Chapter 226
I took a look at the nearby river channel, and conducted some on-the-spot measurements. To be precise, it is 120 versts from the Don River to the part of the Volga River that flows into the Caspian Sea.
In order to reclaim the river, Bestutev had already ordered the smelter to cast enough hoes overnight, that is, His Majesty's improved shovel.
After sending out a hand, Bestutev ordered all the soldiers to start working.
Bestutev also wielded a hoe and worked for a while, and soon he was sweating all over. It wasn't that the shovel was too strenuous, but that Bestutev had always been the Deputy Minister of General Affairs, no different from other nobles. Didn't work.
Seeing the officer who was older than the lieutenant general also wielding a pick, the soldiers became more motivated, but Apraxin didn't take it seriously.
He asked the Deputy Minister of General Affairs to step aside to rest, and then asked:
"Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications, are we really going to work here for a year or so?"
Apraksin's expression was reluctance. What's the point here? He has been eager to transfer the Caspian Sea Fleet to the border of the Sea of Azov, and fight Ottoman hard, but he has made several suggestions, and His Majesty rejected.
Bestutev understood Apraksin's intentions. After all, the lieutenant general also served as his deputy in the Privy Council for a while before leaving Moscow.
Bestutev said meaningfully:
"You can do whatever your majesty asks you to do. You may have what you want in the future."
Apraksin couldn't help but smile wryly, he is over 40, can he still catch up with what he wants?
He knew that the Deputy Minister of General Affairs' trip was to connect the Don River and the Volga River, but the Caspian Sea Fleet was already entrenched on the west side of the Caspian Sea. Would Persia in the south dare to say anything?
Now that the Don River and the Volga River are connected, apart from making transportation more convenient and faster, what else can it do?
Seeing that the Deputy Minister of General Affairs didn't want to say too much, Apraksin had no choice but to walk aside with a depressed face, stepped on the shovel into the ground, twisted the upper handrail, and the soft soil that had been soaked in water suddenly burst was thrown aside.
Bestutev shook his head. No matter whether Apraksin is willing or not, he will do these things. Moreover, Bestutev believes that with Apraksin here, the Caspian Sea Fleet will do these things. Much less hassle.
He believed that with the influence of Apraxinzu, things would be much easier.
And while these more than 2000 soldiers were working hard, the surrounding area was not idle, and the male and female armbands under the Notre Dame Cathedral transported by land began to get busy.
Food for 2000 people is a lot of work. There is almost no place to live in this place. Food must be prepared first.
In order to improve efficiency, these armbands were transferred from the city closest to the Don River.
But even if it is close, it is 50 versts.
Fortunately, Bestutev made third-hand preparations.
Before departure, the arrangement that Bestutev presented to His Majesty detailed how the Don-Volga canal would be dug.
His Majesty has given new instructions.
He ordered a batch of equipment to be transferred from the Urals, and three national treasure-level existences were transferred from among the top craftsmen in Moscow to be responsible for the production of cement.
For these three craftsmen, Bestutev paid more attention to them than to Apraksin, the lieutenant general of the army.
It is not an exaggeration to say that it is ten times more important.
Because they know how to configure cement.
Around these three craftsmen, there are 50 soldiers each who follow their orders at any time, not only to protect their safety, but also to prevent leaks.
Although His Majesty did not look very worried, Bestutev, who had seen cement with his own eyes, did not dare to be careless at all.
If the cement formula spread to other countries, whether it was Prussia or not, Bestutev could not imagine how terrible things would happen.
This is a powerful weapon for Russia, but it is the same for other countries!
Therefore, no matter from national considerations or personal considerations, Bestutev did not allow leaks to occur.
A large number of red bricks were stored in the equipment near the river in advance, and a group of workers who fired red bricks were also relocated here.
These red bricks are the result of their work for half a month.
When these workers saw thousands of soldiers disembarking from the large canvas ships, they couldn't help being stunned.
No one told them what to do here besides firing red bricks, but what they saw right now was obviously not a trivial matter.
Later, they saw strange equipment, which was not made of red bricks, but soon, the equipment was surrounded by pieces of oilcloth to cover it up.
A few days later, when piles of sticky gray mud were brought out, these workers suddenly realized.
It turned out that this is the cement used for paving.
"Fular, isn't the river channel being dredged here, is it necessary to pave the road here?"
A worker was puzzled and asked in a low voice.
The person he asked came from the Ural smelting center. He had rich experience and knowledge. During the period of firing red bricks, he counted the days behind closed doors. Although it was bitter, he quickly became familiar with it.
Fular was also puzzled. He looked at the cement being transported here, and at the soldiers who were working to dredge the river but did not order them, and shook his head.
He didn't know either.
Soon, the cart full of cement was pushed in front of them.
The cart was pushed by a craftsman from Moscow. He glanced at these workers transferred from other places, with a proud expression on his face, he said directly:
"My lord said, you listen to my order first. It's eleven o'clock now, and fifty houses will be built before seven o'clock in the evening."
fifty?
Fular and the other workers were taken aback, and they all remembered the punishment they would receive if they failed to complete the task.
Before they were transferred, this kind of punishment was often carried out by the steward, which left them bruised and fresh in their memories.
Although the person in front of him seemed to come from the same family background as them, the workers did not dare to offend him just because he came with the adult who was heavily protected by soldiers.
Fular mustered up his courage and said:
"How to build this house, where can we find wood?"
The cart looked contemptuously, and said, "We don't use wood to build houses here, but we use the red bricks you burned and these cements."
Knowing that they had never done such a thing, Hughes simply demonstrated it himself.
The workers who look down on these people who are not in Moscow naturally look down on them, and the nobles in Moscow and St. Petersburg also look down on the nobles from other places, but what should be done must be done.
This was ordered by the closely guarded adults.
Moreover, Hughes did not dare to be careless in doing this, because after these houses were built, not only they lived, but also the soldiers.
Once something happened to his carelessness, Hughes couldn't imagine how those soldiers would treat him.
So, Hughes asked for 30 yuan of red bricks and began to show these workers what bricklaying is.
(End of this chapter)
I took a look at the nearby river channel, and conducted some on-the-spot measurements. To be precise, it is 120 versts from the Don River to the part of the Volga River that flows into the Caspian Sea.
In order to reclaim the river, Bestutev had already ordered the smelter to cast enough hoes overnight, that is, His Majesty's improved shovel.
After sending out a hand, Bestutev ordered all the soldiers to start working.
Bestutev also wielded a hoe and worked for a while, and soon he was sweating all over. It wasn't that the shovel was too strenuous, but that Bestutev had always been the Deputy Minister of General Affairs, no different from other nobles. Didn't work.
Seeing the officer who was older than the lieutenant general also wielding a pick, the soldiers became more motivated, but Apraxin didn't take it seriously.
He asked the Deputy Minister of General Affairs to step aside to rest, and then asked:
"Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications, are we really going to work here for a year or so?"
Apraksin's expression was reluctance. What's the point here? He has been eager to transfer the Caspian Sea Fleet to the border of the Sea of Azov, and fight Ottoman hard, but he has made several suggestions, and His Majesty rejected.
Bestutev understood Apraksin's intentions. After all, the lieutenant general also served as his deputy in the Privy Council for a while before leaving Moscow.
Bestutev said meaningfully:
"You can do whatever your majesty asks you to do. You may have what you want in the future."
Apraksin couldn't help but smile wryly, he is over 40, can he still catch up with what he wants?
He knew that the Deputy Minister of General Affairs' trip was to connect the Don River and the Volga River, but the Caspian Sea Fleet was already entrenched on the west side of the Caspian Sea. Would Persia in the south dare to say anything?
Now that the Don River and the Volga River are connected, apart from making transportation more convenient and faster, what else can it do?
Seeing that the Deputy Minister of General Affairs didn't want to say too much, Apraksin had no choice but to walk aside with a depressed face, stepped on the shovel into the ground, twisted the upper handrail, and the soft soil that had been soaked in water suddenly burst was thrown aside.
Bestutev shook his head. No matter whether Apraksin is willing or not, he will do these things. Moreover, Bestutev believes that with Apraksin here, the Caspian Sea Fleet will do these things. Much less hassle.
He believed that with the influence of Apraxinzu, things would be much easier.
And while these more than 2000 soldiers were working hard, the surrounding area was not idle, and the male and female armbands under the Notre Dame Cathedral transported by land began to get busy.
Food for 2000 people is a lot of work. There is almost no place to live in this place. Food must be prepared first.
In order to improve efficiency, these armbands were transferred from the city closest to the Don River.
But even if it is close, it is 50 versts.
Fortunately, Bestutev made third-hand preparations.
Before departure, the arrangement that Bestutev presented to His Majesty detailed how the Don-Volga canal would be dug.
His Majesty has given new instructions.
He ordered a batch of equipment to be transferred from the Urals, and three national treasure-level existences were transferred from among the top craftsmen in Moscow to be responsible for the production of cement.
For these three craftsmen, Bestutev paid more attention to them than to Apraksin, the lieutenant general of the army.
It is not an exaggeration to say that it is ten times more important.
Because they know how to configure cement.
Around these three craftsmen, there are 50 soldiers each who follow their orders at any time, not only to protect their safety, but also to prevent leaks.
Although His Majesty did not look very worried, Bestutev, who had seen cement with his own eyes, did not dare to be careless at all.
If the cement formula spread to other countries, whether it was Prussia or not, Bestutev could not imagine how terrible things would happen.
This is a powerful weapon for Russia, but it is the same for other countries!
Therefore, no matter from national considerations or personal considerations, Bestutev did not allow leaks to occur.
A large number of red bricks were stored in the equipment near the river in advance, and a group of workers who fired red bricks were also relocated here.
These red bricks are the result of their work for half a month.
When these workers saw thousands of soldiers disembarking from the large canvas ships, they couldn't help being stunned.
No one told them what to do here besides firing red bricks, but what they saw right now was obviously not a trivial matter.
Later, they saw strange equipment, which was not made of red bricks, but soon, the equipment was surrounded by pieces of oilcloth to cover it up.
A few days later, when piles of sticky gray mud were brought out, these workers suddenly realized.
It turned out that this is the cement used for paving.
"Fular, isn't the river channel being dredged here, is it necessary to pave the road here?"
A worker was puzzled and asked in a low voice.
The person he asked came from the Ural smelting center. He had rich experience and knowledge. During the period of firing red bricks, he counted the days behind closed doors. Although it was bitter, he quickly became familiar with it.
Fular was also puzzled. He looked at the cement being transported here, and at the soldiers who were working to dredge the river but did not order them, and shook his head.
He didn't know either.
Soon, the cart full of cement was pushed in front of them.
The cart was pushed by a craftsman from Moscow. He glanced at these workers transferred from other places, with a proud expression on his face, he said directly:
"My lord said, you listen to my order first. It's eleven o'clock now, and fifty houses will be built before seven o'clock in the evening."
fifty?
Fular and the other workers were taken aback, and they all remembered the punishment they would receive if they failed to complete the task.
Before they were transferred, this kind of punishment was often carried out by the steward, which left them bruised and fresh in their memories.
Although the person in front of him seemed to come from the same family background as them, the workers did not dare to offend him just because he came with the adult who was heavily protected by soldiers.
Fular mustered up his courage and said:
"How to build this house, where can we find wood?"
The cart looked contemptuously, and said, "We don't use wood to build houses here, but we use the red bricks you burned and these cements."
Knowing that they had never done such a thing, Hughes simply demonstrated it himself.
The workers who look down on these people who are not in Moscow naturally look down on them, and the nobles in Moscow and St. Petersburg also look down on the nobles from other places, but what should be done must be done.
This was ordered by the closely guarded adults.
Moreover, Hughes did not dare to be careless in doing this, because after these houses were built, not only they lived, but also the soldiers.
Once something happened to his carelessness, Hughes couldn't imagine how those soldiers would treat him.
So, Hughes asked for 30 yuan of red bricks and began to show these workers what bricklaying is.
(End of this chapter)
