Building a road more than five thousand kilometers long, with nearly half its route requiring passages cut through mountains, would have been extraordinarily difficult even on technologically advanced Earth.
Even setting aside the difficulty of construction, the most basic problem alone-the funding-was almost impossible to solve.
Riley's estimate of fifty million gold coins was already quite conservative. In reality, the total investment needed to build such a road might well exceed a hundred million gold coins.
Across the entire Sains Continent, probably only two giants like the Candel Empire and the Malo Empire could afford such an enormous investment.
No other country or merchant guild could possibly shoulder such staggering costs on its own.
The Nozdormu Commercial United Kingdom could not, and neither could the Xinfei Merchant Guild.
Yet when President Cruz relayed the news Riley had sent back from the Candel Empire to Xu Yi, Xu Yi surprised him by taking a keen interest in this crazy plan.
Watching Xu Yi carefully study the huge, meticulously detailed map of the Sains Continent hanging on the wall of the Manor's reception room, looking deep in thought, President Cruz did not know whether to laugh or cry.
"Hey, Xu Yi, you aren't seriously planning to build a road like that, are you?"
"Why not?" Xu Yi turned his head, his eyes bright and his expression brimming with interest. "Don't you think that building a road like this would effectively connect the Stantin Duchy with the countries in the east of the Sains Continent? Look, once this road is finished, we could travel to the eastern part of the continent without passing through the Candel Empire at all. We could even build another road around the Candel Empire leading north, connecting the entire continent."
President Cruz shook his head with a wry