The Rise of the European Emperor

The supply problem has been resolved, but the asking price of Jorge de Rencastre, Duke of Coimbra, is not low. As soon as the other party opened his mouth, it was 40 gold coins, which was simply too expensive.

You know, in Europe, a sturdy bull is only about 20 gold coins. The asking price is 40 gold, which has doubled. It is definitely a lion's mouth.

However, Jorge de Rencastre, Duke of Coimbra, also has his reasons - the price of cattle is around 20 gold coins, which is not fake, but the labor cost of his subordinates must also be considered.

The subordinates of Jorge de Rencastre, Duke of Coimbra, drove thousands of miles from Portugal to West Africa, and risked dealing with those old blacks, plus the high cost of long-distance transportation...

Karen's scalp felt numb when he heard it, but he said he couldn't make the decision, so he wrote a letter to ask Marin for instructions. After seeing the reason of Jorge de Rencastre, Duke of Coimbra, Marin smiled and replied:

"Although the cost of trade and transportation is high, the cost of exchanging cattle from black Africans is definitely not high. Perhaps, ordinary goods such as glass beads of two or three gold coins will be solved. Therefore, in the calculation, it must be far Less than the asking price of 40 gold coins..."

Obviously, the reason given by the Duke of Coimbra, Jorge de Rencastre, is based on the fact that he bought it from Lao Hei at 20 gold coins per cow. But Marin knew that with the virtues of these cunning Portuguese merchants, they could get a cow worth 20 gold coins from the African old blacks for a few gold coins at most. Therefore, Jorge de Rencastre, Duke of Coimbra, is not established.

Of course, Marin is actually messing around. Because, he deliberately ignored the channel problem of Jorge de Rencastre, Duke of Coimbra.

In modern times, in the process of doing business, channels are often king. Whoever has a way will have a better business. Therefore, Jorge de Lencastre, Duke of Coimbra, can exchange African cattle from African old black, which is equivalent to mastering a valuable channel. Marin deliberately ignores this, and Jorge de Rencastre, Duke of Coimbra, who is a medieval native, obviously does not realize it...

In the end, both sides made concessions, and Marin ended up with a preferential price of 25 gold coins per African cow. However, due to cost considerations, in this era of high transportation costs, Jorge de Rencastre, Duke of Coimbra, said that Marin should send a ship to Sao Tome to transport...

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For this, Marin has no objection. In fact, Jorge de Rencastre, Duke of Coimbra, also has his own difficulties. It is not difficult to transport African cattle from the Kingdom of Congo and the Kingdom of Benin to the island of Sao Tome, after all, the island of Sao Tome is not far from these two countries. Then,

These cows can be placed directly on the island of Sao Tome and fed some grass and leaves. Sao Tome Island is a tropical island. The trees on the island are evergreen all year round, and there is no shortage of grass and leaves. The cost of raising is very low.

However, if it is shipped thousands of kilometers away, the cost will be high. After all, during transportation, a large amount of freshwater river forage needs to be stocked on board - the appetite of cattle is no joke...

Forage is ready, but fresh water is difficult. The Portuguese do not have Marin's high-temperature anti-virus bottled water technology, and the fresh water will deteriorate and stink within a few days.

If you let these cows drink stinky water during the long voyage, many cows may die of illness. And if a batch of cows died of illness and they were traded with Marin, Jorge de Lencastre, Duke of Coimbra, would suffer a loss. If a cow died, he would lose 25 gold coins!

And letting Marin transport by himself can not only save himself a lot of transportation costs, but also ensure the survival rate of cattle and avoid big losses. As for the loss of the cowboy in transit, it was none of his business.

For this, Jorge de Rencastre, Duke of Coimbra, also stated clearly in a letter to Marin...

But Marin didn't care. After all, Marin himself has mastered the technology of long-term storage of fresh water, and he also has a large group of disciples of Mongolian doctors Mozhigen and Batel who specialize in treating animals. As long as it is not dead from heat, some ordinary minor illnesses can be completely solved by the disciples of Mozhigen and Bartel during the voyage. Therefore, if Marin transports it himself, the loss of cattle must be very small.

Moreover, Marin also prepared a large amount of ginger from Grenada. Because ginger slices have a good effect on seasickness and motion sickness. Even if the cow is seasick, let it get some ginger slices on the whole, and it will get better.

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But here comes the question - what kind of ships are used to transport cattle?

Transporting cattle is different from transporting people. People need less space, and they can even accept bunk beds. However, the space required for cattle is very large, and it is impossible to accept the space-saving method of bunk beds. Also, cows need more food and fresh water than people on a voyage.

What's more, cows can't go to the toilet, and they are basically solved directly on the spot...

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In the past, when cattle were shipped to America, they were tied on the deck. After all, it is convenient for workers to shovel cow dung into the sea. However, in that case, the number of cattle that can be carried by a ship is very small, usually only a dozen or so, and it is done when the deck is full.

However, this time is different. Marin urgently needs a large amount of cattle to replenish Cuba, so the number of cattle in one shipment must be quite large. After all, Sao Tome to Cuba, although much closer than India to Cuba, can take several months to go back and forth. Therefore, it is also necessary to decorate a boat with more cows at one time.

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Therefore, the problem before Marin is - there is an urgent need for a ship that can carry a large number of cattle and horses...

This kind of boat needs to make a lot of partitions like a stable. For each barrier, ventilation requirements must be good. Moreover, it is convenient for shovel workers to shovel cow dung. Otherwise, the cow dung is fermented in a small space, which is easy to breed bacteria.

Maybe some people say, I have seen the boats that transport live cattle in Australia in later generations. Didn't they put a group of cattle in a large space?

However, if you look closely, you will find that the live cattle transportation in Australia in later generations, those cattle, all have no horns...

A cow without horns isn't dangerous, and it's okay to put them together. But if it is a cow with horns... if the cows and cows are fighting each other, there will inevitably be casualties...

(PS: There is no problem in transporting good-tempered sheep. Just put the sheep in the cabin, pay attention to ventilation and clean the sheep dung frequently.)

Maybe, on land, these cows don't fight much. However, in the course of sailing, I haven't seen land for a long time. If you get angry... Even if you have a friendship fight, it's easy to die...

In addition, the shipping of this era is very different from the shipping of later generations. The diesel-powered ships of later generations have very stable navigation. The cows are on the boat and can't feel too much bumps.

However, in this era, sailboats used the wind, but it was inevitable that they would be swept up and down by the strong wind. In such an environment, the bulls will collide with each other, because there is a greater possibility of losing control of their emotions because of their incompatibility. Besides, they all have horns on their heads, and if they accidentally touch their companions, they will pierce a lot of blood holes...

The principle of animal transportation is that bulls and stallions are generally not kept together, otherwise, it is easy to fight and cause life worries. Of course, in special seasons such as spring, stallions and mares, or bulls and cows, cannot be kept together. Otherwise, when you arrive at your destination, you will find that the bull or stallion is kidney-deficient...

In conclusion, in the face of these uncertainties, it is best to have a separate stall-like compartment for each cow (and possibly horses). In this way, not only can the same-sex cattle and horses fight each other, but also when the sailboat is blown to the side by the strong wind, the cattle and horses have a supporting edge to avoid falling.

Also, never tie up cattle in shipping, especially those with copper nose rings. Because, in the process of shipping, the sailboat swayed a lot from side to side, and Niuniu easily fell. If the copper ring on the nose happens to be tied when it falls, it is easy to tear the nose bone apart, resulting in serious injury to Niuniu. Therefore, it is safest to keep them in a stable barn-like space.

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Unlike humans, cows are more sensitive to the side-to-side sway of a sailboat. Therefore, the hull is better to be wider, so that the swaying amplitude is also smaller, just like the diesel-powered ships of later generations, the hull is generally wider...

After thinking about it, Marin suddenly found out that those Karak sailboats are more suitable for transporting cattle and horses than his new sailboats...

This is because Karak sailboats are relatively wide, usually with an aspect ratio of around 3 to 1. This aspect ratio makes the Karak more stable during sailing. Although the speed is slower, livestock such as cattle and horses are more suitable.

There is also the layout of the ship building of the Karak sailboat, which is more suitable for transporting cattle and horses. Karak sailboats generally have a higher poop, so Marin can put cattle and horses in the poop room on two or three floors. Moreover, windows can be opened on each floor of the poop, allowing the cattle and horses to breathe fresh air. When shoveling shit, you can also throw cow dung directly into the sea through the side window.

As for the lower deck, cattle and horses may not be able to adapt, and side windows cannot be opened for no reason, otherwise the cabin will enter the water. Therefore, it is more appropriate to place the cattle and horses on the top deck and in the poop. As for the lower level, the aggrieved crew members live there. Moreover, a large amount of forage and fresh water can be stored in large quantities for the cattle and horses on the voyage. You must know that cattle and horses eat and drink more than humans, and one can support several people...

So, Marin ordered - to send people to Spain and Portugal to buy a batch of large Karak sailboats. After the purchase, side windows were opened on each floor of the stern building, and several small partitions were also built inside the stern building to facilitate the installation of cattle and horses. The top deck of the deck is also built with multiple partitions, and a roof is installed at the same time to block the wind and rain...

In this way, Marin can quickly obtain a large number of ships suitable for transporting cattle and horses...

Although, Marin can also order someone to design a wide-body boat that is more suitable for transporting cattle and horses. However, it will take several months to build a ship, and it will take two or three months at the earliest. When Marin built a group of boats specially used to transport cattle and horses, the daylily was cold...

So, buying an off-the-shelf Karak sailboat and then retrofitting it is the most economical and quickest way...

Of course, Marin also ordered shipbuilders to start designing a large wide-body vessel specially used for the transportation of cattle and horses. After all, in the future, the transportation requirements of the army and horses will also be very high.

However, there is an eclectic cattle-carrying boat converted from a Karak sailboat against it. This kind of professional large-scale cattle-carrying boat is not in a hurry to get it out immediately... ()