Mr. Zhao couldn't leave the county, so Zhao Hao sent his godmother, the young county lady, and Xiao Zhuzi to Chongming. Because the executive class had already started, Zhao Hao couldn't send his godmother back to the capital this time, so he could only ask Chen Huaixiu to do it.
The young county lady went to Suzhou City for an inspection and took a fancy to the former imperial servant Xu Taishi's house on Shangtang Street outside Changmen. Li Mingyue's vision was really good. This place was adjacent to Liuyuan Garden in the east, Hanshan Temple in the west, Tiger Hill in the north, and Changmen Canal in the south. It was an excellent location.
Oh, yes, this place was originally called Guiyuan Temple. When Xu Taishi built the Liuyuan Garden a few years ago, he rebuilt the already declining Guiyuan Temple into a residential garden, named Xiyuan, also known as Xiyuan Temple. Therefore, the young county lady plans to name the future department store world as "Xiyuan Temple World"!
Upon hearing the news, Master Zhao was horrified and felt a chill on his back. He wanted to stop it, but the young county lady was decisive and had already made up her mind. She enthusiastically pulled Ma Xianglan to work on the design.
Zhao Hao was the leader of science, so he couldn't use excuses like feng shui or bringing bad luck to his husband, so he could only accept this name that horrified him.
However, the Xu family still had to move, then demolish the old and rebuild, and wait until the Xiyuan Temple world was born, which would be at the end of the year at the earliest. The young county lady asked Xueying to help supervise the construction, and planned to use this time to receive all-round guidance from the eldest princess, learn some business skills, and then come back to work hard.
Xiao Zhuzi returned with several books that Zhao Hao was going to publish. She is now the editor-in-chief of Jiangnan Group Tiedi Publishing House. She doesn't have to worry about the daily affairs of the publishing house, but only needs to ensure the quality of the books published.
Zhang Xiaojing was still competent for this job. She would first proofread the manuscript carefully, and then show it to her father. If he thought it was okay, then she would naturally not cause any trouble. Then she would give Zhao Hao feedback on his opinions, and after revising and proofreading it again, she could publish it with peace of mind.
So, in fact, she is currently doing the work of editor-in-charge, and the real editor-in-chief is Bu Gu. Zhao Hao made this arrangement for long-term considerations, not to please his future father-in-law. Don't you agree, father-in-law?
But this time the two girls left with more peace of mind. Because they had the company they founded. The girls who stayed with Zhao Hao were also bound by the company's rules, such as the "anti-embezzlement clause", "war readiness duty clause", "exclusive clause", "intelligence sharing clause", etc. With these rules and regulations, they felt more at ease and no longer worried.
~~
After a tearful farewell with reluctance, Mr. Zhao rushed to the Jiangnan Shipyard to inspect the progress of Project No. 1.
Yang Fan, Ma Hu and others received the notice at the last minute and hurried to the shipyard gate to welcome Master Zhao.
The carriage stopped there and swayed slightly for another quarter of an hour before Master Zhao opened the window calmly and said to everyone with a smile, "I heard that the ship model has been released, so I couldn't help but come over to take a look. This isn't a surprise inspection, is it?"
"Yes, yes." Yang Fan and others would never believe him. Fortunately, he is not sloppy, and the daily management is meticulous. All regulations are implemented in practice, so there is no need to worry too much.
A group of shipyard executives hurriedly accompanied and carefully welcomed Mr. Zhao into the factory area. They drove directly to the No. 1 shipyard, which was surrounded by a high wall and guarded by a security squadron day and night.
The convoy passed through two gates and stopped in front of No. 1 Pond.
When Zhao Hao got off the car, he saw that the pond was empty and the magnificent galleon was nowhere to be found.
"Where is our oriental beauty?" he asked.
"The masts, keels, ribs and other large items are all there." Yang Fan pointed to the material preparation area next to the pond. "The delicate small items are kept in the warehouse, all numbered and registered, and are matched with the drawings for future reference."
Young Master Zhao took off his sunglasses and looked at the seemingly messy but actually orderly pile of various ship materials in the field. He smacked his lips and said, "They dismantled it really thoroughly. Such a big ship..."
"If we don't disassemble it completely, we won't be able to figure out the structure inside. We can't just listen to the Portuguese carpenter's one-sided story for such a big thing." Yang Fan said a little embarrassedly: "Besides, the disassembled parts can be used directly as original molds, which can greatly save time."
"Can it be reassembled?" Zhao Hao asked with a glimmer of hope.
"In theory, it's possible. It's nothing more than using more rivets..." Yang Fan said unsurely, "But can it withstand the wind and waves? I can't guarantee it."
"It's great that it can be put together." Zhao Hao said happily: "Thank you for your hard work. I will assemble it before the end of the year and send it to Macau."
I received a letter from Guangdong the day before yesterday, saying that the old man has reached a preliminary agreement with the Portuguese. Once the group signs and seals it, the contract change will take effect.
The Portuguese demands emphasized the need to return the Governor of Goa and the Belle of the Orient, as well as important crew members, intact.
Although Master Zhao had said before that it was okay to dismantle it, if all he could send back was a bunch of spare parts, there would be a lot of trouble.
In the past two years, he did not want to have a conflict with the Portuguese.
Of course it would be best if we could put it together and send it back.
"Let's go and see your progress." Zhao Hao patted his shoulder and said, "I can't wait to see our little beauty."
"Please come in, sir." Yang Fan invited him to the warehouse nearby.
There, Zhao Hao saw the ship model that Yang Fan built at a 1:15 ratio, imitating the Oriental Princess.
Although it is called a ship model, it is more than four meters long, about the same size as a sampan. This makes the tens of thousands of complicated parts scaled down, which reduces the exquisiteness.
Zhao Hao opened a gun window and looked inside. It was also small but complete with everything it should have, and it was completely restored.
"It is built so big to facilitate research." Yang Fan explained: "This way, if there is a problem, it will be convenient to check it when you come over."
"Hmm." Zhao Hao put aside his boring idea of ​​collecting ship models, stood up and said, "Remember you said that as long as we build a ship model, we will know how to build this ship?"
"Well, I have almost figured out the components, structure, and construction sequence of this Western ship." Yang Fan nodded confidently.
"And we've taken it out to sea for a sea trial, proving that this type of ship is indeed capable. Such a small ship model can stand firm in the wind and waves, no wonder it can fire a broadside."
"Then let's start building it quickly!" Zhao Hao urged happily.
"The lumberyard has already started preparing materials." Yang Fan said, "We plan to build a half-sized ship first to give the craftsmen a chance to practice, and then build an eight-tenth-sized one. Once everything is ready, we'll build the full-sized one. In addition, before building the full-sized one, we don't plan to use extravagant hardwood except for the keel ribs. We'll just make do with pine and fir for now."
"Yeah." Zhao Hao nodded, completely agreeing.
He remembered that in another time and space, in order to narrow the huge gap with the British navy, France in the 18th century used a large amount of ordinary wood to replace century-old oak and built a large number of 74-gun sailing battleships like dumplings. Although they did not succeed in the end, they helped France gain the second largest colony in the world and made great military achievements.
Even if they were carefully maintained, the average lifespan of those French-built sailing battleships was only about twenty years, which is why it is difficult for later generations to see their true appearance.
Although it is a pity that the warships built at great cost can only be used for twenty years, it must be admitted that this is indeed a good way to quickly improve the combat effectiveness of the navy.
At this critical moment when war with the Portuguese could break out at any time and the Spaniards have already arrived in Luzon, this is the only way Zhao Hao can deal with the challenge.
Fortunately, according to the report of the Tamra Chamber of Commerce, the wood purchased from Japan has been continuously delivered to the Tamra Garrison. According to the arrangement, most of the wood will be dried in the shade for about two years. In other words, after three years, the century-old oak can be used to build a truly luxurious and exclusive sailing battleship.
~~
Yang Fan looked at Zhao Hao again, hesitated for a moment and then said, "In addition, through communication with Portuguese shipbuilders, I found that they are not ahead of us in all technologies. So I want to build a few more half-size ships to verify it."
"Oh, how do you mean?" Zhao Hao asked with interest.
"The most obvious example is the sails. The soft sails on the Oriental Beauty are beautiful and can catch the wind better. But they use special canvas, which we don't have. Moreover, the installation operation is extremely complicated. Even with the assistance of full rigging, it still requires a large number of sailors to operate, and climbing up and down is very dangerous."
"Our sails have support bones, so the material requirements are not high. Reed mats can be used instead. And it is easy to raise and lower. Sailors can learn how to raise and lower the sails in a few days. Although raising the sails is very laborious, lowering the sails is very fast. In a critical moment, we can cut the main rope and lower it."
"Another very important point is that according to the reminder of the garrison's naval representative, these sails will become useless once they are hit by cannon fire. However, our sails can still function even if they are riddled with holes. For this reason alone, I support the use of hard sails on warships."
To enhance his persuasiveness, he also brought out Haierdi... Haierdi was appointed as the representative of the garrison area, responsible for providing opinions and suggestions for Project No. 1, and collecting detailed data on the construction and trial of the new warship. In this era, you have to be able to drive a ship and repair it, which are essential jobs in the future.
Zhao Hao understood what Yang Fan wanted to fight for the Chinese hard sail.
But there's no harm in fighting for it.
Because the Chinese sail has incomparable advantages, it is like the wing of an airplane, with extremely high wind-absorbing efficiency. Even when the wind is against you, the hard sailboat can sail in a zigzag pattern, which can truly take advantage of wind from all directions.
After the Opium War, the British purchased a Qing Dynasty warship, the Qiying, which cost 2,000 tons, and prepared to sail it back to London for research. However, due to a storm and other reasons, it sailed from the Cape of Good Hope to the United States, and then crossed the Atlantic Ocean in just 27 days - even shorter than the time it took for a regular American cruise ship to cross the Atlantic Ocean. During this long voyage, the Chinese hard sail withstood various harsh tests, proving that it could accompany warships across the world.