After the Public Trial assembly, Paul Greiman did not immediately return to Lakeheart Town. There were still many matters to settle, so he decided to stay in Franklin Harbor for a few more days.
For example, on the administrative side, the old town mayor was clearly no longer capable of continuing in his position because of his health.
According to tradition, the local people of prestige should be summoned to elect a local resident as the new town mayor. This was also common practice throughout the northern territories. As long as the lords could collect enough taxes and recruit enough laborers and soldiers, they were quite happy to hand over what they considered minor powers to the locals.
In return, whenever something went wrong locally, they could use this arrangement to evade some of the responsibilities and obligations they ought to bear.
Paul, however, had no intention of continuing this tradition. He wanted to appoint the candidates himself. The power to appoint and dismiss every official in his territory had to remain firmly in his own hands. Only then could his will be carried out with relative effectiveness, paving the way for the series of reforms he had planned.
Of course, considering the old town mayor's wealth of experience, Paul still gave him a position as an adviser. Paul would pay his salary, which would be counted as an expense of the Lord's Manor.
Thus, he wrote to Chief Steward Ford and asked him to immediately send two experienced and trustworthy people to Franklin Harbor to serve as mayor and deputy mayor.
To his pleasant surprise, Franklin Harbor actually had a small shipyard—and it was also his family's property. The moment he learned of its existence, he led Schroeder, Bryce, and a group of other officers over to inspect it.
After the Public Trial assembly, the shipyard had resumed work. Paul and the others stood near the docks, watching the craftsmen busy themselves from a distance, while the shipyard's supervisor nervously accompanied the group of powerful figures.
"Do you only build this type of ship here?"
Paul asked with a frown. To him, the ships in the harbor and docks looked somewhat like the Nordic Viking longships of medieval Earth: a single mast, one main square sail, and a Hard Sail. Wind power served only as an auxiliary force, with most of the propulsion coming from the rowers aboard the ships.
The shipyard's supervisor, Rubin, answered respectfully, "Yes, my lord. At present, this is the only type of ship we build here."
The young count doesn't seem very satisfied.
Paul was indeed not very satisfied. In his mind, even if they could not currently build steam-powered ironclads, they should at least be capable of building sailing battleships like HMS Victory of the British Royal Navy. In his eyes, these single-masted oar-and-sail ships were practically toys.
He shook his head and said, "This won't do! The navy we're going to establish can't go out to sea and fight aboard ships like these."
The group of landlubbers around him was utterly baffled. "My lord, don't all ships look like this?"
"We need warships with larger hulls and more sails, with greater endurance—the kind that can cross oceans, rather than having to return to port for supplies after spending less than a week at sea."
He turned to Rubin, the shipyard's supervisor, and asked, "Does the entire world use ships like these?"
Rubin thought for a moment before replying, "I can't speak for the whole world, but as far as I know, most places do. The details may differ, but the structure is similar. Some larger ships have two or three masts."
"Do they all use this kind of rigid sail?"
"Some use Soft Sails as well. For example, they're very popular around Horn Bay."
"Do the two types of sails have different advantages and disadvantages?"
"Generally speaking, Hard Sails require fewer people to operate. They can catch wind from any direction and adapt to changing winds and complicated sea regions, but they make poor use of following winds and are relatively slow, so they aren't suitable for long-distance voyages. Soft Sails, on the other hand, are lighter, allowing the masts to be made taller and increasing the sail area exposed to the wind. They're suitable for long-distance travel, but they're complicated to operate, cumbersome and dangerous to furl, and demand a higher level of skill from the sailors."
Rubin paused before continuing, "Maritime transport in the Northwest Coast region isn't very frequent, and ships generally sail along the coastline, where they can go ashore for supplies at any time. That's why this easy-to-operate Hard Sail is popular here. The countries in the south, such as the Horn Bay Alliance, have more developed maritime trade and more advanced shipbuilding technology than we do, so they generally use Soft Sails, and their ships are larger as well."
"The Horn Bay Alliance... I see." Paul thought of the unlucky young nobleman who had been captured by pirates. Wasn't he from the Horn Bay Alliance?
Rubin suddenly remembered something and apologized. "My lord, please wait a moment." Then he hurried back to his office and just as hurriedly returned, a thick, weighty book tucked beneath his arm.
He offered the book with both hands. "These are records of various types of ships that I've compiled since I entered the trade. Since the count is so interested in ships, perhaps you'll find something useful in it."
Paul took it and flipped through a few pages. The book was filled with illustrations and text, recording every type of ship the shipyard supervisor had learned about since entering the trade. The information was extremely detailed, including cargo capacity, draft, crew composition and numbers, range, materials, and more.
"Impressive!" he praised sincerely. Rubin really was a talent.
After receiving the lord's praise, Rubin became a little bashful. "Hehe! My lord flatters me."
Paul immediately announced that Rubin would receive ten silver coins as a reward. Rubin could hardly believe his ears. His little hobby in his spare time had actually made him somewhat wealthy.
"What is the largest ship you've ever built here?"
"The largest was a longship nearly thirty meters long, with a cargo capacity of seventy tons."
"How long does it take to build a ship?"
"Different ships require different construction times. Assuming the main materials are already available, there's no need to mention small boats. If we work quickly, we can finish one within a month. If a large ship is urgently needed, it can usually be completed within a season. But if it's a large ship built for exceptional quality and durability, then after the keel and ribs are assembled, it must be left on the slipway to air-dry naturally for a year before we can continue laying the hull inside and out. The rest of the construction also has to proceed steadily and methodically, so that takes much longer."
"How many years have you worked at this shipyard?"
"I started helping my father here when I was a child. It's been nearly twenty years now."
"This place is always 'visited' by pirates, isn't it? They haven't made things difficult for you?"
"Pirates need to build and repair ships too, so they haven't given us much trouble. They even pay us some money, since they still need to purchase shipbuilding materials, tools, and so on. Sometimes they bring the finished materials themselves. As for where they came from, you understand."
Watching Paul and Rubin's exchange, everyone muttered inwardly, It looks like the count is determined to develop a navy. Rubin is probably going to be put to good use.
After finishing his inspection of the shipyard, Paul bade Rubin farewell and prepared to lead everyone back to their temporary quarters in the church at the center of town. Before leaving, he patted Rubin on the shoulder and encouraged him, "Work hard. This shipyard will be very useful to me."
Though it looked somewhat comical to onlookers for a half-grown boy to make such a gesture toward a middle-aged man, the shipyard supervisor was still moved to tears. He thumped his chest and swore to heaven that he would never disappoint the count's expectations.
Before they parted, Paul also instructed Rubin to measure the size of ships in the future by the weight of seawater displaced after they were launched. He still preferred using the concept of displacement; as for how to calculate it, that was up to the shipyard supervisor.
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