Industrial Cthulhu, starting from the island lord

Chapter 414 The Conscription of the Expeditionary Force
Before the selection of the expeditionary force even began, the first batch of railway tracks had already arrived at Blood Harbor.

This was all thanks to Galahad's extensive networking—as soon as the prince learned of Hughes's idea, he immediately sent Galahad over, making all sorts of promises as if they were free, with one core idea:
As long as the railway can be built in Blood Harbor, any kind of trouble is acceptable.

Hughes was a little embarrassed; the prince was being too cooperative.

Therefore, a shipment of materials for repairing railway tracks was approved first.

Galahad took his leave with satisfaction. He arranged for someone to deliver the message and return the rails by ship, but he himself stayed in Castells and refused to leave.

This was the prince's idea; he planned to build a "Duchy of Tiss Office in Castel," which had no other purpose than to have Galahad immediately take on any projects that Hughes wanted to cooperate on.

There was no other way; the amount of rails that Castel brought was equivalent to the amount that the prince had painstakingly accumulated over a long period of time. And this was just the initial shipment of materials; the construction workers hadn't even been selected yet.

The prince has already acquired a complete set of knowledge about railways, from the principles of railways and trains to how to lay railways, as well as the training of engineering soldiers.

These arrived along with the railway, and basic railway knowledge had already begun to spread even before that.

There was no other way. Blood Harbor was a relatively chaotic place. If they sent the railway tracks over directly, people might mistake it for something strange and cause cognitive interference, which would be troublesome.

Meanwhile, the workers who were working with the prince had received training much earlier. The Secret Order had been teaching them for some time, and most of them had now completed literacy classes and could perform basic spelling.

That means they can start reading the instruction manual on their own.

As for the railway construction plan, the prince would naturally prefer the tracks to make a hundred or so bends in Blood Harbor before running through it, so that every area could be taken care of, but Castells would definitely not design it that way.

After all, it's not a subway for transporting passengers, and railways are not suitable for being built too long in cities, as that would cause a lot of messy troubles. The planning of rail transit is very particular.

After gathering a group of researchers and working on it for a long time, Hughes finally settled on a general idea:

After crossing Blood Harbor from the docks, passing through a planned industrial area and barracks, we headed north.

This construction method has an advantage: after unloading at the dock, goods can be directly transferred to trains via gantry cranes, greatly improving transshipment efficiency.

Meanwhile, Josh, who had returned to Bloodharbor, also completed the mobilization of the Secret Order, with a large number of believers joining the initial construction and beginning to make contact with Castell's friars.

Hughes had been paying close attention to the Secret Order before; this organization, rooted in Blood Harbor, was the best channel for Castells to extend his influence to the mainland.

It's just that their beliefs are a bit extreme.

After studying the matter, Hughes did not directly forcibly abolish or take over the operation. Instead, he sent some political commissars to supervise and guide them to a certain extent.

After all, the ideology of the Guardians of the Faith wasn't exactly serious either; they were always doing religious worship. Who knew what strange things they might create if they were combined with the Secret Order?

Thinking carefully about the ships and cannons that Castells built, Hughes suddenly felt a sense of powerlessness.

Is this tech tree a bit off-track?

No, at least the foundation is still solid. The chemical industry chain he's climbing is a legitimate industrial path. As long as he pays more attention in the future, he will definitely be able to bring the technology back on track.

A few days passed in a flash.

The recruitment of the expeditionary force went smoothly. Alexei might have encountered some difficulties; the recruitment office was frequently overcrowded, but at least a sufficient number of men had been recruited.

It was even a bit too much.

"Bribery?" Hughes looked up in surprise.

“That’s right.” Alexei sighed. “I think Galahad has corrupted the atmosphere. Ever since his office was set up, people have been running around trying to build connections everywhere.” “Never mind him for now. Someone’s come to you trying to bribe you?”

“There are plenty of people! Every day, people come to curry favor and bring gifts to beg for a spot in the expeditionary force. I just don’t understand, it’s supposed to be a war, so why are they fighting for it?”

Hughes glanced at him and said expressionlessly, "Since you don't care, you can give him your spot, wouldn't that solve the problem?"

Alexei's eyes widened: "How can that be the same?"

"Alright, enough of this nonsense. I'm here to ask you something—did you design the expeditionary force's departure ceremony?"

"Yes."

"What's going on with this process? And why are there Nora's lines?"

“Nora?” Alexei paused for a moment, then realized, “Is it a memorial ceremony? That’s a tradition before the army sets off. They pay respects to the fallen soldiers and ask how dangerous the battle will be. I learned that at the Royal Army Academy.”

Hughes nodded; it did indeed sound like a normal procedure.

"Then I thought, since the martyrs are Nora, I'll just make Nora the object of the worship ceremony. Then I can just ask Nora if she's dangerous."

Hughes' eyes widened: "You really have a unique way of thinking. Nora isn't a prophet either. Wouldn't it be embarrassing if she answered you 'I don't know' on the spot?"

"It's alright, in previous memorial ceremonies, no martyrs ever stepped forward to answer."

"That"

"So we're asking whether it's dangerous or not, not whether it's going smoothly or not. If no one jumps out and says it's dangerous, then it's not dangerous, right?"

Hughes covered his face: "Who taught you this ritual?"

"The empire, the empress always decides whether or not to go on a campaign this way."

"That"

“Then we just went to war every time. That’s how the empire was conquered.” Alexei shrugged.

"."

Hughes took a moment to catch his breath, but then felt a little breathless.

Is the empire really that ceremonial?

"Let's skip this Q&A session for now. I have another question. What's the deal with showing Nora the letter?"

“Oh, this is also an imperial tradition. I learned it from the academy. Before soldiers set off, they have to write their wills and burn them for the fallen soldiers. You know, it was meant for Nora to see, to show courage, so that the fallen soldiers could stay where they were with their weaknesses, while the soldiers themselves went to the battlefield with courage.”

"That's really good." Hughes thought for a moment and then praised earnestly, "The empire's rituals of leaving weakness behind and taking courage to the battlefield are indeed carefully designed. Just listening to them makes my blood boil."

After he finished speaking, he sighed: "There's just one small problem—Nora is going to the battlefield with you guys too."

Alexei blinked: "Huh?"

(End of this chapter)