289: Chapter 289 Shipbuilders

"His Majesty the Head of State."

Shang Ziling suggested, "It would be best for the caravan to recruit people in Longxi, and we also need to spend a large sum to recruit a significant number of Qiang people from the Hexi Corridor."

"The Qiang people understand the power dynamics and terrain of the Qiang lands and can serve directly as our guides. They will play a crucial role as we pass through the Hexi Corridor to the Thirty-Six Kingdoms of the Western Regions."

"Mhm."

Zhao Fusu left the responsibility of forming the caravan to the Thirty-Six Kingdoms of the Western Regions entirely to Shang Ziling.

Professional matters required professional people.

He wasn't very familiar with organizing caravans, whereas Shang Ziling already managed three of them.

Shang Ziling was more experienced than him in navigating Qiang lands and dealing with the various factions along the way.

He needed Shang Ziling to obtain detailed information about the thousand-kilometer-long Hexi Corridor for him.

He needed a clear understanding of which factions could be won over and which held a grudge against Great Qin.

Only then could the factions in the Hexi Corridor be won over or divided, eventually leading to control over the region.

After tasking Shang Ziling with the caravan, He Zhi arrived to report that Xu Fu had recruited a group of shipbuilding craftsmen and arrived in Xianyang.

Zhao Fusu instructed He Zhi to tell Xu Fu to take the craftsmen to the Wei River Shipyard.

The Qin Dynasty implemented a strict system of household registration and hereditary professions; craftsmen mostly inherited their roles, passed down from father to son.

Craftsmen in state-run workshops were divided into different trades, such as carpenters and blacksmiths, collaborating to build ships.

To consolidate his rule, the First Emperor excavated the Lingqu Canal to connect the Xiang and Li Rivers, linking the Yangtze and Pearl River systems and greatly enhancing north-south water transport capabilities.

The navigation of the Lingqu Canal required many vessels. As the First Emperor campaigned south against the Baiyue, the army also needed to transport provisions and troops by water, demanding higher standards for ship capacity, stability, and scale.

Consequently, Great Qin established specialized shipbuilding workshops.

Shipbuilding craftsmen were mostly under government jurisdiction, with the official position of "Sikong" established to supervise them.

Shipbuilding in Great Qin was extremely rigorous; if a craftsman's mistake led to equipment damage, they would be punished.

Craftsmen had to engrave their names on the items they produced to ensure accountability and facilitate punishment.

The strength of Great Qin's warships came from this strict quality control.

The "Wu Le Gong Ming" system applied not only to shipbuilding but to other military industries as well, which was a key reason for the strength of Great Qin's military industry.

After receiving Zhao Fusu's order, Xu Fu had He Zhi deliver the command as quickly as possible to the Sikong supervising the shipbuilding craftsmen.

Because Great Qin's campaign against the Baiyue required many ships, its shipbuilding workshops were mainly concentrated in the south.

For instance, the Kuaiji Commandery in the Chu Region had a sizable shipbuilding workshop.

The Sikong in charge of the shipbuilding craftsmen in Kuaiji Commandery dared not delay, immediately summoning over a hundred craftsmen to board a train for Xianyang.

Among these hundred-plus craftsmen, the primary groups were the Yue and Wu people.

Zhao Fusu met with this group of shipbuilding craftsmen at the Wei River Shipyard.

The Wei River Shipyard featured office buildings, dormitories, and workshops constructed with iron sheds.

In terms of architectural style, the office building at the Wei River Shipyard was a three-story flat-roofed structure made of brick and poured concrete.

Zhongli Wei and Ouyang Feng were the leaders of this group of shipbuilding craftsmen.

The two elders were relatively short and slender.

They were both Yue people, with relatively broad faces and prominent cheekbones.

Not just them, but the entire group of craftsmen was relatively short and slender. Their small and agile build was a significant contrast to the tall and robust stature of the people from Xianyang.

Their small and agile frames were advantageous for movement in complex terrain; in particular, shipbuilding often required climbing in cramped spaces, where burly men would often find themselves hindered at every turn.