industrial lord

Chapter 541 Lugang Development

The development of Lukang area cannot be rushed. Dealing with such a large swamp requires a lot of manpower and material resources, and also relies on the power of nature.

In terms of manpower, Frederick took a fancy to the refugees outside the city of Hammam and discussed with Todt whether some of them could be transported here now.

The biggest reason why Count Toth was able to serve as the deputy leader of the Royal Mage Corps at the age of just over 30 was that his father, Old Count Toth, was the deputy leader.

Secondly, he went to the University of Weissenberg to study eleven years ago. After graduation, he stayed on to teach at the school for two years, and then joined a construction company. He is the most powerful magician among civil engineers, and the best civil engineering magician among magicians.

One of the reasons why Frederick gave him the Lugang project to lead the construction was to see to what extent magic could improve the efficiency of civil engineering.

Between last summer and late winter this year, a 190-kilometer-long and 90-meter-high dam was built around the first 2 square kilometers of estuary swamp.

Todt explained to Frederick the method of building the dam.

The soil beneath the estuarine swamp is not waterproof, and if a dam is built directly on it, water will seep through from underneath.

So Todt ordered a large number of wooden boards from the shipyard in Amstel, and inserted the boards into the impermeable soil to form grids that were hundreds of meters long.

Then it was the magicians' turn. They turned the soft swamp soil into mud, and then used tornado magic and other methods to pump it away until the bottom impermeable soil layer was exposed.

There are mountains upstream of the river. Rocks are taken from the mountains after being blasted and transported here by boat. The rubble is then filled into wooden grids until the surface is higher than the normal river level.

In addition to rocky mountains, there is also clay soil upstream. After being turned into mud, it is pumped onto the boat with a water pump. After being turned into mud again, it is pumped into the wooden grid. When the magic effect disappears, it can merge into one with the fragments without even having to be compacted.

At this time, the lower layer of wooden boards can be taken out and moved to the side to repeat the previous work, and then other wooden boards can be used to build smaller grids on the finished foundation. Repeat the previous work to build the dam in two layers to a height of two meters above the water surface.

Toth optimized the construction sequence, and theoretically could achieve continuous construction of the three sections of foundation, 0~1m and 1~2m, so that the embankment would continue to extend forward and grow higher.

Because the wages were reasonable and paid on time, laborers and magicians from the Lowlands, the northern part of the Kingdom of Gaul, and even the Kingdom of Anglia across the sea flocked to the city, providing sufficient manpower to work in three shifts.

It is now the tail end of the spring flood season. The turbid river water is blocked by temporary dams and flows into the enclosed swamps through the gaps left in the dams.

There are many reeds growing in the swamp, and now that the weather is getting warmer, new shoots are beginning to emerge.

These reeds slowed down the flow of water, and the mud in the water gradually settled down.

In order to speed up the accumulation of soil and not leave people idle, Toth negotiated with the nearby landowners to help them flatten several hills and dump the soil at the water inlet.

On the seashore, there is a kilometer-long area where there is only gravel at the foundation of the embankment, and clear river water seeps out from here and flows into the sea.

Thoth pointed to the reeds ahead and said to Frederick: "We encountered some trouble at the beginning. Too much silt accumulated near the water inlet, blocking the water flow behind."

"So we dropped explosives from the hot air balloon and blasted some channels for the water to pass through."

"Later, we arranged for people to watch from the hot air balloon every day and constantly open new channels."

"This year's flood is bigger than previous years, about 1.5 meters high."

"We have diverted water from three nearby rivers and expect to be able to remove mud that is about half a meter higher than the normal river level."

After listening to this, Frederick said: "It is a good thing to bring in more river water, but it will also cause siltation in the river. When the water level drops, we must do a good job of dredging to ensure future navigation."

"More than half a meter is enough. Any higher will be unfavorable for agricultural water use and will require a lot of effort to pump water."

"After the water recedes, burn all the reeds and use the hot air balloon to see if the ground is flat. If it is, you can proceed to the next step." "When the time comes, notify the Agricultural College. They have already formulated a plan."

"We can build the farm terrace first. There is no rush to build the canal and lake. We can wait until next year to let the pests covered by the silt be suffocated to death first."

"The reeds in the field are a nuisance and must be cleared away."

"After the reeds are burned, they will use the nutrients stored in the roots to grow new leaves. You need to arrange for people to burn the reed leaves before they grow to half a meter high. The scattered ones can be removed with tractors or manually."

"This way, the nutrients at the roots of the reeds are consumed, and the new leaves are destroyed without producing nutrients for the roots. After a few times, even the roots die."

At this time, Toth said, "Principal, why don't we get some swamp deer here? They eat the reed leaves, and we can eat them after the reeds are gone."

Frederick thought it made sense. The reason why this place was called Deer Harbor was because there were many swamps and swamp deer eating reeds.

Now that there are no chemical herbicides, biological control is the simplest method.

Frederick nodded and said, "Yes, I think we can even set aside a piece of land for raising deer, which should have good economic benefits."

The whole body of a deer is a treasure, especially its blood, which is very popular because of its nourishing effect.

Frederick said it unintentionally; he just said it casually.

But Grand Duke Wessen was well-known in the business world, and Todt immediately saw this as a good way to make money.

"We also need to plan the port." Frederick's eyes narrowed slightly, "There will be no more Amstel City in the future."

The south of Lugang is an estuary delta area with flat land and dense water networks. The rivers that flow into the sea here include the Rhine River system that penetrates deep into the interior of the continent, as well as the Scheldt River system that penetrates deep into the north of the Kingdom of Gaul. As a sea and land transfer port, it has a unique location.

However, there are many swamps here and they are difficult to develop, so the city of Amstel, which has better terrain, takes on the burden of being a sea and land transfer port.

Frederick would not miss this opportunity, but his hands were not long enough to stimulate the city of Amstel first. He built the infrastructure and military facilities on the pretext of developing the swampland, and everything would naturally come to fruition in the end.

Professor Habib, the expert hired from the Kingdom of Gaul, was only used to confuse outsiders, and he could only access the superficial part.

Todt was one of the few people who knew about the plan. He told Frederick: "I planned an industrial zone in Lugang according to the president's wishes, mainly to introduce food processing factories and slightly expand the fishing port under the pretext of processing seafood."

"The navy's barracks and port are planned with the soon-to-be-formed Dawn Chamber of Commerce fishing fleet and fish processing plant in mind."

Frederick nodded. This kind of planning is very much in the style of doing business wherever he goes.

The two finished talking about the port. Toth hesitated for a moment, then quickly made up his mind and said in a low voice, "Principal, I heard a rumor that someone doesn't want us to go to the front line in Hanma City."

Frederick frowned.

The only person in the Rhine Alliance who could mobilize the Royal Mage Corps was Rudolf, and it was through him that he was able to transfer half of the regiment to help.

In other words, someone tried to persuade Rudolf to reduce the strength of the city of Hammer.

Toth grew up in Cologne and had a network of connections that he could use to get a lot of information.
"Forget about her." Frederick shook his head, with some guesses in his mind, "If you don't want to go, just stay here and do your work. I want to see what our queen is going to do."

(End of this chapter)