Firearms in a Fantasy World

Chapter 145: Follow-up Shipbuilding Plan

Translator: Cinder Translations

...

While Paul and Naval Commander Austin whispered to each other, Quik observed the new ship with "moved" feelings.

Even though he had taken over for two days, he was still in a state of excitement.

The Southern Star was not only larger than the Hope in hull size and equipped with more cannons, but it also had improvements based on various shortcomings found in the Hope during its operation. After all, the Hope was a trial work, while this new ship, with all its flaws addressed, was considered perfect in Quik's eyes—of course, only among ships of this level.

Amidst Alan's somewhat incredulous expression, Quik hugged the mast of the Southern Star and muttered to himself in a tone as if confessing to a lover, "I will always love the Southern Star."

Alan's face was full of black lines as he recalled when Captain Quik, full of pride, led them on a tour of the Hope shortly after becoming naval cadets. At that time, he had also said, "I will always love the Hope."

Just a few days later, the captain's affections had changed. Oh well, perhaps for men, this wasn't contradictory.

...

After touring the Southern Star, Paul and the others came to a meeting room in the shipyard, where Captain Supervisor Rubin and old shipwright Benjamin brought out a new model of a sailboat—a model of a two-masted schooner.

"After constructing three single-masted ships, we have gained a lot of design and construction experience. It's time to take our technological achievements to the next level. So we made this model of a two-masted schooner, which is our shipyard's next milestone."

Paul carefully observed the model ship from all angles and vaguely felt that it was somewhat familiar.

Suddenly, he clapped his hands, startling everyone around him. "Isn't this the Jackdaw?"

While there were differences in detail, the overall structure was indeed very similar to the Jackdaw from Assassin's Creed.

Rubin and Benjamin were puzzled. "Jackdaw?"

Paul shook his head confidently. "I just thought of an excellent name. Let's call the first ship of this kind we build the Jackdaw."

"Great name! Great name indeed!"

Rubin applauded enthusiastically. "Earl, you have such literary flair!"

Benjamin rolled his eyes at Rubin, thinking that he could even flatter about a name like that. He felt the name had no sparkle, but since it was the lord's suggestion, he had to go along with it.

The old shipwright, dissatisfied, said, "Earl, actually, I believe we have the capability to build even larger ships. For example, the model you gave us earlier—the Stockholm, that three-masted ship."

He didn't know why the lord called that ship the Stockholm, which seemed like a place name. The name of another large ship—the Victory—was quite understandable. But even with his confidence, he wouldn't dare to start building a giant ship like the Victory.

"Imagine scenes like this. She could carry two gun decks, hold more cargo, with her, your navy could dominate the seas completely. Your merchant fleet could even easily bypass the Angle Bay and trade directly with distant eastern countries, and along the way, I guarantee no ship could threaten her."

Paul once asked the senior management of the shipyard for their suggestions on future development. During discussions between Benjamin and Rubin, the old shipwright proposed a leap-forward development plan to construct a true sailing battleship in one go, while Supervisor Rubin insisted on a step-by-step approach, starting small and gradually scaling up.

In the end, Rubin, in his capacity as the shipyard supervisor, prevailed over the old shipwright. When designing the new ship, he adopted a conservative approach and produced this model of a two-masted schooner.

Benjamin muttered to himself in complaint, "Really, despite being younger than me, his courage doesn't match even mine, an old man."

"Hmm! Actually, I agree with Supervisor Rubin's approach," Paul said after hearing their differences.

Paul still felt that Supervisor Rubin's cautious approach was more prudent.

Building step by step, although slower, had a higher success rate. The ships built this way were at least usable. While a direct leap might be tempting, the risk of failure was high. If it failed, not only would a lot of money go to waste, but also the manpower and work hours, which Paul could not afford.

He remembered Sweden's "Vasa," which was an absolute tragedy.

The Swedish, oh no, in joining the Protestant camp during the Thirty Years' War, urgently needed to develop their navy to secure control of the Baltic Sea. For this reason, they devised a series of "Great Construction" plans, and the Vasa was the product of this naval strengthening plan.

At that time, Sweden was ruled by King Gustav II Adolf, known as the "Lion of the North," a military genius who decisively turned the tide of the war on land, defeating the Catholic coalition. Many of Paul's military reforms drew inspiration from this famous king.

But when it came to the navy, he was completely ignorant. Ignoring reality, he ordered the immediate completion of the Vasa to be ready for action against Poland.

Due to insufficient time, the ship's design and construction teams had to work hastily. The king, located far away in Poland, repeatedly demanded new requirements that overturned the original design. Under Gustav II Adolf's orders, the Vasa's design changed from a single-deck artillery platform to a double-deck capable of carrying up to 64 cannons.

However, Swedish shipyards had no experience in constructing such large two-deck warships and failed to properly address the stability issues caused by the increased height of the hull.

Under the influence of courtiers eager to flatter the king, the upper works designed for grandeur were excessively tall. In addition, numerous intricate "celebratory" wooden sculptures were placed high above the ship's body, making the upper works even heavier. Thus, the Vasa's center of gravity became increasingly high.

As a result, on her maiden voyage, she sank right in front of everyone's eyes, swept away by a gust of wind. The Vasa had sailed only 1,300 meters before sinking to the bottom of the sea, 32 meters deep, taking the lives of 30 crew members. Hundreds of ordinary people, officials, and foreign diplomats witnessed the entire event.

Now, with Alden, the pirates have been eliminated, and the maritime threats have greatly diminished. Large-scale long-distance trade has not yet begun, so such large ships are not currently needed.

Therefore, it's better to be cautious and avoid risks as much as possible.

"You're the lord, what you say goes."

Benjamin shrugged, feeling somewhat disheartened.

Paul reassured him, "Haha, Master, don't be disheartened. Bread will come, milk will come. Sooner or later, we will build bigger ships, and they will get bigger and bigger. Once the Southern Route opens, even if I don't need them, our merchants will force you to build large ships."

Only then did the old shipwright regain his spirits.

(End of the Chapter)

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