Chapter 585 (1/2)

When Qin Huan received Lu Xiangsheng's Memorial, it was October. The autumn harvest in the southern provinces of the great Qin Dynasty had passed, and Qin Huan had already returned to Nanjing from Shanghai.

Because the cruiser built with reinforced concrete keel was completed as early as three months ago. After a trial voyage, the reinforced concrete keel is completely feasible, and the ballast stone is omitted. The speed is not much slower than that of the wooden keel cruiser.

Therefore, the third batch of warships will all use reinforced concrete keel, which will greatly reduce the construction cycle and cost of warships.

Because a huge tree in the sky is cut down, dried in the shade, then transported to the river by nine cattle and two tigers, and finally arrived in Shanghai. It can be as short as half a year and as long as a year. It can be poured with reinforced concrete in half a month.

However, although the keel problem was solved, Qin Huan did not continue to build warships on a large scale. Instead, after the second batch of warships were launched, he began to build various merchant ships. Since each merchant ship can only build one first ship, the third batch of more than 50 warships are still under construction.

When it is completed and launched at the end of the year, the navy of Daqin will have 25 500 ton cruisers, more than 50 300 ton destroyers, more than 160 100 ton frigates, a total of more than 240 warships.

So many warships pay attention to controlling all the sea areas around China and defeating any maritime opponent, so Qin Yucai plans to stop construction after the third batch is completed, because in the next few years, what Daqin needs is not warships, but merchant ships, thousands of merchant ships and hundreds of thousands of river flat bottom transport ships.

The chamber of commerce also ended in May. Three Yangtze River transport fleets, including the Royal Bank, have been established. Other rivers have also supported one or two transport fleets. Hundreds of large and small shipyards along the coast have supported them. The Royal Bank has lent a full 50 million liang of silver at low interest.

The management department under the Government Affairs Council and the navy of the coastal provinces and major rivers are also being established. Qin Huan has long shared the manufacturing drawings of various merchant ships to the shipbuilders for free, and asked them to go back and recruit craftsmen to do it.

Because the ship business tax collection system will be implemented next year. As for the new customs tax system and the unified replacement of standard merchant ships, it will be implemented in five years. This was already advertised when the chamber of Commerce was held. At the same time, Qin Huan also issued relevant documents to inform the world, so that those maritime merchants and businessmen in all provinces can be prepared.

Therefore, in the past six months, the shipyards have received overwhelming orders. The first to bear the brunt is the Shanghai shipyard. Some wealthy Jiangsu, Zhejiang and sea merchants have ordered one or two ships, some three or four ships, and even more than a dozen ships, all of which are large sea ships of more than 200 tons.

There are three types of seagoing ships, all of which are transformed from warships. Compared with warships, these seagoing ships are wider and shorter, and the deck is relatively low and high. There are two large built-in cargo tanks at the bow and stern respectively. There is a door that can be opened on both sides of the ship's side. Normally, they are closed and rubber rings are added to prevent seawater from penetrating when the waves are large and opening when loading, The frame can be directly pushed into the warehouse with a special cart, which is very convenient. The boxes can also be stacked on the deck above the warehouse, but they should be tied tightly and covered with tarpaulin.

The smallest 100 ton seagoing ship, with cargo tanks at the bow and stern, can also put down 100 frames two meters long, one meter wide and one meter high. With the space on the outdoor deck, it can reach 200 frames, but generally it's best not to put them outside. After all, pirates are popular and have to fight at any time.

Secondly, there are large seagoing ships of more than 200 tons and more than 400 tons respectively. The light warehouse room can hold more than 300 and 500 frames respectively.

The selling prices of these three types of seagoing ships are not expensive. Because they are also assembled in a standardized division of labor, the cost is very low. The external selling prices of more than 100 tons are 5000 Liang, 10000 liang of more than 200 tons and 20000 liang of more than 400 tons.

Four kinds of river flat bottomed ships are cheaper, 5000 liang of more than 200 tons, 2000 liang of 100 tons, 1000 liang of 50 tons and 500 liang of 20 tons.

The Xiao family is also desperate this time. They don't understand the sea trade and don't dare to step in rashly, but they understand the Yangtze river transportation. They spent a million taels of silver to set up a shipyard, recruit troops and buy horses, order River flat bottomed ships, and prepare to do a big job next year.

Obviously, everyone was attracted by the scene depicted by Qin Huan. Daqin's warships will fight in the world, Daqin's warships will gallop on all oceans, and Daqin's goods will be sold to anyone on the earth.

In the imperial study.

Looking at Lu Xiangsheng's letter, Qin Huan was lost in thought. At last, he understood why successive emperors did not directly manage those Territories far away from the Central Plains.

It's not that I don't like it, but it's too difficult. The cost is much greater than the harvest. The gain is not worth the loss.

At present, the communication conditions and transportation capacity of Daqin are limited to Jiayuguan in the West and Baikal Lake in the north.

The situation is good without accident. It takes at least three months from Baikal Lake to Wuhan. Building post stations along the way can reduce the time to one month, but it is not cost-effective at all.

Seeing that the date on the memorial was written in May, five months had passed and it was not delivered to him until October. Qin Huan was helpless.

But he knew that the situation was good. If it was winter, it might not be delivered to him. Even so, the 20 person team sent this time also lost seven or eight people on the road. It can be seen that the distance was really an insurmountable gap in ancient times.