Lord Harland

Chapter 417 Railway Construction

As the territory's economy becomes more and more prosperous, the salaries of army soldiers have gradually increased. The main legionnaires have experienced three rounds of salary increases. Today, the military salaries of Haaland's soldiers are roughly the same as those of the Grant royal family. The monthly salary of ordinary soldiers is about ten Silver coins, with years of service, combat skills will improve.

If a soldier upgrades his archery skill to the fourth level, even if he is not promoted to a professional, he will receive six more silver coins as a combat skill subsidy, greatly increasing his income.

In addition, Haaland's army soldiers also receive some in-kind subsidies, such as one set of cotton-padded clothes and three sets of unlined clothes a year. Mutton, liquor, soap, brown sugar and other commodities are also distributed on major festivals, and there are pensions for those killed and disabled in battle. In fact, the treatment is somewhat higher than that of the Grant Kingdom's Central Forbidden Army.

The salary of soldiers in the major dukedoms is 30% lower than that in Harland.

The economic income of the marquis and earl territories is lower, and the treatment of the main army is only slightly better than that of the auxiliary troops of Harland. Generally, the auxiliary troops of the earldom are entirely composed of strong men and serfs.

The difference in military pay and treatment can affect combat effectiveness to a great extent. Generally speaking, the royal family's central imperial army exceeds that of the dukedom's regiment, and the dukedom's regiment exceeds that of the marquis and earl's regular army.

As for the viscount and baron families, the army size is relatively small, the noble background is different, and the strength of the army fluctuates greatly. Some baronial armies seem to be small in number, but their combat effectiveness is very powerful. For example, the former barony of Harden has an organized Warcraft The cavalry, some baronies appear to have a large number of people, but in fact they have just been ennobled, and their subordinates are all serfs, so their combat effectiveness is very sparse.

After recruiting 20,000 soldiers from the United Kingdom on the east coast, all the remaining 40,000 prisoners were converted into indentured servants.

After half a year, Haaland led the soldiers to take this stance, and Richard would not continue to abuse them. After five years of service to the Land of Harland, they would become freedmen.

With this recruitment, the Harland Mage Association has greatly expanded.

As of March this year, the number of formal members of the Harland Mage Association has exceeded 200. With the addition of 67 new mages, the number of Harland mages has reached 271. Almost catching up with the level of the Grant royal family, there are only about 300 official members of the Grant Royal Mage Association.

Mages are also in the upper echelons of the United Kingdom on the east coast, where they still have friends and family.

Richard secretly thought that it would be difficult for them to sincerely join the Harland leader. After all, magicians are fundamentally different from dispossessed serf soldiers.

In order to let the captured magicians serve Harland, Richard asked them to sign a ten-year service contract. After the contract is completed, they will be free again.

During the contract service, Harland will pay them salaries according to their levels, and the salary is about one-third of that of a normal magician. Richard will also open up some insensitive extraordinary knowledge. As long as they make contributions, they can exchange it for learning and improve their knowledge level.

This kind of thing is a routine operation in the Dawn Plane. Those who are defeated and captured can only serve as indentured slave soldiers if they cannot pay the ransom. Lost, Wilde, and Driffin led by Harland are all slave soldiers.

The ten-year contract is neither long nor short, and Richard pays them salaries. The treatment is already considered first-class.

Richard actually used these sixty-seven magicians as coolies, and they were all incorporated into the legion's magician support team.

Harland now leads four regular legions, and the mage support team of each legion has also expanded to thirty people.

There is a thirty-person mage support team, and the strength of the mage has far exceeded the normal level of Grant Kingdom.

The Grant royal family's central army has only twelve mage squads. Most of the country's Dukes, Earls and other big nobles don't even have a mage support team, and the few magicians only serve the palaces of the big aristocrats.

A legion is equipped with thirty magicians, which has already caught up with the level of the United Kingdom on the East Coast. Putting it in the Dawn Plane, it is considered to be middle-class.

Among the major kingdoms in the Dawn Plane, the most powerful magic kingdoms are those in the West Coast Magic Kingdom, such as Markholm Magic Kingdom, Celtic United Kingdom, Storm Strait Kingdom, Palmela Ice Kingdom, etc., a Legion Magician The number reached three hundred.

A mage group of three hundred people can play a decisive role on a medium-sized battlefield. The combat power can compete with two thousand Warcraft cavalry.

The mages of the Holy Radiance Empire are also not weak in power. A legion will often incorporate a mage group of sixty to one hundred people, as well as different extraordinary arms. For example, lion cavalry, full-time heavy infantry, Warcraft cavalry, etc. Generally speaking, the number of professionals in a regular legion of the Holy Glory Empire is about 6,000. The proportion of professionals in the army exceeds that of Harland.

Harland leads a regular legion, with only about 3,000 professionals. The Warcraft Cavalry Brigade is under the command of the headquarters and has not been incorporated into the main army for the time being. Including the Warcraft Cavalry, Harland leads a legion of professionals with only 3,000 or several hundred people. Only the first legion has the largest number of professionals. The first brigade of all professionals has been organized, with the number of professionals close to 5,000.

If a single legion is taken out, although Harland's army has equipment advantages, it is estimated that they are no match for the Holy Radiance Empire. If all 80,000 troops are dispatched to engage in a large-scale melee, both sides have their own advantages, and the outcome is unknown.

Last spring, Harland Territory began planning to build the railway from Malte to Eagle Castle. Now, one year later, the section from Malte Castle to Graveson has been opened to traffic, and more than 50 kilometers have been built westward from Eagle Castle. .

The east and west sides are under construction at the same time and go hand in hand, and now about 120 kilometers of road section have been completed. This section of the railway is located on the plain on the north bank of the Heihe River. According to the railway department's plan, even if the population does not increase, it will be completed in September this year.

As of March this year, Harland has built 380 kilometers of railways. If we wait until the end of the year, the distance will exceed 500 kilometers.

In the years since Harland led the manufacture of steam locomotives, investment in the railway sector has increased year by year. Although the economic benefits of operating the railway were very average, with seven or eight million gold coins invested and not much profit seen, the railway was successfully built and the overall national strength of Harland's leadership was greatly improved.

The railway is not only an economic artery that connects the east, west, north and south, it can also be used for disaster relief and troop mobilization, which plays a very important role in maintaining rule.

This year, Leader Harland plans to build two railways. One is from Military Station No. 10 to Military Station No. 3. This railway is located on the northern plain of the Eagle Mountains and is about 110 kilometers away.

The second railway is the section from Malte Castle to Black River Castle, which is about fifty kilometers away.

Although water transportation can be used from Malte Castle to Heihe Fort, and the transportation cost is lower than that of railway, the climate in the Heihe River Basin is relatively cold, and the river will freeze in winter.

With the construction of this railway, transportation efficiency in winter has greatly increased.

Because there is not much water in the Powell River, large boats cannot be used, so the construction of this railway is very necessary.

This railway is relatively short and is located in plain areas along the way. It may be opened to traffic earlier than the section from Malte to Eagle Fort. According to the railway department's plan, it will be completed in July this year.

In late March, Richard took the time to visit Philip. The hard life for nearly a month gave Philip a lot of training. Seeing that Philip's mood gradually stabilized, Richard put aside his worries and stayed with Philip for two days, accepting labor with him. , and then went directly to Graveson.

Now Richard's cousin Gavin serves as a cabinet minister and also the Minister of Transport, responsible for managing railway projects.

Since last year, the railway department has been lobbying Richard, hoping to separate from the Ministry of Transportation and become an independent new department.

Gavin is the veteran of the Department of Transportation and an important figure in the Haaland family. He has always been very disgusted with the voice of rebellion in the railway department. However, as the railway mileage becomes longer and longer, the investment becomes larger and the influence becomes higher and higher, Gavin's opposition becomes weaker and weaker. Now anyone with a discerning eye can see clearly that the independence of the railway department is inevitable. .

Today, Haaland leads the railway department, and the three people have the loudest voices and the highest authority.

The first one is named Bonova. He is the first heir to the title of Lost and a second-level magician. Although his magical aptitude is very average, Bonova is very talented in making machinery.

The first steam locomotive was successfully built under his auspices. Although Richard also gave a lot of opinions during the development of the locomotive, Bonova's contribution accounted for more than 60% of the steam locomotive being manufactured. It can be said that he is a genius mechanic with very strong creativity.

Unfortunately, he has not made much achievements in the research of magic, so his magic level is also at a low level.

Bonova was thirty years old and already served as the chief engineer of the railway department. He successfully designed two sets of steam locomotives, the Dragon One and the Dragon Two. In just a few years, steam locomotives have been improved, which increased the power of steam locomotives, reduced the failure rate, and made great contributions to the railway department.

The second one is named Constantine. This man joined the Halland Territory eighteen years ago and was quickly selected as a civil servant. He has been in the transportation department ever since. This man is very capable and has always been an important assistant to Gavin. He once contributed to the promotion of horse-drawn carriages by Haaland, and was gradually promoted to the middle level of the civil service system.

Four years ago, the steam locomotive came out, and Constantine was sent to the railway department by Gavin to take charge of management. As the influence of the railways grew, Constantine became an iconic figure in the system. In fact, it was mainly him who promoted the independent establishment of the railway department.

After all, no one wants to be someone else's assistant. If the Ministry of Railways is established, Constantine will definitely become the minister. As the railway sector develops, its authority will be heavier than that of the Ministry of Transport.

The butt is hanging here, and Constantine can't help but care.

The third person was named Clemen. This man had joined the army in his early years, but his talent was mediocre. He retired after four years and transferred to the civil service system. Clemen has strong management skills and has been responsible for various large and small projects in the territory. He worked in the indentured slave management department and gradually rose to the middle level.

Since the construction of Harland's first railway, Clement has been responsible for on-site construction work, building the section from Fort William to Fort Depot. He once personally directed the laying of explosives and digging holes in the mountains.

The above three people are the troika and management core of the railway department now led by Haaland.

Richard went to Graveson without notifying the officials below. When he went to inspect the grassroots level, he always followed the instructions in a simple and easy manner.

After Richard arrived at Graveson, the weather suddenly changed, and soon it began to rain heavily. Clemen had to order a halt to work.

Richard stepped through the mud and water directly to the work sheds where the indentured servants rested and slept. These work sheds were made of woolen cloth and were not very waterproof.

Soon a lot of rainwater seeped into the tent.

Seeing this scene, Richard frowned secretly, but he also knew that railway construction was very hard work. Life, heating, water, and residence all had to move with the railway line. Even in the era of abundant supplies in the previous life, road construction workers The living conditions are not very good, and we often have to live in tents.

But in the previous life, there were waterproof and windproof materials, and the quality of the tent was very good, and it would not leak rain or wind.

Realistic conditions are like this, so we can’t be too harsh on the people below.

When Richard saw the indentured slaves building the railway putting on waterproof hats, he looked at Richard and others at a loss.

Richard glanced at the tent and found that there were some coals and an iron stove installed in the tent, apparently for the indentured servants to keep warm. Seeing this scene, Richard felt a little better.

"How have you been living these days?" Seeing Richard asking in Northern Xinjiang dialect, the indentured slaves in the tent looked confused.

The indentured slaves who built the railway were mainly indentured slaves from the United Kingdom on the East Coast, the Kingdom of Delong, and local indentured slaves in northern Xinjiang. They were mainly responsible for the tasks of land reclamation and farming, which were relatively easier than the slaves who worked on projects in the wild.

Soon Richard asked again in the language of the Delong Kingdom, and the indentured servants in the tent began to answer the questions tremblingly.

"Our life is still tolerable. We have enough to eat every day, and we have black stone burning in winter. Although the north is much colder than our hometown, it can't freeze to death. We work very hard and are often whipped by the supervisors, but we are injured. There are also distinguished magicians who treat our illnesses.

I heard the propaganda commissioner say that as long as we work for five years, we can regain our status as free citizens, and each person will be assigned six acres of land. Dear Sir, will this lie to us? "

Before Richard could answer, Clemen quickly ran into the tent in the heavy rain. His ears were very sharp, and he heard the indentured slave's question outside the tent, and immediately replied loudly: "We, the leader of Harland, have been pardoning indentured servants for twenty years, formulated strict laws, and engraved them on Fort William. On the walls, Palos, what special power do you have that allows the great Duke to change his decree?

I know you have some doubts, and this is also a normal thought for ordinary people. But we cannot try to figure out the great Duke with our own dirty thoughts. I was also born as an indentured servant and joined the Harland Territory eighteen years ago. Shortly thereafter, he joined the army, performed great feats by killing orcs on the battlefield, and became a free citizen.

In just eighteen years, although I did not achieve meritorious service and was promoted to a hereditary baron, I was valued by the Duke. I could direct tens of thousands of indentured servants to work, and I could receive a salary of eight gold coins every month.

My children also entered the Dragon Canyon Knight Academy and learned the breathing method. They laid a solid foundation from an early age and launched a charge towards hereditary noble status.

My own experience can tell you that as long as you work hard in the Harland territory and serve the lord, your future will not only be a free citizen, but also a noble master?

Here you can realize your dreams through personal struggle, which we call the Harland Dream. You are undoubtedly very lucky to be able to enter Harland Territory. "

I downed a bowl of chicken soup and received thunderous applause.

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