xymnovel Chapter 52 The Concept of the Fleet
Chapter 52 The Concept of the Fleet
Before Baldwin departed after receiving Reynald's plea for help, Lyon told him that Reynald might be secretly building ships. Baldwin dismissed it at the time; Reynald was a madman, but not a fool—his territory was far from the sea, with Muslim ports to the south, and he wouldn't waste his precious dinars on such a futile endeavor. However, when he followed Reynald to the underground caves of Calleburg and saw the massive ship components with his own eyes, he finally fully believed Lyon's words.
Reynald dismissed the two sword-wielding guards beside Balian without expression, gave Balian a deep look, and stood respectfully beside Baldwin without saying a word.
Baldwin's gaze shifted to the components: "How many?"
Before Barian could reply, Reinald spoke first, "Five! Once assembled, there will be five... galleys."
Baldwin and Balian looked at him curiously, and surprisingly, Reinald did not resist at all, but instead cooperated with remarkable ease.
"Spending a fortune, even digging underground, just for five galleys..." Baldwin turned to Reinard and chuckled, "Looks like you've got grand ambitions!"
"Your Majesty..."
Reinald swallowed hard, wanting to open his mouth to argue, but Baldwin raised his hand to interrupt him.
"As I said, I'm in a good mood. Whatever crazy plans you had before, I don't intend to pursue them now," Baldwin said, his tone softening. "Duke, let me ask you, what experience have you had in the past two years of building the galley? What difficulties have you encountered?"
Reynald was taken aback. Did the king really not intend to pursue the matter? And what exactly was the purpose of his question? But the king's recent unusual behavior made him hesitant, and he said tentatively, "Your Majesty, I dare not speak of experience, but there are difficulties. I don't have any pine wood in this desolate place. A small portion is Lebanese pine that I obtained from Earl Raymond, but most of it... comes from Muslim caravans, including waterproof tar and hemp for making ropes and nets..."
"The most scarce resources are oarsmen and craftsmen," Reinald said with a wry smile. "The materials needed for shipbuilding can be obtained with dinars, but skilled oarsmen and craftsmen are something you can't buy even with dinars."
Baldwin nodded: "No problem. I'll ask Raymond for some more pine wood. As for the other materials, oarsmen, and craftsmen, just ask Robert. Of course, you'll have to provide the dinars yourself."
Reinald gaped in astonishment, his eyes wide as saucers.
Baldwin glanced at him and said calmly, "Don't get me wrong, I'm not supporting your unknown plan. You just need to build the ships and have them ready. The kingdom is building a well-organized fleet, and these ships of yours can't be left idle; they all need to be registered."
Reinald exclaimed in disbelief, "The kingdom is going to build a navy?"
Baldwin shook his head: "We can't really call it a navy. Our land forces are far inferior to Saladin's, and we don't have enough manpower to dedicate to a full-fledged navy."
Reinald scoffed, "Saladin's navy? Didn't he just use the Salandi warships from the previous Fatima dynasty? Those warships are nothing but defeated minions of the Venetians. If he dares to attack at sea, the kingdom can simply hire Venetians to watch the show from the city walls!"
"Venetians? Duke, you'd be better off believing I can live past 25 than believing in Venetians..." A disgusted sneer came from behind Baldwin's mask. "Venetians come into the world dripping with blood and filth from head to toe, from every pore! That's Lyon's description of Venetians. At first, I took it as prejudice, but now I understand. They'll sell anything for money, even their prized galleys, to infidels!"
"We have learned that Saladin began expanding his navy three years ago. He inherited the naval legacy of the Fatimid dynasty, and with the galleys he acquired from the Venetians, we now face a Saladin navy with nearly a hundred ships. The kingdom has always relied on trading port commercial privileges for the support of the Italian city-states' fleets. Being dependent on others is not a good thing; these profit-driven insects may turn against us at any time if the price is not agreed upon or if the kingdom encounters danger. Therefore, the kingdom must build a fleet as soon as possible for the defense of coastal towns."
Reynald became excited, his body trembling slightly with excitement: "Your Majesty, you should have said so sooner! Don't forget, the Queen Mother of Rome is my daughter! Since we can't trust the Venetians, we can seek Rome's support. Even if Rome is too busy, buying a batch of Dromon warships for a dinar will be more than enough to protect ourselves!"
The Roman warship Dromtonic originated with Justinian I. It had 50 oars on both sides, triangular sails replaced the traditional square sails, and no ram was installed at the bow, in pursuit of lightness and speed.
Later, with the rise of the Arab navy, they used the shipyards left by Rome in the Arab region to replicate the Dromon warships, creating the more powerful Salandi warships that completely outclassed Rome's original Dromon warships. This led to Rome losing the North African provinces, Sicily, and even Cyprus and Crete. Had it not been for the Greek fire, the Muslims would have nearly conquered Constantinople.
To counter the Arab navy, the Romans upgraded the Dromunes multiple times. They increased the tonnage of the ships to accommodate more soldiers, increased the single keel to two rows, and installed two mainmasts. A weapon platform was installed in the bow for firing ballistae and Greek firearms.
With its new warships, Rome was able to recapture Cyprus and Crete, and even advance all the way to Damietta in Egypt.
Not to be outdone, the Arabs also upgraded their own warships, and the two sides entered into a nearly two-century-long arms race, until the rise of the Italian city-states.
In 1123, the Fatimid and Venetian navies clashed at the port of Jaffa. The Venetian slingers, equipped with catapults, launched stones at the Arabs, throwing their formation into disarray. They were subsequently annihilated by the Venetian galleys. The Venetian ships undoubtedly became the dominant force in the Mediterranean, and their assistance was indispensable to the Crusades' conquest of the Levant.
The crucial problem was that the Venetians' help wasn't based on any so-called faith; they were driven solely by self-interest. Saladin's pagan army also received aid from Venice at this time. If Jerusalem couldn't rely on Venice, it had to settle for second best. The other Italian city-states had limited resources, leaving Rome as the only option.
Thinking this, Baldwin nodded and said, "Good idea. But unfortunately, Queen Mary probably has no say in the empire right now. Cantorstefanos holds great power; to obtain Roman naval support, the only option is to negotiate directly with the Roman Emperor." His mask pointed at Reinard's questioning gaze, and his tone was gentle, "I plan to marry Princess Isabella to the Roman Emperor, thus forging a military alliance with Rome. As for Sir Humphry…"
"Your Majesty, that's not important!" Reinald raised his head, his eyes seemingly burning with fire, a bold and unwavering smile on his face. "If we can exchange the princess for an unbreakable alliance like that between King Amaury and Emperor Manuel the Great, what does Humphry's marriage matter!"