chsdbacks #528 - Mortar road works
#528 - Mortar road works
He used a knife to slice off a piece of crystal-clear ham, placed it on a golden-brown slice of bread fried with garlic and parsley, and sprinkled it with finely grated cheese.
Looking at the fragrant and simple sandwich in front of him, Horn took a big bite. The saltiness of the ham, the richness of the cheese, and the subtle sweetness of the bread blended together.
Horn could even feel that the ham wasn't being cut by his teeth, but rather being squeezed apart.
This complex flavor lingered in his mouth, even carrying a peculiar acorn aroma.
Perhaps it was because mountain boars couldn't appreciate other mountain boars, but Horn couldn't think of any better descriptive words than 'awesome'.
It had to be said that although North County lacked mineral resources, the flavor of its mountain boar was truly something special.
He needed to think of a way to find a well-known figure in the empire, preferably someone famous for their palate, to promote and package it properly.
A like-new Sechinger ham, worth 20 dinars, would be a loss if Horn couldn't sell it for 2 gold pounds.
Sechinger's gift to Horn was this North County ham.
Although North County was short on salt, it wasn't a problem for an earl like him to spare some salt to cure a few hams.
Originally, these hams were meant for Moliaty, and the gift for Horn was supposed to be a few amber pendants.
But after signing the previous agreements, and after a night of consideration, Sechinger took out a large ham from the two he had and gave it to Horn as a gift.
For Sechinger, this wasn't just ordinary ham; it was a thigh of loyalty, righteousness, and utmost sincerity.
Because after accepting this 'thigh,' Horn's response was a loan.
This loan amounted to 25,000 gold pounds, to be used for constructing 40 kilometers of mortar road on the most difficult stretch of road from the foothills to the plains – Mud Throat Trail.
Because water would gather from the foothills to the low-lying areas, Mud Throat Trail had many undulating steep slopes and soft wetlands.
Once completed, the time from the foothills to the plains could be almost halved.
If it were flat land like near Jeanne d'Arc Fort, it could probably be completed in three months, but with the local terrain and efficiency, it was estimated that it would take until early summer next year to see results.
As for the laborers departing from Sechinger's earldom, they wouldn't have to go that far; they could stop near Black Mountain Fort.
They would work with the local laborers of Golden River Township to build this road.
After all, it wouldn't be necessary to transfer manpower from Red Maple Township; as long as the stonemasons and foremen were confirmed, the Kush nobles of Golden River Township could also earn some money.
This heart-stopping amount of money... if he wasn't afraid Moliaty would object, Sechinger would have given both hams.
Thinking of this, Horn took out a thick ledger from the bookshelf behind him.
The small, blurry handwriting on the pages was firmly glued together.
The contents were the mortar road projects currently being undertaken by the Salvation Army.
The first item was the Southern Great Marsh mortar road project, 60 kilometers long, from Autumn Dusk Island's New Life Bridge to Mayo Town.
A total of 550 laborers were divided into four construction teams working in parallel: swamp, mountain, forest, and plain.
Due to the complex terrain involved, the construction period was set at 6 months, expected to be completed in January next year, costing approximately 22,000 gold pounds.
The second item was the southwest mortar road project from Jeanne d'Arc Fort to Sour Gourd Town, 90 kilometers long.
A total of 1,200 laborers were involved, costing approximately 32,500 gold pounds. Because it was in a plain area, although the length was longer, the construction period was only 7 months, expected to be completed in February next year.
The former was for the convenient transfer of alchemical and military supplies, and the latter was for the rapid transfer of food and other supplies.
As for the western route from Jeanne d'Arc Fort to Mayo Town, mortar roads were only built in difficult areas; the remaining roads were still usable, so they were temporarily put on hold.
The mortar road from Jeanne d'Arc Fort to Rapid Current City also didn't need to be rushed.
With such a high-speed canal entering Jeanne d'Arc Fort, the war monks could take troop transport ships and quickly maneuver to the front line in Rapid Current City.
Starting from June this year, these two projects had drained most of Horn's liquid funds. With military expenses and other expenditures included, the original sacred treasury of over 100,000 gold pounds was reduced to less than 30,000 gold pounds.
Fortunately, this also supported a large number of related laborers and citizens. The large-scale construction scene near Jeanne d'Arc Fort was the work of these contractors, laborers, and citizens who made their fortunes by building roads.
Horn's actions weren't a complete loss.
First, the money earned by the contractors flowed back into the treasury through the purchase of mortar, consumption taxes, and Holy War bonds.
Second, the speed of transportation and mobilization in various places was increased, and a large amount of material waste was reduced thanks to these mortar roads.
Next was to continue adding Sechinger's project to this list of projects.
Horn looked at the dense numbers in the thick book, rubbed his sore eyes, and began to consider whether to set up a Minister of Transportation.
Now the stonemasons had gone to Mud Throat Trail for inspection, and after Sechinger returned from High Fort City, Bussac would go to North County with him.
Relying on the river and mortar roads, Langsand County, Lower River County, Kashia County, North County, and the northern county of Black Serpent Bay could be connected into one.
By developing high-value commodities such as white sugar, salt, peat, and high-end ham, as well as a rapidly developing economy, Horn could prevent currency outflow.
He didn't care how much money he lost, after all, internal debt wasn't debt, right? If he was short of money, didn't he have Holy War bonds and national bonds?
"Knock, knock, knock."
Just as Horn was carefully checking the project list in front of him, a knock sounded on the door.
"Come in."
The privy monk outside the door poked his head in: "Your Majesty, Sechinger is here with his daughter Nagmi, wanting to see you?"
"If it's about the marriage alliance, don't talk about it anymore. It was all said at last night's banquet. Without breaking the church, there can be no family," Horn said with a headache.
"No, no, he said it's about his daughter's personal issues, unrelated to the marriage alliance?"
"Oh?" Horn scratched his head. "Let him in."
Making way, Nagmi followed closely behind her father, entering the room that wasn't luxurious but was filled with papers and ink.
Looking from behind her father, Nagmi once again saw the Chosen Pope repeatedly mentioned by Kuszwania.
Unlike Kuszwania's own fan filter, she didn't think the Pope was handsome, even very ordinary, like a common farmer.
Unlike the amiable youth at yesterday's banquet, he now sat upright behind a wide desk, with several musket-wielding guards standing by the window.
Most of the other nobles and bishops of this era were dignified and solemn, and when facing people lower than themselves, they mostly had serious expressions.
But this one was smiling, even with a lazy scholarly air, but when his gaze swept over her, Nagmi always felt fear and tension involuntarily.
"You want to stay in Red Maple Township to study?"
Just as Nagmi was rambling, Horn's words clearly entered her ears.
"Your Majesty, I really just want to go to school," Nagmi subconsciously straightened her chest. "Although I've read books, I've never actually been to school."
"Okay, are you sure this is your personal wish, and not your father forcing you, or believing some rumors?" Horn looked at her suspiciously.
"No." Nagmi's teeth accidentally clicked. "I want to study poetry and natural theology, but the scholars of North County don't teach it."
Looking at Nagmi's face, Horn believed what she said: "You are quite ambitious. Okay, I'll tell them over there to waive your tuition fees. During your time in Jeanne d'Arc Fort, you can go through the procedures first.
Once the procedures are completed, you can go to the Women's Academy."
"Then I'll be bothering you for a few more days," Sechinger laughed.
Sechinger had always supported Nagmi's decisions, especially since this time he could also get closer to this Holy Grandson Pope.
As for the girl's schooling, he had no prejudice, and besides, if Horn said 'selecting concubines from the nuns' was a rumor, was it really a rumor?
That's not certain, try your luck, what if?
"Hahaha, we have plenty of food in Jeanne d'Arc Fort, you won't eat us into poverty," Horn was about to say a few more words, but he saw a privy monk running to the door in a hurry.
"What's wrong?" Horn waved apologetically, indicating to stop the conversation first.
"It's a letter from Rapid Current City."
Although the letter wasn't signed, Horn could recognize it from the dog-crawling handwriting as being sent by the Holy Grandson's army.
And the content of the letter was very simple, summed up in one sentence—
On December 1st, Lacunio led 7,000 troops to raid Clayesburg, the northwestern gateway to Kashia County.