Chapter 2320: Not Building Wonders

But because of its unique appearance, Adaofu also received quite a lot of cheers and shouts, and running slowly wasn't without its benefits—at least it was safe!

The carriages behind were set up separately; even if the locomotive in front exploded, at most the people in the first carriage might be in some danger, but they could completely run toward the back the moment the boiler alarm sounded.

Jumping off the vehicle is the most convenient!

"Don't you think that vehicle runs too slowly?" Xia Duo asked curiously.

He wanted to know what exactly Laidun was thinking—was he going to let the Adaofu team continue to improve it, or combine the strengths of multiple teams into a brand-new plan?

But the answer Laidun gave truly exceeded Xia Duo's expectations—

"Slowness isn't the problem; the key is this design of separate carriages. I thought of a plan: increase the number of carriages, all the way from our side to White Sheep Village in the north, and then continue to extend it to wrap around the entire 【Daxia-Saville Passage】, thus forming a loop that is always moving. As for the cost, the carriages can be made entirely of wood, using Iron or Adamantine only for a few key structures."

"You really dare to think big; with 20 New Li from north to south, how powerful a drive would that need!"

"Even if we don't connect this giant loop into one piece, we can use multiple locomotives to tow it in sections. The key lies in constant operation; even if the speed is slightly slow, it can provide huge convenience, especially in terms of freight."

"Let me think!"

Xia Duo pondered for a moment and felt it was feasible; it was nothing more than a shuttle service, just that the frequency covered all time periods, but there were problems here too. First was the giant loop.

The giant loop Laidun spoke of was actually closer to a fixed and specialized track. If it were just an ordinary road surface, it could never support a train running for such a long time, but tracks require costs, and there are no lack of technical difficulties involved.

Xia Duo was very skeptical about whether the Logistics Department of the Territory could build it completely, or rather, whether there was a need to carry out such construction at the current stage.

Secondly, there was the load issue.

Do Daxia and Saville currently need such high-frequency freight demand? The answer is obvious: currently, both places are mainly self-sufficient and have not yet formed a clear industrial division of labor.

There is simply no need for such high-frequency freight; even for the movement of people, having a few fixed shuttle buses is completely enough.

Xia Duo felt that Laidun's thinking might have entered a misunderstanding, misinterpreting his spirit. He didn't pursue "big" itself—large scale, large shape, large influence.

Rather, the attribute of "big" was achieved naturally in the process of realizing specific goals. Like the Floating City, what Xia Duo wanted to design was a mobile territory that could accommodate the entire population of the territory and also serve as a shelter.

At the same time, he also needed to consider subsequent development, which is why the Floating City is the size it is now, but in terms of external appearance, he hoped the Floating City's manifested form would be smaller.

This is more conducive to protection and concealment.

By the same token, the reason the 【Daxia-Saville Passage】 is so "big" is that in Xia Duo's planning, this road essentially also included the construction of new villages on both sides of the road.

Although currently only Daxia Territory is continuously carrying out new village construction, the integration of the two places is centered on this road, and the new village construction plan for Savile Territory has already been placed on Laidun's desk.

Laidun shouldn't have failed to think of that.

Thinking of this, Xia Duo suddenly asked Niya, who was watching the show on the side, "What do you think of Laidun's plan?"

"Ah? You want me to say?"

Niya thought for a moment, then gave a very vivid description, "Isn't this just building a wonder?"

"Not bad, it is indeed building a wonder." Xia Duo smiled and nodded.

A long time ago, he had mentioned the concept of building wonders to Niya, but reality is not a game; some wonders are useful and necessary, so if they are built, then so be it.

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But one must absolutely not build solely for the purpose of building a wonder; that is clearly putting the cart before the horse.

Now Laidun's plan has the suspicion of putting the cart before the horse, but considering this was a rare plan Laidun took the initiative to propose, Xia Duo did not reject it on the spot, only saying he would consider it further and talk about it after the competition ended.

……

Soon, all the participating vehicles had departed. Of course, the vehicles that departed earlier also began to return one after another. Xiluo was the first, but he would not be the last.

"Niya, do you think this Locomotive Design Competition is interesting?"

"It's quite interesting, it's just that the speed is too slow. Maybe it will be better to watch next year."

The implication was that this year's wasn't very good. Actually, from Xia Duo's modern perspective, this first Locomotive Design Competition was indeed a bit boring. Not to mention the short preparation time, emerging things themselves don't have much fun when they first appear, let alone in a magical world where all kinds of miraculous spells are bizarre and varied.

It needs more development before one can gradually discover the fun and various values within it.

Of course, if Xia Duo were to evaluate this competition as a lord, it could already be considered an unprecedented success. First, there is one more way for transportation between the north and south of the territory, and it is also a very accessible and cheap way.

Furthermore, a competition that attracted almost all the residents (only Daxia Territory) to watch can enrich the lives of the residents and improve their cohesion; in essence, it is also a part of spiritual civilization construction.

In his plan, starting from next year, the Locomotive Design Competition will also allow residents of the territory to participate. After all, mechanical design doesn't require any magic talent; Mages only have some advantages in the vehicle manufacturing process.

But the truly decisive factor in this competition is mechanical design ability; no matter how fast vehicle manufacturing is, it cannot compare to a generational design gap.

However, no matter which world it is in, the Steam Engine ultimately only utilizes the most superficial rules. Such a competition might become popular all over the world, but in the end, it might just be limited to entertainment.

Thinking of this, Xia Duo couldn't help but have another idea, so he said to Niya: "Actually, there can be more interesting competitions."

"For example?"

"A Flying Vehicle Design Competition. The competition content can be racing, or it can be flight skills. What do you think?"

"Flight racing? How is this different from the Locomotive Design Competition?"

"Of course it's different, because what is being tested is Magic technology! This can not only guide the development direction of Magic, using competition to promote development, but also provide a large number of jobs in related fields."

Xia Duo's biggest worry about the popularization of Magic Education is "unemployment upon graduation." If he cannot arrange a job for them that is not too bad compared to the past, then the large number of newly graduated Mages will inevitably become a factor of social instability.

By then, let alone developing civilization, he would probably be too busy putting out fires.

If a flight competition is held regularly, at least it can promote technical development in fields such as Transmutation spells and Magic Item manufacturing, and the creation of related jobs will also be an inevitable result.

If participants from other territories or other countries are accepted, it can also form a more benign technical competition. Isn't this much better than bellicose militarism?

Of course, this is just a flight competition; other fields can also use this form to promote development. It doesn't necessarily have to be in the form of a competition, although the wind of competition is very common in the Northland due to the influence of the Elf, the forms can be more diverse.

Such as free competition for similar products, the realization of technical goals in specific fields, or even just private exchanges among researchers in related fields.

All can become the driving force for development.