Chapter 823: Shipbuilding Industry

"It certainly will." Gazing toward the azure ocean, Zhao Xu's gaze was like lightning.

Along the path he had traveled, he had defeated the Yan Commandery Rich Clans, defeated the Yuan Family, and then defeated the Northern Di.

Amidst the internal chaos, he had also defeated the Jiangbei Powerful Clans, occupied Gaoli, and blockaded Dongying.

Now, he was about to annihilate the Jiangnan Powerful Clans.

Yet at this moment, the Western Powers bared their fangs.

They wanted to strangle him through internal chaos; in the near future, they might even take the field themselves, blocking him just as the contemporary Anti-French Alliance was formed to attack Napoleon, aiming to put him to death.

But he simply would not let their wishful thinking succeed.

They believed that because they had been winning for hundreds of years, they would continue to win.

But he would give them a cruel reality with guns, cannons, and blood.

Under his leadership, Great Song would rise, and it would surely rise.

"That's right, it certainly will." Zhou Yi chimed in at this moment, adding to Chen Shou, "I stake my head on it, Zhou Yi."

Then he suddenly put on a cheeky face, "Director Chen, just for the sake of me staking my head on it, you must deliver the warships to the navy as quickly and early as possible, ensuring both quality and quantity."

Chen Shou was initially somewhat moved, but upon hearing this, he couldn't help but roll his eyes.

Zhao Xu smiled.

Because both were stationed in Jinghai, Zhou Yi had often treated Chen Shou to meals and Wine for the sake of the navy's warships; it could be said they were very familiar, and the two often joked with each other.

At this time, he suddenly thought of something and asked, "How is the situation with the other shipyards?"

Chen Shou couldn't be bothered to pay attention to Zhou Yi anymore; after thinking for a moment, he said, "According to Your Highness's instructions, currently, all cities along the coast with good harbor conditions are preparing shipyards. Beyond that, there are the banks of the Jin River and the spacious inland river regions. Among them, the coastal shipyards are mainly used for building warships, while the inland shipyards are mainly used for building commercial Steamships."

Zhao Xu nodded.

Chen Shou's planning was very reasonable; large ships naturally had to be built along the coast, otherwise, they would run aground once built.

Commercial Steamships ranged in length from ten to thirty meters, so they could be built in inland shipyards.

There was no need to compete for excellent harbors with the military shipyards.

Most importantly, by utilizing both inland rivers and the coast, the number of shipyards could be increased.

"However, due to the scarcity of shipwrights, I can only prioritize the shipyards within Qizhou first, so that they can build warships as soon as possible," Chen Shou continued. "Currently, there are the Pingyuan Shipyard and Leling Shipyard on the Jin River, and there are also three shipyards under construction in Lai County, Yan County, and Qing County in Qizhou."

"Among them, the Qing County Shipyard is a military shipyard, with a scale twice that of Jinghai's, while the others are for civilian use. I have ordered priority construction for the Qing County Shipyard; barring any accidents, it will be completed in two months, and the hull of the Ironclad Warship will also be built at the Qing County Shipyard."

This Qing County was the contemporary Qingdao; hearing this, Zhao Xu had a plan in mind.

Two more months would be June; if they could begin production, another batch of Steamships would be launched in February of next year.

In this way, the navy's fleet could be continuously replenished.

"Temporarily convert the civilian shipyards to military use as well; once the seas are safe, convert them back to civilian use," Zhao Xu said.

Occupying Yizhou, the Folangji Governor Fei Wen had plotted to kill him, and now there were the Frank, the Ross nation, and Britain, all in cahoots, attempting to annihilate him and let Great Song fall into becoming their colony.

Because of all this, he was forced to make the shipyards churn out ships like dumplings.

However, although he wanted to possess hundreds of Sailing Warships and Steamships all at once, that was not realistic.

Just as Chen Shou said, building shipyards took time to recruit and train craftsmen, and the Steam Engine workshops also needed time to produce Steam Engines for the shipyards.

Putting five shipyards into production at the same time was already the limit of Jiangbei's industry.

Otherwise, even if the Dry Docks and buildings of the shipyards were built, they would be empty shells without sufficient craftsmen and Steam Engines.

Therefore, it could only be done step by step.

But he believed that as various prefectures and commanderies replicated the Workshop District model of Yancheng, industry would blossom everywhere in Jiangbei.

The speed at which shipyards were put into use would become faster and faster.

Before long, Great Song's shipbuilding industry would stand at the pinnacle of the world.

"Yes, Your Highness." Chen Shou acknowledged.

Zhou Yi chuckled; if the two shipyards on the Jin River also built warships, the navy's warships would be even more secure.

Having understood the latest situation regarding the warships and the construction of the shipyards, Zhao Xu chatted with the two for a while and returned to Jinghai County city.

By this time, Zhao Heng and the others had already eaten and, led by the Jinghai County Magistrate, had gone to the seaside to play.

Zhao Xu did not disturb them, but instead paid for it himself, treating Chen Shou and Zhou Yi to Wine at a Jinghai County restaurant.

In the evening, when everyone returned, he went to the Jinghai station and took a Steam Locomotive to return.

Unlike the trip there, because the trial run results were good, Zou Rong had ordered the Steam Locomotive to increase its speed, reaching fifty kilometers per hour.

In just one hour, they returned to Yancheng.

Stepping down from the carriage and looking at the familiar Yancheng architecture, everyone felt a sense of unreality.

It was as if they were in a dream.

In one day, they had gone from Yancheng to Jinghai and back from Jinghai to Yancheng, and in between, they had even spent a long time playing in Jinghai.

If someone had told them this before, they would certainly have thought that person was crazy.

But now, they had truly experienced it once.

"Extraordinary, truly extraordinary." Zhao Heng was still savoring the experience. "Xu, where else will this Railway be built?"

Zhao Xu said: "From Great Song's Jiangbei to Jiangnan, from the coast to the desert; in the future, every county city in Great Song will have a Railway passing through it, and every one will have a station."

Hearing this, Zou Rong nodded in agreement.

Zhao Heng was stunned for a moment, looking at Zhao Xu with a complex expression; after a long while, he said: "Very good, very good."

As he spoke, he walked toward Wuji Palace with Imperial Concubine Mi.

Zhao Xu found Zhao Heng a bit strange, but he did not think deeply about it.

Just as he was about to return to the Prince's Mansion, Zou Rong said: "Your Highness, the Railway heading south has encountered trouble."

"You are talking about the Jin River, right?" Zhao Xu guessed it after a little thought.

When encountering small rivers and ditches, the Ministry of Works could still build bridges and lay roads.

However, the narrowest point of the Jin River is still five hundred meters wide, and the river water is deep and swift; currently, there is simply no ability to build a bridge across the river.

Thus, the Railway was interrupted at the Jin River.

In the contemporary nineteenth century, it was precisely because of encountering this problem while building railways that bridge technology advanced by leaps and bounds, which in turn drove the great development of the construction industry, giving humanity the ability to build hundred-meter-tall buildings for the first time.

Next, he would also focus on cultivating talent in the field of bridge construction.

He might even extract the category of construction from the Political Academy and establish a separate College.

Besides this, there are also agriculture, economics, transportation, law, and so on.

But before that, there must be a way to solve this problem.

So he said, "This is not difficult; just use boats to ferry across."

"Ferry across by boat?" Zou Rong was dumbfounded.