By the end of April, the warm and bright spring weather fostered growth everywhere. Columns of smoke from burning fields rose in various parts of the Kingdom. Under the guidance of the village priests, farmers leveled the land, prepared to plant grain, repaired their tools, and busily engaged in various spring farming preparations. Some villages, eager to meet the demanding cultivation quotas, had even begun planting.
In this busy season, Xiulote was not idle. Accompanied by two hundred armored personal guards, he left the Rivermouth fortress and headed straight to the shipyard by the riverbank.
Not long ago, the northern shipyard sent some good news. After over a year of exploration and manufacturing, the first oar-and-sail ship of the Kingdom had finally been launched!
The King traveled hastily, stepping on the spring grass, and soon arrived at the Rivermouth shipyard.
The shipyard craftsmen had been waiting outside, with the shipwright master Pucuta leading them, his hair graying but still wearing a necklace of obsidian and dressed in a Divine Revelation Priest’s robe. Indeed, since the establishment of the northern shipyard, Pucuta, as the most senior master shipwright, had been promoted to a Second Level Scholarly Divine Revelation Priest. He practically led the shipbuilding efforts in the north, becoming a member of the Kingdom’s rulers.
"Most High Majesty, Pucuta greets you!"
Pucuta knelt down in salute, and the shipyard craftsmen followed suit, all kneeling at once. The front row of senior shipwrights also wore robes of First Level Explorer Divine Revelation Priests. With this status, they could reduce their taxes and forced labor, enjoying a position equal to the village’s preaching priests.
Xiulote looked at the many excited shipwrights and nodded with a smile.
"All rise! Where is the newly launched ship?"
Pucuta smoothly rose from the ground. He straightened his back and adjusted his High Priest robe. The robe was plain, simple and elegant, with the Chief Divine’s hummingbird emblem on the left chest and the two square small characters "Scholar" embroidered on the right chest, signifying his status as a Second Level Priest. The senior shipwrights behind him also stood up, revealing the neatly embroidered "Explorer" on their chests.
The Divine Revelation robes were, of course, Xiulote’s design. In fact, when designing the robes for the Divine Revelation Priests, the first symbol that came to his mind was a blue "beaker," and the second symbol was an "atom" with tracks around it. These symbols, as emblems of scientific research, represented the King’s ardent hopes for the Priesthood.
The reason he had overcome resistance to establish the system of Divine Revelation Priests was to attract craftsmen and scholars from various industries, enabling them to gain wealth and status through technological research and becoming a driving force for the development of productive forces.
Pucuta confidently extended his hand, pointing out towards Lake Cuitzeo outside the shipyard.
"Your Majesty, please follow me!"
The crowd moved, and they quickly arrived at the lakeside. The first thing that caught Xiulote’s eye was a twin-hulled outrigger canoe. It was assembled from two smaller dugout canoes with a wooden beam deck meticulously joined between them.
"Your Majesty, this Wind Outrigger Canoe is approximately 7-8 meters in length, and with the two canoes’ decks, it spans 2-3 meters in width, capable of carrying 24 rowers. If additional decks are added, it can carry several tons."
At this, Xiulote nodded. He pondered for a moment, then asked,
"The carrying capacity of this Wind Outrigger Canoe seems similar to that of the Kingdom’s large dugout war canoes."
Pucuta nodded. He gestured from the bow to the stern of the boat, explaining,
"However, this twin-hull does not require large timbers. The Kingdom’s large dugout canoes need strong timbers over 15 meters tall and 2-3 meters in diameter, and the preparation of such wood is extraordinarily lengthy. These twin-hulls, on the other hand, only require smaller timbers of 7-8 meters. Additionally, the design of these twin-hulls makes the vessels faster and more stable, and they draw very little water."
As he spoke, Pucuta stepped forward onto the twin-hull, carefully explaining to the King,
"Your Majesty, please observe! The base of this ship consists of two hollowed-out tree trunks made into dugout canoes. Then, on the outside of each canoe, an outrigger for the oars is designed. Moving on, the two boats are connected by wooden beams, joined with mortise and copper nails. After completion, a deck is laid between the two boats, forward and aft masts are erected, secured with rigging, and sails made of sisal fiber are added..."
Xiulote closely inspected, nodding at the craftsmanship where the two boats connected. After a while, Pucuta stopped explaining, his face full of expectation as he asked,
"Your Majesty, do you have any Divine Revelation to guide us regarding the craftsmanship of this boat?"
"Hmm... the ship is symmetrical front to back, left to right, the bow and stern can be interchangeable, which is very flexible on the battlefield... The form of the sails could be adjusted, both triangular and square sails could be tried..."
Xiulote replied somewhat hesitantly, then suddenly became serious and asked,
"Pucuta, what is the speed of this Wind Outrigger Canoe?"
"... Your Majesty is wise."
At this, Pucuta bowed his head, offering a compliment without expression. Then, he suggested,
"As for the specific speed... the shipyard’s apprentice craftsmen are familiar with the vessels and can demonstrate for Your Highness."
Xiulote nodded in agreement. The two men then stepped off the boat, and two teams of 24 apprentice craftsmen took their places as rowers. Soon, Pucuta personally waved the command flag, and the apprentices puffed their cheeks, straining to row into the lake. Occasionally, the vessel turned agilely or even swapped its front and back, rowing in reverse.
The King stretched out his arm, squinting one eye to measure, and roughly estimated the vessel’s speed.
"With the rowers straining to push forward, the top speed reaches 20 kilometers per hour, about 6 meters per second. Of course, such speed can only be maintained for a quarter of an hour; the normal traveling speed should be half of the maximum. The water flow in Lake Cuitzeo is basically stationary, so upstream and downstream speeds must subtract the flow rate. Rotating sails could utilize wind power, appropriately saving the rowers’ energy..."