Unlike the Great Chu, the officials of the Great He were not ranked by rank, but were addressed by their rank.
It is a high-ranking official, similar to a first-rank official in the Great Chu.
Shingo Tokugi subconsciously replied, "A shipwright is just someone familiar with shipbuilding; he doesn't hold any official position and can't be considered an official."
"Oh~" Shen Yu drawled, glancing disdainfully at the middle-aged man. "A shipwright with no rank dares to speak to my Great Chu's second-rank princess in such a tone. My lord, you don't take my Great Chu seriously at all."
Both Tokugi Shingo and the middle-aged man were taken aback; they had never even considered this question.
In Yamato, women were merely appendages of men and had virtually no status whatsoever.
Therefore, neither Tokugi Shingo nor the man felt there was anything wrong with asking Su Muyao this question.
Even Tokugi Shingo felt that this was already giving Su Muyao enough face, allowing the best shipwright to come and ask her for advice; she should be extremely grateful.
But I didn't expect the other party to react like this.
After realizing what had happened, Deyi Xinwu turned around and slapped the middle-aged man across the face. "You bastard, who told you to talk to the Princess of Da Chu like that? Apologize right now!"
The middle-aged man was stunned by the slap, but dared not say anything. He quickly touched his head to the ground and apologized to Su Muyao, saying, "I'm sorry, Princess, I was rude."
“Princess, Kentaro is a famous shipbuilder in Yamato. He is responsible for building all the ships used by the shogunate. He knows that there is a princess in Da Chu who is skilled in shipbuilding, so he asked me to bring him here to learn from the princess.”
He did this because he was eager to learn, and he asked the princess not to blame him. "Deyi Xinwu explained.
Su Muyao glanced at the shipwright who was kowtowing to her and admitting his mistake. The shipwright's tone when he asked her for advice earlier was not respectful at all, but rather carried a sense of superiority.
This has nothing to do with social class; it's a natural form of discrimination men have against women.
“My lord, I do know a lot about shipbuilding, but that doesn’t mean I’m willing to tell you,” Su Muyao replied directly.
"I've heard that the princess is obsessed with shipbuilding. Kentaro was indeed somewhat offensive, but he has already apologized. Perhaps the princess could be more magnanimous and forgive him, and offer some guidance."
Kentaro has been in shipbuilding for over thirty years and has a wealth of experience. I believe he can offer the Princess a lot of guidance on shipbuilding techniques, helping her improve her skills. A friendly exchange would be a wonderful thing.
Upon hearing what the elder said, Kentaro quickly replied, "If there is anything the princess needs to know, please ask. I will not hide anything from her."
“Oh~~” Su Muyao looked at Kentaro and asked, “Alright, may I ask how the keel structure of your Yamato’s largest warship was designed and how the hull was assembled?”
Furthermore, as far as I know, the planks used on your largest warships are highly waterproof. I wonder what kind of wood these planks are made of, and what special waterproofing material is applied to them to achieve this? How is this coating formulated?
In shipbuilding, the keel structure determines the foundation of a ship, while the hull assembly determines its stability; both are core aspects of shipbuilding.
While Su Muyao could still make some guesses about these things, the wooden planks on the Yamato ship were indeed very special, as they were water-resistant and better than those of the Great Chu.
The ship planks must have been made of some special wood and paint, which made Su Muyao very curious, but she hadn't been able to figure it out.
The best warship in Yamato was far superior to the one she bought in terms of keel design, hull assembly, and anti-corrosion treatment of the wooden planks.
Since Tokugi Shingo had given her this opportunity, she certainly wouldn't miss it.
Kentaro was stunned when he heard Su Muyao ask these questions. These were considered secrets to Yamato, and he dared not say them.
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