novelraw Chapter 410 : Countless Castel
Chapter 410 : Countless Castel
Chapter 410: Countless Castel
“I’m not sure. I went to ask around, and the answer I got was ‘smaller than Castel’.”
Smaller than Castel?
Wasn’t that nonsense? Could they even build a ship larger than Castel?
That was clearly just a perfunctory excuse to keep it secret.
Speaking of which, Castel almost never kept its technology secret.
But then again, even if these technologies were given away for free, others might not be able to replicate them. The bolt-action rifle from before was the best example. He had found many craftsmen to study it, and the conclusion was—making a single gun was not hard, but mass-producing parts and assembling them into a qualified product was basically impossible.
And that was with the Holy Guard’s Holy Text serving as a guidebook. If one were to recklessly dismantle and imitate it, suffering cognitive interference twice would already be considered light.
Thinking about it that way, the Prince felt relieved. If he had such industrial strength, he wouldn’t keep it hidden either. In fact, he would be eager for others to study it—if no one came to study, how would they know how powerful he was?
As for enemies—ha! In battles where he could crush them head-on, why bother wasting effort hiding anything?
“Did you find out anything else?”
“They developed a brand-new weapon, but it’s said to be so huge that it can only be mounted on buildings.”
“A purely defensive weapon?”
“More or less.”
The Prince nodded. Then it didn’t hold much significance. His battlefield with the Empire would certainly not be in Tis, so such a weapon would not be of much help to him.
“Anything else?”
“They’re considering building a railway.”
“Railway?” The Prince froze, then gradually recalled what he had seen on the island. “You mean those two iron tracks that could support a steam locomotive?”
“Yes. It’s said they plan to make some improvements to the locomotive so it could run in war zones. It could also transport cargo along the way.”
The Prince frowned. Something that could only run on fixed tracks—was it really that useful?
The steam engine’s power was indeed impressive, but the railway’s limitations on route were far too rigid. If they also built railways like Castel, the enormous cost and maintenance expenses had to be considered. The benefits it could bring to Blood Harbor might not even cover the cost.
“They plan to build it outside.”
“Oh? Where?”
“Uh, they’re still considering. Possibly a railway from Blood Harbor to the Northlands. But since it’s on our territory, they’re worried—”
The Prince jumped up from his chair, rushing to Galahad’s side with such speed that even Galahad was surprised. Gripping Galahad’s shoulders tightly, he spoke urgently:
“Galahad, the most important thing right now is for you to hurry back to Castel and make them abandon those unnecessary worries. You must let Earl Hughes know that Blood Harbor fully supports this railway. No matter where they build it, it’s fine! If he wants to build it straight from the Upper District, I’ll personally tear down the Duke’s mansion on the spot!”
What a joke. How much money could a Duke’s mansion cost to build? This was an entire railway connecting to the Northlands!
Just the steel needed for its construction would be worth more than selling off the entire Harbor Guard. And now Castel wanted to pay for it themselves?
Who would have thought a pie could fall from the sky—no, a railway could fall from the sky!
“Tell Hughes that he only needs to focus on building it. All the other troubles will be handled by me. Don’t worry about occupying land or demolishing houses. I’ll have the Harbor Guard follow them—wherever they need, we’ll tear down. Hughes’s problems are my William’s problems! Blood Harbor never hesitates when it comes to friends!”
The Prince was nearly ecstatic.
“Uh, Earl Hughes said that if it’s to be built, he must have usage rights.”
“That’s no problem. The railway, including the land along the line, will belong to him. If he wants it, Blood Harbor will give it to him. As long as industry comes here, what’s land compared to that?”
“The continent is full of ownerless lands. Drive out the barbarians and they’re yours. But factories—those only exist in Rhine, and Castel is still leagues ahead of them.” The Prince slapped Galahad’s shoulder, grinning from ear to ear.
That was how the Empire had expanded its territory.
“Uh, Your Highness, is it really necessary?” Galahad scratched his head in puzzlement. “It’s only a railway. It can only transport some goods along the line, and in the early stages it’ll probably just be used to transport soldiers.”
The purpose of Hughes building the railway was self-evident—naturally, it was to send troops into the Northlands.
The Northlands covered a vast area. From the sea, soldiers could only be delivered to the coast. It would be better to have a railway that went straight inland.
Without this railway, soldiers would be forced to carry only light equipment. Logistics and supplies would become a huge problem. Sure, food could be gathered locally, but what about ammunition?
So, weighing the options, Hughes had decided to build the railway. But it didn’t necessarily have to pass through Blood Harbor. That was why Galahad had come to see the Prince’s attitude.
The Prince paced rapidly around the room, wishing he could personally rush to Castel to declare his stance. But after all, he was the local lord. He had just signed a stack of administrative reform decrees. He couldn’t leave now.
“Galahad, you must understand. They’re coming to build a railway, but what they’ll leave behind is definitely not just a railway.”
“Look—they’ll need workers, right? It’s impossible to haul all the parts from the island. Some factories will have to be built here.”
“And those factories, they won’t just take them away afterward, will they?”
“If they don’t have enough manpower, sending everyone to lay tracks would be a waste. But Blood Harbor has no shortage of manpower. All we need is for them to provide technology and training. After they leave, won’t we be left with a batch of skilled workers?”
“With factories and skilled workers, Blood Harbor will then have an industrial foundation. The rest will just be gradual development. The hardest part is the beginning. Once we have the first batch of people, everything else will follow naturally.”
“But won’t we fail to keep those workers?” Galahad muttered. “Castel can offer higher wages. They’d just go to that island.”
The Prince laughed. “So what? Some will always stay behind. They’d be skilled workers gained for free! Besides, if we cooperate well this time, there might not just be one railway in the future. If Blood Harbor establishes factories—hey, how many cities in this world can even build factories?”
“If only Castel and Blood Harbor are industrial cities, then Castel would naturally have no choice but to cooperate with us. You should know how hard industrialization is. I remember leaving quite a few factories under your management before.”
Galahad nodded. The Empress had entrusted him with many industries. Back when he was in Rhine, he even oversaw several factories personally, going down to the production line himself. Naturally, he knew how high the threshold of industry was. That was only possible with the support of the Mechanical Sanctum.
“But after all these years, only Rhine had developed industry.”
The Prince looked at him deeply.
“There is only one Mechanical Sanctum in the world, and so there is only one Rhine.”
“But if there is one Castel, then there can be countless Castels.”