Chapter 253 - Navy Base
Translator: TeamTWO
Editor: Nora
Ouyang Shuo placed the into a random location in his storage bag. It would take countless days and nights to gather all the parts of a map like this. He might not even gather all the parts before the game ends.
After he looked through the plundered goods, Ouyang Shuo sat back in his seat. Then, he turned to look at Pei Donglai and asked, “General Pei, what is your opinion on the next course of action regarding Moon Island?”
This question wasn’t meant to make things difficult for Pei Donglai. As the commander of the Beihai navy fleet, he needed to be a proficient leader in battle and had to handle the affairs and logistics behind in the base.
Pei Donglai pondered for a moment before he answered, “The facilities here are primitive and simple, but we can salvage the dock and use it as a supply replenishment station in the future.”
Pei Donglai understood why the lord established the navy fleet. It wasn’t only to exterminate the pirates. His lord had a greater vision and place in mind for the Beihai navy fleet. Regardless, if the fleet wanted to sail deep into the middle of the ocean and dominate the seas, supply replenishments was an issue that they couldn’t avoid. Ships sail day and night, so a lack of supply replenishment stations would greatly challenge the sailors and the logistics members.
Ouyang Shuo nodded, but he shook his head moments later.
“What does the lord mean?” Pei Donglai felt anxious.
“The supply replenishment stations are a must.” First, Ouyang Shuo confirmed Pei Donglai’s point of view. Then, he said, “But, that is far not enough. Moon Island is small but robust. The conditions here are consummate and there are sufficient sources of fresh water. Therefore, we can change Moon Island into a small navy base.”
As a supply replenishment station, Moon Island had to contain a large storage of resources. In turn, they needed to station a team of guards on the island to protect the resources.
Hence, Ouyang Shuo would rather settle everything once and for all. He would make a round of major changes to the island.
“I have a few specific requirements. You will talk to Xiuwen regarding the details on how to make it happen. The Construction Division of Beihai County will complete it,” Ouyang Shuo said, “First, upgrade the dock into a port. Not only will it act as the docking place for the warships, but the navy can also repair and maintain warships there.
“Second, demolish every building on the island and rebuild them systematically. The core of this island will take the role of a military fortress. It will act as the base of the island guards, and the storage place for the resources. The reason for a military fortress is to shrink the defensive force. Moreover, it will not take up a lot of the island’s land. Woodworking workshop, blacksmithy, weapons workshop, and the other building structures will be built inside of the fortress, forming a relatively enclosed fort.
“Third, land reclamation. You need to make use of the land outside of the military fortress. Plant some vegetables and crops so that the island can be self-sustainable. I have estimated that we can reclaim at least 500,000 mu of land on Moon Island.
“Once we reach such a scale, the island can achieve self-sustainability but also supply externally. There will be no more need to transport food and resources to Moon Island from Beihai County.
“Lastly, the retransformation of the pond. In order to grow crops on a large scale, we need sufficient irrigation water. Therefore, there is a need to expand the pond to at least five to ten times the scale of the existing one. Eventually, we will turn the pond into an island lake or a small reservoir.”
Ouyang Shuo told Pei Donglai his plan based on his observation of the island this afternoon. In the future, Moon Island would become a mixture of military fort, port, reservoir, and farmland. When combined together, it would form a strong and powerful navy base.
After they completed the Moon Island navy base, it would become the ‘Midway Island’ where the fleet enters the deep sea.
The layout of Ouyang Shuo’s great plans excited Pei Donglai. He said respectfully, “May the lord be at ease. I will coordinate with Beihai County and complete the transformation of Moon Island as soon as possible.”
Ouyang Shuo nodded and said, “Then, I will pass it to the general. When the navy base is established, I will visit Moon Island again. Together, we will celebrate your accomplishment.”
“Yes, my lord!” Pei Donglai was indeed in great excitement.
After the discussion, Ouyang Shuo stayed on the island for one night.
Morning of the next day, the Beihai navy fleet departed for home. They left behind the navy 1st unit to guard Moon Island. As for the captived pirates, they brought them all back to Beihai County.
Moon Island held a significant spot in Ouyang Shuo’s strategy, so he did not trust the placement of these pirates on the island.
October 25th, afternoon, Beihai navy fleet returned to Beihai Port.
After Ouyang Shuo left the port, he intentionally went into the county and had a small talk with magistrate Gu Xiuwen. He explained the navy base construction work required on Moon Island.
On the night of the same day, Ouyang Shuo returned to the Lord’s Manor.
After he returned, Ouyang Shuo took out the box of jewelry and passed it to Zi Su, who would store it in the internal storehouse. This was Ouyang Shuo’s third box of jewelry.
Ouyang Shuo wasn’t a stingy man. He rewarded Song Jia, Sun Xiaoyue, Yingyu, Qing’er, the two sisters, even Zi Su and Si Qin the servant maids. He gave all of them jewelry.
Next day morning, Ouyang Shuo accompanied Bing’er for breakfast. After that, he immediately rushed to the Armory Division in the east district and looked for master blacksmith Wang Gao.
“Greetings to the lord!” Wang Gao bowed and greeted.
Ouyang Shuo nodded. Then, he took out the [Meteorite Fine Iron] and placed it on the table. He smiled, “Can you recognize this item?”
The moment Wang Gao laid his sights on the black dull stone, his eyes couldn’t even shift away from it anymore. It was like a spell had been cast upon him. He could not move an inch of his body. Moments later, he stood up and helped himself to the side of the table. Slowly his hands lifted up the stone. Then, he touched and caressed the [Meteorite Fine Iron]. He treated it like a peerless treasure; he mumbled, “Thi...this…this is.....is this the legendary godly stone from the skies?!”
Ouyang Shuo hadn’t expected any of this. He did not think that the unruly Wang Gao would have such a deeply emotional moment. He nodded and said with a smile, “Indeed, this is the godly stone fallen from the skies.”
Honestly, Ouyang Shuo had hesitated yesterday night, unsure if he should hand the [Meteorite Fine Iron] over to Wang Gao. It would be better to hand such a rare forging material to a higher level blacksmith for simply more assurance.
In the game, the royals had either taken in the God-level blacksmiths as imperial craftsmen, or they would wander around like ghosts in the shadows. A normal person could not reach them. These experts drifted around the land with no fixed abode, it would require great luck to encounter one.
Furthermore, although he considered the platinum-level [Meteorite Fine Iron] as a rare forging material, it was merely nothing but an item in the eyes of God-level blacksmiths. Hence, Ouyang Shuo ended his whimsical thoughts of asking for the help of a God-level blacksmith.
If he took a step back, at least he could find himself a grandmaster blacksmith to forge the legendary stone.
If he could not reach the God-level blacksmiths, he could still find the grandmaster blacksmiths in the system capital cities. If he handed the stone to them, Ouyang Shuo can rest assured that they would forge a platinum-level weapon.
But Ouyang Shuo gave up this alluring prospect. The most important consideration was that he hoped for Wang Gao to take this opportunity to breakthrough to the grandmaster level. At the very least, Ouyang Shuo wanted him to improve his blacksmith experience. This way, he could lay down the foundation for a future promotion to the grandmaster level.
After all, he wasn’t only an officer, but also the lord of Shanhai. He must make decisions based on the territory’s interests. If the territory gave birth to a grandmaster blacksmith, it could bring limitless benefits.
After he received the confirmation, Wang Gao’s eyes brightened up. He couldn’t wait to work on the [Meteorite Fine Iron]. Suddenly, he thought of why the lord would come here. A flash of thought crossed his mind, and his heart skipped a beat.
Sure enough, Ouyang Shuo said placidly, “I plan to forge a spear from this [Meteorite Fine Iron]. Do you have any confidence?”
Although he had mentally prepared himself, reality still shook Wang Gao’s calm heart again. Excitement filled him, and he stammered, “Lor .. Lord, do you have a… any specific requests about th… the spear?”
Ouyang Shuo nodded and said, “About this spear, I will use it as my main weapon. Forge the spearhead from the [Meteorite Fine Iron], and use normal iron for the body of the spear. How is that?”
Wang Gao sized up the [Meteorite Fine Iron] with his eyes and nodded, “More than enough.”
“Good. Then, I’ll wait for your good news.” Without further ado, Ouyang Shuo stood up and left.
“Yes, my lord.”
After Ouyang Shuo left, Wang Gao pulled himself before the [Meteorite Fine Iron]. He scrutinized it carefully. He measured its size and quality, as he performed calculations and made blueprints in his mind. He was on his way to forge the spear.
Wang Gao knew very well himself the difficulty of forging this spear and the significance it carried. Hence, he did not dare to act reckless. He was determined to only act at his peak form so that he could forge the best spear. He would not disappoint the great lord.
Late in the 10th month, the farmers started to harvest crops all over the territory.
Naturally, the main production area was Qiushui County. Forty thousand mu of paddy fields, the preliminary estimations suggested that it would yield 120 million units of grain.
With such an enormous quantity of grain production, the agricultural tax alone would contribute a total of four million units of paddies. Then, these units would be supplied to the military, enough to sustain the twenty thousand soldiers for three months.
Other than Qiushui County, Friendship County, Tianfeng County, Yishui County, Gushan County, Yongye Town, and Guangshui Town, and the main base—Shanhai County would all yield their own crops too.
According to the estimations from the Agricultural Division, the total crops yield of all the territories would add up to 200 million units during the second season harvesting.
There were still a full eight months until the first season of paddy harvesting in the next year, 7th month.
However, based on the expansion rate and the population growth of Shanhai County, in addition to the consumptions of the Three Flower Winery and the military factory, Ouyang Shuo estimated that Shanhai County would still need to purchase 20 million units of paddy from the market to adequately supply the entire territory.
Food was always the most strategic resource.
The price of grain had dropped in the market, as they harvested the paddy fields. After the previous food crisis, all of the lords had learned the importance of food the hard way.
The moment they harvested the paddies, all of the lords followed the same actions as Ouyang Shuo. They counted the food stocks they had in barns and calculated their territory’s consumption in the next eight months. In the end, they found an insufficiency in their food stocks.
Without a doubt, the food stocks of most of the territories did not allow them to become self-sufficient. They had to purchase some from the market to fill in their lack of food stocks.
Hence, even if the price of grain had fallen, the days where a unit of grain cost 10 copper was gone forever.