Episode 348: Enjoying the Gap
In that naval port, a warship with a particularly striking appearance was docked.
Its name was the Strobus. Needless to say, it was a massive warship belonging to Paraiso.
Within Paraiso, it was classified as a “Tier 1” cruiser and served as a flagship, but compared to current naval power, it was quite inferior.
However, it was undoubtedly the largest warship known to the Republic of Repitari.
“Our country also desires to possess such a warship.”
This was the common sentiment of everyone, except for a select few who knew the true situation.
Therefore, it was inevitable that a massive shipbuilding factory (by the standards of the Republic of Repitari) would be built on land adjacent to the naval port.
Grand Admiral Alban Breias of the Royal Navy straightforwardly requested technical support from Paraiso for its construction.
Paraiso, as a friendly nation, gladly responded and shared various technologies.
Everyone believed that the warship to be built here, packed with the latest technology, would be the strongest warship in the world (excluding Paraiso).
For reference, the Strobus, a Panas-class cruiser, had a total length of 141 meters, an outrageous size from the perspective of the Republic of Repitari.
Furthermore, Paraiso operated multiple cargo ships with lengths approaching 200 meters, leading most people to understand the high level of their technology.
Roseberry Rose, a technical officer dispatched from Paraiso, was receiving an explanation from the person in charge while overlooking the construction dock.
“This dock was created by excavating the coast. Normally, it would take years, but with the power of the heavy machinery borrowed from Paraiso, we’ve progressed this far in just three months.”
“Relying on manpower alone will hit a ceiling in efficiency. Manufacturing large heavy machinery will become possible from now on.”
“Yes, yes. We’ve heard all about it. Apparently, research into miniaturizing that steam engine is progressing. If we can use that as a power source, we can put many heavy machines into practical use in our country.”
Nodding in agreement with the person in charge, Roseberry once again surveyed the construction dock under construction.
This construction dock was created by excavating the coast to secure space for building large ships.
Currently, they were in the process of building the floor and walls of the dock interior with stacked stones.
The workers were using heavy machinery made by Paraiso to move carts loaded with large quantities of stone.
Of course, the loading, unloading, and arranging of the stones seemed to be done by hand, but even so, there was no doubt that the power of the heavy machinery was reducing the need for a considerable amount of manpower.
“If we can use concrete for the foundations and outer walls, we can further shorten the construction period.”
“Ah, that so-called cement. I can’t imagine it, but is it really that useful?”
Currently, the mainstream method was to create a sturdy outer shell using quarried stone, but Roseberry was pushing for the use of concrete, which would dramatically improve the freedom of construction.
Cement, the main ingredient of concrete, had been discovered in the Republic of Repitari. However, its usefulness was not yet known, and it was recognized as a liquid that was more brittle than stone but hardened like stone.
In reality, Ayame Zero had already transmitted information about concrete building materials. Basic research was currently underway, but due to information control, that information had not been passed down to general technical staff.
“If work is made more efficient by mechanical power like heavy machinery, concrete, which is literally highly fluid, is much more important than stone, which takes time to quarry, transport, and shape. It directly leads to shortening the construction period.”
“Hoh… Is that so? It’s still difficult for me to understand…”
“You can confirm its usefulness when you see the real thing. Just wait until then.”
Roseberry said, ending the topic of concrete.
“It’s also good that safety measures are being thoroughly implemented.”
“Of course. It’s the Duke’s pet project. The site supervisors are being extremely careful.”
Thorough enforcement of safety equipment, confirmation of work procedures, and pointing and calling.
In particular, in the Republic of Repitari, where the value of human life had increased due to its prosperity, injuries and deaths due to accidents were directly linked to productivity.
Therefore, the value of preventing accidents at all costs was being born.
And, Ayame Zero, who noticed this fact through information analysis, conveyed the information and countermeasures to Grand Admiral Alban Breias, and strict orders were issued to the site.
“If you don’t want to get hurt, follow the rules. If you want to keep to the construction schedule, follow the rules. If this is thoroughly enforced, the process chart you created will proceed as planned.”
“Oh, that’s right. I couldn’t believe it at first, but I was persuaded that the perspective of considering overall efficiency was important. Really, even at this age, there’s still so much to learn.”
The person in charge, who could be called middle-aged, said, scratching his head.
Until this age, he seemed to have been active on the front lines of the site. That’s why he should have had a lot of know-how on the site.
And, that common sense was overwritten by thorough guidance from above.
Of course, the lecturer was a self-made officer at the top of the navy whom he respected, so he probably wasn’t allowed to object.
“And then, over there are the factory groups for equipment production. That particularly large furnace is the latest steel mill. According to the plan, the annual production will be 100,000 V (Valka). It will be the largest factory in history, accounting for 40% of our country’s pig iron production.”
“Increase your country’s steel production tenfold in five years. That steel mill will be the first one. Coke ovens also need to be built, and large power plants will be needed in the future.”
“I’ve heard about many plans, but it’s hard for me to keep up… Coal, was it? I heard it can be used instead of fuel stone?”
“That’s right. It can also be used instead of the charcoal you’re using. If you use charcoal at this rate, the mountains will be gone soon.”
“That’s probably true…”
“What can replace that is coke, which can be refined from coal. If you improve your technical skills a little more, you’ll be able to use hydrogen for reduction, but it’s too early. Coke generates heat when burned, so the use of fuel stone can be minimized. After that, the heat is recovered and used for power generation. If electricity can be used stably, large motors can be used.”
“Motors, you mean using electricity instead of steam to rotate…”
“That’s right.”
While talking about such a future vision, Roseberry and the person in charge toured the construction site.
◇◇◇◇
By the way, Paraiso is currently expanding its facilities with the aim of producing 30 million tons of crude steel annually.
Most of the produced steel is used for equipment expansion.
Of course, resources other than iron also need to be produced.
One of them is cement.
A large amount of cement is also needed for the construction of facilities.
Paraiso was creating these automated equipment groups one after another in various locations, exploring, mining, and refining these many resources.
In particular, in the Afrasian Union Kingdom, which was completely under its control, land that had been considered untouched by mankind was being developed as if it were being eroded.
When these expansions reach the planned stage, the number of automated machines controlled by Paraiso will increase explosively.
By the way, the bottleneck for these expansions of power is the energy source.
Currently, the most efficient and stable energy furnace is the deuterium fusion reactor, but it has been found that relying solely on this will lead to energy shortages because it is difficult to expand the production of deuterium, which is the fuel.
Therefore, energy production plans using helium-3, which is thought to be accumulated in satellites, are also being formulated.
Seawater contains a large amount of deuterium, but only a small portion can be processed compared to the entire seawater.
It will inevitably hit a ceiling.
I want to put out a degenerate reactor, but the output is at the star level, so it can’t be used on a planet…
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