flstandardbreds Chapter 103 Naming the New Warship
Chapter 103 Naming the New Warship
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The next day, Liang Xiaoming found Liu Ye and the others and said, "I went back and thought about it. Since we've named the cannons and guns, the warships also need to be named, whether it's by tonnage or hull number."
Even if he didn't say it, Liu Ye knew that assigning names to warships of different classes facilitated differentiation and identification, which was a common practice in modern navies. In later generations, naval powers all named their warships separately. For example, the US Navy's current nuclear-powered aircraft carriers are called the Nimitz class, the new generation of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers are called the Ford class, cruisers are called the Ticonderoga class, and destroyers are called the Arleigh Burke class, making the hierarchy clear and easy to understand.
But how should it be named? He thought and thought, the US military is named after presidents and celebrities, so he could take inspiration from that. So he asked Yan Guang, "Did General Qi Jiguang of this dynasty have any courtesy name or other titles?"
Yan Guang was momentarily confused, but fortunately, he came from the Ministry of War and was interested in military affairs, so he knew a little about it. He tried to recall and replied, "General Qi's highest military rank was Commander-in-Chief of Jizhou, and he was later granted the title of Junior Guardian and the posthumous name of Wuyi."
"Young Master... Wu Yi..." Liu Ye considered it for a moment, and felt that Wu Yi sounded better, so he decided: "The 500-ton warship will be called the Wu Yi-class!"
Yan Guang then realized that it was about naming the ship, and praised, "It is very appropriate for our lord to name the warship after General Qi's posthumous title."
Liang Xiaoming thought for a moment and agreed, "Using Qi Jiguang's posthumous title is good, it's very majestic."
Liu Ye was in high spirits: "There are even bigger ships to name. What do you think would be good names for the 1,000-ton and 1,500-ton ships?"
Yan Guang frowned and said, "General Qi is already the best military man in this dynasty, and it is difficult to surpass him. There is a chieftain named Yu who is as famous as him, and he is known as 'Yu the Dragon and Qi the Tiger'. However, it is not appropriate to name a larger warship after him! Apart from the meritorious officials during the founding of the dynasty and the Jingnan Campaign, no one can surpass him in martial arts. The only one who can name a larger one is His Majesty."
Liu Ye's eyes lit up: "The emperor is not bad. Tell me, your achievements in both civil administration and military affairs are the most outstanding?"
"If we talk about civil and military achievements, Emperor Taizu of this dynasty should be ranked first for driving out the Yuan and restoring the Han dynasty and conquering a vast country. Next is Emperor Chengzu, who seized the entire country from a small area during the Jingnan Campaign and also led the northern expedition against the Tartars, achieving remarkable military exploits."
"That's right, that's right. What were the reign titles of Emperor Taizu and Emperor Chengzu?"
"Emperor Taizu's reign title was Hongwu, and Emperor Chengzu's reign title was Yongle."
Liu Ye clapped his hands excitedly and said, "Let's name them these two. The largest warship will be named 'Hongwu,' the next largest will be named 'Yongle,' and the third largest will be named 'Wuyi'!"
Yan Guang was taken aback. The logic was sound, from the founding emperor to his capable son, and then to the generals with outstanding military achievements. But wasn't this naming system deliberately pandering to the court? "My lord, if I may be so bold as to ask, do you perhaps wish to accept the court's offer of amnesty and become a general?"
"Haha, not at all!" Liu Ye laughed heartily. He looked around. He hadn't summoned Sun Yuanhua for this meeting, so he could speak frankly. "My ambition is certainly not to be a mere warrior, and this dying court is not worth relying on. However, this trip to Shandong has given me a profound understanding. The rebels are so arrogant and domineering, yet they still want to support Sun Yuanhua as their leader. No matter how incompetent the court is, it is still the legitimate authority in the hearts of the people. Sometimes, the court's facade is still necessary; it makes things easier. I told Sun Yuanhua that it's not that I'm unwilling to accept the pacification, but that I find the position of the Qiongzhou prefecture too insignificant. This statement is partly true and partly false—I truly find the position insignificant, but I'm not genuinely accepting pacification. If I were to accept pacification, it would be for the sake of convenience. Moreover, my bottom line for accepting pacification remains the same as now—I will accept the title, but not the command!"
With this tone set, Yan Guang felt relieved. He followed Liu Ye not to become a subordinate of a court general, nor as a clerk, but with the ambition to serve the new emperor. Although Liu Ye was currently confined to a remote corner of Lingao, his troops were well-trained, his firearms were formidable, and he knew how to make money—far superior to the bandits who made their living by plundering. At the very least, he could become a regional hegemon like Huang Taiji of the Later Jin dynasty.
After the warship issue was discussed, Li Fu stepped forward. He had several important questions to ask Liu Ye about regarding the construction of the new city.
"My lord, the construction of the new city cost 40,000 taels of silver: 14,470 taels for road construction, including materials and labor; 7,610 taels for demolition compensation; 5,200 taels for demolishing the city wall and clearing debris; and 20,790 taels for building resettlement housing, totaling 40,070 taels of silver. According to your plan, shops will be built in the county town, as well as public toilets and drainage ditches, all of which will cost money. The problem is that funds were a bit tight before because of the Wanhua Tower incident in Hangzhou. I'm thinking that this new city was personally entrusted to us by you, so we can't slack off. But you also attach great importance to the shipyard, so we can't neglect it. How to allocate these funds is up to you, my lord."
Upon hearing Li Fu's words, Liang Xiaoming shrugged and said to Liu Ye, "Yes, the shipyard needs sufficient funds to ensure the warships are launched on time..."
Liu Ye pondered for a moment. The issue of funding was something he should have considered but had overlooked. Because of the astonishing profits from the Hangzhou Wanhua Tower and the considerable gains from robbing wealthy households, funds were still plentiful, and the funding problem hadn't been a concern for the time being. Later, as the business expanded, the shipyard became a major drain on resources, and the arsenal and steel mill also incurred significant expenses. Furthermore, once the new city construction began, the cost skyrocketed—in those days, although labor was cheap and there were powerful tools like cement, the sheer size of the area was overwhelming.
It's astonishing that building two major roads, each over ten miles long, and creating the basic structure of a new city only cost a few hundred thousand taels of silver. In the inland areas, by the standards of this time and space, it would have cost millions of taels of silver.
Now, Liu Ye faces a choice: continue to push forward with the construction of the new city, or slow down the progress to ensure the construction of the warships?
Li Fu looked at him, hoping his answer would lean in his favor. He longed to make more contributions and gain a more important position in the system. As a steward who had joined the system halfway through his career, he was already at a disadvantage. Now that the former governor had been poached by the master, if he didn't hurry up and climb the ladder, how could he ever get ahead?
Cost-cutting was never Liu Ye's primary focus; building a large business wasn't about saving money. After some thought, he chose to open source. How to do that? He naturally asked Liang Xiaoming, the human computer and living encyclopedia, for a solution.
"The shipyard is important, of course, but the construction of the new city can't stop. I'm not just building a few houses; Lingao will become a commercial center in the future, so the infrastructure naturally needs to be in place. We can't skimp on that! I'll figure out the money; you just need to keep the progress on track!"
Li Fu was overjoyed. Following such a master was so pleasant; he never hit or scolded anyone, and never took his anger out on anyone. All he had to do was focus on his own work.
"However, investing without expecting a return doesn't align with business principles, and it's a waste to leave so much land idle. Here's what you're doing: first, acquire a plot of land and build residential buildings. They don't need to be luxurious; ordinary ones will do. Then, keep them for resale."
Li Fu didn't understand anything about investment or business, but he understood about building houses and selling them. He asked in confusion, "Sir, in our Great Ming Dynasty, people build their own houses. I've never heard of selling finished houses to people?"
“You don’t understand. Just because no one is buying now doesn’t mean no one will buy in the future. Besides, there are already potential buyers right now—aren’t there many craftsmen in the factory? Especially those craftsmen in the steel mill and the arsenal. Their wives and children are not around. If they buy houses here, they can bring their families over. We can sell the houses and get some funds back, and we can also let them live and work here in peace and contentment. It’s a win-win situation!”