Post by Liu Feng on Jan 29, 2011 19:54:42 GMT
In order to cross the Chang Jiang from the fortress of Lu Jiang to the great city of Jian Ye, Ulayne knew that she would have to oversee the construction of a navy for the Sun forces. After submitting a proposal to her Lord, she finally had received the resources to begin construction on the elite military part of the fleet. Ulayne sat in conference with the chief shipwrights for this project, displaying the blueprints for this ship design that she had worked on. The young mystic favored the “Mengchong” ships, both the primary military assault vessel of the time and much more advanced technologically than arguably anything else in that period of Chinese history. She had built a small model of the basic mengchong design which she showed to those present:
These ships were small, with one sail flown from the mast situated in the middle of the front half of the ship, as depicted by the model. A small number of long oars, usually less than a dozen, are present on each side of the ship for additional movement speed or to allow movement in no wind. The main characteristics of the Mengchong design, however, comes in its sturdiness and covered exterior. A thin wooden enclosing protects the sailors inside from incoming arrow-fire, but since a full wooden structure on top of the boat would prove too heavy, animal hides are used to reinforce the structure's ability to absorb enemy arrows. This design is famous for its defensive capabilities, as the sailors and soldiers inside are well protected from enemy arrows. Cut into the defensive cover are small arrow-holes to allow allied troops to fire from their position inside. In theory, a crossbowman or bowman would be posted at each arrow-hole to maximize the damage that they could achieve, while their protective enclosure would minimize their own casualties. Also, there were spear-sized holes in the fore and aft of the enclosure, allowing spearmen to stop anyone trying to board the ship by reaching the enclosure itself.
The last benefit of the Mengchong ships was their capability to ram enemy ships. Since they are small in design, and not particularly fast for their size, they can be built very sturdily. When a ram is built on the end of such ships, these ships can devastate enemy lines due to their surprising weight and the great difficulty of destroying or capsizing one.
After explaining these aspects to the overseeing soldiers, Ulayne and the shipwrights began the arduous task of building the actual ships. The young mystic barely slept over the next week, as she personally inspected each ship that was under construction. Constructing the base of a Mengchong ship is very similar to constructing the base of a merchant ship, so progress moved quickly at the beginning of the operation. Lu Jiang was famous for its shipwrights, as well, with the Imperial Society of Towered Ships (louchuan) having their main office in this small city. Although Ulayne was not building towered ships yet, their presence in Lu Jiang was certainly helpful to Ulayne's endeavors.
It was only when the building of the enclosures began that Lu Jiang's shipwrights had some problems. The young mystic personally helped them to the best of her ability. One newly hired worker began cutting a spear-hole in the starboard side of the enclosure, and Ulayne had to give a lecture on nautical terms.
“Fore and aft mean front and back,” Ulayne explained, “you're cutting a spearhole in the starboard side when you should be making arrow-slits here.”
Ulayne also attempted to improve on the arrow-hole design by making cross-shaped slits instead. These slits would allow the important range of motion for the crossbowman while providing more protection that a full circle shaped hole would. She also placed some on the higher points of the enclosure so that a bowman with a longbow would be able to fire at the 45 degree angle.
“Watch!” Ulayne exclaimed as one of the workers began to complain that it would be impossible to fire a bow from inside the enclosure. She ordered a soldier to attempt to fire at a target in the same warehouse where the ship was under-construction. The soldier missed the target, but only barely, and even he admitted that if he were a better shot he could have hit it.
“You did well enough,” Ulayne reassured him. “I just want to show these men the beauty of this ship. They will certainly protect you as we attain naval supremacy over the Chang Jiang. No one will defeat our navy.” The soldier bowed, and admitted that he did feel fairly safe within the built enclosure.
Ulayne and the shipwrights of Lu Jiang continued this work for a few weeks, putting each ship together piece by piece. When the ships were nearly complete it was time to choose the ones to bear the few ship rams that Lu Jiang had. Ulayne inspected each of the ships fully, and choose what she thought to be the sturdiest half-dozen to be the main rams of the army. She also chose the weakest three for a different purpose, two of those having defective or otherwise broken enclosures, though she did not state for what.
When the ship rams were built onto the fore of the half-dozen ramships, the young mystic looked up to the sky and saw as the clouds began to gray. She decided not to send the ships out yet, explaining that instead she had to seek the blessing of the water spirits before allowing her ships to pick up anchor for the first time. Ulayne performed a beautiful rain dance asking the spirits of the Chang Jiang to allow rain to fall if they were pleased with her work. It was a complicated process, but she read each mystic phrase from her odd tome, and performed each gesture with grace and precision. Of course, it began to rain only about half-an-hour after her ritual was completed. Many shipwrights were amazed, pleased, or fearful, though the few very perceptive ones were skeptical of whether her mystical ritual had anything to do with the rain. No one quite knows, but Ulayne definitely managed to convince Lu Jiang's dock workers that the spirits were pleased with them. Throughout the rain, Ulayne stood on the end of the docks, her soaked hair dripping into the Chang Jiang's waters. There was a wide smile on her face. A job well done.
These ships were small, with one sail flown from the mast situated in the middle of the front half of the ship, as depicted by the model. A small number of long oars, usually less than a dozen, are present on each side of the ship for additional movement speed or to allow movement in no wind. The main characteristics of the Mengchong design, however, comes in its sturdiness and covered exterior. A thin wooden enclosing protects the sailors inside from incoming arrow-fire, but since a full wooden structure on top of the boat would prove too heavy, animal hides are used to reinforce the structure's ability to absorb enemy arrows. This design is famous for its defensive capabilities, as the sailors and soldiers inside are well protected from enemy arrows. Cut into the defensive cover are small arrow-holes to allow allied troops to fire from their position inside. In theory, a crossbowman or bowman would be posted at each arrow-hole to maximize the damage that they could achieve, while their protective enclosure would minimize their own casualties. Also, there were spear-sized holes in the fore and aft of the enclosure, allowing spearmen to stop anyone trying to board the ship by reaching the enclosure itself.
The last benefit of the Mengchong ships was their capability to ram enemy ships. Since they are small in design, and not particularly fast for their size, they can be built very sturdily. When a ram is built on the end of such ships, these ships can devastate enemy lines due to their surprising weight and the great difficulty of destroying or capsizing one.
After explaining these aspects to the overseeing soldiers, Ulayne and the shipwrights began the arduous task of building the actual ships. The young mystic barely slept over the next week, as she personally inspected each ship that was under construction. Constructing the base of a Mengchong ship is very similar to constructing the base of a merchant ship, so progress moved quickly at the beginning of the operation. Lu Jiang was famous for its shipwrights, as well, with the Imperial Society of Towered Ships (louchuan) having their main office in this small city. Although Ulayne was not building towered ships yet, their presence in Lu Jiang was certainly helpful to Ulayne's endeavors.
It was only when the building of the enclosures began that Lu Jiang's shipwrights had some problems. The young mystic personally helped them to the best of her ability. One newly hired worker began cutting a spear-hole in the starboard side of the enclosure, and Ulayne had to give a lecture on nautical terms.
“Fore and aft mean front and back,” Ulayne explained, “you're cutting a spearhole in the starboard side when you should be making arrow-slits here.”
Ulayne also attempted to improve on the arrow-hole design by making cross-shaped slits instead. These slits would allow the important range of motion for the crossbowman while providing more protection that a full circle shaped hole would. She also placed some on the higher points of the enclosure so that a bowman with a longbow would be able to fire at the 45 degree angle.
“Watch!” Ulayne exclaimed as one of the workers began to complain that it would be impossible to fire a bow from inside the enclosure. She ordered a soldier to attempt to fire at a target in the same warehouse where the ship was under-construction. The soldier missed the target, but only barely, and even he admitted that if he were a better shot he could have hit it.
“You did well enough,” Ulayne reassured him. “I just want to show these men the beauty of this ship. They will certainly protect you as we attain naval supremacy over the Chang Jiang. No one will defeat our navy.” The soldier bowed, and admitted that he did feel fairly safe within the built enclosure.
Ulayne and the shipwrights of Lu Jiang continued this work for a few weeks, putting each ship together piece by piece. When the ships were nearly complete it was time to choose the ones to bear the few ship rams that Lu Jiang had. Ulayne inspected each of the ships fully, and choose what she thought to be the sturdiest half-dozen to be the main rams of the army. She also chose the weakest three for a different purpose, two of those having defective or otherwise broken enclosures, though she did not state for what.
When the ship rams were built onto the fore of the half-dozen ramships, the young mystic looked up to the sky and saw as the clouds began to gray. She decided not to send the ships out yet, explaining that instead she had to seek the blessing of the water spirits before allowing her ships to pick up anchor for the first time. Ulayne performed a beautiful rain dance asking the spirits of the Chang Jiang to allow rain to fall if they were pleased with her work. It was a complicated process, but she read each mystic phrase from her odd tome, and performed each gesture with grace and precision. Of course, it began to rain only about half-an-hour after her ritual was completed. Many shipwrights were amazed, pleased, or fearful, though the few very perceptive ones were skeptical of whether her mystical ritual had anything to do with the rain. No one quite knows, but Ulayne definitely managed to convince Lu Jiang's dock workers that the spirits were pleased with them. Throughout the rain, Ulayne stood on the end of the docks, her soaked hair dripping into the Chang Jiang's waters. There was a wide smile on her face. A job well done.
