Snowflakes were flying all over the sky, and the sky and the earth were vast.
The north wind howls and blows endless ice and cold to the earth. It seems that this wilderness will always be desolate and white snow.
And in this white ice and snow, above this endless snowfield, there is a black ribbon winding its way.
They are not caravans, farmers or exiles, but regular legions of this kingdom.
And they appeared here not because dangers and enemies appeared here, but because they wanted to open up a new road in this frozen and snowy wasteland.
A new type of road that is different from traditional roads - railway.
When the strong wind in the north roared again, Merlin Battis, the master dwarf craftsman, rubbed the still smoking wine glass in his hand and took a careful sip. Then, a stream of white smoke slowly exhaled from the dwarf's mouth and nose.
"It's so comfortable. It's so refreshing to drink your Kislev-produced vodka on such a cold day."
He shook the heated wine glass and stood there, looking around.
The scene in front of him reminded him of his home—Dulong City, a dwarf walled city far north of Kislev.
Many years ago, kyanite veins were discovered at the foot of the Dulong City Mountains. Thousands of dwarf miners risked their lives to dig for it. Such a magnificent scene was so similar to this moment.
The difference is that that year, the dwarf miners in Dulong City worked collectively for wealth and jewelry. But here, this group of Kislev humans only worked for a seemingly illusory goal, a
The promise given to them by the great lord seemed extremely absurd, just an unattainable dream.
Yes, they want to build a railway here, and they want to build an extra-long main railway line from Heidelberg to Oerengrad.
This is crazy and meaningless, but this is what their lord Lord ordered. Let the three legions that should be garrisoned in the capital take turns to build the railway on the border.
Battis really couldn't understand why a kingdom that was not rich to begin with would spend so much manpower and material resources on such a meaningless thing.
However, that's what they did.
Mixed in the crowd were some dwarf craftsmen. Like Batis, most of them were engineers and technical advisors. They helped the corps build the railway.
According to the words of the legion commander, the instructions given to them by Lord Rhodes were - building railways is an important weapon of the country. This is also a war, a war without blood and smoke. They are racing against time.
Even, according to Rhodes himself, the rise of Kislev lies on these railway tracks.
They own trains…
This was the deepest impression that Batis had on Mrs. Kislev. The small mine carts that could only carry three to four people were transformed into a long train. The amount of cargo that could be carried increased dozens of times, but
, the speed of the train is really astonishing, not even as good as a horse-drawn carriage.
"Our great engineer and great alchemist will continue to transform it!"
This is the mantra of the regiment commander.
Yes, that man named Gelt. He is now almost a household name in Kislev. He transformed the water supply system in Orengrad so that fountains can be seen in the streets and alleys of the entire city. He improved it
The water pipes produced are not only light in weight, but also corrosion-resistant, making them the best material.
During the expedition to the Pit of Hell, the alchemist and a few lone heroes formed an assassination team. They went deep into the lair of the rat men alone and killed the rat lord. They helped the Kislev-Duron City coalition forces conquer the Pit of Hell.
And now, it is said that that man is going to help Rhodes build the perfect train...
"Your Excellency Battis, please take a look to see if our construction steps are correct. Are there any deviations from those on the drawings?"
The legion commander braved the wind and snow to come to the dwarf engineer and humbly asked for advice.
Perhaps this was not his original intention, but their great lord requested so, and everyone must implement it.
Battis marveled at how Rhode's personal appeal was so powerful in this country. He was almost a perfect person. But how could a human be perfect...
Battis smiled. Lies among humans are always so absurd. Even if they know it is a lie, everyone will try their best to act it out.
"There are no problems with the construction."
The dwarf engineer assured, patting his chest.
He didn't lie, the engineering team did a very good job indeed. There are many things about Kislev today that make people confused, but they have to admire them. For example, their army, not an engineering team, did a better job than the professional engineering team.
Because he is a professional soldier, when there is no war on weekdays, he is deployed to various parts of the country to be responsible for infrastructure construction.
In the past five years, almost all of the new large-scale roads and water conservancy projects in Kislev were built by them. As both a professional corps and an engineering corps, each soldier has more or less accomplished something in his long-term work.
They have learned some construction skills and can be called a dual-professional army. And now, their great lord Rhodes has given them another title - Railway Soldiers.
Compared to building roads on this great plain, Battis is more concerned about the hills and forests.
According to the original plan, they would bypass these terrains to reduce construction difficulty. However, in that case, the journey would be greatly extended.
Therefore, Battis and his colleagues came up with a new idea: to take as straight a line as possible between the two places. When encountering hills, if the rock and soil are not very hard, they can use dwarf technology to dig tunnels, making the original
Curved routes become direct.
Although this will greatly extend the construction period, the completed railway will be able to significantly shorten the distance. If Mrs. Kislev really researches a way to speed up the train, then there is no doubt that this is an absolutely cost-effective investment. Only
However, at the moment, the dwarves don't have much interest in this big guy. They only invest in this project because the reward from Rhodes is very high...
…
A month later, when the dwarf chief engineer came to visit in person, Rhodes saw a brand new construction plan. It detailed the distance of each construction section, the construction time, and the number of tools and labor used.
On this drawing filled with numbers and common text, Rhodes saw the plan of the dwarf engineers.
They will open up three mountains and use tunnels and bridges to significantly shorten the length of the tracks.
The corresponding price is that the construction budget increases exponentially.
"Three kilometers, six kilometers and eight kilometers of tunnels. This is not an easy project. The amount of work for the three sections of tunnels is equivalent to building a medium-sized dwarf bunker. Tell me, how did you come up with this plan?"
Staring at the construction drawings, Rhodes frowned and asked about the dwarf engineer in front of him.
"Railway is a long-term project. As long as a railway is well maintained, it can be used for hundreds of years."
Battis coughed and continued -
"Dulong City's simplest mining tunnel subway has been in use for more than 120 years and is still in use. According to you, the railway connecting Heidelberg and Oerengrad will also be used for a hundred years. A hundred years.
Time, how many vehicles and goods travel on it, and every kilometer of distance shortened means that the distance of goods and people using this railway track will be shortened by one kilometer in the future. In the long run, this number is very scary. So.
, we must do everything we can to lay a solid foundation for future generations in the early stages of construction."
"What may seem to be 'extravagant' now, in the long run, is very economical and reasonable."