Back to Ming Dynasty as Zhu Biao

Chapter 65 The Prince and the Ship

To sail farther at sea and successfully complete missions, the quality of ship construction must pass every strict inspection.

At that time, the Huitong River in the Shandong section of the Grand Canal opened by the Yuan Dynasty was blocked by silt after the Yellow River burst.

In the first year of Yongle (1403), Governor Chen Xuan shipped it by sea.

In the tenth year of Yongle (1412), soil was piled up at the mouth of the Yangtze River to form a platform, which was used as a navigation mark for marine tank ships. It has a radius of one hundred feet and a height of thirty feet.

Sanbao said that he could complete Zhu Biao's task, but Zhu Biao shook his head and said, "Sambao, you have such a heart, and I am very moved. But there are some things you don't know.

The materials used for this ship can be said to be very particular, do you understand? "

Sanbao has also done a lot of research on ships these days, and the imperial court requires all shipyards to purchase shipbuilding materials and materials according to regulations.

The shipyard must allocate a certain amount according to the load capacity of the ship.

Different materials are selected according to different parts of the construction.

After everyone discussed, Zhu Biao asked you, Jin'er, to take those officials down to rest and leave the Three Treasures in the hall.

"Your Highness, I intend to return tomorrow."

"No hurry, stay here for a few days, I have something to tell you."

Sanbao stood up straight and said with a smile, "Your Highness, please give me instructions."

Zhu Biao wanted to keep Sanbao for a few days. Although the Ming Dynasty had shipyards, most of them inherited the technology of the Yuan Dynasty.

He wanted to pick a few competent people to supervise the construction of a new shipyard, that is, to use Zheng He's fleet of voyages to the West as the foundation, and to study specialized shipbuilding technology.

The length and width of the ships in the voyage fleet are strictly regulated. Zhu Biao said to Sanbao next to him, "There are different types of ships for different purposes. I will tell you about auxiliary ships today."

"The auxiliary ship is...not only can it break through the waves, it is not afraid of cross winds, and it is easy to sail against the wind. This is suitable for harsh sea emergencies."

"Your Highness has considered everything carefully. Stay away from the river when you get out of the sea. At this time, the boat is your life."

Hearing his words, Zhu Biao nodded in satisfaction, as long as he could realize the importance of the ship, he would be very happy.

"The requirements for the specifications of treasure ships are even more stringent. There are certain regulations on how many feet... the number of sails and the weight of anchors. It is the main ship for sailing at sea."

Seeing that the Three Treasures hadn't fully grasped the concept of the treasure ship, Zhu Biao said: "The pen and ink will serve you."

"Yes, Your Highness." Sambo skillfully fetched his pen and ink, and Zhu Biao wrote: "The posture is very majestic, huge and invincible, and belongs to a super-large ocean-going ship."

Historically, Zheng He's shipbuilding on his voyages was classified according to the process, and the division of labor was also very detailed.

At that time, there were 32 types of shipyard division of labor, such as ship wood shuttle scull, ship wood iron cable, read craftsman and palm canopy craftsman. .

The shipyard has also set up ship design, raw material supply, shipbuilding accounting, material and ship acceptance, etc.

According to the size and difficulty of various ships, the manufacturing time, materials used for manufacturing, fixed working hours, and the system of quantity and silver are determined.

It was precisely because of these meticulous and cumbersome systems and management at that time that the shipbuilding process was orderly.

The treasure ships built are also excellent, so as to ensure that they meet the requirements of long-term voyages on the way to the Western Ocean.

Today, for shipbuilding, Lao Zhu is busy and has not yet established and perfected it. Special ship construction requires technical supervision.

Historically, the Ming court specially set up a shipbuilding and lifting department, and the Ministry of Officials selected a member of the department to live in the shipyard and deal with the construction of treasure ships and other ships.

The highest administrative organization in the shipyard is Tiju, and there are sub-divisions under it to manage all kinds of craftsmen in the whole factory.

On the front line of shipbuilding, set up helpers to supervise shipbuilding, commanding one person from each of the thousand households and one hundred households.

These positions were filled by honest and diligent personnel selected by the Ministry of War. It is precisely because of this management that 32 types of work were effectively organized, with a total of more than 2000 craftsmen for large-scale production and management.

Zhu Biao decided to refer to these as framework patterns, and then make new ones.

Not long after the founding of the country, it is only ordered to carry out some ordinary tank ships along the Yuan system.

"Sambo, if Gu plans to build another shipyard, how about letting you supervise the shipbuilding?"

"I would like to obey His Highness's orders."

For him, His Highness is his backer, and as long as he can make contributions to the Ming court, he is willing.

After Zhu Biao finished talking about his model of shipbuilding, Sanbao looked at Zhu Biao in surprise.

Is His Highness the Crown Prince still human?

"Your Highness, if you go to sea, you will definitely be accompanied by many ships, but the situation at sea is unpredictable...

After Sanbao finished speaking, seeing Zhu Biao's silence for a long time, he knelt down and kowtowed: "Your Highness, don't be angry, I just want to ask His Highness how to deal with this."

Zhu Biao said: "This question should be carefully thought about, and only seagoing ships are needed. Naturally, this question has also been thought of."

The fleet goes out to sea, the sails are dancing, and the stars are galloping on the sea day and night. It is indeed not easy for so many people to be consistent and synchronized at sea.

Zhu Biao said slowly: "You don't have to worry about these three treasures. When the day comes to set sail, Gu will tell you how to do it."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Seeing that Zhu Biao was sure, San Bao felt relieved and acted boldly.

There are detailed records on how to coordinate Zheng He's fleet in "Cu Hai Tu Bian".

In Zheng He's fleet, flags are used during the day, and the daytime flag is used as the number. The main ship uses red cloth as the canopy and five-color flags.

Lanterns are used at night, and each ship is marked by a lantern. The Chinese military ships set off three fires and hang one lantern... Two lanterns are hung in the rear camp.

In the event of an emergency at night, look at the five sides of the military flag, five high vertical lights, standing waiting lights on the back and stern of each ship, one on the left and right, and two lights on the front mast.

It functions as an alarm, using gongs and drums to communicate in rainy days, and using sound signals to communicate when the weather changes and the sight line is poor.

Trumpets and gongs and drums will direct the forward and backward, as well as assemble lifts, throw berths and other activities.

Zhu Biao fell into deep thought, while San Bao lowered his head and did not dare to disturb him.

Back then, Zheng He's fleet ensured the safe navigation of the ships was the primary condition, and they basically traveled along the pre-designed route.

Using bathymetric positioning, scene positioning and astronomical positioning to determine the ship's position, they constantly observe the sky, measure the height of the stars, and use the stars to orient themselves, using this method to ensure the safe navigation of the fleet.

These are all Zheng He's fleet, but Zhu Biao didn't have Zheng He's charts, and couldn't remember what the charts looked like at all.

At present, the imperial court is in a state of ruins and cannot support the voyage. Lao Zhu and the Northern Expeditionary Army have not yet returned.

Zhu Biao felt that it was the first priority for him to start shipbuilding training now.Other research at that time suddenly said:
"Gu intends to build a shipyard, you stay in the East Palace first, and wait for Gu to discuss with Prime Minister Li and Mr. Song tomorrow, and make detailed plans."

Sanbao nodded and said: "All follow His Highness's orders."

His Highness told him to go east, but he never went west.

　These two chapters need to go into a lot of detail, and I will develop the story later, and talk about the background of ancient navigation and needs.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)