The news reached the Red River Valley and caused a great shock.

Li Fushou was overjoyed when he heard the news, and he never thought that a chance would lead to a major geological discovery, which was simply the best gift from God.

If there had not been an encounter off the coast of Jayapura, the retreating Dutch landing fleet would not have followed the bay into the Nameless Valley, and the Dutch army would not have sent a small detachment to try to find a way to Jayapura if it had not entered the Nameless Valley and had not entered the city of Sorrow.

Without the complete destruction of the Royal Dutch Army landing force, Captain Bergkamp would not have voluntarily surrendered and betrayed this shocking secret.

Everything will happen by chance.

Li Fushou immediately ordered a strict lockdown of the news, and sent elite soldiers from Australia to the unnamed valley to build a town as a bridgehead for the development of the Octidi copper-gold mine, and the immigrants were given priority to ensure that sufficient labor was needed to build roads to the mining area.

Oh...... That's right

The nameless valley was named Longmen Valley by Li Fusheng, and the newly built town was named Longmen Town, and the Octidi copper-gold mine was renamed as Koi copper-gold mine, and the mining town to be built in the future was naturally named Jinli Town.

The name is taken from the meaning of the carp jumping over the dragon gate, which contains deep expectations.

November 11, 1882

Longmen Town, which is under construction, ushered in an important guest, the 3,000-ton fast freighter Taishan slowly docked at the wharf, Luo Fushou led a group of attachés to Longmen Town to inspect in a low-key manner, because Longmen Town is under construction, and temporarily lives on a ship with perfect conditions.

Two 3,000-ton freighters carrying 860 sturdy mules and 220 tractors, as well as a staggering number of daily necessities, power generation equipment, mining machinery and drilling equipment, arrived at the same time.

On the calm lake surrounded by the Longmen Valley, the town of Longmen has built a wooden wharf that can accommodate ships up to 5,000 tons.

The town of Longmen is already taking shape, flanked by Chinese-style wooden buildings on stilts with tall cornices, where construction workers have cut down large areas of forest and are building more wooden houses for immigrants.

Now the security work of Longmen Town is in charge of the second battalion of the third regiment of the Shangri-La Division, and part of the troops of the second battalion originally stationed in the inland fishing port in the north of Moresby Town, including two infantry companies, a firepower company, a supplementary soldier company, and a baggage company, with more than 650 officers and soldiers moved here on the order of the division headquarters and became a local garrison unit.

The remaining two companies of the Second Battalion plus the first heavy company, totaling more than 480 people, are carrying out tasks in the Qingshui River valley, and after the mission is completed, they will return to Longmen Town to further strengthen the local garrison.

The commander of the second battalion, Li Xuanzhu, was a great contributor to the discovery of the koi copper-gold mine, and now serves as the commander of the Longmen Town Garrison District (deputy regiment level), and Duan Qirui, the deputy commander of the first company, was promoted to two levels and served as the deputy commander of the second battalion, and each has a generous reward.

up to now

More than 8,000 migrants have already been sent to Longmen Town, and more will follow, not as farmers who work the fields, but who will be involved in the construction of roads and rocks.

In order to build a road that could pass tractors, the military has sent 60 tons of black powder, 800 tents, and 500 large iron pots to Longmen Town, which are materials transferred from the strategic reserve of Songjiang Town, accompanied by a team of 120 engineers, ready to fight in the mountains.

As the starting point to the Koi copper-gold mine and the terminal point for ore export, Longmen Town does not need to vigorously develop agriculture, and the food mainly comes from the Qingshui River Basin.

The resettled farmers only need to provide melons, fruits, vegetables, chickens, ducks, pigs, sheep and other livestock and poultry, and a small part of the cultivated fields are used to meet their own needs, and the main grain and tobacco leaves must be transported from the outside world.

The main function of Longmen Town is to serve the Koi copper and gold mines, so the scale of the town will not be large, and the population will be larger when the road is built, and it will not exceed 20,000 people after the road construction is completed.

The reason why the road was chosen instead of the railway is that the 179-kilometer-long railway line is fully half of the railway line to pass through the mountains, and the tunnels and bridges that need to be opened make people's scalp tingle, according to the existing construction force, I am afraid that it will not be able to be built in 20 years, and the cost of money is even more astronomical, and it is not feasible.

Based on repeated arguments;

The construction of a winding road leading to the Koi copper-gold mine in Longmen Town, with a total length of 271 kilometers, requires the construction of 37 bridges, and if more than 10,000 people are built, it is expected to be completed in a year and a half, with a total investment of about 1.06 million pounds.

Li Fushou made a decisive decision, listed the Longjin Highway as a priority construction project, concentrated all resources to fight a tough battle, and strived to mine the precious copper and gold resources as soon as possible to enrich the economic foundation of the Red River Valley.

With such a huge copper-gold deposit, the Red River Valley will once again usher in an opportunity for economic take-off, which is of great strategic significance.

The top luxury cabin of the fast cargo ship "Taishan".

Li Fushou was neatly tidy, wearing an Australian wide-brimmed cowboy hat on his head, and was standing in front of the large Longjin highway planning map refreshedly, listening to the German chief designer Erbach Kant introduce the entire highway design ideas.

Longjin Highway is being planned

Try to reduce the amount of bridges and tunnels, the whole section only needs to open 6 tunnels, with a total length of about 1.7 kilometers, and build 37 bridges, the main bridge deck plus the total engineering volume of the approach bridge is 18.22 kilometers, mainly across a valley stream, connecting the winding mountain roads.

German engineers have rich experience in building roads and bridges in mountainous areas, relying on sufficient manpower and financial support, tens of thousands of construction teams in the 271 kilometers of engineering sections are fully rolled out, divided into nearly 50 construction teams, including 28 bridge and tunnel construction teams, 21 road construction teams, to launch an unprecedented scale of construction battles.

Each road construction team is responsible for 8~20 kilometers of road construction, of which 89 kilometers of plain roads are responsible for 5 construction teams in sections, and tractors and other construction machinery can be used to assist in construction, and it is planned to be completely completed within half a year.

The remaining 16 road construction teams all went deep into the mountainous areas, set up camp in the mountains, contracted in sections, used blasting and other means to assist in opening the mountain and splitting the road, and the required construction materials and daily necessities were transported by mule and horse teams.

The entire Longjin Highway project is expected to take 18 months, most of which is expected to be completed within one year, and the key is that the construction of the three bridges and two tunnels with a total of 5 stuck necks is difficult and time-consuming.

Three bridges and two tunnels refer to the Wild Wolf Valley continuous bridge, Kahn River Bridge, Ghost Sorrow Canyon Bridge and Ghost Sorrow Tunnel, Li Gongshan Tunnel, these neck projects almost all have the same characteristics, the geological environment is harsh, the traffic is extremely inconvenient, the construction is difficult, the requirements are high, the time is tight, and a lot of manpower and material resources need to be invested to overcome the construction problems.

Li Fushou nodded frequently after hearing this, these specific difficulties are naturally overcome by the concerted efforts of the engineering construction personnel and designers, and the local government gives full support and support, he just needs to grasp the overall situation and wait for the results of the successful completion.

After the chief designer Erbach Kant gave a brief introduction, Li Fushou turned to everyone and said; "On paper, you have to feel shallow, you must know that this matter has to be done, we can't just listen to the introduction, the whole construction road has to go again, the specific plan is not feasible, there are still difficulties, this has to wait for the specific investigation before making comments, then set off now, there is time to talk on the road."

After speaking, he didn't wait for everyone to answer, and took the lead out of the cabin.

The breeze came from the calm lake, and Li Fushou took a deep breath of fresh air and felt refreshed from body to heart.

"Report to Lord Earl, the lowly Longmen Town security officer Li Xuanzhu is ready to listen to orders at any time." Li Lianzhu had been waiting outside the cabin for a long time, and when he saw the Earl striding out, he immediately stood up and saluted.

"Li Xuanzhu, huh...... Yes, very young officer! Li Fushou looked him up and down and nodded with interest.

It seems that Li Fushou didn't remember that he had seen Li Xuanzhu in the ward, he pointed forward with his hand and said; "Mr. Officer, get ready to set off with your men."

"Yes, Lord Count."

Li Xuanzhu solemnly saluted, and walked down the gangway in front quickly, he led a team of 120 soldiers to the front station, responsible for the perimeter guards, the earl and a cadre of important personnel are naturally responsible for the protection of the personal guards, the two are clearly distinguished.

When they got off the boat, the dignitaries of the expedition and the personal guards stepped on the mules and horses, forming a long line and moving forward.

Longmen Town under construction has seen its prototype, except for the construction workers and a few soldiers, there are no idle people on weekdays, and it is a little deserted.

Nearly 8,000 migrants have been dispersed to various construction teams along the Longjin Highway, ranging from one or two hundred to three or four hundred people, scattered along the 271-kilometer-long planned highway.

Due to the long and difficult road, the laborers of these construction teams do not return to Longmen Town on weekdays, and the necessary vegetables and grains are transported by mule and horse transport teams, and the required building materials such as steel and cement are transported by flatbed tractors to the Sunset Valley before entering the mountain, and then transferred by mule and horse transport teams into the mountainous area.

In the steep mountains, where mules and horses could not enter, it was up to the laborers to carry the building materials to the remote construction sites.

The road to the mountain is a low, hilly area that gradually elevates to the Sunset Valley before reaching the mountain, which is about 89 kilometers long.

The delegation saw that there were laborers working all the way, and the road that winded into the distance showed intermittent dots and lines, and it was already possible to see the general appearance of the road.

Considering that a large number of tractors transporting ore are running on this road all year round, in order to ensure the quality of the road, this Longjin Highway will be built into an asphalt asphalt road at any cost and become a smooth transportation artery.

The delegation of more than 400 people all rode mules and horses, and the speed of advancing in the hilly area was quite fast, and when it was time to set up camp in the evening, they had already arrived at the sunset valley into the mountainous area, and traveled more than 80 kilometers in more than six hours.

This speed is nothing for Shenjun's war horses, but the mule and horse team with the main force of mules is already very fast, and the next expedition is facing a rugged mountain road, and the steep and steep places even have to lead the horses to climb carefully, and it is impossible to be so easy again.