Rollo Uhoris' chestnut eyes widened with shock, looking at Liu Qian in disbelief.
The master he was loyal to actually wanted to swallow the entire Stone Steps Islands.
He suppressed the horror in his heart and said cautiously: "My lord, the Shijie Islands are a group of islands, and there must be enough ships to fight against these pirates who have been deeply cultivated for many years, this ship is not a simple sailing ship, a sailboat may be useful in the ocean, but it is too clumsy to fight in the fleet, and in naval battles, you must use paddle boats." "
He pinched his fingers and calculated: "Although there are nearly twenty rowing boats under our control now, one of them is really a 'battleship', and the body can withstand the collision, only the three large ships captured from the crab claws." "
Rollo's tone was deeply worried.
Liu Qian naturally understood this.
There are two main types of ships in Game of Thrones.
One is sailing ships, which are mainly powered by sails, such as punts, galleons and swan boats, which are suitable for ocean voyages and commodity trade, because these ships can carry a lot of things.
the other is a paddle boat, which is mainly powered by the oarsman and is suitable for offshore operations.
Specifically, the combat power of the paddle boat is closely related to the number of oars.
Ordinary rowing boats only have one oar, and two-story oars can be used as main battleships.
Even more exaggerated are the three-decker paddle boats, which are not only huge, but also flexible and maneuverable, and can be interspersed in the ocean at will.
Salado Thorn's main battleship, the Valyrian, was a three-decker ship with three hundred oars.
And these paddle boats are not without sails, but when fighting in the offshore sea, the crew will put the sails away, and the oars will get power from the rowing, and if the wind is favorable, they will lower the sails and get better power by working together with the mast and oars.
Moreover, the larger the ship, the more soldiers and trebuchets are installed.
Of course, the cost of the ship will also increase exponentially.
"How many golden dragons do you need to build a fleet comparable to Sarado?" Liu Qian asked.
When Rollo heard the words "build a fleet", he was like a cat whose tail was stepped on, and suddenly hugged his head and exclaimed: "The gods are above!" My lord, do you know how much the more than 20 warships of the 'Prince of the Narrow Sea' are worth? The hull itself alone costs no less than one million golden dragons. "
This number was like a heavy hammer, slamming into Liu Qian's heart.
The commercial sailing ship he bought in Valantis cost a drop in the bucket.
"Why is it so expensive?" Liu Qian frowned and asked.
Rollo took a deep breath, broke his rough fingers, and said one by one:
"First, the materials used, the warship is not a merchant ship, the keel and ribs need to be made of the toughest and most impact-resistant hardwood, and the weight must not be over-sinking, the value of these woods is very high;
the second is the weapons, the ship is only an empty shell, a heavy scorpion crossbow and a counterweight trebuchet, these heavy weapons are cast from fine iron, and the cost is not low;
The third is daily maintenance, the battleship is not a decoration, once it enters the water, it is like a gold-swallowing behemoth. An ordinary warship, a monthly maintenance project includes overhauling the hull, replacing cables, applying tar, paying for sailors, and rations for oarsmen... These costs need to be at least a few hundred or even nearly a thousand gold dragons, not counting the damage and repair after the war. "
Liu Qian quickly calculated in his heart and took a breath: "According to what you said, Salado's fleet will cost more than 20,000 golden dragons per month?" "
"Only a little more!" Rollo was categorical, "The cost of his three-story oars is even more amazing." "
At this moment, Liu Qian deeply realized what a bottomless pit of burning money was to maintain a strong fleet.
Thinking of the royal fleet of 200 ships under the Iron Throne and the equally large private fleet of Count Redwin on Qingting Island, who can afford it if it weren't for the wine trade with the taxes of the Seven Kingdoms or the monopoly on the golden route?
Wealth is the cornerstone of the throne at sea.
He calculated his net worth.
The treasure brought from the ruins of Valyria, after deducting the expenses of Valantis, is equivalent to about 400,000 alloy dragons.
This money was enough to build a strong medium-sized castle in Westeros and stand out on one side.
But in the face of the grand plan to build a fleet, it seems so stretched.
The pitiful savings that Torture Yuan looted from the pirate warehouse was less than 100,000 yuan, which was a drop in the bucket.
No money?
Forced victory is better than hard farming.
What jumped out of Liu Qian's mind was the ancient road pursued by the iron people.
"Luo Luo," Liu Qian quickly gathered his thoughts and ordered decisively, "First withdraw money from the warehouse, repair all usable ships, and ensure that they are ready for battle at any time, in addition, although our 'Swan' is a sailing ship, we must also be armed, and add heavy scorpion crossbows and trebuchets to its sides, and you should know where to buy the necessary materials." "
"Spear Handle Village," Rollo immediately answered, "It is the largest black market in the Shijie Islands, as long as the golden dragon is loud enough, there is no ordnance wood that cannot be bought." "
After Rollo left, Liu Qian immediately summoned sisters Jelena and Janice.
This damp sea erosion cave, although simple and primitive, finally became their first foothold in the Shijie Islands, and it was much more stable than the previous sea wandering.
Since Liu Qian accepted the two sisters as flame knights, he informed the two daughters about the magic and ghost grass, and he called them here to discuss the matter at this time.
"Janice, is there any record in Valyria's books on how to grow ghost grass?"
Janice shook her head gently and frowned slightly: "After coming out of Valyria, I have been looking for relevant books except for training, and I have not found any relevant records of ghost grass, which appeared in Valyria after the doomsday catastrophe as if it appeared out of nowhere.
Liu Qian pondered: "The blood wizard once asked you to collect ghost grass outside Tria, which means that he should know the relevant effects, maybe you can find the manuscripts or notes he left behind, or even try to plant some directly in the soil to see the effect." "
Janice nodded thoughtfully: "I will search for the manuscript and choose a place to try planting." "
At this time, Jelena's cold voice sounded, with a hint of imperceptible eagerness: "Does it really take a few years before the magic will recover?" "
Liu Qian had already informed them of the conjecture of the red comet and the magic tide.
Liu Qian nodded, his eyes deep: "This is just a superficial conjecture of mine, the stars are crying blood, the magic is revived, I don't know if this will happen, but at least now when there is no source of magic to replenish, it is better not to use magic easily, Jerina, your magic is already less, like fighting those pirates last night, you don't need to activate the magic of the Valyrian steel sword." "
"I understand." Jelena replied, her fingers subconsciously stroking the hilt of the sword at her waist.
At present, only Liu Qian and Jelena have weapons and armor engraved with magic runes in their hands, Liu Qian's magic far exceeds that of Jelena, as long as he does not use the magic of the dragon, it is still enough.
Janice said softly: "We brought nearly a thousand bundles of ghost grass from Tria, these ghost grasses cannot all be used as seeds, but can also be used as a supplement to magic power. "
Liu Qian was silent for a moment, of course he knew that those ghost grasses could replenish magic, but he had other uses: "Do you remember the nine dragon egg fossils?" "
Janice Purple Eyes lit up instantly, like a spark: "Can you hatch them?" "
A hint of fluctuation flashed in Jelena's eyes.
"To be precise, it's awakening." Liu Qian explained, "I can awaken the magic dragon in these stones by infusion of magic, the dragon will not be born immediately after awakening, but will grow and develop again in the dragon egg until it breaks out of the shell, but this method requires a lot of magic." "
He looked at the information on the system panel, it took a full 70,000 mana to awaken a dragon egg fossil, and the number he could currently awaken with [Dragon Bloodline] was four.
The choice before him now is either to use a large amount of ghost grass to awaken the dragon egg fossils, or to awaken them after finding a stable source of magic...
The four dragon egg fossils require a total of 280,000 mana, and he calculated that it would take about 900 bundles, which would almost exhaust the ghost grass reserves.
He hesitated for a while, and finally made a decision in his heart.
He must awaken some fossilized dragon eggs.
Jorah Mormont's slave trade occurred in 293AC, and now he fled from Westeros to live in Braavos for a while, and then continued to Reese, indicating that the time point was at least after 293AC, and it is likely to be 294AC.
Not many years before the main storyline, he must hatch the dragon as soon as possible.
He looked at the anticipation in the eyes of the sisters, and the corners of his mouth raised a hint of certainty:
"Go, choose your favorite dragon egg first. A few days later, we were here, awakening the sleeping dragon. "