Chapter 1 If you want to get rich, you must first dig a river
In the hot summer, birds are singing in the forest, bugs are flying happily by the river, rabbits are still vigilant when eating grass, and slimes are soft under the shade of trees. Digest the food in your belly into a puddle.
Two strong draft horses took off their harnesses and ate grass leisurely by the river.
The coachmen squatted by the river and used the clear river water to wash the pheasants they had caught today.
Several hunters were scattered around, wary of dangerous monsters.
Not far away on the other side of the river, you can see the pointed tower of a castle.
A child was sitting on the grass by the river, holding a writing board and parchment in one hand and a quill in the other. He dipped the ink in the ink bottle next to him from time to time and concentrated on calculations.
Friedrich von Wesson looked at the final number and said helplessly: "This canal is about 16 kilometers long, 20 meters wide at the bottom, and 4 meters deep. Counting the slopes, it is about 1.53 million square meters of earth. "
"Each person can dig 5 cubic meters per day for 830,000 square meters of soil within two meters, and 3 cubic meters for each person per day for 700,000 square meters of soil below two meters, which is about 400,000 working days. ”
“If the excavation is to be completed within a year, approximately 1,500 people will be needed taking into account rest and auxiliary personnel.”
"The cost of a laborer per year is two florins, so at least 3,000 gold coins are needed!"
In the Rhine League, 1 florin gold coin is currently equal to 20 Kreuz silver coins, which is equal to 2,000 A copper plate.
Currently, 1 Reutz can buy 50 kilograms of wheat, and 3,000 florins is equivalent to 3,000 tons of wheat.
Although Weisenling covers an area of about 1,000 square kilometers, it was developed late, with only more than 3,000 hectares of cultivated land. The current wheat yield is 700 kilograms per hectare, and nearly 30,000 people in the entire territory do not eat or drink. Not enough either.
A middle-aged housekeeper standing next to Frederick said: "Sir, the king has ordered a fine of 5,000 florins to be paid in five years, which is equivalent to 17 and a half kilograms of pure gold. The gold beads at home and It’s enough to melt the gold.”
Frederick shook his head and said angrily: "That old guy William has no good intentions. First he pushed the responsibility for the defeat onto his father who died in the war, and then he lowered the title of the Wesson family from earl to baron. Then he pretended They asked us to spend 5 years preparing 5,000 florins, but we only used this time to lick our wounds. If we have the strength to grab our Weisen collar!”
“Afu, believe it or not, ours is ours!” The neighbor has become the king's hunting dog. After two years, he will attack us and weaken us. Then we can share a few bones."
He became more and more angry as he spoke, and his chest kept heaving. His face also turned red.
Last year, there was a war between the Rhine League and the Kingdom of Gaul. During this period, the Kingdom of Gaul attacked the Rhine League's logistics camp. His father risked his life to save the food and grass in the camp, and only lost less than 5%.
In the end, they lost the battle. The blame for defeat flew around, and finally it was placed on the head of the late Earl Wesson. The charge was that he failed to keep food and grass. At the same time, he was demoted and paid a huge fine.
Frederick's mother passed away in grief and anger this spring. He cried so hard that he fainted at the funeral. When he fell, he hit his head on a stone. As a result, all the memories of his previous life were restored.
Frederick lay in the room for three days, digesting the memories in his mind, studying the map carefully, and finally came to the conclusion that it was his fault.
This world is similar and strange to his hometown. Not to mention magic and Warcraft, the local geography looks like Europe, but there is a large continent to the west of France and Two Teeth, and the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea to the east. The Caucasus region between them is a sea, and even more incredible is the Sahara Desert on the other side of the Mediterranean Sea, which is densely forested.
As for the more distant east, Frederick really wanted to have a chance to visit it in the future.
The Rhine League was a loose alliance. It mostly exempted members from tariffs. Politically, there were many internal princes. Annexations and splits occurred from time to time. Only when facing foreign enemies would they temporarily unite. To fight, you don't need to kill the king, and you can't. You just need to eat a few of the king's dogs nearby. Then the king will carefully consider his next move.
The soldiers and horses go ahead before the food and grass are used. The war is about money.
In order to make money, Frederick took people to inspect the land between the two rivers in the territory.
The upper reaches of the Swabian Rezat River, a tributary of the Main River, and the Altmeer River, a tributary of the Danube River, are both within the territory of Wesson. As long as these two rivers are connected by canals, cargo ships heading north can start from the Main The river enters the Rhine River and then to the North Sea. Going south to the Danube River, you can go straight down to the Black Sea.
Water transportation is the lowest cost mode of transportation. As long as the canal is opened, the transportation distance from north to south in the eastern part of the mainland will be greatly shortened and the cost will be greatly reduced. At the same time, it will also become a commodity distribution center for the surrounding inland areas.
So Frederick planned to use all his wealth to dig a canal and build a small town on the riverside as a logistics center.
If he wants to develop his territory, he must have channels to purchase raw materials and energy, otherwise nothing will happen.
As long as the role of the canal is revealed and merchant ships gather, raw materials will be available.
At the same time, the new products he planned can also be sold, thereby making huge profits.
Five years later, if you win, you will develop like a snowball. If you lose, you will run away anonymously and carry a bucket to become a scholar at the University of Constantbul.
Apart from anything else, there will be no Newton in this world by then. When students take the math and physics exams in the future, all they will see is Wesson, and they will say things like "Wesson's coffin board can no longer hold it down."
Afu sighed silently in his heart when he saw the master in a daze.
Frederick was only 8 years old this year, and his young shoulders shouldered the burden of the entire family. One can imagine the great pressure on him.
"Afu." Frederick said, "I will draw some maps later. You can take them to Nuremberg to discuss with the Masons' Guild tomorrow. The total price of the canal and dock town will be controlled at Less than 4,500 florins is victory."
Afu replied: "As you wish. Recently, I heard that there have been heavy rains in the south for many days, and there have been floods in the lower reaches of the Rhine River. If you hire people. They will be cheap.”
Frederick's drawing hand paused, and after thinking for a moment he said: "Then add one more thing. People who work here can live in the new town or open up wasteland nearby after the project is completed."
"Well...it's actually more than that. We still have a lot of land here that can be reclaimed into farmland. Let's take the opportunity to recruit more refugees to open up wasteland."
According to his calculations, Wesson owns 90% of the land. It can be reclaimed as farmland, and the population can increase to 50,000 in a few years.
If business develops again, it is estimated that the population will increase by about 10,000 people.
“That’s right.” Frederick remembered something: “I also need to go to the blacksmith’s guild and the carpenter’s guild. Prepare so many tools in advance.”
(End of this chapter)