"How did you know?" Claude asked curiously.
Borkal whispered into Claude's ear, "My father was really excited when he got home last night and stayed in his study for a long time.
When I went to the study this morning, I saw a map on the table with three lines drawn on it.
One of the black lines is the sea route from Whitestag to Port Neru. That's something that's been around for a long time.
The red line goes north from Whitestag and connects to a few islands in the Stormy Sea. Then, it continues north until it reaches Tyrrsim, the colony of our kingdom on Nubissia. "
"That's why I'm guessing that your father and my father are planning to open up that route."
Borkal was rather excited to be able to share with Claude the grand plan his father and the others were planning with him. The secret made him feel rather proud.
"My father analyzed it to me before. If Whitestag wants to be promoted from a town to a city and break away from the control of the prefectural city, it won't be easy to achieve just by increasing its population and business. The only way to do that is to raise its strategic position in the kingdom.
"As the gateway to the three southwestern prefectures, Whitestag doesn't have much strategic importance in times of peace. The merchants that come and go mostly use it as a supply point rather than a place to trade goods or a wholesale market for raw materials.
"That's why my father believes that if Whitestag wants to be promoted to a city, it has to play an important role in the kingdom's strategic plans.
"Even though we can't compete with the three southwestern prefectures in terms of markets, workshops, and raw materials, Whitestag is close to the sea and has the natural deep water of Lake Balinga. Being promoted to a city gives us a unique geographical advantage.
"I really hope that my father and your father's plans will come to fruition. Once the route is opened up, Whitestag's development will be just around the corner.
Even if Simirok's Bongis Isthmus project is approved, it won't stop Whitestag from taking off. "
Claude nodded. Borkal wasn't wrong at all. If the route was successfully opened, Whitestag's strategic position in the kingdom's map would rise exponentially. It would be an undeniable fact that it would be upgraded to a city.
Based on the map of Aueras, the three southwestern prefectures were like a gourd surrounded by mountains. Even the area to the north that faced the sea was filled with cliffs and rocks.
Whitestag was located at the mouth of the gourd, so it became the main transportation route for the three prefectures.
Apart from that, according to the map of Freia, the area to the north of the three prefectures facing the sea was a huge bay. It was as though someone had taken a big bite out of a flatbread with a huge dent in it. Whitestag was located at the very bottom of that dent.
Not only would it take a day to travel from the mouth of the bay to Whitestag, they would also have to go through a waterway that was more than five kilometers long.
So, even the trade route between the kingdom and the western countries basically ignored the fishing port of Whitestag and went straight through the mouth of the bay.
Only ships that encountered a storm or were in trouble at sea would think of going to Whitestag for supplies and repairs.
That was also the reason why the kingdom neglected Whitestag when they wanted to expand their naval forces.
Compared to Port Neru, Whitestag had a deep lake, Lake Balinga, which was large enough to accommodate two or three fleets of long-distance warships and didn't have to worry about natural disasters such as storms and tsunamis. However, the waterway that was more than five kilometers long limited the fleets of warships that could attack quickly.
Apart from that, the fishing port of Whitestag would be in an extremely disadvantageous position during a naval battle. The enemy would only need to use a few warships to prevent our fleets from leaving the waterway.
Even if the enemy fleet could not lock our warships in Balinga Lake, they could set up a second blockade at the mouth of the bay. Just one of their squadrons would be enough to pin down all our warships in the bay and prevent them from heading to the main battlefield.
Lastly, the three southwestern prefectures were located too far away within the kingdom's territory. It would take three days to sail from Whitestag to Port Neru.
If the kingdom's Fearless were to engage in a naval battle with the allied fleet of the five eastern countries, the battlefield could only be fought in the seas to the east or northeast of the kingdom.
From the start of the naval battle to the arrival of the fleets stationed at Lake Balinga, as the saying goes, 'You're only here when the yellow flowers have withered'.
Whitestag, a fishing port town, was neglected by the kingdom's armaments, so the town could only develop its fishing industry.
The problem was that the lack of transportation also affected the development of the fishing industry. For example, it only took a day to travel from Whitestag to the prefectural capital by horse carriage, but the demand for seafood in the prefectural capital wasn't that high. Not everyone could afford to buy fish.
Unless it was a rare species, transporting large amounts of normal seafood to the prefectural capital might even result in a loss in transportation fees.
As for transporting it to other places, that was even more impossible. The three southwestern prefectures were mostly mountainous. Apart from the prefectural city of Baromise in Pallivia, it would take at least two to three days to travel by horse carriage to other towns. The fish would start to stink before they could even arrive.
That was why Whitestag's main industry was the production of dried seafood, which became the town's most famous specialty.
If what Borkal guessed was that his father was planning to open up a sea route from Whitestag to Tyrrsim on Nubissia, Whitestag would become one of the most important strategic locations of the kingdom as long as they succeeded.
Not only would the new sea route shorten the journey to Nubissia by more than ten days, it would also free the kingdom from a disadvantageous position at sea. Fearless wouldn't have to compromise to protect that lifeline anymore. They could even take the initiative to challenge the allied fleet and stop the enemy's threats from the sea outside the kingdom's territorial waters.
Apart from that, the opening of the new sea route would also be of great commercial value. By then, Whitestag might very well become the largest transfer point for all sorts of raw materials in Nubissia and the kingdom's first-hand wholesale market.
It was no wonder that Borkal's father was so excited when he returned last night and stayed in his study for so long. As a famous merchant in Whitestag, he naturally knew how many business opportunities there were and how much he could profit from it.
On top of that, Eriksson's father was also present at the banquet last night. The most famous man in Whitestag, Captain Altroni, would definitely be needed to open up the new sea route.
Everyone knew that Captain Altroni was the captain most familiar with the stormy seas beyond the bay. His Shark of the Red Sea had ventured into the stormy seas countless times to catch rare fish, so he knew exactly how many islands and reefs there were in the stormy seas.
With that captain, the stormy seas wouldn't be a threat anymore. All that was left was to head north and cross the Silent Ocean between the two continents. That would be the biggest test of opening up the new sea route.
Compared to the route that traversed the Silent Ocean in the eastern corner of the continent, this Silent Ocean was several times wider. No one could predict what kind of dangers were hidden in this boundless ocean …
"Do you know where my father drew a red line?"
Borkal said mysteriously, "You might not be able to guess it, but my father drew a red line between Lake Balinga and Swamp Kemda, as well as the Normandis River in Dodesath.
I believe that they want to open up the waterways between those three areas and connect them into a single canal.
That way, the goods from the three prefectures won't have to go through the long mountain roads and can be transported directly to Whitestag through the waterways. That way, we'll be able to cut down on transportation costs and time. "
Borkal waved his hands excitedly. "Think about it. If these two routes are successfully opened, Whitestag will become the most important city in the southwest of the kingdom. Even the prefectural cities of the three prefectures won't be as important as Whitestag. We'll become the biggest port city in the southwest."
Claude grabbed his hand and pulled him down. "Shh, quiet down. You've attracted Instructor Vincent's attention.
Also, why are you so excited? "
"Ugh …" Borkal hurriedly sat up straight. Seeing that Instructor Vincent wasn't paying attention to him anymore, he asked Claude in a hushed voice, "Didn't my father and your father's plan surprise you?
This is a grand plan that will change the future of Whitestag!
Just thinking about it makes me excited. Just like what our history teacher, Mister Elim, always says, we're in the midst of the changing tides of history. We're witnessing history, and history is witnessing our every move. "
"Pfft …" Claude couldn't hold it in any longer. Borkal was the same age as he was, sixteen years old. Teenagers that age were the most prone to acting chuunibyou. Borkal had always been proud that he was born in Whitestag. That was something that was brainwashed by the history books, because Whitestag was the birthplace of the kingdom's renaissance.
"Boa, I understand everything you just said. I'm also shocked by the grand plan our fathers are planning.
But think about it, we're only sixteen-year-old middle schoolers. Do we have the ability to help our fathers realize their grand plan?
My father and your father, as you suspect, are planning the opening of these two new routes; but a plan is only a plan, like that of the Isthmus of Bangis proposed by the County of Simirok, which has been budgeted at so great a cost that it remains only on paper to this day.
"And we don't know how much money our fathers need to fund the new route and how we're going to get it."
Due to their geographical environment, the three southwestern prefectures were the most secluded, conservative, and remote regions of Aueras. They only had Whitestag as their main route to the outside world, so their economy lagged behind the other regions of the kingdom.
Because of that, the knowledgeable people of Simirok came up with the Banggis Isthmus plan. They planned to spend five to six years and gather more than a hundred thousand young men to open up a path to the outside world through the Farlins Isthmus.
If the Banggis Isthmus plan succeeded, the three southwestern prefectures would have another main route to the outside world. The products of the three prefectures would be able to flow freely through the kingdom, which would greatly increase the economic capabilities of the three prefectures and allow them to better integrate into the kingdom's economy.
The only downside to the plan was that it would greatly reduce Whitestag's status as a major transportation hub for the three southwestern prefectures. It wasn't hard to imagine that all merchants passing through Whitestag would choose the Banggis Isthmus to travel to and from the three southwestern prefectures as it was much more convenient and shorter.
So, when Whitestag Morning Post published the Banggis Isthmus plan, it was cursed by the townspeople. But good news soon arrived. The budget for the Banggis Isthmus project was 300,000 crowns, or 1.5 million thales. Using a thale as a hundred dollars, that was equivalent to 150 million gold coins.
Such a huge project was immediately stopped by the council. The noble council even made it clear that they wouldn't support such a costly transportation project, especially since it was only the budget. Who knew how much more money would be added to the construction? No one was willing to take responsibility for that.