The two were walking on the road to the fortress, and Lin Cheng introduced the surrounding buildings, busy brick and tile kilns, drying wood kilns, and wood processing plants. They were distributed on both sides of the road, while the core industry was the shipyard. The affiliated workshops surrounded it, providing iron parts forging factories, newly established gun factories and rows of workers' dormitories. Lin Cheng seemed very proud of the shipyard.

"Brother Lin, can I go in and take a look?" He Bin asked.

In He Bin's opinion, Lin Cheng came to greet him in person just to show his strength to himself, so it shouldn't be too much to make this request.

"Of course, Mingxun is in the shipyard, maybe we can see him." Lin Cheng said.

After submitting the ID to the doorman, the group was able to enter the shipyard. It was the time when construction started in the morning that He Bin saw hundreds of craftsmen walking out of rows of neat wooden houses, some of whom wore rattan hard helmets and tied their long hair in, while most of them were shaved. He Bin asked: "Why are they dressing differently, and why do these people shaved their heads?"

Lin Cheng said: "This is a rule set by Mingxun. All slaves and those who have not obtained citizenship must shaved their heads. The ones dressed in Mingguo's hairstyle are real citizens. Mingxun said that this is a distinction between civilization and barbarism. I can't see any civilized and barbaric. I just found that those indigenous barbarians worked hard one by one in order to keep their hair and become citizens, and they saved a lot of salary."

He Bin felt that these systems were related to the Dutch policies in Nanyang. By distinguishing the enemy and us through religion, and then giving the indigenous people certain channels of improvement, he could get a lot of support and convenience. However, He Bin felt a little scared. He knew very well that these policies were not for making money, but for rule. Is Li Mingxun going to create the foundation for the founding of a country here?

Deep into the shipyard, I saw a row of six docks, with countless craftsmen and slaves busy repairing ships and building new ships not falling for a moment. There were various ships in the dock, Western-style schooners, common wide boats, and even two galleys built in the same dock. What really made He Bin unable to see was the stone dock in the center.

The dock is very wide and built with stone, enough to put down the large ships he had seen. There is also a shed above the dock. The beams more than ten feet long and columns with a large number of iron parts cover the entire dock below. As long as you cover the linoleum and canvas and ignite the flames, the dock can be constructed day and night without considering rainy days.

A giant in the dock has completed its main structure. The tall and thick bulwarks and three masts towering towards the sky give people strong oppression. Although he doesn't know much about Western ships, He Bin could see at a glance that this was a three-masted Garen warship with two layers of artillery decks. This warship is like the Tiger Shark docked in the harbor. Even in Batavia, it is one of the top warships.

"This White Shark is a replica and improved version of the Tiger Shark. It is two feet and four feet longer than the Tiger Shark, but it is stronger and more agile." Li Mingxun's familiar voice came from behind.

In fact, after obtaining the Han craftsmen of the Balian Shipyard of Manila, the club shipyard has the best shipbuilding capabilities in the entire East. However, in terms of ship design, the shipyard is still a dwarf, and the club urgently needs battleships, so it can only take the safest and fastest path, which is to use the surveying and mapping data and improvement experience of the Tiger Shark to try to build a warship of the same level.

Compared with the plump and bloated Spanish sailing ships, the White Shark emphasized manipulation from the beginning. (Spanish warships often work part-time on merchant ships, so they are generally fat and poorly manipulated.) From the beginning of the design, the White Shark had no forecastle, and the stern tower was much lower, which is also the main reason for the growth of the hull. The stern tower was greatly reduced by a large number of functional compartments moving into the hull, becoming a streamlined oblong shape, integrated with the entire hull. Since the beginning of the design, cargo was not considered, so the width of the hull was reduced. After improving the cable structure and layout, the speed of the ship should be greater than that of the Tiger Shark, and it is more agile.

Because the increased length is occupied by the functional compartment, and the White Shark was defined as a flagship from the beginning, so she, with an estimated displacement of more than 700 tons, still only equipped with forty-four cannons, the upper layer is the eighteen-pound cannon and the lower layer is the twenty-four-pound cannon. The lower layer has a deck of nearly one foot higher, so the gun door can be opened in more severe sea conditions. Of course, in an emergency, small-caliber deck cannons can be arranged on the upper deck to make the number of artillery exceeding about sixty.

"Shopkeeper Li, it costs a lot of money to build such a warship!" He Bin said in a very complicated mood.

Li Mingxun nodded slightly. The battleship was originally the most expensive ship, but the cost of the White Shark has not been counted because it has not been manufactured yet. However, so far, it has exceeded the cost of manufacturing a Manila sailboat. After it is equipped with artillery and sailors, the construction cost of this battleship may exceed that of a European first-class battleship.

In fact, the reason is very simple. This is the first Garen-style warship built by the shipyard, which costs a lot of money in terms of infrastructure. For the safe use of the warship, only teak boards provided by the community wood processing factory are used above the waterline and on the deck. The main structure of the warship, including keels, masts, all ribs and inner and outer boards below the waterline, are all purchased from Hong Kong through various merchants traveling from Nanyang. In order to complete the wood requirements required by this warship, Linhe even exempts taxes and provides priority transaction authority for merchants transporting teak.

The problem we are facing now is that the cannons stored in the community's current arsenal are not enough to assemble the White Shark. At that time, the artillery needs to be removed from the schooner. The battleship is the gold-swallowing beast. The closer the construction of the White Shark is to be completed, the more this sentence is the consensus among all the senior leaders of the community.

"Being a foothold overseas, warships are fundamental. There is no strong fleet, and they can only be bullied. Even if it is expensive, the club will continue to stick to it." Li Mingxun answered He Bin's question without hesitation, and said: "Most of the White Shark has been built and will be launched in February next year. If there is no major problem in the trial sailing, the club will build two identical warships based on the data on building it. In fact, the relevant wood has been purchased and reserved, and the club is also preparing to build larger and stronger warships. If you look forward, there is a dock that is already being transformed, and it will soon gain the ability to build large Garen warships."

He Bin was speechless for a moment, and Li Mingxun's words kept circling in his mind. He was deeply shocked by Li Mingxun. He didn't know how he went to the bastion. His head was filled with everything he saw in this city. The large shipyard, the Galen warship like a giant beast, the forging factory was burning with fire, and the 80 kilograms of forging hammer raised by the animal kneaded the hard steel like dough. Iron ingots of large and small were thrown into the forging furnace. Under the action of charcoal, stove and hammer, they spit out swords, spears and armor leaves. This city is like a giant beast, swallowing food, coal, steel and wood, spitting out weapons and warships, and then growing day by day. Perhaps one day, it can also compete with the Dutch East India Company...

"Brother He, I have a few major issues today, so I won't have a drink with you. Brother Lin will arrange your residence in Budai Port and ask you to clean up a little. In a few days, I will go to Nagasaki. You can take my ship at that time." Li Mingxun, who sent He Bin to the door of the shipyard, said.

"Oh, OK." He Bin walked out of his daze and replied silently. His tense heart had relaxed, and he was even a little glad that he had plenty of time to consider this matter, or to have enough time to inspect Li Mingxun and his Tenglong Trading Company.

"I want to see if this club is worthy of my He Bin's surrender." He Bin had already made up his mind.

Seeing Lin Cheng and He Bin go to the Castle for a banquet, Wu Mu, who has been with Li Mingxun, said, "Master, I don't like this He Bin. He is very thoughtful and is not worthy of your attention."

Li Mingxun smiled and looked at Wu Mu, saying, "You are right. He Bin is a complicated person. He does not have the loyalty of these old brothers in the early stage of the community. He has a unclear relationship with the Dutch and Zheng Zhilong. He is overly selfish, but he cannot deny that he is a very capable person."

"Ability does not represent everything, loyalty is the foundation." Wu Mu said stubbornly. What he looked down upon He Bin the most was that he was preparing to abandon his wife and children when he went to Madou Club to negotiate. In Wu Mu's view, a man should protect his women and children even if he doesn't have his own life. He Bin is completely the opposite. He only considers the safety of his wife and children when he is safe.

Li Mingxun nodded: "You are right, but I don't want He Bin to take on an important position in Taiwan. He has not been tested yet. If he really chooses to join us, his position will be in Nagasaki. The club has developed to a certain scale and can no longer meet the annual trade with Japan. I am planning to set up a shopping mall in Nagasaki, and He Bin is good."

Umu nodded heavily. As a samurai warrior, he did not know the community well enough. He felt instinctively that even if He Bin in Nagasaki was bad, he would at most lose some money to the community. It would be better than staying in Taiwan to make trouble.
Chapter completed!