novelkee Chapter 467 Ying Wuyou is Impeached
Chapter 467 Ying Wuyou is Impeached
"Master Lu, these watertight compartments are the key." Gongshu Mo pulled out bronze calipers to measure the keel spacing. "Take a close look; this diagram is quite ingenious." "Ordinary multi-storied ships sink when they hit a reef because their compartments are interconnected like bamboo tubes. But this ship, even if three compartments are knocked open, the remaining compartments can still support the entire ship." As he spoke, he grabbed some charcoal and drew a diagram of wave impact on the blue bricks, and the flying sparks landed in front of the group.
Lu Qixing stared at the strange drawings, then suddenly noticed the small print in the corner of the blueprint: "This bulkhead needs to be three inches thick, reinforced with cast iron strips." His pupils contracted sharply—the combination of cast iron and wood was an unprecedented attempt.
The young apprentice stood there, panting, large beads of sweat sliding down his face. He quickly wiped the sweat with his sleeve, then carefully handed a roll of paper to the person in front of him, saying, "Her Highness the Princess specifically noted that the planks of the boat need to be nailed together with iron nails, and that a waterproofing material made of tung oil and lime should be applied to the bottom of the boat."
Gongshu Mo and Lu Qixing exchanged bewildered glances, their faces showing disbelief. They were both experienced craftsmen with forty years of experience, yet they had never heard of anyone daring to abandon the traditional mortise and tenon structure in favor of using iron nails to fasten the ship's planks.
Gongshu Mo frowned slightly, lost in thought. He knew the importance of mortise and tenon joints; it was the best shipbuilding technique proven through thousands of years of practice, ensuring the sturdiness and stability of a vessel. However, the princess's request completely overturned their understanding.
Just then, Lu Qixing suddenly roared, "Without mortise and tenon joints, just nailing the ship planks together with iron nails, isn't that madness?" His voice echoed in the air, filled with obvious anger and incomprehension.
Gongshu Mo remained silent, his heart also filled with doubt. This time, even a seasoned veteran like Gongshu Mo felt that this decision was too outrageous and incomprehensible.
The apprentices fell silent, only the sounds of forging and sawing echoing in the workshop. Just then, the crisp sound of horses' hooves broke through the noise, approaching from afar. Everyone turned to look and saw a simply decorated carriage speeding towards them. The curtain was lifted, revealing the face of a thin young man. He wore the Mo family's signature dark brown robe, a leather tool belt around his waist, and wood shavings still clung to his hair.
"Lord Mo Li!" The Assistant Minister of Works hurried forward. "Lord Lu is currently arguing about the structure of the watertight compartment..."
Mo Li raised his hand to signal a moment's rest, his gaze falling directly on the rainbow-like keel. His pupils contracted slightly, as if he were disassembling some ingenious mechanism. As the most outstanding inheritor of mechanical arts in this generation of the Mo family, although he had never been involved in shipbuilding, at this moment he seemed to be seeing the most complex mortise and tenon structure—those seemingly illogical curves gradually transformed in his eyes into mechanical curves that resisted the impact of the waves.
"The princess's design..." Mo Li crouched down, tracing the blueprints on the ground with his fingertips, "is to transform the entire ship into a giant mechanism. The twelve watertight compartments act like independent boxes; even if one is damaged, the remaining compartments will ensure the ship doesn't sink."
Lu Qixing scoffed: "Armchair strategist! Iron nails will inevitably rust, and bulkhead structures weaken the hull's strength..."
“Therefore, we need specially made rust-resistant iron nails.” Mo Li took out an iron nail with a faint blue luster from his sleeve. “It’s made of wrought iron mixed with a trace amount of carbon powder, and after repeated forging, its hardness and toughness are both stronger than ordinary pig iron. As for rust prevention, in addition to applying tung oil, zinc plates can also be added to the bottom of the boat…”
As he spoke, he pointed to the crisscrossing cast iron bars on the blueprints, "These reinforcing structures are like the mortise and tenon joints of a mechanism, firmly locking the various compartments together as one."
Her words were like a key, gradually unlocking the craftsmen's minds.
The old craftsman Gongshu Mo's beard trembled violently. He suddenly realized that the young man before him viewed things from a completely different perspective than himself. The Mohist school of mechanical arts emphasized "using techniques to convey principles," and weren't these seemingly absurd designs in fact ingenious mechanical designs integrated into shipbuilding techniques?
That night, the lights in the workshop remained on all night, and the clanging of forging and sawing startled the birds that were perched around the workshop.
Looking at everything before him, Mo Li was filled with mixed emotions. A month ago, when Princess Jiayang found him, Mo Li was debugging the latest improved repeating crossbow.
"I want to build a colossal ship capable of traversing the vast ocean," Princess Jiayang stated bluntly. On the unfolded blueprints, twelve mysterious compartments were neatly arranged like a chessboard. "The outside world is vast; the Qin fleet should not be confined to coastal waters."
Mo Li's finger hovered above the blueprint, hesitant to fall. As a member of the Mohist school, he was accustomed to using mechanical arts to defend cities, but now he intended to use them to conquer the ocean. When his gaze swept over the annotations in the corner of the blueprint—"A streamlined hull reduces water resistance," "Watertight compartments are inspired by the shipwreck of Baga Island"—a long-dormant desire suddenly resurfaced.
“Let me try.” He raised his head, his eyes gleaming with the unwavering determination characteristic of the Mohists. “But I need all the refined iron the Great Qin possesses, along with three hundred disciples skilled in mechanical arts.”
Time flies, and the end of the year is fast approaching. But Ying Wuyou is suddenly impeached by the censor. During the morning court session, Feng Jie suddenly speaks out: "Your Majesty! Princess Jiayang has squandered 200,000 taels of gold from the national treasury to supervise the construction of a bizarre giant ship! This ship has no towers, oars, or battlements; there are no spears, flags, or banners. It is clearly a strange and frivolous creation that violates ancestral rules!"
"Lord Feng, do you know what constitutes a 'miracle craftsman'?" Ying Wuyou took a half-step forward, the hem of her black embroidered gold skirt sweeping across the cold floor tiles. "Watertight compartments can prevent ships from sinking when they hit reefs, and streamlined hulls can break through waves ten times larger. These are techniques that save lives, how can they be considered techniques that bring disaster to the country and its people?"
Feng Jie sneered and unfurled a bamboo scroll: "The Book of Rites says, 'To create strange skills and artifacts to confuse the masses, one shall be killed!' The princess's ship carries neither armor nor provisions; it is clearly a wasteful act of greed for maritime treasures!" The censors behind him echoed his sentiments, the sound of their ceremonial tablets striking the roof tiles like a downpour.
Left Chancellor Wei Zhuang slowly emerged, his aged face shrouded in shadow: "Your Majesty, although the princess harbors great ambitions, this voyage will likely take a considerable amount of time and incur enormous costs. We are deeply concerned..."
Suddenly, Ying Zheng slammed the memorial onto the jade steps. With a sharp "crack," the memorial shattered into pieces, scattering fragments all over the floor. This sudden action was like a bolt from the blue, the echoes reverberating throughout the hall. The once noisy court fell silent instantly; everyone was stunned by the scene, and for a moment, no one dared to utter a sound.