Wind Rises in North America 1625

Chapter 147 "Commissioned Processing"

"This is Mr. Chen from the Chen Liantai shipyard. Of the many seagoing vessels built in Guangdong and Guangxi, Zhao's shipyard accounts for three. He's a big shot in Guangzhou, and even a single stomp of his foot would tremble!"

On May 1630, 5, in the most famous "Qingyue Building" in the west of Guangzhou, Deng Ruilin, the owner of "Lishunhang", enthusiastically introduced Meng Shengxin to the thin old man in front of him and gave a brief introduction to both parties.

"...And this is Mr. Meng, the shopkeeper of the Xinzhou Continental Trading Company in Guangzhou. The vast quantities of furs they import every year are truly top-quality, rare finds in the entire southern region. Even compared to furs produced in places like Korea and Liaodong, they're definitely on par!"

"Please come in, Manager Chen!" Meng Shengxin bowed politely to the old man sitting opposite him.

"Well, Manager Meng, no problem!" Chen Yelin responded indifferently, with a slightly contemptuous attitude.

He is just an overseas merchant who has betrayed his homeland and forgotten his roots. I don't think there is anything worth making friends with him, right?
"Manager Chen, I heard that the ships built by your shipyard can reach Myanmar?" Meng Shengxin asked straight to the point.

"Of course," Chen Yelin said proudly. "My 'Chen Liantai' has been established for over a hundred years since the third year of the Zhengde reign. We've built tens of thousands of seagoing vessels. Not only can we reach Burma, but even if we go a little further, we could reach India."

"Then can the ships you build cross the Pacific Ocean?" Meng Shengxin asked calmly.

"Pacific Ocean?" Chen Yelin was stunned for a moment, then looked at him with a strange expression. "The Pacific Ocean you're talking about is the Great East Ocean east of Japan? (Note 1)?"

"Huh?...It should be Dadongyang." Meng Shengxin couldn't help showing a little embarrassment.

The name of the Pacific Ocean seems to have been given by the Portuguese Magellan, but the Ming Dynasty was proud of itself and disdained to use the name given by the barbarians. It still followed the footsteps of its predecessors and called it the Great East Ocean.

Well, the name Dadongyang is actually quite appropriate. Taking our Chinese mainland as a reference, the sea area to the east should be Dadongyang.

"Although none of the ships I, Chen Liantai, have built have yet to cross the Great East Ocean, I think it shouldn't be a problem. It's just that the journey will be a little longer and take a little longer." Chen Yelin said confidently, "Why, Manager Meng wants to purchase a ship that can cross the Great East Ocean?"

"That's exactly what I was thinking." Meng Shengxin nodded and said, "However, the vast waters of the Greater East China Sea stretch nearly 20,000 miles, with turbulent waves and unpredictable weather. It's safe to say that the sea conditions are extremely complex. Furthermore, there are no islands or land to rely on along the way, making it impossible to rest and resupply water. This puts a great strain on the ship's construction technology and its ability to withstand strong winds and waves."

"Manager Meng doubts that the ships built by me, Chen Liantai, cannot sail in the East China Sea?" Chen Yelin's face darkened.

"I dare not, I dare not." Meng Shengxin smiled and shook his head. "I'm not satisfied with Manager Chen. The ships we need aren't specifically for transporting goods, but primarily for transporting people. If the ships are not strong enough to withstand the wind and waves, hundreds of lives will be at stake."

"Since Manager Meng is so unsure about the ships built by my shipyard, please go find his shipyard yourself. I'm sorry, I won't keep you company any longer." Chen Yelin sneered, stood up, and was about to leave with a young man next to him.

These merchants are so rude, it is obvious that they do not believe that the ships built by my "Chen Liantai" shipyard can sail on the East China Sea.

Then why bother talking to him!

"Manager Chen, please wait a moment..." Meng Shengxin immediately stood up to persuade him to stay. "Forgive me for my unclear words, which may have caused you to misunderstand. I apologize for my sin."

"Don't be upset, Shopkeeper Chen. Shopkeeper Meng was just a little bit demanding about the ship he purchased, not intentionally making things difficult for you." Deng Ruilin also hurriedly tried to console him. "Shopkeeper Meng just said that after buying the ship, he would use it exclusively for transporting immigrants, so he naturally has high safety requirements. So, please understand, Shopkeeper Chen."

After Chen Yelin sat back in his seat, he still looked worried. He picked up the teacup, drank slowly, and remained silent.

"Shopkeeper Chen..." Meng Shengxin forced a smile and said gently, "We've heard of Chen Liantai's great reputation for a long time, and we're extremely impressed by the seagoing vessels built by your shipyard. We have absolutely no intention of disparaging you."

"Hmm..." Chen Yelin held the cup lid with his right hand and gently scraped the rim of the cup.

"But we want to buy a seagoing vessel that can carry more people and is safer. Moreover, this vessel must be faster than the ordinary Fujian ships. We happen to have a blueprint of the latest seagoing vessel here. If it is put into practice, it should meet our needs. I would like to ask if your shipyard can help us build it."

"Hmm?" Chen Yelin stopped what he was doing and looked up at him. "You mean, you provide our shipyard with a blueprint of the ship, and then build it exactly according to that blueprint?"

"That's right." Meng Shengxin nodded in response. "Furthermore, we also hope that during the construction process, we can be allowed to send personnel to supervise the entire process, so that the ship's craftsmanship will not be leaked."

"Tsk!" Chen Yelin sneered. "Since you've entrusted my shipyard with the construction of your ocean-going vessel, why go through so much trouble? Besides, my shipyard has its own rules and procedures. How can we just build it based on someone else's ship blueprints? If the blueprints are slightly off, and the resulting ship sinks, it will ruin my 'Chen Liantai' reputation! Forget it, Manager Meng, just hire someone else!"

"..." Meng Shengxin said with a wry smile, and couldn't help but look at Deng Ruilin, signaling him with his eyes to smooth things over.

By the way, during this period, did the Ming Dynasty not have any "commissioned processing" business?

We provide the shipyard with design parameters and corresponding technical specifications, and you, as the contract manufacturer, build a seagoing vessel that meets our requirements. This is based on the later concept of mass customization, thus realizing an advanced production model of supply chain management.

Although the popular Fuzhou and Guangzhou ships were both suitable for ocean voyages, and even far surpassed European galleons and carracks in terms of carrying capacity, the Fuzhou ships also performed better in terms of safety and seaworthiness due to their watertight compartments.

However, the Fuzhou ship's buoyancy reserve and freeboard height were inferior to those of the carrick and galleon. In addition, the Fuzhou ship's planking was relatively thin and had almost no ribs, which meant that it was more likely to capsize when overloaded, and if a hole was sustained, the Fuzhou ship had little chance of survival.

At the same time, in terms of wave resistance and speed, the Fuzhou ship is relatively stable under smaller wind and wave conditions, but it is easy to capsize when the wind and waves are strong.

Relatively speaking, the carrack and galleon were slightly better than the Fu ship in terms of tilt angle range, maximum allowable tilt angle, righting speed and swing period.

In terms of speed, the carrick and galleon use a combination of soft sails, which can better utilize the wind direction at multiple angles, especially in non-headwind conditions, and have obvious advantages over the hard sails of the Fu ship.

However, the sea ship that Meng Shengxin wanted to build was not the European carrick or galleon, but a clipper ship based on the later sailing technology.

It took a long time to make the blueprint of the sea vessel. The relevant technical parameters of the "Polang" were reduced by half in proportion. The team planned to use the strong strength of the "Chen Liantai" shipyard to build a smaller version of the "Polang".

In the 18th and 19th centuries, clipper ships became the first choice for ocean commercial voyages due to their excellent performance and adaptability.

Clipper ships have a smooth, streamlined hull shape that allows them to travel at high speeds at sea.

In the mid-19th century, clipper ships were widely used in the United States for immigration and trade from the East Coast to California, capable of completing long journeys in a very short time.

For example, in 1846, a clipper completed the journey from the east coast of the United States to Guangzhou in 88 days, making it the Bugatti of ships!
Of course, the clipper ship's unique shape, with a slender hull and low height, is not conducive to the configuration of artillery, and its shallow draft makes it impossible to install corresponding artillery and may lack the necessary protection capabilities.

However, given the speed of the clipper, no armed merchant ship or warship could possibly catch up with it, so it did not need too much armament.

"Manager Meng, can I see your ship blueprints?" Just when the scene was in an awkward silence, the young man sitting next to Chen Yelin suddenly spoke.

"Huh?..." Meng Shengxin was stunned for a moment and couldn't help but look at the other party.

He is about twenty years old, with a small head and face, big eyes, a short chin, and a slightly protruding mouth. He has typical Cantonese features, but his expression reveals a persistence and sharpness that cannot be ignored.

"This is the youngest son of Shopkeeper Chen, his name is Chen Hongxuan." Deng Ruilin introduced in a low voice.

"Manager Meng, I've seen your ship." Seeing the other party's lack of response, Chen Hongxuan smiled and said, "That's the most spectacular ship I've ever seen. If my guess is correct, it must be able to run at an extremely fast speed on the sea. I'm afraid it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say it's as fast as a galloping horse."

"Yes, our ships can travel over eight hundred miles in just one day and one night."

"Then the ship drawings you are going to provide to our shipyard, can they also be built at such a fast speed after completion?" Chen Hongxuan's eyes showed eagerness.

"Of course you can." Meng Shengxin replied affirmatively.

"Okay!" Chen Hongxuan immediately showed an expression of great joy, "We'll take over your ship!"

Meng Shengxin said this and turned to look at Chen Yelin.

Chen Yelin gave a wry smile and looked at his youngest son lovingly.

"Manager Meng, we can try to build the ship according to the drawings you provided. However, if there are any problems with the craftsmanship or dimensions given in your drawings after completion, please do not blame me."

"Of course!" Meng Shengxin let out a long sigh and said with a smile, "During the construction process of your shipyard, we will send people to check and provide guidance at any time. We must ensure that this epoch-making sea vessel is successfully built."

"A groundbreaking sea vessel..." Chen Hongxuan chewed over this novel word carefully, with a hint of anticipation in his eyes.

　Note 1: During the Ming Dynasty, part of the Pacific Ocean south of Japan was called the "Southeast Sea", the area west of the Java Islands was called the "Southwest Sea", the area east of the Japanese archipelago was called the "Small East Ocean", and the area west of the California coast was called the "Big East Ocean". The "Big East Ocean" is the Pacific Ocean we are familiar with today.

　　In addition, the Pacific Ocean was also called "Cangmingzong" during the Ming Dynasty, a name that can be traced back to the ancient "Classic of Mountains and Seas".

　　
　
(End of this chapter)