The night was getting darker, and the firelight in the tent was a little dim. Eckart, the captain of the guard, stood aside and looked at His Highness who was meditating in front of the table. He called a guard and gave a few instructions in a low voice. After a while, someone came with a birch candle.
The so-called birch candle is a candle made of birch bark. Of course, other flammable barks can also be used, but they are more troublesome than birch bark, and most of them need to be steamed first. This kind of candle was an ancient candle in the Celestial Dynasty. It appeared around the Han and Tang Dynasties and did not enter people's homes until the Song Dynasty. For the nobles of the Alliance, they also have an equally ancient lighting method, which is to cut pine wood into thin strips and light it for lighting, which is the "Song Ming" of the Celestial Dynasty.
Eckardt carefully lit the birch candle and placed it in the corner of His Highness's bedside table, then stepped back and stood. Shulot raised his head, glanced at the candlelight, and nodded slightly. Then, he picked up the quill, dipped it in blue ink, and wrote on the yellow paper.
"Going south from Huaguo City, there are two roads, east and west, that can lead to the south. The east line is a steep waterway, along the Yuan River, downstream for 140 miles to the mouth of the Yuan River. From here, go south for 10 miles , is the western part of Atoyak Lake!"
The third county road, the east line of the second section, is the waterway from Huaguo City-Yuanhekou-Atoyak Lake. Among them, Huaguo City is 1,700 meters above sea level, the height of the Yuan River mouth is only 240 meters, and the water level of Atoyak Lake is between 160-190 meters. The 140-mile waterway has a drop of more than 1,400 meters, and the dangers can be imagined. The current of this river is extremely fast and turbulent, so it is called "the river leading to the abyss" by the locals, Abyss River!
"During my southern expedition, I sent three legions southward. The Guards legion took the Orow River, while Ezpin's Second Lancer legion took the Abyss River! Going south along the river, the boat was extremely fast. However, accidents involving ships hitting rocks and cliffs, causing shipwrecks and fatalities, also happen from time to time..."
"This steep river requires a lot of manpower to be dredged and the small waterfalls in the mountains must be opened or bypassed. A first-class dirt road must also be built along the river to facilitate fiber pulling back and forth."
Shulot thought about this and concentrated on it. He is well aware of the importance of the Yuanhe waterway to the rule of the southern part of the kingdom.
Yuon River has a huge carrying capacity and is the most convenient road connecting Gyeonggi and southern counties. Although the passage of this river is dangerous, it is still the main channel for bulk goods and trade between the north and south of the kingdom.
The coal from the Black Rock City mining area is transferred from Huaguo City, through the raging Yuan River, all the way to Atoyak Lake. Then go downstream, along the tail end of the Tulsas River, to the Black Rock Mountain Iron Mine on the waterfront. This river and lake are smooth, flowing from north to south, and can carry goods for more than a hundred miles a day. It cannot be replaced by any land route in the mountains!
Caravans shuttled back and forth, and there was a lot of traffic. In the middle of this waterway, there are several large villages that earn tolls from business travelers and provide manpower for fiber drawing. Traveling along the river requires not only pulling fibers upstream. When going downstream, if the mouth of the river is too steep, the fibers must be pulled in the opposite direction to slow down the boat speed.
The village closest to Atoyak Lake is at the mouth of the Yuan River. Between the mouth of Yuanhe River and Atuo Lake, there is a deserted ten-mile tidal flat, which is usually a river. If there are heavy rains in summer and the water level rises, it will overflow into a lake.
"Every time it rains in the summer, the water level of Lake Atoyak will surge. The reason is that not only the Yuan River and the Ou River in the north merge here, but also the Talsas River in the east and the Apa River system in the west. It also has to be merged here. And the Apa water system is connected to the Chapala Lake area through the Chatao River, which leads the water from the upper lake to the south... Reservoirs must be built in various rivers upstream!"
Xiulote pondered for a moment, and then drew several red circles on the west side of the north side of Atoyak Lake to build the reservoir.
Lake Atoyak, the real "big water lake". When this large lake was at its peak, it could reach 150 miles from east to west! The small half of Lake Chapala, the entire southern part of the kingdom, and the entire lower reaches of the Talsas River, with more than 200,000 square kilometers of precipitation, will flow into this place. Then, the vast precipitation converges into a raging river, three hundred miles south, rushing into the Pacific Ocean around Trout Town, and forming a fertile impact plain at the outlet.
"The two counties of Zicao and Apa opened by the immigrants from the Kingdom are both in the upper reaches of Lake Atuo, on the north and west sides of the lake. And in large settlements such as Apa City, Zicao City, and Taotu Town, Build a series of reservoirs and dams along rivers and lakes to regulate the amount of water in the rainy season and prevent flooding!"
Shulot kept writing and drew a few more red circles. The reservoirs to be built here are not the "four major reservoirs" whose storage capacity was measured in billions of cubic meters during the Huaihe River governance in later generations, but the tens of thousands of small rural reservoirs with a storage capacity of one hundred thousand cubic meters.
In the big plan, the entire water conservancy construction process is similar to that of the Han and Tang Dynasties. The development of the Bashu Plain will last for a long time, and small water conservancy projects will continue to be built. The main amount of work is to excavate rivers and lakes, build dams and ponds, and build embankments and weirs. The ultimate goal is to realize that "floods and droughts depend on people and no one knows about famine"!
"This is a long project that will take decades. However, I have to start planning from now on, and I also have enough patience and time!"
Shulot was thinking about the prosperity of the Kingdom of Shu, and had the same hopes for the two southern counties of the kingdom. After a moment, he looked towards the seaside further south.
Right in the middle from Lake Ato to the outlet of Tulsas, the raging Tulsas River flows through a series of towering cliffs. The terrain here is winding and towering, making it a natural large-scale reservoir node.
Shulot stared at this position and slowly picked up the pen. He first drew a red circle, then filled it in, and softly pronounced a name that no one could understand.
"Infiernillo Dam is one of the largest dams in the world in later generations. It has a storage capacity of 10 billion cubic meters and a power generation of more than 1,000 megawatts! ... At the end of the Tulsas River, such abundant water power can be utilized if Get up, what a powerful force it will generate!”
The king's finger gradually moved south, finally settling on the location of the Black Rock Mountain Iron Mine. He has given instructions and rewards to many priests and craftsmen in the Institute of Divine Enlightenment to research hydraulic machinery! As long as he can make qualified hydraulic machinery, he will generously give him titles, bounties, fields, and serfs!
"Keel water wheel...tube wheel...water mill...water mill...blast water row...hydraulic forging machine..."
Shulot opened the "Book of Divine Revelation" he carried with him and looked at the name of the hydraulic machinery written on it with his own hands, looking forward to it.
In this era, based on mature metallurgical technology, hydraulic machinery has gradually become popular in Europe, especially hydraulic forging machines that can forge armor. If we can recapture a few European blacksmiths and a few mechanical scholars to limit the kingdom's material and technological bottlenecks, we will achieve a dramatic breakthrough! And by that time, the end of this raging river will become a powerful source of power for the kingdom!
"There are three years left...the beginning of the great era, three years left!..."
After a long time, Shulot sighed quietly. He shook his head, moved his fingers patiently, and then moved towards the western road leading to the south from Huaguo City. This is a red land route, and it is also the western route that Black Wolf took when he led the canine army south to conquer Apa City.
"From Huaguo City, walk a 150-mile mountain road to the foot of Apa City. This mountain road is not narrow and can pass large armies, but the mountains are undulating and quite steep. And this 150-mile road is also the last one that needs to be built. County road!"
The altitude of Apa City is about 350 meters. Its terrain is higher than Lake Ato and is located in the upper reaches of the west. Huaguo City is 1,700 meters above sea level. This 150-mile mountain road has a drop between 1,300-1,400 meters at both ends. However, the middle section of this prefectural road passes at the foot of the towering Tataro volcano. The highest point is about 2,300 meters, which is quite difficult to travel.
"Tencitaro volcano, sulfur mines and avocados...maybe, volcanic ash."
Shulot took the quill and placed a red dot on the location of the Tensitaro volcano. This volcano is the highest peak in the Mikencho region, with an altitude of nearly 4,000 meters. The overall terrain is very high and the mineral resources are relatively rich.
There is an irresistible main reason why the Kingdom's county road passes through the foot of the volcano. Surrounding this volcano is the Kingdom's sulfur production area, which provides the raw materials for the Kingdom's gunpowder. Another less important reason is that the land around this volcano is extremely fertile and there are many avocado trees. Several nearby mountain villages are famous avocado producing areas.
As for the fertile land at the foot of Tensitaro volcano, it also means the presence of volcanic ash. If the volcanic ash needed for cement can be found, the construction standards of this section of county road can be improved nearby. Road sections that are prone to damage will be replaced with stronger, more waterproof cement-sand-sand roads.
"Once this 150-mile western county road is built, and wheelbarrows can be used for transportation, the connection between Gyeonggi and Apa City will suddenly be closer! And the most important significance of this county road is to strengthen the central part of the kingdom. Regarding the rule of the Apa Plains. After all, tens of thousands of Tecos immigrants and more than 100,000 Tlaxcala immigrants have been resettled there. This population of more than 200,000 people, almost all of which are surrendered tribes, must be assimilated and integrated as soon as possible. Gather!"
Shulot looked at the vast Apa Plain, and thoughts flashed in his mind. Cultivation of fertile land, construction of villages, installation of flag troops...Ezpan did a good job in Apa County. His loyalty has been tested many times, and Shulot is reassured.
However, Shulot knew that this kind of loyalty only belonged to the king and Ezpan, not to the kingdom. Once Ezpan dies or Shulot has an accident, a rebellion will inevitably break out in Apa County! In order to increase the kingdom's control, the construction of this secondary county road is urgent. And large-scale priestly missionary work, cultural assimilation and forced intermarriage also need to be strictly implemented!
"The first three county roads in the grand plan are all connected from north to south. This last Apa River system is connected from east to west!"
Xiulote's eyes stayed in Apa County, falling on the crisscrossing Apa water system. The reason why it is described as "water system" is because the Apa Plain has a flat terrain and dense water networks. Among the rivers with sufficient flow, there are Apa, Hetao, Kan, Bo...
These rivers meander and intersect with each other, flowing through a radius of 150 miles, connecting Apa City, Taotu Town, Kanhe Village, Bohe Village and other settlements together, forming a waterway transportation network with convenient communication. Then, the Apa River travels a hundred miles eastward from Apa City and merges into the Atuo Lake.
"The Apa River System, in the upper reaches of the west, is Olive Lake in Taotu Town and Lake Peli in Bohe Village, and in the lower reaches of the east is the vast Lake Ato. From west to east, it is about 220 miles long, and the terrain is quite flat , the drop is only over a hundred meters.”
"The big plan's management requirements for the Apa water system are to enable the passage of long boats and prevent floods during the rainy season! After this year's autumn harvest, the water levels in all rivers will drop. All flag brigades and villages in Apa County have They are required to serve. Tens of thousands of men are mobilized to dredge rivers, dig river mud, and build small reservoirs and dams! The excavated river bottom silt can be used to fertilize fields..."
Shulot stared at the two ends of the Apa water system, thought for a long time, and carefully wrote down the request to Ezpan. This Apa water system is actually an extension of the western lower branch of the Tulsas River. In other words, the Talsas River, this golden waterway, stretches from east to west for two to three thousand miles!
"No, it's more than that!"
The king pondered for a moment, then stroked his pen upward from the town of Clay, drawing a zigzag south line to the Chapala Lake area.
"In addition to three north-south county roads, an east-west water system, and another waterway of more than 300 miles, the Chatao River!"
Chatao River was named by Shulot himself. As the name suggests, it is the long river from Lake Chapala to the clay town of Apa Plains. Well, the king’s name is so concise, direct and willful!
The Chattao River is not too narrow and can carry large armies. This long river flows down from the southern end of Lake Chapala, first two hundred miles southeast, and reaches Snake Bone Village in the northwest of Apa County. Then, it turns southwest and passes through Bohe Village. The tributaries connect to Perry Lake, and the main stream flows out for hundreds of miles and connects to Olive Lake outside Taotu Town.
"Therefore, Lake Chapala is the upper reaches of the Apa River System. Only by conquering the Lake Chapala area can a solid barrier be established for the developed Apa Plain."
Shulot put down his quill and drew a heavy red circle on Lake Chapala. Prince Feather's strength was weakening day by day, and he had no energy left to go deep into the Apa Plains to plunder. But if the kingdom wants to have complete mountains and rivers, it must capture the Chapala Lake area and form a complete waterway.
At this point, the north is the Leman River -> Bayou City -> Lake Chapala, the south is the Tulsas River -> Purple Grass City -> Apa City -> Apa River System, and in the middle is Bayou City -> Patzqua Luohu District -> three southbound passages, and to the west is Chapala Lake District -> Chatao River -> Apa Plains -> Taotu Town -> Apa River System.
Four waterways and land routes form an irregular quadrilateral. It is five hundred miles from north to south and five hundred miles from east to west, covering approximately 60,000 square kilometers. And with such a complete road network and water network, this 60,000 square kilometers is the central hinterland of the kingdom that can be directly governed! Based on this, and then extending in all directions along the waterway, the territory that can be controlled will be several times that!
Thinking of this, Shulot's eyes sparkled and his chest surged, full of pride to conquer all directions and annex the world!
"The kingdom's first big plan is to mobilize more than 100,000 laborers and more than 10,000 warriors after the autumn harvest to start work in all counties at the same time! The most important part of it is to build four sections of secondary county roads totaling 600 miles. , dredge three sections of the river totaling six to seven hundred miles, completely connecting the north and south!"
"When the county road is initially built, the will of the royal capital can pass through the south. The next step is to attack the Chapala Lake area. After the Chapala Lake area is captured, the second big plan will be to destroy this kingdom. The road network of domination is extended again!"
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Chapter 668: Road and water network in four directions, five hundred miles under the direct jurisdiction of the kingdom. Free to read.
