Chapter 153 Bideford Arsenal

After receiving feedback from Aunt Tina, he jotted down several points in his usual black notebook including his observation today.

He excused himself from the textile mill. His original purpose for coming here is to visit the arsenal.

Growl—

Noon had passed by an hour when he left the mill. His stomach has been growling for a while now. It is a hassle to return to the mansion when he still has things to do.

To fill his empty stomach, he simply picks some random street stall. Thus, his lunch for today was a chicken sandwich.

Not very filling but it's okay.

"Let's go to the arsenal, gramps," said Riz.

His mouth took the last bite of his portion of the chicken sandwich.

The king and his coachman departed from the stall to the arsenal further north.

While on his way, he passed by the bustling port. The former dead desolate coastline and beach were vibrant with activity. It is full of people and carts. A multitude of ships going to and from the port carrying passengers. The cargo from various places is unloaded at the port together with people disembarking at Bideford.

Merchants are promoting their goods and services. With so much chaos happening at a time, shouting is no longer a foreign thing in this port.

As the carriage moves west, the arsenal comes into his sight.

Bideford Arsenal, a massive complex of shipyards and weapon production facilities.

This is where ships, arquebusiers, muskets, hand grenades, cannons and ammunition were made. All were produced by applying assembly lines and division of work to increase efficiency and productivity.

Most of his staff working for his weapon company are here, leaving the clerks behind at the HQ, dealing with paperwork.

Due to the importance of this place, Riz even built a massive fortress and heavily equipped it with cannons to prevent attack from the sea. Feeling that wasn't enough, he built a navy base within the complex. To further boost the defence, Bideford Arsenal was connected with an integrated army-nave base and military academy for the smooth deployment of troops to the arsenal.

In simple words, he's going overboard and causing the scale to be far larger than Venetian Arsenal.

Does he regret it? No!

As soon as he passed through the gate, he seemingly entered a mini-city inside Bideford. This place was comparable to the port in terms of liveliness.

"Where should we go first, your majesty?"

"Shipyard. Let's see how my Gatharix Shipyard is doing."

As the name suggests, this company makes various types of ships for both navy and merchants.

In general, most ships in this continent are small in size.

According to the words of his shipwrights, war in the sea relied solely on numbers, speed and manoeuvring skill. It makes sense to him since this world originally had no cannons invented.

Thanks to his intervention, he's responsible for fastening the technological progress in this world. In the future, the situation in the sea would change as well.

You don't have to be a genius to realize the application of cannons on the ship.

He plans to create heavyweight ships with those weapons.

Sigh—

When it comes to killing people, humans are needlessly smart and creative.

He was included too though.

To stay ahead of other shipyards, Riz uses his historical knowledge to design a ship.

As usual, the hole in his drawings was filled by master shipwrights he hired all over the place. It is not an easy feat to entice these people to work for his company. Nonetheless, their skill is worth the money he paid.

Starting last year, Gatharix Shipyard started its operations. They produce small boats, cogs, galleys, caravels, carracks, clippers and galleons. The production rate however depends on the complexity of the vessel's structure. Still, they are able to produce the ship far faster with standardized quality.

With the combination of multiple brains, three new types of ships this world had never seen before were introduced.

They sold everything except for galleons at a cheaper price than the average market price.

Unsurprisingly, they received negative feedback from shipbuilders from foreign shipyards, saying that Gatharix had ruined the 'art' of shipbuilding, acting selfishly, selling vessels illegally without guild permission, ruining the ships market price and so on.

Riz ignored them. He doesn't care about their complaints in the slightest. It is just their way of expressing dissatisfaction upon the emergence of a new competitor.

The first they introduced was a three-masted carrack with a length of more than forty meters produced and sold both to merchants and the navy with the navy version having some alterations for pure combat purposes.

Its appearance gains attraction from merchants due to the bigger capacity of cargo the ship can handle compared to a caravel.

The second one was a clipper. A sailing vessel which originally appeared on 19th-century Earth.

This ship emphasizes length rather than width. So, it is narrower compared to carracks. However, it is famous for its swift movement and speed. Overall, the clipper he produced was smaller than the carracks. Instead of merchants, it gains popularity among people involved in travel services.

Finally, the galleon ship was made exclusively for his navy. It's a full-rigged multi-decked ship he chose solely for war.

Entering the shipyard, Elric who was informed of his presence came to greet him.

He was formerly in charge of managing the limestone deposit at Rafoldrod.

As technology advanced at a fast pace, new inventions and equipment such as the steam engine, conveyor belts and grinding mills helped mechanize the production of cement to a certain extent.

The cement plant in Rafoldrod which was originally located near the river was moved to a closer location, near the limestone deposit for a shorter travelling distance. With that, Elric's role as a manager shrinks significantly. To not waste his ability, Riz brought him to the capital to oversee the production of ships.

"So, Elric, how's the shipyard doing?"

"It's been doing great, your majesty. Although we have less income since the navy decided to stop buying the galleon. The company still manages to be in black. Most of our profits now come from the selling of small boats, carracks, clippers and navigation instruments such as chip logs, sand glass and sextant. Demand for all products doesn't seem to be slowing down anytime soon. One more thing is, we get reports about the competitors out there trying to copy our ship design. However, they didn't gain popularity among buyers because the prices offered were more expensive than ours."

Riz listens to Elric's explanation attentively. The reduction in profit and the emergence of copycat is somewhat within his expectation.

Ship construction had an enormous expense. Each part was made from different types of wood. Also, it involves many experts like carpenters, blacksmiths, coopers and shipwrights working together which he had to be employed.

"How about the research progress on the steamboat?" Riz asked. He had a team of engineers and shipwrights to focus on designing a steamboat.

The aim is to create a sailing vessel with less dependence on the wind.

That way, the new route can be opened.

Incorporating the steam engine onto the ship is something everyone in this world including himself has little knowledge about. He needs to let them master the steam technology first before moving on to build a larger vessel.

"Ah, yes. Please follow me. The design was completed by the research team." Elric led him to the office section of the company. Looking at the bright face of each member of the research team, Riz could tell they must be confident with their designs.

He was given two technical drawings. Both designs were nearly identical to the one made on Earth. "I assume these paddle wheels will do the job of propelling the vessel through the water."

"As expected of you, your majesty. You can recognize its function at first glance. You have a brilliant mind like rumours said." The head researcher spouted some compliments.

"We named this one side-wheel boat and another one stern-wheel boat. The stern wheel has an aesthetically pleasing design compared to the other one. Based on our calculations, it has more speed but less manoeuvrability. Also, we can add up to four paddle wheels at the back. Side-wheel one on the other hand had more freedom of movement. We can make both wheels rotate speeds or in totally different directions. So, which do you prefer, your majesty?"

Riz shrugs, "I don't care, to be honest. Just make one for each design and do some testing. It's not like this company lacks the money to fund the construction of these steamboats. Anyway, both had pros and cons. I'm sure if we sell both designs, there would be someone willing to buy it."

"Then, we'll build it as soon as possible and present you the data."

The king waved his hand, dismissing the research's statement. "I understand your excitement about making new things, but please take your time. Do not skimp on the quality."