The history of China's ocean voyages can be traced back to the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period.

During the Qin and Han dynasties, the development of China's shipbuilding industry appeared at its first peak. Qin Shi Huang organized a large fleet of ships capable of transporting 500,000 stone of grain during the war to unify southern China. According to ancient records, Qin Shi Huang once sent a general to lead a fleet of ships to attack the state of Chu. After the unification of China, he made several large-scale cruises, cruising on inland rivers or sailing on the sea.

By the time of the Han Dynasty, the sailors with Lou Chuan as the main force were already very powerful. It is said that after a campaign, the central government of the Han Dynasty was able to dispatch more than 2,000 ships and 200,000 sailors. The fleet is equipped with a variety of combat ships, including the assault ship "Xiandeng" at the forefront of the fleet, the narrow warship "Mengchong" used to attack enemy ships, the fast ship "Red Horse" that is as fast as a galloping horse, and the heavily armed ship "Sill with double decks on top and bottom." Of course, the building ship is the most important ship and the main force of the sailors. The building ship is a famous ship type in the Han Dynasty, and its construction and development is also a sign of superb shipbuilding technology.

Originally, the records in these books, Guo Jia felt that they were a bit exaggerated. But after witnessing it with my own eyes, I felt that the rumors were true.

This building ship is the flagship and has five decks, each deck can accommodate nearly 300 people, and the full load can accommodate 1,000 people.

It's a behemoth.

It's just that......

Guo Jia shook his head.

The building of the Han Dynasty building ship was still based on the needs of offshore combat, and the sail and the long pulp were parallel, so the ship's ocean-going ability was not outstanding.

For example, the sail has only two sides, a main sail and a auxiliary sail, and the wind that can be used is limited, and most of the time it is mainly paddling.

In addition, the structure of the hull is not very reasonable, and the role of the transport soldiers is more related to the purpose of combat.

It's okay to use along the coast, but it's dwarfed when it's actually at sea. Gu Yue and the others were able to cross the ocean to Mexico with a building ship, which is definitely an outlier.

If you want to fight in the ocean, you need to improve.

Thinking of this, Guo Jia suddenly beckoned to Gu Yue.

"General, are you satisfied?"

Gu Yue asked with a smile.

When it comes to fighting, he can't do it, but when it comes to sailing ships, he is an expert, after all, he is also the general of the Han Dynasty.

"That's when you went to Fuso on this kind of boat?"

Guo Jia asked curiously.

Not bad!

Gu Yue nodded, and said with some trepidations: "It's just that I went to three ships at that time, and only one came back." It can be described as nine deaths. ”

At first, they set out from Xuzhou and drove east to go to the Japanese slave country, but they encountered a storm on the way and lost their way.

Two of the boats capsized halfway, and only one boat, Gu Yue, drifted aimlessly in the wind, and without supplies, the crew had to rain to quench their thirst and catch fish for food. After another half a year, he drifted to a small island, where he received a large amount of supplies. They were able to get an abundance of vegetables and fruits, and because of this, they were able to reach the ancient country of Fuso.

However, it will take nearly two years to go back and forth, and most of the more than 300 people have died, and only a few dozen people are left when they return.

Although it was not the first time I had heard Gu Yue narrate this journey, it was only when Guo Jia boarded the boat that he understood the hardships inside.

There is no ability to discern directions, no motivation, no fresh water, no fresh fruits and vegetables. It's a blessing from heaven for a ship to float to Mexico!

However, these problems are not a problem for Guo Jia, a traverser.

Compared with Sinan's simplicity, the compass is much more accurate. Making an accurate compass is not difficult for Guo Jia.

In terms of power, if you can build a sailboat for future generations and use the power of the wind to sail, it is not difficult to have power.

Later generations of sailing ships had a complete set of methods for sailing at sea with the help of the wind, although it was more difficult to sail against the wind, but it was not impossible.

Solve the problem of power and direction, although fresh water is difficult to replenish, but there are always cloudy days and rain, make a simple water purification device, can perfectly solve this problem.

The last and most important question is the vitamins that the crew needs to sail.

Of course, there was no such thing as vitamins at this time, and the crews of the Age of Discovery were stockpiling a lot of fruits and vegetables to combat this.

Although fruits and vegetables can provide a lot of vitamins, they are not easy to store. But Guo Jia has a way to pickle or dehydrate fruits and vegetables, and although there are not many vitamins left, they can still provide enough vitamins for the crew.

In view of the limited conditions, whether pickling or dehydration still cannot improve the shelf life of vegetables, Guo Jia still has one last resort.

That is, with a large amount of soybeans and mung beans, let the crew soak their own bean sprouts, which can not only enrich the taste but also supplement vitamins.

There is no problem with the direction, there is no problem with supplies, and vitamins are not a problem, the key question is whether we can build a pointed sea ship in the Age of Discovery.

Thinking of this, Guo Jia took out a drawing.

This is a kind of pointed sea-head sea-going ship that he recalls the practice of seagoing ships in later generations, and copies a seagoing ship's structural drawing, combined with the existing outline of the building ship.

"General Gu, see if you can make this kind of ship with our current technology."

Guo Jia handed the drawings to Gu Yue.

Gu Yue took it, looked at it carefully, and suddenly her eyes lit up, and she blurted out, "This ...... It's a sea boat! ”

As an expert in shipbuilding, Gu Yue saw the difference in ships at first glance.

First of all, the draft of the hull is deeper, and the pointed tip is more conducive to riding the wind and waves and sailing for a long time.

Big sail!

Gu Yue's gaze fell on the dense cables and giant sails of the hull again, without any oars, it was completely a sea ship that sailed with the power of the wind.

But......

Gu Yue was a little incomprehensible.

"General, why don't you set up slurry on this ship, in case of a headwind, it won't be difficult to move an inch."

Hehe!

Guo Jia smiled slightly and said, "You don't have to worry about this, just say whether you can make it or not." ”

Gu Yue studied it carefully for a while, and said, "The keel is sharp, and if you simply use a wooden dowel to fix it and glue it, I'm afraid it won't be able to support it." ”

What about iron nails and copper nails?

Guo Jia interjected.

Iron nails, copper nails?

Hearing Guo Jia say this, Gu Yue couldn't help but be overjoyed, the use of wooden pins and glue is a common method of shipbuilding, of course, copper nails and iron nails can also be used, but a ship down is not a small amount.

If Guo Jia can really provide enough copper nails and iron nails, he can give it a try.

"If the general can provide enough copper and iron, his subordinates are willing to try their best."

Gu Yue hugged his fists.

Not a try!

Guo Jia said lightly: "Yes, tomorrow I will write to Yunzhou to provide you with copper and iron." Other required wood, tung oil and other materials are readily available. Within six months, you must build this new type of sea vessel. ”

(End of chapter)