We have fought to the Arctic Circle, and you want me to inherit the throne?

Huai En, who was on standby, immediately walked to the back of the hall, and when he reappeared, he had an extra scroll in his hand.

He held the scroll carefully, then spread it out in front of everyone, and a long, thin ship appeared on the paper.

But the warship on the paper had sharp lines, its bow was like a blade cutting through the air, and its masts were as dense as a jungle.

Li Sheng looked at the blueprint, his pupils shrinking: "This is..."

"This is the warship blueprint that I, Qi Qing, a group of craftsmen, and scholars have drawn up over the past few days. If it is correct, this ship will be the main battleship of the Fengguo Navy in the future!"

"This ship... seems to be very different from the Fu ship?" Li Sheng's fingertips ran across the drawing, and suspicion grew in his eyes.

Li Che smiled calmly and sketched the curve of the bow. "This is a 'clipper ship'. Its bow can cut through the waves, reducing resistance by half and doubling the speed. The hollow bow design means that even against the wind and current, it will be like a dragon entering the sea, riding the wind and waves without a problem!"

He paused, noticing the shocked expressions on everyone's faces, and continued, "Look at this sail—a three-masted winged sail, with a sail surface far exceeding the hull. With the wind in its favor, it's like a roc spreading its wings. Even against the wind, it can still break through the waves!"

Li Sheng frowned slightly. Although he didn't know how to build a ship as he was born as a pirate, he could tell the quality of a ship.

"This ship is so huge, but I wonder how fast it is?"

Li Che replied, "Although the clipper ship is large, its length-to-width ratio is five to one, and its steering agility is comparable to that of a Guan ship. Furthermore, its hull is low to the water, and its center of gravity is extremely stable. Even in a storm, it is unlikely to capsize."

"Under favorable wind conditions, this ship can reach a speed of seventy to eighty miles per hour."

Li Sheng looked at Li Che in shock.

You should know that the speed of the Fu ship is only 5 knots, which is less than 10 kilometers per hour. Converted into hours and miles, it means it can run 40 miles per hour.

If the clipper ship can really reach the speed that Li Che said, it will definitely be a dimensionality reduction strike among the warships of this era.

Li Che continued, "This king has tentatively decided that the structure of this ship will be mainly steel and wood. The keel and ribs will be made of steel, and the rest will be made of lightweight wood. This will not only increase the sturdiness of the ship, but also reduce the cost and weight."

"The hull is coated with tung oil for corrosion protection, and the sails are made of hard canvas. Small mortars can be mounted on both sides, or we can wait for the Gunpowder Department to develop lighter ship-borne artillery."

Although Fengguo's steel industry was becoming increasingly developed, it still could not build ironclad ships.

Not to mention the issue of steel quality, the corrosion problem cannot be solved if steel is directly exposed to seawater.

So Li Che had to settle for the second best and use a steel keel to build the ship bigger and longer, in order to create the clipper, the pinnacle of fast sailing ships.

Moreover, clippers can not only serve as fast warships, but are also good at transporting cargo. This type of ship was originally used as a cargo ship.

Li Che put away his excitement and looked at Li Sheng. "This ship is completely different from most mainstream warships. Its military advantage lies entirely in its maneuverability. It can be said to come and go like the wind, and it can leave enemy ships far behind."

"The Radiant have never seen this kind of warship before. I wonder if you can control it?"

Huo Duanxiao, who was standing by, heard this and looked at Li Che in surprise.

Your Highness really likes guerrilla warfare. He always makes guerrilla warfare unpredictable in land battles, and now he is even using this method in naval battles.

He seemed to have seen the miserable scene where the Japanese navy, facing the clipper ships that came and went like the wind, could neither fight them nor escape from them and could only passively take the beating.

Li Sheng, however, was a calm and composed person. He looked at the warship on the blueprint and pondered for a moment. He did not immediately make any promises, but said, "I must first see the warship and personally drive it on the water before I can make a final conclusion."

Li Che praised: "That's right. The ship hasn't been built yet, so the first priority should be to train the sailors."

Li Sheng nodded in agreement: "I will select the soldiers and once they are assembled, we will immediately head to Dalian Port to begin training."

Li Che waved his hand and said with a smile: "Not only you, but I will go too."

Upon hearing this, all the Feng State officials widened their eyes.

No... again?

He went out every few days and handed over a lot of government affairs to the cabinet ministers. Only then did the officials of Feng State realize the real purpose of their prince in establishing the cabinet.

They are clearly a group of housekeepers who clean up after him so that he can wander around!

Li Che saw the ministers looking at him with unfriendly eyes, and felt a little guilty, scratching his head:

"Ahem... What's wrong? This ship was designed by me. If I don't participate in its construction, how can it be completed?"

"Besides, Dalian isn't far from Chaoyang City, and there's a cement road connecting them. If there's anything urgent, we can just send a pigeon by carrier pigeon, and if there's anything serious, we can just run a horse to report it. Why are you all so nervous?"

The ministers looked helpless. Zhuge Zhe bowed and said, "Your Highness is worth a fortune. Why do you have to supervise the construction of the ship yourself? Not only will you be exposed to the wind and sun, but what if you encounter danger..."

Li Che interrupted, "I'm just going to build a ship, not to fight a war. How could it be dangerous? Can I really drive a ship to the Japanese waters just to test the warship?"

No one spoke, but just looked at Li Che expressionlessly, and everyone nodded slightly.

Don’t say...this really seems like the style of our prince, you can really do it!

Li Che suddenly choked and said helplessly: "I promise you that I will only build ships and never go out to sea, okay?"

Zhuge Zhe said, "Your Highness, can you really do this?"

"A gentleman's word is as good as gold!" Li Che said firmly.

. . . . . .

A month later.

"Hahaha! Radiant, drive the boat faster!"

Li Che stood at the bow of the warship, feeling the sea breeze blowing on his face, and the excitement in his heart was difficult to suppress.

Although they were riding on a plank-roofed ship, this type of Goryeo warship was rather bulky and powered by primitive sails and oars, so its speed was not fast at all.

But this feeling of riding the wind and waves still made Li Che's blood boil and he became excited.

Indeed, a true man’s journey should be to the stars and the sea!

Li Sheng stood behind the bow, letting the wind and waves hit his face, with his hands stretched out, ready to grab Li Che at any time, for fear that he would accidentally fall off the boat.

"Your Highness, why don't we go back first!" Li Sheng shouted against the wind, "We've already gone a long way. It might be dangerous to go any further!"

Li Che said nonchalantly, "What are you afraid of? There are only our warships nearby. How could there be pirates?"

"Didn't a fisherman see a whale yesterday? Let's go out a little further. If we're lucky enough to see a whale, we'll have dinner for the soldiers tonight!"

Li Sheng paused and looked back at the flag with the word "Feng" flying on the boat. The more he looked at it, the more the word "Feng" looked like a skull.

Although he had never seen a pirate, he had heard Li Che tell stories about pirates, and now he felt that his prince was more dangerous than the legendary pirates.