Ming Dynasty and New Rome and Infinite Magic Machine

Chapter 1700 Plan
The key here is not the floods, but the mudflats. Floods are what create mudflats, and it is the silt in the mudflats that is suitable for cultivation.

In the mudflats, weeds and insect eggs are usually drowned long ago. The mudflats create a stable environment and accumulate a lot of fertility, which is why it is said that "the land is very fertile, like a field fertilized with manure".

Tidal flat agriculture exists all over the world, such as along the Mekong, Amazon, and Yellow Rivers. Early large-scale agricultural production by humans often originated in these tidal flats. Early agricultural water conservancy projects often aimed to replicate the environment of tidal flats in places where they did not exist, or to improve existing tidal flats.

However, these tidal flats each have their own problems—the problems of the Yellow River's tidal flats are self-evident; they are prone to salinization, and the Yellow River itself is prone to flooding.

The Mekong River's floodplains are highly susceptible to monsoon winds, experiencing extreme droughts and floods. Furthermore, the Mekong River's biggest problem is its susceptibility to seawater intrusion, a problem that occurs almost every year. Once seawater floods in, it can easily destroy rice paddies that have been nurtured for many years.

Of all the tidal flat agriculture on Earth, Egypt has the most stable and the largest tidal flat area.

The Nile's flooding cycle is very stable and extremely slow. The floodwaters often inundate the floodplains for dozens of days, suffocating weeds, insect eggs, and other harmful organisms accumulated throughout the year, and then washing away the accumulated salt and alkali. Moreover, the Nile floods not only in Lower Egypt in the delta region, but throughout the entire region of Upper and Lower Egypt.

Although the delta region is indeed susceptible to seawater intrusion, Upper Egypt is isolated, forming a stable, greenhouse-like environment.

In Upper Egypt, the mudflats are renewed every year, and abundant rainfall and heat allow agriculture to flourish—a stability that was crucial for early human civilizations.

There are indeed places on Earth with abundant water suitable for cultivation. The Mississippi River basin in the New World was such a place, with its dense network of waterways resembling the Jiangnan region, which, with proper development, could support thriving agriculture. However, in pre-modern times, the Mississippi River basin was frequently hit by periodic wind and cold disasters. Early civilizations, as fragile as sprouting seedlings, simply could not withstand the impact of such massive disasters.

As for size, this forms another key element:

There are always some remote, secluded places on Earth that offer idyllic environments, but only in Egypt—especially along the riverbanks of Upper Egypt—are there vast, stable stretches of mudflats. Over time, the farmers living there gradually developed shared customs and traditions, eventually forming a community—the rudiments of an early state.

Shangluo's choice will directly change the fate of all of this.

"Yes, I've looked into the situation. I observed that building a dam on the Nile's First Cataract, in the Aswan region, would maximize its effectiveness. However, if we block the Nile, the annual siltation would be lost."

The silt is gone, the floods are gone, and the entire ecosystem of Upper and Lower Egypt will be severely impacted. The resulting effects have long been predicted:

The country is cloudless and rainless all year round, so its people are skilled in astronomy. Its river floods every year, and the land is very fertile, as if it were fertilized fields.

As the name suggests, the fertility comes from the silt. The key to this "greenhouse of civilization" is that agricultural production on the tidal flats requires almost no technology. Simply throw the seeds into the tidal flats—specifically, after the water recedes, the surface soil of the tidal flats will naturally crack due to lack of water, and you can simply throw the seeds into the cracks, into the still moist silt below.

Previously, extensive farming was sufficient for agricultural production, but with the completion of the Aswan Dam, all of that will be gone. The Nile will become a normal river with a balanced flow of water.

This is indeed beneficial for irrigation. The predictable water flow can make the Nile a stable water source. The amount of arable land along the Nile will increase exponentially. However, like other ordinary rivers, it will also generate its own problems, such as saline-alkali land caused by fertilization, the regression of the river delta, and reduced fisheries production due to decreased nutrients in the river water.

"So, Shangluo, here's the problem: what will you choose?" Victoria asked. "We've studied this issue before, but it hasn't been fully developed."

"I have a question—is building a dam in Aswan the best option?"

"In the long run, this is the best option. Previously, agriculture along the Nile River could yield bumper harvests with only extensive management, but its area was too small, and operations could only be carried out on the riverbanks. However, if we use the water from the entire Nile River through dams and distribute it evenly throughout the year, then the farmland can be expanded far away from the Nile River."

This is equivalent to lowering Egypt's lower limit but raising its upper limit.

Shangluo nodded, having already made his judgment: "I will not adopt this approach. This is a great project. If Egypt were a sovereign nation, and if I were the leader of Egypt, I would probably unite all the people of Egypt to carry out this great project. It would benefit the present and future generations, and the whole of Egypt would be completely transformed as a result—but the person who makes this decision also needs to bear the responsibility for the 'lower limit' that comes with it."

He was ultimately not the leader of the Egyptian people; he came to perform good deeds. He did not intend to elevate Egypt's potential by lowering its standards. If the dam construction caused the collapse of agriculture on the tidal flats, leading to confusion and unrest among the Egyptians, he would bear the full responsibility. He was not the leader of Egypt, and he did not intend to shoulder that responsibility. Therefore, he did not intend to make such a crucial decision.

"So, are there any other options?"

“Yes,” Victoria replied. “There is a compromise: instead of building the Aswan Dam on the main Nile, we will build a series of small and medium-sized dams on a series of tributaries of the Nile. This way, we can regulate the water level of the Nile without hindering the flow of sediment. At the same time, we also have a plan to create artificial floods through the linkage of a series of water conservancy projects to compensate for the crisis when there is no flood.”

If Aswan had not been chosen, and instead a complex of dams had been built, then the focus of the project would not have been on Aswan, but rather on—

“Right here,” Victoria said, pointing to the ground. “Thebes, where these rivers meet.”

"Ah! This is what I've been waiting for. How many people are there in Thebes now?"

"About 2 people. What are you going to do?"

"The reason Thebes is haunted is because there are too few people in Thebes. I will turn Thebes into a metropolis of two million people, and then let's see where those ghosts will go to cause trouble. Moreover, I am not making a life-altering decision for the Egyptians; I am patching up the Nile's flooding. Even if the Pharaoh returns, they will have to thank me profusely for my great kindness."

"By the way, you want an artificial flood to flush away the silt, right? You've come to the right place by hiring us for this project. Don't even mention the Nile, I can do the same for the Yellow River."

(End of this chapter)