Chapter 222: Taking Too Big a Step, but Not Afraid of Getting in Trouble

Brian was being hunted by Eberron so much that he had to run back to Forge Hammer Castle to seek protection from his son and daughter-in-law. Not to mention, after having dinner here, Tang En had already started discussing with Fiona the matters related to paving the way. .

Thousands of tons of asphalt brought back from the dwarf kingdom can only satisfy the first phase of Ellington's road project. This asphalt is only enough to pave the area covered by the old and new cities of Ellington, and even other villages within Ellington cannot completely pave it. China Unicom.

"Lord, although it has not started yet, I think this project will cost a lot, and we simply cannot afford it ourselves."

Fiona roughly estimated the cost of paving the road. She didn't pay much attention to it at first, but after calculating it, she was shocked. According to the current data given by Tang En, as well as the thickness of the paving, one square meter of new paving should be paved with asphalt. The cost of the road is almost one gold coin!

Doesn’t seem like much?

According to Tang En's plan, the main road must be at least 16 meters wide, and the secondary passage must be at least 10 meters wide, so paving a meter long is twenty-six gold coins. The current total length of the main roads in the old and new urban areas is plus It's about fifty kilometers up, which is already 130,000 gold coins!

Just now, the Ellington City area, which has not yet been fully completed, requires 130,000 gold coins to complete the paving of roads, not to mention that in the complete planning map, the total length of the roads has exceeded hundreds of kilometers, and there are still There are roads connecting other villages and towns!

If you want to rebuild all the roads in Ellington, you can't even think about it without millions of gold coins!

If you also want to connect with other territories and lay an asphalt road network, the amount of investment required is even more staggering, which is calculated in units of tens of millions or billions! This kind of project simply requires the efforts of a whole country to complete. Does a territory like Ellington want to complete this kind of project? It’s simply a fool’s dream!

"I never said I had to bear it myself."

Tang En looked indifferent: "Just pave the roads within the territory first. For the roads in other places, after those people come to Ellington, people will naturally come to us for cooperation. At that time, we will just set standards and sell them." Just make money by selling materials, technology and equipment.”

"……I see!"

Fiona understood what Tang En meant almost immediately. No matter how much he said, it was better to experience it personally and use ready-made examples to let those people feel the benefits of asphalt roads, and they would take the initiative to pave the roads themselves.

Tang En was not worried at all about the funding for later road construction, because he knew that after the benefits of asphalt roads spread, more and more people would want to build roads.

Think about it, once you have experienced the smoothness of an asphalt road, who else can endure the dirt road that becomes muddy when it rains? Or is it a bumpy gravel road that is extremely bumpy to drive on?

To put it more exaggeratedly, asphalt roads have also brought about improvements in efficiency. The major chambers of commerce are not fools. If the roads are replaced with such flat asphalt roads, how much will the speed of their carriage caravans increase? You must know that time is money, and business opportunities are fleeting. If you can be one step ahead, you can make a lot of money. If you are one step behind, you can only pick up some scraps.

"What we have to do now is build Ellington well."

Tang En said earnestly: "As long as Ellington is completed, all problems will be solved. There is no need to worry about other things."

"I understand, but..."

Fiona pulled out a letter: "Hilton sent back the news from Alexis. Leander, the Speaker of the Noble Council, is secretly searching for any information about you. This does not seem to be good news."

Tang En waved his hand indifferently: "Search as you like, my information has already been placed on the tables of the nobles in Alyinx."

"Oh, one more thing, 'Ye Ge' sent a message. President Berkeley decided to mobilize the business alliance to blockade the Datang Chamber of Commerce. Unanimous agreement has been obtained. All members of the business alliance refused to sell any items to the Datang Chamber of Commerce... Lord, Ye Who is the song?”

"A little thief jumping up and down... Humph!"

"Thief? How could the thief know this kind of news... This is not good news."

Fiona pinched her eyebrows and felt a headache: "We are still importing food from Kasparmi Castle and Bein. The food industries in these two cities are all members of the Business Alliance. The Business Alliance has blocked us. We can’t even buy food!”

Tang En frowned slightly: "How long can the food harvested this month, plus the food purchased before, last?"

"It can last up to four months. If there is a monster attack in winter, a cold wave, or a war, it will lead to food shortages."

"Four months...that is, the cold month at the end of the year..."

"Yes, we are still two months away from the Spring Harvest of the Dawn Moon."

Tang En was startled for a moment: "The harvested grain cannot even survive the spring harvest. How did we survive the winter here before?"

Tina, who came in with tea, couldn't help saying in a low voice: "Lord, many people in Ellington starve to death every winter... We all don't have enough to eat, and we can barely carry it until the spring harvest..."

Fiona added: "Thanks to the emergence of combine harvesters, this season's grain harvesting was very fast, with basically no waste, and no losses due to weather or monsters, so grain output increased by about 30% compared to previous years. But it’s not enough for per capita rations.”

"This is mainly because there are many more people in Ellington recently than before, almost several times, but the planting area of ​​food has not expanded. On the contrary, we have also promoted the planting area of ​​mint and two kinds of herbs, so the problem suddenly It exploded."

"What about food rationing?"

"I can hold on for one more month until next year's frozen moon."

Tang En knocked on the table: "In other words, even if a rationing system is implemented, we must get enough food for everyone in Ellington for at least one month before winter."

"Yes, but considering the stability issue, it is best to buy two months' worth of food."

Fiona said helplessly: "Although we have managed Ellington, Ellington is actually extremely fragile now. At this time, you, our Lord, are the most critical. As long as you can solve our problem, then Ellington can continue to grow, and if you can't solve a problem, just a little pressure, a little setback, Ellington will probably collapse."

"After all, most of the people who come to Ellington now are poor refugees. These people risk their lives and come all the way to Ellington just to have a good meal. Once they learn that Ellington will not even If we can’t provide food, then who else wants to stay here?”

Tang En smiled and nodded: "I understand, don't worry, food won't be a problem."

"Laugh! You can still laugh!"

Fiona was going crazy: "Where are you going to find someone to sell you food now? Even if you are willing to sell it, after learning about the commercial alliance's blockade, they will definitely take the opportunity to extort a price increase. We cannot afford this kind of toss!"

"secret."

Tang En waved his hand: "I understand the food issue. Let's put it aside for now and return to the previous issue, which is about paving the way."

"What else? The cost accounting is clear... Oh, yes!"

Fiona clapped her hands: "Although you have always said that asphalt can be used to pave roads and is a good thing, you haven't said yet how to pave the road."

"Well, it's quite simple, but it still requires some training because it requires the cooperation of two machines."

Tang En smiled slightly: "I started studying pavers and rollers in the afternoon, but for subsequent production... our spare parts processing plant may not be able to keep up with the production capacity, and the production capacity is seriously insufficient."

“It’s not a lack of production capacity!”

Fiona sighed again: "The lathe and stamping machine technology you developed is very convenient and can easily expand production capacity, but - we don't have that many people now! In the spare parts processing factory, the workers on the production line I’m so busy that I can’t move around anymore, there’s still construction going on outside, where are the people available?”

"When it comes to employing people, we are short of people now, but if we recruit more people, our food gap will be even greater. Now this is an endless cycle that cannot be solved unless we can solve the food problem so that we can Recruit refugees with confidence."

"In addition, Lord, we are now rebuilding Ellington, and at the same time we are also working on water conservancy, building roads, improving mining, rectifying agriculture, and expanding commerce... Don't you think we have gone too far?"

Fiona stared at Tang En and said: "To be honest, ordinary people doing these things casually are enough to leave a name in history, but you, Lord Lord, do it one after another, and I always feel that in your leisurely There seems to be a faint anxiety hidden under the face, is it my imagination?"

"Of course."

Tang En said with an innocent face: "What should I be anxious about? Don't forget that I am a mage. Even if Ellington is ruined by me, at worst, I can just pat my butt and leave. Is it possible that I still want to stay?" Are you going to be buried here? Oh, of course, don't worry, if I have to leave, I will definitely not forget to take you with me."

"Lord Lord..."

Hearing what Tang En said, Fiona and Tina didn't remember what they were discussing just now. Their eyes suddenly became misty, and they were so moved that they wanted to move forward and give them a kiss.

"It's almost time. You guys can sort out the files here. I'll go think about the steamroller first."

With a smile on his face, Tang En stood up and left the study. As soon as he closed the door, the smile on his face disappeared. He couldn't help but mutter: "A woman's intuition is really terrible... Can you feel it like this?"

"Lord? What are you talking about?"

Tang En's face straightened up and he turned around: "Huh? Marlene, have you changed your hairstyle? You look really beautiful!"

He knew very well that women, especially curious women, were very dangerous creatures. It would be even more dangerous if the attributive "beautiful" was added to it.

Fortunately, this creature has a very fatal weakness, that is, it is extremely emotional and likes to ignore normal logic...

Therefore, their attention can be easily diverted.

"Ah, Lord, is it true?"

Marlene's curiosity was immediately diverted, she spun around happily, and then asked shyly: "Then... am I beautiful or is Tina beautiful?"

"They're all beautiful...I've been out for a while, so you can do your business."

Marlene's voice was so sweet that most people might not be able to hold it. Tang En smiled at her and hurriedly left the Lord's Mansion.