Chapter 366 New Battleship

  Storm's End is about three miles southwest, and the winding coastline is sunken here, forming a natural safe haven.

  A cavalry squad of dozens of people escorted a gorgeous carriage and walked slowly on the edge of the rugged cliff. The knights in the front row held the double-headed eagle flag, and the gray scales on their bodies rubbed against each other, making clanking noises.

  Two giant dragons, one black and one white, hovered above their heads, sometimes roaring in a low voice.

  The cliff in front came to an abrupt end, and a gentle **** reached the sea below.

  The **** is surrounded by wooden fences, and there is a simple watch tower every few tens of meters, and there are soldiers guarding the main entrance.

   This is a military port and is not open to civilian merchant ships.

  After entering the gate, the cavalry dismounted one after another. Samwell stepped out of the carriage and turned around to help Margaery and Daenerys down.

   "Is this your fleet, Sam?" Daenerys saw a dozen warships docked in the port at a glance.

   "Yes." Samwell nodded with a smile.

  The people left their horses and carriages in place and went downhill on foot.

   This section of the road was a bit too steep for Margaery with her big belly. Seeing this, Samwell picked her up by the waist and walked down.

  Margaery blushed slightly, but also enjoyed her husband's thoughtfulness with peace of mind. At the same time, she lightly pecked his mouth and said with a smile:

   "Sam, are you building a fleet to attack King's Landing?"

"Yes."

  Whether attacking King's Landing from the Reach Land or the Storm Land, it is necessary to cross the natural moat of the Blackwater River.

  This great river originates from the Empty Mountains, divides the continent of Westeros into two parts from west to east, and flows into the Narrow Sea in the south of King's Landing.

   If Samwell wants to enter King's Landing, he must first solve the problem of how to get the army across the river.

  Westeros’s traditional maritime power consists of three fleets, the Royal Fleet belonging to the Iron Throne, the Arbor Island Fleet of the Redwyne Family, and the Iron Fleet of the Iron Islands.

  The royal fleet has been buried in the Battle of Blackwater Bay by Stannis Baratheon.

  Although the Redwyne family is a river bend nobleman, it is a hard-core deer party, and it is also the only deer party family that has not been liquidated.

  The reason for this is also because Samwell does not have enough powerful sea power, and there is no way to take Qingting Island, which is isolated overseas.

   As for the Iron Fleet, needless to say, Samwell is neither friend nor foe.

   It is conceivable that once Samwell raises his troops and marches towards King's Landing, the Arbor Island Fleet and the Iron Fleet will inevitably come to the Blackwater River to stop them.

  Therefore, Samwell must master a sea force that can rival it to protect the army from crossing the river, otherwise attacking King's Landing is just a dream.

  Margaret seemed worried when she heard the words, but she didn't want to spoil her husband's interest, so she had to remind her tactfully:

  "Sam, I heard from my grandmother that the establishment of a navy does not happen overnight. Warships may be built in a short period of time, but qualified captains and sailors need to be trained for a long time before they can go to the battlefield."

   "Don't worry, I know the difficulty of naval construction." Samwell smiled, "That's why I said that Bachelor Coburn will give us a surprise."

  Margaery didn't say any more after hearing that, her beautiful eyes were filled with light of thought.

  Actually, Stormland originally had a navy, but it was at an unpopular level.

  The Baratheon family that originally ruled the Stormlands had a royal fleet after they came to King's Landing. Of course, they would not bother to build an additional fleet. As for the rest of the Stormland nobles, they did not have the strength to support a large fleet.

  However, because the rainforest in the territory produces high-quality wood, the shipbuilding industry in the Stormlands is quite developed.

  But no matter how many ships are built, it is useless if there are no qualified naval officers.

   Just don't know what surprise Sam is talking about? Margaery thought to herself.

   "Eh? Those ships... so strange." Daenerys suddenly cried out in surprise.

  Margaret turned her head, and saw several huge warships docked in the port under the dim yellow sunset, and one of them was sailing across the calm sea and slowly docked by the trestle bridge.

  It has a semi-elliptical shape as a whole, about a hundred feet long and thirty feet wide, and it is as high as a three-story building from the water surface to the ship's side. The four masts stand tall, and the huge sails are being slowly retracted.

   But what really surprised Margaery was that there were actually two huge wheels installed on both sides of the boat...

   Wheels?

  Daenerys asked everyone's question directly: "Sam, why does this ship have wheels? Can it still drive on land?"

  Samwell laughed loudly: "Of course not."

   "Then why the wheels?"

   "It is used to replace oars, Your Majesty the Queen." Bachelor Qyburn walked over and explained.

   "Instead of oars?" Margaret then noticed that the ship did not have oars.

   "That's right. This is actually His Majesty Caesar's idea." Bachelor Qyburn saluted Samwell.

  Samwell put down Margaery in his arms, and said:

   "Dani, you said that you once dreamed of becoming a captain, so do you know what makes a good captain?"

  Daenerys raised her chin, looked at the sparkling sea, and said:

"An excellent captain should be able to control the ship as if he were his own body. The man and the ship seem to be one, intimately connected with the current, able to insert the wings of the wind, easily smash the undercurrent under the sea surface, and sail freely in the storm. "

   "Then how long do you think it will take to cultivate such a captain?"

   "Ten years?" Daenerys tilted her head, "Maybe longer?"

"It will only be longer than ten years. And it is not enough to have the captain alone, it also needs the cooperation of experienced and brave sailors. A powerful fleet and excellent crew are actually more valuable than the warship itself." Samwell Sighing, "It's a pity that there are not so many excellent captains and sailors in the Stormlands. If you want to compete with the Qingting Island Fleet and the Iron Fleet in a short time, you can only work **** the warships."

   "So you designed this kind of boat with wheels?" Margaery took a few steps closer curiously, "Is there any difference between it and a paddle boat?"

"It uses paddle wheels instead of oars as the source of driving force in a calm state, so I call them paddle steamers." Samwell took the hands of the two wives, "Come on, let's get on the boat, there are still There are bigger surprises."

  The gangway was lowered on the ship, and Samwell picked up Margaery again and went onto the deck.

  Daenerys also followed, and she immediately noticed the strangely shaped thick black iron pipes placed on both sides of the deck.

   "Sam, what are these? Are they what you call a bigger surprise?"

  Samwell helped Margaery straighten her messy clothes, and said with a smile:

   "Those are artillery pieces."

  (end of this chapter)