“Laogen, Laogen…!”
Yan Xiwen roared at the top of his lungs, bringing Tan Laogen's attention back.
"Master Yan, I'll be right there!"
"Tan Laogen, the person in charge of this ship, I don't understand anyway, you can talk to him later."
Fu Xiaoguan nodded, and followed Yan Xiwen into the dock, where he saw the huge ship.
Yu Wendao was greatly surprised. There were many ships of various types traveling on the Yangtze River, but no ship was as huge as the one in front of him!
Fu Xiaoguan was extremely happy. The prototype of the warship had been completed, and it would be ready for sea trials in half a year at most.
So, the sailors have to start planning recruitment, and this task has to be left to the fat man.
With this in mind, Tan Laogen trotted over to the front of the group. He bowed to Yan Xiwen, a smile breaking out on his dark, old face. "Sir, what are your instructions?"
Yan Xiwen pointed at Fu Xiaoguan, "He... is Fu Xiaoguan!"
Tan Laogen was startled, his face stiffened, and his lips moved twice, "Your Highness...?!"
He fell to his knees with a thud, and at that moment he was so excited that tears streamed down his face.
Fu Xiaoguan quickly helped him up, "Lao Gen, you've worked hard!"
"Ah, no, no, no... I'm not bothered. Your Highness, Your Highness, the first deck of the Dreadnought is almost laid. It, it... Your Highness, please take a look. If there's anything you're not satisfied with, I'll make some modifications!"
"Laogen, come and sit down."
Fu Xiaoguan helped Tan Laogen sit down in the rest area of the dock. He looked at the monster-like ship and said with a smile, "When it comes to shipbuilding, you are the expert. I happened to be passing by here today and wanted to take a look. Are there any difficulties? Are you used to living and eating here?"
Fu Xiaoguan did not talk about the boat, but calmly talked about some trivial matters.
Yu Wendao listened carefully from the side, and he seemed to understand some of the principles.
Tan Laogen lifted his sleeve to wipe the tears from his face, choking with sobs, "Thank you for your concern, Your Highness. With Lord Yan's care, I've gotten used to everything here. We were ordered by Your Majesty to come here and build a ship for Your Highness. This is a great honor for us..."
He swallowed and continued, "Furthermore, these blueprints were created by Your Highness. After seeing them, we were astonished... Your Highness's ability is something we admire deeply. This three-masted ship is unprecedented. Its appearance will surely elevate shipbuilding technology to a whole new level. Therefore, it is our supreme honor to be able to build this ship with our own hands!"
"According to your plan, when can this ship be launched?"
"Next May."
"Okay...! I look forward to hearing good news from you next May!"
"I will definitely give His Highness good news!"
The two then talked about the ship. Tan Laogen took the blueprint and talked carefully with Fu Xiaoguan, mainly talking about the areas that should be improved according to his experience. Fu Xiaoguan listened carefully and nodded frequently to show his approval.
After all, Fu Xiaoguan was an outsider in shipbuilding. He did not dare to interfere, but only put forward two requirements of his own:
"The more broadside guns, the better, as long as the ship's performance is guaranteed!"
"This Dreadnought is a test vessel. You need to accumulate technology. The second-generation battleship's main structure will use a lot of steel, and the gunboats will be distributed across two decks... Draft, stability, speed, and so on. You need to start researching in advance..."
…
…
At the end of the Shen period, when it was getting dark, Fu Xiaoguan and his party left the dock and returned to Yao County.
Yan Xiwen naturally arranged for the best restaurant in Yao County to formally welcome Fu Xiaoguan and Yu Wendao.
In the private room of this restaurant, Yu Wendao asked curiously, "Isn't it a bit of an overkill to use a warship like this on the Yangtze River?"
Fu Xiaoguan smiled slightly. "This is a basic industry... You can understand it as if warships like this can be built, then civilian merchant ships or passenger ships can be improved. It's for the purpose of technological accumulation."
Fu Xiaoguan did not say that his goal was to form a powerful fleet to go to the other side of the sea. They probably wouldn't believe it if he said that.
Yu Wendao nodded thoughtfully, "After you return to the Wu Dynasty, our two countries are neighbors. If we can have a ship with a faster sailing speed and a greater loading capacity, it will be of great benefit to the exchanges between our two countries."
"That's right, so the Wu Dynasty will soon establish its first national-level shipbuilding company. When you return to Jinling, you can also suggest this to His Majesty. You can even send people here to learn... Although the shipbuilders here are from the Wu Dynasty, I haven't left the Yu Dynasty after all."
Fu Xiaoguan did not intend to keep the technology of this first-generation three-masted ship secret. As he said before, this thing was an experimental ship with a wooden and iron structure, and the amount of iron used was very small.
If such a ship cannot withstand two shells from the enemy in a naval battle, his next step will be to build an ironclad ship, and the next step... that depends on when the Guanyun City Research Institute can build a steam engine.
Yu Wendao poured a glass of wine for Fu Xiaoguan, "Just for what you said, let's drink a glass first!"
After drinking a glass of wine, Yan Xiwen did not let Fu Xiaoguan go. It was not because he was drinking, but because he was afraid that Fu Xiaoguan would get drunk.
He asked about the planning and layout of Wofeng Road, the stocks of Sitong Money House, and expressed deep concern about that thing.
Fu Xiaoguan did not hide anything. He told all the current policy plans of Wofengdao, but did not explain the possible risks brought by stocks.
This is because, in the letter he wrote to Yan Hanyu, the sixth prince of Yi State, he described in detail how to operate stocks and the huge benefits it could bring to Yan Hanyu!
Yan Hanyu was now taken to the poor Changtan County by Yan Liangze. This guy was crazy about money. He sent a man named Wei Xu to buy one million shares of Daoqiao in Jinling City. This gave Fu Xiaoguan an inspiration.
So he wrote a heartfelt letter to Yan Hanyu, in which he encouraged Yan Hanyu to set up a money shop and issue stocks in Long Beach County.
He let the spy in the capital of Yi Kingdom spread the news about this matter, and Yan Liangze would definitely know the content of the letter.
Yan Liangze was more aware of the changes happening at Wofengdao. He was envious of these changes, and he was certainly uneasy. He would think that everything at Wofengdao was based on stocks, because they made money quickly and seemed risk-free. So he would definitely try to learn and do it.
Yan Liangze was too poor. He needed money and he didn't have time to grope around.
He is very likely to go up rashly. Even if he doesn't plan to go up for the time being, Fu Xiaoguan will force him to go up!
The economy of the Yi State must be made even worse.
Until... a complete collapse!
All of this is in service of an unprecedented battle that has already begun!
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