Chapter 205: Da’an Zhai Iron Sheet Ship
That afternoon, Lord Okabe was invited to the warehousing district of Xin Wanjin.
The one who came to invite him was a carriage decorated with extreme luxury.
The carriage body was intricately carved, with gold inlay and silver embellishments, showcasing craftsmanship in every detail. The horses were carefully selected Kiso Horses, uniform in color, all fine steeds, each worth a considerable sum. The coachman was also highly skilled, an expert driver with a deep understanding of horses—a veteran follower from the Yuan Ye Inner Guard, who had participated in the Battle of Takeuchi Manor and, due to a knee injury that made long journeys difficult, had transitioned to being a coachman.
Hmm, this was a ceremonial carriage arranged by internal affairs officials like Endo Chiyo and Maeshima Shichiro to curry favor with Yuan Ye for Inu-hime. However, Inu-hime rarely went out, so it gradually became a reception vehicle for important clients.
This luxurious carriage rode very smoothly, mainly because the cement road was very flat, making carriage rides in this era no longer a torment but rather a pleasure.
Lord Okabe held a cup of sweet iced drink in his hand, feeling the carriage’s speed, enjoying the slightly salty sea breeze that brushed against him, and felt somewhat intoxicated.
Humans always have aspirations. When personal safety is not guaranteed, they pursue power. Once safety is secured, they pursue sustenance and warmth. After achieving sustenance and warmth, they pursue enjoyment, social status, respect from others, and the realization of life’s value…
The pursuits are numerous and varied, but now, sitting in the carriage, Lord Okabe watched the police officers along the route clear the way for the carriage carrying him to pass without stopping, and he felt an elevation in social status, he felt the respect given by Wanjin…
A social status that should not belong to a craftsman in this era, an extraordinary respect that a craftsman should not enjoy.
These were things he had never experienced before.
Honestly, the protocol was a bit too high. If he weren’t unskilled in martial arts, he might have suspected Yuan Ye intended to send him to assassinate some important person, like Prince Dan did to Jing Ke.
Or rather, with the moral standards of this era, after enjoying such respect and treatment for a few years, he would naturally be expected to assassinate Yuan Ye’s enemies, without even considering life or death.
Lord Okabe was lost in thought the entire way, only snapping back to reality when they arrived at the warehousing district.
Yuan Ye was already waiting there, reviewing ledgers with the warehousing officials. Seeing him arrive, he quickly came forward.
This time, there was no trace of bitterness on Lord Okabe’s face. His “Your Highness” was spoken from the heart, with utmost respect.
Yuan Ye, as always, first inquired about his living situation, asking if there were any inconveniences. After receiving a negative answer, he moved on to the main topic, leading him to inspect the wood, and politely asked, “Lord Okabe, do you think this wood is suitable for building ships?”
He had wanted to build ships since he forcibly landed on the Chita Peninsula, but his knowledge of shipbuilding was practically nonexistent. He had no experience with the construction methods of either modern or ancient ships. Forget laying the keel, erecting the mast, or joining planks to build a large ship over ten meters wide and twenty meters long; even building a small fishing boat, he worried it would sink upon launch.
As an engineering student, he believed in specialization. In shipbuilding, even with a complete basic education, he didn’t think he could outperform ancient people. After all, before transmigration, he had only ever been on boats in parks; he was a typical northerner who avoided water whenever possible.
Therefore, at that time, he had only stockpiled a large amount of wood for air-drying and done nothing else. The Wanjin Navy had to find ways to acquire ships from other regions. The largest ships they could acquire were Kan-sen ships of 500 koku, and most of those were expensive second-hand merchant ships, only suitable for transporting goods. For naval combat, they were mostly just sending people to their deaths.
Now that the “Chief Engineer” he had waited for four years had finally arrived, and there was hope of building “capital warships,” he was worried the stockpiled wood might not be up to par, so he first asked Lord Okabe to inspect it.
“Most of it is good wood, it should be fine!” Although Lord Okabe was involved in building shrines and pagodas, he was actually a master carpenter with ancestral woodworking skills. He had dealt with all sorts of wood since childhood and could identify the species and how long it had been stored just by looking. He felt most of it was usable and said directly, “Your Highness, if you just want to build ships, this wood is more than enough, sufficient for thirty to fifty Kan-sen ships.”
“I don’t just want Kan-sen ships, I want Atakebune ships.” Yuan Ye was relieved, feeling it would save a lot of time for his navy to take shape. But he immediately added, “Or rather, I need an oversized Atakebune ship to be the flagship of my naval fleet… Hmm, let’s build one first to see the effect. If the effect is good, I’ll need four in the first batch.”
Lord Okabe was not surprised. In this era, bigger was better, bigger was stronger. Yuan Ye clearly had money, so he would definitely build large ships.
He immediately asked, “Then how large an Atakebune ship does Your Highness require?”
“More than six ken wide, eleven ken long, with a carrying capacity of over 1500 koku.” Yuan Ye directly stated his requirements, “And I also need to clad the ship with copper and iron to prevent fire attacks.”
He was essentially copying Oda Nobunaga’s “ironclad ships.”
During the First Battle of Kizugawa, the Oda Navy, led by Kuki Yoshitaka, with a fleet of over 300 Atakebune and Kan-sen ships, faced a combined fleet of the Mori Navy, Murakami Navy, Nojima Navy, Kurushima Navy, and other miscellaneous water bandits in Osaka Bay （ (called Naniwa Bay ） in this era). However, Murakami Takeyoshi, using primarily bow-equipped Kobaya ships and employing the “yakiyaki” tactic, defeated the larger ships with smaller ones, setting fire to them. The Oda Navy was annihilated in one battle.
This battle led Oda Nobunaga to be completely unable to deal with Ishiyama Hongan-ji Temple, forcing him to deal with others first.
But Oda Nobunaga could not swallow this defeat, so he sent Kuki Yoshitaka to collect wood in Kii Province’s Kumano and secretly build ships in Toba. It took two years to build six “large Atakebune ships,” which were the legendary “Oda ironclad ships”—reportedly 21 meters long, over 12 meters wide, with a carrying capacity of 1500 koku, and covered with 0.3 cm of “iron armor” on the outside, capable of withstanding fire arrows and fire ship ramming.
Of course, they were called “ironclad ships,” but in reality, 0.3 cm is hard to call “iron armor,” or perhaps they should be called “iron-plated ships.”
However, the “iron-plated ships” were effective. In the Second Battle of Kizugawa, the Oda Navy, unafraid of fire due to their large ships, fired cannons and guns wildly from them, eventually crippling both the Mori and Murakami forces. It was money well spent and very worthwhile.
Therefore, with this precedent, Yuan Ye decided to go all out and build “iron-plated ships” directly, to avoid being burned to a crisp himself like Kuki Yoshitaka, suffering losses for nothing.
Of course, he couldn’t just copy; improvements had to be made. For example, not making them truly “iron-plated ships.” Iron rusts too easily; copper would be better, still capable of preventing fire attacks, much like the “Atakebune Maru” built by the Tokugawa Shogunate. That ship was clad in copper, considered an improved version of the “Oda iron-plated ship.”
Now Yuan Ye intended to build his flagship fleet around the “Wanjin iron-plated ship,” essentially creating a maritime platform with a wooden castle clad in copper and iron on top. When encountering water bandits or navies, they would bombard them with cannons and guns—there would be plenty of gunpowder, and if one shot didn’t sink them, another would. He had ample gunpowder and wasn’t afraid of wasting it.
Well, Atakebune ships are similar in shape to Chinese tower ships, essentially a building built on a ship, providing a commanding height and forcing enemies to “siege” them at sea, to achieve an excellent exchange ratio.
His medieval naval warfare could only be fought this way. He couldn’t possibly build ironclad ships or galleons; that would be too advanced for Japan. He didn’t want to spread that technology—he himself didn’t know it, and even if he wanted to spread it, he couldn’t. Even if he were given a galleon, he wouldn’t find anyone to pilot it.
In any case, it would be sufficient. The Age of Discovery had only recently begun at this time, and historically, the Portuguese and Dutch had not yet attacked Japan. If it were just an “internal war,” having “large Atakebune iron-plated ships” would be enough.
Yuan Ye explained his ideas in detail to Lord Okabe, somewhat worried that Lord Okabe, as a part-time shipbuilder, might not be as capable as Kuki Yoshitaka, a professional pirate, and might not be able to build them. However, Lord Okabe pondered for a moment and then said thoughtfully, “Your Highness intends to build a Turtle Ship?”
“Turtle Ship?”
“A type of Korean ship,” Lord Okabe explained. “Its specifications are similar to an Atakebune, but I heard that ship was covered with turtle-shell-like iron armor, with iron spikes on the surface, making it sturdy and also preventing boarding combat.”
So, the “iron-plated ship” wasn’t originally created by Kuki Yoshitaka?
Or rather, did it incorporate experience from other ship types?
Yuan Ye recalled the Invasion of Korea War in Japan. It was said that Yi Sun-sin had recreated the Turtle Ship based on the Panokseon. However, whether this turtle was that turtle was uncertain. Yi Sun-sin was greatly praised in later generations and was considered a famous general in Korean history, but historical records barely mention him. It’s also uncertain whether he invented the Turtle Ship, and the Koreans’ words cannot be trusted.
Yuan Ye couldn’t figure this out; he truly didn’t understand ships. After thinking for a moment, he gave up and directly asked, “Then, Lord Okabe, can you build such a large Atakebune ship?”
Lord Okabe had never built one before. After pondering for a moment, he still lacked confidence and was a bit worried about displeasing Yuan Ye. He hesitated, “The ship is a bit large, but there should be no problem. I’ll make a small model for Your Highness to see later. However, regarding the copper and iron cladding… I’ll need to think about that first.”
“That’s fine. I’ll help you prepare copper plates and iron sheets.” Yuan Ye himself hadn’t figured out how to clad a wooden ship with copper and iron, how to balance defense, structure, and speed. He said without hesitation, “We’ll study it together then, do more experiments, and spend more time if necessary.”
Lord Okabe was surprised that Yuan Ye was so accommodating and immediately felt at ease. In terms of practical skills, he had never feared anything since childhood. Yuan Ye also mentioned other needs, such as troop transport ships and smaller, faster warships, hoping Lord Okabe could provide some ship types for selection.
Lord Okabe had no problem with this. After asking a few more questions, he brought out paper and brush and, through speech and drawing, provided Yuan Ye with a “Ma-bune ship”—a modified Kan-sen ship used by horse dealers, specifically for transporting horses across the sea. It could now be used to transport troops and even as a disposable landing craft capable of ramming ashore.
As for combat ships like Kan-sen ships and Kobaya ships, he also drew several types and was willing to further improve them according to Yuan Ye’s requirements, such as considering watertight compartments. Watertight compartments were not high-tech; they had prototypes in the Song Dynasty. Atakebune and Kan-sen ships didn’t use them simply due to cost issues, and warships did not consider cost.
At least Yuan Ye, this wealthy patron, did not consider cost; saving lives was more important.
If possible, he was willing to crush his enemies with money.
For a time, the two of them sat with paper, planning the future “Wanjin Fleet,” one making demands, the other devising solutions, in a very harmonious atmosphere.
