Aztec Civilization: Destiny to Conquer America!-Chapter 1712 - 1221: The 200-Liao Sand Ship, They Belong to the Sea

"O Chief Divine, you're asking how this ship is built? Then it depends on the shipbuilding method... What is the shipbuilding method? It's the rules for building ships... Witness the Chief Divine! This two-hundred-material sand ship has no central keel, only side-joined auxiliary keels. So, using side keels as reference, various components are constructed proportionally and finally assembled together... That's its shipbuilding method!"

"Be more specific? Sure, I can recite the whole thing from start to finish!... The ship's deck, from bow to stern, is 6 zhang 1 chi (approximately 20 meters), and the ship's bottom, from bow to where there's no board, is exactly 4 zhang (13.3 meters). The auxiliary keel is located in the middle, approximately 5 zhang 1 chi (17 meters)... Using 5 zhang as the measure, both masts on the deck bear full vertical sails. The main mast is the same length as the measure, about 5 zhang, and the foremast is eight-tenths of the measure, about 4 zhang..."

"The stern has an unboarded aft of 1 zhang 1 chi 6 cun (3.9 meters). The bow is 7 chi 5 cun (2.5 meters) wide and 4 chi 1 cun deep. The ship middle is 1 zhang 2 chi 3 cun (4.1 meters) wide and 4 chi 2 cun deep. The stern is 9 chi 3 cun (3.1 meters) wide and 5 chi (1.67 meters) deep... The width ranges from one and a half to two and a half times the measure, and the ship is extremely shallow in water!"

The sun was setting, and the sand ship sang the evening on the lake. Gold Shipwright Kim Sun-su gestured, describing the ship's design in great detail using the kingdom's measurements. Cedar Shaman and Old Militia Chiwaco listened intently, gradually visualizing the shape of this two-hundred-material sand ship.

"Hmm, really interesting! This ship is wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, getting deeper towards the back, even having an elevated rear cabin. But the deck is widest in the middle, it's like... it's like a..."

"Like a lean turkey with a raised tail! The bow anchor is the turkey's beak, the splash guards on either side are like wings, and the two masts are the raised long turkey feathers..."

Old Militia Chiwaco smoothly interjects and proposes two deep questions.

"Old Jin, why is the ship's design like this? And why use such long and large vertical sails? They catch the wind so strongly; if there's a storm, it's easy to capsize!"

"Ah! Captain Chi, the design is passed down through generations. The bow is like a knife to break the waves easily and sail quickly! If there's a storm, you can just furl the sails. They're stiff sails, so furling and unfurling is quick! And if the storm is big, this ship can just beach itself ashore. Look, its bottom is wide and shallow, it can land anywhere!"

As Gold Shipwright talked about the ship details, his eyes shone, and his old face was lifted in a smile. This was something he saw constructed from beginning to end, one board at a time. Oh no, the boards and masts were already there, having been dismantled from two half-built oar-sail ships. The materials were so solid that it was heartbreaking to see! What government officials would use top-quality beech wood, pine wood, oak wood, and teak to build a sand ship? Not to mention, he even found something like "sandalwood" in the lumber stock, top-grade, hard-scented wood!

After Gold Shipwright got over his shock and asked the workers, he learned that the "sandalwood" was used for oar and ship rudder, said to be unbreakable though tough on tools... Oh heavens, this is top-quality sandalwood! Many noblemen spend big money yet can't even buy a piece of sandalwood furniture... These Jiao People used it for ship components?

Fortunately, Gold Shipwright doesn't know that the Kingdom of the Lake's king initially used this sandalwood to make axles for catapults. Had he known, he would have fainted from crying. Oh no, he's already fainted from crying many times, especially seeing the half-built "Snow Wolf King," seeing that over fifty-meter-long whole keel, he really hugged that "Divine Wood" crying desperately! But that "Divine Wood" is so big it takes three people to embrace it...

"Oh heavens! These materials are too solid, truly a waste of wood!"

"Hmm? Old Jin, Old Jin!... You said solid materials? How much materials does it take to build this ship specifically?"

Cedar Shaman, holding a Scepter, first taps the ship's body, then taps the mast, clearly showing interest in the ship. The Golden Bay in the North meets the lakes and seas of the California region, which very much needs this kind of lightweight transport sailboat. He wants to learn how to build this ship and let the craftsmen of the North Bay Tribe reproduce such ships...

"Ah? How much materials?... Uh, let me think, I remember. Although specific materials differ, there's a rough rule for any ship type..."

Gold Shipwright scratched his head, counted his fingers, and looked at the marks he carved into the ship himself. He muttered, obviously reciting them, ready for the noblemen's audits. But here, unlike Korea or Wa Country, no one checks his material accounts, everything is entrusted to him.

"The specifications for a two-hundred-material sand ship require at least two zhang of wood over two hundred pieces. Ship woodwork (wood for shipbuilding): use camphor wood, cedar wood boards 456 zhang. Masts use two pieces of cedar wood, rudder uses two pieces of cedar wood, invitation pole, awning scale rod, bracing pole, water pole, rudder rod, rudder leaf, gate stick each several pieces... Decoration work (wood for decorating): 61 zhang of cedar plywood. Calculation work (oil hemp lime): some kind of oil 100 jin, some kind of hemp 100 jin, lime 400-500 jin. Ironwork (using iron), oh no, it's copperwork (using copper): copper nails 500 jin, copper floats 40 jin, one copper pot. Using copperwork to reinforce the ship body, really is grand!"

Thinking of the construction materials' shiny copper, Gold Shipwright's mouth twitches, indeed amazed. It's like building a ship with "money," isn't it? Just these five or six hundred jin of copper materials are worth at least 80 strings of copper coins! But the iron material here doesn't seem as durable and useful as bronze material. And the Gel Nation seems quite wealthy, as much as he saw the Gold Mountain, and the Gold Talisman given to him...

"Cough! Aside from the four most important materials of ship woodwork, decoration work, calculation work, copperwork, there're also canopy, ropes, cables, paint, ink, flag, circle, tassel, dye, clam... Among them, canopy includes bamboo, rattan, and reeds, mainly for making sails. Ropes and cables are bamboo hemp used for making ropes. As for the remaining items, they're self-explanatory... Hmm, the ship's dye is really good, I see that red and blue, even better than what Wa Country's tycoons use!"

"Hiss! To build a ship like this, are there really so many different kinds of materials?"

The Cedar Shaman listened intently, his expression growing more intriguing. It seemed that the materials used for this type of boat exceeded the processing capabilities of the Miwoke Tribes. He didn't even know where to find five hundred pounds of copper materials...

"Wait a minute! Old Jin, how come you used clams to build this boat? Are you secretly snacking on them? You know eating too many can really mess with your stomach!"

Chiwaco frowned, noticing the detail of the materials. Kim Sun-su was momentarily stunned, took a few breaths, and then answered oddly.

"Captain Chi, clams are used to make clam ash! Haven't you used clam ash before? Although it's a hassle to grind and burn first, it's much finer than lime, especially for waterproofing! There are bound to be gaps between the wooden planks when building a boat, so you spread clam ash with oil in those gaps. Once it dries or is wetted, it's completely waterproof!"

"Ah! So it's filling and sealing clay! Old Jin, you should've told me earlier... The seaside produces a sticky black oil stone that can also be used for filling gaps, just dig up a bunch..."

"Uh... On the Northern Continent, there's a kind of tree resin which, when burnt and mixed with fish oil, can also be used to repair canoes!"

The three, all experienced and knowledgeable, were enthusiastic and engaged in a lively conversation about the products and uses from various places. They chatted for half an hour until the night was completely dark and returned to the North Coast of the Great Lake, with the flickering campfire of the Shipyard illuminating the natural Lake Bay in front.

"Chief Divine's blessing! The boat journeyed tens of miles back and forth, and not a drop of water leaked, it proves she's good to go!"

The Gold Shipwright docked the vessel, dropped the anchor at the bow, and greeted the Samurai guards at the Shipyard. Despite the rush in building the sand ship, there were no issues. While the three were delighted, they saw a torch approaching from the wooden house behind the Shipyard. Upon recognizing the figure beneath the torch, the Gold Shipwright's knees buckled, and his legs began to tremble.

"Jin! You old deer, staying out so late, where do you plan to graze on tender grass?!"

Hearing the intimate nickname "old deer," the Cedar Shaman and Chiwaco exchanged glances and both smiled. Kim Sun-su hastily saluted the two, apologized then hurriedly jumped off the ship. A strong Prepecha woman wrapped in a headscarf and wearing Cotton Armor, carrying a torch in one hand and a long spear in the other, approached quickly.

Seeing the attire and stride of the newcomer, Chiwaco blinked knowingly. Clearly, she was from a samurai family of Prepecha lineage, proficient with the long spear, certainly capable of slaying a passing wild wolf. As expected, the woman deftly hung the spear on a strap behind her Cotton Armor, then firmly grasped her husband's hand.

"Old deer, where have you been? It's already dark..."

"Chief Divine! I was testing the boat, went a bit far on the lake... Look, this is the Gold Talisman given to me by Priest Mekate for building the sand ship... You can take it to make some jewelry..." 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

"Jewelry's nice, but it doesn't fill the stomach! The meal is ready at home, hurry back to eat... With this gold, tomorrow I'll buy a deer! I'll save the deer whip and blood for you, boost your strength, so we can have a baby sooner..."

As she spoke, the woman dragged Kim Sun-su away quickly, like with the wind at her feet, leaving in no time. The Cedar Shaman and Chiwaco lingered at the bow until the torch vanished into the distance; Chiwaco then chuckled and asked.

"Old Woody! It's getting late, how about coming over to my place for some fruit wine and a bite?"

"Wine and pastry? Ha! Old Corn, all you have are pastries! Despite your contributions to the Kingdom and managing many people, your meals are like those of a farmer, with not a woman in sight for company...Forget it, come to mine instead! At least I have some dried fruits and rabbit meat..."

"Haha! Chief Divine's blessing, rabbit meat is good! I love corn cakes and rabbit meat. Sadly, spring isn't here, rabbits are hard to catch and too expensive to buy... So let's go!"

"Chief Divine's blessing! Then let's go!"

A torch lit up, slicing through the long, dark night. Two elongated shadows headed towards the simple wooden house, while the other end enveloped the swaying sand ship and Great Lake. The cedar and corn growing from the earth, yet they do not belong to the earth. What truly belongs to them are the grand seas, the endless Southern Continent~