Unknown Knight

Chapter 328 Planning Scroll

There were eleven cogs (two of which were just commissioned to the Ogbai family), twenty-two sampans, and many rafts shuttling back and forth anchored in the bay. The scene of hundreds of sails made the originally quiet bay seem unusually lively.

On the hastily built dock, Aix held Aisu's hand with one hand and Ran Ying's hand with the other, reluctantly bid them farewell and reminded them of some things to pay attention to.

The two girls were already seven months pregnant and could not be tossed around on the sea. Besides, someone had to be on duty in this territory, so they also stayed behind as representatives of their master, Aix. Also staying behind were the high priest Velen, the god general Bestur, Bestur's wife Zhenzhen, the general Afanti, and a group of generals who had followed Aix in the Standing Castle.

After a while, Aix called Velen and Bestur and told them:

"The high priest will have to take care of government affairs. Afanti will assist you. This is the first five-year plan for the territory that I have formulated. You can implement the policies roughly according to what is written above.

You will be in charge of military affairs, Anda. I think this is an area that needs to be strengthened. The details will be handled by Anda based on the situation."

As he spoke, he handed the two scrolls to Velen and Bestul respectively. These two scrolls were written by him overnight and were a rough plan for the political and military affairs of this territory in the next five years.

The government affairs scroll given to Velen roughly covers six aspects:

First, continue to dig the final form of the canal in the isthmus within five years. However, the territory needs to do what it can and can dig slowly. It doesn’t matter whether it can be completed within five years. Just don’t waste time and money. Anyway, there are more than 2,500 slaves belonging to the territory, and they cannot be left idle.

Secondly, the defensive wall along the canal must be built first, the sooner the better. The earth from digging the canal is piled on the opposite bank, so it can be rammed directly on the spot. It should be easy to build, and a fortress connected to the wall must be built at the beginning and end and in the middle of the canal. The fortress should be built to accommodate 2,000 people. Aix plans to station at least 1,000 troops here for a long time.

Third, dredge the Blackwater River and dig a river connecting the Blackwater River and the canal, so that the uppermost city of Lepero can be navigable all year round. This will not only promote trade exchanges among the three cities, but also enable the three cities to quickly support the three fortresses, thereby achieving the effect of mutual watchfulness.

Fourth, the nearby coal and iron mines must be mined first, and then the Blackwater River must be blocked and dammed to build a hydraulic workshop. Aix wanted to build this place into a base for weapons and equipment, as a large rear base for himself, to provide strong support for his plan to conquer the Calradia continent.

Fifth, continue to expand trade with the Ogbai family, sell them spices, and continue to purchase slaves and ships from them. After freeing the purchased slaves and allocating land, they will become the most loyal subjects that the territory can directly control, increasing the strength of the territory while reducing the proportion of local indigenous people in the total population, thereby correspondingly reducing the unstable resistance sentiment among the indigenous people.

Sixth, based on the books and documents he had sorted out some time ago, Aix discovered that about twelve kilometers west of the territory, there was a basin about a hundred kilometers wide. Aix personally went to investigate on the spot and found that it should be a basin formed by geological subsidence.

The lowest point in this basin is even more than five meters below sea level, and the terrain is relatively flat. There are no high mountains blocking the way here, so a canal can be dug to bring water from the Heishui River here. During the flood season of the Heishui River every year, the excess water can be brought here to form a freshwater lake, and millions of acres of land can be reclaimed along the lake.

This will be the new development space for the territory in the future. The extra population and purchased slaves can be allowed to live here, so that the future development of the territory will have stamina. It will not be a problem for the population to increase several times in the future. By that time, his foundation will be stable, and the people who follow him will be able to gain a firm foothold here.

The military scroll given to Bestul roughly covers five aspects:

First, the territory must recruit and train a militia of at least 5,000 people. These militiamen must be able to form a formation and participate in battle. The militiamen must organize training at least twice a month, and families with militia members will be exempted from taxes for the entire family.

Second, he set about forming a standing army of 2,000 men, including 1,200 array soldiers, 300 heavy infantry and 500 cavalry. The standing army was required to train at least ten times a month and be on duty for ten days. Not only were the standing soldiers paid, but their families were also exempted from taxes and corvée.

Third, train a team to raise falcons, and ensure that the falcons trained by this team can conduct reconnaissance and communication. The treatment of the breeders should be generous, reaching the treatment level of junior officers.

Fourth, use the improved horses for breeding and select excellent stallions from local good horses to breed a group of excellent horses for the territory.

Fifth, form a navy of about 500 people to ensure the safety of the waters from Zion City to Berbera, especially the safety near the canal, and regularly clear out pirates near the territory, protect the safety of merchants coming to the territory for trade, and ensure the smooth flow of water trade routes.

After explaining everything to Velen and Bestur, Aix exchanged greetings with the other people who stayed here, and then boarded the newest Kirk ship amid a chorus of farewells.

This time he led a total of 3,600 troops, including 200 heavy cavalry, 300 light cavalry, 500 heavy armored soldiers, 100 slingers, 500 crossbowmen, and the remaining 2,000 array infantry.

In addition, the cabin was loaded with enough food and fodder to last the army for three months, five hundred horses, more than ten types of assembleable siege equipment, and more than five hundred cans of fire oil. These troops and supplies were enough for the army to capture the first stop of their expedition - the city of Shariz.

Before that, he also sent out the sampan that towed across the isthmus to explore the way along the coastline. Since it was just reconnaissance, the sampan was not loaded with anything extra, which greatly increased the speed of the sampan. It finally returned to Berbera before Aix's fleet set off, and brought back important intelligence discovered along the way.

Through reconnaissance, the surveyors on the sampan conducted on-site surveys of the hydrology along the way and made more detailed annotations based on the existing maps, which made Aix more confident about taking this route.

The coastline along this route is indeed desolate. Like the coastline near Berbera, it is basically desert Gobi with few large settlements. This makes Aix very happy, as he doesn't have to worry about being coveted and harassed by powerful forces along the way.

There is only one town with a population of more than 2,000 people and three fishing villages with water supplies along the coast of this route. This means that Aix does not need to carry a large amount of fresh water on board, and the freed-up space can be used to load more food supplies.

As for the town called Modi, it is located right between Berbera and Sharez. Aix plans to occupy it by force and set up a relay station there to provide a convenient support point for travel between the two places.