The four continents are located west of Hongze Lake and in the middle of the Huai River.

The reason why Gao Huan chose to build a ship here is mainly for convenience.

The Jiangnan and Jiangbei area have been developed for many years, without large areas of primeval forests, and the conditions for shipbuilding are not as good as those in Fujian and Guangdong and Guangxi.

Now Liang State builds ships here, mainly to facilitate wood transportation.

During the Battle of Shuanggou, Gao Huan captured tens of thousands of prisoners, some went to build river embankments, some dug coal in Yongcheng, and ten thousand people were sent to the northern foot of the Dabie Mountains to cut down fir, cypress and elm for shipbuilding.

These 10,000 prisoners cut down huge trees in the Dabie Mountains, cut off branches and leaves, and then transported them to the Huai River. The trees were transported to Sizhou for treatment. Then the shipyard was used to form warships and trained in Hongze Lake.

At this time, Gao Huan rode a horse to the vicinity of the Sizhou Shipyard. Chen Tingyang led a few people to greet him, "Welcome to the King!"

"Your family doesn't have to be too polite!" Gao Huan held the war horse, smiled slightly, and then turned over and dismounted.

Gao Huan looked at the trees piled up around him and couldn't help but say, "You are very fast!"

Chen Tingyang shook his head, "The king doesn't know. Although a lot of wood is transported upstream, the shipyard will have to wait for a while to build a ship!"

Gao Huan knew that the wood used to build warships needed special treatment, with a cycle of about two or three years, and he did not expect to leave the warships so quickly.

Gao Huan nodded slightly and asked, "What are the difficulties?"

Chen Tingyang took Gao Huan into the venue and said, "Reporting to the king, there are three main problems. The first is the lack of craftsmen, the second is the lack of wood that can be used at the moment, and the third is the lack of drawings and experience in building large ships and warships!"

Gao Huan's eyebrows were raised, it was really a problem.

Shipbuilding is a technical job, more responsible than building muskets and cannons, and requires technical accumulation.

This technique and craftsman are not available, and they can’t come even if they are anxious.

Gao Huan asked in a deep voice: "How many craftsmen are there now?"

Chen Tingyang said: "There are only three hundred people, and they are all craftsmen who repair the canal ship!"

After the Ming Dynasty's sea ban, the Longjiang Shipyard in Jiangnan was abandoned. It has been more than a hundred years since then, and there have been serious faults in talents.

Nowadays, even a large ship with a thousand materials in Jiangnan is difficult to manufacture, but the shipbuilding level in Fujian and Guangdong and Guangxi is still retained, and Zheng Zhilong can even build Dutch clutches.

After Wang Zhi's Jiangsu and Zhejiang smuggling pirate group fell apart, Zheng Zhilong's Fujian smuggling group became the overlord of the sea.

Merchants in Jiangsu and Zhejiang rarely go to sea, and they hand over the goods to the Zheng family, and the Zheng family smuggled them from sea.

This has led to a rapid decline in the shipbuilding industry in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and can only build some canals and sand ships mainly transported by canals and Yangtze River.

These ships mainly run on the canal to transport cargo and cannot be compared with warships.

Nowadays, heavy artillery has to be fired on warships, and the recoil of heavy artillery is so strong that ordinary ships do not fire a few guns, and the ships do not need enemy bombardment, and they will be shaken away by the recoil.

Gao Huan frowned and said in a deep voice: "It is not a solution to wait for the wood to dry. It is better to send someone to collect some ready-made shipbuilding wood for the craftsmen to build it. This will make you explore and practice and train the team, and secondly, you can cultivate a group of apprentices and expand the craftsmen's team!"

Chen Tingyang said: "The king is wise! I am asking craftsmen to build a dock, and the wood they purchased from Jiangnan will be transported here quickly! When the wood arrives, I will ask craftsmen to build two lucky boats and practice!"

Gao Huan nodded slightly, "I turned around and asked Ding Qirui to send a letter to Ding Kuichu to see if I could dig up a group of craftsmen from Guangdong and Guangxi."

Ding Qirui's uncle Ding Kuichu is currently the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, controlling the Guangzhou area, where the sky is high and the emperor is far away, and the shipbuilding industry is relatively developed. Perhaps he can obtain a group of craftsmen.

Since the Liang army was going to fight south, ships were indispensable, and ships could not be built in a short time, and they must be laid out in advance.

Although it may not be able to catch up with Zuo Liangyu, in the future, a large number of warships must be needed to compete with Zheng Zhilong at sea.

After hearing Gao Huan's words, Chen Tingyang immediately said happily: "It would be great if he could invite craftsmen from Guangdong and Guangxi. I heard that the Red-Farewell Warships in Guangdong and Guangxi and Fujian are large and strong. If they can be made, my Daliang Navy will be able to compete with the Zheng family!"

At this time, Gao Huan was talking to Chen Tingyang, and suddenly there was a noise in the distance, and thick smoke came out of the shipyard and an open flame was lit.

Chen Tingyang was shocked when he saw this, "No! Someone set fire!"

Gao Huan frowned, turned his head and ordered, "Go, put out the fire, and catch the arsonist."

A group of guards behind him immediately followed Chen Tingyang and jogged over, while Yang Yan led dozens of people to quickly disperse, stood around Gao Huan with a knife to guard against someone who was luring the tiger out of the mountain to assassinate Gao Huan.

Soon, the fire was extinguished by the craftsmen of the shipyard and Gao Huan's guards.

At this time, Chen Tingyang brought people over, and said with a dark face, "Your Majesty, the fire has been put out."

Gao Huan said in a deep voice: "What's going on? What's the loss?"

Chen Tingyang said annoyedly: "Someone took advantage of the embracing the king. The shipyard was empty and deliberately set fire. The dock of the Arc was burned to a small half, and it could be restored within a month."

At this time, Liu Heita led a few guards to push a person, "King, I've caught him. It's this guy who quietly sets the fire."

"Good luck! The villain is confused for a moment and is obsessed with money. Good luck!" The man who set fire knelt on the ground, and was so scared that he kowtowed and begged for mercy.

Gao Huan's face was as deep as water, and he asked coldly: "Is someone selling you to set fire to the south?"

At this time, the only ones who could think of burning the Liang Kingdom shipyard were Zuo Liangyu and Zheng Zhilong.

The craftsman hurriedly said, "The villain doesn't know where he is. He just met him in a pub. He invited the villain to drink and took the villain to the brothel. The villain bet with him and owed more than ten taels. He said that as long as the villain set fire to the boat yard, the money owed could be written off. The villain was obsessed with it for a moment~Woooo~"

Gao Huan's face was as deep as water, and he ordered: "Take it down and let the Guoan Department dig out the people behind it."

Liu Heita immediately clasped his fists and said, "Respect!"

Gao Huan then said to Chen Tingyang: "The boat yard is very important for me to move south. This vassal allocates a thousand troops to defend the shipyard. You must ensure the safety of the boat yard."

When Gao Huan was inspecting, such a thing happened, which made Chen Tingyang very angry.

Gao Huan was also in a state of distraction and continued to check. He hurriedly inspected the shipyard and made some promises to the craftsmen.

He claimed that as long as he could build a lucky ship, each person would be rewarded with five taels of money, and those who had made meritorious also had great rewards. He also asked Chen Tingyang to formulate a reward and punishment system and encouraged craftsmen to bring more apprentices, so he hurried back to Huai'an.

The next day, when Gao Huan returned to Huai'an, the Guoan Department had already investigated who was destroying the boat yard.

In the study room of the palace, Gao Youwen reported: "Your report to the King, the Guoan Affairs Department has found out."

Gao Huan had already guessed who it was, but he still asked: "Which grandson is it?"

"Zuo Liangyu!" Gao Youwen said: "The National Security Department searched overnight and the instigated the person who had already run away. However, through investigation, it was found that this person was a servant of the Hou family in Huai'an. It was expected that it was Hou Xun, so he instructed him to instigate the craftsman to destroy the boat yard."

The guy Hou Xun is now serving Zuo Liangyu and is Zuo Liangyu's counselor. Gao Huan knew that Zuo Liangyu did this and could not escape.

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Chapter completed!