Inspecting the Territory (Part Two)

Victor's inspection of the territory this time was significantly faster than last year. With the launch of a new round of expansion, a road connecting the heart of the territory to Blue Lake was fully repaired.

Despite limitations imposed by factors such as labor costs, the road was not built to be overly wide, but it was still a solid rammed earth road that could accommodate two horse-drawn carriages passing side by side.

Along this newly built road, Victor could often see caravans of immigrants slowly passing Blue Lake, their wagons laden with various supplies and tools.

The original military outposts along the river have been transformed into large settlements, housing not only the original garrison but also several times the number of civilians or serfs.

These four military outposts are planned to become large towns with several thousand inhabitants in the future, and also important transit points for immigrants to settle and expand the territory.

More small and medium-sized settlements will expand along the riverbanks from the military outposts. The land here is relatively fertile, and with ample water resources, these riverside settlements are enough to make them important granaries for the territory.

After the first harvest of grain this year, it is estimated that the territory will no longer need to import grain from the hinterland, as the grain produced by these settlements alone will be sufficient to meet the needs of the territory's next step of northward expansion.

However, Victor noticed some problems. Thanks to the support of the territory, a large number of livestock and farm tools were distributed to indentured slaves who were cultivating the land, and the land reclamation was progressing rapidly. At least half of the land had already been cultivated.

However, the construction of small and medium-sized settlements progressed very slowly, especially the settlements further north became increasingly rudimentary.

Many serfs could only live in shacks made of reeds and sleep directly on the ground. If it weren't for the rising temperature and the cotton clothes distributed to them by the territory, there would have been a large-scale outbreak of injuries and illnesses long ago!

Victor went directly to Sam, the Agricultural Director was accompanying him on the inspection of the territory, and asked, "What's going on? Why don't most of these settlements even have wooden houses?"

I remember previously requesting that the construction team at least build a number of warm and cold-resistant wooden houses for the settlement. Didn't the Rabik Commerce Department also purchase a sufficient amount of light teak from the Black Pine Territory?

What is Levant's Urban Construction Department doing?

Why didn't your Agricultural Department and Powell's Department of Civil Administration report this?"

Victor was furious; he felt his orders had not been carried out.

Sam was also taken aback by Victor's performance, and he quickly explained, "Marquis Excellency, the construction team has not delayed the progress and has been carrying out the previous plan."

However, we discovered some problems during this period. Because it was still springtime, the water volume of the Great Fish River was not very abundant. However, the reclamation of the land required a large amount of water, which resulted in the water level of the river dropping.

The drop in water levels has created difficulties for the immigration operations led by the Government Affairs Office and the Department of Civil Administration, with immigrant convoys frequently running aground in the river.

In an effort to find a solution, Powell approached Zarack and me, hoping we could pause settlement construction and redeploy engineering teams to dredge the river, facilitating the passage of immigrant convoys.

We understand that this will cause some difficulties for immigrants in the short term, but the Department of Civil Administration has prepared enough warm clothing for them so that they can avoid injury or illness even if the temperature suddenly drops!

This matter has already been reported to the Government Affairs Office by Powell's supervisor. It may not have reached you yet, but in order not to affect the immigration process, a few of us have decided to get started!

..."

Although Sam was very nervous, he explained things fairly clearly, and after listening, Victor's anger subsided!

The Great Fish River's water volume is partly derived from glacial meltwater. It's only May now, and the upstream glaciers have just begun to melt, so the main channel doesn't have enough water. Moreover, the Lime River is just a small tributary.

Victor felt that there might have been a slight oversight in the previous expansion plan.