Aztec Civilization: Destiny to Conquer America!

Aside from this, villages everywhere have received long-term tasks for canal maintenance. Every year during the farming off-season, villagers must continue performing various labors under the guidance of the village priest. Meanwhile, each county must provide sufficient tools and subsidize the laborers' rations.

As for the third-level stone paths, excavating canals... Such costly projects, Xiulote only dreams about, definitely not something to implement right now.

"Construct soil roads along three rivers, clear stones from waterways, build reservoir dams, maintain local canals... These are the four essential tasks of the grand plan!"

As he wrote this, Xiulote felt a bit self-deprecating. This grand plan, compared to the roads of the First Emperor of Qin, the Great Wall of the Martial Emperor of Han, and the Grand Canal of Emperor Yang of Sui, the scale is merely a fraction of a fraction. However, such projects, for the Kingdom of the Lake, and indeed the entire realm of Central America, are unprecedented feats!

And without the widespread use of the kingdom's bronze tools and the production of iron tools, the cost of road and dam construction would likely be unacceptable to all tribes.

"The first essential task, build soil roads along the three rivers, linking water systems and towns!"

Xiulote extended his finger, tracing the first red line on the map. The starting point is at the River Mouth Fortress in Rivermouth County in the north, and the endpoint is the Capital City of Qinchongcan. The construction length of this second-level county road is about one hundred sixty to seventy li. The road first heads south, linking village settlements along the way, then connects with the Huayamo Fortress, and finally turns west to connect to Qinchongcan City.

"The first county road, Lerma River--River Mouth Fortress--Huayamo Fortress--Qinchongcan City. The entire northern part of the kingdom has relatively flat terrain, with many first-level soil roads. This single second-level county road suffices to connect the capital more effectively with the Lerma River water systems. And the construction of this county road is founded on the existing soil roads of the Tarasco Kingdom..."

Xiulote contemplated the details of this road, marking potential construction challenges with his pen.

"The terrain near the Huayamo Fortress is relatively high, which might be slightly laborious, but overall the road difficulty isn't significant."

The entire length of the first county road is one hundred seventy li, with the land route rising gradually from north to south, reaching the highest elevation near Huayamo Fortress. Then the road continues southwest, the elevation slightly decreasing until it reaches Qinchongcan City. Moreover, the capital city of Qinchongcan is significantly higher in elevation than the River Mouth Fortress. Both the Capital City of Qinchongcan and Huayamo Fortress are city-states that survived the great flood of the previous era, established in high points of the Lake Region.

In fact, the elevation of Qinchongcan City is about 2000 meters, Huayamo Fortress is 2400 meters, and River Mouth Fortress is 1800 meters. This road over one hundred seventy li, first increases by 600 meters, then drops by 200 meters. Such elevation undulation is relatively gentle compared to the southern two counties, which have elevation differences often over a thousand meters. This road, in later generations, will become Mexico's highway 43 turning into highway 15.

"From the second county road onwards, all lead to the south. The second county road belongs to the southeastern route of the southern roads, divided into two segments. The eastern route's first segment starts from Patzcuaro City, traveling one hundred fifty li to the small town of Aotuo."

The small town of Aotuo, years ago, was where Xiulote convened with southern nobility and encountered an assassination attempt by Medina, acting as a commercial route node to the south. The starting point being Patzcuaro is because there's water transport available between Qinchongcan City and Patzcuaro City via Lake Patzcuaro. The efficiency of water transport far surpasses land transport, even third-level stone paths cannot compare.

In the initial planning, Xiulote minimized the "grand plan" project scale, intending to first lay out the main arteries.

"The first segment of the eastern route, total length of one hundred fifty li. From south to north, also starts ascending then dropping. The closer to Aotuo Town, the faster the terrain drops, starting to show steepness."

The first segment of the second county road, a land route of one hundred fifty li. This section is the subsequent highway 120. Patzcuaro City has an elevation of 2200 meters, slightly higher than Qinchongcan City. The small town of Aotuo has an elevation of only 1500 meters, with a high point in between of a village at 2400 meters. So the first half is relatively easy to build, but the latter eighty li will abruptly drop 900 meters, making construction considerably more tedious.

"Fortunately, the second segment of the eastern route from the small town of Aotuo begins with a navigable river locally called 'Torrent River.' The Torrent River flows swiftly from Aotuo southwards, then turns southwest, passing through the mountain lake (La Pena), traveling one hundred sixty li to merge into the southern Great Lake, Atoyac Lake at Crow Town. This one hundred sixty li of waterway is rapid, with a large drop, featuring rocky shoals and small waterfalls. But the kingdom's canoes can traverse, and merchants frequently commute along this water route, far outperforming the prior section..."

When he reached this point, Xiulote slightly furrowed his brow. This segment of waterway needs dredging to allow longships passage, enhancing water transport efficiency. Civilian laborers not only need to clear river stones but also need to make the mid-river small waterfalls gentle, or excavate a meandering river channel to bypass them. These mountain river projects rely solely on manpower, which would likely consume many lives. The best solution is using granular black gunpowder to blast open and then excavate.

"Starting with the simpler tasks might be better, repairing a little bit at a time. Currently, small boats, though risking it, can still pass. As for this 'Torrent River' name, it needs changing! Hmm, beginning from Aotuo, ending at the Xiteli Family's Crow Town, flowing into the vast Lake Ato. For simplicity, let's call it... Ao Crow River!"

The second segment of the second county road is the Ao Crow River waterway, spanning one hundred sixty li. Starting from Aotuo City with an elevation of 1500 meters, ending at Crow Town with only 200 meters. Over one hundred sixty li, it drops 1300 meters, averaging eight meters drop per li! This elevation difference waterway flows downstream from north to south, not even taking a full day. However, heading from south to north is much harder, requiring someone to pull by cable through the obstacles. Covering three to four tens li a day, it likely takes five to six days to complete.

The Patzcuaro Lake region, the kingdom's heartland, holds the highest elevation. The western Chapala Lake Region and the northern Rivermouth County are both slightly lower. As for the southern two counties, they are at the lowest elevation. Having a commanding position of being higher is advantageous for marching and striking movements! The former kings of Tarasco probably considered such aspects when establishing the capital in the Patzcuaro Lake region.

"The third county road also divides into two segments. The first segment itself is split into two parts, starting from the commercial hub Ivachi City, going westward for sixty li, connecting to the Blackstone City of Qinganbate mining district, then continuing westward for another sixty li, linking to the mountain Flower Fruit City. The construction challenge lies between Blackstone City and Flower Fruit City."

The first segment of the third county road, wholly one hundred twenty li. From northeast to southwest, successive predominant towns are spaced sixty li apart.

Ivachi City, a commercial hub abbreviated as Mall City, sits on Lake Patzcuaro, with water links to the capital and an elevation of about 2100 meters. The Qinganbate mining district stands at about 2000 meters elevation. From Mall City to the mining district's Blackstone City, one must navigate around several hills one to two hundred meters high. Although it requires detouring, construction difficulty is not high. Furthermore, the mining district can conveniently supply road construction materials, reducing many transport tasks. In fact, to transport copper materials and coal mines from the mining district, this section of the road has been roughly repaired once, allowing single-wheeled carts passage. The remaining task is merely to consolidate and repair.

As for Flower Fruit City, the elevation is around 1700 meters. From Blackstone City to Flower Fruit City, the thirty li drop about 300 meters, featuring several larger hills. The construction difficulty increases significantly for this segment. However, generally speaking, being near the mining district, road construction remains feasible.

"But stretching south from Flower Fruit City, linking to the Apa Plain presents the true challenge!"

Xiulote straightened his back, invigorated. He swept his hand across the vast southern region, a blue waterway and a red line land route simultaneously captured his gaze.