Article 174: Magnificent and Peerless

Edwin walked around the shallow pit in circles, causing Nicole to grow somewhat concerned that the elderly scholar might dizzy himself with all this pacing. Just as she was about to speak up and stop him, she heard him ask, "Victor, is this a reservoir you've dug?"

"Huh? Yes, it's a reservoir!"

Nicole felt a touch of disappointment. Reservoirs were hardly a novelty in the human realms, especially in regions lacking rivers and lakes. For instance, the Kingdom of Naville had constructed numerous reservoirs within its mountainous fortresses to store rainwater for drinking, livestock, and vegetable gardens. In fact, Nicole was currently leading people to dig reservoirs herself. Her domain possessed only a few mountain streams, which were normally adequate for daily use. However, with tens of thousands of able-bodied men about to be stationed here, it would be far too cumbersome for everyone to fetch water from the mountain streams. Consequently, Nicole was leading over a thousand people to build ten encampments, each requiring its own reservoir.

Victor had pulled Nicole and Edwin away from their busy affairs, claiming he wanted to present her with a gift that could transform her territory into a bountiful and prosperous land. Nicole and Edwin had hurried over full of anticipation, only to find that it was merely a reservoir. Despite her disappointment, the thought that this was Victor's thoughtful gesture filled her heart with sweetness.

"Victor, you're so sweet!"

Edwin raised his eyes to the heavens and rolled them. Judging from the size of the pond and the water accumulated within it, this had clearly been dug long before Nicole took office. Yet Nicole was utterly blind to this obvious fact—she was truly infatuated to the point of losing her senses! Victor had many astonishing ideas, but he always stumbled over basic common sense, leaving Edwin with no choice but to explain the pros and cons of reservoirs in detail.

"Victor, arable land area is tied to water sources, but while the rainwater collected in a reservoir is fine for growing vegetables, it is completely useless for growing wheat, no matter how large you dig the pond! In fact, reservoirs cannot be too large; the larger they are, the faster the water evaporates. The primary function of a reservoir is to collect rainwater, but rain falls evenly across the ground. Therefore, small reservoirs are easily filled, whereas large ones not only fail to fill up, but their water evaporates even more quickly. Coupled with unpredictable rainfall, the water in a reservoir fluctuates between full and dry. It's fine for watering a vegetable patch, but entirely insufficient for wheat, which has a longer growth cycle. Tell me, what on earth were you thinking, running out to such a remote place to dig a pond?"

Victor smiled. "Master, I certainly couldn't hide it from you. I did indeed dig this pond to increase arable land. After I reclaimed Calm Lake, I realized the importance of lakes, so I wanted to use manual labor to dig a lake here, which would have increased our wheat fields by at least twenty thousand mu. Unfortunately, a heavy rainstorm ruined my plan."

"That's hardly surprising. Early on, others also tried to use reservoirs to expand their arable land, but they all encountered the exact same dilemma. Nowadays, no one does this anymore," Edwin noted.

Nicole chimed in to comfort him: "Victor, the reservoir you've dug is still quite useful. With a little tidying up, it can expand the vegetable plots by over a thousand mu."

Victor was left laughing despite himself. "I didn't run all the way out here to dig a pit just to grow vegetables!"

This was also what puzzled Edwin. The water pit was not located within the heartland of the Randall domain, but rather in the southeastern corner of Nicole's territory, a full seventy kilometers away from Victor's Brick-Kiln Village. Whether for extracting soil to make bricks or digging a lake to create fields, Victor had no business choosing this location.

"I chose this spot for two reasons: first, it's close to a water source; and second, the terrain here is relatively high," Victor said, pointing toward the south. "Look, this is only six kilometers away from the Golden Water River. The Golden Water River flows from west to east, indicating that the western terrain is higher than the eastern. My plan is to first dig a giant reservoir here, and then construct a canal running southwestward to connect the Golden Water River with the reservoir. With a stable water source, the reservoir will become a lake, more than sufficient to irrigate tens of thousands of mu of farmland."

No one in this world had ever proposed the concept of an artificial lake and river. Edwin and Nicole were struck dumb by Victor's grand,沧海变桑田 (world-transforming) ambition. Nicole stared at Victor's refined profile, her bright eyes filled with pure adoration and awe, while Edwin fell into deep contemplation.

"Two problems," Edwin said, snapping out of his reverie. "First, apart from the Kingdom of Bori, no one has ever dared to meddle with the Golden Water River; the mermen are an insurmountable obstacle. If you want to divert water from the Golden Water River, you must clear the mermen from the riverbanks. The Kingdom of Bori fought the mermen for eighty years just to build Alexandria Port, and to this day, they are still fighting them. Second, the water from the Golden Water River would be enough to flood the lake, causing the river water to spill eastward and empty directly into the Black River, turning a massive stretch of intermediate land into swampland—which would likewise be occupied by the mermen. In effect, this would be expanding territory for the mermen."

Victor nodded and said, "Master, you have considered everything thoroughly. However, in my view, none of these are problems. First of all, the riverbank mermen suffered through the ant plague. I witnessed with my own eyes several major battles between the mermen and the ant swarms, and at least twenty thousand mermen were wiped out. The Chapman family's riverbank mermen also suffered heavy casualties, with reportedly another twenty thousand or so devoured by the ant swarms. In this region, the mermen's numbers have plummeted and they are no longer a threat."

Within a mere year, the ant swarms had achieved what the Kingdom of Bori took eighty years to accomplish. This was because both the mermen and the ant swarms fought in massive formations, whereas humans lacked the logistical capability to sustain large-scale coordinated warfare and could not bear the staggering casualties among ordinary soldiers. Human military doctrine centered around knights as the core, squire-knights as the backbone, and elite soldiers as support, striking at the enemy's vital forces, then retreating to fortresses to recuperate, slowly nibbling away at the enemy until victory was secured.

Mermen possessed notoriously poor memories; no matter how badly they were beaten, as long as enough of them gathered, they would launch a counterattack. Facing this, human armies chose to bide their time, avoiding the enemy's vanguard and launching fierce counter-slaughters only after the mermen dispersed. Because mermen died in droves but also reproduced in droves, it took the Kingdom of Bori a full eighty years to reduce their influence to a minimum. The ant swarms, however, were different—they preferred direct, head-on clashes. And so, the forgetful mermen met a tragic fate.

Once Edwin understood the full story, he couldn't help sighing, "Ant swarms devoid of individual consciousness are truly the nightmare of all sentient races!"

Victor smiled slightly and continued, "Master, the second problem is also easy to solve. We simply need to construct a giant city gate at the junction of the Golden Water River and the canal."

"A city gate?"

"Doesn't the Black Fortress have a portcullis forged from refined iron? We can use that kind of gate to regulate the water flow. When the water level in the lake drops, we raise the gate to let water in; when the lake is full, we lower the gate to block the river water. I call this type of city gate a regulating sluice."

"Brilliant! No—this is a stroke of genius!" Edwin muttered to himself, before adding with excitement, "What are we waiting for? Let's go check out the riverbank!"

Victor, Nicole, and Edwin led a squad of elite guards down to the banks of the Golden Water River. True enough, only a sparse handful of large and small mermen were scattered along the shore. Once those clawing, snapping mermen were shot down by the guards, Edwin was standing less than fifty meters from the Golden Water River.

Gazing at the surging torrent of the Golden Water River, Edwin said to Victor, "You just said those two problems are no problems at all. Then what is the real problem?"

"Time!" Victor stepped forward to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Edwin. "Mermen reproduce quickly and grow quickly. In four years at most, they will become a major headache once again. We must complete this project as quickly as possible. Moreover, digging a giant pit will also be affected by rainfall, so we must concentrate our manpower and dig the pit out first."

Edwin fell silent for a moment, then turned his head and said, "Victor, the canal and artificial lake you designed aren't just meant to help Nicole, are they? When you dug this pit, Nicole wasn't even the lord of this place. And this design of canals coupled with reservoirs can be endlessly replicated, isn't that so?"

No one could devise a foolproof plan for everything! Victor sighed inwardly. He hadn't expected Edwin to pierce through his artificial river plan from mere scraps of information, thereby disrupting his layout. But things had come to this, so he simply spoke frankly: "Master, you are entirely correct. With the aid of this first artificial lake, I can continue building canals and artificial lakes. Eventually, an artificial river will run through my entire domain, adding several million mu of farmland for me."

"Several million mu!" Nicole gasped, covering her mouth.

Edwin's eyes burned with intensity as he said, "Far more than that! This artificial river could also run through the entire Centaur Hills, adding tens of millions of mu of farmland!"

Nicole felt a slight wave of dizziness. Her domain spanned fully three thousand square kilometers, yet relying on mountain streams yielded at most a few thousand mu of arable land, while all the land cleared by the York family and its vassal houses combined amounted to no more than ten million mu. When Victor said he would increase her territory's arable land by hundreds of thousands of mu and turn it into a land of abundance, he truly hadn't been lying.

Nicole looked at Victor with deep affection, but Edwin said solemnly, "Nicole! If you don't want Victor to face mortal danger, this matter must never be leaked!"

A jolt went through Nicole's heart, and she declared decisively, "I will never breathe a word of it!"

"Victor, let's go! There are still many details we need to discuss!" Edwin pulled Victor along as they strode off.

Over the next dozen days, Edwin set aside his own affairs to survey the terrain of the Randall domain alongside Victor—the streams, mountain brooks, river channels, and lakes. The two ate and lived together, and through continuous discussion and research, they perfected the artificial river plan. Finally, the elderly scholar returned to Black Fortress Town clutching a massive stack of scrolls.

In the Rose Manor, Sylvia rested her chin in her hand, staring blankly at the giant map hanging on the wall.

"Following discussions between myself and Victor, this set of artificial river plans has been named the Artificial Hydraulic Irrigation System. It primarily consists of regulating sluices, canals, and reservoirs. The underlying principle is that the regulating sluices control the water, the canals divert and drain the water, and the reservoirs store it. Let me explain the regulating sluices first.

The most critical regulating sluice will be established along the banks of the Golden Water River. On the surface, it is no different from a fortress iron gate—likewise forged from refined iron and operated via a winch and chains. However, out of safety considerations, I have designed a triple gate system: the first is the primary gate, and the other two serve as backups. Although refined iron is corrosion-resistant, it eventually requires replacement over time. Below the sluice opening, we will build a refined iron grille to prevent mermen from entering the canal. To fend off merman harassment, we also need to construct a fortification around this sluice along with two seven-meter-high city walls to facilitate troop movement. I have already drawn up the detailed design sketches.

Aside from this large regulating sluice, numerous smaller regulating sluices must be built. Don't worry, these minor regulating sluices are extremely simple and can be made using stone slabs, costing very little. As for where to place the gates, we can discuss that later."

Sylvia let out a long breath of relief. Edwin had dropped his work at the Great Swamp entrance and rushed back just to present such an earth-shattering plan; if every single sluice gate required that level of construction, the York family could be sold off wholesale and still not afford it.

Edwin continued: "Next are the artificial canals. According to Victor's design, the main canal connects to the first reservoir—three meters wide, six kilometers in total length, stepping downward every five hundred meters, with an average depth of 1.5 meters and a total drop of four meters. To prevent silting, the canal will be lined with cyan bricks. River embankments standing three meters higher than the surrounding ground must also be piled up on both sides of the canal.

The canals branching out from the first reservoir are simpler: four meters wide, 1.8 meters deep, with a small reservoir built roughly every twenty kilometers, a total drop of twelve meters, and embankments rising 1.5 meters above the ground. Victor's intention is to pave the bottom with cyan bricks, but I believe gravel will suffice. The Centaur Hills lack large stone quarries, but there is plenty of gravel to be had.

Then come the reservoirs. The first reservoir will be two hundred mu in size and twenty meters deep; the remaining reservoirs will be fifty mu in size and eight meters deep. I've calculated that we will need about five hundred reservoirs. The canal originating from the final reservoir will lead straight into the Black River. Thus, the entire artificial river will span 1,100 kilometers, running straight through the Centaur Hills from southwest to northeast, ultimately emptying into the Black River. A triangular region will be formed between the Black River and the artificial river, adding seventy million mu of arable land. Oh, and the artificial river and reservoirs will also yield vast amounts of fish, shrimp, and aquatic products."

"Seventy million mu... seventy million mu... My dear Victor, you really have handed me a formidable problem!" Sylvia massaged her flawless, fair temples and muttered to herself. A moment later, she looked up and said, "Uncle Edwin, digging over a thousand kilometers of rivers and more than five hundred lakes—how could you even conceive of such a thing? How much manpower will this require? How much time? How many material resources will be consumed? Do you honestly believe the York family alone can pull this off? Wouldn't it take the entire nation of Gombis mobilizing its full strength to accomplish? Farmers need to farm, and soldiers need to train; where would we find the time to dig rivers every single day? As enticing as the prospects of an artificial hydraulic irrigation system may be, I cannot agree to this!"

Edwin chuckled, shaking his head. "Victor is brimming with talent and is a true genius. Only after having in-depth discussions with him did I realize that his agricultural-pastoral system and the artificial hydraulic irrigation system complement each other perfectly. The agricultural-pastoral system can produce enough food to give farmers the time to engage in water conservancy projects, while the water conservancy projects can increase the number of farming villages, expand the family's effective control over the territory, and solve the problem of monster invasions, thereby ensuring the continued implementation of the agricultural-pastoral system." As he spoke, Edwin walked over to the map and pointed to the western mountains.

"If we were to construct the artificial canals directly, it would indeed be too much for the family to bear. Therefore, Victor suggests building large reservoirs first. Look here—these are the mountains on the western side of the Centaur Hills, where numerous springs and mountain streams originate. These are primarily mountain spring waters, which quickly seep back into the ground due to their meager volume, making them useless for irrigating farmland. However, whenever it rains, the mountain water surges violently, rushing down the channels and pouring directly into the Black River via low-lying terrain.

Victor believes these waterways not only indicate the lie of the land, but with slight improvements, they become natural canals. By digging large reservoirs amidst these west-to-east channels, whenever it rains, the mountain torrents and rainwater will fill the pools, turning them into small reservoirs. Constructing minor regulating sluices on the canals behind these reservoirs can prevent floods and alleviate droughts. This single design alone can add twenty million mu of arable land, yield more food, accommodate a larger population, and allow us to gradually build the north-south main canals later. Once all the water conservancy projects are fully completed, you will find the entire Centaur Hills crisscrossed with canals and waterways, and the fertile fields reclaimed will likely exceed one hundred million mu!"

Sylvia's azure eyes shimmered with brilliant light. Victor's train of thought was exceptionally clear: first build reservoirs in low-lying areas, utilize mountain water and streams to construct small east-west canals and minor regulating sluices to transform the reservoirs into small water storage units, and then slowly excavate the north-south main canals, using the small reservoirs as hubs to integrate the numerous minor canals with the main one. Ultimately, such a grand water conservancy project would be completed piece by piece. What did digging reservoirs amount to? Minor regulating sluices were nothing more than stone slabs a few meters wide. One could say that Victor's design reduced costs to the absolute minimum, while delivering benefits that Sylvia simply could not refuse.

"Exquisite!" Sylvia took a deep breath and said, "Victor has thought of what predecessors dared not imagine, and we, the York family, shall do what predecessors dared not do!"

Edwin nodded with a smile, "So it should be!"