Plus four sets of training uniforms for each person, a cotton coat, a cotton hat, cotton gloves, sailor shirt, socks, calf-nose pants, etc.... This set of clothes costs a full ten taels of silver, and that's the internal wholesale price. If you go to the market to buy a single piece, fifteen taels is not enough!
Jin Ke felt that the young master spent too much on police officers, but Zhao Hao said that we are taking the route of a small but elite force, and we should look like an elite force.
Considering that a galleon costs 200,000 or 300,000 taels per ship, this little bit of clothing doesn't seem that expensive...
Actually, it's not that bad, because the bulk of the cost is spent on police uniforms, belts, and leather boots, which are only worn a few times a month by the officers, so they don't wear out much. If the officers take good care of them, they can wear them for five or six years, and there won't be any problem.
When they are at sea, in combat, during training and in military camps, which are the times when clothes are most consumed, they all wear this ugly and cheap "coast police training uniform".
However, this outfit called "coastal police training uniform" is actually not ordinary. The style of this training uniform is similar to the middle-length coat and pants worn by rich people, so it is also jokingly called "pajamas as outerwear" by seamen, but it is indeed convenient for climbing on and off the ship without worrying about the hem getting caught.
The pants are also tucked into the boots, which is very neat and avoids the accidents of the trouser legs getting stepped on or caught.
Moreover, there is a secret opening on the left and right sides of the abdomen, and a large pocket is sewn inside, which is very convenient for putting small items in and freeing your hands.
The most commendable thing is their training cloth boots, which are not only made of solid materials and fine workmanship, but also have a piece of patterned Eucommia rubber nailed on the forefoot and heel of the soles.
The police officers soon realized the benefits of this thing. Not only did it make the soles more wear-resistant, but it was also non-slip, making it less likely to fall when running on a wet deck.
Moreover, the toes of the training cloth boots were covered with a crescent-shaped iron sheet to protect the police officers' toes when they were accidentally hit by feet while carrying shells or other heavy objects. During the Age of Exploration, the most common cause of non-combat casualties on ships was foot injuries, just as most casualties in combat were caused by flying sawdust. It was equally incredible, but true.
Although these improvements are small, they can really help the coast guards, reduce their chances of injury, and let the police officers truly feel what Mr. Zhao means by 'loving his soldiers like his own sons'.
~~
Mr. Zhao had a conversation with the police officers with a look of satisfaction on his face, asking them what they thought of the newly issued uniforms and what they thought of the ship.
In front of the captain and the captain, the police officers dared not say anything even if they had any opinions, so they all expressed their satisfaction. If they had to criticize their leaders, it would be that the leaders worked too hard and didn't pay enough attention to rest...
Mr. Zhao felt bored after listening to this. The Chinese people are really the same, no matter which dynasty they are from. It would be better to go and see something that can't talk.
"Let's go down and take a look." Zhao Hao smiled and pointed to the stairs leading to the deck. To be honest, he was ashamed to say that he had never gone down to the Science Ship or the Pingjiang Ship of Chen Huaixiu because he thought the deck was dark and smelly. Hearing that there were four floors of space under the deck of the 101 ship, Mr. Zhao finally became interested.
Go down the stairs to the basement floor, which is just over 1.75 meters high. Mr. Zhao has to bend over to avoid hitting his head... It's not because he is tall, but mainly because of his high heels and hair bun.
For someone like Brother Gao, who is over 1.8 meters tall, it is really painful... he has to bend over the whole time.
However, most of the soldiers were generally malnourished when they were young, and their height was not as high as that of Mr. Zhao. Most of them were about 1.6 meters tall, so although it was definitely cramped, they could still make do with passing.
The bigger problem is the darkness and lack of air. Zhao Hao feels that the prison where Xu Wei lived was brighter and had better air than here.
There was no other way. If it was a merchant ship or cargo ship, they could open a few portholes on the bulkhead for ventilation and light. But this was a warship where safety was the top priority. If the portholes were opened, what if the enemy threw kerosene cans in when boarding? Moreover, the ship needed to be fireproof, so no torches were lit. There were only a few ship lights hanging on the long bulkhead, emitting a dim light.
The ship's lantern is filled with water, so it will basically go out if it falls to the ground. But to ensure safety, the brightness of this thing is limited.
Zhao Hao immediately thought of purchasing a batch of equipment for coal mine ventilation from Xishan Company to solve the problem of turbid air, but he could only think about it next time.
This floor is where the middle and lower-ranking police officers and police officers live. Zeng Yiben obviously doesn't care about the accommodation conditions of his men. Originally, the cabins here were all cargo holds. The sailors slept on the deck in the summer when the weather was fine, and hid in the cargo holds on this floor at night. The rope piles, canvas piles, and cargo boxes were their natural beds, so they had a high incidence of eczema and other skin diseases.
Moreover, when sailors fall asleep, they will roll around with the ups and downs of the waves, and some unlucky ones may even break their necks and die.
In fact, we can't blame Zeng Yiben, because European sailors also suffered the same fate. It was not until they introduced hammocks from the Indians that sailors finally had a bed, which at least reduced the risk of skin diseases and they no longer had to worry about rolling around in their sleep.
Young Master Zhao invented the hammock at the beginning of the year. Elder Niu, who was in charge of shipbuilding, tried it out and found it to be very useful, so he installed it on all the ships.
This Wanhu Wuwei ship was no exception. After arriving at the Jiangnan Shipyard, Elder Niu led his men to renovate it, dividing the cabin into 30 rooms of varying sizes. Two police officers in one room, six police officers in one room, all with hammocks installed, wardrobes and lockers, and ship lights in each room, which was a great improvement in conditions.
But Zhao Hao still felt it was very cramped for six people to be squeezed into a small room of 15 square meters and 1.7 meters high.
But the sailors’ accommodation problem could not be solved even after three hundred years, and Master Zhao can only do this now.
But what made Zhao Hao feel a little ashamed was that the police officers seemed very satisfied with the current accommodation conditions. Especially those former Sand Boat Gang sailors, they all praised it highly, and some even called it the "101 Hotel". I really don't know how bad the conditions were before?
And with the dim light, you can see that the cabins are kept very clean. Everything is in its place, the hammocks are tucked away on the wall, there is no debris on the floor, and even the wooden walls are polished to a shine.
The strict requirements for housekeeping are so strict that they are nitpicking, and some even deliberately torment police officers, but it is a good way to shape military discipline and execution. The so-called "PLA quilts, US military shoes, and French shirts with fourteen pleats" are all the same.
In fact, it was the Royal Navy that first began to strictly enforce housekeeping. It was not out of aristocratic mentality, but to maintain public and personal hygiene on board when sailing. This is very important because ships are often plagued by rats, and there are even more annoying lice, bedbugs, fleas, etc., which spread various diseases such as measles, typhoid, plague, etc., causing non-combat casualties and even directly making warships lose their combat effectiveness.
The captain found that the best way to deal with these pests was to order the sailors to maintain hygiene on the ship and in person. In addition to daily hygiene, they would also regularly clean up domestic garbage, discharge sewage from the bottom cabin, and spread lime and sulfur powder everywhere to reduce the chance of an outbreak of infectious diseases.
~~
After visiting the basement where the soldiers stayed, it was even more difficult to go down to the next floor. Because the three floors below did not have direct access to the deck, but were separated by bulkheads into watertight compartments like cellars. However, the advantage of this was that if one or two compartments leaked, there would be no danger of the ship sinking.
Lifting the covers on the ground floor, the warehouses below were exposed, including the ammunition warehouse, the tool warehouse, the spare parts warehouse, and the most important food warehouse.
Haierge told Zhao Hao that although this was a near-sea voyage, considering the many uncertainties of the battle and there was no definite supply port in Japan, the supplies had to be prepared according to the standard of a one-month long-distance voyage.
One of the warehouses was filled with rice, noodles, millet and other grains. Another warehouse was filled with salted meat, smoked fish, ham, pickles and other non-staple foods that could be stored for a long time. Another warehouse was filled with winter melon, white radish, carrots, cabbage and other vegetables that could be stored for a long time.
There was also a food warehouse, which was filled with piles of food the size of futons. Zhao Hao picked one up and held it under the light to see clearly. It turned out to be my country's traditional military ration - pot-cake.
"The sea is often windy and rough, and we dare not light a fire in the kitchen, so we have to prepare more dry food. We can't let everyone go hungry," explained Haier Ge.
"Yeah, that makes sense." Zhao Hao nodded, thinking that it could also be used as a shield at critical moments.
As for the fresh fruits, vegetables and meat that were delivered today, they were all sent to the mess room on the lower deck of the bow. In the first few days at sea, the sailors' food was always the best, not only with rich varieties, but also with open supply. Because these things would rot in a few days, it would be better to eat them all instead of wasting them.
The third floor below ground is full of water tanks. Everyone knows that drinking water is much more important than food at sea. If the water supply is cut off or polluted, the entire ship will be destroyed. However, if fresh water is stored in the water tank for no more than half a month, it will grow green moss, breed water bugs, and emit an unpleasant sewer smell. Not only is it unpalatable, it can also easily cause diarrhea and dysentery.
The experience of the Sand Ship Gang is to boil the water before loading it on board, and add some tea leaves and salt when drinking, and the situation will be much better. However, the Sand Ship Gang is active in inland rivers and offshore, and it is not known whether this experience can be effective in the open ocean.
Fortunately, Japan is close to the sea, so I can’t say about other supplies, but I don’t think we will have a shortage of fresh water.
Below the water tank is the fourth floor below ground, which is filled with ballast stones to prevent the warship from shaking violently or even capsizing during wind and waves and firing.