Chapter 335 Shipyard 1

After appeasing this group of resentful businessmen, Zhang Yang did not linger in the beautiful Zhouzhuang and returned to Pingjiang City with Shiyi.

Zhang Yang listened to Shi Yi's report in detail. The current situation on Pingjiang Road is stable, and the people agree with the measures taken by Zhang Yang. The people are waiting for the land to be distributed into their own hands soon.

Because he has agreed with the claim of the imperial court, the Songjiang Mansion and Jiaxing Road in the east have nominally belonged to him and avoided the destruction of war.

Pingjiang City is originally a city of commercial gathering. All kinds of goods can circulate freely here. After the Rebels occupied here, they did not disturb the people. All kinds of goods entering the city only for routine inspection, and there were no private bribery. The merchants were also very satisfied with this.

The only problem is the business tax received, which has done a good job for those big businessmen to collect it in the future. As long as it is fair and reasonable, there will be no big problem.

Zhang Yang came to Pingjiang, and what he was most concerned about was the shipyard.

The Pingjiang River is next to Taihu Lake, and the waterways are connected in all directions. There were several large shipyards here, which were already very famous in the Song Dynasty.

However, when it came to the Yuan Dynasty, water transportation did not develop. Although the Yuan Dynasty also had sea transportation, such as loading grain from the south to the sea road to the capital, these did not become the mainstream. The largest water transportation was still the inland river transportation, which was also Zhang Yang cut off the transportation, and most of them were trapped in the situation of food shortage.

The shipbuilding industry in this era has not been encouraged or destroyed too much. It is just in place. For example, the main ship of Shen Wansan Shipping is a four-masted sailboat that has been able to adapt to maritime transportation.

When Zheng He went to the West, the kind of large treasure ship comparable to an aircraft carrier was still unimaginable in this era.

"Shiyi, we need to build a shipyard on the edge of Taihu Lake in the Pingjiang River to make our large ships." Zhang Yang said.

Hearing this, Bian Yuanheng was very excited. The eldest brother promised him at the beginning, and it was finally coming true. Although Bian Yuanheng didn't like the water army when he first became the leader of the water army. He still dreamed of thousands of troops and horses galloping on the land. However, after he really mastered the water army, he found that the water army was actually more powerful than the horse army.

Especially after the powerful God of War cannon is installed on the warship, it can collapse ordinary walls with one gun and attack those cities along the river bank, and the water army has an advantage.

Now, the eldest brother is going to build a professional warship for himself. How can he not be moved?

"Brother, are you going to build a new warship for the navy?" Bian Yuanheng asked.

Zhang Yang took a look at Bian Yuanheng and said, "We need to start from scratch, from the construction of the shipyard to the trial production of a new warship, which requires a lot of work. The first new warship can only be seen in three years at the earliest."

Bian Yuanheng dimmed for a moment and said, "Brother, are you going to be so slow?"

Shi Yi also said, "Brother, that's right. Does it take so long to build a boat? With enough craftsmen, we can start work immediately.

These guys seem to be full of expectations for the new warships. Zhang Yang said, "The warships can't be built casually. If there is a problem with the design, then there will be all kinds of unexpected dangers when sailing in the sea. Moreover, our warships need to be equipped with a larger steam engine, steam. The aircraft also needs to be developed and matched with the warship. More importantly, our warship needs to be covered with a layer of iron armor on the surface, resulting in a high center of gravity. Therefore, we need a more appropriate design. Our shipyard starts from scratch, and everything is expensive.

In addition to finding the right talent, this capital is also a large amount. With the current economic strength, it is still a little difficult to maintain the operation of such a shipyard.

What? Does the surface of the ship need to be covered with iron armor? Do you still want to sail on the sea? Everyone was shocked by Zhang Yang's argument.

"Brother, do you mean that the surface of our ship is not wood, but iron?" Bian Yuanheng asked.

"Of course, I originally wanted to build a ship entirely with iron, but unfortunately, our current technology did not meet the requirements, so we retreated and wrapped a layer above the ship's waterline with iron, so that we can run across the whole sea. We are not afraid of pirates or the sailors of small countries." Zhang Yang said.

Obviously, they can't keep up with Zhang Yang's thinking. Their minds have not changed. They are still thinking that with the water army, they can dominate Jiangnan more, but Zhang Yang has already looked at the whole world, not only in the Central Plains, but also overseas, but also their own colonies!

Now in this world, Europe has not yet emerged. Before they developed, the whole world had planted the banner of the Han people. This is Zhang Yang's greater dream.

Only when you have a dream can you have motivation. Large ocean-going warships need to be prepared from now on.

"Brother, we have a ready-made shipyard in Pingjiang. Let's just recruit them." Shi Yi said.

"No way." Zhang Yang said, "I have considered that the geographical location of the shipyard is not suitable, and the water supply is too shallow for our shipyard. We need to build a new one."

"In the past two days, we need to determine the location of the shipyard, and we need to excavate a large number of shipbuilders. We will pay generous money to invite all the excellent shipbuilders in the south of the Yangtze River." Zhang Yang finally settled: "Building is a big deal, so we must not be in a hurry. We must be safe."

"Brother, I heard that there is an old man in Pingjiang City, named Zu Xingzhi, who is a great shipbuilder. His ancestors used to be famous in the Southern Qi Dynasty." Shi Yi said.

Zu Chongzhi? Who doesn't know this? This is the first person to calculate pi. It is more than a thousand years earlier than the West, and it can be called a great scientist.

His descendants are definitely not only those who know it. They must have scientific literacy. However, this ancestor Chongzhi is now nearly 800 years away. Have his descendants really made achievements in shipbuilding?

I'm still an old man. You know, shipbuilding is a waste of energy. Old man, can you have so much energy?

However, since I know it, I have to go.

"Well, let's go to see this big shipbuilder." Zhang Yang said.

By the time of the Southern Dynasties, Jiangnan had developed into a large ship that could build 1,000 tons. In order to improve the speed of navigation, Zu Chongzhi, a great scientist in the Southern Qi Dynasty, built another thousand-mile ship and tried it on the Xinting River, saying that he traveled more than a hundred miles.

This kind of thousand-mile ship is a ship equipped with paddle wheels, which is called a 'carship'. This kind of ship uses manpower to push the ship forward by pedaling on wheels. Although the sail is not as economical as using natural forces, it is also a great invention, which provides new ideas for the improvement of ship power later and occupies an important position in the history of shipbuilding. In fact, this car and boat are similar to the paddle wheels driven by Zhang Yang's steam engine.

The ancestral family has been mainly studying natural wonders for generations, and is not interested in being an official. In the generation of ancestral knowledge, although the family has fallen and did not engage in the shipbuilding industry due to the reasons of the imperial court, this craft has still not been lost.

The ancestral family is in a narrow lane in Pingjiang City, that is, a civilian area. The real master is always hidden in the folk.

This house has a history of at least hundreds of years. Looking at the mottled walls and the moss on the empty door, you will know that this place, like Zhou Zhuang, is full of the heaviness of history.

"Is anyone at home?" Bian Yuanheng asked.

The guard brought by

has already quietly controlled various commanding heights. Once the danger is found, it can be dispatched to stop it as soon as possible.

And Zhang Yang, Bian Yuanheng, and Shi Yi all changed into civilian clothes to avoid attracting attention.

It took a long time for a trembling old man to come out and open the door.

"Excuse me, is this your ancestral home?" Zhang Yang asked.

"Yes, that's right. Who are you looking for?"

Zhang Yang looked at the old man in front of him and suddenly had a sense of regret. He said that he was an old man. Now he is so old that he has to be helped to walk, and his eyes are dazzled. Can such a person take on the heavy responsibility of the shipyard?

Don't joke, the shipyard is not a nursing home.

"Afu," at this time, another voice came from inside: "Who is here?"

With the voice, a energetic old man came, wearing an unusual practice uniform. It seemed that he had just finished practicing Tai Chi.

"Sir, these people are looking for..." Before he finished speaking, he turned his head and asked, "Who are you looking for?"

The one behind is the Lord, and Zhang Yang was relieved: "Excuse me, are you Mr. Zu Xingzhi?"

"Yes, it's me." Zu Xingzhi said, "I don't know how many of you are here. What are you doing?"

He carefully looked at the few people in front of him. Although he was dressed in ordinary clothes, he had a sense of self-confidence and ability. He could also see from their eyes that there was a momentum that had been on top for a long time. This momentum was only available to generals with heavy soldiers.

Zhang Yang said, "I heard that the old gentleman has a lot of research on shipbuilding. We take the liberty to come here to ask the old gentleman some questions."

"So that's it. Everyone, please come in." Zu Xingzhi said.

It's really scientific, and even the living room has visited several small mechanical appliances.

Unfortunately, in this era, Confucianism is only valued. These things are called crooked sects and are not valued by the imperial court.

At first glance, Zhang Yang saw a wooden parrot, holding a wooden stick below with only one mouth, and his whole body suspended in the air.

This naturally applies the principle of center of gravity. Although the parrot is large, the center of gravity is on the line of the stick. Therefore, although it seems to have no support, it is very strong.

What surprised Zhang Yang most was the model of a ship. The beginning and tail of this ship were pointed, and the bottom was narrow and long, which could reduce the resistance of water as much as possible. What surprised him most was that there was no mast on it and used the same water wheel as his own boat.

No way, what kind of power does he use for such a big water wheel?

Out of the courtesy of the guests, Zhang Yang did not pick it up and study it.

(to be continued)