Kyushu Academy of Sciences.
"Master Li, there is a telegram from Quancheng County."
"explain."
"The line surveyor said that the total straight line length from Laoshan to Quancheng County is 300 kilometers, but it requires digging through ten mountains and digging ten tunnels. The total length of the tunnel is 20 kilometers and the cost is one billion. If it is not dug, If the tunnel is bypassed, the length of the journey will be increased by 120 kilometers, which is estimated to increase by one hour to one hour and twenty minutes based on the speed. This tunnel should be dug or not."
Li Zhen thought for a while and asked: "One billion and twenty kilometers... How long will it take to dig through twenty kilometers?"
"Digming tunnels mainly relies on manual labor. Workers mainly use chisels and hammers to knock it down bit by bit. A tunnel project requires two thousand workers. They dig from both ends and gather at the middle point. If there is no rest for 24 hours, , if the shifts are switched, both sides will progress together, and they can dig about half a meter in one day. If more workers are invited, ten tunnels will be excavated at the same time, and the longest tunnel is five kilometers. Then if there are no accidents... "
Li Zhen shouted: "Twenty-seven years?"
"Ahem..."
The atmosphere fell silent.
Many people only calculate how much money it will cost, but not how much time it will take.
In most people's minds, tunnels just need to be dug. It will probably be dug out in a few days.
But if you do the math carefully, you will realize how vast the project is. A five-kilometer tunnel would take twenty-seven years to dig. Not only did it scare outsiders, but Li Zhen was also shocked. Digging for twenty-seven years just to save twenty kilometers of road? No matter how you calculate it, why is it not cost-effective
"Master Li, what should we do..."
Li Zhen blinked and asked, "What do you think?"
"I...this. Don't dig."
"That's right. Go and answer the telegram... wait."
Li Zhen quickly stopped the telegraph operator: "How about this? First, let's open the railway first, start work on both sides, lay the detour rails on one side, and dig tunnels on the other. If we don't dig now, won't we dig in the future? The tunnel still needs to be dug.”
"Really?"
"dig."
“…”
In Quancheng County, Du Taiping couldn't help but feel relieved when he received Li Zhen's telegram. He was really afraid that Li Zhen would dig a tunnel. The cost of one billion is really scary. But when I saw the back of the telegram, it said that we still had to dig, but that we were starting work on both sides.
While laying the bypass rails, tunnels will be dug.
Du Taiping was about to cry: "Why are we still digging? Who can afford this one billion? It's not worth the loss at all."
The secretary-general of the office looked at the telegram and was silent for a while and said: "Emperor, Dean Li must be preparing for the future, right?"
Du Taiping nodded: "I know. If you look at the geographical map, once the straight-line distance from Laoshan to Quancheng County is connected, the entire distance in Dongzhou will be shortened by half. All counties and counties along the way will benefit. This is to prepare for the future. The expressway is now used No, it will definitely come in handy in a few decades or more than ten years. It’s just that the investment is not directly proportional to the harvest. Who can afford a billion in gold coupons?”
"Actually, there is no need to pay one billion. The emperor may not have thought of this. It is not necessarily necessary to pay one billion immediately. One billion is the estimated total cost, but for such a long time, you only need to pay one or two yuan every year. Ten million gold coupons. One billion is paid in more than ten years or decades, which is still enough for us to bear."
Du Taiping suddenly woke up when he heard this. Yes, he was obsessed. It's definitely not possible to get one billion, but it can be paid in installments.
He took the Dongzhou map again and looked at it. After a while, Du Taiping made a decision: "Then dig. But since this is a big project, let's do it a little bit at a time. Don't go from Laoshan to Quancheng County, just go directly Get through. Laoshan, passing through Weifang, Qingzhou, Quancheng, Liaocheng, Anyang, Jiaozuo, and Balongcheng. Just buy and sell in one go and penetrate Dongzhou and Zhongzhou. It's the same digging, and it also takes so much time, so just go directly Let’s get through it completely.”
The secretary-general looked at the straight line drawn by Du Taiping on the map, and his eyes lit up: "Then let's just open up New Kyushu directly. Dongzhou, Zhongzhou, Northwest State, Xizhou, and Four Continents all run through it."
Du Taiping rolled his eyes: "Stop fantasizing. Reestimate the cost, come up with an accurate figure, and then ask Dean Li."
Three days later, the news came back.
"Emperor, build a straight line from Laoshan all the way to Balong City. During this period, forty-six mountains and a total of forty-six tunnels will be dug out, with a total length of 103 kilometers. The total construction cost is estimated to be 5.5 billion gold coupons..."
Du Taiping cleared his throat: "Forget it."
“…”
——-
A few days later, Li Zhen heard about Du Taiping's grand idea and couldn't help laughing. Isn't Du Taiping a very timid and cautious person? He actually wants to eat a fat man in one bite and directly drill through New Kyushu.
But later Du Taiping gave up and returned to the cautious Du Taiping he once was. This is right.
Li Zhen currently has no idea of doing such a vast project...
That's horrible. With a cost of more than 5 billion, even if it is expected to be completed within 20 years, the amount that needs to be paid every year is an astronomical figure. Paying astronomical amounts of money every year and only seeing results after twenty years is too risky. The gain outweighs the loss.
"Let's build bridges honestly."
Li Zhen murmured and seemed to remember something: "No, no. I seem to remember Zhang Zhi telling me about the existence of a shield machine before. If that kind of shield machine could be created, would it be possible to save time and cost? Are they all reduced?"
With the shield machine, tunneling is no longer a problem.
But Li Zhen felt that the TBM was not that simple. It shouldn't be enough to just add a drill bit in front of a machine. If it were that simple, it should be called an earth drilling vehicle, not a shield machine.
"When I dream tonight, I have to ask Zhang Zhi what's going on with this shield machine. Can it be built with New Kyushu's technology?" |
Whispered. Li Zhen no longer thinks about digging tunnels.
What is expected is to dig through Laoshan Mountain to Quancheng County and open up more than half of Dongzhou. These tasks will be completed and implemented by specialized personnel from the state and professionals from the Kyushu Academy of Sciences.
Of course, the railway still needs to be laid. But now it is a detour, there are no tunnels for the time being, and there are places where bridges can be built among the mountains.
The cost of building a bridge is also high, although it is not a bridge that directly spans a mountain. But there are many areas where it is necessary to cross a river and build bridges in canyons and various terrains.
The cost of building a bridge is not cheap, but it saves a lot compared to building a tunnel.
(End of chapter)