290: Chapter 290 Aren't you surprised? Zhao Fusu's unexpected turn of events

Zhongli Wei was the leader of the carpenters.

The carpentry team he led excelled at felling and processing timber, turning logs into keels, planks, masts, and other ship components. Through techniques like mortise and tenon joints, they ensured the ship's parts were tightly connected, guaranteeing structural strength and stability.

Ouyang Feng was in charge of blacksmithing.

In early shipbuilding, planks were joined primarily with wooden pegs, bamboo nails, and hemp ropes. By the Qin Dynasty, these had been replaced by iron nails and putty caulking, which greatly improved the sturdiness of ship structures.

This was also an important reason why the Qin Dynasty could build wooden ships 8 meters wide, 30 meters long, and with a load capacity of fifty to sixty tons.

Both Zhongli Wei and Ouyang Feng possessed extensive maritime knowledge.

Qin Dynasty ships were used not only for inland river transport but also potentially for coastal navigation and even deep-sea exploration. Craftsmen needed to understand ocean patterns, currents, and wind directions to design ships suitable for seafaring. For instance, they would design different hull types and sail structures based on different sailing regions and needs to improve navigation performance.

The Qin Dynasty had astrological books for maritime navigation such as "Astrological Observations at Sea," "Miscellaneous Matters of the Five Planets at Sea," "Direct and Retrograde Motion of the Five Planets at Sea," and "National Divisions of the Twenty-Eight Mansions at Sea."

After meeting Zhongli Wei and Ouyang Feng, Zhao Fusu brought out the design blueprints for the Steamship. He said to them with a serious expression, "Masters, the Steamship I want you to build will have an exterior made of metal."

"Is Your Majesty the Paramount Leader referring to the steel you invented?"

Ouyang Feng asked.

"Yes."

Zhao Fusu said, "The entire Steamship will be made of steel."

"That is wonderful."

Both Zhongli Wei and Ouyang Feng looked very excited.

Ouyang Feng, in particular, was so excited that his entire face turned flushed.

He said with immense excitement, "That ship will surely be incredibly sturdy!"

"Uh!"

Seeing their reaction, Zhao Fusu was instead a bit bewildered.

He asked, "Aren't you surprised?"

The reaction of Zhongli Wei and Ouyang Feng truly exceeded Zhao Fusu's expectations.

Given the understanding of people in this era, they should have thought that a ship made of metal would definitely sink in water.

Zhao Fusu had thought Zhongli Wei and Ouyang Feng would criticize him for being whimsical.

Unexpectedly, the two of them seemed very supportive, which greatly surprised Zhao Fusu.

"Hahaha."

The two master shipbuilders, Zhongli Wei and Ouyang Feng, looked at each other and smiled. They looked at Zhao Fusu and asked, "Did Your Majesty the Paramount Leader think we would have doubts upon hearing about building a ship with metal?"

"Indeed."

Zhao Fusu had indeed thought so.

"Ordinary people would certainly think that way."

"But truth is often in the hands of the wise."

"Like Your Majesty the Paramount Leader."

These two master shipbuilders, Zhongli Wei and Ouyang Feng, were first-rate in shipbuilding skills, and their flattery skills were also top-notch.

"Quite right!"

Zhao Fusu gave them a thumbs-up.

Ouyang Feng said, "Whether it's a basin made of copper or one made of iron, as long as it meets a certain shape, it can float on water."

"Then a ship made of steel, as long as it meets a certain shape, will surely be able to float on water as well!"

Zhao Fusu nodded.

Wise people are certainly those who are good at observing.

Ouyang Feng might not understand Archimedes' Principle—that when an object's weight is less than the weight of the water it displaces, it will float. As long as the steel ship's volume is large enough that the weight of the water it displaces is greater than its own weight, the steel ship will not sink.

But through observations in daily life, he also understood that metal could be used to build ships.

They hadn't used iron to build ships before because they were still limited by the productivity of the era.

The cost of an iron ship was much higher than a wooden one, and the technical difficulty was also much greater. Naturally, the officials would build wooden ships with mature craftsmanship rather than iron ones.