Zhu Jue has a bedroom on the top of the ant mound in the center of [Pioneer City]. The walls here are thick and have good warmth retention. It can also be connected to the flue of the combustion chamber and can be heated by opening the blocked stone valve.
At this time, even if it is cold and rainy outside, it is still as comfortable as spring indoors. Zhu Jue was looking at the rain curtain outside through the hole in the wall of the palace, leaning on the table in a daze.
This window is not big, about the same size as the head of a worker ant. It is blocked by a tic-tac-shaped window pane made of bamboo silk, so that small flying insects from outside cannot fly in. There are also thick wooden boards placed inside the windows, which can cover the window holes in winter or be used to block sunlight.
In this dormitory, there are everything ants should have, as well as many human-style furniture and objects.
There was a wooden table placed near the window. Although the workmanship was rough, it could be seen that it was in the style of a human four-corner rectangular desk. Zhu Jue is now sitting on a wooden stool, leaning on the table, supporting his head on his forelimbs, and looking out the window.
There are a lot of hay leaves, paper, and charcoal on the table. A bowl-shaped pottery is on the corner of the table. There is some grease in it, and a naturally porous and loose grass tendon is inserted. This is a simple oil lamp.
There is also a calendar painted on ant silk on the table. The title "New Year 11" on the calendar is very eye-catching. Another piece of ant silk had a map drawn on it, using a few strokes to outline the Qinghe River and its tributaries, mountains, major ant forces, etc.
A symbol composed of a huge ant head and a cross, similar to a pirate's skull and crossbones flag, is marked at the top to symbolize the north. It is the symbol representing the destroyer. Although the writing method is simple, the ferocious atmosphere is vivid on the paper. A new note appeared in the lower left corner of the map. It was a symbol with three vertical lines on the head of an ant, symbolizing the power of parasitic bacteria. The symbol revealed the unique and mysterious cruelty of parasitic organisms.
These are all Zhu Jue's own masterpieces. After recovering more memories, he discovered that he still had the skills to draw.
Zhu Jue now always lets the "celestial beings" and the imperial guard team carry maps and calendars with them, and likes to meditate on the maps. Especially after this map was drawn, every time he looked at it for a long time, it always made him feel a distant sense of familiarity, but after a while it felt strange and strange again.
After watching the rain outside for a long time, Zhu Jue did not come back from his chaotic thoughts, and the ants did not come to disturb the Divine Envoy King. In such weather, [Pioneer City] was isolated from the rest of the world, and disaster relief and life were carried out step by step in the nest. , and there’s nothing major to report.
Zhu Jue, who was deep in thought, was thinking very divergently. He was thinking: In this rainy season, ants cannot leave their nests, just like in winter. It's even worse than winter. At least the destroyers and pavement ants can still move outdoors with conditions in winter. In such heavy rain, no matter what ant tribe, whether it is the hairy forest ants known as the inheritance of the water god, whoever goes out will die.
If the God Envoy King's army could move freely in such weather, wouldn't it be even more advantageous? ?
How to move around in heavy rain and floods? A naval force is definitely needed. The current walnut boats of the Ant Alliance are not qualified for this task. The walnut boats have inflexible control, insufficient autonomous power, and cannot handle rapids. They can barely function as transport ships.
Ships must be built larger and more seaworthy. Just as humans in history invented sailboats that were more suitable for long-distance voyages before the Age of Discovery began, ants also need bigger and better ships to truly conquer the waters.
Not only to have an advantage in the rainy season, if there are ships that can sail against the current, the Ant Alliance can better utilize the water system of the Qinghe River and its tributaries, greatly improving the level of logistics and transportation.
The intelligence provided by the Black Fire Ant Nation shows that the parasitic army has brought a lot of parasitic dragon lice this time. If these parasitic dragon lice follow the water system and enter the territory of the Ant Alliance, the Angel King's army really lacks the means to fight back. This is also the construction of a navy army. and the actual needs of the vessel.
What kind of ships can meet the needs of the Ant Alliance in the future? Zhu Jue thought for a long time.
If we borrow the idea of walnut boats and enlarge it, it seems that boats made of gourds and coconuts are strong enough. Coconuts are not found in this area, they are tropical plants. I have seen the gourd before. According to the ancient legends about the great flood of some human nations, their ancestors survived the flood in the gourd boat. The gourd can be used as a vehicle like Noah's Ark.
Unfortunately, the shape of the gourds is not uniform, so it will be very troublesome to make them into ships and form a fleet. For example, the speed of the gourds is not uniform. If you want to process the shape of the gourd, you need to shape the mold during growth and cook it again after harvesting. To process such a large mold and cooking pot, I don’t know if the current technological level of Yilianguo can meet the requirements.
Zhu Jue also had an idea to make a boat out of bamboo. Compared with gourds, naturally grown bamboo has a straight and uniform shape, and the natural hull is formed by cutting off the bamboo joints. The material of bamboo is also strong and will not break easily even if it hits the rocks in very rough water.
Of course, bamboo also has many shortcomings. For example, it is not easy to process, and it is very difficult to process it with current iron tools. The shape of the bamboo is also difficult to create a seaworthy shape like a pointed bow in the later stage. When bamboo is immersed in water for a long time, anti-corrosion issues need to be considered. But this is indeed a direction.
Processing wooden boards like humans do, laying the keel and then building a ship is also a way, but it is very complicated. Zhu Jue doesn't know how to build a ship, so he feels a little unable to start.
In addition, no matter what is used to build a larger and stronger ship than the walnut boat, power is an unavoidable problem.
The walnut boat relies on the traction of bees, a simple sail when going downwind, and the force of the current when going downstream. The rafts in the canal also rely on the current, and the animals on the shore pull fibers. Such power cannot meet the needs of ships for free navigation.
Historically, humans have relied on complex sails to obtain power in headwinds and crosswinds, and they have also used oars to provide power, so that they can basically achieve free navigation in the ocean.
Given the size of an ant, it would be impossible to use an oar and oar, and it would be difficult to overcome the natural resistance. The sail has one direction, which is enough to support a round-the-world voyage, let alone a small Qinghe River.
Zhu Jue didn't know much about the complex sail systems in the Age of Discovery, but he at least knew the concepts of horizontal sails and longitudinal sails, which he could hand over to the Scientific Research Department for joint research.
Bee traction can also be improved into stronger traction beasts such as dragonflies. Flying insects cannot move out on rainy days, but water-dwelling insects like water striders are not afraid of rain and rapids. Zhu Jue had previously seen several water striders quickly bouncing across the water after the floods, to prey on fallen animals in the distance. Where are the bugs?
Water striders are a good auxiliary power for towing ships. You can even use its characteristics to form a team of water strider knights. In this way, the Angel King's army will have express mobility on the water, and they will not have no means of counterattack when facing parasitic dragon lice.
This can be done!
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