No one said anything, though. They know what’ll happen if the word gets out; the other nobles and merchants would panic.
The king summarized, “So we took no damage, but expended a lot of ammunition…”
“That’s right,” Mitsuha answered. “The experience was well worth the loss of ammunition, though. A warship operated by a crew with no battle experience is all bark and no bite. They gained what they needed.”
Sailors who’d gone through intensive cannon-timing training were stationed on each ship. They were paired with former Vanelian crew members who acted as their drill sergeants. The biggest gain was the hands-on practice─like swiftly loading the cannons with gunpowder and ammo on a swaying ship, all while avoiding any explosion accidents.
There was no chance of getting hit by an enemy ship during that battle, but losing a hand or blowing themselves up while reloading wasn’t an unlikely occurrence. There was no such thing as total safety on a warship.
“Both sides had about thirty ships, so over sixty vessels were involved in the attack. I didn’t particularly care about how much damage we inflicted, though, so we spent our time firing from a relatively safe distance. That battle wasn’t an all-out final showdown either. It was just a skirmish,” Mitsuha added.
“Thirty ships on each side and the enemy had 1.6 times as many cannons as ours. And you call that a skirmish, huh…” the king said.
Only the newest and biggest ships of the enemy fleet had that many cannons─there were plenty with forty or thirty-two cannons─but there was no need to clarify that. The message she wanted to emphasize was that the enemy was powerful, but they still had time to prepare…if the countries of this continent would band together. They needed to build as much fighting power as they could before the next enemy fleet arrived─likely within the next ten years.
Enough strength to at least completely pulverize a fleet that’s exhausted from a long voyage… Whether I’ll still be around or not…
The navy had finished constructing the prototype of a small sailing boat and was currently working on replicating one of the captured ships. For someone with no experience, copying from an example was the fastest way to make something. They were reproducing the hull exactly.
Mitsuha was ordering the sails from Earth, so they’d be made with the most cutting-edge design elements and sturdiest material. The sail was everything for a sailing ship; the performance could differ massively depending on the quality of its sails.
Only the first ship built in Zegleus would use sails made on Earth, of course; after that, all ships built would be equipped with sails made within the kingdom. The shipbuilding efforts would be pointless if the ships couldn’t be produced domestically from scratch. Mitsuha was having the first sails made on Earth for her peace of mind. She was also considering showing the design for the ship’s hull to an expert on Earth once it was far enough along to make sure it’d be sturdy enough. Surely one of the countries on Earth would be able to help her.
Building copycats of some old ships wasn’t going to be enough to stand a chance against the countries of the New World. They still needed an advantage─weaponry. Revolving turrets were a pipe dream. Even if they could replicate the exterior, they had no way of engineering the motors to make them rotate. That left fixed cannons as the only choice. They could still get a leg up on the New World by building muzzleloaders, giving them large bores, loading them with cylindro-conoidal bullets, and rifling them.
Their ammunition would consist mostly of high-explosive projectiles. Armor-piercing ammunition would be unnecessary against wooden ships. I’ve heard of bullets that are armor-piercing, explosive, and incendiary─talk about a powerful three-for-one─but that’d be overkill.
They only needed enough force to demolish the invading ships from a distance. Even if they closed in, it was hard to imagine losing in a short-range scuffle. The accuracy and firepower would more than make up for the disadvantage in the number of cannons. They could probably dominate even if they were outnumbered three to one. It might not come to that in the first place; the New World was too far to haul a large fleet over to the Old World.
You might be wondering if we’d be better off building even smaller ships if the only purpose of our fleet is to fight off enemy invasions. You’d be wrong. If the New World sees our tiny ships and determines that we’re incapable of crossing the ocean, they won’t take us seriously. They’ll look at us and think, “Hah, we could attack them any time and they don’t even have the means to do the same to us.” We’d be a joke. That’s why I want to send the message, “Oh, we’re perfectly well-equipped to pay your continent a visit, annihilate your ships, and set your harbors on fire whenever the mood takes us.”
And in order to do that, we’ll need forty-cannon ships. Those can be our first ship class. Type-1. We can think about building smaller ships that are easier to operate afterward.
I could introduce them to the US standard-class battleship models, but that might interfere with this world’s engineering progress. Besides, this country is barely ready for something so big. It’s gonna be a long time before these guys invent superior ship designs on their own. For now, there are way more merits to mass-producing one standardized model. It’d boost shipbuilding productivity, fleet coordination, and transferability of sailors’ skills regardless of the vessel they’re on.
Type-1-class is a boring name. I should think of something better…
The word for sailing ship in Japanese is hansen. Maybe I can do something with that… Hansen…
Oh, I know! I’ll call it the Stan-class after the Unsinkable Battleship himself! The first ship will be named the Western Lariat!
And the smaller ships with large-caliber cannons that’ll be built afterward can be called the Hulk-class. The first ship in that class will be named the Axe Bomber! I’ll hear no objections!
Anyway, I’m spurring naval expansion in preparation for the worst-case scenario, but if everything goes according to my plan, “Operation Fake Princess (name subject to change),” I’ll be able to prevent a dogfight from breaking out in the first place. Lephilia Trading, the partner stores, and Society are all a part of that operation.
Obtaining and controlling information is important in warfare. A few lines worth of text can accomplish more than ten thousand soldiers fighting to the death.
Waging information warfare is a very cost-effective method. Not only can you learn things that will give you an advantage in battle, but you can also propagate false information to confuse the enemy.
“…Are you about ready?” asked Marquis Eiblinger.
“Huh? For what?” Mitsuha uttered bluntly, caught off guard by the sudden question.
“To quit daydreaming and continue our discussion?”
“Oh, whoops…”
They covered a few more matters before ending the meeting. The meeting’s only purpose was for Mitsuha to deliver her report, so it was relatively short and featured no arguments. The actual debate and decision-making based on her report would come later. That was why this gathering was kept to the inner circle. I still can’t believe I’m part of an inner circle with royalty…
Formal meetings regarding Mitsuha’s findings would likely be held in the coming days. Those meetings wouldn’t require her attendance, obviously. The kingdom’s leaders could handle all that.
I’m gonna stay away from the New World for a while. Vanel is way too crazy right now. I think I’ll lay low until their army, the royal palace, and high society calm down.
I’ll keep restocking Lephilia Trading and the partner stores and attending Society tea parties, of course. I can’t inconvenience others because of personal issues. I’m a woman of her word.
Now that I have less to do in the New World, I can focus on Yamano County. I’ve been spreading myself too thin between my kingdom, the New World, my business in Japan, everything with Wolf Fang, and the countries on Earth. My top priority should be the development of my county and the happiness of its citizens. Some leader I am to my own people…
So without further ado, let’s get back to some county management! I should have a lot more free time in the coming months!
Mitsuha would later look back with wonder at how she could’ve ever thought such a thing.