Chapter 74—The Shipbuilding Industry
"What, can't afford?" Roland sat in the office, and the instrument that asked for the expansion of the executive and the purchase of the sailboat was placed on his desk.
Barov cleared his throat, "His Royal Highness, it is true. The price of a two-masted sailing ship is between 80 and 120 golden dragons, but It’s just the cost of shipbuilding. Counting the people on board is not the case. The whole price is estimated to be more than 200 Jinlong.”
“I’m not saying, no need Sailor, helmsman? The captain doesn't need it, I just need a boat." Roland asked at the table. With Wendy, he did not use so many people to operate the sailboat. Most of the inland river boats are straight sails. Just like the lifting flags, the paddlers and sailors are superfluous. The helmsman can just pull the individual and try it. Anyway, with vector wind, I am afraid that the ship will not go forward?
"His Royal Highness, there is no such sale, at least not in Liuye Town." Barov explained carefully. "You may not know much about this industry. Generally speaking, the owner of the vessel is the captain. It may be a merchant or a nobleman. The former recruits personnel by himself and then travels between the major towns and towns, and trades or transports goods. The latter will generally Recruit an agent captain to follow the boat for yourself. Employees are not paid monthly, but paid for one to three years.”
The ship and the people are tied together. If you intend to buy the ship from the captain, instead of the man he hired, then he is equivalent to a loss of employment. The amount of 80 gold dragons, even for the big nobility, It is not a number that can be arbitrarily discarded. At the beginning of the month, it was calculated as the original gemstone trade in Liuye Town. Now the City Hall has a total of 315 Jinlong balances. If you spend more than half of it to buy a boat, your militia next month. The team will not be paid." Minister Li finished in one breath, raised his glass drink some ale.
"The vast majority of what you said..."
"Yes," he ordered Head, "There are two cases where an empty ship will be sold. First, the merchant urgently needs cash and sells property. At this time he will dismiss all the crew and then sell the ship as soon as possible. Second, replace the new ship. This is a good understanding. But I have to say that both situations are very rare."
"Wait," Roland frowned. "You said you bought a new ship...that Where did the ship come from?”
“Beishuigang, Haifeng County, Beiwangjiao. Only the harbor city has a dock, and only they can build a ship.”
The original "can't find such a sale in Liuye Town" means that Roland is silent for a moment, going to the harbor city to buy a ship is too far, and not hiring The crew, who helped me drive the boat back? "In this case, I will consider it again."
The prince fell into meditation after the assistant minister retired.
In his strategic plan, shipping is an irreplaceable part. Without the fast and convenient transportation of the ship, he could not complete the double-team with the artillery. The forces of the Duke of the Fortress are generally called for farmers, knights, and mercenaries. The speed of marching is inevitably less than that, but it is slower. As Carter said, purely by the way of the land, a mud pit can make the artillery impossible. The land traffic in this era is not the asphalt road, not even the stone road. However, there are more people who are leaving, and there is a way to make a living. It’s okay on a sunny day, and it’s muddy when it rains.
In the end, still have to build on your own?
Roland spreads the sheet of paper and records the specifications he needs.
First of all, this is a ship that can transport one or two artillery pieces, plus about 30 people. The ship can be propelled without power. Second, the ship is driven in the river, requiring smooth and reliable, not easy to sink, and shallow draft. Third, to be easy to operate, the militia can quickly get started after short-term training.
Combining these points, the answer is only one...the barge.
Before Roland traversed, this drowning vessel with very low draughts and extremely low center of gravity can be seen everywhere, almost all over the river. In the past, those ships that were filled with river sand or stones and whose ship's side was almost level with the water surface were flat-bottomed barges. As long as there was a tugboat, several barges could be pulled like a train.