Crusader Kings: Prisoners of War.

Chapter 140 Shipbuilding
Orville didn't have to wait too long. After more than two months, he returned to Rome and held a triumphal ceremony with General Aurelian. The Senate used various methods to appease the emotions of the Roman residents and make them believe that the empire's national fortune was still at its peak.

Tia didn't care about these things. It was enough for Vespa and the Senate who stayed in Rome to be busy. She was very active. With the help and coordination of the imperial government departments, she completed the requirements on Orville's list in a few days and found various talents and resources for him and the army.

Then she immediately set out back to the province of Lugden in Gaul, taking the sea route to the port of Marseille and then riding at full speed on the highway.

Since they were traveling light and had only a few companions, they did not have to spend three to five hours a day setting up camp. They moved very quickly, reaching Lugden Gaul from Marseille in about a month. It took less than a month and a half for the other party to arrive in Caen, which was considered lightning fast in the ancient world.

At this time, Orville had just sent away the large group of Vikings who were staying near the city of Caen for the winter, and had just completed the construction of necessary facilities such as ports and docks, just in a few days.

Orville was very considerate and helped the other party prepare various files and documents. It took Tia a few days to familiarize herself with the situation, and then she gradually took over Orville's job as provincial governor.

He was happy about this. With the reduction in the workload, he had more time to focus on the issues of military construction. The two of them had their own division of labor and would occasionally exchange experiences with each other. As long as both sides cooperated well, two people would always be better than one.

After the craftsmen arrived, the shipbuilding work soon got into full swing. There were many forests near Caen, and Auvers requisitioned some local civilians, exchanging food for them to cut down trees and drag the wood to the port. Then the craftsmen and soldiers began to process and manufacture ships.

After discussing with several senior officers, Tia, Orville and others decided to build a fleet that could sail in the Atlantic Ocean, with the main purpose of ensuring control over the English Channel. The Vikings were the fleet's imaginary enemy. Rollo and Ragnar had a relatively in-depth understanding of the Vikings' sailing capabilities, so it was definitely unrealistic to sail to Northern Europe and play a home exchange with them. The Romans had no need to explore the Atlantic Ocean at present, so the highest requirement was to ensure offshore safety.

It was also impossible to intercept the enemy outside the coastline. It was enough to intercept and stop the enemy after they landed. The requirements were not very high, and the Romans could build ships directly using their own shipbuilding technology.

The shipbuilding logic of the Vikings and the Romans was different, one built the keel first and then the hull, and the other laid the hull first and then built the keel. In addition, there were also significant differences in other technologies. Generally speaking, Viking shipbuilding technology was more dependent on materials and craftsmen's skills, while Roman shipbuilding had a lower threshold and was not so dependent on material quality. If you have to say, the Vikings' technology was slightly more advanced, but the Romans' technology was not unusable either.

Generally speaking, demand creates technology. The Vikings needed high-strength hulls to cross the Atlantic Ocean, while the Romans needed cargo ships with large load capacities to trade in the Mediterranean Sea where sea conditions were stable.

It was difficult for the Romans to build large warships that could sail on the Atlantic Ocean, and to be honest, the Romans did not have good talent for sailing. It was also difficult for the Vikings to build the same super-large ships as the Romans. Their social structure determined that it was difficult for them to build super-large warships.

As mentioned above, the size gap between the warships of both sides is more about cargo ships. The upper limit of the shipbuilding industry of both sides is more about cargo ships. The cargo ship with the largest carrying capacity found by the Vikings should be the Knar shipwreck found in Haizebi, which is estimated to have a carrying capacity of about 38 tons. Considering that the ship has a wide bow, solid construction, and higher freeboard, it has good seaworthiness and can sail in the North Sea, which is actually a good level. The Romans cannot currently make such a large ship that can cross the North Sea. The largest cargo ship discovered by the Romans is the Madrague de Giens shipwreck, with a carrying capacity of 6000 tons. 8000 to 50 kg wine jars were found in the wreck. The Romans called this super-large cargo ship "Ten Thousand Jars Cargo Ship", which was specially used to transport wine. At the same time, it was one of the largest ships in the world.

Compared with the Vikings, the Roman Empire had significant advantages - they did not need to cross the North Sea, which meant they did not need to build ships of high quality and seaworthiness. Relatively speaking, they could make their warships larger and taller, and they could also separate the warriors and oarsmen, which gave them a relative advantage in naval battles.

The logs were dragged to the dock, then processed into planks of varying sizes and lengths, and then further assembled and spliced ​​into a hull. Under the command and labor of the craftsmen, the ship gradually took shape, from a tree to a manned seafaring vessel.

The progress is good and the craftsmen are skilled in their work, but shipbuilding is a time-consuming job. The number of craftsmen in Orville is definitely not comparable to that of big cities such as Rome, Athens, and Alexandria. If statistics are made on a half-year basis, he can probably make 15 heavy warships in half a year, an average of two ships per month.

It doesn't sound like much, but it's actually pretty good. It's different from those small ships with a carrying capacity of more than ten tons. They are all huge monsters on the sea and are used as warships.

The transport ship Orville planned to directly requisition local civilian and merchant ships. Anyway, the goal was to transport people and supplies across the strait safely. This was not difficult in calm weather. Any ship would be almost the same, so just spend the money wisely.
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In the mansion requisitioned by Orville, he and Tia were chatting and having lunch in the living room.

Since it was peacetime and they were not in the military camp, the environment was not too tense, so both of them were relatively relaxed. The lunch was quite rich and was served with wine.

Salad, ham, white bread, high-quality fish sauce, boiled lamb, and grilled fish. The portions are not large, basically enough for two people.

When he led the troops to fight in the past, Orville had always eaten the standard army meal of dry bread and bacon, except for occasionally stealing a snack like a thief. Now that conditions are more relaxed, although he can't be extravagant in feasting and drinking, it is reasonable to eat normal food within limits.

Tia had no objection to this and sat opposite Orville to chat about family matters.

"Do you remember Pliny the Elder? He and I used to serve in the same military district, so we were friends. He recently wrote a very interesting new book about all the wars and conflicts between us and the Germanic peoples in history. I think he wrote it very well, with a comprehensive summary and some new ideas."

(End of this chapter)