Global colonization began with Ming Dynasty pirates.

Guo Kai was not surprised by what Lin Hao said, because when the new shipyard was being built, he knew that the other party would definitely build larger ships. If they were to keep building small ships of 200 tons, there would be no need to build such a large dock.

Therefore, Guo Kai, who had already considered this matter, said, "Young Master, I have already thought about this. May I ask how large a ship you intend to expand it to?"

"Don't worry about the exact size yet. Since you've already considered this, tell me your thoughts." Lin Hao found a wooden stake in the shipyard, sat down, and began talking to the other party.

"Young master, based on my experience, if it's just one mast, it should be able to be enlarged to around 350 to 400 pieces of material at most. If it goes any higher, we'll need to add another mast. It shouldn't be a problem to keep it under 1,000 pieces of material. As for anything higher, I can't really guess."

After listening, Lin Hao pondered for a moment and finally said, "In that case, after completing the construction of these three ships, the three shipyards on Dongluo Island will still build three ships of 200 liao each. I believe that with the help of existing experience, they can build them even faster. As for the shipyard on Nangantang Island, build three 350-liao single-masted schooners, three 600-liao double-masted schooners, three 800-liao double-masted schooners, and one 1000-liao double-masted schooner."

Following this construction method, he will have sixteen new gunboats in a few months, ranging from two hundred to one thousand tons, with a mix of sizes sufficient to handle various situations.

However, after Lin Hao finished speaking, Guo Kai hesitated. Lin Hao noticed the problem and then asked impatiently, "If you have a problem, just say it. Don't try to be mysterious with me."

Guo Kai knew that this young master was just straightforward, so he coughed awkwardly and said, "Young master, ships of 350 liao are manageable, and ships of 600 liao can be barely made do, but ships of 800 liao and 1000 liao are probably impossible to build."

"Can't build it?" Lin Hao frowned deeply. "We've already built ships of the same model; all we need to do is scale it up. What's there to be unable to build? Could it be that there are shipbuilding details I'm unaware of?"

"Young master, don't misunderstand. Enlarging the same type of ship is not a technical problem; the problem lies in the materials."

These Western-style ships have high requirements for materials, especially the keel. The indigenous people generally use hard teak for the keel, while our Fujian ships usually use pine, which is of lower quality and not long enough.

When building ships, we can use a spliced ​​keel method, but for Western-style ships, the structural strength of a spliced ​​keel is completely insufficient. Therefore, to build ships of 800 or even 1000 liang (a unit of weight), we need better wood.

Guo Kai's words stunned Lin Hao. It wasn't that he didn't know the requirements for wood in shipbuilding; it was just that he had seen many ships used by merchants along the Fujian coast, and ships with a capacity of 1,000 liang (a unit of weight) were not uncommon. So he naturally assumed that there was no shortage of wood, at least within the 1,000 liang range.

However, the person who designed the sailboat forgot that the requirements for wood in Chinese and Western ships are completely different.

China's shipbuilding philosophy is to use the cheapest and most usable timber to build ships with just the right performance. This is partly because there is no powerful enemy to deter us from competing in equipment, and partly because the forests have been almost completely depleted, leaving us with very few good materials.

Because the West needs to sail around the world and has abundant high-quality timber resources, it can adopt high-specification designs on a large scale to build the best-performing ships.

"This is a troublesome matter. Even if we go to the south to purchase it now, it will take several months to travel back and forth." Lin Hao rubbed his head in exasperation. Good wood is not lacking; it is everywhere in Southeast Asia. For example, Luzon is the largest teak production area in Southeast Asia. However, one problem is that it is far away, and purchasing it takes time. Another problem is that ordinary ships are really not good at transporting the keel for building large ships; large ships are required for transportation.

"Well, whatever, since that's how it is, let's settle for second best. There's nothing wrong with wolf pack tactics."

Lin Hao then revised his plan: "The three docks on Dongluo Island will still produce 200-ton ships. As for the new dock on Nangantang Island, it will produce 7 single-masted schooners of 350 tons. The other three docks will produce 3 double-masted schooners of 600 tons."

A 350-ton sloop could be fitted with at least six six-pounder cannons on each side. Adding the 12-pounder cannon at the bow, that would be 13 cannons.

而600料的双桅纵帆船，林昊打算在其两侧各放置10门12磅炮，而在其上层甲板之上，同样能放置6门6磅炮，这样它将成为一艘拥有20门12磅炮、12门6磅炮，总共32门红夷炮的主力战舰。

However, placing so many cannons would consume a great deal of space on these ships, significantly limiting their cargo and passenger capacity. But since they are warships, cargo capacity is naturally not a priority.

Once the model of the ships to be produced was finalized, Lin Hao instructed Guo Kai to make preparations. He would lead his men to Nangantang Island the next day to begin construction of the new ships.

In the afternoon, at the Dongluo Island training ground.

All those participating in the training stood in neat rows once again on the training ground.

Compared to the last time, this time the momentum was significantly stronger.

Many of them followed Lin Hao in the battle against Li Jiu, and their mental state has changed dramatically.

The initial anxiety and fear have disappeared, replaced by a greater sense of confidence.

In fact, in this era, building a strong army is quite simple. Just like Qi Jiguang did, one should have clear rewards and punishments, and then accumulate small victories step by step, eventually forming a strong army with a strong will.

These people have already begun to enter the first positive mini-cycle.

These people have been undergoing training for at least a month, and they are already showing signs of becoming a strong military force, at least when they are standing still.

Lin Hao had originally told everyone that he would eliminate half of them. However, plans are subject to change. His early battle and victory against Li Jiu completely disrupted Lin Hao's plans.

Therefore, Lin Hao decided to increase the pass rate, only selecting the 100 people with the worst training performance as trainee soldiers, and converting all others into regular soldiers.

Adding the original 100-plus people from Dongluo Island and the 100-plus people from Yiwu, the total number of soldiers reached nearly a thousand.

However, Lin Hao still decided to train only one division of soldiers. As for the remaining 500 people, some became sailors and others became gunners.

After today, soldiers, sailors, and gunners will undergo different training.

The soldiers practiced melee combat, musket operation, formation changes, and other military drills, while the sailors participated in the navigation principles course offered by Lin Hao. As for the gunners, Lin Shisan led a gunner training camp to conduct artillery training.

Before completing the reassignment of all personnel, there is one more important thing to do today: pay salaries.

Lin Hao was very clear about one thing: for most people, loyalty was based on whoever paid them. Therefore, he naturally had to handle the matter of paying salaries himself.

It's not that the Ming Dynasty court didn't pay its soldiers, but rather that no matter how much was paid, it was all misappropriated and withheld by the officers.

Therefore, even if Lin Hao is unable to personally distribute the military pay as the army grows, the distribution of military pay cannot be carried out by officers; Lin Hao will arrange for other agencies to do so.

With fewer people around, Lin Hao naturally had to do everything himself.