xymnovel Chapter 145 New Railway Plans and the Mormon Church's Movements
Chapter 145 New Railway Plans and the Mormon Church's Movements
Chapter 145 New Railway Plans and the Mormon Church's Movements
Dongwan County, Devil Mountain.
The coal mined from the mine was loaded onto trains at the mountain pass and transported to the dock on the Jinchuan River, ten kilometers away, amidst long whistles and billowing black smoke.
After the cargo ships waiting at the dock are loaded with coal, they will sail downstream into San Francisco Bay and then deliver the coal to factories in San Francisco.
At the end of the line, Zhan Tianyou looked at the successfully opened railway and smiled: "Five hundred people spent five months building this railway."
"This will save us a lot of money on coal transportation costs."
Charles, standing nearby, lit a cigarette and took a deep drag. "What are you going to do next? Go back to San Francisco?"
"right."
Zhan Tianyou nodded and said, "The railway was just finished when Guilliman contacted me, saying there was a big project waiting for me to do."
"Alright, then I won't keep you any longer. Take care."
"Take care of yourself at the coal mine."
Inside a villa in San Francisco.
When Zhan Tianyou, travel-worn, entered, he found Jianyuan, Guilliman, and others sitting around a wire mesh grill. A dozen skewers of meat sat on the grill, their fat dripping onto the charcoal and sizzling.
Zeng Taizheng took a skewer off the grill and waved to him as he came in.
"You're back? Come, come, come and have some roasted venison. Let me tell you, Jianyuan's roasted venison is absolutely delicious."
"Since my lord has given the order, I will not refuse."
Zhan Tianyou didn't stand on ceremony and picked up a skewer of grilled venison from the grill to eat. The venison was brushed with a thin layer of sauce, the surface was slightly crispy, and it was juicy when you bit into it.
"The meat is firm and flavorful; it's really delicious."
His eyes lit up, and he quickly devoured the venison, asking, "My lord, what is the grand project Guilliman spoke of?"
"Take a guess?"
Zhan Tianyou stroked his chin and began to speculate: "The large-scale railway infrastructure construction in Lingxi Province has already begun. Although the project is large enough, the railway construction from San Francisco to various cities is all handled by someone, so it shouldn't be this one."
"Wai Province is an island with a sparse population, so there is currently no need to build a railway. Moreover, building a cross-sea bridge would be too difficult, so that's not an option."
He pounded his right fist into his left palm and said, "My lord, are you planning to build a railway leading to Lingdong Province?"
California is the western province, and Nevada is naturally the eastern province.
"You really guessed it?"
Zeng Tai turned to Jian Yuan and Guilliman, asking suspiciously, "You guys didn't secretly pass messages to him, did you?"
Jian Yuan said, "My lord, you know me well. I would never do such a sneaky thing."
Su Song said, "My lord, you know me well. If I told you, Zhan Tianyou wouldn't even guess."
Guilliman said, "My lord, you know me. I'm not that free, and you can hear our conversation."
.
Zhan Tianyou said, "My lord, you know me well—"
"Okay, okay, okay, I believe you, I believe you!"
Zeng Tai quickly interrupted them, saying seriously, "Just as you guessed, I plan to build a railway connecting the silver mine, which is why I called you back."
As he spoke, he led the group to a long mahogany table.
A mountain topographic map was already laid out on the table, with contour lines densely packed together, rising sharply eastward from the valley on the Lingxi Province side, and after crossing the highest peak, it suddenly plunged into the desert basin of Lingdong Province.
Zeng Tai's finger moved along a dotted line lightly drawn in pencil on the map, extending eastward from San Francisco Bay into the western foothills of the mountains, and then stopped in an area where the contour lines were denser.
"The silver mine is located here, and mining is already underway, but the biggest problem right now is that it can't be transported out."
Carrying ore across mountains with mules and horses is time-consuming and costly. I could use a skill to teleport over once I've accumulated enough, but doing that every time would be a waste of summoning slots, so a railway must be built.
Zhan Tianyou walked to the table and looked down at the topographic map. He didn't speak immediately, but traced the pass with his right index finger several times, his brows furrowing more with each stroke.
"My lord, who surveyed this route?"
Guilliman pulled a leather-bound notebook from his pocket and handed it over, saying, "This was surveyed by the Dark Angels; it's their survey record."
Zhan Tianyou took the notebook, opened it, and found it filled with densely packed numbers: slope, rock layer thickness, valley width, snow depth —
He turned the pages one by one, stopping at the last few. Those pages contained geological profiles of the pass, labeled with terms like granite, monolithic rock strata, and poorly developed fissures.
"My lord, I must tell you the truth first." Zhan Tianyou closed his notebook, looked up, and said, "This road is extremely difficult to build."
"How difficult is it?" Zeng Tai asked.
Zhan Tianyou spread his survey notes on the map, turned to the page with the geological profile of the pass, and drew a line along the route marked on the profile with his finger.
"The pass is the most critical bottleneck of the entire route. The altitude here is about 2,100 meters, and the slopes on both sides are more than 40 degrees."
According to the survey team's data, at least fifteen tunnels and fifty bridges need to be dug and built along the several dozen kilometers of road leading to and from this pass alone.
He turned to the next page, pointed to a set of numbers, and continued, "Winter is coming soon. Although the winter temperature here is not known, it is easy to imagine that it will be below minus ten degrees Celsius and the snow will be extremely deep."
To do this work at an altitude of over 2,000 meters, in winter temperatures dropping to minus ten degrees Celsius, my lord, this requires human lives to be sacrificed.
Upon hearing this, Zeng Tai couldn't help but recall his past life.
Historically, the Central Pacific Railroad Company of California employed more than 15,000 Chinese laborers to build this railroad. By the time the railroad opened to traffic, more than 2,000 Chinese laborers had died during construction.
Ironically, there wasn't a single Chinese face in that historical photograph of the opening ceremony.
Zeng Tai picked up the teacup on the table and asked, "Is it possible to bypass the pass?"
There's no way around it.
Zhan Tianyou shook his head and drew a large circle on the map with his finger.
"The mountain range runs north-south, stretching for hundreds of miles from north to south, with an average elevation of over two thousand meters. There are only a few places that can be crossed."
If we go around to the south, we'll have to travel over 300 li (approximately 150 kilometers) of mountain road, and the passes there are at a higher altitude, so we'll still need to build tunnels. If we go around to the north, we'll have to build an additional 500 li (approximately 250 kilometers) and then cross a desert and saline-alkali land.
This line represents the optimal solution, but it's not the easiest one.
"Then let's go this way!"
Zeng Tai made up his mind. After all, building this railway was not only for the silver mine, but also a springboard for him to transport troops to attack the eastern United States in the future. It was a must to build it!
"How many people do you need? Is 10,000 enough?"
After a moment's thought, Zhan Tianyou said, "I need 20,000 men, and give me a year and a half. Half a year to build temporary roads for transporting rails, sleepers, and various supplies, and a year to dig tunnels and erect bridges."
Zeng Tai nodded: "Okay, you write a detailed plan first, and Guilliman will allocate the funds and materials directly to you."
Utah, Salt Lake City.
The cold October wind swept down from the Wasatch Mountains, skimming the greyish-white surface of the Great Salt Lake, creating ripples, before crashing into this desert city.
The city is built on a plateau 1,300 meters above sea level, nestled between mountains and a lake. From any direction, the first thing that catches the eye is the snow-capped mountain ridges in the distance and the desolate, arid land at your feet.
The streets here are arranged in a strict grid pattern, with straight lines and names based on numbers and directions, like a giant chessboard drawn on the desert, exuding an almost obsessive rigor.
From an aerial view, these streets originate from only one place: Temple Square.
There are not many buildings in the square, the most important being only two: one is the assembly hall where people gather on Sundays, and the other is the Beehive House, the residence of Mormon leader Brigham Young where he handled affairs and lived daily.
Inside the Hive House, fifty-four-year-old Brigham Young sat in his study, a black bearskin covering his legs. He had high cheekbones, deep-set eyes, and a neatly trimmed grey-white beard that extended all the way to his chin.
In the fireplace not far away, the firewood was crackling, and the orange flames licked the black iron frame, warming the entire study.
Is the news reliable?
Brigham Young looked up at his right-hand man, Herb C. Kimber, the First Advisor to the General Council, and spoke in a calm tone.
"It should be reliable."
Kimbo nodded slowly and said, "The person who delivered the intelligence is an elder of the church who came with us from the east to Salt Lake City. His loyalty can be trusted."
"Furthermore, I investigated the new believers who have come in the past few months, and since six months ago, the number of believers coming to Salt Lake City from California has been decreasing, and in the past two months, the number has even been zero."
"Considering both factors, I believe the situation is highly likely to be true."
Yang Baihan rubbed his temples and said, "That's a bit troublesome."
"The Mormon train station has been occupied by Chinese people, all the believers inside are dead, and they are still hunting believers who pass through. Under no circumstances should this news be leaked out, lest it cause panic among the believers."
Kimbo agreed, "That's right. The information should only be revealed to the Twelve Apostles' quota group. In addition, I suggest summoning the senior officers of the Nafu Legion."
Brigham Young frowned slightly: "You're planning to retaliate?"
"No.
"
Kimbo shook his head, his tone cautious and restrained: "I only intended to put them on high alert and strengthen the defenses of Salt Lake City. Prevention is always better than scrambling at the last minute."
"Moreover, Salt Lake City's total population is only 38,000, while the Navrade Legion has less than 1,000 men. Rashly starting a war in retaliation will only cause these precious seeds to suffer even greater losses."
After a long silence, Brigham Young finally spoke slowly: "Heber, you're right, but those Chinese must be eliminated."
Jin Bo paused slightly, seemingly not expecting Yang Baihan to agree with his defensive stance while simultaneously proposing an offensive. He remained silent, waiting for Yang Baihan to continue.
Brigham Young pulled the bearskin on his leg further in and looked out the window: "You've forgotten how important the location of the Mormon Station is."
After crossing the Sierra Nevada Mountains from California, that area is a necessary rest stop. Whoever controls that area controls the gateway to the West.
"By controlling that area, we can not only guide our brothers and sisters on the other side of the Pacific safely to Salt Lake City, but also preach there."
Let everyone who passes by know that in this desert, there is a city of God waiting for them. This is God's will, our mission, and we cannot give up because of the obstruction of a few Chinese people.
Jinbo was silent for a moment, then lowered his head slightly: "So you mean—"
Yang Tinghan's voice suddenly turned colder: "Dispatch our most elite cavalry company to retaliate against those Chinese."
This is to tell the entire West: From Jugato to Nevada, the order of this land is to be established by us!