Herald of Steel

Chapter 1379 Zanzan Update (Part-3)

"..... once the cement layer is done, we smooth out the surface with a layer of sand using rollers to give the road a nice surface finish."

Uzak thus finished describing the process of laying out the roads succinctly.

"Wait! You use wooden shovels to dig the roads?"

But what Alexander chose to really focus on was what the man had said earlier.

He could only imagine how inefficient such a thing would be.

Of course, he also instantly understood the reason why Adhanians used wooden shovels.

If they were to use iron, then the amount of metal needed would make it almost as expensive as a good sword. And that was considered a family heirloom.

"Ahh...yes. We use it to loosen up the dirt. Then a hoe is used to dig the earth up and move it to a wheelbarrow. Is there a problem my lord?" And that is why the lord in charge of construction also seemed blind to the problem.

In his mind that was how shovels were used, combining the two had simply never occurred to him.

In fact, he actually assumed the opposite, thinking Alexander wanted to skip the digging phase by getting rid of the shovels, and thus quickly chimed in alarm,

"My lord, I assure you we need to dig the soil before laying any roads. Otherwise, all the stones will simply get washed away by the rain and traffic.

"We also have to many times dig up entires section of the ground and flatten it... if we are building over hilly terrain...so most of Zanzan and northern Tibias. Carts and carriages have a really hard time climbing up hills. So we really need those shovels."

Alexander did not quite get why Uzak was so panicked or why he added that last bit, but at that moment, he did not care.

"Tell me how many shovels you use. I will have the workshops give you ones made of iron." He decreed.

In fact, Alexander had also used wooden shovels back in his time, it was simply that he overlooked the issue.

So he was determined to rectify it now.

"...." The sudden announcement made Uzak gape for a bit, surprise covering his entire face.

But later that got substituted by an immense look of flattery an instant later, vigorously thanking Alexander for his gift.

Now, to be honest, Uzak really did not see the point of changing shovels. But he was of course not going to complain about it. Free things were always welcomed.

It would only be later that he would find the difference.

As compared to the flat heads of the wooden ones, those iron headed shovels with their sharp tips would let the men easily dig into and then scoop up the dirt in one fluid go, vastly increasing efficiency.

And with Uzak's success, such shovels would become the norm.

....

There was a reason why they did not make roads like this- if the cement or mortar, if the former was not available, could have been skipped, they would have done so already.

But all the artisans by profession while Diaogosis and even Krishok knew the reason why they did not.

So perhaps Uzak was hoping for one of them to step up.

But alas, given Alexander's instance of getting the roads done no matter what meant no one wanted to be the bearer of bad news.

Thus it was left to Uzak alone to grit his teeth and pose,

"My... my lord such a think would make the road too... weak. The stones will risk getting washed by the rain... especially if it rains on hills. All that water flowing downward will take the road with it."

If not for the fear of being held accountable when the roads eventually got washed away within a few years, Uzak might have simply taken the easier route and followed the order just as he was asked.

'You told me to do it like this,' He could have answered.

But he also knew Alexander would likely fire him the second he said this, replacing him with someone who actually had a brain.

No, in fact, many of his colleagues would probably kick him down long before that- after all, all of them were looking for a chance to pick up the other's lucrative projects.

So taking solace in the fact that Alexander valued them for their expertise and sound advise and that he was a lord who could be reasoned with, Uzak decided to make his concerns known, before quickly adding,

"How about narrowing the road instead? Frankly 6 meters is too wide. We can shorten it to 4 or even 3 and even then two medium sized marriages can easily pass each other."

And here Uzak made some good point.

The 6 meter width was chosen by Alexander to copy the modern roads. But naturally, ancient roads did not have to deal with that much traffic.

For instance, Roman roads were on average 4 meters wide (the actual range was from 1 meter for pedestrians to 7 meters for really heavy traffic), which was deemed perfectly adequate.

A marching army would easily advance in 5 men file through it, while leaving enough room for ordinary traffic.

"We can widen the road later once we have the cement, my lord."

Thus seeing Alexander deep in thought considering this, Uzak quickly also added so.

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