Chapter 278: Dry Dock

The Prince's Mansion.

After Ma Jin left, Zhao Xu returned to his study from the Hui Ke Tang.

Taking a sheet of paper, he drew the important mountains and rivers of Jinzhou based on the memories in his mind.

This map was naturally incomparable to the rough sketch Ma Jin had brought.

What he relied on was the modern map in his mind.

The geographical details were more complete and precise.

Most importantly, this was a scale map.

As long as a commander held the map, used a ruler to measure, and performed calculations, they could know how far their current location was from their destination.

Zhao Xu did not stop his brush until the sky had turned completely dark.

Then, he had Feng'er take it to find someone to make copies.

Once the troops set out for Jinzhou, these maps would be given to the commanders to provide convenience for their marching and combat.

The next day.

Zhao Xu rose early and, according to the plan, headed to Fanyang with the recruited craftsmen, apprentices, and laborers.

A journey of more than a day.

The vast, mighty procession arrived at Fanyang.

Chen Shou had already learned in advance that Yan Wang was coming and had been waiting inside Fanyang City for a long time.

"I have sent you so many hands; your Shipbuilding Department must make me proud and get the warships into the water early," Zhao Xu said to Chen Shou at the entrance of the Shipbuilding Department office.

Chen Shou's face beamed with joy; looking at the sea of craftsmen, he felt as if he had eaten honey.

Leading Zhao Xu into the Shipbuilding Department to sit down, he personally brought a cup of tea for Zhao Xu.

His nature had always been upright; serving tea personally meant he was truly grateful to Yan Wang from the bottom of his heart.

First, the ships in Jinghai County were destroyed, and Yan Wang did not blame him.

Now, he had provided him with so much convenience again.

This made him deeply feel Yan Wang's expectations for him.

Even when he was at the Ningjin Dusi,

his superiors had never treated him like this.

"Your Highness, that is a certainty." Chen Shou's eyes were filled with determination.

He then said, "If not for the accident last time, I could have provided Your Highness with warships in the second half of this year. This time, to avoid suffering another accident, I have specifically deployed overt and covert sentries around the shipyard, and there is Cavalry patrolling every day."

"Mm, that is the right thing to do." Zhao Xu nodded.

Clearly, having suffered a loss once, Chen Shou had learned his lesson.

Since the establishment of the Shipbuilding Department, this was also the first time Zhao Xu had come.

He had Chen Shou introduce the officials of the Shipbuilding Department.

He learned about the daily operations of the Shipbuilding Department.

Upon learning that the officials were each performing their own duties—some responsible for purchasing timber, some for the living and eating arrangements of the craftsmen, and some for the expenditure of silver—in an orderly manner, he was slightly satisfied.

From this point, one could see that Chen Shou had experience in overseeing the construction of warships.

After inquiring about the preparations for shipbuilding, Zhao Xu handed the craftsmen he had brought over to the officials of the Shipbuilding Department.

He ordered Chen Shou to take him to the shipyard located by the Canal.

"Your Highness, for the sake of seclusion and to avoid attracting attention, I specifically chose this dead-end waterway and even stretched several ropes across the river to prevent other ships from entering," Chen Shou said, pointing to the river in front of them.

Zhao Xu nodded.

Departing from Fanyang City, they stopped at a place ten miles away from the Pier.

Here, a very wide river channel came to an end.

"It is rumored that the Canal was supposed to continue digging from here, but later, when the Wu Dynasty collapsed, this matter stopped," Chen Shou continued.

After the Canal entered Fanyang, it took on an L-shape.

The Fanyang Wharf was at the corner, and the shipyard was on the short side.

Therefore, this river channel was still as wide as the Canal.

But it was cut off here.

So, there was basically no ship traffic on this river channel.

Now, Chen Shou had also stretched ropes across the river channel and set up signs to prohibit ships from entering.

From now on, this place would be even more secluded.

"How is the water depth here?" Zhao Xu recalled an important question.

Because warships were large in size, their draft was also quite deep.

If it were too shallow, the ships would run aground.

"I have had people measure it; it is about twelve meters, which is enough," Chen Shou said.

After standardizing the weights and measures of the Armory, he had also sent these standards to the Shipbuilding Department.

He required the Shipbuilding Department to follow the new weights and measures from then on.

Therefore, the 'meters' in Chen Shou's mouth were the contemporary standard meters.

Pausing, he continued, "For the slightly shallower areas, I am sending people to dredge and clear the silt."

Zhao Xu had no objections to this depth.

A deep-water port was not just about how deep the water was; according to contemporary standards, water areas with a depth of fifteen meters could serve as deep-water ports.

This was because large container ships had a draft of fourteen meters.

Naturally, there were no giant container ships here in Da Song.

Even if the tonnage of the Warships being built is not large, twelve meters is sufficient.

Moreover, many contemporary deep-water ports also have a depth of twelve meters.

"Not bad." Zhao Xu revealed a satisfied expression.

He looked toward the craftsmen busy on the Hetan.

He remembered that there was one more important matter for this trip.

Although Chen Shou had experience in overseeing the construction of warships, his method of shipbuilding was still very primitive.

It was to build them directly on the Hetan.

This method is fine for building small boats, but for building Warships, he saw that it was a bit troublesome.

If one were not careful, the Warship under construction might possibly tilt and fall over.

Furthermore, because the Warship is very tall, transporting timber up to it in the later stages is also a hassle.

"Besides sending people to you, this time I, Yan Wang, want to teach you a good thing," Zhao Xu said with a smile.

Chen Shou revealed a smile upon hearing this.

He had long heard that His Highness Yan Wang had many unconventional ideas.

Could it be that His Highness Yan Wang also understands shipbuilding?

So he said, "I hope for your instruction, Your Highness."

Zhao Xu simply squatted down on the Hetan and picked up a branch to draw.

"This thing is called a Dry Dock; simply put, it is digging a pit slightly larger than the Warship and pouring some square piers at the bottom of the pit. These square piers are called keel blocks. When building a Warship, you can fix the keel on them..." Zhao Xu explained while drawing.

Since Chen Shou did not yet understand what cement and Concrete were.

He explained it again, telling him that the square piers were cast using Concrete.

"This dock connects to land on three sides and faces the water on one side. When building a Warship, you can also build scaffolding around it, making it convenient for craftsmen to go up and down during construction," Zhao Xu continued.

Scaffolding in the contemporary era is a frame made of steel pipes tied together vertically and horizontally; when a building is high and cannot be reached, workers can climb through the frame.

The scaffolding for a Dry Dock is the same principle.

However, he could not produce steel pipes, but he could use wood as a substitute.

"Scaffolding." Chen Shou learned a new term again.

At the same time, with the Warship at the bottom of the pit, transporting materials becomes much more convenient; one can simply hoist the materials down from the ground level.

Hearing this, Chen Shou's eyes lit up.

This hoisting of timber is indeed a waste of manpower.

The Dry Dock that Yan Wang spoke of is equivalent to building a ship in a pit; thus, throwing materials down is much easier than throwing them upward.

"Once the Warship is finished, open the water gate on the side facing the water, and the river water will pour into the pit; the Warship will then float and exit the Dry Dock," Zhao Xu finally said.

Hearing this, Chen Shou felt as if he had obtained a priceless treasure.

He said to an official, "Immediately bring paper and a brush, copy down what His Highness drew, and record every word His Highness said. This is wonderful; this Dry Dock for shipbuilding is simply twice the result with half the effort."