hou, is the executive director of Huitong Bank. Both Zhang Su and the Mi family are polite.

No, everyone in the Cai family is respectful and smiling.

"Since I am Meng Degong's friend, I don't have to hide it. The orders for the SF Shipyard within two years are full. It is not difficult for Brother Degui to build it by himself."

Cai Mao was very disappointed. He did have a dock at home, but he lacked master craftsmen who could build sea-going ships. After waiting for the sea-going ships in two years, he might not even be able to drink soup.

Cao Ang suddenly smiled and said: "Director Zhang, your dock is quite spacious. Isn't it difficult to build a few more water tanks?"

Zhang Cheng didn't understand what he meant, and his lord had no plans to expand for the time being.

"What do you mean, Master?"

"Can I borrow land to build a ship?"

After explanation, Zhang Cheng understood what this sunny guy meant.

The Cao family and the Cai family funded the construction of three water tanks at the SF Shipyard, and the Cai family craftsmen were responsible for building the seagoing ship.

Zhang Cheng was stunned.

Little brother, do you think I’m stupid for stealing my skills so openly?

Cao Ang smiled slightly and took a sip of the green tea soup.

"Director Zhang, why don't you ask for instructions?"

Looking at the other party's earnest eyes, Zhang Cheng felt angry and funny.

Yes, the lord is indeed out of tune sometimes, but when it comes to cultivating competitors, you will only agree to it if you are crazy.

However, since the other party mentioned it, then just ask and make you give up.

Don’t think you’re handsome and won’t be slapped in the face!

After the two whimsical guests left, Zhang Cheng wrote a long letter, truthfully reporting Cao Cai's intentions, and he also spent a lot of effort to exaggerate the threat of the Cai family.

In short, my lord, you must hold on and never agree, otherwise the Cai family will wipe out the SF Express.

After a lot of revisions, Zhang Cheng sent the letter, and then continued to keep an eye on the development process of the three-masted clipper.

Cai Mao was disappointed and didn't have any hope for the handsome young man's attempt. However, he was also looking around for craftsmen who could build sea-going ships.

If you don’t have a master craftsman, you can do it if you are a small craftsman. Maybe you can make it by just patching it together?

Cao Ang continued to visit and inspect the land of Wu, and even brought gifts to Cai Yong's house to visit him as a junior.

Cao Cao is somewhat famous, and Cao Ang has an outstanding image of being knowledgeable and sensible, and he gets along well with Mr. Cai.

Looking at the sunny boy, Mrs. Li and her husband had very different thoughts.

The eldest girl wrote a letter about the trouble that the second girl caused last time, and it seemed to be related to this person.

She is so handsome. No wonder the second girl has her thoughts turned to her. If it weren’t for her seniority...
Chapter completed!