Firearms in a Fantasy World

Chapter 37: Inspection of the Shipyard

Translator: Cinder Translations

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After the public trial, Paul Gleeman did not immediately return to Alden Town. There were many matters that needed to be settled, so he decided to stay in Frand Port for a few more days.

For instance, on the administrative front, the former mayor was clearly unable to continue in his position due to health reasons.

According to tradition, local dignitaries should be convened again to elect a new mayor from among themselves. This was a common practice in the northern territories, where lords were often willing to delegate some of their perceived minor powers to the locals as long as they could collect sufficient taxes and conscript enough labor and military personnel. Conversely, when something went wrong locally, they could use this as an excuse to evade their responsibilities and obligations.

However, Paul did not intend to continue this tradition. He wanted to appoint candidates himself, firmly holding the power of appointment and dismissal of various officials within his domain. Only then could his will be effectively implemented, paving the way for the anticipated series of reforms.

Of course, given the former mayor's extensive experience, Paul still retained him as an advisor, with his salary paid from the Lord's Manor's financial expenses.

So he wrote to Steward Ford, instructing him to immediately send two experienced and trustworthy individuals to Frand Port to serve as mayor and deputy mayor.

To his surprise and delight, Frand Port had a small shipyard, which happened to be owned by his own family. Upon learning of the existence of this shipyard, he led a group of officers including Schroder and Bryce to visit.

After the public trial, the shipyard resumed operations. Paul and the others stood near the docks, observing the craftsmen busy at work. The head of the shipyard, with great care, accompanied these dignitaries.

"Do we only build this type of ship here?" Paul asked with a furrowed brow. To him, the ships in the dockyards resembled medieval Norse longships on Earth—single-masted, with a main square sail, and using square rigging where wind power was supplemented by rowers.

The shipyard head, Rubin, answered respectfully, "Yes, my lord. Currently, our shipyard only builds this type of ship."

Young Count Paul seemed somewhat dissatisfied.

Indeed, Paul was not pleased. In his mind, even if they couldn't currently build steam-powered ironclads, they should at least be capable of constructing sailing battleships like the HMS Victory of the British Royal Navy. To him, these single-masted oar-sailed ships seemed like toys.

TL Note: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Victory

Shaking his head, he said, "This won't do! The navy we're planning cannot sail to battle aboard such ships."

The bewildered officers around him asked, "My lord, aren't ships supposed to look like this?"

"We need larger hulls, more sails on our warships, greater endurance, capable of crossing oceans, not needing to return to port for resupply in less than a week."

Turning to Rubin, the shipyard head, he asked, "Does everyone in the world use similar ships?"

Rubin thought for a moment before replying, "I dare not speak for the entire world, but as far as I know, in most places I'm familiar with, the basic structure is similar. There may be variations in details, but fundamentally, they are alike. Some larger ships may have two or three masts."

"Do they all use these hard sails?" Paul inquired further.

"There are also those who use soft sails, such as in the Angle Bay where it's quite popular."