living in 16th century england

Chapter 26
Regarding the problem of salt, Matthew’s solution is very simple. While continuing to reduce the cost of iron products, find some farmers to issue iron pots.

for free.The condition is that the salt can only be sold to him at a low price, and a production requirement is set.

Many people think it's fair.At least they don't have to pay much.

That's right, it's another form of home production.As long as there is a sensible child or teenager, he can watch the pot boil salt.To waste people, only child labor can be used.There is information that uses the wife.But that's totally unbelievable.

Because women are always half the sky.

In all kinds of texts and movies depicting the old times, you can often only see men working in the fields.This is totally unrealistic.This image template is also intentionally or unintentionally misleading.

Farmers set up pots and prepare sea water and firewood.It does not affect farming too much.So there are still many collaborators.

Most farmers in Devon have a few sheep, and now people in the coastal areas have more income from salt production.This subtle effect can make a difference after a few years.

As for drying salt, the sun in England is not strong, the sun is not good, and it will rain every now and then, and there is no scale for the time being, so it is not worthwhile.belongs to the future.

This work is very cumbersome and requires patience to solve one by one.For the convenience of transportation, Matthew even gave practitioners a donkey to travel.He only pays the basic salary and pays according to the results.That's right, pay for performance.

But that's all for later.

Matthew scolded: "It's still so annoying... wake him up."

Everyone rushed to get this guy onto the stool. The way to "wake up" is, of course, to slap your face.

Finally, the boy's attendant brought a can of sea water, splashed it, and the task was completed.

The man in black dazedly touched the water all over his face: "...what's the situation?"

Matthew hehe: "Hurry up, we still have to inspect the shipyard."

The original hull was finished, and now it's being "fitted out," which is carpentry.The shipwrights are all in farther and more remote locations, and they have to walk a lot.

The man in black touched his chin and followed Matthew.Wondering whether to sneak attack this hateful baron to vent his hatred?

did not dare.

Although he is a son of a nobleman, a son of a nobleman is not a nobleman.Attacking nobles is not a small crime.Especially the King's Reds.Among other things, it is certain that the future will be ruined.He was unlucky enough not to capsize again.

Besides... what if you still can't beat it?
But she was...a beautiful boat, long, two-masted, with a square stern and no forecastle.Very different from the ships he had seen.He even saw a layer of copper on the bottom of the boat.

In order to give the king a good impression, the shipwrights pursued perfection, and the carpenters spared no expense.The cost has greatly exceeded the budget, soaring to 140 gold coins.In other words, it would not be worthwhile not to sell it for 300 gold coins.The average cost per ton is 1.2 gold coins.This is not counting artillery, artillery is another.

For a 200-acre manor, it is not bad for the manor owner to receive 12 gold coins a year.For a rich peasant, if he receives 3 gold coins a year, his life is considered quite good.

A skilled worker earns 4p a day.Receive five or six gold coins a year.

High-tech talents, such as blacksmiths, shipwrights, carpenters and coopers, earn 7-9 pence a day.The annual income is also eleven, twenty-three gold coins.

This is the reason why the old aristocrats who depended on the land later declined.No matter what kind of aristocrat you are, if you don't have money, you will be a poor family.After the prices soared, those who couldn't keep up with the trip would be poor and only had to sell their land.

More and more people will go into higher-paying industries, which will undoubtedly cause a social change.

Matthew believes that as long as it is a ship these days, it should be equipped with artillery.But after all, it is a "fishing boat" with a single deck, and it is almost enough to get more than a dozen Francophones.

The man in black: "Why is this boat called "Little Donkey"? Can't it be called a better name?"

Matthew didn't look back: "This was "designed" by my naval engineer, he has the right to take any name... Don't you think this name is cute?"

The man in black immediately objected: "With all due respect, Mr. Baron, you should ask the king to name it."

Matthew: "As long as the king is willing to pay for it, there is no problem at all. But "little donkey" will be the name of the ship type, and in the future this kind of ship will be the little donkey class, which is different from the name of the ship."

The man in black couldn't figure it out for a while: "...Why are they two different things?"

Matthew didn't bother to pay attention to this mallet.

The man in black saw from a distance some militiamen in full armor patrolling, which was specially arranged by the sheriff of Plymouth.On the beach are lined up, at least a dozen boats are under construction at the same time.

But he has not noticed that only one keel is 30 meters, and most of the others are 23 meters.There are also several shorter ones that are small fishing boats.The keel is only a few meters apart, but the tonnage is several times different.

小毛驴的尺寸是90英尺长，20英尺宽。4.5比1。单层甲板，预计载重120吨。

马修设计的战舰却是120英尺长，30英尺宽，4比1。双层甲板，预计载重在400～500吨左右。载重和排水量不是一回事。

This indicator can be adjusted. If the draft is too deep, the speed will be greatly affected, and the ship will sink more easily.Too shallow will not work, the stability is poor, and it may turn over.

Many inland ships have drafts that even reach the side of the ship.At sea, this is courting death.

You must have heard the story of the seamen encountering storms and waves, and the crew frantically threw out the valuable cargo.

The little donkey only pays attention to speed, but the warship must take into account sturdiness and stability while ensuring maneuverability.You can't capsize the ship after a round of artillery fire, right?

In fact, Matthew was conservative.It's not professional after all.

The pinnacle of sailing ships in the 19th century had an aspect ratio of at least 6, or even 8.Some can be over 300 feet in length and displace 3500 tons.Such a huge sailing ship can often reach a speed of 14 knots, and it only takes 13 days to cross the Atlantic Ocean.

In the early 16th century, sailing ships could reach a speed of 10 knots and 8 knots under the condition of suitable wind and direction, which is quite good, and warships often did not even have 8 knots.

If the average speed of the ocean-going heavy-duty sailboat can reach 14 knots, it is definitely a treasure ship against the sky.This means that it only takes about 100 days to sail to a certain eastern country.

The shipwrights believe that a donkey with an average of 10 knots is considered a success.Enough to throw off any kind of pirate ship.

The man in black finally discovered the problem with the length of the keel. He stuck his neck: "Baron Scilly, can you explain...what's going on with these? Is there only one warship?"

Matthew: "Of course there is only one ship. My shipwrights suggested that the new ship type must be built in this way. If problems are found, they can be improved in time."

The man in black couldn't believe it: "Improve while building? Don't you have a model?"

Matthew: "...can you just watch without talking?"

The man in black finally had no choice but to say angrily: "...I will write it into the report."

Matthew took off his hat and fanned the wind: "As long as you shut up, everything is easy to talk about."

The arrival of the boss immediately attracted the attention of a group of people, but only a few people greeted him.

Matthew glanced at them and felt that they were all unfamiliar faces, probably the shipwright hired by his father.

Several people gathered around, all with smiles on their faces: "Mr. Hawkins, we all welcome you."

On behalf of everyone?Who are you?Matthew said, "What's wrong?"

Being so direct made a few people feel a little embarrassed, they just wanted to get acquainted.The baron's youthful face gave them a certain illusion.

Matthew listened patiently for a few minutes.Nima, it's all flattery and empty talk.waste time.The "chief engineer" and a group of people over there are working in full swing, what do you mean by running here?
"Stop, don't block my sight, what should I do!"

Seeing that the young baron didn't seem to agree with this, these people hurriedly left.

Matthew thought for a while: "I want to fire these few. What do you think?"

The black-robed man wondered, "What's none of my business?"

Matthew: "They know about new warships, and they may have seen models of warships. What do you think?"

The man in black: "It's fine if you don't get fired."

Matthew: "If you want to ensure that the construction is completed on time and the battleship is strong and reliable, the best way is to eliminate these sneaky people, and reward those who work hard."

The man in black suddenly felt that this was a good opportunity to improve the relationship, so he said: "It is indeed a problem... that's fine, I will let my people control them and release them after the work is completed. But you can guarantee that we will not Will there be legal issues?."

Matthew's face was a little dark: "Ha, what legal issue?"

England was poor in this era, but the legal class appeared in the Middle Ages.However, such things as litigation are exclusive to the country gentry and the upper class.

There is even such a thing as a legal apprentice, who can become a senior lawyer and open his own "lawyer's club" if he mixes well.Since the clients are basically people with good money, lawyers certainly belong to the high-income class.

Some lawyers can even join the king to deal with legal issues for the royal family.Others can be judges.It can be said that it is also a career.

It can be seen that if you have no money or status, you cannot fight a lawsuit.

For the vast majority of people, there is still no law in this era, and some also belong to the so-called "customary law".Local magistrates are often served by local squires, and you can know what the bottom of society looks like with your knees.

but!There are records.During the reign of Henry VIII, the number of litigation cases increased significantly, and the social status of the parties involved became lower and lower.A lot has to do with the Rodeo movement.By the end of the 16th century, the century surged 15-fold.It can be seen that the rule of the Tudor dynasty still benefited the bottom.

Otherwise, who the hell would make legislation?Then "legal" enclosure?
Matthew wanted to kill him.This kind of thing is not uncommon, and the consequences of offending local tyrants are no less than offending the church.

But killing him is indeed a bit too much, and it also violates his principles.

One of the so-called principles is not to dirty your hands, it would be great if someone else does it for you.

Matthew thought to himself that this kid was a little worried, and he simply lost face to the nobles and local tyrants.Unaware of his shamelessness.

Forget it, let's deduct wages.

This "chief engineer" is still the same bird, he only cares about his work and doesn't come to greet the boss, he really doesn't know how to behave.But Matthew is very satisfied, he is always tolerant to capable people.

Matthew suddenly thought of an important question: "By the way, I heard that Sussex can make cast iron shells very early. Do they have plans to make cast iron cannons?"

The man in black didn't hide anything: "I heard that they tried this, but it didn't work...the bomb exploded, and a few people died."

Ideas are never worth money, the so-called easier said than done.

Matthew nodded, thinking that in history, Britain was the first to use artillery on a large scale in naval battles, eliminating boarding battles.The era of giant ships and cannons opened.It is estimated that it was made in this Sussex area.I don't know how far ahead of them I am.We must get the heavy artillery out as soon as possible.

For small guns like the Francophone, it is okay to use grape shells as shotguns to kill people at close range.It is difficult to sink a ship, the caliber is small, the charge is small, and the range is short.It's leaking like a revolver.Also the rate of fire is ok.

Here comes the question, how big is this heavy artillery?How much?

Assuming that there is a 3-ton truck, arranged at intervals of two meters, the bottom floor should be able to hold 30 doors, that is, it takes up a load of 90 tons, and the deck is full of French machines, with 36 doors?This is already ready-made, it can be regarded as a stereotyped model.Nearly 500 kg each, occupying a small area.That's 18 tons.Can you get a few bigger ones at the bow and stern, so that the total number of cannons is 70?Another 12 tons?Spare gunpowder plus shells and another 70 tons?
34 heavy guns, 36 light guns.A total of 190 tons of artillery plus spare ammunition.

Supplies are calculated as one ton per person.There are two heavy artillery and one Frangji.The gunner alone costs 104, and the sailor captain and mate counts as 30, which can travel day and night.We also need to be prepared for boarding battles. There must be a group of people guarding the deck with spears. If there is nothing to do, they can reload the Frang machine and replace the casualties.Another 60 people?No, make up the whole, 66, a total of 200 people, 200 tons.

390 tons gone?
A person including personal belongings counts as 200 kilograms, 800 kilograms of supplies?No no no, this is too much, 100kg of food, 200kg of drinks.Is it okay to insist on uninterrupted sailing for two months?But beer is not good, it will go bad after a month.Forget it, it's none of my business to eat them to death?
Consumption load 290 tons?Put it all together, 300 tons.Or halve the ammunition, water for one month, 225 tons?It seems to be ok, much lower than the estimated load.Do you want to make the heavy cannon bigger?
Is this reasonable?In fact, no one knows that installing 70 cannons on a ship is the only one in the era.

Matthew doesn't know either, who cares about this in modern times?

In fact, there should be carpenters, doctors, priests, etc., but he couldn't remember the mallet.

After calculating in his heart for a long time, Matthew felt dizzy.Then he thought of another question.How do these 200 people sleep?

In fact, any place that can lie down is a bed, and it is common to sleep on the deck or in the cargo hold.Only the captain's mate and the like have private cabins.In the age of great navigation, ordinary sailors were so miserable.

The man in black: "Do you want to go in and have a drink?"

When Matthew looked up, he found that he had returned to the entrance of the tavern without knowing it.

He was about to speak when the man in black suddenly sneezed and sprayed him all over the face.

Fuck!Matthew was instantly furious.

He punched it without thinking.This punch is faster and more powerful.The man in black immediately fell to the ground with his jaw hit, and fell into a baby-like sleep.

In 1510, the first influenza appeared in England.This shows that at the beginning of the 16th century, there were indeed a lot of sheep in Britain.

This is not surprising. The more and more frequently humans come into contact with animals, the more viruses that were originally unique to animals mutate into epidemics that can infect humans.

Matthew took out a handkerchief and quickly wiped his face, then threw the handkerchief away hastily.

(End of this chapter)