Li Xiaofei saw that the canal was being built faster than he expected.
Even though their equipment was inferior to that of China, they built the canal faster than China.
The main reason is that indigenous slaves made great contributions.
When building such a large project in China, safety must be considered. Even with advanced equipment, the construction speed cannot be fast.
Li Xiaofei used indigenous slaves as the main labor force.
He completely regarded indigenous slaves as disposable commodities. From the beginning of building the canal, he did not consider safety.
Li Xiaofei maintained an extremely fast construction speed by using the lives of a large number of indigenous slaves.
He usually hears comments from other people, some people think he is too cold-blooded.
Li Xiaofei always laughs away such criticism.
These people are too naive and do not understand the cruel truth of the world.
The nature of this world is that the weak eat the strong.
If a modern empire is powerful, it can dominate the weak indigenous people.
One day the empire will decline, and their fate will be dictated by others.
Li Xiaofei just didn't want this day to come, so he spared no effort to make the canal open to navigation as soon as possible.
He was born in the navy and was familiar with many of the navy's public strategic plans.
The empire cannot maintain its huge national power without a large amount of money.
Overseas trade now accounts for nearly half of the empire's tax revenue.
The prosperity and stability of the empire are inseparable from the normal development of maritime trade.
If the empire wants to maintain stable sea trade, it must not only maintain a large navy.
The most important point is to build overseas military bases and control golden waterways.
The Bull Run Canal, the canal that connects the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, is after all the top golden waterway.
If the Imperial Navy takes control of this place as early as possible, it will lay a solid foundation for the Imperial maritime hegemony.
Li Xiaofei saw that the dock had arrived, and another group of more than 300 native slaves had arrived.
He was very surprised how long it would take. Small merchant ships often came here to sell slaves.
The number of slaves they sold each time was not large, but the frequency of transactions was very high.
Li Xiaofei officially has a large number of new slaves, so he can use these slaves more freely to speed up the progress of the canal.
He had been constantly communicating with experts in the capital to determine the lock plan for the canal and problems caused by tides.
The canal connects the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, which are affected by tides differently.
Experts from Beijing found out after calculation based on the current hydrological data.
Due to the tidal factor in the canal, the water in the canal will surge abnormally at night.
When the tide phenomenon is obvious, the water waves can lift the boat one or two meters high.
The situation of the canal means that the canal cannot be navigable at night after the tide comes.
Unless it is a very large ship or warship, it will not be affected by wind and waves caused by tides, which will affect navigation safety.
Li Xiaofei had always wanted to alleviate this phenomenon through the unique design of the canal.
He discussed with experts during this period and finally reached a consensus.
The technical difficulty of solving this problem is too high, and there is almost no hope of completion.
Under the current circumstances, this is an unsolvable problem. The only option is to limit the tonnage of ships passing through the canal at night to prevent accidents.
Except for the most important issues, some minor issues would not bother him at all at this time.
Li Xiaofei really didn't know what kind of changes had taken place in a short period of time?
He immediately headed to the dock, preparing to learn from these businessmen what the current situation in America was in their eyes.
Li Xiaofei wore a steel helmet, coarse cloth clothes, and rubber boots on his feet.
This outfit is what he usually wears at work.
While patrolling around the canal, he would check the status of various projects from time to time.
It was impossible for him to wear a loose official uniform and jump into the river to inspect.
This is not to check the quality of the project, but to show off.
Li Xiaofei clearly knows that the quality of the canal is closely related to his future.
Only when the speed and quality of canal construction are recognized by the world can he receive praise and have a better future in the future.
Who dares to cut corners and commit fraud on the canal?
That was to block his future. When Li Xiaofei encountered such people, he would always punish them with the harshest standards.
Li Xiaofei came to the dock and saw one of his stewards buying slaves from a merchant.
At his signal, his subordinates led the group of slaves to the camp and observed them according to the previous procedure.
Tens of thousands of people work in the camp, and outsiders must go through quarantine.
Only when it is confirmed that they do not carry the plague can they continue to the construction site.
Almost everyone in the new generation of the empire has been vaccinated against cowpox and will not be infected with the smallpox that everyone fears.
But there is more than one plague comparable to smallpox.
No matter what kind of plague strikes, it will have a major impact on the camp, and these unfavorable factors must be eliminated from the source.
Tian Yuheng, a small businessman, had a very sharp eye. When he saw the steward who had just left, there was a hint of fear in his eyes towards the man standing next to him.
Tian Yuheng immediately deduced that this was a big shot with a higher status than the manager just now.
Looking at this man's professional attire and mud-covered clothes, he should be a person in charge of technology.
When Tian Yuheng thought of this, he completely relaxed.
Experts and scholars have not had much interaction with him at all, and he is not afraid of offending this person unintentionally.
When Tian Yuheng saw this man coming, he immediately put on a smiling face and asked: "Sir, what do you want to buy when you come here?
We have sold all the slaves, and there is still some salt and grain here.
All are bulk goods, we only wholesale and not retail.”
Tian Yuheng spoke very fast, and he didn't want to cause unnecessary complications.
The main transaction has been completed and cannot be misunderstood by other customers.
Li Xiaofei nodded with a smile and said, "Sorry, I'm not here to buy anything.
This chapter is not over, please click on the next page to continue reading! I have been working on the Benniu Road Canal project for a long time, and I don’t know much about the outside world.
You businessmen travel all over the world, and your information channels are the most developed.
I have some things that I would like to ask you for advice."
When Tian Yuheng heard Li Xiaofei's request, he immediately agreed with a smile.
"Brother, if you have any questions, feel free to ask, and I will definitely tell you everything you know."
Tian Yuheng was very happy. He could tell from this gentleman's words and deeds that he was a great man with extraordinary conversational skills.
For a small businessman like him to have the opportunity to meet such a big shot, he only got this opportunity by doing good deeds in his previous life.
As long as he can make friends with this big shot, his future business will be easy and there will be no need to transfer these troublesome slaves.
These slaves are difficult to manage and the money they earn is very low.
What's more, slave traders don't have a good reputation among the empire's merchants.
It's okay to do it once or twice occasionally, but once you get this brand, you can only be a slave trader for the rest of your life, and you won't be able to enter any larger chambers of commerce.
Only small businessmen like them at the bottom are willing to do any business in order to make money.
Tian Yuheng smiled and replied: "Sir, I have no clients now and have plenty of free time.
If you have any questions, feel free to ask, and I will tell you everything you know."
Li Xiaofei saw that this businessman had a very good attitude, even if he disturbed others' business, he didn't show any emotion at all.
Such an honest businessman will definitely do big business in the future.
Li Xiaofei briefly asked about the origin of these betting slaves and the current situation in America.
When Tian Yuheng heard the questions asked by Li Xiaofei, they were all relatively general questions, and he did not ask some questions that were difficult for him to answer.
Only then did he relax and simply replied: "His Majesty the Emperor issued a development order, and the people of the empire actively participated and formed pioneering groups of different sizes to go to America to develop a piece of territory.
We small businessmen all buy indigenous products from the pioneer groups.
The empire built canals here, and the price of prime-age indigenous slaves was high.
Businessmen all follow their interests, so we gather here.
The current situation in America has turned into a mess because of the addition of the pioneering group.
There are some pioneering groups who have excellent vision and guide the stable management of their own territories.
For many development teams, the goals they set at the beginning are not clear.
These people became the source of unrest and plundered the local area, and even turned into bandits and went to laxly managed countries such as Xiangguo to plunder."
When Li Xiaofei heard the news, he learned more about the pioneering team and had a clear understanding of the current situation in America.
The empire’s development order was truly a stroke of genius.
Through the method of raising Gu, the empire found pioneering groups that could be supported and strengthened among hundreds or thousands of mediocre pioneering groups.
He came into contact with King Cao Li Dazhuang, a smart and ambitious monarch.
The best way to deal with such people is to cause them trouble and never let them relax.
The pioneering group has grown stronger, and King Cao, Li Dazhuang and others may be very busy in the future.
Li Xiaofei learned about the pioneering team, and in his mind, the status of the Benniu Road Canal rose again.
Due to supply and other problems, the pioneering group can only operate on the west coast of America.
Once the Bull Run Canal is opened to navigation, pioneering groups will be able to travel to the east coast of America, which will bring about earth-shaking changes to America.
Li Xiaofei was grateful to the businessman for taking the trouble to introduce him.
He took out a piece of paper, wrote a few words on the paper with an ink pen, and finally printed his personal seal.
"I see that your cargo ship is mostly empty. Take my note and go to the dock to find Zhang Weiguo. I can give you some goods to test the waters."
After Li Xiaofei finished speaking, he turned around and left the dock.
When Tian Yuheng saw the content of the note and the seal on it, he didn't come back to his senses for a long time.
By the time he wanted to say thank you, Li Xiaofei was no longer in sight.
He met a really big shot, Li Xiaofei, the general manager of the canal.
This is really his noble person. From now on, he will be able to truly develop without looking at other people's faces.
…………………………
Li Xiaofei devoted all his energy to the work of building an empire.
He was very anxious, but he didn't dare to make any compromises on the quality of the canal.
It's just clearing the rainforest and building canals, these two steps are carried out at the same time.
The price of this was a large number of indigenous slaves working in the rainforest. They were infested by miasma and poisonous insects, rats, and ants, and their mortality rate further increased.
At the same time, due to the increase in the number of slaves, Li Xiaofei had sufficient labor force.
He no longer chose the construction method from the center to both sides.
The construction was divided into four sections, and the river channel was excavated from both sides to the center.
After improving the construction methods, the construction speed of the canal increased by 2.5 times.
The reason they were able to do this was that the Empire shipped a batch of more powerful steam excavators that could dig deeper.
The cost of doing this is that even if the river is excavated and blocked with cement embankments and sandbags, it is still impossible to prevent some seawater from seeping into the river.
Where excavators could not dig, indigenous slaves had to dig manually.
The price is that some of the indigenous people must be immersed in sea water and the river channels must be repaired.
Many slaves' legs directly ulcerated and died from infection.
But this price is completely worth it. This important golden waterway has been closed at a speed that shocked the world.
April 18, 4350 (AD 1653).
Li Xiaofei will remember this day forever.
He himself was sitting by the telegraph machine, preparing to send a congratulatory telegram to His Majesty the Emperor.
Through his unremitting efforts, he completed the canal in less than two years, which was expected to take ten years.
"Manager Li, everything is ready."
Li Xiaofei nodded, and walked to the microphone in front of him. His voice followed the big iron speaker and resounded in every corner of the canal.
"Brothers, we have lived up to His Majesty the Emperor's expectations. After unremitting efforts and overcoming many difficulties and obstacles, we finally built the Bull Run Canal.
Today will be the day when the canal is officially opened to navigation, witnessing the results of our joint efforts.
I declare that the canal is officially open to navigation."
As soon as Li Xiaofei finished speaking, huge fireworks were lit at the scene.
The worker in charge of managing the ship lock put the hinge of the ship lock on the crankshaft of the slowly running steam engine.
The steam engine drives the iron ship lock weighing several tons through the hinge and slowly unfolds it to both sides.
As the boat opened, turbulent water immediately poured into the canal.
The constantly rolling seawater lapped against both sides of the canal.
The sea water hit the proposal, and the water splashed on the shore, already wetting Li Xiaofei's clothes.
Li Xiaofei kept listening to the reports coming from various observation points.
This is the final test for the canal, with only two results: pass or fail.
He quickly put down the report, walked to the microphone with a relaxed look, and announced loudly: "The canal has withstood the test of the ocean, and there are no fatal problems anywhere.
The canal we built is now ready for official navigation."
The canal was officially opened to navigation, and the news spread rapidly.
The canal quickly reached the standard of navigation at a speed far beyond people's imagination.
The canal was opened to navigation, officially connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. From then on, there was a convenient shortcut from the west coast of America to the east coast of America.
All parties did not expect that the canal could be opened to navigation so quickly, and they were unprepared.
All forces had to respond urgently. The canal was built much faster than they expected and was suddenly opened to navigation.
This situation has an impact on all parties, and there are ways to deal with it.