After many years of operation by Leo, Port Tanal was already relatively large, and it had no problem docking hundreds of merchant ships at the same time. However, considering the more prosperous commercial trade in the future, the capacity was still a bit low. It should be increased by at least ten times to the scale where thousands of merchant ships could be docked at the same time.
The expansion work would take many years to complete. If it went well, it could be completed in three to five years. However, if there was no support from large dredging ships, it could be delayed for more than 20 years. However, as long as they could make money, the expansion work would be accelerated.
At this time, there were two independent harbors in the Port of Tanar. They were like two large square ponds with a small gap. One was for civilian use, while the other was for military use. The facilities of the military port were completely different from those of civilian use.
In the shallow water near the shore of the military port, there were three tall arrow towers. The highest point of the three arrow towers was at least 30 to 40 feet above the water surface. They were divided into three floors, and each floor could accommodate more than a dozen archers. In addition, there were fixed powerful giant crossbows. On the top platform, there was a trebuchet. The defensive force was relatively strong, but it was okay in the face of ordinary attacks. It was completely useless against the Tang dynasty.
The number of guards in the three large archer towers could reach 200 at most. These facilities were not dismantled and were well preserved. Moreover, they needed to be repaired and strengthened. For ordinary defense, these three archer towers were indeed very practical and worth preserving.
The three arrow towers in the water were the outpost guards. On the land of the port a few hundred steps behind, there were seven arrow towers of different sizes. Three large arrow towers were much larger than the ones in the water, and the others were slightly smaller.
There were a total of ten arrow towers in the entire port. This did not include the watchtowers that could only accommodate two or three people. These watchtowers could also be used as arrow towers, but the area was too small. They only had one floor, so the power of their attack was very weak.
The ten arrow towers could accommodate up to 600 people, forming the high-altitude strike force of the port to ensure the safety of the port. Several rows of barracks were built in one location of the port. Some were one-story houses, and some were two-story houses. These houses were for the defense of ten times the number of soldiers. Such a camp could accommodate up to two to three thousand soldiers. As long as ten times the number of soldiers were fully occupied, the defensive force was still considerable.
On one side of the barracks was a granary, in which there was still a lot of food left. These were the source of food for the soldiers stationed there. As long as there was food, the morale of the soldiers could be maintained at a high level.
The training site was outside the barracks. There was an archery range, a training ground, and a small horse-racing field. It could be said that everything one needed was available.
There was also a small ship repair yard in this small military port, where damaged ships could be repaired to a certain extent, so that they could be used in battle again.
The draft of the military port was only four or five meters. It was not a deepwater port. Many large ships of later generations found it difficult to enter the port. However, the ships at this time were generally small. Even the steam gunships of the Tang dynasty did not have such a large draft, so they could dock here.
Ang Lee felt that such a very good military port must be preserved. Moreover, funds should be continuously invested in the repair and construction of the military port, turning it into a model military port of the Tang dynasty in the subcontinent, so as to deter the surrounding countries and ensure the smooth sailing of the Silk Road on the sea of the Tang dynasty.
Larger civilian ports had more facilities than military ports. Because it was a civilian port, there were very few defensive facilities. In the shallow water area of the port, there were only two watchtowers, which functioned as lighthouses. There was a small shelter above them to shelter them from the rain. The single-story platform below was only three steps long, and a hanging brazier could be placed in the middle. In this way, ships entering the port at night would not go astray. In addition, there could be two or three archers standing on the platform, who were responsible for monitoring the ships in the port. Once they found danger, they would immediately send a signal to their superiors behind them. When necessary, they could ask for help from the opposite military port.
There were very few defensive facilities on the shore. There were only a few watchtowers that were similar to the ones in the water. They could provide the lowest level of defense against thieves and bandits, but they were more than enough. Their main function was to monitor and monitor every movement in the harbor.
Because the civilian port was relatively large, many fishing boats gathered in the shallow water area on one side. These fishing boats were side by side, which looked very crowded.
In order to facilitate the entry and exit of the fishing boats, a suspended wooden path was built in the shallow water area for people to walk on. This way, the fishermen could easily enter and leave their fishing boats.
On the shore near the fishing boats, many fishermen's huts were built. These huts were single-story, and they were filled with fishing nets and other items that the fishermen needed to use, including some dried fish.
Under normal circumstances, the men were responsible for going out to sea to fish. After the fish were brought back, the women were responsible for washing and drying them. This division of labor and cooperation made life better.
After drifting at sea for a long time, these fishermen's skin color was very dark. Of course, it was also a very healthy skin color.
The arrival of the South Tianzhu troops caused a lot of harm to these fishermen and their families. However, Ang Lee severely punished some of the South Tianzhu soldiers who had done evil. The fishermen's lives quickly became stable and on the right track.
Because the fishermen caught a relatively large amount of fish, a strong smell was emitted when they were drying the fish. A gust of wind could blow the fishy smell far away.
Fresh sea fish could be sold for a very good price. Of course, the species had to be very good. If the species was not good, then it could not be sold for a good price.
Every day, many people waited at the port, waiting for the fishermen to return from fishing. They would buy the sea fish as soon as possible and then sell it at a higher price.
The fishermen's dock was the most remote location in the port. After all, their goods were fresh sea fish, which had a certain degree of pollution. The best dock location was naturally given to merchant ships.
Merchant ships came from different countries, and the goods they carried were also very rich. The commercial value was far more than fishing boats, so the best and largest docks were given to merchant ships.
As long as any merchant ship approached the dock, a large group of people would immediately run over to find work. These people were called dock laborers. They were responsible for transporting goods to earn money needed for survival.
The goods on the merchant ships were all packed in large boxes, and each box was very heavy. Many of the coolies were so tired that they bent over. It looked very hard, but as long as they could earn money, the hard work was worth it.
There was also a small shipyard on one side of the port. This shipyard occupied a relatively large area of land, but it occupied a relatively small area of water. A lot of wood and materials were placed in the houses on land. There was only one dock in the water, and it could only build one medium-sized ship or a few small fishing boats at a time. It was a very weak shipyard. Currently, a few small fishing boats were being built, which were ordered by the fishermen here.
The expansion potential of the port was very large. As long as a lot of effort was spent, it would definitely be expanded into a large port. Perhaps because of overconfidence, the port had no walls on land, only a simple fence made of wood. This kind of fence could only stop ordinary people. If it were bandits, they could easily climb over the fence and enter the port at night. However, there were many watchtowers in the port, and there were soldiers with bows and arrows on them. Therefore, bandits also needed courage to dare to enter.
Ang Lee considered the overall situation and decided to build Tanar into a dazzling pearl on the Maritime Silk Road. For this, a huge amount of construction costs had to be invested.
Fortunately, the Lion Kingdom had promised to compensate him with a huge amount of wealth. As long as he received this compensation, apart from a small part of it being used to appease the merchants and the people, most of the funds would be used to build the port. Tanar and Gordy would be the focus of the construction, especially Tanar. As it had not been damaged by war, its various facilities were relatively complete, and the expansion work would be easier to carry out.
Expansion required a blueprint, and the optimal construction of the port under the conditions of local conditions. In order to achieve the optimal construction results, Ang Lee decided to personally inspect the situation of the port and carry out a design.
Ang Lee first went to the military port and visited the soldiers of the Tang dynasty in the military port. He told them to rest more and train seriously.
"Assistant Minister Li, the various facilities of the military port are still in good condition. However, the number of soldiers and horses needed to guard it is a little too much. The ten watchtowers need to be fully staffed by 600 people. It is really too much. We need to make some changes."
The subordinate understood that it was not easy for the Tang dynasty to station troops overseas. The personnel needed to be refined as much as possible. They could not use too much manpower to guard a port.
Ang Lee nodded and said, "You are right. We can't waste so much manpower. However, since these watchtowers are in good condition, there is no need to dismantle them at all. They can be used as watchtowers. Five people per watchtower is enough. This way, 50 people can guard it."
"Assistant Minister Li, this number is too small, but this way, the defensive power is too weak. It still needs to be improved."
The subordinate still felt that this was not a good idea.
Ang Lee pointed to the two most critical defensive positions and said, "These two positions are the most important. We need to build two strong towers. Four cannons are placed on the top of each tower. Ten soldiers are enough to guard it. In this way, the enemies within a radius of several miles can't get close to the port. At the same time, a large number of archers can be saved."
"Assistant Minister Li is right. In this way, the number of soldiers guarding it will be reduced a lot, but the strength of the guards will be greatly increased. The range of cannons is much longer than that of bows and arrows. We only need two watchtowers to completely control the military port and make the enemies not dare to get close."
The subordinate agreed.
In any era, the best way to reduce the number of soldiers and increase the efficiency was to use more advanced equipment. Only with more advanced equipment could the result of reducing the number of soldiers and increasing the efficiency. Now that the Tang dynasty had cannons, they only needed to set up a few cannons, and the deterrent effect would be far greater than that of a large number of archers. The combat power of one watchtower was greater than that of ten watchtowers at full strength.
Building two brand-new watchtowers in the military port was the best improvement plan that Ang Lee could think of at present. As for the expansion of the scale and so on, for the time being, the funds were not in place, and the dredging boats were not in place, so it could not be implemented yet.
After investigating the military port for a while, Ang Lee went to the civilian port. The potential for improvement there was greater because the area was larger and there were more facilities. Moreover, it could generate a lot of economic value. Therefore, the necessity of improvement was also the greatest.
The military port was more concerned about its safety, while the commercial port was more concerned about its commercial value. Therefore, the premise of the improvement of the port was to increase the economic benefits as the ultimate goal.
More than half of the civilian port was used for commerce, and the fishermen occupied a lot of land. As for the shipyard, it only occupied a small area.
In the future, commerce would become more and more prosperous. Therefore, this commercial port was absolutely not enough. It was necessary to continue to expand commercial berths in the shallows a few miles away, and even a few more. Of course, the original port could also be extended to the deep sea, so that the water area could be larger and more ships could be berthed.
The fishermen's catch was limited, and the shipyard did not occupy much resources. Only the loading and unloading of the merchant ships were the most troublesome and labor-consuming.
Ang Lee walked to a merchant ship that was unloading goods. Looking at dozens of coolies who were working hard to move the goods on the ship, he suddenly felt that this phenomenon must be changed.
These coolies were very tired, but the efficiency of their work was not high. It often took a lot of time to unload all the goods on the ship. The space of the port was limited, and there were many ships waiting to unload. Some merchant ships needed to wait for one or two days to successfully unload.
Of course, there were many ships that needed to be loaded, and there were even more merchant ships that needed various supplies. After all, the merchant ships needed to replenish fresh water and food at the port for long-distance travel. They also needed to buy various daily necessities. All of these required coolies to carry them, and the physical strength of coolies was limited. The efficiency of their work was naturally not high.
If this situation could not be changed in time, it would inevitably greatly limit the development of the port's commerce, which was very disadvantageous.
There were three ways to change this inefficient situation. The first was the simplest and easiest. That was to increase the number of coolies and let more people work at the port to speed up the transportation.
The second was similar to the first. It was to build more berths. With more berths, more ships could be loaded and unloaded at the same time. Of course, the demand for coolies would also increase. This was also something that must be done in the later stage.
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