Zhu Jingyuan sat in the front row to sort out his thoughts, and the people participating in the meeting began to enter the venue one after another.
First, the relevant officials in charge of the Ship Department of the Ministry of Industry, and then officials of the Naval Equipment Department of the Ministry of War.
Finally, the largest number are shopkeepers and craftsmen from the royal consortium's warship construction-related industries.
The lecture hall, which was about the size of four classrooms, was quickly filled with almost a third of the people.
Although the meeting time was set at ten in the morning, everyone knew that the emperor was coming to attend, so it was obvious that he would come after the morning meeting.
What if they came to court early and came directly? You can't let the emperor wait for you, right?
Therefore, participants who do not go to the morning court should come as early as possible and arrive one after another when the morning court begins.
But let’s not say that everyone is very prescient.
The old emperor was thinking about the battleship design, so he ended the morning court as soon as possible today.
When it arrived at 9:30, I came directly with the ministers who needed to attend the morning dynasty and also participate in the preaching.
The ministers of the Military Aircraft Department, the Ministers of the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Industry, and the governors-general of the five armies, these are ministers at the level of the Seventh Minister.
The old emperor Zhu Zhongliang was in high spirits and walked into the lecture hall first.
Zhu Jingyuan received the reminder from the Ministry of Industry personnel, and together with the participants at the meeting, he instinctively stood up and bowed with clasped fists.
"Sit down, I'm just here to listen today..."
The old emperor smiled and waved, walked to the front row with two guards, came to Zhu Jingyuan's side, looked at the paper and pen in Zhu Jingyuan's hand, and asked with a very curious smile:
"Grandson, are you ready? Can we start?"
Zhu Jingyuan looked at the old emperor's reaction and wanted to laugh a little. The old man was really interested in the new battleship:
"It has been prepared for a long time and can start at any time, but I wonder if everyone is here?"
After hearing this, the old emperor immediately raised his head and looked at the propaganda organization official from the Ministry of Industry next to him. Without the old emperor having to speak, the other party directly reported:
"Your Majesty, Your Highness, all the invited guests have arrived."
The old emperor sat directly in Zhu Jingyuan's seat:
"Then let's start quickly!"
"All right……"
Zhu Jingyuan put on a silly smile, packed up the things in front of him, and stepped onto the podium.
Zhu Jingyuan looked up at the people below. The people below were also looking at Zhu Jingyuan, many of them with expressions of doubt and curiosity.
They already knew the identity of Zhu Jingyuan. He was the earliest imperial grandson to graduate in recent years and had recently become the Prince-level Prince of Dashi.
But none of them understood why Zhu Jingyuan was asked to preside over such a meeting.
Battleship design... In this category, what can this teenage grandson say?
As for the senior ministers who usually go to court, their expressions are a little complicated now, and they are also a little expectant.
I look forward to seeing what weird things this kid can do in battleship design...
But no matter what his mentality is, he is very attentive now, sitting quietly and waiting for Zhu Jingyuan to speak.
"Ahem..."
Zhu Jingyuan cleared his throat:
"I...I have received permission from His Majesty to host a seminar on the design direction of the empire's future warships.
"I am young and have little knowledge, so I will not hesitate to say anything. I would also like to ask all the great craftsmen and old gentlemen to give me some advice."
The attendees who had not attended the morning meeting, including the craftsmen, shopkeepers, and officials, all showed expressions of appreciation when they heard Zhu Jingyuan's polite opening.
He was granted the title of prince as an exception at such a young age, but now he is not arrogant or arrogant at all, and behaves generously and respectfully. He is much better than their own children.
The key is that the share of shipbuilding approved by the emperor in the past two years has been very small. Now that the news of the war is coming to an end, everyone thinks that there will definitely be even less in the future.
But Zhu Jingyuan came out to get the emperor's permission and directly began to preside over the design and construction of future warships, which was equivalent to asking for new orders for everyone.
This gave all those involved in warship construction their first impression of Zhu Jingyuan, one of great recognition and appreciation.
Only the ministers who often attended the morning court had very serious expressions and were completely unmoved, just waiting to see what Zhu Jingyuan would come up with.
"Okay, let's stop chatting and get down to business. Let's start directly now, starting with the simplest one..."
Zhu Jingyuan picked up a glass plate and placed it on the platform of the writing projector.
The light below the projector shines, projecting the content on the glass plate onto the mirror above, and then onto the display board behind Zhu Jingyuan.
The simple line diagram and basic parameters of "No. 1, conservative technology verification battleship" were displayed in front of everyone at the scene.
Most of the designers below looked at the image and suddenly had expressions of enlightenment.
Zhu Jingyuan also smiled and nodded and said:
"Everyone should be able to tell at a glance that this No. 1 ship is a battleship that has abandoned its sub-caliber secondary guns and all uses the same large-caliber main guns.
"The Ministry of Industry and the Royal Dockyard should have similar designs. Today is to finalize it and officially start the design and construction."
There was a moment of suppressed discussion at the scene, and then most of the people looked directly in the direction of the emperor.
The old emperor seemed to feel something in his heart, and said directly at this time:
"From now on, as long as I don't question it, it means that I have approved it or it is a design that I have no objection to."
Immediately more suppressed discussions reappeared below.
As Zhu Jingyuan said, similar designs for this type of warship do already exist, and many designers and officials in charge have seen them.
The Imperial Shipyard and the Ministry of Industry have also asked the emperor for instructions, but the emperor has always been non-committal before.
There seems to be little acceptance of this design, and the construction of such warships has never been approved.
Now Zhu Jingyuan proposed it again, but the old emperor directly agreed.
Surprised, and then curious, how did His Highness the Emperor's Grandson convince the Emperor?
While everyone was in a state of shock and uncertainty, Zhu Jingyuan on the stage continued what the old emperor had said:
"Everyone should have noticed that this No. 1 ship is classified as a conservative, technically proven design.
“So her specific design plan can be obtained based on the existing 20,000-ton battleship with slight adjustments.
"It is expected to have a maximum displacement of 24,000 tons, use four twin 300mm naval guns, and a design speed of not less than 20 knots.
“In this way, the overall design and construction can be completed as quickly as possible, and actual verification testing can be started as soon as possible.
"These tasks can certainly be easily accomplished by the engineers from the Ship Department of the Ministry of Industry and the shipyard, so I will not make irresponsible remarks on the design.
“I only want to mention some additional detailed requirements, that is, the hull should be as large as possible and the internal space should be as spacious as possible.
“There must be enough etiquette, reception, and venue cabins, and enough high-end daily necessities and drinks.
“Reserve enough luxurious guest suites for guests with higher status.
"Generally speaking, it is to be designed and built according to the luxury hotel..."
What Zhu Jingyuan said was very good. Everyone nodded slightly.
This job is indeed not troublesome. Everyone already has a plan.
When it comes to displacement, everyone is a little confused. This ship does not seem to need such a large tonnage.
When the next few words came out, everyone's expressions turned into pure confusion.
Are you designing a battleship or a mobile hotel on the sea?
The officials who attended the morning court with Zhu Jingyuan were all nodding secretly.
Although I don't understand what he wants to do, it feels right.
The old emperor in the front row, as a representative, asked everyone’s doubts:
"What are you doing?"
Zhu Jingyuan had already been prepared and started to explain plausibly:
“The design of this ship is too conservative and will definitely be eliminated quickly after the technical verification is completed, so I thought about the waste utilization plan in advance.
“I’m prepared to use it for foreign missions, for Navy open events everywhere, and even for high-end commercial passenger transport, for special banquets and exhibitions.
"Using the navy's large capital ships to hold various high-end commercial activities and taking large capital ships to travel across the ocean should have some commercial value, right?"
After the audience was stunned for a few seconds, they realized that what Zhu Jingyuan said seemed to make sense.
This is indeed a bit of a commercial gimmick, and it seems worth trying.
But what's going on with your kid's train of thought?
Now that you have just started designing, are you thinking about what to do after you retire?
It's like arranging a funeral before the child is even conceived.
