Lord of Winter: Beginning with Daily Intelligence

Chapter 673: Chapter 386: Steel Pulse (Part 3)

Bradley scratched his sparse hair, sighed, but had a smile on his lips.

Lambert, who had been silent all along, neither looked at the account book nor drank water.

He stood like a statue behind Louis, eyes lowered, seemingly still savoring the vibrations of the train’s movement.

"It’s not just about cargo."

Lambert’s voice was low, audible only to the few in the room.

As a Knight, what he saw was neither gold coins nor bread.

"If on these four days, the train carried my Knight Order and heavy crossbows... it would mean that just as the Barbarian Race in the north begins to gather, our swords would already be poised at their throats."

He raised his head, looking at Louis, with a glint of coldness in his eyes: "Four days is enough for us to launch a raid in any corner of the Northern Territory, or to support a besieged city."

Listening to their discussion, the expansive planning map in Louis’s mind became increasingly clear.

Grain, wealth, war.

These three pillars that sustained the territory had finally found the most solid base during these four days and nights of steel roar.

He stood up, walked to the immense map of the Northern Territory on the wall.

"The internal circulation has been opened, but it’s just the heartbeat starting. Next, we need to let the blood flow to the limbs."

He picked up a pen and drew a winding dotted line in the gray-marked ruins area on the east of the map, near the old site of Frost Halberd City.

"Phase two, head east. Lay the branch line connecting to the reconstruction area of Frost Halberd.

The survey team has already mapped out the route. We need to avoid those damn, poison gas-filled, insect disaster wastelands, and open a stable new line along the graystone valley."

"The reconstruction of Frost Halberd City requires a massive amount of stone. Hauling it by cart would take until the next century. I intend to speed up the reconstruction with a railway."

Then he pointed to the south: "Phase three, head south."

This time, even the Trade Bureau’s Head Desland drew a sharp breath.

"We need to extend the railway to where it joins the trade routes of the Southern Nobles."

Louis coldly gazed at the area at the bottom of the map, representing blockade and hostility: "Since someone blocks our trade routes, we’ll crash through their doors with cheaper goods and more efficient logistics.

Let Red Tide’s goods flow south, attracting those unable to survive in the South, and the profit-driven merchants, pulling them all along the tracks."

What Louis mentioned was something the Calvin Clan seemed to have already noticed, as they were slowly distancing themselves from the Calvin Commerce Association and had used some methods to make certain Nobility refuse to buy Red Tide’s goods.

Then Louis turned to Hamilton, who was hunched over his chair frantically taking notes.

"This requires a technological upgrade. Hamilton, currently the Snowfield Iron Vein is too heavy, struggling on long mountain routes."

"Y-yes, my Lord!" Hamilton pushed his goggle back up his nose, responding nervously.

"I want the next generation of boilers, lighter, and more fuel-efficient. I’ll order Star Forging Territory to start casting more finely spaced cog rails to adapt to inclines." Louis held up a finger.

"Also, the Artisan Academy should immediately open steam repair courses. I don’t want the trains breaking down halfway and having to wait for you to come all the way from Red Tide City to fix them. I want every future station to have someone who can repair trains."

The young craftsman nodded frantically, almost breaking the pen in his grip.

Finally, Louis turned to look at Lambert: "Lambert, what does this mean for our strategy?"

"It means speed, my Lord." Lambert answered without hesitation, "Winter supply lines will no longer be nightmares. If we don’t rely on horse carts, our heavily armored infantry can mobilize at ten times the speed."

"Exactly." Louis pressed both hands against the edge of the map, lowering his voice with a suffocating sense of oppression, "In the future, when the Empire war bursts out..."

Hearing the words "Empire war," it was as if the warm atmosphere in the office froze instantly.

Desland’s hand flipping through the accounts stopped mid-air, Bradley’s smile froze on his face, even Lambert couldn’t help but twitch his eyelids slightly.

But Louis didn’t pause or shy away.

He continued calmly as if discussing tomorrow’s weather:

"...when the Empire war bursts out, while the enemy’s legions are gnawing on hard bread in the snow and waiting for marathon-like supplies, Red Tide Territory can gather a well-equipped, physically strong army within three days."

His pen swiftly sketched on the map, linking Frost Halberd Old City, Silver Pine Ridge, Red Tide City, Mai Lang Territory, Star Forging Territory, and Dawn Port into one.

It was a gigantic network covering the entire southeast Northern Territory.

"This is the long-term objective, a Red Tide internal Northern Territory external line." Louis dropped the pen and said after a pause.

Looking at the ferocious and vast steel net on the map, they finally understood that this young Lord’s ambition was never confined to a corner.

Their breaths grew heavier.

Louis sat back in his chair, exhaled gently, and brought the topic back to the real threats.

"But the larger this net grows, the more fragile it becomes." He turned around, eyes once more falling on the man responsible for the oil-stained machine creation group.

"So besides this fast snake, we also need a beast that can bite. Hamilton!"

The young craftsman, lost in thought, jerked up in shock, almost throwing away the notebook in his hands, "Ah... yes! My Lord!"

"I heard that thing has already awakened?"

Hamilton froze for a moment, then the original shyness was instantly replaced by a unique gleam of a technological enthusiast.

He straightened his back: "My Lord, the boiler pressure test passed. Although the drive shaft still overheats a bit under high torque, it... it is already fully combat-ready."

"Good."

Louis adjusted his cuffs and looked at the nearby Lambert: "Tomorrow bring everyone from the machine creation group, we’ll also go see."

Lambert raised his head in some confusion, meeting Louis’s gaze.

"Go see your new mount, Lambert," Louis said softly, "It’s prepared for you, and for the Red Tide Knight Order... a true war machine."