Chapter 667 Big Plan!

The night is getting darker, the camp is solemn, the wind is warm in the tent, and the incense burner is smoking. The bonfire danced in the big tent, reflecting the figure of a person writing at his desk, which coincided with the shadow of the moon on the zenith.

Shulot sat in front of the desk, sometimes thinking for a long time, sometimes writing furiously. A detailed map of the kingdom was spread out on his desk, with black towns lined up and down, and blue rivers rushing north and south. The young king dipped his hands in expensive red paint and connected blue and black with the shortest red line!

"The kingdom's roads are divided into three levels. The first level is a village-level dirt road. The grass and trees on the road surface are cleared, the high places are dug and trimmed, and the low places are filled with soil to make it easier for pedestrians to go back and forth."

After writing this, Shulot paused slightly. The roads in the kingdom now are basically dirt roads like this, inherited from the Kingdom of Tarasco. This kind of dirt road is "a road formed by many people walking on it." In the newly reclaimed Apa County in the south, there is no such road yet.

"The second level is the county-level Sanhe dirt road. The Sanhe dirt road is based on clay and loam, bonded with slaked lime, and natural sand is used as filler. The Sanhe dirt road must be compacted manually and maintained. In areas with rainy rivers and lush vegetation , it is necessary to use cinder, slag, and gravel as the base layer, and fill it with natural sand dug from the seaside to prevent water and plants. "

Shulot looked at the map and pondered for a moment. He asked the samurai leaders who transported grain and fodder, and carefully investigated the situation of the logistics roads. Based on the current conditions, the Sanhe Dirt Road should be the most appropriate balanced choice between the kingdom's productivity and material transportation, and it will be the focus of the next construction. The criteria for judging whether a Sanhe dirt road is qualified are also very simple.

"The road surface needs to be smooth and firm enough, and the standard for passing the judgment is a wheelbarrow that can quickly pass through the kingdom for transportation!"

In the kingdom's logistics, metal-reinforced wheelbarrows have been widely used. The wheels are covered with vulcanized rubber, which greatly increases the service life. The bearings only need to be repaired once a month or two. However, this kind of transportation is still an expensive military vehicle. The cost of wheels and bearings was extremely high, and the production of rubber was very limited. Ordinary businessmen and people in the kingdom cannot afford it.

"The third-level road is a stone road at the kingdom level. It uses large and small stones as the base material, slag and natural sand as the filler, and then uses pozzolanic cement or asphalt to bond it, and then the civilians drag the stone and compact it. This level With the Kingdom Stone Road, you no longer have to worry about rainwater or the roots of plants. Asphalt is toxic to kill vegetation, while volcanic ash cement is stronger in water bubbles. The criterion for passing the Grade 3 stone road is that it can be used. The loaded carriages and ox-carts pass by!”

Hulot imagined the scene of the Roman stone road, with a slight smile on his face. He has received a letter from Koscach, the director of the Kingdom Construction Department. The other party reported with great excitement that they had discovered the "cement" in the divine guidance. A wall made of cement can harden day by day until it finally looks like a big stone that is difficult to break with an axe's edge!

"Well, according to Koscach's description, the volcanic ash cement takes a long time to harden and needs to be constantly added with water. It's a bit strange."

Thinking of this, Shulot scratched his head. He had only heard of the name of pozzolanic cement, but of course he didn't know the specific principles. He only put forward directions and requirements, and the specific practice naturally needs to be explored by the various directors, directors, master craftsmen, and senior craftsmen in the Institute of Divine Inspiration.

"However, Koskachi will never dare to deceive me. Pozzolana cement must have been developed. And the craftsman Tanniao who first tried the cement will also be given a heavy reward! He will be promoted to a master craftsman and awarded the honor of a divine priest. Give another 200 acres of land, 20 slaves, and 200 pounds of gold to encourage craftsmen everywhere!"

Shulot thought for a moment and then made a decision. The kingdom's rear is stable, its manpower is sufficient, and the number of craftsmen has also grown explosively. Various projects are about to start, and Qianjin City Bone is at this moment!

"Of course, volcanic ash has to be transported from the Colima Mountains, which is not that convenient. There are many volcanoes in the Alliance and Kingdom, so this mountain bird must take his apprentice to various volcanoes and the foot of the sacred mountain to find more raw materials for volcanic ash cement! "

Craftsmen who make great contributions and make progress can receive generous rewards. They also need to bring apprentices with them and teach them relevant technical know-how. They have the right to choose apprentices, but they are definitely not allowed to be self-conscious. In fact, the kingdom gave them generous social status and treatment, and they did not need to hide their secrets to make a living.

"Phew! Building roads with volcanic ash cement is still too extravagant. The production of this cement is limited and its waterproof performance is excellent. It should be prioritized in the construction of reservoirs and dams. In the south of the kingdom, there are crisscrossing water systems and interconnected lakes, and the rainfall in the rainy season is too abundant. , and the reservoirs and dams that store floods are most needed!”

Thinking of this, Shulot put down his quill and drew red circles near several lakes in the kingdom. That's where the reservoir and dam are expected to be. Then, he held up the map and carefully looked at the towns with black dots, the rivers with blue lines, the roads with red lines, the lakes with blue circles, and the reservoirs with red circles next to the lakes. All the construction plans appeared on the paper!

Generally speaking, the kingdom's grand construction plan this time is to use the three-river dirt road as a secondary county road to connect the major cities and towns in each county, as well as the large and small rivers in the north and south. Next, the water systems in the north and south need to be dredged, and the rocks in the rivers need to be cleared. Finally, small reservoirs and dams for flood control must be built around large lakes to regulate precipitation in the rainy season.

In addition, villages in various places have received long-term tasks to repair canals. During the slack season every year, villagers must continue to perform various labors under the leadership of village priests. And each county must also provide sufficient tools and subsidize the rations for labor.

As for the three-level stone road and the excavation of the canal. Such a costly project, Xiu Luote only thought about it in his dreams, and would never implement it now.

"Building three river dirt roads, clearing river reefs, building reservoir dams, and repairing local canals are the four priorities of the big plan!"

Writing this, Xiu Luote laughed at himself. Compared with Qin Shihuang's Chidao, Emperor Wu of Han's Great Wall, and Emperor Yang of Sui's Grand Canal, such a big plan is probably only a fraction of a fraction of a fraction. However, such a project is an unprecedented feat for the Kingdom of the Lake, and even the entire Mesoamerican world!

And if there were no popularization of bronze tools in the kingdom and the production of iron tools, the cost of building roads and dams would probably be difficult for all the tribes in the world to accept.

"The first priority is to build a county road with three rivers to connect the water system and the town!"

Xuluot stretched out his finger and stroked the first red line on the map. The starting point of the red line is the Hekou Fortress in Hekou County in the north, and the end point is the royal capital Qincongcan City. The construction length of this second-level county road is about 160 to 170 miles. The road first goes south, connecting the villages along the line, then connecting with Huayamo Fortress, and finally turning west to connect to Qincongcan City.

"The first county road, Leman River-Hekou Fortress-Huayamo Fortress-Qincongcan City. The terrain in the north of the kingdom is relatively flat, and there are many first-level dirt roads. Only this second-level county road is needed to connect the capital with the Leman River system more effectively. And the construction of this county road is also based on the dirt road of the Tarasco Kingdom!"

Xuluot pondered the details of this road and picked up a pen to mark the possible difficulties in construction.

"The terrain near Huayamo Fortress is high, so it should be a little difficult, but the overall difficulty of the road is not great."

The first county road is 170 miles long. The land route goes from north to south, and the altitude gradually increases until it reaches the highest point near Huayamo Fortress. Then, the road continues to turn southwest, and the altitude decreases slightly until it reaches Qincongcan City. The altitude of the royal capital Qincongcan is obviously higher than the Hekou Fortress. The royal capital Qincongcan and Huayamo Fortress were originally city-states that survived the great flood of the last era, and both were built at the high point of the lake area.

In fact, the altitude of Qincongcan City is about 2,000 meters, Huayamo Fortress is 2,400 meters, and the altitude of Hekou Fortress is 1,800 meters. This road rises 600 meters and then drops 200 meters in 170 miles. Compared with the altitude difference of thousands of meters in the two southern counties, this terrain is really gentle. And this road in later generations is the transition from Highway 43 to Highway 15 in Mexico.

"From the second county road, all of them lead to the south. The second county road belongs to the eastern route of the southern road and is divided into two sections. The first section of the eastern route starts from Patzcuaro City and travels 150 miles to the small town of Alto."

The small town of Alto is where the southern nobles of the Xiuluote Conference were assassinated by Medina a few years ago. It is also a node on the trade route to the south. The reason why it starts from Patzcuaro is that there is water transportation from Lake Patzcuaro between Qincongcan City and Patzcuaro City. The efficiency of water transportation is much higher than that of land transportation, even the third-level stone road is difficult to compare.

At the beginning of the planning, Xiuluote reduced the amount of engineering of the "big plan" as much as possible, and first laid out the main trunks of several arteries.

"The first section of the eastern route is 150 miles long. From south to north, it also rises first and then falls. The closer to Alto City, the faster the terrain drops, and it begins to show its steepness."

The first section of the second county road is a land route with a total length of 150 miles. This section of the county road is the 120 highway in later generations. Patzcuaro is 2,200 meters above sea level, slightly higher than Chincongcan. The altitude of Alto is only 1,500 meters, and the highest point between the two ends is a mountain village at 2,400 meters. So the first half is flat and easy to build, while the second half, which is 80 miles long, will suddenly drop 900 meters, which will be a lot of trouble to build.

"Fortunately, the second section of the east line, starting from the small town of Alto, has a navigable river, which is called the "Running River" locally. The running river has a very fast speed. It flows south from Alto, turns southwest, passes through the mountain lake (La Pena), travels 160 miles, and merges into the southern lake, Atoyak Lake, in Crow Town. This 160-mile waterway has a turbulent flow, a large drop, and also has reefs, mudflats and small waterfalls. However, the kingdom's canoes can pass through, and merchants travel through this waterway, which is much more efficient than the previous section."

Writing this, Xiu Luote frowned slightly. This section of the waterway needs to be dredged to allow long boats to pass and improve water transportation efficiency. The laborers not only have to clear the reefs in the river, but also make the small waterfalls in the middle of the river smooth, or dig a curved river to bypass it. And these river projects in the mountains, relying solely on manpower, don't know how many lives will be consumed. The best way is to use granulated black gunpowder to blast and then dig.

"You can start with the simple ones and repair them bit by bit. For now, although the boats are risky, they can still pass. As for the name of this "Running River", it has to be changed! Well, it starts from Alto and ends at the Crow Town where the Sitley family used to be, and flows into the vast Atuo Lake. To be concise, let's call it the Ao Ya River!"

The second section of the second county road is the Ao Ya River waterway, which is 160 miles long. The starting point of Alto City is 1,500 meters above sea level, while the end point of Crow Town is only 200 meters above sea level. In the 160 miles, it dropped 1,300 meters, an average of eight meters per mile! With such a drop in altitude, it doesn't even take a day to go downstream from north to south. From south to north, it is much more difficult, and someone has to pull the boat in the dangerous places. Thirty or forty miles a day, it is estimated that it will take five or six days to complete.

The Patzcuaro Lake area in the heart of the kingdom has the highest terrain. The Chapala Lake area in the west and the estuary county in the north are all lower. As for the two counties in the south, they have the lowest terrain. Being high above, it is the terrain of mountains and rivers, and it also has the advantage of marching and attacking! The reason why the former kings of Tarasco built their capital in the Patzcuaro Lake area should also be because of this consideration.

"The third county road is also divided into two sections. The first section is divided into two parts. It starts from the commercial city of Ivachio, goes west for sixty miles, connects to the Black Stone City in the Chingambat mining area, and then goes west for another sixty miles to connect to the Flower and Fruit City in the mountains. The difficulty of road construction lies between Black Stone City and Flower and Fruit City."

The first section of the third county road is 120 miles long. From northeast to southwest, there are three important towns, all sixty miles apart. This county road is the 14th highway in the future. The scenery is very good, but it is difficult to drive.

The commercial town of Ivachio, referred to as the commercial city, is located on the edge of Lake Patzcuaro. It is connected to the capital by water and has an altitude of about 2,100 meters. The altitude of the Chingambat mining area is about 2,000 meters. From the commercial city to the Black Stone City in the mining area, you have to go through several hills of one or two hundred meters. Although you have to take a detour, the construction difficulty is not high. Moreover, the mining area can provide road construction materials nearby, reducing a lot of transportation engineering. In fact, in order to transport copper and coal from the mining area, this section of the road has been roughly repaired once, and it can be used by wheelbarrows. All that needs to be done is to continue to reinforce and repair it.

The altitude of Huaguo City is about 1,700 meters. From Black Stone City to Huaguo City, the road drops 300 meters in 30 miles, and there are several large hills. The difficulty of building this section is much higher. But in general, it is easy to build roads near the mining area.

"And from Huaguo City to the south, connecting to the Apa Plain, is the real difficulty!"

Xiuluot straightened his spine and shook his spirit. He stretched out his hand to connect the north and the south, crossing the vast south, and a blue waterway and a red line of land came into view at the same time!

Note: The segmented map of the entire road construction project can be found in the group file! I will organize it into a simple map later and put it in the Easter Egg Chapter.