Chapter 545 Investigation along the way
"Archduke Wesson visited the 10th Pig Beauty Contest"
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[Archduke Weisen (second from left) takes a group photo with the top three in the competition]
Wesen Daily, Zhutou Town, June 18th, On the afternoon of the 18th, Archduke Weisen came to Zhutou Town to participate in the annual Pig beauty contest and served as a judge.
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The world's first newspaper with photos made Frederick's hands and feet cold. The photos were relatively clear, and the face and clothes were unmistakable compared with the existing portraits.
This newspaper is meant to last forever. It will survive into the aerospace era. Replacing it with a good car is not a problem.
Some scholars who study photography technology coat iron sheets with photosensitive materials, and some modify the camera obscura used by painters to project scenery. After exposing the iron-based negatives, they wash away the unexposed photosensitive materials with concentrated ammonia, and then use etching. Make a negative with an image.
Then after some transfer, the image will appear on the paper.
Frederick also thought that this method was just one of many unsuccessful explorations, so he agreed to allow them to follow him and take pictures as an encouragement to the scholars.
Unexpectedly, those scholars actually wanted to give him a surprise.
This time I was not just surprised, but frightened.
The protagonist of the world's first public photo is Frederick and three breeding pigs with an average weight of nearly 200 kilograms, which is not bad.
Frederick wanted to fight his way back to Weissenburg, but he had no choice. This was the newspaper from two days ago.
He has just left Bramble at the junction of the Principality of Byrne and the Osmaga Empire.
There is a train station to the north of the castle and town, and to the south is a trade road that goes south through the White Mountains to the north of the Kingdom of Sardinia, a total distance of about 350 kilometers.
This trade route is an important passage between the southern part of the Rhine League and the northern part of the Kingdom of Sardinia. Bramble has also become an important commercial center. Traditional commerce and handicrafts are developed in the town, and there is a small hardware industry emerging on both sides of the train station outside the town. The industrial product markets in the District and the Principality of Wesson are also busy.
However, due to the limited carrying capacity of horse-drawn carriages on mountain roads, the goods currently transported on trade routes are mainly small and lightweight light industrial products, while bulk commodities still rely on ships.
According to the plan of the Principality of Bern, the railway to the Kingdom of Sardinia will be laid along this mature trade route and reach the exit city of Bern on the other side.
The waterway from Weissenburg to the Kingdom of Sardinia needs to go down the Danube River and make a large circle to the Dark Sea. It is about 4,700 kilometers from Citrus Island in the south and about 5,400 kilometers from Venice in the north.
If this railway is built, the railway from Weissenburg to Bramble will be about 230 kilometers. After the train arrives in Bern after passing through 350 kilometers of mountain railway, it will still be about 120 kilometers away from Venice. The total mileage is about 700 kilometers.
When the railway is opened, commodities can travel between the Inland Sea and the Rhineland faster.
However, in recent years, Venice has been dancing hard because of its money, which has caused dissatisfaction among its surrounding neighbors, so the railway network of the Kingdom of Sardinia does not allow them to play and bypasses it.
If the goods in Venice need to be transported by rail, they can be unloaded at the Port of Ferdinand in the nearby Osmaga Empire—Mary’s newly built port in her territory—and arrive via the railway here, bypassing the White Mountains. The Principality of Wesson is about 1,000 kilometers away.
During this trip, Frederick needed to talk to the Kingdom of Sardinia about financing the construction of the railway. You have to walk through it yourself to know the specific conditions along the way. Otherwise, it would be a joke if investors didn’t know anything when asking questions. .
In the past, road transportation was choked by the White Mountains. To dispel investors' concerns, we need to come up with solutions first.
Now the White Mountains are occupied by the Osmaga Empire, separated between the Rhine League and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The entire mountain road is the territory of the Osmaga Empire, and most of the merchants running this road are local mountain people. These mountain people grew up in the White Mountains and are familiar with the climate and environment. Some of them are related to the bandits in the mountains, so they can pass by paying a little money to buy the way.
Frederick was on an official visit this time, bringing a pomp that befitted his status.
However, these people and objects went with the 3rd Division of the Kingdom of Tarago, and first took a boat to the Ferdinand City of the Osmaga Empire—the new city built by Frederick with the support of Queen Anna— —Then take the newly repaired railway to Port Ferdinand, where the 3rd Division will board a ship for its destination.
Frederick once again changed his name and moved alone, intending to take a good look at the situation along the way.
This time he pretended to be a scholar and was going to the Kingdom of Sardinia to find a job, so he found a large convoy.
The owner of the team is a middle-aged man named Fontana. His grandfather was a nobleman in the city of Bern. After losing power in the internal struggle of the family, he ran to the White Mountains and became the son-in-law of a local nobleman.
Now the two families have established a relationship again and started a transportation business in the White Mountains.
This fleet consists of forty steel-framed four-wheeled power-assisted carriages. There is a small implosion engine at the bottom of the vehicle. It can save a lot of horsepower when starting uphill.
There are nearly a hundred people in the convoy, including coachmen and bodyguards, all equipped with a double-barreled shotgun and two revolvers.
Most of the customers are small businessmen. Each person packs one or two carriages to load the goods and transport them to the Kingdom of Sardinia for sale.
In the past, there were some warriors and magicians who went to the mountains to hone their martial arts, and scholars and priests who went to various cities. This time there were only Frederick and a nun who was going to the holy city to pay homage to the saint.
Frederick listened to the nun preaching about the scriptures for more than an hour in the passenger car. He listened to her preach the benefits of fasting for half an hour. He felt dizzy and could only sneak out to chat with Fontana. .
Fontana repeatedly emphasized during the chat that the family title should have been his. It was a mistake made by the family maid when he was one year old, so he let his twin brother inherit the family business and he lived outside in the open air.
Frederick smiled and said: "You are making money outside now, and your life is no more comfortable than your brother blowing wind on the top of the mountain."
He had previously browsed the information of the nobles and nobles along the way, Fontana His family's castle is on the top of a hill, and it happens to be in the wind, so the wind is not bad.
Fontana shook his head and said: "How can money be so easy to make? If I were really rich, I would buy a house in Bern."
"Business is too risky, but transportation is more economical."< br>
Frederick asked him again: "Is it safe for us to walk in the mountains?"
Now they have entered the mountains. The mountain road is in the valley, with mountains of four to five hundred meters on both sides. The peaks more than a thousand meters in the distance are covered with snow.
The mountains on both sides are covered with large trees such as pine and fir trees, and the sounds of beasts can be heard from time to time in the forest.
Fontana patted the shotgun beside him and replied: "It used to be quite dangerous, but now with this, you don't have to worry about wild beasts or anything like that."
Frederick asked worriedly: "That bandit "
Fontana smiled and said, "You'll find out later."
Then he pointed to a few stones on the roadside in front and said, "Look at those stones. The pile is the sign of the bandits here. They are waiting for us in front.”
(End of this chapter)