Wild North America 1846

Chapter 601 Progress of the Nicaragua Canal

Author: Portuguese toothless

Nicaragua canal construction site

The endless canal construction site as far as the eye can see is extremely grand, and the entire canal construction site is divided into 24 tender sections.

From the Punta Gorda River on the Caribbean side, along the Dule River into Lake Nicaragua, to the mouth of the Brito River on the Pacific coast, the total length is about 276 kilometers, three times the length of the Panama Canal.

The planned bottom width of the canal channel is 230 meters to 520 meters, and the water depth is 27.6 meters. After the canal is completed, it can pass hundreds of thousands of tons of giant ships.

With Lake Nicaragua as the core of the canal, construction along the natural channel of the San Juan River on the east side is less difficult.

The main purpose is to block and divert the river, cut and straighten the existing 198-kilometer San Juan natural river, clear some river banks, blast rocks, widen and deepen a small number of narrow rivers, and build rubble slope protection.

Waiting for projects.

Due to the long route, the amount of earthwork excavated is more than twice that of the Suez Canal, making it the most labor-intensive place.

After more than four years of large-scale construction, the east side river channel has taken a rough shape.

Since the natural water here is wide and the water depth is good, the originally winding river channel has become much straighter after the construction. Giant ships can easily sail into Lake Nicaragua and enter the Caribbean Sea along the San Juan River.

On the slope of the canal construction site

There are many rail-like slide rails fixed, and unpowered dump trucks carrying earth and rock go up and down, transporting the excavated earth and rock to high places on the top of the slope, where they are piled up into small flat-topped hills nearby.

In the future, these flat-topped hills can be used as monitoring posts for the canal company and as garrison camps to protect the safety of the Nicaragua Canal.

Originally, these unpowered dump trucks were pulled by tractors. At the top of each track was a tractor with a carriage filled with sand and gravel. A wire rope was pulled on the tractor carriage to pull the dump truck loaded with gravel up from the bottom of the river bed along the rails.

.

just last year

Dozens of electric motors were delivered to the Nicaragua Canal construction site. Using them to pull wire ropes was safe and efficient, and they were quickly used on a large scale on the construction site.

A diesel unit that generates electricity can tow five slide rails, greatly improving construction efficiency.

But it is undeniable that sediment excavation at the bottom of the canal can only rely on pure human labor.

The hard work day after day has cost hundreds of thousands of black slaves nearly a quarter of their lives. This is the price that must be paid for the grand project of the century, and it applies to everyone.

According to the current project progress, in another two and a half years, the construction of the 198-kilometer San Juan River channel in the eastern section will be completed and fully navigable.

The biggest difficulty in construction lies on the west side. The west bank of Lake Nicaragua is only 20 kilometers away from the Pacific Ocean, but it is hilly and mountainous. The original Brito River passes through the isthmus. The river channel is winding and narrow, and the water depth is not enough.

Moreover, there is a 26-meter drop between the Pacific Ocean and Lake Nicaragua, so it is necessary to build a double-line three-level sluice. The scale of the super sluice is rare in the world, and the construction is extremely difficult.

this day

Under the escort of accompanying officials and numerous Royal Guards officers and soldiers, Emperor Richard personally came to the sluice construction site to inspect and listen to the progress report from the local project manager.

What was now displayed in front of Richard was a magnificent architectural scene. The foundation pit of the 36-meter-deep ship lock had begun to be poured with concrete floors, and densely packed steel bars were tied together like a honeycomb, making people's scalp numb just looking at it.

Two cement plants located along the Brito River produced 27,000 barrels of cement in advance and piled them densely around the construction site to fully prepare for the concrete pouring of the floor.

The ship locks use specially developed special cement, which has high strength and long durability. The price is also amazing, more than three times that of ordinary cement.

As soon as the order was given to start pouring, 11,500 workers around the ship lock construction site started working at the same time, mixing the gravel, yellow sand, and cement piled up like a hill into the mixing barrel in proportion.

137 cement mixing barrels lined up in a row were started at the same time. Workers pushed the mixed cement into trolleys, loaded it, and transported it to the designated location for dumping.

There are dozens of workers around each cement mixing barrel. Some are responsible for loading sand and gravel, some are responsible for adding water, and some are responsible for adding cement. The flowing water is running continuously.

and on the other side

More than 20 trolleys have been waiting quietly. There are two people on each trolley, one is pulling it in front and the other is holding the wheelbarrow in the back.

Looking down from a height

The black slave workers pushing the carts formed 137 thin lines, pouring concrete back and forth, one cart after another, without allowing any pause in between.

Next to each cement mixing barrel, there are engineers responsible for quality records and supervision to ensure that each barrel of cement mixed meets the requirements and has the right proportion.

The entire pouring will last two days and two nights, and is required to be completed in one go without any pauses. A total of more than 70,000 cubic meters of concrete will be poured.

The black slave workers involved in the pouring changed shifts every two hours. They came down to rest for a while, drink some water, eat something, and recharge their batteries in preparation for continuing the work.

Looking at this lively and orderly labor scene, Emperor Richard was also full of pride at this moment and said with a smile;

“The on-site construction was organized very well! It has a spirit of changing the world and demonstrates the extremely high level of the Imperial engineering staff. This is a gratifying thing.

When the selection of the Nicaraguan Canal Project Manager was initially decided, many people preferred to hire high-level French engineers because they presided over the construction of the Suez Canal, a century project.

from a technical point of view

The Suez Canal is nothing more than a land canal without locks. French engineers have no experience in building record-breaking double-line three-level locks. Its domestic industrial level lags far behind the Imperial Heavy Industry.

Others can do it, why can’t we?

The shipbuilding heavy industry and metallurgical industry of the Tang Empire are among the top in the world, and the engineering personnel have rich experience in building large reservoirs. Is there any reason why we can't do this unprecedented and magnificent project?

Now it seems that the decision I made against all the opinions was correct, and the standard of the imperial engineering personnel has reached the top level in the world."

Such high praise made the Chinese engineers around him extremely excited. Their faces were filled with radiance as if they had been injected with chicken blood, leaving only silly smiles.

It was Zheng Yuan, the head of the Royal Secretariat, who raised his hand to congratulate you and said, "I would like to congratulate you all. Your Majesty is so eloquent. With this magnificent century project at your side, the empire's experts in the field of civil engineering have led the world, and you can be proud."

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for the compliment, and thank you for the kindness, Your Majesty. I cannot bear to say that I deserve it."

Hou Guangde, an academician of the Imperial Academy of Engineering who served as the chief engineer, was dark and thin, with a pair of gold-rimmed glasses on his face. He led the crowd to express their sincere thanks.

Academicians of the Academy of Engineering belong to the engineering branch of the Royal Academy of Sciences of the Tang Dynasty. Those who can serve as academicians are senior and high-level experts, and their rich resumes are very convincing.

The Royal Academy of Sciences of the Tang Empire is mainly divided into two branches: the Academy of Sciences and the Academy of Engineering. It has the Royal Academy of Sciences Library, 27 laboratories headed by famous academicians, and 6 affiliated research institutes of the Royal Academy of Sciences, covering metallurgy, shipbuilding, chemical industry,

Six key scientific research areas are electrification, basic materials and industrial equipment.

Academician Hou Guangde's biggest wish is to build a civil engineering research institute to bring together the top civil engineers of the Tang Dynasty in one place to focus on solving some of the world's most advanced construction problems.

For example, the proposed Golden Gate Bridge across the bay from the imperial capital Chang'an, Chang'an, Los Angeles, Chicago subway projects, super hydropower stations, dams, long-span steel bridges and suspension bridges in frontier areas, etc., to build more large-scale projects to benefit the empire.

Emperor Richard could understand the wish of an engineer, and he couldn't hide his admiration and said;

"This is not an exaggeration. The Nicaragua Canal will surely occupy a glorious page in the history of world engineering, and its importance cannot be overstated.

This proves that mankind has unparalleled creativity and proves the empire's cutting-edge level in the field of civil engineering.

As long as this century-old project is successfully completed, from now on, the outstanding engineers of the Tang Empire will be shrouded in an invisible halo, representing the world's advanced level.

Hou Aiqing, what you are currently undertaking is a great project of great historical significance, which will not only benefit the present, but will also benefit future generations, including many imperial engineers in the future.

This... is the stage for you to display your outstanding talents."

Emperor Richard waved his hand, and his words were extremely inflammatory.

All the engineering staff and managers present had their faces flushed as if they had been injected with chicken blood, and their expressions were radiating a strange light, and they were so excited that they couldn't help themselves.

Looking far into the distance

Far away from the ship lock construction site, which is undergoing hot construction, an isthmus that has been widened and deepened through countless blastings is exposed in front of everyone, extending to the end of the line of sight.

The originally narrow and tortuous isthmus along the Brito River is mostly rocky, making manual excavation almost impossible, so a large amount of blasting is required.

on the river bed

Countless rock protrusions need to be blasted and crushed to ensure that after the river is filled with water, the water depth is more than 28 meters and cannot hinder the passage of the giant ship.

The narrow isthmus also requires a large amount of blasting to widen and straighten it, consuming thousands of tons of high-explosive gunpowder every year. This is also an extremely dangerous construction project, and a single mistake can cause a large number of casualties.

Falling rocks, collapses, overturning, falling from heights, tropical plague, malaria and other diseases, as well as backward and dangerous construction environments, are the main causes of casualties among black slave workers.

It is under such harsh construction conditions that the Nicaragua Canal becomes even more majestic and impressive.

As the pouring of the concrete floor progressed, black slave workers working at the bottom of the lock, which was more than 30 meters deep, continued to have problems. Some people's legs were so weak that they and their cars fell down the construction path.

Someone slipped and fell on the huge steel cage, someone's arm got caught in the mixing bucket, someone fainted on the way...

The fierce black supervisor immediately rushed up to greet him with a whip, yelling at him to continue working and not to stop.

These black supervisors were selected from slave labor and could enjoy superior food treatment. Senior supervisors were even allowed to marry and have children, receive a salary, and live in the Chinese labor area.

This made the black supervisors the most vicious thugs, and they were merciless to the lowest-level black slave workers. They were not allowed to stop as long as they were still breathing.

They are well aware of the lazy and careless nature of black slave workers, and they are always watching them like hungry wolves. If they walk slowly or procrastinate, they will be whipped, and if they dare to resist even a little bit, they will be killed on the spot.

It was under the constant supervision of the black supervisors that the entire Nicaragua project was able to advance so smoothly.

If you relax a little, all kinds of workmanship will come one after another, and the project will not be completed for another 20 years.

From this perspective, black supervisors contributed a lot and were certainly the group most hated by black slave workers.

on the construction site

Black overseers were often killed. Some were stoned to death, some were pushed down pits and fell to death, and some were even strangled to death in the dark. It was indeed a very dangerous job.

In this case

When the murderer couldn't be found, he had no choice but to let it go and choose another one from the bottom black slave workers.

In order to speed up the progress of the project, the canal company defaulted to using cold-blooded methods to squeeze the slave workers, driving them with whips and sticks, and inflicting all kinds of torture on the disobedient black slave workers. This was all done by these black supervisors.

The canal company itself cannot escape the suspicion of instigation and connivance.

They were originally colonists, so where did all these false feelings come from?

Emperor Richard's eyes were as bright as a torch, and he had a panoramic view of everything that happened on the huge construction site. His field of vision was much wider than that of ordinary people. Standing at a high place, he could even clearly see the movements of supervisors who were beating black slave workers fiercely more than 10 kilometers away.

But with just a glance, he turned to another direction...

over time

The tired black slave workers made more mistakes during the pouring. Sometimes one fall even affected several slaves, and they all fell into gourds rolling on the ground.

Several strong supervisors nearby immediately rushed forward and beat them with whips and sticks until they were crawling around. They could only endure the pain on their bodies and hurried to push the cart.

If you stay a little longer, you will be whipped a few more times.

This situation seems extremely cruel and inhumane, but if you don't do this...

The black slave workers who fell down would lie there for a long time without getting up, moaning, "This hurts, that hurts too..." It would be best if they could go back and rest.

It was like a plague, everyone was watching, and within half a day, the entire construction site had to stop. It is not an exaggeration at all.

So as long as there is breath left on the construction site, you have to get up and work.

When Chief Engineer Hou Guangde saw the chaotic situation at the scene, he looked at Director Zheng Yuan as if asking for help, hoping that he could mediate.

Now is the critical moment for pouring the foundation pit floor, and it cannot be stopped under any circumstances.

The pouring has been going on for almost 1 hour and 20 minutes, and there are still 40 minutes left before the shift change.

Under the high-intensity labor, the black slave workers were panting and their legs and feet were weak. One pulled in front and the other pushed in the back. The two of them worked together to push the wheelbarrow weighing more than 140 pounds on a narrow ramp.

in case of accident

The black supervisors will take more severe measures to suppress them, including armed guards shooting some of the troublemakers at close range. Such a thing is unsightly...

This is a taboo for His Majesty, and I hope he can persuade His Majesty the Emperor to leave.

Director Zheng Yuan obviously understood the meaning in the other person's eyes. After slightly chin, he saw His Majesty the Emperor chatting with the ministers around him and turning around, so he stepped forward and bowed deeply and said;

"Your Majesty, the sun is getting higher on this construction site, and it will take a lot of time to walk up. Why not do this today... respectfully invite the Holy Master to move to the palace, and all the accompanying adults can take a break and have a sip of tea.

"

"Oh... This seems to be my negligence. Well, then I'll go back to the palace as you said."

"I would like to thank Your Majesty for your kindness and get off!" Zheng Yuan quickly raised his hand, and more than 10 nearby imperial guards officers cleared the way. A group of entourage surrounded His Majesty the Emperor as he left the heights and headed towards the bottom of the hills...