This fifty-meter ship was not a cargo vessel but a troop transport, which could also be called a warship. It was divided into three decks. The bottom deck was for storing cargo, the middle deck was where the sailors rested, and then there was the main deck. The cabins on the main deck, where daily work was done and the captain lived, could be considered another level—the administrative center of the ship.
Lucas was currently inspecting the second deck. The entire level consisted of small rooms, which were the sailors' living quarters.
Creeak!
Lucas slid open one of the room doors, which were the horizontal sliding type. He scanned the room. It was a four-person room, with single bunks on both sides. In the middle of the room was a table attached to the ship's wall.
The room was very small. If four people squeezed in, there would be no room to sit. Lucas had designed it based on the layout of a high-speed train's sleeper car, which would allow it to carry the maximum number of people.
"How is the ventilation?" Lucas asked, stepping inside. He pulled open a cabinet door at the foot of a bunk. Inside, besides a drawer, was a meter-high space for the sailors to store their belongings.
"My Lord, this is the room's ventilation opening," Weiss said, holding up a candle and pointing to a bowl-sized hole at the top of the room. "It connects to the outer hull. When the ship is sailing, wind can blow in. The door is not airtight either; there are many finger-sized holes in the door panel."
"Very good," Lucas nodded in satisfaction. He hadn't provided this ventilation design; the blueprints he gave didn't specify all of these minor details.
The sailors' living quarters were divided into eight sections, with each section housing about twenty to thirty people. This meant the entire ship could carry about two hundred men, which was the absolute limit for a fifty-meter ship.
"It's so cramped," Annie observed, looking around the room and whispering, "Wouldn't you go crazy staying in here for a long time?"
Lucas heard the fox-ear girl's whisper. Everyone present heard it. After all, the room was small and semi-enclosed, so even small sounds were amplified.
"Let's go. Take me to the dining hall," Lucas said flatly.
"Yes," Weiss immediately led the way. He didn't quite understand the purpose of a dining hall on a large ship. After all, if the space was converted into rooms, it could hold another ten or twenty people.
The dining hall was located in the middle of the second deck, the most spacious area on that level. It had a dozen tables and a kitchen. It was where the sailors would eat their meals.
Transport ships of this era didn't have dining halls. They didn't even have many rooms; everyone was just squeezed together. Only the ships of nobles would have features like a dining hall.
"Wow, it's so spacious!" Annie said, walking around the dining hall cheerfully. She even ducked into the kitchen to look around, then ran back out and shouted, "Master, when can we eat a meal here?"
She had never eaten on a ship before. She had never even been on a ship. Boarding the ship today was a first in her life.
"Let's have lunch on the ship today," Lucas said, the corners of his mouth turning up. Of course, he would grant the fox-ear girl such a small request.
"Master, I'll go make the arrangements," Mina chuckled and turned to walk out of the dining hall.
"My Lord, there is one thing I don't understand," Weiss couldn't hold back his question any longer. "I've built many transport ships, and the goal is always to carry as many people as possible. For meals, you just prepare the food and then distribute it."
"In the future, the fleet will be sailing continuously for ten days or half a month. Could you stand being cooped up in a tiny room for that long?" Lucas glanced at Weiss and said coolly, "This is a place to relax."
"I understand," Weiss said, a look of sudden realization on his face. He immediately understood.
The most painful part of being on a ship was the lack of space. There weren't many places to move around. If it was only for a few days, it was tolerable, but after ten days or half a month, people would become irritable. It was a miserable experience.
"The sailors... begin recruitment immediately when you get back. I need to prepare three hundred sailors," Lucas instructed, turning his head to Aiden.
Now that he had a ship, he needed sailors, even if it was just one large ship for now. Most importantly, the sailors needed to adapt to life on the ship as soon as possible. He didn't want any soldiers who got seasick.
"Yes," Aiden replied respectfully. The navy would become one of Lucas's key military branches in the future. Sedona City was situated on the Whispering River, and most of its trade relied on ship transport. The river would become a golden waterway.
So, what if some noble coveted the passing merchant ships and wanted to make an unexpected fortune? As someone from Earth, Lucas knew that wealth on the water could make people's eyes turn red with greed. After all, there were plenty of pirates in Earth's ancient history.
This was where the importance of a navy became apparent: to deter those nobles with ulterior motives, to eliminate river pirates, and even to defend against the sea pirates.
Lucas placed great importance on this Whispering River transport route. In the future, eighty percent of Sedona City's trade would come from the river, so patrolling it was essential.
Thump, thump, thump…
After inspecting the ship's interior, Lucas came up to the main deck. "Weiss, prepare to launch the ship," He ordered with a serious face.
"Yes!" Weiss shouted respectfully, his face a mixture of nervousness and excitement. The ship was finally going to be launched.
The fifty-meter ship was complete, but it had not yet been launched for a trial voyage, so everything was still unknown. If it fell apart after entering the water, it would mean failure.
Lucas and the others disembarked from the ship and stood on a high platform, watching as Weiss arranged the preparations for the launch. After a ship is built, the launch is the most critical step. If you can't even get the ship into the water, it's a joke.
"Annie, how many gold coins did this ship cost?" Lucas asked calmly.
"Let me check," Annie said, taking out her notebook and flipping through it. The shipbuilding expenses were reported to her every seven days.
She quickly found the figure. "Master, not including the most recent report which hasn't been submitted yet, this ship is estimated to have cost fifty-two gold coins so far."
Of course, this was only the cost of building the ship itself; it didn't include the cost of constructing the shipyard.
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