"Of course. But iron is too expensive. How much silver would an iron-hulled ship even bigger than this cost? Probably four million taels apiece. Even the Imperial Court couldn't afford to build them," Wang Haiting said, shaking his head.
"I can import them from the Western Lands. Why am I so confident about going into battle? Because we have these iron-hulled ships. They're our unique, devastating weapon," Tang Wen said.
"If we can equip ourselves with iron-hulled ships even bigger than this, combined with our cannons' long range and great power, plus powerful firearms, our chances will be much better." Ximen Taigao nodded.
"Don't worry. Our ships are already at sea. They'll arrive soon. Even if the Linghai Commander-in-Chief's Office wants to requisition my men, that's still some time away.
"Hasn't the fighting in the east only just begun? It hasn't gotten that serious yet.
"What we need to do now is train the soldiers, especially aboard ship, to strengthen their ability to fight at sea.
"We need to integrate naval and land warfare. For instance, we can practice landing operations, battles aboard ships, and so on.
"Oh, and tell the men operating the speedboats to select a group of boatmen to learn how to operate the iron-hulled ships during this period," Tang Wen said.
"That training started long ago. We've already trained several dozen boatmen who can operate iron-hulled ships," Luo Yiwu said.
"Call them captains from now on, not boatmen. Those assisting with operating the ship are called first mates, and there are second mates too...
"The ones specifically steering the ship are called helmsmen, while the captain is the head of the entire ship, responsible for coordinating everyone aboard.
"Our ships aren't small. They need over a dozen people working together to sail properly.
"Oh, and transfer