King
Chapter 838 - 838 72 Shipyard_2

838: Chapter 72, Shipyard_2 838: Chapter 72, Shipyard_2 The canal economy has already started, and although it’s still in its infancy stage and the tolls aren’t sufficient to cover the maintenance costs of the canal, it’s still a good beginning.

Cataclysmic times bring both “risks” and “opportunities”.

Whether one can make further progress in turbulent times depends on their ability to weather the crises and seize the opportunities.

“Count, this military ship is the first large warship built after the relocation of the shipyard.

It’s designed to be seventy-two meters in length, seventeen meters in width, with a displacement of two thousand four hundred eighty-six tons, and it’s planned to be equipped with six Magic Crystal Cannons and Medium Magic Crossbows…”

The full crew numbers nine hundred twenty-three, and the ship requires the inscribing of thirty-six different Magic Formations.

It has a normal cruising speed of fifteen kilometers per hour, but with full power driving the Magic Formations, it can reach a top speed of thirty kilometers per hour.

Its speed is affected by wind direction; with a tailwind, the speed may slightly increase, and with a headwind, it correspondingly decreases…”

Perhaps worried that Hudson wouldn’t understand, Sears explained using the most layman terms possible, but in the end, it was still somewhat futile.

After a lengthy explanation, the one thing Hudson remembered was that this warship had joined the second tier of the fleet.

In Hudson’s mind, a bigger ship, more Magic Crystal Cannons, and higher level Magic Formations equated to stronger combat capabilities.

The current largest warship has a displacement of over three thousand tons.

The level of its Magic Formations is unknown, but it definitely has four more Magic Crystal Cannons than the others.

Of course, aside from increasing the number of Magic Crystal Cannons, there are also those who put effort into improving the cannons themselves.

As to how far the development has reached, Hudson is not sure.

For now, whenever he needs Magic Crystal Cannons, he directly purchases them from the Military Department, which essentially represents the most advanced technology of the Alpha Kingdom.

As for self-developed research, he’s not entertaining that idea just yet.

The technology behind Magic Crystal Cannons is too complex for the Mountain Domain to grasp in the short term.

Even if he had a pile of cannon-casting materials, these would merely provide theoretical foundations; there’s still a long way to go to reach the advanced level of the Continent.

Perhaps after some unlucky small countries collapse during the continental wars, talent of such caliber might become available.

Until then, there’s no point in hoping.

As far as Hudson knows, within the Alpha Kingdom, there are only about two to three Major Nobles capable of manufacturing Magic Crystal Cannons on their own.

No other Clan does it themselves, not for lack of technological reserves but primarily because of cost.

Since Magic Crystal Cannons already cater to a niche market, aside from Majors Nobles engaged in overseas trade or those located on the Northern Border with greater needs, most Nobles have very limited demand.

The number of cities they control is finite.

Even if all cities were to be equipped with them, there would be only so many dozens of cannons needed.

And these behemoths don’t require daily replacement; once installed on city walls, they typically serve for at least thirty years, and if well-maintained, they could last for two or three hundred years.

With such minimal market demand, starting a production line would be a certain loss.

If one Clan cannot handle it, then multiple Clans come together to do it.

Apart from a few extremely wealthy and high-demand Noble Clans who operate independently, the rest get their supplies from the Military Department.

For Hudson, this is obviously good news.

It means that in the initial stages, he can directly purchase completed Magic Crystal Cannons to use without having to spend lots of time and a huge amount of money on production and development.

“Mr.

Sears, when will this warship be ready for service?”

Hudson asked, pointing at the dragon bone in the shipyard.

All this was forced by war.

If not for the sudden outbreak of the continental wars, Hudson would certainly be taking it step by step, starting with the construction of canal merchants and pirate ships to accumulate experience before gradually venturing into the construction of ocean-going merchant ships and warships.

Once the continental wars broke out, the original plans could no longer keep up with the times.

To meet the current needs, Hudson had to build some merchant ships that could fend off Pirates.

It wasn’t for the sake of trade but simply to protect his own merchant ships and to transport a large number of people back from overseas.

The Orc Army was on the march again, and without external assistance, the collapse of the Prairie Seven Kingdoms was just a matter of time.

Hudson had done some statistics, and in the past two or three years, the various powers had continuously sent at least three to four million people to the great prairie.

With so many people, it was certain that they could not be evacuated in a short time.

The elite themselves could hardly be secured, let alone taking care of the serfs below them.

Whether it was receiving refugees or directly purchasing serfs from the local noble lords, it was a good deal.

Hudson’s demand was not high; as long as he could receive one to two percent of the population, it would be enough to satiate the Mountain Domain.

In fact, the population of the countries on the western side of the Northern Continent was even larger, but the journey in between was too far and required passing through several countries.

Not to mention the difficulties of transportation, all sorts of accidents could easily happen.

Even after receiving a large number of refugees, only a few could trek thousands, even tens of thousands of miles, and safely reach the Mountain Domain.

Most of the refugees, either perished along the way or pledged allegiance to new masters they encountered.

Who would willingly make such a foolhardy trek if they had any other choice?

Not only for their own sake but even for their families.

The vast majority of the elderly and children could not endure such a long and arduous journey.

By comparison, the sea route was somewhat more reliable.

Even though the mortality rate at sea was still high, it was much lower than that of overland migration.

“Count, rest assured, we have accelerated the construction schedule and expect that this warship can be launched by the end of next month.

If the installation of the armament on subsequent warships goes smoothly and the arrival of the Magic Crystal Cannons does not lag, we can expect installation to be completed in about two months.

The Inscribing of the Magic Circle afterward will require assistance from the Magic Academy, so how long that will take is uncertain.

As for the other warships, they started construction later, and currently, we have just finished laying the dragon bone.

Their completion is expected to be delayed by some months.

However, Count, you can be assured that we are doing our utmost to stick to the deadlines and striving to complete the warship construction in the shortest possible time,”

Mr.

Sears immediately promised.

While confident, there was a hint of fear between his brows.

Everyone at the shipyard indeed worked hard, but effort wasn’t necessarily synonymous with the Lord’s satisfaction.

With the Military Department sending people over every so often to press for the ships, Sears knew that the Lord placed great importance on this matter and feared that shipbuilding progress might not meet expectations.

“Hmm!

While rushing the schedule, the quality of the warships must also be guaranteed.

The vast sea is full of uncertainties, and any negligence could lead to disaster.

As for the issues with the Magic Crystal Cannons and the Magic Formation, I will personally step in and coordinate with them to ensure it doesn’t affect your construction progress.

Besides these warships, don’t forget about the merchant ships that are currently under construction.

No matter how many difficulties there are, these ships must all be put into service within the year!”

Hudson issued an unequivocal command.

The schedule was indeed tight but not impossible to meet.

Before coming, he had done his homework and had a rough understanding of the time needed to build military vessels and merchant ships.

After all, they were only wooden warships, primarily powered by human force, and the technical content involved in the shipbuilding process wasn’t that high.

The truly technical parts were the Magic Crystal Cannons that needed installation later and the Magic Formation that required the intervention of Magicians.

The majority of the cost of shipbuilding was also spent on these two major aspects.

Simply building a few ships, in fact, did not really cost much.

“Count, rest assured, our shipyard will complete the task on time!”

Sears immediately guaranteed again.

…