Aztec Civilization: Destiny to Conquer America!

The night grew deeper, the camp solemn, the tent warmed by the wind, smoke rising from the incense burner. The campfire danced within the big tent, illuminating a figure bent over writing, merging with the moon's shadow on the sky.

Xiulote sat at his desk, sometimes pondering for a long time, sometimes writing swiftly. The detailed kingdom map spread out before him, black towns listed in order, blue rivers surging north and south. The young king dipped expensive red paint, with each stroke, he connected the blue and black with the shortest red line into one!

"Kingdom roads, divided into three levels. First Level are village-level dirt roads. Clear away grass and trees from the road surface, flatten and trim raised areas, and fill sunken areas with earth, tamping it down to facilitate pedestrian travel."

At this point, Xiulote paused slightly. Currently, the roads within the Kingdom are basically such dirt roads, carried over from the Tarasco Kingdom era. These dirt roads formed from frequent use. But in the newly cultivated Apa County in the south, even such roads have not yet been formed.

"Second Level are county-level composite soil roads. Composite soil roads consist of clay and loam as the base, bonded with weathered lime, and filled with natural sand. These composite soil roads need to be manually compacted and maintained. In areas with lots of rain, abundant rivers, and dense vegetation, coal slag, mine slag, and gravel should be used as the base, filled with natural sand dug from the seaside, to protect against water and plants."

Xiulote looked at the map, pondering slightly. He had inquired warrior leaders transporting provisions, carefully investigated the logistics roads condition. Based on current conditions, composite soil roads should be the most suitable balance choice between the kingdom's productivity and material transport, and will be the focus of coming construction efforts. The qualifying judgment standard for composite soil roads is also simple.

"...The road surface needs to be sufficiently flat and firm, and the qualifying judgment standard is that it must facilitate quick passage for the kingdom's wheel carts!"

In the kingdom's logistics, metal-reinforced wheel carts are already widely used. The wheels are wrapped with vulcanized rubber, greatly increasing longevity, needing only monthly bearing repairs. However, this transportation mode remains as costly military gear. The wheel and bearing costs are extremely high, and rubber production is quite limited. Ordinary merchants and civilians in the kingdom cannot afford it.

"Third Level roads are kingdom-level stone roads. Using large stones as the base material, mine slag, natural sand as the filling materials, then bonded with volcanic ash cement or tar, compacted with stone rollers pulled by civilians. This class of kingdom stone roads need not worry about rain, nor plant roots. Tar has a toxicity that kills plants, while volcanic ash cement is more solid when soaked in water. The qualifying judgment standard for Third Level stone roads is to allow passage of loaded horse carriages and ox carts!"

Xiulote envisioned scenes of Roman stone roads, leading to a slight smile. He received a letter from the kingdom's construction chief Koskachi. Koskachi excitedly reported that they had discovered the "cement" indicated by the Divine Guidance. Cement poured walls gradually hardening, eventually becoming like a big rock, hard to break with an axe!

"Hmm, according to Koskachi's description, the volcanic ash cement hardening time is long, needing constant water addition... somewhat strange."

Amidst these thoughts, Xiulote scratched his head. He had heard of volcanic ash cement's name, but naturally didn't know the specific principles. He merely proposed directions and requirements, while actual practice laid with various directors, chiefs, craftsmen masters, and senior craftsmen in the Divine Revelation Place to explore.

"However, Koskachi would not dare deceive me, volcanic ash cement must have been researched out. And the craftsman Tan Bird, who first tested the cement, also deserves a handsome reward!... Promote to Craftsman Master, grant the honor of Divine Revelation Priest, additionally granting two hundred mu of land, twenty servants, and two hundred pounds of gold, to motivate craftsmen everywhere!"

Xiulote pondered briefly before making the decision. The kingdom's rear is stable; manpower is abundant; the craftsman numbers are explosively growing. Various projects are about to start, just at this time of bone market weight!

"Of course, volcanic ash must be transported from the Colima Mountain Region, and it is not so convenient. The alliance and kingdom have many volcanoes, let this Mountain Bird lead apprentices, run across various volcanoes, and Divine Mountain foothills, to find more volcanic ash cement raw materials!"

Craftsmen who establish merits and invent advances can receive generous rewards. They also need to teach the related technical know-how to apprentices. They have the power to choose apprentices but certainly must not keep secrets. Actually, the kingdom grants them superior social status and treatment, without needing to rely on secrecy to survive.

"Ah! Using volcanic ash cement for road construction is too lavish. This cement has limited production, excellent waterproof capabilities, should prioritize into reservoir and dam construction. In the kingdom south, river systems interlink, lakes intertwine, rainy seasons bring excessive precipitation, most requiring reservoir and dam for flood storage!"

Thinking of this, Xiulote laid down the feather pen, marking red circles near several lakes in the kingdom. Those are the projected reservoir and dam locations. Then, he picked up the map, carefully examining towns marked in black, rivers in blue lines, roads in red lines, lakes in blue circles, and reservoirs by the shores marked in red circles... all construction plans jumped directly onto the paper!

Overall, this time the kingdom's grand building plans include using the Second Level county composite soil roads to link major cities and important towns in various counties, north and south rivers. Next, both northern and southern water systems need dredging, clearing out river rocks. Finally, small flood prevention reservoirs and dams must be constructed around large lakes everywhere, to regulate rain season precipitation.