Shipyard

  "This old fox!" As the saying goes, you have Zhang Liang's strategy and I have a ladder to climb over the wall. Zheng Kezang did not expect that the shipyard he had extorted from the Ministry of Works would end up in such a state. It was indeed impossible to underestimate these cunning and treacherous people of old times, or else one might be sold out by them at any moment. "The shipyard is like this, but what about the craftsmen?"

  Zheng Kezang flew into a rage at the smiling official from the Ministry of Works, and upon seeing Zheng Kezang's furious expression, the sixth-rank horse master hastily urged the nearby constables: "Quickly, summon Su Dagong and the others to pay their respects to the young master."

  After a commotion, several workers who looked like they were almost fifty suddenly appeared out of nowhere and then, under the guidance of the horse owner, knelt down in front of Zheng Kezang. Seeing that the half-white-haired old men wanted to kowtow to him, Zheng Kezang, whose mind was already troubled, hastily waved his hand: "No need, you are older than me, I am not worthy of such respect, get up and let's talk."

  Su Dagong and others slowly got up from the ground, looking at them as if they were somewhat inconvenient to move. Zheng Kezang's heart was even more disturbed, so he rushed to Ma Zhuren and asked loudly: "If there are only a few old, weak, sick and disabled people in the shipyard, how can we build ships?"

  Ma Zhuti did not dare to speak, but Su Xiang, the chief craftsman, heard Zheng Kezang say that he would no longer take action and became angry: "Young Master, don't underestimate us. As long as we have enough materials, Young Master can build whatever ship you want, and we can make it for you."

  Zheng Kezang was furious but laughed, pointing at Su Dagong and nodding: "Very good, you really dare to say anything, as the saying goes 'when the moon is full it will wane, when words are full they will overflow', since you are so arrogant, then it's easy to deal with."

  Zheng Kezang gritted his teeth: "I want a 5,000-liang red sandalwood clamping board big ship. Give you half a year, no, give you one year's time. If it can't be delivered on time, don't blame me for not showing respect to several seniors."

  "Even if it's not one year, but three or five years, this ship can't be built." Dai Yi Zheng Kezang was exasperated, while Su Dagong explained calmly. "The 5,000-料 red夷夹板大船 requires very long dragon bones, and Taiwan doesn't have suitable wood materials. Not only does Taiwan not have them, but I'm afraid even the whole of Fujian province doesn't have them either, so this ship can't be built."

  Zheng Kezang was taken aback, the other party's words were reasonable and obviously not nonsense. He then shifted his gaze to the Ministry of Works' Ma Zhuren, who explained with a nod: "Su Dagong and several others had built three thousand liang of watercraft for Guo Gongzi in Siming many years ago, but now they are old and have retired."

  "Water friend ship?" Zheng Kezang looked at the other party with suspicion, and Ma Zhuzi explained again: "The water friend ship is a replica of the clinker-built large ship."

  Zheng Kezang was shocked, this is a talent! If he had known that there was such a craftsman under the Zheng family, why would he have sought help from the British, and even been stabbed by someone? As soon as he thought of this, his attitude immediately became more gentle: "It turns out it's Old Man Ma, my grandfather's old man. I'm young and ignorant, I've offended an elder, please forgive me, Master Su!"

  "No, no!" Su, the craftsman, hastily waved his hands in a humble gesture, and after saying a few words to help Zheng Kezang save face, Master Su bluntly told him, "Actually, if the young master wants to build a ship, the red keel clamping board ship is not the first choice. Guang ships and Fu ships are actually better than red keel ships."

  Zheng Kezang was somewhat puzzled by this, if the Guang ship and Fu ship were better than the military galleon, then the result of the Opium War should have been a victory for the Qing court. However, since the other party was an old hand in this line, Zheng Kezang naturally did not dare to speak out against him easily, so he just listened patiently at this moment.

  "The key is still on the sail, the flat-bottomed boat is as fast as a galloping horse when sailing with the wind, but the soft sail used is really wasteful and cannot sail against the wind, it needs to take a detour. This is one of them." Su Daizhang nodded in agreement. "Secondly, the soft sail is not easy to operate, and too many people are needed to handle it. In fact, it's not as convenient as the Fuzhou boat or the Cantonese boat."

  Zheng Kezang thought for a moment, nodded his head, and indeed the other party was an old master. What he said was crucial. It must be known that Taiwan has always lacked fabric, and Chen Yonghua even had to bribe Qing officials to break through the blockade order and smuggle successfully. Therefore, if you really want to build a completely Western-style fast ship, now you have to place an order with Yingui Li's commercial firm to import large quantities of hemp and sailcloth from India.

  "Su Daizhang, let's not mention the sailcloth for now, I'll think of a way myself." Zheng Kechang asked in a tone of seeking advice. "If I want to build a fast ship of about 200 tons immediately, what would be the best type of ship?"

  The craftsman with the surname Su didn't even think about it, and immediately made a reply: "For ships of 400 tons or less, the Guang ship type is suitable. For ships of 1,000 tons or more, the Fu ship is better. As for ships of 3,000 tons or more, first, the materials used are quite troublesome, second, the workmanship must be extremely careful, but if you don't mind the cost, then the Hongyi clamping board ship can be used as a model!"

  "What about the sand ship?" Zheng Kezang continued to ask, he seemed to have only some theoretical knowledge from hearsay, and in other aspects, he was a complete novice. "It is said that sand ships are naturally stable, use less materials, but can carry a lot of cargo, making them suitable for long-distance sea trade."

  "The sand ship can still sail far in the calm sea of the north, but in places like Fujian and the Western Ocean, the wind is strong and the waves are urgent. The sand ship is shallow in water, and it's easy to capsize. So I don't think it's a good idea for the young master to build a sand ship."

  Apparently dissatisfied with Su Daizhang's explanation, Zheng Kezang immediately asked: "The wind and waves in the inner sea of Taiwan are not big, is it suitable for building sand ships?"

  "This is fine." Su Daizhang furrowed his brow. "However, the sand boat travels extremely slowly, and there's no need for a ferry on the Taijiang River."

  ??”

  "I'm just asking." Although he said so, Zheng Kezang still instructed him. "Master Su, I want to build two ships starting today, one is a 200-ton Guang ship and the other is a 500-ton sand ship. Do you know when can you finish it for me?"

  "Your Excellency, it's not that I'm trying to make excuses when things are urgent, but building a ship requires wood and iron materials, which are all in short supply in these warehouses. Moreover, having only skilled workers like Yu is not enough; we also need to recruit and assemble unskilled laborers and manual laborers for the task."

  "This is the case!" Zheng Kezang's gaze turned to Ma, who was standing beside him. "I have accepted an empty shell here, and it was originally a leftover from the Ministry of Works. Naturally, I couldn't let the Ministry of Works bear the cost of purchasing raw materials." Ma, the chief official, looked crestfallen, but Zheng Kezang's words were simple: where would the money come from? The Ministry of Works would definitely be reluctant to part with their funds, and it was unlikely that they would let a low-ranking official like him take out his own pocket to fill the gap. "Don't worry, the emperor won't let the soldiers go hungry." Zheng Kezang seemed to have seen something, and he smiled. He wouldn't make things difficult for his subordinates. "I'll give you 1,500 taels of silver. You need to procure all the materials needed for the people and the two ships."

  A 200-ton cargo ship costs around 300 taels of silver, and a 500-ton sand ship costs no more than 400 taels. Zheng Kezang's offer of 1,500 taels is enough to build another one. However, Ma Zhuren understands that the extra money is not for him to embezzle, but rather to pay for recruiting craftsmen and preparing materials in advance. Of course, even if there are opportunities to take advantage of it, Ma Zhuren will not take advantage of it because of Zheng Kezang's face as the successor of the vassal lord. Moreover, Ma Zhuren wants to handle things beautifully in order to leave a good impression on Zheng Kezang.

  "As for the small workers and laborers," after entrusting the horse master, Zheng Kezang turned his head back to Su Dazhang. "I can send some people from the Tongziying camp every day to help with the work, if there are not enough, Su Dazhang can hire a few more." Su Dazhang understood that Zheng Kezang must be thinking of sending people from the Tongziying camp to learn how to build ships, but this skill was not passed down only to his son or apprentice, so he readily agreed. However, he didn't expect that Zheng Kezang's words were not finished yet. "I previously invited a few shipbuilders from the Yinggui Li merchant house, they will arrive in about one or two months at most, and I hope Su Dazhang can lend a hand then." As the saying goes, people in the same trade are enemies, seeing Su Dazhang's unhappy face, Zheng Kezang smiled. "It's not that I don't trust Master Su's skills, it's just that I didn't know our province had such a master craftsman before, since we've already invited them, of course, we can't not use them, besides, the red barbarians have their own unique techniques in mast and sail making, naturally, we should learn from each other."

  ??”

  Returning to Anping City, Zheng Kezang did not go back to the mansion directly but instead went to Fu Ning Bo Zheng Cong's home: "Second Uncle, what's going on?"

  Zheng Cong was sitting anxiously, and when he saw Zheng Kezang, he welcomed him like a savior: "Qin She, you've finally arrived, let's go, let's go, don't stay here, go take a look at the wine workshop. Second Uncle made sweet wine according to your advice, but when it was sent to Siming, no one wanted it, now they're suffering a big loss."

  "Don't be in a hurry," Zheng Kezang waved his hand. "Second Uncle, let Yu sit for a while first, he just came back from Zhugang Port and is exhausted." Seeing that Zheng Kezang was also looking tired, Zheng Cong didn't dare to rush him anymore. However, the way he sat there, scratching his heart, made Zheng Kezang feel very uncomfortable. He had no choice but to ask, "By the way, Second Uncle, how did you brew this sugarcane wine?"

  "What else can be brewed? I'm the best brewer from Shaoxing."

  Zheng Cong's words were not spoken, but as soon as he said them, Zheng Kezang was drinking tea and couldn't help but spit it out on the ground: "Second Uncle is brewing sugarcane wine like Huangjiu and rice wine? Is it still stored for over a year? No wonder, no wonder!"

  Zheng Kezang let out two strange noises, and Zheng Cong couldn't help but ask urgently: "Qin She knows what's going on? That's great, quickly tell Second Uncle about it."

  "Second Uncle, first bring up a jug of your brewed wine." Zheng Kezang did not immediately respond, but instead signaled to Zheng Cong to pour the wine. Zheng Cong was unclear about what was going on, but he could still afford to bring out a jug of wine. As a result, he poured it out and Zheng Kezang took a sip. "The flavor is quite good, very sweet and refreshing. I suppose the women in the inner chambers will be delighted."

  "Still joking around." Zheng Cong got angry. "Can't you see that Second Uncle is already anxious and flustered!"

  "Second Uncle, don't be in a hurry. I told you before that the Red Barbarian's sailors love to drink sugarcane wine, why? Of course it's because of its potency! But Second Uncle mistakenly brewed it into something that women love to drink, who can we blame for this?" Zheng Kezang put down his cup. "In my opinion, there's no need to go to the winery now, I can already give Second Uncle a solution."

  "What's the solution?"

  "First, the newly brewed wine should not be stored in a cellar anymore. It should be steamed and boiled twice immediately to get rid of its mellow flavor, the stronger the better." Zheng Cong silently memorized it.

  "Second, the original stored wine is still unknown whether it can be used or not. The aboriginal people don't like to drink it, but since Taiwan has a ban on liquor, there must be someone willing to drink it. If Second Uncle sells it at a cheaper price, it's better than losing everything."

  "How much will this cost?" Zheng Cong's heart was cut like a knife. "Qin She, you have your own people here, can't you think of a way?"

  Just half of the profit and Zheng Kezang had to worry about everything, Zheng Cong really said it out loud, but the superficial work still had to be done. So Zheng Kezang came up with a bad idea: "If you don't want to lose money, you can try selling it to Japan and Korea, but whether it can be sold or not, and at a good price, I won't guarantee."

  "What's the point?" Zheng Cong let out a sigh and sat down in his chair. "We can't even sell Siming, how are we going to sell it to Japan or Korea? This hole is just getting deeper and deeper, forget it, let's just sell it cheaply in Dongning instead."

  ??”