If the Qi-Tai Line Railway followed a route with low construction difficulty, it would have to take a long detour, pushing the total length beyond six hundred kilometers.
Luo Chong's opinion, however, was to cut directly through the mountains. That would greatly shorten the route, keeping the total mileage to under 450 kilometers at the very least, though it would greatly increase the construction difficulty.
But if you asked which route would actually take longer to build, that was hard to say. After all, although the first plan was less difficult, it covered a much greater distance.
You Fu had initially disagreed somewhat with Luo Chong's method, but after hearing Luo Chong's explanation and visiting the Power Research Institute to see the excavators and other engineering machinery, he also decided that Luo Chong's plan was feasible. Thus, this technically more difficult construction plan was finalized.
First, people were sent to survey the geology and select the most suitable route. Fortunately, the Han Tribe already had plenty of experience building railways, so they knew this work like the back of their hands. The geological survey and mapping team quickly settled on the route.
The planned Qi-Tai Line was 460 kilometers long in total. Taking the terrain and construction difficulty into account, it was divided into four sections.
Looking from north to south, the first section lay in Qian Commandery, which was also the former territory of the White House Tribe. This section ran south from the plains until just before entering the mountains. Stretching from the flatlands into the mountainous region, it was 227 kilometers long and the easiest section of the entire project. It was essentially the same as the plains routes built previously, except that this one gradually climbed uphill.
Taking into account the train's climbing ability, the survey