Chapter: 14 Ability
“Your Highness, how tall and wide should the city wall that you’re planning to build be?”
“It should be at least fifteen feet high, six feet wide, allowing four men to advance side by side,” Roland had to nod inwardly, professionals truly weren’t the same. They would first ask about the technical parameters and then determine the construction program.
“So it would require us to dig a trench one man deep to stabilize the upper part of the wall, in addition, for a six foot wide top of a fifteen foot high wall, the width at the base needs to be at least doubled.” Karl replied quickly, “Thus just digging the trench will consume a lot of manpower. Your Highness, if you give me a hundred and fifty people, I should be able to dig this trench in the months prior to the demons’ arrival .”
“A trench cannot stop the evil beasts,” Roland answered noncommittally.
“That’s true, but if we build the upper section of the city wall with stone masonry, it would take three years. In order to only stop the evil beasts, you needn’t build the wall so high, approximately 12 feet high should be enough. The width can also be reduced by a third, resulting in a six-foot wide foundation. With the simultaneous digging of the trenches and building of the wall, as well as an increase of the workers to two hundred… That way, I could finish it by January next year, before the arrival of the demons. “
Karl paused, then said, “Please forgive me, Your Highness, this really isn’t a good time to start. In case the construction of the wall is not on time, even if the trenches were dug well, they will lose their original form after the soaking rain and snow throughout the winter. When you return, instead of finishing it, you would need to spend more time and manpower just to clean up the softening trench, excavating and deepening it one more time. “
“Say, in case we only build the wall twelve feet high and four feet wide, how long would you need to dig the trenches?”
“It should be finished within one and a half months,” Karl replied.
“Then do it according to this plan, trenching and masoning at the same time, so that we succeed a month prior to the arrival of the demonic beasts.” Roland waved his hand, interrupting Karl, “I know what concerns you, but take a look at this, this is the latest work from the Graycastle alchemical workshop.”